Majlis Winter 2018

The Big Six Slavery in Libya Lebron James

BATTLE OF THE BANDS

M

y time working at Majlis this past term has been eye opening, to say the least. I’ve been privy to a body of students at Doha College with a drive and ability to express their thoughts and feelings about topics that they are truly passionate about. It truly surprised me to see students from Year 7 all the way up to Year 13 expressing their ideas and beliefs.

I strongly believe, as an editor and a person, in the power of words; as people, we underestimate the power of the written word. The pen is mightier than the sword is a cliche, and yet it holds a great truth. This magazine, is so much more than just a way to get information to members of the school, it’s an outlet for our students that have things to say, thoughts to voice, feelings to express. In this edition we range from things like ABBA and YouTube, to modern circumstances such as the Trade War and Virtual Reality and that wide range of subjects is just one of the many reasons this magazine is so great for the student body.

This winter edition is a special one for me, it’s my first one as deputy head of writing and not only am I overwhelmed by the quality of the articles written by the students, but also the cohesiveness of the teachers, writers and designers.

Being my first editorial, I want to thank the team: all the writers, the teachers and the designers, for the help and effort gone into creating this edition of Majlis and I hope you enjoy the magazine.

Comail Ali Deputy Editor of Majlis

Table of Contents EDITORIAL INTERNAL CONTENTS

Poetry Evening..........................................................................................p.g 1

Meet The Big 6.........................................................................................p.g 2

DC ALumni.....................................................................................................p.g 4

ECA’s..................................................................................................................p.g 5

Battle Of The Bands.............................................................................p.g 6 EXTERNAL

Qatar After The Blockade...............................................................p.g 8

Nanobots In Our Body.......................................................................p.g 9

More Than an athlete.........................................................................p.g 10

Slavery In Lybia........................................................................................p.g 12

The Water Crisis In Flint.......................................................................p.g 14

The Trump Driven Trade Wars........................................................p.g 15

Brett Kavanaugh.....................................................................................p.g 16

The Walking Dead is Finally Dead.............................................p.g 18

The Me Too Movement.......................................................................p.g 20 ARTS AND FEATURES:

Which Came First The Chicken or The Egg.......................p.g 21

Do Stans Actually Help Artists?...................................................p.g 22

The Girl In The Mirror...........................................................................p.g 24

Stem Cells....................................................................................................p.g 26

Someone Else’s Moccasins.............................................................p.g 27

The Man In The Mirror........................................................................p.g 28

The Backstage View Of A Youtuber.......................................p.g 30

ABBA................................................................................................................p.g 32

Top 5 Movies Of 2018....................................................................p.g 33

Catching Dreams...................................................................................p.g 34

Brain On Vr.................................................................................................p.g 36

Top 5 Must Reads.................................................................................p.g 38 SPORTS:

Serena Williams.........................................................................................p.g 42

“Cavs” What Now? ...............................................................................p.g 44

Naomi Osaka A Rising Superstar...............................................p.g 46

The Future Of The Serie A...............................................................p.g 47

Youtubes In Boxing...............................................................................p.g 48

La Liga...........................................................................................................p.g 50 EDITORIAL

Poetry Evening

It’s that time of year again: Poetry Evening. Although poetry isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, the evening was quite close to perfect. From laughing at the jokes told by the Head Boy and Girl who compered the event, to welling up at the heartfelt moments as the poetry was recited, the evening really was spectacular.

Rehearsals went really well - even Miss Haddon, who organised the event, was shocked at how smoothly it ran. Everyone was quite nervous, but we all ploughed through until the end. There were a few lines unlearned, or a few actions forgotten but, let’s be honest, no one’s perfect! The main criticism for everybody was to “Speak louder!” But thanks to the encouragement by Mr. Jones, everyone’s performances went great.

Waiting for the show to start was really scary - I’m sure that I’m not the only one that had the jitters.

The first performance was a great

starter: ‘The Whitsun Weddings’ performed by a group of Year 13 female students. It was very well rehearsed and all of the actions were fabulous! Even though not everybody totally remembered their lines, the performance was still really nice to watch.

Another really good performance, which was very well practiced and very polished, was ‘First Day at school’ by a group of Year 8 boys.

This was a more relaxed and fun poem; there were lots of laughs from the audience from the way it was presented.

Surprising the audience, a group of Year 7 girls, for who this was their first Poetry Evening, performed an amusing poem called ‘Autumn’, complete with actions, costumes, and props! I, for one, was very impressed.

Stafrace. The whole audience was silenced with awe as they listened to what sounded like a professional singer performing in front of them.

With both amazing vocals and great piano skills, she just blew everyone away.

During the interval, small pieces of card paper were given out, and after all the poems and other performances had finished, everyone had the opportunity to write something on it that they wanted to change in their lives, reflecting the theme of the evening.

What a great idea!

The evening was topped off with a special thank you for Miss Haddon, as the event wouldn’t have been such a success without her organistaion and direction.

Everyone worked so hard on the evening, and it had such a great turn out from staff, students and Throughout the evening there were parents. From really great teachers drama pieces, instrumental pieces, to really great students, the evening and even a song performed and went fabulously. written by Year 10 student Elena Words By Madeleine Jackson

MEET

The Big Six Last April, the DC Community selected the new ‘Big Six’ for this academic year. For those of you who don’t know already, or are just new to the school, the Year 12 students, along with the teachers, vote for six candidates close to the end of the school year and, after rigorous interviews, the Big Six are elected as the school’s student leadership team for the school the following school year. The group consists of the Head Boy and Head Girl, the Deputy Head Boy and Deputy Head Girl, and the Senior Prefects. They also lead the school’s weekly webcast ‘DC Word’, which you can watch every week on our school’s YouTube channel.

Head Boy and Head Girl The Head Boy and Head Girl are the major representatives of our school. They play a big role in the Student Welfare Committee. They also act as the ambassadors of our school at public events. This year, we have Fahad Ali as our Head Boy, and Sarah Mekhaimer as our Head Girl. Both of our new representatives have promised the school a great year ahead. Fahad Ali feels “truly humbled to have the opportunity to represent the school that I have come to call home. I hope to epitomize all the values we hold so dearly here at DC, and further the continued the excellence laid down by previous leaders.” Similarly, Sarah credits “the students and staff that have supported and helped me reach where I am today” as being her motivation to achieve her goals,

“To be someone whom people can feel comfortable around when talking about certain subjects”

one of which is to “ integrate and unify our school body, by enhancing communication across the school, through the means of the 6th Form committees.”

Deputy Head Boy and Deputy Head Girl The Deputies are the secondary representatives of our school.

They accompany the Head Boy and Head Girl at conferences, and other events they might attend.

This academic year, we have Aini Qurratu Hashim as our Deputy Head Girl and Jay Stearns as the Deputy Head Boy. We asked Aini a few questions about her position in the Big Six, which she was more than happy to answer.

When it comes to what made her apply for a Big Six position, she said that “the motivation that drove my application for a Big

“To epitomize all the values we hold so dearly here at DC”

Six position stemmed not only from the fact that I could make a positive contribution to the Doha College community, but also from the fact that this position would aid the development of several transferable life skills.” We also asked her what Deputies could do for the school that the other members of the Big Six could not: “I would love to make a tangible impact on our school environment and experience through the Student Council. Whether this is through implementing some of the ideas that students suggest during our meetings, or increasing awareness with events such as the ‘Blind Lunch’, I am determined to continue strengthening the foundations of the student forum for future generations to build upon.” Lastly, we asked her about her relationship with the Head Boy

and Girl, and it turns out she has extremely strong bonds with our representatives. Fahad, Sarah, and Aini have been classmates since first entering Doha College in Year 7. She believes that “perhaps one of the biggest advantages in applying for, and accepting, the Big Six position is the networking and connection you achieve with people you might not have talked to frequently before.”

Senior Prefects Like the other members of the Big Six, the Senior Prefects play a big role as the school representatives and committee coordinators. This year we have Ibrahim Din and Sakshi Mani as our Senior Prefects.

Sakshi, in a one-to-one interview, told us that as a Senior Prefect, she’d like to be “a congenial [role

“To integrate and unify our school body, by enhancing communication across the school”

model], so one that people see me as a someone they can just come and talk to whenever they have issues, regardless of whether it’s about schoolwork, or friendships, or even something personal; I just want to be someone whom people can feel comfortable around when talking about certain subjects.”

Clearly, the new Big Six have assured us of a fun-filled, thrilling and exciting year for the whole school. They’ve already made sure that all students - new and old are going to have an amazing year.

Overall, our Big Six have done a lot for us and the school already, and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for the rest of the year!

Words By Kamika Magadi and Anchita Pattnaik

“To make a tangible impact on our school environment and experience through the Student Council”

Peter Jackson: What year did you come to Doha College?

I was a student at DC in the year 1995. It’s hard to believe that the school has been open for such a long time; it just shows how good the education is in DC. How did you feel coming to DC midway through secondary?

It felt really strange and was a bit of a culture shock. I had gone from being in Hull in England, where everyone talked the same, dressed the same, and almost were the same, to coming here, where there were so few kids and yet from so many places.

Who was your favorite teacher when you were at school?

Madame Mechmech was, is and always will be the greatest teacher of all time.

P.E is a large part of our curriculum, was it such a big deal when you were at school?

Yes, and I was brilliant - no, the best at P.E when I was at school! It was definitely my favorite lesson and it was many other people’s favorites to.

The DC alumni are not only former students of the school but they are both the history and, partly, the making of Doha College.

Whether it was making memories or preparing for the future, I can guarantee that without DC, these people wouldn’t be half of what they are today. Although some of the alumni are no longer with us, they would be blown away with what the school has become and what has been achieved since their own school journey ended. I caught up with two past students, Peter Jackson and Ian Shaw, to ask them some questions about their time here at the school.

DC Alumni

What were P.E and swimming lessons like back then?

Swimming lessons were either taken at JBK compound or the rugby club, because what is now the P.E department was merely a wall.

What pushed you to decide to send your children to DC? It is hands down the best school in Doha, and I know so many people who are now successful and who were once students at DC. What is your job now and how did DC help you to get there?

I am the deputy HSE manager for the construction of the Doha Al Thumama stadium; I think that Doha College is partly responsible for the man I am today.

So, it is clear to see that from fun and enjoyment to character building, DC really has helped many men and women become the people they are today.

Words by Madeleine Jackson

Ian Shaw: How did the Head Boy election process work back then?

The teachers would look at the records and the students that had the best records would get voted by the teachers. The system was not very complicated and the run was not as competitive as it is now, but is was still an honor to be given the title of Head Boy. As Head Boy what responsibilities did you have?

Unlike today, Head Boy was much more of a laid back position.

The jobs we got do do weren’t as difficult - all we would really do was run charity days and write end of year speeches. I am sure that the positions now have plenty more to do and are much more exciting; it just shows how much the school has grown and improved over the years.

Did you used to have oversea trips like the Iceland trip?

Not really. All we had was the Dubai/Bahrain sports event.

Compared to what DC are doing now, it seems like nothing, but back then those trips were really popular and everyone wanted to go on them.

You’ve just had a daughter, are you planning on sending her to Doha College?

If we are still here then without a doubt. We would not want Riley to go to any other school in Doha, as DC has the best education and kindest staff.

What is your job now and how did DC help you to get there?

I am currently country manager for an equipment rental company; the fact that I got a great education and a widened knowledge of different nationalities is something DC helped me with massively.

ECAs - Why it’s good to get involved!

Doha College provides many different ECAs that you could literally spend hours after school enjoying, building skills that you will use both now and later in life when you’re looking for a job. The ECAs on offer provide opportunities for students of all ages, interests and skill sets.

I have joined many ECAs because I enjoy learning new and fun skills. Joining ECAs has made me feel more committed to the school and helped make all the hours of lesson time feel more worthwhile.

The majority of people in Doha College have joined one ECA or more and have loved their time doing certain activities. As I walked around the school, I realised that each activity has a different atmosphere, ranging from focused to excited, crazy to calm. For example, the chess club was very quiet but, in contrast, debating was very loud! As is Majlis! The henna club, however, was very calm. This just goes to show how there is an ECA for every person.

ECAs are also full of opportunities to make new friends whether they’re older or younger than you.

When asking people why they’ve

joined certain ECAs, some have said that they chose different activities with their friends so they could go together, while others have gone alone as they wanted to make new friends. Some have chosen their ECAs so they can pursue and develop their skills, while others have simply joined to have fun. Joining these clubs benefit you by helping you to build skills which you can use to work towards a lifelong dream. Or, they could help create a new future for you: a career! What I’m trying to say is that these things are key for a happy future.

ECAs can also help people acquire that one skill they’re missing out on, or can help with learning in academic subjects. For example, being part of the Majlis journalist team has helped me with English skills, while language ECAs can help to expand the range

of languages you know or build skills in the ones you are studying already. I am living proof of this having learned British sign language in just one term! These activities have also given me more options for my future. Now that I’ve done Majlis, I may even have the opportunity to pursue a journalism career in the future.

All in all, ECAs are the best way to expand your learning and have fun after school. After-school activities benefit you, help you and let you expand your knowledge or skills. They also uplevel a person’s social development, as do other activities outside of school such as Evolution Sports. If you couldn’t join the ECA you wanted to this term don’t worry as it’s likely that the activity will run for another term. So what are you waiting

for? Get involved!

Words By Kerem Tekcan

Battle of the bands

“We need three mics on stage in the middle!” I said to my fellow stage crew member, Emily. We rushed on stage, moving the music stands around and lifted three of the microphone stands onto the stage, right at the centre.

It was the last band: the teachers.

We had seen their rehearsal earlier on in the day and couldn’t wait to see it in full flow. But the teachers weren’t the only ones with an amazing performance. There had been six other bands who were competing for the coveted first place. They had all performed wonderfully. However, before the bands actually performed at the event, a lot of work needed to go into making their performance as thrilling as it had been.

Rehearsals had been going on all day.

As backstage crew, my three friends and I were there the whole time, making sure the microphones were working, checking the order of the bands, setting up the stage before each and every act in the shortest amount of time possible. Each band had around half an hour to practice, getting performance tips and ideas to make their act sound even better.

After that, they just kept on practicing.

The day went by so quickly, and suddenly we were making sure the mics were in position and getting the tables ready for the donations at the entrance.To add to the immense amount of excitement in the air, was also Pink Day! The donations received at the Battle of the Bands went to

supporting breast cancer charities and we were delighted with the generosity of the audience as they donated so much towards the cause. Although the suggested amount to donate was only 10QR, many people donated more we are extremely grateful to them for that.

All of a sudden it was time for the first band, Crystal Clear, to perform and show their talent off to the audience - they did an incredible job and the audience seemed to love it! Next up were The Wolves - their song was wonderful and we all enjoyed it so much. Both of the bands were made up of Year 8 members, and I am very proud to have them in my year. The next band had Year 9 members, and they were called The Whatchamacallits - they also performed spectacularly.

Dysfunctional was next - a great band dressed up in animal onesies!

Performing fifth was Petrichor, a band made up of girls only. Girl Power!

And last but certainly not least, was Puffle, who performed their own song. Despite losing two of their band members, their performance was awesome and they didn’t let anything pull them down.

As backstage crew, we rushed around, lifting chairs, stands and microphones onto and off the stage. It was stressful every time we had to prepare for the next band but, occasionally, we got a second to stop and appreciate the skills of our fellow DC students. We would listen in awe from behind the curtains, peeking around and gazing

at the view of the audience and the bands from backstage. Of course, we had to be practically silent, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the experience.

While the two judges chose the two winning bands, the teachers performed their song and did a fantastic job, with Mr Conly on the drums, Mrs Sanderson on the bass guitar, Mr Saddler on the keyboard, Mr Perre on the piano, and Mrs Stafrace, Mrs Hyman and Miss Haddon singing. We all loved their song and you could literally feel the music all through the auditorium, not just from behind the curtains!

And then it was time for the judges to announce the winners. Before announcing the winners, the judges reviewed the performance of each band: all the things they did well and the things that could make their performance even better. But, there could only be two winning bands: Petrichor (the Girl Power band) and Puffle (the band who wrote their own song). They certainly deserved to win.

Everyone did so well it must have been hard to choose just two winners! The bands were so diverse and there was such a huge variety of songs that we were constantly being surprised! It really was quite the experience. I was honoured to be backstage crew for such an exciting event and I hope that everyone else loved this year’s Battle of the Bands as much as I did.

Words By Hazel Carter

QATAR SINCE THE BLOCKADE

The ongoing Qatar diplomatic crisis began on June 5, 2017, when the governments of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Maldives, Mauritania, Senegal, Djibouti, Comoros, Jordan, and Yemen severed diplomatic relations with Qatar. In the beginning, the government of Qatar was faced with issues such as the ban on Qatar aeroplanes and ships from entering the previously mentioned countries’ airspaces and sea routes along with Saudi Arabia blocking the only land crossing, and the termination of the supply of dairy and other food products from these countries. But what initially appeared to be damaging to Qatar’s wellbeing has actually encouraged this country to think about self-reliance. As a result, it has developed in a wide range of fields.

To overcome the dairy crisis, the sheep and goat farm, Baladna, expanded in May 2017 and began to produce dairy products.

Baladna Farm expects to increase the production of fresh milk and yoghurt to 500 tonnes a day more than enough to meet Qatar’s requirements, with a surplus of 100 tonnes for export. Qatar

attracted worldwide attention when it imported more than 4000 cows from Switzerland, Australia and the USA. Earlier this year, an additional 10,000 cows were imported, making Qatar self-reliant in the dairy field. Qatar has also taken an interest in farming vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, chillies and many more.

An indication of this newfound growth within Qatar, was the Ministry of Economy and Commerce’s recent statement that a total of 3,001 new companies were registered during January 2018 compared to the 2,572 new companies registered in December 2017. Growth continued to occur as in March 2018, more than 1930 new companies were registered.

Additionally, Qatar has recently opened a deepwater port, Hamad, which is capable of handling large container ships. This is likely to be able to handle all the major imports and exports that are done

by Qatar. To that effect, Qatar has also developed stronger relations with other countries around the world like Turkey, Russia, Oman and Kuwait to name a few.

Though the blockade impacted the

country, oil and gas exports have continued to flow freely and new trade routes have been put in place.

Qatar is one of the world’s leading exporters of liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas, functioning smoothly despite the blockade.

The unfortunate blockade has turned into a blessing for Qatar.

Whilst the country recognises the importance of allies, this period has also seen home-grown industries flourish. This has ultimately worked towards further cementing Qatar as a self-sufficient and everexpanding country. Even though Qatar has experienced a small loss, it is undeniable that this rapidlydeveloping country has already improved, and will continue to become even better, in its affected fields.

Words By Mubasshir Mugibur Raghman Source: https://www.thepeninsulaqatar. com/article/11/02/2018/Over3,000-new-companies-registeredin-January

Nanobots in Our Body

T

he emerging technology field of nanorobotics holds massive promise for our future. Constructed from molecular components, nanobots are so small that you could fit thousands across the diameter of a single human hair. Though largely still in the research and development phase, nanobots are on their way to becoming another case of science-fiction made real.

One of the first, and perhaps biggest, applications of nanomachines will likely be in nanomedicine. These tiny machines could be injected into bloodstreams to identify and destroy cancer cells. Unlike current cancer treatments, nanobots could be programmed to leave good cells alone, as well as customize medicine dosages for individuals based on their cancer type and their responses to each medicine. The tiny bots could also be capable of detecting and eliminating hundreds of other diseases, as well as reversing degenerative genetic mutations, and repairing damaged cells, potentially increasing the human lifespan by up to 50 years. Ray Kurzweil, renowned scientist, prize-winning author, Google Director of Engineering, and MIT Inventor of the Year, states that nanotechnology is the key to immortality, even going so far as to predict that humans will be immortal by 2045.

"It's radical life extension," Kurzweil said. "The full realization of nanobots will basically eliminate biological disease and ageing. I think we'll see widespread use in 20 years of [nanotech] devices that perform certain functions for us. In 30 or 40 years, we will overcome disease and ageing. The nanobots will scout out organs and cells that need repairs and simply fix them.

It will lead to profound extensions of our health and longevity."

Aside from a medical perspective, there is a whole other side to the potential of nanobots for our species, that speculates the impossible and unfathomable, painting a world from the pages of a fantasy novel. Red blood cell nanobots, who could power their own movement, could eliminate the need for a heart at all. In fact, nanotech theorist Robert A. Freitas has already designed blood cell nanobots that, if one day implemented into the body, would allow a human to sprint for 15 minutes without taking a single breath. One of the more far-fetched ideas is that nanobots could connect your brain to the internet, and backup your memories on to the cloud. With the world’s knowledge at the tip of our neurons, we would be able to effortlessly calculate complex math equations in seconds, or translate and speak any language

you wanted. We could hop into an aircraft and intuitively know how to fly it. We could navigate roads and never get lost again with a map of the local roads automatically memorized and backed up in our brains. Texting, emails and phone calls would be out of the picture: why bother when you can simply send your thoughts from your brain?

Nanobots could make us super humans - stronger, faster, smarter, and, through an expansion of the brain’s neocortex, even make us funnier and better at expressing loving sentiments.

It is undeniable that nanotech will be an Earth-shaking development, and governments are well aware of this fact: the US, the EU and Japan alone have invested a combined sum of over $5 billion so far. However, as with many other revolutionary technologies, nanobots could be turned into lethal weapons if they fall into the wrong hands. Their list of potential military applications is innumerable and, if one nation starts the race, the others will have no choice but to compete.

Words by Aayami Jaguri

MORE THAN AN ATHLETE

LeBron James is three-times NBA champion, four-times MVP (most valued player), Olympic Gold medalist and, arguably, one of the greatest sportsmen of the modern era … and yet he is so much more.

Often referred to as “King James”, he’s a loving father, husband, a shareholder of Liverpool FC (English Premier League) and recently, the co-founder of the “I Promise School”.

James has always said he was, “just a kid from Akron”. His humility, dominance in-game, and modesty are just some of the reasons he’s a common household name. That also means that he’s got critics … and haters.

Earlier this year, FOX news reporter Laura Ingraham criticised James for his political comments, stating on live television: “This is what happens when you attempt to leave high school early to join the NBA.” James did in fact complete high school.

Ingraham later told James to, “shut up and dribble.” Understandably, fans, along with other pro-athletes, responded rather aggressively. James himself started a hashtag on Twitter: #WeWillNotShutUpAndDribble.

James has spoken out on many pressing world issues such as world hunger, inequality, racism and women’s rights to name a few.

Indeed, during the NBA All-Star weekend press conference, James actually thanked Laura Ingraham for giving him another reason to speak out about all the political and social issues that are dear to his heart. He has also blatantly spoken against U.S. President Donald Trump, saying that he would, “never sit across from him.”

James’s single mother - who was only 16 when she gave birth to him worked hard to ensure he completed high school. His absentee father was a criminal. This personal background is just one of the many reasons this “kid from Akron”, partnered with

Akron Public Schools to create the “I Promise School” (IPS). The IPS is a free school for at-risk kids in Grades 3 and 4 in Akron, Ohio.

Opened on 30 July 2018, the school is currently home to 240 students.

Many questioned James’s choice to start with third and fourth grade students but this was based on studies which show that kids with poor reading scores in third grade are more likely to fall further behind later in their academic years. Giving these kids such an opportunity at school helps secure them a brighter future. By 2021, James aims to extend the school to accommodate students from first grade all the way to eighth grade.

“I know these kids better than they know themselves. I’ve walked the same streets, I went through the same emotions, the good, the bad, the adversity. I’m in a position where I have the resources, the finances, the people, so why not?” is what James said in a video he released on Twitter.

It’s his giving nature, his forward thinking that makes James so much more than an athlete. “The King” is fearless, thoughtful and an inspiration to everyone striving to be something in this world.

The building of the IPS has the inscriptions “I PROMISE” and “WE ARE FAMILY” at its South and North sides respectively: statements of purpose, reminders to anyone and everyone who goes past, that these are not banalities, but his promise and commitment to the children under his care. In an interview on “The Ellen Show”, James explained, “Kids just want to know that you care; once they know you care they will tap into their gift.” After all, James was sent to a local youth football coach by his mum, where he eventually started playing basketball.

If it wasn’t for his mother’s care, it’s highly unlikely he would have had anything to do with sport.

Critics have said that the IPS project won’t or can’t last, that James is being

too ambitious, and consequently, raising the expectations of the children, parents and the community.

However, James is no stranger to meeting high expectations. He became the youngest player to reach 25,000 career points, he is one of only two players to receive the award for NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP and an Olympic Gold medal, all in one season. (The other player is none other than Michael Jordan.) In an interview, James stated, “I’ve been around some great groups and been able to reap the benefits. It’s a cool thing. But I’ve got more work to do.”

Amongst his many great sporting achievements is the fact that James leads what is called the 25/6/6/1 club. What this means is that in his past seasons, James has averaged 25 points, six rebounds, six assists and one steal. Here’s where it gets interesting: there have only been five other players to complete such a season: Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Russell Westbrook, Rick Barry and Clyde Dexter. If you took all their 25/6/6/1 qualified years, combined them, they would still be less than James’s. And he’s still playing, which means there’s no one even close to stopping him!

Despite the battalions of critics, haters and general non-believers, “King James” does have his own army of supporters, whether that be on social media or fans who pay to see him play. With his skill, his ambition and his benevolence, with the support of his family, friends and fans (and with a recent donation from Ellen Degeneres and Walmart of 100,000USD), LeBron “The King” James is not only one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but also - and perhaps even more importantly - he is one of the most powerfully influential figures of our time who will continue to prove that he is so much more than just an athlete who can dribble well.

Words By Comail Rizvi

SLAVERY IN LIBYA These days, the topic of slavery is only discussed in our history lessons or in conversations about its impact on racial tensions and issues in Western civilization. Slavery is always considered an horrific and inhumane custom belonging to an era that has long since past; we have moved on from such cruel action in the world.

been resolved. As we turn to the next act of terrorism, next election, next Twitter rant by a certain president, slaves in Libya continue to be mistreated, killed and sold.

Furthermore, there is evidence that this industry was established and operating long before it was brought to worldwide notice.

“As we turn to the A misconception, shattered by footage of a dozen migrants, next act of terrorism, being sold in an auction for next election, next $400 outside the city of Tripoli Twitter rant by a certain by human traffickers repeatedly announcing, “What am I bid?”, that president, slaves in was released by CNN late last year.

Libya continue to be Understandably, people around mistreated, killed and the world were distressed and protests crowded Libyan embassies sold” across Africa and Europe, causing the UN Security Council to hold According to CNN reports, this an emergency meeting where an atrocious industry is still present, evacuation plan for 15,000 victims indeed is booming in the chaotic was agreed and African and country of Libya due to its status as European leaders created initiatives the main transit point for refugees to target human traffickers. Libya, and migrants attempting to sail to as a result, constructed a deal with Europe. Approximately 150,000 these leaders to rectify the conditions people have taken this route across of refugees and migrants who could the Mediterranean Sea every year for face the same auctions, by setting up the past 3 years. To maintain order a transit centre to house them safely. in this massive influx of people, the However, Libya has little power to Libyan Coast Guard target the boats fulfill that promise; the country has smuggling the migrants and contain become anarchic after the revolution them in detention centres in Libya. that overthrew dictator Muammar Al However, in the disorder of the Gaddafi. The subsequent temporary country, people in these detention government failed to maintain a rule centres have allegedly suffered of law and eventually broke into two robbery, rape and murder. Because rival governments as well as tribes, of the horrific conditions, they might militias and gangs as the country be sold off as farm labourers in slave plunged into civil war. auctions. For example, according to an article in May by NPR, a man Since the release of the video last named Mohammed who had lived year, the auctions of refugees and in Niger was chased out of his home citizens as slaves has lost its shock at 17 by Boko Haram militants. factor and as the media lost interest He paid smugglers to take him to over the past year, so did most of the Europe. Once he reached Libya on world. The public are past the outrage this journey, he was stopped and that sparked awareness and therefore thrown into prison where he was induced rectification, and many have held for ransom and was bought and a misconception that the issue has sold into bonded labour farm work.

Until he escaped, he was tortured and chained.

There has been action, as testimonies such as Mohammed’s have led to further investigation of these detention centres in Libya by the UN Human Rights Council. Mohammed is lucky: the now 20-year-old has met with the director of the Tunisian Red Crescent group which shelters and cares for hundreds of escaped migrants from Libya and he is now a pharmacist in training and a volunteer at the group. But such luck is rare. Not enough work is being done to prevent such human atrocities. We ourselves must act in any way we can, in ways that may bring change to these migrants’ reality. We can lobby the UN to focus on this cause, we can donate to development organizations such as the World Food Programme, donate to anti-slavery companies such as ‘Free the Slaves’ and we can raise awareness. We have learned, in our history lessons, of the shameful inaction of millions living in the era of slavery that built Western civilization, and therefore should have the knowledge and morality to act ourselves in modern times.

We may have the morality to recognize slavery as wrong today, but unless we battle to end it, we are enabling history to repeat itself and are therefore not much better than our inactive predecessors who did not move to stop slave owners and their tyranny in their own time.

Perhaps, because of this passivity, in the face of the knowledge of the horrendous conditions of slavery we now have, we might even be worse.

Words By Amin Arabo Source: https://edition.cnn.com/specials/ africa/libya-slave-auctions

The Water Crisis in Flint I

t appears, at times, that governments care less about people’s health and more about how much money they can save, even for something as necessary as clean water. The people of Flint found this out the hard way.

The Flint water crisis was a huge problem that began in 2014. It was caused by the government’s choice of water supply. The government changed water sources from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The government allegedly made this decision based on cost; the Flint River was a cheaper option. The health risks soon became apparent.

The water was insufficiently treated. This culminated eventually in lead contamination. Over 100,000 residents, including 6,000 to 12,000 children, were exposed to unacceptable levels of lead.

Lead is an extremely toxic substance, and exposure to small amounts over a long period of time can lead to chronic toxicity.

Amongst the many symptoms of lead poisoning are the loss of appetite, weight loss, sluggishness, abdominal pain, vomiting, and, in severe cases, death.

Up until 2016 there were, allegedly, 10 fatalities and 77 people whose health was negatively affected by this water crisis but nothing has been proven definitively. Flint residents were soon instructed to use bottled or filtered water for cooking, cleaning and drinking, which can lead to extra unnecessary expenses. Flint water quality began improving in early 2016. However, residents were advised by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to continue using bottled and filtered water until all of the contaminated pipes were replaced with clean ones. Officials estimate this will be completed by 2020.

Engineers designed a pipe replacement plan ensuring the pipes would be made from a material other than lead in order to avoid a repeat of the situation. Lansing Mayor Virgil Bernero, along with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, has said that, ‘we think it can be done in a year, with about 30 crews and $55 million dollars.’ and that the pipe replacement could cost as little as ‘3 to 4 thousand dollars a home.’

Until this system was installed the residents of Flint were advised to consider water treatment methods such as reverse osmosis, distillation, and carbon filters that are specially designed to remove lead.

Al Hajal Khalil, The Flint Journal: ‘87 cases, 10 fatal of Legionella bacteria found in Flint area; connection to water crisis unclear.’

On January 24, 2017, the MDEQ told Flint Mayor, Karen Weaver, that the lead content of Flint water had finally reduced to a level that was acceptable to authorities. Flint water officials filed papers with state regulators purporting to show that tests at Flint’s water treatment plant had detected no lead and testing in homes had registered lead at low levels that rendered it able to be used as drinking water.

The cost of all this testing, fixing and sorting is perhaps greater than the savings made by the Flint government in the first place. Health would not have suffered and overall costs might have been lower, if better research had been done in advance.

Words By Mischa Keshwala

The Trump-Driven Trade Wars

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rade wars - the modern form of war that seems to appear in all our newspapers all the time. But what exactly is such a war?

And why do they all seem to stem from Trump’s presidency?

A trade war is when the government imposes tariffs (taxes) and quotas (physical limits) on imports. As a result, other countries try to protect their own economies by retaliating with reciprocal tariffs and quotas, creating a continuous cycle. At first, these protectionist policies may help an economy as that economy is no longer spending billions overseas

for foreign products.

However, such policies are often short-sighted, eventually costing many people their jobs, ruining economic growth for the countries participating and ensuring that populations experience higher prices from the tariffs imposed on imported goods.

Donald Trump has said, ‘Trade wars are good, and easy to win.’ He has also put in place tariff after tariff on goods being imported into the United States. Foreign products including furniture, computers and car parts - are all being hit with taxes of 10%. This will result in a sharp decrease in demand for, in particular, Chinese products in the US: after all, who wants to pay higher prices?

15% of China’s exports are sent to the

US, pumping more money into the Chinese economy. But with the new tariffs, China will experience a loss in national income - a loss which they most definitely will not be smiling about. Almost immediately the Chinese government struck back, placing levies on soybeans, medical equipment and crude oil from the United States. This will negatively affect those US industries - so those industries won’t be smiling either.

In addition to these foreign product tariffs, Trump has also been levying tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, causing Canada, Mexico

and the EU to retaliate with reciprocal taxes.

Yes, the taxes could protect the 150,000 workers in the steel and aluminium industries in the US, but they will also, most definitely, hurt the 6 million workers in the US industries that import steel. Something perhaps that Trump might not have carefully considered?

steel tariffs. And he - Trump - simply accused them of ‘surrendering’.

The Bank of England has predicted that a global trade war - a real possibility right now - could reduce global GDP by 2.5% over three years, the UK itself suffering a 2% fall. But, paradoxically, it is Trump that is likely to suffer most: the US would be affected by a 5% slump in growth.

And what about us here in Qatar?

Will the trade war affect Qatar? Not necessarily. Most of our exports are Something that might also have been to Japan, South Korea, India and a shock for Trump is the fact that China. As the US isn’t even in our many of his domestic businesses are top ten, we are unlikely to suffer not willing to pay the higher prices severe consequences if tariffs are for home-made steel. His policies are imposed on imports into the US. damaging to many US firms, and, of In Qatar, we do import most of our course, the many US citizens in those goods from the US. However, the firms. Apple, for example, recently US is unlikely to try and harm any outsourced production of goods to trade with Qatar as it provides $4.12 China - ironic really, isn’t it? Harley- billion to the American economy. So, Davidson also announced that it was for now, we are safe from any major moving production outside of the effects of the Trump-driven trade US, specifically to avoid the new EU wars. For now. tariffs imposed as a result of Trump’s Words By Flora Beer

Brett Kavanaugh BRETT

Brett Kavanaugh is a name that has been circulating rapidly during the last few weeks, and, on the 6th of October 2018, he was sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court in America, replacing Justice Anthony M Kennedy who retired after 30 years of service. The vote, which took place in the Senate, had one of the slimmest margins in American history. It was hoped by some that the outcome would close international discussion and the FBI investigation into Kavanaugh’s sexual misconduct and perjury.

Movements such as ‘Me Too’ and ‘Time’s Up’, that have been created in the past few years, have galvanised great conversations about women’s rights and sexual harassment. The Kavanaugh case is a test of how far those conversations have come, and how much the American government has, or has not, been touched by the cultural shift that has arisen in relation to these issues.

Unfortunately, the results show that it may not be as much as we previously thought.

Scores of men and women filled the public gallery when Senators voted on Kavanaugh’s election. These included members of the public who are sympathizers of the ‘Me Too’ cause. They wanted to have their voices heard; they wanted to support the women who spoke out against Kavanaugh when he was nominated for the tenure position

by Trump. Many people tried to influence the outcome but that did not happen.

Cases such as these cannot be easily overlooked. Women who share their stories become an inspiration to other victims to come out and share similar experiences. It is possible that the lack of transparency in the government investigations of the Kavanaugh case could create fear

amongst abuse survivors that they may never be taken seriously. It might also set a bad example for others in power when dealing with such issues. Though today we know of the mental impact that rape and sexual harassment can have on the victims, we also know of the help and support that the victims require, but rarely ever receive. If they are afraid of a lack of sympathy, even fewer victims are likely to come forward.

After Kavanaugh was nominated allegations came from three named sources, and one anonymous source that claimed he was guilty of sexual misconduct towards them through the 1980s and 1990s.

If true, this would mean that Kavanaugh has had a history of assault from high school through to his 20s. The first to tell the story of her experience with Kavanaugh was Dr Christine Blasey Ford who wrote to her state senator about how she was assaulted by Kavanaugh when the two were in high school, and, as these stories usually go, the publishing of Dr Ford’s story inspired other women to share their experiences that would usually remain hidden - especially considering the defendant’s status and position. A week after Ford’s accusations were printed two other women followed suite and went public with their experiences regarding Kavanaugh; the first was Deborah Ramirez followed by Julie Swetnick who claimed that Kavanaugh spiked girls’ drinks at a series of parties throughout the 1980s to cause girls to lose their inhibitions.

Marches and other protests were also ongoing throughout the investigation calling for Kavanaugh’s nomination to be receded. Even though the allegations that have been made have not been proved true, it still raises the question about if he really

is the most suitable candidate for such a position. In the eyes of many Americans, and many around the world, a man in this position should not be allowed to act as a Judge and lawmaker if allegations - just allegations, not proven ones can be made against him. It seems that any idea of maintaining a reputation amongst government officials has gone out of the window. Is this really the message that Americans want to send to the rest of the world?

Despite the fact that the investigation may be over for now, with the midterm elections in November many senators are up for re-election, including those who voted to elevate Kavanaugh into this position. The Senate is currently controlled by a Republican majority but this vote is a chance for change and a promise that a just investigation will be conducted. House Democrat for New York has promised a continuation of the investigation into the allegations should the democrats gain the upper hand after the election. “It is not something we are eager to do,” Mr. Nadler said in an interview, “but the Senate having failed to do its proper constitutionally-mandated job of advise and consent, we are going to have to do something to provide a check and balance, to protect the rule of law and to protect the legitimacy of one of our most important institutions.”

With three women having already shared their stories, it is still plausible that there may be more, or is that the extent of his actions?

Are there other people in similar positions of power who have had similar accusations brushed under the rug? Despite the large volume of questions that have resulted from this situation, the public have, in return, barely received any answers.

Words By Zena Shurrab

THE WALKING DEAD IS FINALLY DEAD You may know Telltale Games, developers of the popular games, Minecraft: Story Mode and The Walking Dead. What you may not know though is that they have suddenly and sadly shut down due to a lack of funding. 250 employees were fired and only 25 remain as the skeleton crew trying to keep this quickly sinking boat afloat .

The reason for this was that their financial backers, Smilegate and AMC, decided to stop lending them money. Smilegate is a games company based in South Korea, known for games like Crossfire and Dragon Fate. AMC hold the copyright rights for the television series: The Walking Dead, based on the successful novel series by Robert Kirkman. The cut to their fundings left Telltale with no other options: Telltale’s doors were forced to close. All 250 employees that were fired had no warning whatsoever. They were given a mere 30 minutes to gather their many belongings and leave. The company’s CEO, Kevin Bruner, filed a lawsuit against Telltale, stating that Telltale had violated a law, The California Warn Act, where employees should be warned 60 days before termination.

So how did Telltale games, a seemingly popular company, go bankrupt? A possible factor is that many people who were interested in their games could watch their gameplay online instead of buying them. Additionally, every game made by Telltale has a straightforward concept that they rarely deviate from. In their games, there is always a situation where you have to choose who to save. More often than not, the people you do save usually die in either the next few episodes, or sometimes even in the same episode. Not only that, but Telltale add too many side characters, which can make players forget who’s who and if they’re good or bad.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances, there is a silver lining to this unhappy ending: many game companies, such as Epic Games, Treyarch and Ubisoft have offered jobs to a lot of the unemployed game developers. However, many are still unsure if they can even support their families, especially with children. Though they are very talented in

their respective field, there just aren’t enough jobs available. A narrative designer for Telltale wrote on Twitter, “I can’t confirm anything and please remember I don’t speak for Telltale, but through good fortune or sheer dumb luck I’m one of the remaining skeleton crew at the company.” Another laid off employee tweeted, “None of my sleepless nights or long hours on weekends trying to ship a game on time got me severance today. Don’t work overtime unless you’re paid for it, y’all. Protect your TELLTALE health. Companies don’t care about you.”

GAMES Telltale has announced that they will try to finish the Walking Dead, and they are still making an adaptation of Minecraft: Story Mode on Netflix.

However, many speculate that the adaptation is going to be a flop, similar to the unsuccessful adaptation of Death Note on Netflix, with a score of 40% on Rotten Tomatoes. Not only has the shutting down of Telltale games affected its employees but fans are left outraged as many have already purchased The Final Season for $24.99 and have only had access to the first two episodes, as Telltale has not finished making the last two episodes of the season. On top of this, it is unlikely that these last two episodes will be a success. If their financial backers had given Telltale just another loan, they would have had enough fundings to finish off The Walking Dead: The Final Season. However, creating a single episode of the Walking Dead cost $3.4 million to make. Telltale have announced that they will try to finish it, even without the extra support from Smilegate and AMC, but it is most unlikely with just their crew of 25 people. It took months with 275 people, so it could take years with 25.

Founded in 2004, Telltale Games have produced amazing games for over 15 years, but some just didn’t cut it. Overall it is a sad moment, and one which will be remembered in gaming history forever.

Words By Dimar Pudhan and Farhan Ahmed Source: http://fortune.com/2018/09/22/telltale-gameslayoffs-shut-down.

# The Me Too Movement ?

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n an October evening in 2017, the world learned of the momentous sexual misconduct allegations against famed producer Harvey Weinstein.

The result was an imminent demand for a program to prevent sexual misconduct within the Western movie industry, and the #MeToo movement was born, led by the strong-willed, ardent Tarana Burke and supported by the Hollywood industry. #MeToo garnered the support of hundreds of actresses, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lawrence and Kerry Washington, and has, like many things in this modern age, begun to lose its focus and potency since its inception.

The development of the movement is both contemplative and dynamic; it’s popularity has been viewed as a glowing triumph and its effectiveness to galvanise change has been lauded. It has also been met with unfiltered exasperation by many people as more and more, seemingly angelic and innocent, celebrities are accused of misconduct, with more and more debatable reasons being given.

This gives way to a controversial question of today - has the ‘#MeToo’ movement gone too far?

Surprisingly, Burke herself would say yes. As the activist and community organizer who founded the movement more than a decade before its huge fame, she now states in an interview with the Atlantic, ‘What I’m saying is that, as a person who’s doing the work, and knows other people who are doing this work, it’s hurtful to us,’ followed by a rather disconsolate declaration: ‘It is hurting the work we’re trying to do.’ The message she wishes to deliver is clear people are latching onto the ‘#Me Too’ movement to gain attention for their own, mostly unrelated, causes. This has lead to disparate demands of the movement. It is

becoming less effective because it is carrying the weight of anticipation and expectation for too many causes.

The dominant issue here is a widespread disregard for the original goal, which is the prevention of sexual misconduct and sexual abuse in all workplaces.

This dilemma is a colossal challenge in its own right and has been disregarded by various communities for decades. In the Atlantic interview, Burke rightfully states that ‘sexual violence is wide enough’ and should not be linked in to LGBTQ rights, racism or even unequal pay. But she is not undermining the severity of these issues; she simply believes that people are clinging to this beacon when all such issues should be recognised, and respected, discretely. By binding them them all under one banner, we risk diluting each cause. When a movement seems to be about everything, conversely we run the risk of it being about … nothing.

The question inevitably follows: have those jumping on board the bandwagon unfortunately reduced its power?

Another way that celebrities are expressing their disdain of the #MeToo movement, is the confusion and suspicion the movement has commenced.

English television presenter and model, Melanie Sykes, believes, “There’s a difference between admiration and crossing boundaries into being sexually aggressive. They are two completely different things, and I think we’re blurring them, and that’s a problem.” Her statements urge the general reader to look for a more determined and definitive aim of the movement. However, Sykes’ words conveniently overlook the reality that just a tiny minority of rape accusations are later found to be false, and the reality of

today, and of history, is that the women coming forward with rape accusations are far more likely to face larger and more dangerous risks to their lives than those faced by the people they are accusing.

This is evident, for example, in the defence case made by Brett Kavanaugh’s lawyers. According to a Business Insider article in September 2018, one of the accusers, Christine Blasey Ford, was reported to have been targeted with false rumours of vendettas built upon other unrelated cases involving the lawyer and being coerced by the Democratic party. #MeToo isn’t a flawless notion, but it has nonetheless achieved monumental feats in just over a year. We have seen powerful men like Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Leslie Moonves, Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Louis CK, and Kevin Spacey, among many others, exposed as predators and bullies who victimized men and women alike. Victims of sexual crime have been inspired to come forward with their own stories in the knowledge that they may finally be believed after ten, twenty, fifty years of suffering in silence, with a newfound faith that the perpetrators of these crimes will be held responsible for their actions.

This newfound voice for the silenced victims of the sexual misconduct over several decades has led many to question not whether the movement has gone too far, but whether it has gone far enough. Whatever side we favour, the #MeToo movement has undeniably prompted a belated discussion on consent, coercion and abuses of power. Emphasis on ‘belated’.

Words By Afrah Sameer Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/ entertainment/archive/2018/07/ismetoo-too-big/564275/

Which came first the chicken or the egg?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The chicken…! The egg…! No, the chicken! No, the egg!

It’s enough to make your head hurt. We’ve all thought about it at some point in our lives, but have any of us ever found the answer?

Well I have!

Or, at least, I’ve found reasons behind both answers being valid.

that accidently made the baby different from both of its parents.

Although it would take a long time for the difference to be noticed, that egg was different enough to become the official creator of a new species, now known as the wonderful (and delicious) chicken! Two birds that weren’t really chickens produced a chicken egg and now we have an answer: the egg came first, and then it hatched a chicken.

The first answer is that the egg came first. Many years Or do we….? ago there was a chickenOn the other hand, it could like bird. It was genetically also be the chicken that came close to a chicken but wasn’t really a chicken quite yet.

They called it a ‘protoAnd finally a joke! chicken’. So a ‘proto-hen’ If fruit comes from laid an egg, and a ‘protoa fruit tree, what rooster’ fertilised it. But kind of a tree does when the genes from the a chicken come parent birds joined together, from? they combined in a new A poul-tree. way, creating a mutation

first. British researchers say the chicken must have come first as the formation of eggs is only possible thanks to a protein found in the chicken’s ovaries.

The protein – known as ovocleidin-17 (OC-17) – acts as a catalyst to speed up the development of the shell. Scientists used a super computer called HECToR, found in Edinburgh, to ‘zoom in’ on the formation of an egg. Understanding how chickens make shells is interesting in itself but can also ‘give us clues towards designing new materials,’ said the scientists using HECTOR. So, you can decide which of the two answers sounds better, or more credible either of which you can pick to believe.

Words By Fatima Salman

“Don’t judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins.” ― Sharon Creech, Walk Two Moons

Someone else’s moccasins.

“Do not judge people; you never know what kind of battle they are fighting.”

How often have you come across this quote while scrolling through social media? Has it ever been said to you? Nowadays, opinions regarding the way in which we judge people have made their way into everyday conversations, but often they are passed off as an afterthought.

But, before we address the issue, it is of importance to rationalise it.

Realistically, framing impressions about others is a natural instinct; we do not always control it despite our best efforts. However, when our scrutiny of a minor situation or action creates permanent assumptions about a personality, there is dispute as to whether or not this is just.

“Imagine you are walking through the woods and you see a friendly dog. You move to approach and pet the dog. Suddenly, it snarls and tries to bite you. The dog no longer seems cute, but scary. Then, as the wind blows, the leaves on

the ground are carried away and you see the dog has one of its legs caught in a trap. Now, you feel compassion for the dog. You know it became aggressive because it is in pain and is suffering.” This is one of the many scenarios we read online every day, which highlights how people can be mis-judged based upon how they react to a certain situation or based on their attitude.

Naturally, no one wakes up in the morning saying, “I will be bad today,” and this is the relevance of the scenario mentioned above.

The way a person reacted rudely to your compliment today or was inpolietly quiet or even hostile might not be an everlasting trait they possess. It could be about them solving a problem in a different way than you would, or the way they are shielding themselves from the repetition of a dispiriting life experience that you simply have no idea about. In short, it could just be unintentional and, as shocking as it may seem, it may not be about you.

In real life, you cannot legitimately put yourself in someone’s shoes, in someone else’s moccasins. Hence, you do not really know what they have been, or are going, through.

Therefore, if the assumption that you framed subconsciously about the person lingers longer than a passing thought, it is unjust to think that is who they really are, and it is certainly unjust to spread this assumption around which, unfortunately, tends to happen quite a lot. Do not judge people by what you see unless you understand. Do not allow yourself to be eclipsed by what is not real.

Would you really want to be permanently judged for a momentary unintended action?

Would you want a snapshot of you today to define how you’re perceived forever? I will leave you with a final quote: “Do not judge people by the choices they make when you do not know the options they had to choose from.”

Words By Hams Almeldin

Do Stans Actually Help Artists

A

t the height of Eminem’s career, he released a single called ‘Stan’ in which he corresponds with an unhinged fan called Stan who, as he continues to write letters to Eminem with no reply, grows more and more deranged to the point where he intends to take his own life by driving his car off a bridge, with his girlfriend in the trunk.

The single was intended to be a warning message to fans who took his violent lyrics too seriously and is cemented in history as one of the greatest storytelling songs of the 21st century, with the term ‘Stan’ being found in the Oxford Dictionary to mean “an overzealous or obsessive fan”.

The legacy of this song lives on, as similarly overzealous fan bases infamously surround some of the biggest artists of today. While

this type of dedicated fan may be a great support to an artist’s success, it can also be argued that they limit their growth in terms of both creativity and popularity.

On one hand, this adoration can lead to a boost in album sales, especially in terms of physical copies, compared to those of an artist with a more ‘mildmannered’ fanbase. This is evident in the traditional album sales of J. Cole’s latest project, KOD, which has sold 174,000 units ahead of superstars such as Drake, Kanye West and Post Malone, despite not featuring any hits or singles released beforehand. A obsessive fan base definitely gives an artist comfort when releasing new music that it will be avidly listened to and shared even without promotion, meaning they are unlikely to ever be in danger of having no support, even if the music does not deserve it.

Ideally, this would offer an artist the chance to explore new concepts and sounds in their music without fear of financial failure. However, the artist is rarely urged to do so.

Convinced that their current style is the ‘epitome of music’ by their devoted followers, artists are reluctant to venture out of their comfort zone and become stagnant, causing a loss of interest from critics and music fans alike. In this aspect, they limit themselves and disregard critics as simply being ‘haters’.

Take for example the blogger who pondered on Twitter how advisable it would be for Nicki Minaj to become more mature and self-reflective in the latter stages of her career. Minaj responded in a long and vulgar reply, calling the blogger “ugly”,

“hating” and “jealous” and, instead of levelling with Nicki and offering similar constructive comments about unadaptable content, her fanbase applauded her response, creating a backlash against the blogger by issuing numerous threats. Some of the fan bases even went as far as threatening violence, posting the bloggers address, phone number and even photos of her daughter online - all from an innocent and entirely reasonable critique.

When an artist is not motivated to adapt and become experimental, they often become dated and uninteresting...especially within the changing landscape of music these days.

Such backlash and ridiculous reactions are not, however, uncommon with ‘Stans’ and most are actually recognised for this, making them unfavourable and

irritating to most music fans and, at times, transferring the same image to the artist they revere. The fan bases of J. Cole and Eminem for example, can be particularly immature when it comes to criticism of their artists’ work, often hurling vulgar language and attacking the critic as brainless, disillusioned and a failure. Ironically, while writing entire essays slandering a stranger online with the vocabulary of a 9-year-old having a tantrum!

Beyonce’s fan base can also be terrible, viewing the superstar as a goddess (to the point where there is an actual church devoted to the musician) and flooding the social media accounts of all celebrities that are even rumoured to have wronged her with hate and slander. This altogether childish and crazed behaviour is both exasperating and infuriating for music fans and critics alike.

So, while ‘Stans’ can be helpful for an artist from a financial perspective - because they are the most devoted, they are more likely to buy and collect the artists’ music rather than stream it, more likely to purchase tickets for concerts and tours, and more likely to buy huge quantities of merchandise - due to their tendency to be overzealous and unreasonable when it comes to criticism, artists rarely progress or receive a truthful evaluation of their music to improve upon.

Thus, they lose their charm and quality in the view of the majority of music fans. Because of that, ‘Stans’ truly aren’t helpful to artists when it comes to their potential for creativity and musical experimentation. Also, they are just extremely annoying to deal with...!

Words by Amin Arabo

This was it. The last test. The last condition I had to fulfil before Passing. And then I could live a free life, away from disturbances and close to everything my heart could desire… I would have access to The Room.

The Room had everything one could ever wish for.

Happiness. Tranquillity.

Peace. As soon as you wanted something, you'd have it.

As I stood in line waiting to be called out and complete the final task, I couldn't help but feel happy about how far I had come.

Gaining access to The Room was not easy; many had failed before me, and countless others would after me.

I still remember the day the Thirteens gathered in the hall seven years ago; I was one of them. It was then that we were told (by the Fairies, of course) about The Room. The treasures.

But also the misery that would be brought back with us should we fail.

“This is no job for those weak at heart,” one of the Fairies had said.

“You must face challenges you have not thought of before. Your mental abilities will be tested far beyond your imagination. Therefore,” she advised, “I urge you to take part only if you know you have what

it takes, for should you fail, you will never be the same.”

“When you come back having failed, you bring back something with you… misery. It will follow you through the rest of your lives, making every second of living torture. It will drive you mad. Only consider applying if you know you have what it takes… if you have everything to gain and nothing to lose.”

Well, I had made it this far, hadn’t I? Being a Twenty was remarkable within itself; most didn't start until they were a Twenty-nine or a Thirty. Sure, it had been hard; facing my fears, giving up special things.

Special objects.

Special people.

I had reached the front of the line. The metal door seemed to have opened on its own, but that was the least of my worries as I stepped inside. Suddenly, the lights went out and all went dark, all except the chair behind me and the mirror in front of me.

“Sit down, please,” rasped a deep voice from behind me.

No sooner had I done so than the bejewelled mirror started to glow. It started from the gold frame underneath the jewels and it spread so that they twinkled too. But there was something off about this mirror.

“This is the Mirror of Confrontation,” something croaked back. “In a moment’s time, you will see the one you have hurt the most, and they will confront you.”

But who would I see? Maybe the girl whose teddy bear I had stolen when I was a Four? It belonged to her deceased mother, but I didn't know that at the time. It was the only thing she had left to remember her mother by… a wave of guilt spread through me. I had refused to eat properly for weeks when I had found out what I had done.

Or maybe it was my brother. The last time we had spoken was five years ago when he had wrongly accused me of having stolen something of his. I can't even remember what it was. What could have I done? I told him that I hadn't asked for him to be my brother, that he was a curse upon whomever he met and loads of other things I don't remember now but feel equally as guilty about. I went to therapy for four years after that; he was the only living family I had left, and he broke me when I least expected him to.

Finally ready to face whoever’s life

THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR

“Why can't I see my reflection?” I asked.

By Fatima Salman

I had deeply scarred, I moved back into my chair and stared ahead. The being behind me must have noticed I was prepared because it grunted and I heard a few switches click and a faint, continuous beep coming from one of the controls. And then the image slowly appeared in the mirror. I could see her now.

She looked to be a late Teen, possible early Twenties. Her wavy blonde hair fell by her shoulders.

Her eyes were an intense shade of blue, not too different from the ocean surface. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her lips were baby pink. It wouldn't make sense not to be jealous of her looks. I almost didn't recognise her.

She smiled briefly, and then her eyes widened and her mouth opened. Was she screaming? I watched in horror as a deep bloody gash appeared across her cheek, cutting into her skin. And then there was another and another. I couldn't do anything as a neverending red river ran out of her cuts.

I looked back at her face, now covered in blood. And then I recognised her.

This girl in the mirror, this girl whose life I had ruined…it was me.

I deserved it.

Words By Arousha Rizwan

STEM CELLS O

n March 19, 2018, the last male white rhino, Sudan, passed away, leaving only two female rhinos - the last of their kind - alive, and unable to reproduce, most likely dooming the species to extinction.

But is there a solution?

Well, there might be, since embryologists working at the University of Cambridge in the UK have managed to replicate an embryo using stem cells from mice. No gametes were involved - only stem cells. Despite the fact that it was unable to grow into a living baby mouse, the embryo was the first step towards a much bigger project - one that could affect mankind, for the greater good. Creating synthetic human embryos would allow scientists to investigate the early development stages of a fetus, and because stem cells are easily manipulated, they allow us to delve into the science of gene editing, meaning we can study genetic makeup in more depth than ever before.

In terms of extinction and its

possible solution: the ability to develop fertilised embryos without the need for sexual reproduction could bring so many near extinct species back into existence - the only drawback being at least one living organism of that species is needed.

As they are unspecialised cells, stem cells have the potential to become differentiated cells when placed in appropriate conditions. Although adult stem cells are more limited and are harder to obtain, they have been used to create specialised cells for synthetic tracheas and other organs for humans in need of a transplant. Embryonic stem cells, on the other hand, are so versatile they can be used to solve an infinite number of issues that have been plaguing us. Organ transplants will be so much more accessible to those with fatal diseases, with no issues on body compatibility or the availability of a donor.

Of course, as with all new discoveries, there come new problems. It is still

indeterminable how long an embryo can be grown without being negatively affected by the testing carried out on it. It is possible that, after a few weeks, the embryo may be able to recognise pain and this would have major implications for the continuation of the experiments being carried out, additional to the fact that it would be extremely unethical. There is also the argument as to whether stem cell research is actually humane, leading into the abortion debate in which many people hold differing views, which is why some are against using embryonic stem cells for scientific research.

Embryologists haven’t quite discovered how to form fully functional synthetic embryos yet - but they’re getting there, and one step at a time. In the future, their work could help to reduce the rate of species declining, and explore corners of genetics that were previously unreachable.

Words by Namya Kathuria

ABBA

If you’ve never heard of ABBA in your entire life, then you’re either too young to know about them, or you have a rather bad taste in music...my money’s on the latter (just kidding)!

But even if you haven’t the slightest clue about who they are, you’ve got to be familiar with the favourites such as ‘Dancing Queen’ and ‘Mama Mia’...?

I grew up with ABBA; they were one of the very first bands I ever listened to and, after eleven whole years, I still listen to their songs today! Personally, I feel like they are one of those bands that no one can really hate: their catchy beats never fail to make me dance, and their touching lyrics never fail to bring tears to my eyes. So, if you’ve never listened to a single song of theirs, I would recommend that you get jamming. In the meantime, let me tell you a little bit about the best band in the world.

The pop quartet formed in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1970. All four members - Anna-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus - composed songs for their nine albums for a decade, before disbanding in the early 1980’s.

Now, that may seem like quite a short run, but the whole world adored their songs so much they have managed to keep their music alive since then. Around twenty seven years after disbanding, the hit film “Mamma Mia!” - starring Meryl Streep - was released, gaining even more recognition for the band and introducing their songs to a new, younger audience. Earlier this year, in July, I went to watch the sequel to the original film and in doing so I thought to myself, “Their songs really never get old, do they?”

But how do they do it? What’s the secret to composing these super

catchy songs I can’t resist listening to on repeat? Band member Benny Andersson has told an avid interviewer: “It’s mostly based on experience — both musical and life experience. That’s where our ideas come from.” An example of this is their big hit from the ABBA Gold Album: “The Winner Takes it All,” a song based on hardships faced by band members going through a divorce.

Looking back through the years, I find it really inspiring to think of how far ABBA have come. Although vowing never to record another song after disbanding, some sources have announced they will be releasing another album in 2019. Ultimately, ABBA’s songs have kept me entertained through good times and bad times, happy and sad - I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of their songs.

So, the least I can say is ‘Thank You for the Music’.

Words by Gwen Yap

The Man in Through the curtain of darkness, in the gloomy, cold-aired castle, there lay a glistening mirror, reflecting the moon’s light. This uncovered a silver, ghostly man with deep clouded eyes like two pools of water that stared beyond what was in front of him, at a figure which stood silently in the shadows…

Six months before...

“Tomorrow,” Raven said with her eyes gleaming, “we will finally have our happily ever after!”

As the first calls of the dawn chorus echoed across the land, the damp, eerie gloom of the night was replaced by the soft light of the morning. The powerful, golden bells sang in the morning air.

It was the day of their wedding and the whole kingdom was ecstatic to see it, but you couldn’t say the same for the seven dwarfs. If Raven got married, it meant that she would become their queen - after her coronation. However, they did not want a ruler: they wanted to be free and not to be treated like slaves. Meanwhile, the Wicked Witch of the West had other plans.

Under the Golden Arches of the colossal cathedral, Raven strode elegantly to the swaying of the curtains, down the velvet carpet and approached the priest who stood next to her one true love. His heavy grey eyes stared at hers as they started reciting their vows. Suddenly, the window shattered as the Wicked Witch of the West burst into the cathedral while branched lightning lit up the autumn sky which was as bright as Zeus’ eyes. It was like liquid, golden ore streams were being forged into forks above their heads and a floss of gold shone down on the two lovers as the witch chanted these words: “The cruelty and the pain, That you have obtained, I turn the mirror three times three, Bring darkness to your actions, you will flee, When the light fades and dusk comes through, The pain you caused will come back to you!”

fell

went

Without another moment to think, the groom’s soul was whisked away into the mirror, his screams blocked out by the wind swirling, entering the mirror realm as a white mist trailed away behind his despairing, hopeless soul. The witch’s plan had succeeded, now Raven’s one true love was gone she could not be accepted as an official queen. The whole cathedral stood in silence as crystal pearls rolled down her cheeks, reddening as her world shattered around her. In a matter of seconds, she to the ground like a bundle of sheets.

From then onwards, she locked herself in her soundless chambers, whimpering from heartbreak; the only time anyone saw her was when she to the cathedral to visit the mirror. However, doing so only brought back the terrible memories which then haunted her throughout the painstaking days.

the Mirror

One spring evening, when the sun was falling closer to the smeared colours from reds to oranges to purples as the horizon stood proudly, a rim of pink formed on the eastern side of the yonder. Raven visited the mirror one last time before she left to travel to the neighbouring kingdom in the North.

She was wearing a light flowing, pale yellow dress that moved with grace in the soft wind, pink gems embedded at the lace with black flats that had small red and yellow flowers at the ends.

As she entered the monumental church, something felt different. Without warning, the mirror lit like a scorching ball of fire; a wisp of smoke surrounded the room. Shuffling forwards, she uncovered the mirror. It howled as flames blistered out of its surface. Unexpectedly, a white ghostly face emerged out of the balmy flames, “Help me!” it screamed with pain.

“My love, is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me,” he said with a soft voice, reassuring Raven that he was ok.

“The only way to free me is to get the heart of the fairest maiden of them all - Snow White” “I will.”

She set off at once. Her black cloak spread, as wings sprouted from her shoulders, her nose stretched into a threateningly sharp beak, and, flapping her wings, she flew into the trees - transforming into a raven, away to find the fairest maiden.

Words by Reem Adam

The Backstage vie “Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button and give this video a thumbs up!” the common phrase that is recited by almost every YouTuber at the start and end of a video. What most viewers don’t seem to consider, however, is the process that YouTube creators go through to put their content ‘out there’.

Many YouTubers have begun to publicly share the truth about how hard it actually is to provide videos while continuously facing the pressure of new trends and hate comments. YouTube sensation Alisha Marie, with over 7 million subscribers on her main channel and 2 million on her vlog, spoke out about the struggles of being a YouTube creator in a video featuring other popular YouTubers such as iisuperwomanii, Manny Mua, Shay Mitchell, and Ryland Adams. In the video, she asked each YouTuber what they thought was the most difficult part of maintaining a channel, receiving answers such as: endless hours of editing, described as “grueling”; unhealthy lifestyle balances; putting a 10-minute video out there only to have people pretend like they know your life story; compiling the highlights of a video to show a ‘picture perfect’ look to earn the viewer’s ‘likes’ in a continuous cycle; constantly planning for one video after another, and, finally, worrying about how certain content doesn’t get as many ‘views’ as others, were all cited as highly stressful. Ending the video on a positive note, appreciating everything that You Tubers are able to do, Alisha Marie

highlighted that their lives are out there for people to see, even when they only see a snapshot of what actually happens before a video is uploaded.

Another YouTuber, Niki DeMar - mainly known for her main channel, with Gabi DeMartino, her twin sister, called Niki and Gabi - has started a series on her personal channel called ‘The Truth About’, where she visits other popular YouTubers, sits down and has a raw conversation to discuss a topic of their choice.

Previously opening up about her own eating disorder, she decided she wanted to continue to be honest and followed this up with her first episode of ‘The Truth About’ in which she discussed self-worth and image with Sierra Furtado, a fellow YouTuber. She has continued to upload similar videos with other creators and many viewers have enjoyed seeing another, different side of their YouTube favourites.

Together with managing a YouTube channel, most YouTubers also have social media accounts which they have to keep up-todate and upload to, which can be very time-consuming. For some YouTubers, creating content is a task they do simply for the enjoyment, but many others have chosen it as their career path, taking on YouTubing as a full-time job. However, earning money from gaining views and sponsorship from other brands can lead to mental health issues: things that YouTube is not designed to prevent.

w of a YouTuber Taking a platform like YouTube to make money can also be timeconsuming and income is not guaranteed. Being self-employed, having to carry the cost of making videos and paying for their lifestyle can be very difficult, especially when it turns into their only source of income. The ‘middle-class’ YouTubers (those who have around 200K subscribers) would not be able to support their financial needs even if creating content was their passion - another aspect of YouTube that viewers don’t seem to take into consideration. This can be especially stressful for aspiring YouTubers still in education or with other jobs, and can be a mental hindrance when their income doesn’t increase or is insufficient to meet their costs.

However, creators do have the opportunity to gain an income through their fans: ‘Patreon’ is a platform where creators can make a page and allow their fans to sign up to become a patron. Fans becoming patrons pay a monthly subscription fee (of their choice) and will then receive privileges depending on their package. Creators such as Peter Hollens and Jim Sterling have boosted their careers through money received from Patreon and

have described it as “life-changing”.

The negative aspect of Patreon is that there is no guarantee it will generate a sufficient amount income but, on the other hand, it can be a great way to support creators financially, allowing them to do what they love.

Dealing with the many struggles ‘backstage’, it is hard to understand what a creator goes through behind the screen when their life is great ‘curtain up’. By sweeping aside the curtain, we can actually acknowledge what life for them is really like, especially for the fulltime YouTubers, and we come to realise that the public only see a small percentage of their lives; so much more is hidden away.

Viewers tend to judge and question YouTubers’ choices without looking at the bigger picture and assume factors about creators when they have no idea about what happens once the camera is switched off.

However, at the end of the day, they are all extremely grateful to their subscribers and they do enjoy their jobs both as creators and influencers.

Words By Mihini Palahepitiya Gamage

We have seen some amazing movies released this year, but here are the top 5 (of the PG-13 or below) so far, according to film critics: At number 5, we have ‘Ready Player One’, originally a bestselling book written by Ernest Clinewhich, was rated as a PG-13 film and a 7.6 on IMDb. The film is directed by one of the founding pioneers of the new Hollywood era and the most well-known director of this day and age: Steven Spielberg. The cast’s two main characters, Samantha Evelyn Cook and Wade Owen Watts, are played by Olivia Cooke and Tye Sheridan. Empire magazine stated that “Spielberg has seemingly done the impossible: balancing sugar-rush nostalgia with an involving story to create a pure, uncynical, cinematic ride that recaptures the magic of his early films”.

At number 4, we have ‘Christopher Robin’ which follows the grown up title character through his adult life with his family in London, where he receives a surprise visit from his old friend, Winnie-the-pooh. This PG film by Disney is said to be a “re-imagining full of heart and soul that has something of value to offer all audiences”. This heartwarming tale, directed by Marc Forster, has the cast of Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin, Hayley Atwell as Evelyn Robin and Jim Cummings playing two characters: Winnie-the-pooh and Tigger. This movie was rated 7.7.

At number 3, we have ‘A Quiet Place’ rated a PG-13 film and a 7.7 on IMDb. Directed by John Krasinski, it is a thriller set in a post-apocalyptic world where a family is forced to live in silence in order to hide from monsters with ultra sensitive hearing. The two main characters, Evelyn Abbott and Lee Abbott, are played by Emily Blunt and John Krasinski. It is said to be that rare monster movie that is simple, unique and is executed so perfectly that it “elicits satisfying squeals of delight” At number 2, the ‘Incredibles 2’ which is the fourteen-year-long anticipated sequel everyone has been waiting for and which has lived up to the expectations with a stunning 8.1 rating.

Directed by the Pixar genius himself Brad Bird, it carries right from where the original film left off following the Incredible family voiced by Holly Hunter, Craig Nelson, Huck Milner and Sarah Vowell. It is said to have delivered “as much of the joy, pathos, and adventure as the original.”

Whether or not you feel it was worth the wait is up for you to decide I suppose?

And finally, at number one we have the movie that scarred all its viewers: ‘Avengers: Infinity Wars’ with the highest rating of 2018 so far at an 8.6 and movie rating at PG-13. This film sees all the avengers together with a huge cast including Chris Pratt as Star Lord, Chris Evans and Captain America, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and Josh Brolin as Thanos. Known to many as the film that shook cinemas, directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo stated “moments that touch the heart are few and far between in this almost-culmination of a decade of Marvel Comics movies”.

Words By Alicia Field

CATCHING

DREAMS

Thought to have originated from the Ojibwa tribes, also known as the Chippewa, dream catchers are believed to trap bad dreams and let good ones through. The popularity of dream catchers grew during the late sixties and seventies when Native Americans decided to produce dreamcatchers for mass profit. However, many indigenous people argue that not making dreamcatchers by hand defeats the original purpose of a dreamcatcher.

An Ojibwe story states that a mythical ‘Spider Woman’, who served as a protector of the tribe and especially its children, was the true creator of the dreamcatcher. According to the legend, as the tribe grew, the Spider Woman struggled to take care of all of its members so she created the dreamcatcher: an item that would protect the tribe from danger. Following her example, mothers and grandmothers would create a maternal keepsake to protect the future of their families and children.

Originally, dreamcatchers were woven when a child was born and hung above their bed to keep away bad dreams. The good dreams were said to slide down the feathers to the sleeping person, leaving them undisturbed and peaceful, whilst an unpleasant one would get stuck within the webs of the dreamcatcher and evaporate when the sun shone on it.

Native American dream catchers were originally hand-crafted using thread from the stalk of stinging nettle to connect a ring of willow with other twigs of willow, and decorated with sinew and feathers. The ring used as the circular base represented the sun and the web, connecting to eight places on the hoop, represented the eight legs of the Spider Woman. The beads used symbolised the spider - the web weaver, itself. The word dreamcatcher in Ojibwe, ‘asabikeshiinh’, literally means spider, referring to the web woven to loosely cover the space in the hoop.

Today, finding a real handcrafted dreamcatcher is a rare occurrence since many are produced for profit. Originally small in size and holding sacred beads and feathers used to represent certain legends, nowadays there are many different designs available in various souvenir shops which all look identical, even though each one is meant to be unique and special. They have also increased in size significantly and are made with cheap, plastic materials.

While many Native Americans believe that dreamcatchers should continue to represent identification and a symbol of unity amongst Indian Nations and First Nation cultures, some argue that non-natives only see them as overcommercialised, misused crafts and that their use is cultural appropriation.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that they are beautiful works of art that deserve to be represented properly and remembered by all for their historical origin and original usage.

Words By Mihini Palahepitiya Gamage

Brain On VR VR isn’t just dodging bullets and fiery lasers while being immersed in a surreal apocalyptic landscape. Virtual Reality - VR for short - is becoming increasingly popular for its unique take on gaming by allowing gamers to experience virtual worlds in a three-dimensional perspective and feel as if their body’s actions contribute to actions in the game via a headset. However, that isn’t all, of course. To nobody’s surprise, science - medicine in particular - has found a way to use this fun arcade gizmo in research to help not just the avid gamers out there, but a wider spectrum of humanity.

VR works on the principles of simulating a scene in a way that tricks your brain into seeing threedimensionally - 3D graphics are the past for us now. In 1976, the University of Utah’s students were the first in the world to animate and move three dimensional objects by using wireframe and block guidelines on the screen to accurately represent all angles of a 3D object. They even made a short 3D animation. In 1976, the real perks of VR came with following head and body movements. To facilitate this, headsets were created with special components.

The simplest components, but also the most crucial, include the screens set up for each eye individually in the headset, to block out outer visual information and simulate realistically what each eye sees on its own to

perceive a reliable 3D image in the brain with the combination of the two inputs. The FOV (field of view) is also essential, completing the illusion, as viewers can look back and forth and expect to see differences in perspective. 360 degrees isn’t always necessary, as we can only turn our head so far! Gyroscopes complete the package, by tracking the rotation and position of the VR viewer and thus altering the scene in front of them accordingly.

Now, what does all this have to do with medicine?

Autism is a well-known, yet also widely-misunderstood disorder. In fact, “autism” itself is not a single disorder on its own. There are many individual, distinct disorders that are classed as Autism Spectrum Disorders, which all affect social communication and behavior, albeit in slightly different ways.

Some of these include Asperger’s

Syndrome, which inhibits verbal communication ability and can force someone to communicate solely non-verbally. Another example of such a disorder is Pervasive Developmental Disorder, which includes failing to recognise changes in the environment and new people.

At the Columbia University Medical Center, a study that was published in 2014 shows evidence of a surplus of neural connections in those with Autism Spectrum Disorders in general.

While this may sound like a good thing, excessive neural connections are often unneeded as, when we are children, we form neural connections storing information on almost everything in our environment. As we grow older, we normally retain only the connections that we need.

Autistic people have excessive connections that they don’t need from an early age, so they are unable to store new information in neural connections when they grow older. Thus, this explains the difficulty Pervasive Developmental

Disorder patients face in recognising changes around them. However, as some start-up organizations, like Floreo, have shown, this could become a thing of the past.

Virtual Reality therapy can be used on children, to expose them more to immersive environments that they are likely to experience in real life, to hopefully prune the unnecessary neural connections and increase the number of useful neural connections through the exposure. Since virtual reality also allows for motor experiences within the simulated environment, this stimulates the growth of efficient neural connections even more, as all the neurons in a motor reflex arc are activated.

This overall jumble of processes is called brain plasticity: the idea that the brain can change structurally as it adapts to new information. Much research is still underway on this intriguing discovery.

Equally complex matters of the mind can also be relieved with VR therapy. Take for example chronic pain and traumatic brain injury.

The opioid crisis is sweeping the world, as people suffer from chronic pain and resort to these addictive drugs as painkillers. VR does not have addictive qualities as it only changes the brain’s perception, and not the chemical makeup of it - which, essentially, is what causes addiction. Therefore, it is a fine substitute as a painkiller.

Chronic pain often involves wrongly rerouting correct reflex arcs due to a nervous system abnormality, so as VR has the potential to renew and strengthen neural connections, it can fix this “wiring” issue - hypothetically.

More research still needs to be carried out to find out the benefits - as well as the potential risks - of using VR as neurological therapy.

But just remember this - what we use today to have the time of our life in video game worlds might just restore the quality of life for someone else in the future.

Words By Mathula Muhundan

1. Cloaked by Alex Flinn

Must Reads

“Don’t believe me? I didn’t believe it either. But you’ll see.

Because I knew it all was true, the second I got CLOAKED.” This beautiful book will most certainly steal your heart. A spin-off of a couple of classic fairytales all in one, ‘Cloaked’ follows a poor young boy who wishes for adventure.

He works part-time in the shoe repair in a fancy hotel to help his mother make ends meet. The book discovers the phenomenal world of magic. The feeling of choosing between your penniless best friend and a wealthy princess is also explored. As you read through the book, you’ll notice re-tellings of ‘The Princess and the Frog’ and ‘The Elves and the Shoemaker.” I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy mystery and fantasy; this book is a two in one.

We can all admit that we’ve debated over this subject.

To be fair, it’s really hard to decide on just five books.

2. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs “When someone won’t let you in, eventually you stop knocking.”

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’ will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience.

As the story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteenyear-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here - one of whom was his own grandfather - were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason.

And somehow - impossible though it seems - they may still be alive. The book describes itself.

Top 5

3. The School For Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

4. Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

“In the forest of primeval A school for Good and Evil Twin towers like two heads One for the pure And one for the wicked Try to escape you'll always fail, The only way out is Through a fairytale.”

“Joseph just listened. It was like he was dragging every word about Jupiter into himself so he could remember it and treasure it in his heart.”

“Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

This trilogy is a personal favorite because of all the twist and turns. It takes readers back in time to where fairytales actually from. According to the series, fairytale heroes and villains graduate from The School for Good and Evil from taking on their fairy tales. These stories are written by a magical pen called the Storian. The book follows two girl living in a village beyond the woods of that world.

Every four years two children get kidnapped from the village.

The girls happen to be the ones.

This is quite a different book from others as the characters are repeatedly trying to find an end to their story that suits them and basically leaves no one on their own.Throughout the series it portrayed different characters as the ‘villain’ which is to ensure that readers don’t get bored with a single storyline. Guys who are reading this will exclaim “but it has girls on the cover!” Yes it does but you’ll find that there are plenty of jokes, life threatening situations where people act silly and, not to be left out, violence.

More than anything else, violence and hatred is the most portrayed. But if guys really don’t want to be seen reading a book with girls on the cover, I’d recommend ripping off the cover.

This is a heartbreaking novel set in rural Eastham, Maine, during the fall and winter of an unnamed modern-day school year. The book follows Jack Hurd as he narrates his experience while his family is fostering Joseph Brook, a fourteen-year-old boy who served a month’s sentence in the fictional Stone Mountain Juvenile Detention Center.

Joseph is a teenage father who signed his parental rights away to allow his daughter Jupiter to be placed for adoption. At some point in the novel, you’ll find yourself in tears, emotionally or physically or both. The writer allows you to build a bond with Joseph from Jack’s perspective, and it is beautiful yet heartbreaking as you go on this journey to find Jupiter. The tragedy towards the end will most definitely make you cry, if not hurt your heart. Schmidt’s writing is beautiful and the voice of Jack, the young narrator, is moving, compassionate, and, at times, appropriately naive.

It’s an understatement to say I cried while reading this. It’s an understatement to say that Joseph’s story will stay with me.

Schmidt has crafted a beautiful story.

Yes, it’s classic but we can still enjoy it. Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humour and pathos. At some point in your life, you’ll probably be forced to read it, perhaps for English, but trust me when you’re reading the book don’t feel as if you are dreading it, in fact pretend that you’re just reading it for your entertainment and not for something for school! If you have never read it, go and buy yourself a copy.

Not only is it a beautifully crafted masterpiece, it’s a timeless story where every word makes you feel something. It’s so different to describe, because it’s such a classic, but it’s a classic for a reason, in that the story is IMPORTANT. It’s important for everyone to read this book at least once in their lives, because what it teaches cannot be taught in any other way. If you are a human being with emotions, this book will impact you, regardless of age, race, gender or background. This book makes you FEEL: that’s why people still read it. It’s a reason you won’t understand until you pick up the book, and feel the words speak to you.

Words By Zubia Faisal

Serena WILLIAMS Serena Williams: a passionate African-American tennis player, a feminist who revolutionized women’s tennis with her powerful style of play, a legend who has won more Grand Slam singles titles than any other woman (or man) since 1968... there are many titles for this controversial figure, but one thing’s for sure - she will, most definitely, leave her footprint on the world of tennis for various reasons.

CHILDHOOD Williams’ childhood was one filled

CAREER

By 1995, Serena had become a widely-recognized megastar and just two years later, she was already No. 99 in the world rankings - up from No. 304 just 12 months before. A year later, she graduated high school and almost immediately inked a $12 million shoe deal with Puma. In 2002, Serena won the French and US Opens, and Wimbledon, defeating sister Venus in the finals of each tournament. Beating many others, in an all-white world with consistency and force, made her a celebrity in the sport. However, this victorious streak was not to last.

With continuous hard work and In August 2003, Serena underwent perseverance, by 1991, young knee surgery and, in September, Serena was 46-3 on the junior her half-sister, Yetunde Price, United States Tennis Association was murdered in Los Angeles, tour and ranked first in the 10-and- California. Three years later, under division. Sensing his girls Serena seemed burned out. needed better instruction to Plagued by injuries, and just a become successful professionals, general lack of motivation to stay Richard moved his family to fit or compete at the same level she Florida. once had, Serena saw her tennis ranking slump to 139. Despite all of this, Serena eventually got her competitive fire back, which she credited to a life-changing journey she made to West Africa for renewing her pride. with determination and a desire to succeed. The youngest of Richard and Oracene Williams’ five daughters, Serena and her sister Venus would grow up to become great tennis champions. Serena’s father — a former sharecropper from Louisiana determined to see his two youngest girls succeed — used what he’d learned from tennis books and videos to instruct Serena and Venus on how to play the game. At the age of three, practicing on a court not far from the family’s new home in Compton, California, Serena withstood the rigors of daily two-hour practices from her father.

CONTROVERSY Over time, Williams’ games improved tremendously but what didn’t change was the ugly and virulent racist commentary to which Serena was subjected each and every single time she won.

Williams made headlines in September 2009, when she accused a lineswoman of an incorrectly called foot-fault called near the end of a semi-final loss to eventual champion Kim Clijsters at the U.S. Open. The heated outburst included finger pointing and, according to the lineswoman, an alleged threat from Serena against her life. Williams downplayed what happened, discrediting the allegation that she’d threatened the woman, but the incident did not go over well with the tennisviewing public, nor the U.S. Tennis Association, which fined her $10,000 on the spot. Two months later, she was placed on two-year probation and ordered to pay another $82,500 to the Grand Slam committee for the episode, the largest punishment ever levied against a tennis player - considering that in the past, men have violated major rules and have

paid a far less fine. Many of Serena’s supporters believe that people are just unable to accept the fact that such a strong woman who can achieve wonders. It doesn’t help that she is smashing stereotypes like women can’t look ‘masculine’ or women are incapable of being stronger than men.

Moreover, at the US Open in 2018, a year after she had given birth to her daughter, Alexis, Williams accused the umpire, Carlos Ramos, of issuing an unjust and unnecessary penalty. Ramos first gave Williams a code violation warning for coaching, after he stated that her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, gave her hand signals from the stands. Then she received a point penalty for smashing her racket, followed by a game penalty for verbal abuse after she confronted the umpire.

During this incident, she called the umpire a thief for stealing a point from her, an episode which ignited a spark in everyone, creating highly-contrasting posts on social media. Billie Jean King, a tennis legend and equal rights advocate, agreed with Williams Tweeting.

“When a woman is emotional, she’s ‘hysterical’ and she’s penalized for it. When a man does the same, he’s ‘outspoken’ & and there are no repercussions.

Thank you, Serena Williams, for calling out this double standard.

More voices are needed to do the same.” Unfortunately, however, not everybody agreed with this perspective. Williams was the subject of an outrageous racist caricature in an Australian newspaper, The Herald Sun. The cartoonist, Mark Knight, defended the image of Williams stomping on her racket with her ponytail standing upright, her features exaggerated so she looked like a monster: “Don’t bring gender into it when it’s all about behavior,” he tweeted.

When everyone tried to silence her, Williams insisted on being heard. Instead of cowering away from racism, she has continued to inspire many young women.

While she may be a controversial figure, but Serena Williams will always remain a hero.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Back in 2010 when LeBron James, considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all-time, first left the Cleveland Cavaliers the situation seemed dire with a not so bright future seemingly awaiting the franchise. Thanks to fortune and clever trades, however, the Cavaliers had managed to rebuild, despite the megastar’s departure, to the point that they even managed to allure LeBron back into the roster in 2014.

Eight years later and history seems to be repeating itself with the Cavaliers and LeBron, who is now a 14 time All Star and 2 item Olympic gold medalist, yet again parting ways. Now that LeBron is gone again, off to the Lakers after Cleveland’s four-game loss in the NBA finals, questions are rising amongst fans: how do the Cavaliers bounce back this time? And how long will it take?

It is, however, worth considering what the situation would have been if LeBron had not returned to drag the team out of purgatory in 2014.

An alternate timeline where an Irving-Wiggins-Thompson team wasn’t striking fear into many and the Cavaliers didn’t make four straight NBA Finals series, perhaps even struggling to make it into the playoffs. Consequently, seeing that we cannot even accurately predict what could have happened back then from a futuristic view, we also cannot know exactly what could happen to a second post-LeBron Cavaliers team as we don’t know how Cleveland and its front office will even respond.

What we can comment on, however, is the team’s most recent performances (which are a sore sight) and could even be reflecting the beginning of the end with the

team 0 out of 4 for the beginning of the 2018/19 season. It seems the Cavs’ fans will not have much to look forward to over the rest of the season, with the ticket prices and attendance further supporting this claim as TMZ sports recently captured an image from an online ticket outlet showing fans booking tickets for as little as 2 dollars in this post-Lebronian era crisis. Yet, even this extreme price was undoubtedly worth the performance displayed as the Nets dominated Cleveland ending with a 102-86 victory for them making Cleveland the only winless team in the Eastern conference.

Although there have been bright spots, such as the performances of Cedi Osman, there are plenty of reasons for long-term concern within the team. Kevin Love, who received a massive contract

What Now?

extension in the off season, has been putting up abysmal performances with 34% on 2 point shooters and 29% on 3 point shots - his 2 point shooting being the worst in his career. In addition to this, we have been witnessing George Hill starting over their first round pick Collin Sexton; despite similar stats, Sexton isn’t running with the starters. Their defense has also been atrocious to watch, tied with the only other winless team, Thunder, for the worst defensive percentage in the league.

Fans should also be considering the financial restrictions of the club as Clarkson is due $13.4 million, Thompson is on the books for $18.5 million and many others are due similar

amounts. Consequently, the Cavs will be devoting roughly half of their salary cap space to the likes of Jordan Clarkson, Tristan Thompson, Larry Nance Jr., and Ante Zizic. thus limiting its transfer opportunities - not a launching pad for success.

Although fans of Cleveland are surely passionate and will back their team through this difficult period, they should come to terms with the fact that their expectations should not be high for the next few seasons. The team will surely have to rebuild and recover, in order to climb out of this crisis following LeBron James’ departure.

Words By Harun Gunes

6”7 and 285lb, gaining attention from basketball analysts for over 2 years and described as a “freak of nature” player Will Zion come to save the day?

Naomi Osaka A Rising Superstar Whether or not you have been involved in the world of sports, chances are you’ve heard of tennis amazon Serena Williams’ unexpected defeat in a huge US Open match against Naomi Osaka on Saturday, September 8th the match sparked some controversy due to Williams’ frequent, appalling tantrums. But wait a minute…! Naomi Osaka...? Who is she, I hear you ask?

An error some of us make when it comes to sports’ rankings is that any player who isn’t within the top 20 rank is deemed worthless.

Osaka is one of many exceptions. In the five years of her tennis career, she has clambered 1010 spots up the ladder, giving world No. 1 — Simona Halep — a run for her money. Now ranked world No. 6, 20-year-old Osaka has worked so incredibly hard to finally turn heads.

Osaka started her professional career in tennis in 2013 when she was just 16 years old. It was in no doubt that she was going to be a successful player with a height of 180cm, a strong backhand and a powerful serve (which has hit a record with the speed of 201.1 km/h in the 2016 US Open). She started playing tennis at the tender age of three — just when she and her family moved to New York. Her father was awestruck after watching the intense 1999 French Open between the two Williams sisters and had this impulse to inspire his children to take up the sport too. “Ever since then, Serena has been my idol and she still is, and I’ve always dreamed I would play [her] in a Grand Slam final,” Osaka told the BBC.

Interestingly, however, September 8th’s Grand Slam final is not the first time Osaka has ever faced either of the Williams sisters.

Earlier in the year, Osaka played against Serena Williams at the Miami Open in March. Surprisingly, this was “just [a few] months after Williams almost died after giving birth to her daughter,” (according to www. townandcountry.com).

Prior to this event, Osaka faced Venus Williams in the third round at Wimbledon (in July of 2017) after which she posted a photo on Instagram with the caption: “When you accomplish one of your dreams.”

If you watched the controversial match on TV or YouTube, you might remember hearing “boos” being pelted as Osaka claimed her trophy of victory.

To clarify this confusing — and quite appalling — moment, Osaka made a recent appearance in the Ellen Show where DeGeneres stated, “I hope you know that those “boos” weren’t meant for you, they were really meant for Serena,” to which Osaka replies: “Yeah, it was a very emotional moment; I really thought they were booing at me, though.”

Though Serena may have not have accepted her defeat on the court with good grace, she did later remark, “She’s a really good, talented player. She’s very dangerous.”

Words By Gwen Yap

The Future of the Serie A The Serie A, once again, seems to be well on its way to becoming one of the top three leagues of European football. Ever since the two Milan teams fell from grace, Italian football has not been the same. However, with the recent movement of megastar Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid to Juventus, as well as big money spendings from Inter Milan and AC Milan, Italian football seems to be on the rise once again.

The two great clubs of Milan have once again been active following a change in ownership of the club to Chinese billionaires, although AC Milan’s ownership switched once again recently as Shareholders gave way to a new era, under the hedge fund Elliot, ending the short reign of Chinese investor Ali Yonghong. Thanks to such big money changes in directors, both clubs have been active in the recent transfer windows, and big money signings have taken place such as Radja Nainggolan to Inter

Milan and Gonzalo Higuain to AC Milan. With such superstars added to both squads, the future seems bright for them, as both will be hoping to stake their claim on major European trophies, such as the Champions League, in the years to come.

Once thought of as the league of old soon-to-retire players, the same cannot be said anymore with the likes of future (and current) superstars such as Paulo Dybala, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Andrea Belotti displaying promising performances.

On the other hand, Juventus, who have undoubtedly been reigning supreme over Italian football for the past seven seasons, seem to have sent out a strong message this year to the world with the signing of the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. The supporters of the Old Lady will be hoping this is their year to win the Champions League, considering the very man they signed knocked them out of the final with a brilliant performance for Real Madrid in the 2016/17 season.

The transition back into a top European league will not be too hard for the Serie A, with an ever-increasing budget from its top clubs, as well as current (and future) megastars attracting fans from all across the world, most prominent of the batch being Cristiano Ronaldo. The 33-yearold superstar has already scored five times in the league and helped Juventus past his former club, Manchester United, in the Champions League with a goal from Dybala.

Unlike past seasons, we can also see that many more youngsters of both Italian and foreign heritage have been playing in the Serie A.

Words By Harun Gunes

rs in Boxing If you could go back in time and tell Muhammad Ali that in 10 years from now streamers from YouTube would fight in the ring, he’d probably laugh in your face.

Yet, 10 years later, it’s true.

It all started when the British YouTuber, Olajide William ‘JJ’ Olatunji (or as he’s otherwise known: KSI), and Joe Weller decided to settle a personal argument in the ring. The amateur fight was live streamed for free on YouTube, with people signing up to watch the match live on the 3rd of February, 2018. KSI - winner by TKO - then challenged Jake Paul and Logan Paul after his win.

Logan Paul, disgraced after his globally renowned stunt in the suicide forest in Japan, accepted the challenge. Paul had been an amateur wrestler before his YouTube career, and along with his height (and reach), clearly had an advantage over the

shorter, less experienced KSI. The following months were full of both contenders uploading training videos, with fans all over social media supporting their side. KSI and Logan Paul released “Diss-Tracks” about one another.

In addition, there were two press conferences (one in the USA and one in the UK) that took place. The fight was set to take place on the 25th of August 2018.

Tickets were available like last time, however, this time they were not free - a detail that infuriated fans. Pay-per-view was 10 USD. Despite this, 5 million pay-perview purchases were made which resulted in just a little over 50 million USD in revenue. The fight consisted of six rounds, lasting three minutes each and ended with a majority draw with no winner.

The fighters talked on stage and, amongst all the commotion, decided on a rematch in February 2019 in the U.S.A.

Many are of the opinion that these are just money-making schemes: popularity stunts in order for YouTubers to increase their fanbases. Whatever it is, it’s working! The KSI/Logan Paul fight became the largest amateur fight in history, as well as the 5th largest pay-per-view fight of all time, just behind fights between some of the greats, such as Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

Whether we like it or not, the sport of boxing is undergoing a significant change; these fights will undoubtedly pave the way for a new breed of fighters: ones that don’t train as they did in the good old ‘Rocky’ days, just the ones with enough of a fanfollowing and the resources to do so.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, boxing has changed...forever.

Words By Comail Rizvi

La Liga Football has always been a household name and, with an estimated 3 billion fans worldwide, it stands at the top of the most watched sports. However, the sport has undoubtedly become more competitive over the years, with an increasing number of experienced players and potential superstars every year. Furthermore, football is more than a sporting activity: with its fair share of wealth, glamor and footballers (who are treated more like celebrities than just athletes), it is considered by many to be a lifestyle.

La Liga is one of the biggest European Football leagues standing next to the Premier League, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A. The most notable period

in La Liga was, possibly, when Ronaldo Nazario and Ronaldinho dominated the pitch. Although that period will stay with longtime football fans forever, since then La Liga has come a long way, with new technological advancements such as the inclusion of video assistant referees (VAR), as well as multiple superstars such as the likes of Lionel Messi, replacing and even exceeding their predecessors.

The new 2018/19 season, which started in mid-August, has been packed full of great wins, losses and VAR scandals. Whether or not this VAR modification will truly improve the game is still to be determined. After all, following a World Cup laden with matches sometimes solely decided by this modern technology, some fans

have developed a deep hatred for it.

Having already been implemented in the Premier League last year, the VAR has not only been complained about by supporters, but it is also coaches who have objections.

Managers such as Mauricio Pochettino are claiming that it “could kill emotion in football”.

However, it was ultimately decided

by Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, that it would be implemented this season, despite the complaints.

Even though some fans do disapprove of this, there are also those who believe that the VAR could prevent controversial goals, such as Diego Maradona’s infamous Hand of God in the 1986 FIFA World Cup Final or Thierry Henry’s handball which took France to the 2010 World Cup, as well as

promote fair play in the game.

Video Assistant Referees have already been utilized multiple times in the games, with an average of 12.55 checked decisions per game.

According to statistics, the VAR has had a positive impact on the game so far with an average of 4.34 cards per game; a record for La Liga as it is the fewest amount of cards since the 1991/92 season.

Twenty five time League Champions Barcelona started out the season with six consecutive wins, a stunning 8-2 performance against SD Huesca, in addition to their first two Champions League matches being wins. Phenomenal performances were witnessed by their captain and 5-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who was recognised with two Champions League Player of the Week awards and a La Liga Player of the Month award. The Argentine had a seemingly unsuccessful World Cup; however, he has already netted twelve goals in twelve matches for the Spanish side so far this season. Another notable player early on in the season is Ousmane Dembele, who originally came as

a replacement for the Brazilian forward Neymar and seems to be proving his worth as a brilliant attacking midfielder.

Despite the early successes, this positive start to the season came to an end quickly as the next three matches were either lost or drawn, which manager Ernesto Valverde has taken complete blame for. On the 20th of October, FC Barcelona clashed with Sevilla for the top place in the league table, even though the result was a win, the match reincarnated itself as a nightmare because of Messi’s 27th-minute injury. The injury of Barcelona’s ‘La Pulga Atomica’ came as a shock horror to the rest of the team as well as fans, not just of Barcelona but of football itself. This rules the player out for three weeks making him miss a Champions League, an El Clasico, a Copa del Rey, and two league matches.

On the other hand, their rivals Real Madrid seem to be struggling.

Since valuable forward Cristiano Ronaldo’s surprising move to Serie A giants Juventus, they have not

scored a single goal in 450 minutes and are in 7th place holding in the league table. The one to blame for this, supposedly, is new manager Julen Lopetegui who is on the verge of being sacked. Reports are suggesting that contact for the managerial position at the Santiago Bernabeu is being made with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte. The president of Real Madrid from 2006-09, Ramon Calderon, says “Cristiano is impossible to replace” and “ not having him [for the Champions League] will be real trouble”. The team has also already seen the injuries of Isco, Carvajal, Bale and others which possibly led to the losses against teams in the lower end of the league table and the Russian club CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.

With all of this happening in just the first two months, fans worldwide are excited for the matches to come and what the future holds for La Liga.

Words By Ameera Moinuddin

T

he most significant thing that we can achieve is a legacy, and the biggest fear we all should have is that we will not leave one at all. In most cases, the largest legacy we leave is our children, our records, our wealth and our bodies. Because of that, these types of legacies are what shape our life’s ambitions. Life is often considered too short and without definitive purpose, and with a legacy we embark on a quest for immortality and lasting impact on society. What we forget, despite it being the most important legacy to leave, is the knowledge we can impart to others.

This knowledge can be drawn from art, how it can be perceived and how it can connect with you and your experiences. The most common source today would be music, television and film, especially as teenagers.

There are television shows that I re-watch over and over, enjoying the characters, jokes and scenes that they display with the same satisfaction as I did the first time I watched them. Films sometimes have moments and characters that stick in my head, so that when I leave the cinema I am almost re-enacting their scenes as I walk. Music - that I turn to when I need motivation, enlightenment and, most importantly, empathy – can help you endure your darkest days. They have all helped shape me, who I am and who I aim to be, and I can only assume it is the same case for everyone. The art of words and how they can connect, is the everlasting legacy that we can gift to others during and after our lifetimes.

With writing, we begin to create a legacy to those that helped shape us.

The Majlis is the platform that allows our students to write and share the stories, news and topics that they are passionate about, in the hope of connecting with readers who share the same passion. To impact and resonate with even one reader, passing on the knowledge and spirit of the writer, is a legacy we can create for an eternity.

This issue of the magazine is another reminder of that, with enthusiastic writers paying tribute to their favourite athletes, sharing their imagination in stories, and presenting their own views - all in hopes of reaching out to readers. It is a legacy that I am truly proud to be a part of.

Amin Arabo Head Editor of Majlis

Head Editor Writers

Amin Arabo Maddie Jackson, Hazel Carter, Kerem

Tekcan, Mubasshir Seik Raghman, Comail Rizvi, Aayami Jaguri, Amin Deputy Head Editor Arabo, Afrah Sameer, Flora Beer, Zena Comail Risvi Shurrab, Micaela Powell, Arousha Rizwan, Fatima Salman, Mihini External Editors Palahepitiya Gamage, Gwen Yap, Namya Kathuria, Hams Almeldin, Nicole Pagdiwala and Zena Shurrab Alicia Field, Mathula Muhundan, Zubia Faisal, Reem Adam, Nisarga Internal Editors Kumuda, Ameera Moinuddin, Harun Eleni Sentra and Fariha Iqbal Gunes, Kamika Magadi, Anchita Pattnaik, Mischa Keshwala, Farhan Ahmed, Dima Pudar

Arts and Features Editors Josh Salam and Mahrukh Bakali

Designers

Shehza Imtiaz Ezgi Fidan Harun Gunes Avni Kant Trisha Shetty Tara Seiringer

Sports Editor

Head of Design Anjaneya Suden

Deputy Heads of Design Amin Arabo Matti Hynes Ashraf Abdul Gafoor

Teachers

Mrs Fairley, Mr Jadeja, Mrs Calvert, Mrs Ali