A-Voice December 2012

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Creativity Individuality Liberation Perspective Experience

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HYBRID IDENTITIES A hybrid identity is a mix of different cultures and traditions.

AMINAH IBRAHIM: Petite little miss who loves all things creative, miniature, kitschy, Disney related or Alice inspired. Has a serious penchant for the colour yellow. She’s a Rojak of Chinese, French, Arab, and Malay parentage. Her memories mean everything to her.

Here are some HELP students who have hybrid identities.

ATIKA SAFIRA HERMAN: My mom is Indonesian+ Arabic; my dad is Indonesian+Malay+Chinese. I love sketching, taking photographs, and listening to Muse & music.

Photo © Kelly Xiao Ran

VANESSA: I’m part Chinese, Indian, Portugese, Baba Nyonya, and a tiny tinge of ancestory Arab. Contemporary dancing is my passion. So is sprinting. I have this weird hobby of collecting the tags/labels on clothes and pretty paper/plastic shopping bags from stores around the world.

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How would YOU define yourself?

HAIKAL SULAIMAN: December boy, white is the colour. G shock collector.

Fanatical about muscle cars. Tuned into any music genre, food is an obsession & star gazing a leisure pursuit.

A-Voice December 2012

Hello!

READ THIS! It’s that time of the year again: stressful university applications, almost-impossible mock exams, and crazy, sleepless nights which we’re all too familiar with (especially the A-voice team).

For our December 2012 issue, we decided to explore the theme, “Identity.” Not just the case of forgotten or missing identities in movies (Identity on the Big Screen) or profiles of sadistic, psychopathic serial killers (well, we elaborated on that in Psychopaths: Behind the Mask of Sanity), but also something closer to home: your true identity. How do you put yourself on paper, as you write your application essays?

Does who we are determine what we put up on social media, or is it the other way around? After some tedious research, our writers decided to answer some thought-provoking questions regarding Identity.

To me, the word “identity” strongly resonates with “voice.” It doesn’t matter if we are writing, drawing, or even singing; anything creative requires our personality and personal touch. However, finding your own writing style—your narrative voice—is usually a lot harder than we originally think. The urge to compare our essays to others’ is strong, but the main reason people are so unwilling to write in “plain language” is that it’s actually not easy. We are so accustomed to using borrowed expressions and clichés, that we lost touch with our own voices..

Now, I have a confession to make: I actually googled “how to write an editor’s note” before writing this—and I immediately realized how silly that was. No one knows this issue better than I do and no stranger can teach me how to express my feelings of gratitude. (Although it is difficult to be witty and thought-provoking when you are sleep deprived, that’s no excuse). And that’s exactly what I want the A-Voice to be: a platform for writers, designers, and photographers to discover and develop their own Voice.

I would like to take a moment to thank Ms Cristabel and Ms Catalina for saving the day, Kailash for keeping us together, and Andrea and Liiyung for managing the articles.

As for Hazel and Xin Wen: without you girls, this issue would’ve been a total flop. To everyone on the right: thank you for contributing to this issue of the A-Voice, and thank you for being a bunch of amazing people.

PEOPLE Editor-in-Chief Mellissa Ng Managing Editor Kailash Kalaiarasu Sub-Editors Andrea Wong Yeow Liiyung Writers Angelize Tan Xin Wen Davinia Gunasagran Dinnish Raj Isabelle Tan Khoo Ghee Ken Lim Chin Yang Lim Yuli Mitri Ng Rachel Chin Samantha Cheh Tan Wei Jian Thulaja Thessa William Chu Yip Mun Yee Photography Kelly Xiao Ran Ahmad Shazwan Nur Arina Art & Tech Hazel Lo Moong Hua Angelize Tan Xin Wen Tan Jiak Ying Special Thanks Mr. Jahn Cheah Ms. Mun Seong Ms. Caroline A-Levels Department HELP MIT Cover Hazel Lo Moong Hua Angelize Tan Xin Wen Secret Superheroes Ms. Cristabel Tan Ms. Catalina Rembuyan

Happy reading!

A-Voice December 2012

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Photo © fau.edu

Education

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by William Chu Hsien Li

e all know that paying for college is hard. And that’s why scholarships exist: to give more students the opportunity to experience frantic all-nighters spent writing essays and cramming for exams. Many firms and organizations generously set aside scholarship money to allow students to pursue their dreams and aspirations, and you should try to get this money for what will be the best years of your life. Unlike student loans, scholarships are much more competitive and are only offered to a set amount of students. They also have various, and sometimes demanding, requirements. While some are only offered to certain groups of students, many are merit-based and usually require a minimum of 8A’s in SPM and a GPA of 3.0 and higher in A-levels. Nevertheless, bear in mind that good grades alone will not guarantee you a scholarship (your personality counts as well!)

Here are some scholarships that you can apply for:

3. Shell Malaysia Scholarship

1. GIC Global Scholarship

Malaysian students planning to pursue full-time undergraduate studies (1st degree course) at recognized universities in Malaysia or overseas are eligible to apply. The minimum requirement for A-Levels is a Forecast Result of AAB. The scholarship will be offered to students who plan to pursue their studies at the following universities and in these fields:

If you’re considering Business Administration, Economics, Finance/Banking, Mathematics, Engineering or Accountancy, look no further than the GIC Global Scholarship which allows you to choose to study in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan. The scholarship pays for your tuition fees, accommodation, travel and living expenses, which are tenable for 4 years.

During vacations, you will be given exposure and training to prepare you for the world of fund management. You will attend in-house training programmes that provide you with a good grounding on subjects such as finance, economics and accounting besides going through attachments to GIC offices to build knowledge and networks. For universities in the UK and US, a six year bond is incurred after graduation; for Japan and Germany: a five year bond. Usually, scholars will have to work in Singapore immediately after graduation. Applications open in January each year and close 21 days after the release of the GCE A-levels results.

2. Khazanah Global Scholarship The Khazanah Global Scholarship is a prestigious award that offers opportunities for bright and high-achieving Malaysians to pursue Undergraduate and Postgraduate studies at selected world-leading universities. The scholarship will cover the full course of study and is open to all Malaysians planning to pursue or are currently pursuing undergraduate or postgraduate studies at top universities in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia. This scholarship covers courses such as Economics, Finance, Investment, Law, Actuarial Science, Bio-Engineering, Bio-Informatics, Bio-technology, Molecular Biology, Electronics, Micro Electronics and Material Science.

Khazanah offers different scholarship programmes depending on the region the student will be studying at. Recipients of the scholarships will be required to serve Khazanah Nasional or other approved organisations for a duration equal to the study period.

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• Imperial College London – Geosciences, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering • Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Mechanical, Civil or Electrical Engineering • University of Bristol – Geosciences, Mechanical, Civil or Electrical Engineering • University of Cambridge – Geosciences, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering • University of Sheffield – Mechanical or Electrical Engineering And here’s great news: the Shell Malaysia scholarships are non-bonding, so scholars are free to pursue any employment of their choice!

4. Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) Scholarship This scholarship covers first degree courses both locally and internationally. The fields of study include accounting, business administration, economics, finance, international business, Islamic finance & banking, investment banking, and law.

Students who managed to score 3As and above in their A-levels are strongly encouraged to apply. Successful applicants will be entitled to full coverage of academic fees, books, subsistence and other miscellaneous allowances. Usually the bond period would be between 3 to 6 years, depending on your course and chosen country.

(Continued on page 5) A-Voice December 2012

Education

5. Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council (MREPC ) Scholarship

6. Maxis Scholarship for Excellence To all Digi and Celcom users, well, this would be another solid reason to switch your service provider to Maxis.

As the scholarship name subtly suggests, o n l y Maxis postpaid customers or children of Maxis subscribers (with minimum one year tenure) are eligible. Having said that, this may be one of the BEST scholarships out there because applicants may be awarded the scholarship with a conditional offer from their desired university, provided they fully meet the conditions of the offer.

The scope for local universities fields’ of study is unlimited whereas overseas scholarship applicants are offered subjects of a wide field—including various arts and humanities subjects, physical sciences, social sciences, in addition to engineering and technology. Those who are pursuing local degrees will not be bonded, while those who pursue overseas degrees will be bonded for 3 years upon offer of employment.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, even your cable service has an attractive scholarship to offer! The stipulated areas of study under the Astro scholarship award include accounting and finance, economics, engineering, mass communication, business administration, computer graphics, performing arts and last but not least, English literature. Students may use their forecast results to apply for the scholarship. The minimum requirement is the usual AAA. An Astro scholar is expected to serve Astro or its related organisations for 3 years if you apply for a local scholarship and 5 years if you apply for a foreign scholarship.

8. Datuk Roger Tan Memorial Scholarship The Datuk Roger Tan scholarship was established in honour of Datuk Roger KH Tan, who attended the London School of Economics and Political Science, or better known as LSE. The late Datuk Roger Tan was a very charitable man and a well known philanthropist. The scholarship, funded up to RM4mil, aims to provide full/partial scholarships for Malaysian LSE students requiring financial assistance. The full scholarship covers tuition fees, living expenses, travel costs, relocation allowance, and a computer allowance for the entire 3-year programme. Also, there is no bond attached to this fantastic scholarship.

Photo © alertmagazine.org

Look no further, aspiring engineering students! The MREPC’s preferred fields of study include chemical, mechanical, electrical, and industrial engineering in addition to polymer technology, environmental studies, and statistical analysis.

Prerequisites include outstanding academic results in both SPM/O-levels and A-Levels. Active participation in extracurricular activities is necessary whereas community service will be an added advantage. In addition, it is a mandatory requirement for scholars to provide two credible guarantors. This scholarship includes a compulsory bond to serve the industry for 3 - 5 years.

7. Astro Scholarship

Researching and applying for scholarships is a very time consuming process as it takes diligence, determination, and confidence—but it is worth the effort when you are awarded one. However, be careful once you have received your scholarship as it can be terminated when your grades fall, or if you violate your scholarship contract. While this does not happen too often, it is best to remain a good student while you are under the scholarship.

Most of our information were taken from the organizations’ official websites. Visit them for further infomation: 1. GIC: http://www.gic.com.sg/careers/scholarships/what-we-look-for 2. Yayasan Khazanah: http://yayasankhazanah.com.my/?p=main&c=global 3. Shell Malaysia: www.shell.com.my/home/content/mys/aboutshell/careers_tpkg/students_and_graduates/ 4. Securities Commission: http://www.sc.com.my/main.asp?pageid=695&menuid=842&newsid&linkid&type 5. Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council (MREPC): www.mrepc.com/scholarships/index.php 6. Maxis: www.maxis.com.my/personal/about_us/scholarship/index.asp.

7. Astro: www.astro.com.my/careers/articles/art_4119.html 8. Datuk Roger Tan Memorial Scholarship: www.ecmlibra.com/foundation/scholarship/index.html (Continued on page 6) A-Voice December 2012

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Photo © crazywebsite.com

Education

MEANWHILE, IN AMERICA...

Sure, there are many scholarships out there, but you've got to have good grades or be a great athlete, right? Not necessarily—if you live in the USA. Here are some wacky scholarships that you’ve probably never heard of: 1. The Tall Club Scholarship Do you hit your head on ceiling fans? Are people constantly asking if you play basketball? Then this scholarship is the one for you. Before you know it you'll be ducking under the doorways of the best colleges money can buy (for a thousand dollars, anyway). According to their website, the Tall Club “realizes the special needs of exceptionally tall people” and to be eligible, you have to be under the age of 21, entering your first year of higher education and fulfill the minimum height requirements for Tall Clubs International of 5' 10" (178 cm) for women and 6' 2" (188 cm) for men.

2. New England Chapter-National Association To Advance Fat Acceptance Scholarship Here, we truly have a scholarship for the internet age (or Malaysians in general). This scholarship offers an annual scholarship of $500 to a "fat" high school senior currently attending school in the New England area, who advances the understanding of fat people everywhere.

5. Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest The contest is associated with the World’s Champion Duck Calling Contest. They have 90 seconds to use four calls: hail, feed, comeback and mating. Contestants stand a chance to win up to $2000 worth of cold hard scholarship cash by simply whistling at a duck and hope it comes quacking back to them!

6. The Duck Brand Duct Tape Scholarship Duck brand Duct Tape can be used for anything. Tape a duck?

Duct tape. Makeshift lint roller? Duct tape. Horrible open wound? Duct tape. Make a ridiculous article of clothing in order to win a scholarship? Duct tape. All you have to do is simply design a full male and female prom ensemble out of duct tape (you have to enter the contest as a couple attending prom). The only downside is that horrible sticky residue that stays on even after you have ripped off all of your skin. But listen up, each individual member of the First Place winning couple will receive a cash scholarship of $5,000.00 and the school that hosted the First Place winning couple’s prom will receive a cash prize of $5,000.00!

Photo © duckbrand.com

We're not sure how a fat high school kid is supposed to advance Fat Acceptance all by himself, but we assume it involves being a cool fat guy who still gets lots of chicks, like Tony Soprano, and not one of those self-deprecating slob types like the guy from King of Queens.

3. Excellence in Predicting the Future Award Scholarship Well, not quite. Don't be fooled by this award's magical name.

The excellence in predicting the future award goes to the student who is best able to increase their account value in a mock stock market. Prizes are valued at up to $400 and given every two months.

The winning couple, Lara and Cole.

4.Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award

7. American Association Of Candy Technologists’ John Kitt Memorial Scholarship

The Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award is open to graduating high school senior athletes. Candidates must demonstrate excellence in academics, athletic performance, leadership, and community service. Candidates must also be a resident of one of the 48 contiguous states or the District of Columbia. There will be one scholarship of $7,500 awarded to each of 25 regional winners.

This could potentially be the sweetest scholarship out there!

The John Kitt Memorial scholarship, offered by the American Association of Candy Technologists awards students $5,000 over two semesters. Their website states, “recipients must demonstrate interest in confectionery technology and plan on majoring in food science, chemical science, biological science, or a related area.”

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A-Voice December 2012

For Dummies

s y a s s E l a Person

by Mitri Ng

F

1. Avoid clichés like the plague.

Applicants usually use popular idioms to sound clever and expressive. “Good team player. Think outside the box. Expand my horizons.” These run-off-the-mill phrases may be fun to use in everyday speech but readers simply find them annoying, bland, and uninteresting. Clichés soak up all the creative and unique elements in an essay, leaving behind a forgettable piece. Most people don’t write in plain language because it is actually not easy—we are so used to borrowing expressions that we are unfamiliar with our own voice. So, spice up your essay with something original and memorable like a personal motto. If you want to use a metaphor, make it up instead of copying an overused one. Remember, the admission officers want to see the real you, not some copy-pasting, uncreative dunce.

2. Learn the art of anecdotes.

Thousands of applicants are vying with you for limited positions. The last thing you want to do is blend in. A great way A-Voice December 2012

to stand out is via anecdotes (short personal stories). These examples should be detailed, convincing and compelling to keep the reader interested. In its essence, the personal essay is all about its writer’s virtues, but writing a story which portrays these attributes really sets them in stone. Make links between your ambitions, your interests, and your past.

Liken your hobbies or the field you plan on studying to a distinct part of you. Together, these create a more vivid and thorough picture of who you are. The further apart the things you link together are, the more creative it makes you seem. In a personal essay accepted by Harvard, S. Roach linked the black and white keys of a piano to family roots:

Photo © therandomexaminer.blogspot.com

antastic marks, stellar ECA’s, and spotless track records are not as hard to come by as you may think. The pool of all-rounded and top-rated college applicants is becoming bigger day by day and it is easy for even the most outstanding student to drown in it. Now, here is where the personal essay comes in: your personal essay is your life buoy. But how do you impress the admission officers in less than 500 words?

“I want to know the reason for assigning the white keys as major keys. I want to play the black keys. I have green eyes, and my skin is whiter than that of some Caucasian people, but I still cannot forget my African-American roots.”

Fascination with even the most boring of things will appeal to the admission officers if it is genuine and sincere. Again, drawing from personal experience will draw your readers in.

A mundane subject elaborated into a mature, sophisticated point of view can be as engaging as a piece which addresses serious matters like global warming or the economy. Even essays on things that are usually taken for granted can be surprisingly successful. For example: (Continued on page 8) 7

For Dummies

Photo © studentlinx.files.wordpress.com

“In The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin marvelled at the ‘endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful’ that he saw in the life around him. For me, words, with their seemingly infinite variety, inspire that same reverence.” — From the personal essay of J. Hwang, accepted by Harvard.

The above passage is an example of a deep, thoughtful insight on an everyday thing: words. According to Harvard Crimson staff member, Alissan D’Gama, “She (J. Hwang) uses this theme of ‘evolution’ to tie together her future plans of studying linguistics, her knowledge of several languages and her desire to learn more.” As you can see, writing enthusiastically about something close to your heart—no matter how plain—will show your devotion and passion for it, which colleges really admire.

3. Try not to focus on your achievements.

Chances are, you are not the only qualified (or over-qualified) person applying. Instead of detailing how you charismatically stole victory from the jaws of defeat in a tense football match, try to bring in introspective and personal responses, such as what you learnt from that particular event. Your academic and extracurricular achievements are already written in the other parts of your application, so don’t tell the admission officers what they already know.

Apart from the interview, the personal essay is the only part of the application which focuses on the person behind the grades. Instead of shoving facts, write about your thoughts and opinions.

5. Pay a lot of attention to your language.

The quality of your English plays a key role in the review of your essay. It may not seem that important, but in the end it is the little things that determine whether you make the cut or fall short. Never botch basic spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Admission officers usually conclude that if the writer is too careless to proofread an essay, then the sender is likely to display as much carelessness when researching and writing about other subjects. To prevent any language “booboos” from occurring, you should carefully comb through your essay and get someone else to take a look as well.

The personal essay is not supposed to be an easy task as it is an integral part of your college application. You must invest a lot of time in your essay not just by proofreading it over and over again, but by taking time to select a writing style which is true to your character, briefly showcases your interests and abilities, and allows you to appear extremely special.

So, to recap, there are rules to follow when writing a personal essay. There are some things to avoid, such as boring clichés and cheesy stories of victory, and things to include such as thought-provoking insights and original twists in an essay. Good characteristics should be highlighted and written about concisely. Be real and sincere, and don’t spend the essay just patting yourself on the back. Ultimately, the essay should be all about you and who you are. Good luck!

4. Analyse and evaluate yourself.

Self-analysis and evaluation comes across as intelligent and mature, but it is a difficult path to take when writing a personal essay because they force you to acknowledge your flaws. You may have to tackle more difficult, soul-searching questions, like “Where am I going?”, “Why am I really doing this?”, and “What are my strengths and weaknesses?” These questions can serve as prompts for your essay, so structure your essay around resolving one or two of them. Perhaps you can detail how you overcame your weakness, e.g., stage fright, social awkwardness, or difficulties fitting in a new country. This exhibits your determination and strength of character.

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A-Voice December 2012

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any of us were from public schools. length of your answer to the number of marks We underwent the national educa- awarded, and always mention keywords when tion system. We attended classes, defining or explaining. To score well for mathparticipated in co-curricular activities, and ematics, “always show working.” These techlistened to the droning of principals during as- niques are all taught along with the syllabus, as semblies. We crammed before exams, begged if they were the unspoken guidelines to flying teachers for tips and, come SPM, forwarded colours. In a very severe way, these answering SMSes containing altechniques reduce the legedly leaked queseffectiveness of exams; tions. We graduated rather than gauging the and three months students’ ability to crelater, received our atively solve problems SPM results: a string and apply learnt knowlof letters that in the edge, exams become a eyes of the rest of the regimental regurgitation world solely defined of memorised methods. our academic prowBut why would a naess. No questions tional government exasked, no further anamination have such

by Ken Khoo swers needed. an enormous loopThis prompts hole? Well, if two interestyou would ing but funexcuse the damental conspiratoquestions: rial tone, one firstly, does could argue that the exam system accuratethe loophole may ly represent each student’s worth? Secondly, have been done on purpose. The incentive is are students really getting the best education certainly there: exploitation of the loopholes, they require? resulting in high grades, would reflect well on parties with vested interests in our education The fact that SPM is such a big deal is tragic be- system. A less distasteful, but equally appalling cause it creates an artificial environment quite reason, could be because the exam papers are contrary to real-life. A brief analysis of past- designed to be as objective as possible. Even for year papers would reveal a trend: questions are subjective questions, such as essays or critical always asked in a certain format and are meant responses, there appears to be effort to confine to be answered in a certain manner. Enough re- it within a framework of “correct” answers. search and distillation would result in “answer- Students are taught to play safe by providing ing techniques”—methods of exploiting the textbook answers because that’s what the exanswer scheme. We are all familiar with them. aminers are allegedly looking for!

Take essay writing in Bahasa Melayu as an example:, each paragraph should contain one isi However, this practice of championing objec(contention), elaborated to half-a-page long, tivity makes for very one-dimensional quesand adorned with a generic peribahasa (prov- tions; after censoring subjectivity, all that’s erb) for extra marks. In the sciences, tailor the left to test on are cold, hard facts. As a result,

Photo © studymalaysia.com

The Malaysian Education System

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Photo © maine.gov

students adopt an ad hoc style to studying. Rather than obtain an in-depth understanding of the syllabus, students find it more time-efficient and rewarding to simply lift sentences off the textbook to be filled into their answer sheets. As noted in Bloom’s Taxonomy, “remembering” is, in the process of education, only the most basic step. Essentially then, our exam-centric education system is pushing students to achieve only the surface of learning, with no incentive to venture deeper.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Instead, our education system should be arming us with the artillery we need to storm the world. In the greyness of human interaction, the ability to memorise is practically obsolete.

What counts are your creative skills—being able to think independently, evaluate opinions, and voice your thoughts effectively and confidently.

These skills are greatly lacking from our education. A large portion of the time, teaching is a one-way street. Information is emitted by the teacher, and students obediently absorb it. Unquestioningly. Therein lies the problem: if the teacher is the one constantly yapping, how are the students to learn how to present and discuss ideas? If the teacher’s word is gospel (and sadly many teachers prefer it this way), how are the students to learn how to evaluate? If everything is spoon-fed by textbooks and reference books, how are the students to learn how to create and defend opinions?

Our textbooks do advise discussions. The problem lies in the implementation. Teachers, for a variety of excuses, are loath to generate a debate.

Perhaps they see it simply as a waste of time and effort. After all, they reason, there is no exam that necessitates it: the information needed to ace SPM can be much more easily conveyed through passive learning. Some teachers may be uncomfortable with their own subjects, which is rather pathetic. Since their own understanding of the syllabus is based on shaky assumptions and textbook arguments, they could be unwilling to start an open discussion lest they get caught wrong-footed. Finally, there is the cultural factor widespread in Asia. Teachers, being older than the students, may see it as an abuse of status for a student to question or challenge what is being taught. To them it is a personal attack: a vote of no-confidence on their role as educators.

Whatever the reasons for this stifling of discourse, it has to be brushed aside, for the effects of this classroom silence is slowly floating to the surface. It was reported that due to underdeveloped analytical and evaluative skills, Malaysian students ranked poorly in international assessments such as TIMSS and PISA 2009+ where we placed beneath the global average. Our memorising skills were, unsurprisingly, impressive. Thus, the largest problem for our students isn’t knowing the answer, it’s knowing how to arrive at the answer; because the latter skill, once honed, is universally useful. After all, new theories and discoveries aren’t made because the researchers magically knew the answers to their conundrums, but because they knew how to creatively and methodically tackle them until they reached their precious conclusions.

Naturally, the improvement of our students first demands the amelioration of our education system. But how do we go about that? Well, the problem with our education system lies in three main areas: the syllabus, the examination system, and the quality of teaching.

(Continued on page 11)

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A-Voice December 2012

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Syllabus

PROBLEMS WITH EDUCATION SYSTEM Examination system First of all, the syllabus needs to be rewritten to focus upon nurturing the skills we want the students to have. Currently, our education system promotes passive learning: the students are taught that the textbook’s word is gospel, no matter how outdated or biased it may be.

We need to alter that by introducing the element of doubt. Students need to be presented with opposing ideas and conflicting views to rationalise for themselves; otherwise, rather than formulate their original standpoint, they would simply adopt those of “endorsed” textbooks.

Secondly, the focus of education needs to shift from exam-oriented studying to a more farsighted, global perspective. Students need to learn to learn for themselves. Throughout secondary school, students are fed the propaganda that SPM is the be-all and end-all of education.

It’s not. That does not mean that the concept

Quality of teaching of examinations is obsolete. As we have seen, a single exam like SPM has the power to mould the problems within the secondary school system today; it therefore has the power to mould it otherwise. Questions should encourage subjectivity. The myth of “the correct answer” needs to be debunked, to be replaced by “acceptable responses.” Through the formulation of replies, students are forced to evaluate and structure facts to form arguments independently. This process would require of students a deeper understanding of their syllabus and encourage creative thinking. This would also greatly hinder any “answering techniques” or question-spotting practices, as the questions would be much less predictable. Thus, students who invest more effort towards comprehending their lessons would score better—a welldeserved reward, don’t you think?

Photo © graduatetutor.com

Of course, simply having open-ended questions isn’t enough: the answer scheme also needs to reflect the flexibility. Answers schemes should never be rigid because that would only coerce students into conformity. Rather, they should be tailored to gauge the students’ ability to think and reason critically. More credit should be given to the examiners’ good judgement: if a response given is not predicted in the marking scheme, but makes perfectly good sense, examiners must be afforded the liberty to accept the answer.

(Continued on page 12)

A-Voice December 2012

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Another alternative is coursework. Coursework has the advantage of quite closely resembling real-life working conditions, as it also factors in greatly the students’ time management skills. Without self-discipline, even an ace student would flounder as deadlines march steadily closer. Coursework also naturally encourages extra-curricular research and analysis which are the essence of independent learning. However, coursework cannot isolate a student’s academic flair as there is no way to be certain that a student’s work is entirely that student’s work. Therefore for all purposes of determining a student’s academic ability, exams should still take front seat. A healthy ratio of 80% exams and 20% coursework should capture the benefits of both methods.

prickly one. There is certainly no point in having a killer syllabus if the instructor in question refuses or is unable to play along. But why are these new teachers so stubbornly staunch in their close-mindedness? It could be that the current batch of teachers may have preferred more lucrative jobs, but resort to teaching out of necessity. As with all public service professions, the main motivation behind teaching isn’t and shouldn’t be the money—no, the pay’s way too small—but the job satisfaction. If our schools are staffed with half-hearted educators, it is no wonder our system is failing. How can we expect to motivate our youths if they’re being led by uninterested teachers?

There are definitely many teachers who are As educator Paul Ramsden genuinely Thirdly, says, teaching is one of the most delightful d e d i and this and exciting of all human activities when it is c a t e d is where to their done well, but the most humiliating and the largprofestedious when done poorly. est challenge sion, hence lies, Malaysia needs they need to learn a better breed of teachers. As any public the most effective methods to channel that school student would notice, the trend has enthusiasm. The large majority of teachers been alarming—older, more weathered teach- in public schools are the beneficiaries of our ers are retiring to be replaced by a younger close-minded education system. They had their bunch who, on average, just aren’t as good. minds shaped and cast in the generic fashion, Due to their inexperience, compounded by a curse they now unwittingly inflict upon their their feeble grasp of the subject matter and lan- students. Their archaic methods is all they’ve guage of instruction (the latter relevant where ever known education to be.

PPSMI is still in effect), they are often the culprit of poor classroom atmosphere. Their per- However, while it is easy to anecdote the flaws sonal insecurity, born from the above factors, of our teachers, it is difficult to identify the paralyses them from attempting more innova- guilty, and even harder to decide the “right” tive methods of teaching; they prefer to “stick direction to go, if there even is one. Who do by the marking scheme,” thinking it the fast- we blame for the mousy teacher who whispers est and most surefire way to a string of A’s. As her words and can’t handle a question? Is it educator Paul Ramsden says, teaching is one of the Ministry’s fault for providing insufficient the most delightful and exciting of all human training? Is it that teacher’s fault for choosing activities when it is done well, but the most hu- the wrong job? Is it the students’ fault for not adapting themselves to the teacher’s methods? miliating and tedious when done poorly.

Either way, more enthusiasm needs to be inThe problem of incompetent teachers is a jected into the secondary education sector.

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Photo © blogs.dunyanews.tv

It is exceedingly difficult though to suggest more education reforms. The national education system is an intricate mechanism, and can’t be simply summarised in an article.

While we may occasionally marvel at the UK’s and US’s education systems, a quick search on the internet would show that they aren’t without problems either, problems which are oddly enough very similar to the ones we face too.

Many teachers complain of heavy administrative duties: reports to write, fees to collect, and forms to fill. It is these administrative burdens that is the difference between lecturing and teaching; in tertiary educational institutions, these paperwork tend to be handled by a separate administration. It is quite unfair for teachers—who signed up to teach, after all—to be forced to do heavy administrative work. It is also not fair to the pupils to have their teachers distracted and swamped with bureaucratic paperwork.

A-Voice December 2012

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The new Malaysia Education Blueprint: a step towards a brighter future?

Because of these chronic difficulties, there has been a growing trend of radicals calling for the abolishment of the national education system.

They argue that the system is inefficient. They believe that much of the knowledge taught at the secondary level is irrelevant, while truly important survival skills are neglected. Their proposal is to render the profession of teaching obsolete; instead, they would have businesspeople or professionals speak to the students directly, to inspire, to incite and to educate.

Just how feasible is this? No one can say for sure. But it’s good food for thought.

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Photo © trainingonempty.blogspot.com

Body Image

you were to flip through a magazine, any magazine, just about every model in there is almost six feet tall and impossibly skinny. Just as a frame of reference, an average modelling agency (UKModels, in this case) requires their models to clock in at about 175cm, which is 25cm more than the average height of Malaysian women and 10cm more than the average American woman.

BODY IMAGE

According to the British Journal of Psychology, nearly half of all the girls aged 3-6 years old are worried about becoming fat.

That means, 50% of the female population are more likely to have an eating disorder. The media consistently feeds the idea of “the ideal, natural body” when in fact, they are championing quite the opposite.

Let’s take, for example, the “S2 Slimming Program,” advertisement featuring Amber Chia.

From the advertisement, I can gather that:

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Samantha Cheh

W

hen I was eleven, or twelve, I used to sit in my elder sister’s room and watch her and her friends whine about their weight. I would hear the same things again and again, without fail: “Why am I so fat?” “I need to get rid of this flab!” and “Why can’t I look like so-and-so-celebrity?” To me, the statements were ridiculous—they all looked fine to me. Not anything but good-looking people.

Fast forward seven years and the words of my sister and her friends are spilling out from my own mouth. I sometimes look in my own mirror and sigh. Lengthy conversations with my friends reveal that they too are sighing at their “lumpy” bodies. If you listen closely to the conversations that can be heard in the college communal areas, you’d catch at least one girl mourning the excess weight she carries on her person. And I’m not talking about luggage. Here’s a familiar scenario: you insist that your friends look amazing; but you, you are the ugly duckling that looks nothing like a girl who could model for Seventeen magazine.

That’s the problem, isn’t it? All of us, girls especially, want to look like the models in fashion magazines. That’s what we’ve always been told, right? How can we look away from the beautiful lines of celebrities and models that wallpaper these books and not covet that sort of beauty? Then one has to question: who defined the “beauty” we’ve come to know today?

Over the past fifty years, the media’s power to influence our perspective of beauty has been magnified. Think about it: if

a) we all need to look like Amber Chia, because b) the word “slim” has become synonymous with the modern woman (according to the advertisement), and because c) slim means “health” and “beauty.”

By equating slim with “health” and “beauty,” the media has basically allowed our brains to make the conjecture that its opposite, “fat,” is unhealthy and gross. Nothing could be further from the truth; fat can be healthy, fat is far more naturally occurring than Botox, and fat is necessary. The entire advertising industry—worth a whopping RM51billion in Malaysia—is built on the simple concept of subliminal messaging. It’s not what is said, it’s more what is not said, that affects consumers the most.

This is how the media and the beauty industry—including cosmetics, jewellery, clothing, and slimming programs—earn their paychecks. They run ads with genetically blessed models (Continued on page 15)

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A-Voice December 2012

Body Image

Photo © thecurvyfashionista.mariedenee.com

were published with her usually muscular arms smoothened to look young—the 50 year old singer was given a Photoshop treatment so extreme, that she looked like a thirty year old by the end of it.

Photo © amelectricplum.files.wordpress.com

and if they are not, they are Photoshopp-ed to apear genetically blessed. It’s no secret that the beauty industry makes explicit use of Adobe’s, what I like to term, “instant beauty” software.

Advertising agencies, photographers, and magazine creative editors make frequent and elaborate use of Photoshop on their models. They use the software to smooth out wrinkles, take away acne, slice a model’s weight by nearly a fifth and lighten skin. The practice is a common sales tactic: the more beautiful the celebrity or supermodel gracing the books or catalogues, the more psychologically inclined we become towards the product.

Other celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Fillipa Hamilton and Katy Perry have also made scathing, public complaints. The severe backlash of famous celebrities prompted other pro-natural beauty celebrities to speak up and advocate Photoshop-free pictures. There have been photoshoots that champion the antiPhotoshop cause: Monica Belluci, Sophie Marceau, and Eva Herzigova for French Elle; Helena Christensen, Amber Valletta, Cindy Crawford, and Kristen McMenamy for US Harper’s Bazaar.

Nevertheless, thank goodness this mindset is changing. Magazines, such as GQ, and brands such as Nordstrom and Ralph Lauren, have come under serious fire for over-Photoshopping their models. GQ, in particular, made headlines when Kate Winslet spoke out about how the magazine slimmed and lengthened her body.

Vanity Fair suffered a PR nightmare when images of Madonna A-Voice December 2012

Photo © iamelectricplum.files.wordpress.com

Perhaps women have it worse because their worth has always been measured by their looks, but men are not exempt either.

Magazines and billboards are equally filled with images of male models with slim figures and chiseled bone structures.

The same UKModels website asks for men with a minimum height of 183cm; they also recommend that those men have “striking features” and a “slim, but strong form.” Boys can be just as insecure about how they look; over here, they purchase clothes that Korean boy bands or European men wear in order to fit the beauty standard of today. Even a man’s success and virility is determined by how they look. They are just as susceptible as women to the terrors of advertising and Photoshop.

Others have also taken up the mantle; 14-year old Julia Bluhm formed a petition against magazines’ Photoshop policies; she collected and delivered over 25, 000 signatures to Seventeen (Continued on page 16) 15

Body Image

Photo © 4.bp.blogspot.com

It’s difficult to say that we can change what advertising and magazines and billboards have done to our perception of ourselves. Perhaps the only way we can stop this cycle of girls and boys saying “Why am I so fat and ugly?” or “I wish I looked like *insert Photopped celebrity here*” is to first educate ourselves.

We shouldn’t simply accept what the media tell us; questioning is the heart of any progressive society. Questioning what seem to be ingrained ideals leads to a greater understanding of the forces that subliminally influence how we see beauty, and maybe then, only then, can we mute those voices that try to tell us what we should be, and move on to asking ourselves who we want to be.

Magazine. The petition swelled over the course of ten days and within two weeks, she had collected pages and pages of signatures, as well as a wealth of support from all across the world.

South African Marie Claire published a series of ads that were aimed at teaching young women to love their bodies.

Recently, the world celebrated images of 20 year old model, Lizzi Miller, and her slightly protruding belly. Lena Dunham’s TV series Girls, which features a realistic-looking cast, beat out other shows and grabbed a bunch of accolades during the past awards season. Dunham’s show was heralded as leading girls to a world of healthier, more realistic-looking people rather than the ridiculously good-looking actors and actresses of shows such as Gossip Girl and 90210.

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Photo © tumblr.com

Photo © static-imgs-acf.hereisthecity.com

With these changes, the media must change with the times or risk losing their audience. Magazines have now taken steps to prove themselves “natural beauty friendly.” Some have placed labels on their models, warning their readers that certain photos have been edited; Vogue has put out casting calls for only “healthy models.” The state of Arizona in the United States is now fighting for anti-Photoshop laws to be implemented; the same has happened in Europe.

Who defined the “beauty” we’ve come to know today?

A-Voice December 2012

Social Media

ARE OUR IDENTITIES DEFINED

BY SOCIAL MEDIA? Or is it the other way round? Here is what Rachel Chin has to say.

T

en years ago, if you had asked anyone what the acronym FB stood for, the response would have probably been, “Food and Beverage.” Today, FB—which we all know stands for Facebook—has become the most popular social networking site in the world with an estimated 955 million monthly active users, over 552 million daily active users, and more than 543 million monthly active users on mobile! Twitter comes in a distant second with more than 500 million users.

There’s no denying that social media has become an integral part of our lives, and while I’ve managed to fend off the lure of Twitter, I have long fallen into the clutches of the cult of Facebook. “Why are these social networking sites so popular?” you may ask.

one’s own conception of self and expression of individualism.

Who are you? Everyone’s personality is made up of a plethora of different sides, but only one can be donned at a time; it is the different combinations of these sides as well as the circumstances under which they are expressed that ultimately develops the image that we present to the world.

Photo © screencrave.com

So, what is my reason for telling you this? Am I blatantly flaunting how awesome and fun Literature classes are relative to whatever non-Lit subjects the masses are taking? Maybe I am a little, but the point I’m trying to put across is this: if that’s possible, who’s to say that other people don’t take advantage of this anonymity to reinvent themselves online as completely different people? Online, who’s to say that I’m not Eric Chan, aspiring artist and recent alumni of SMK Sultan Abdul Samad? Who’s to say that Korean cutie in your profile picture isn’t really “you” or that you look nothing like your profile picture in real life? Sure, your real friends would know, but your other 3000 acquaintances wouldn’t. You see, sexual predators are not the only ones who mask their true identities on the Internet.

That said, is identity defined by social media or does social media define identity? It really relates back to identity and A-Voice December 2012

Photo © gmtristan.com

Part of the answer lies in the relative anonymity that the Internet allows users to have.

Let me illustrate with an example: last semester, the Literature classes of HA10 held a P & P FB MMORPG―which to the uninitiated, translates as Pride and Prejudice Facebook Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game―to help us better understand the characters and Austen’s methods of characterization. We were instructed to create our respective character’s FB accounts complete with personal information and profile pictures, and then, during the predetermined time period, enact the important bits of Pride and Prejudice by posting on each other’s walls.

“KOREAN CUTIE OR SEXUAL PREDATOR?” If that’s the case, then perhaps the different identities online are not completely false but rather an expression, or a fraction, of one’s personality. How do we seek out social networking sites to frequent? In my case, it’s usually introduced to me by a friend. For example, although I have pretty much said my goodbyes to competitive sports in high school, I was once addicted to a site that was—you guessed it—almost entirely about sports. During that period of time, I set up a solid profile and to earn points, I read up on sports news, hung out in the forums, and participated in lively online banter that was usually not about sports. Ultimately, while the sports IQ aspect was fun, what kept me there was the sense of community—and judging from the topics discussed in the forums, I probably wasn’t the only one. Let’s be honest, very few people are that crazy about the technical and theoretical aspects of hockey. It was (Continued on page 18) 17

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Social Media

like meeting (well, I say “meeting”) a group of mostly smart and funny people and realizing they all hung out at the same spot every day, and no matter what time it was, at least a few would be there to banter.

The site briefly ignited my interest in game statistics and made me a fan of sports and clubs I would never have otherwise cared about. Does this mean that social media influenced my identity and that I was being inherently untruthful about who I was; or had this part of me been there the entire time and the site was merely an outlet to express it? That, I leave up to your interpretation.

The social media sites we frequent and the communities we choose to be a part of reflect a certain facet of our personalities and at the very least, how we wish to be viewed by certain people. It is the reason why people constantly post pictures of food on their Facebook walls and type out ranty status updates complaining about people—to show the world that there’s plenty of action going on in their life and how everything is so dramatic. We basically turn our profile pages into our own personal altars where our acquaintances offer their “comments” and “likes” to appease us. But I digress.

Photo © wordstream.com

Just because you don’t express certain aspects of your personality in the company of certain people, does it mean that those aspects are not part of you? Take the girl in college everyone perceives to be flighty and vacuous; she just might have a

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following on Thoughtcatalog.com for her poignant, insightful writing. Who knows, maybe the insensitive F-bomb dropper in class might even have a secret account on Pinterest.com because he just loves looking at cake designs and baby animals. The concept of “self” is no longer the clear white line it was before the existence of social media, and in knowing so, what can we do but adapt? We simply become who we need to be, when we need to be this person. In any case, it hardly matters; to quote Eleanor Roosevelt, “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.”

References: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57480950-93/ facebook-over-955-million-users-543-million-mobile-users/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/30/analyst-twitter-passed-500m-users-in-june-2012-140m-ofthem-in-us-jakarta-biggest-tweeting-city/

Eleanor Roosevelt: “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.”

A-Voice December 2012

Photo © thinktankt.wordpress.com

Photo © libcom.org

Gender Trouble

IS GENDER A BIOLOGICAL

OR SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED IDENTITY?

Isabelle Tan believes that gender is a biological identity, which is greatly influenced by our hormones and physical state. After all, there is a reason why we were physically born this way—right?

Dinnish Raj strongly believes that the word “gender” refers to a complex, socially-constructed identity.

“Sex” is the biological identity, and a mere classification of the male or female. Here’s what he thinks:

According to Wikipedia, gender can refer to biological sex, social roles, or gender identity. In this context, gender refers to biological sex, as in the state of being male or female.

There has been much debate on whether social conditioning can alter biology and determine one’s gender. However, from our common knowledge, we know this can’t be true because gender is influenced by our genes, the levels of testosterone, gonads, internal reproductive organs, and external reproductive organs. For example, when a baby is born, each infant is assigned to the “male” or “female” category based on the size of the genitals (for the first eleven weeks of pregnancy, the genitalia of all foetesus is the same).

The couple swooshed into chaos, as the woman, screaming and writhing, was quickly ushered into the delivery room.

Nurses scurried in after her, shouting for the attention of a doctor as the doors swung shut. Her anxious husband paced the floor nervously, and after what seems like forever, we hear a voice exclaiming “It’s a boy!”

However, it is extremely important to note that biological sex is not determined by external sexual organs alone, but by genetic structure. Every cell of the human body is clearly marked male or female, and the human brain (which is the primary sex organ), is masculinized or feminized during the fetal stage of development by the presence or absence of testosterone.

Furthermore, human beings do not exist on a continuum between male and female. Those rare cases of infants born with anomalous genitals deserve sympathy and treatment on the basis of their chromosomal sex, the presence of a “Y” chromosome indicating a male, and its absence denoting a female. The occurrence of some rare abnormalities do not require the re-assignment of the entire human race.

Masculinity and femininity are inborn traits. Babette Francis (President and National & Overseas Coordinator of the Endeavour Forum) believed that as a mother of four sons and four daughters, she knew “from experience that girls and boys are different and that one can give them ‘counter-sexist’ toys, but they will not necessarily play in the politically correct manner.” She continued, “A family crisis once occurred when my son took the head off a bride doll which had been treasured by his older sister—he wanted to know how it was (Continued on page 20) A-Voice December 2012

Well, doesn’t that seem familiar? In famous movie scenes, we often have a nurse, whose sole purpose is to exclaim the sex of a child (“It’s a boy!” if it were a boy and if it were a girl, well you get the point). It is encoded in our DNA whether we are to be born male or female, but the question is, do we know this? Is it written in our very fibres that we going to be a specific gender and we are going to know exactly how this particular gender behaves? Is it, on the other hand, etched into us from our day-to-day observations or nurturing of our parents, siblings, etc?

One of the first people to begin asking these questions was Judith Butler. Butler is a philosopher whose fame or infamy was brought upon by her book, Gender Trouble. In her book, Butler asks and answers all the questions above. Fret not that I might ask you to pick the book up—if I did, I wouldn’t have an article to write.

Back to business: most of Butler’s philosophy was centred around the idea of “gender performativity,” which is basically a fancy way of saying that the ways certain genders act is influenced by ideas of how that gender should act. The key terms here being, “gender” and “should act.” By Butler’s theories, “gender” is more of a verb than a noun. She reasoned that as a woman, her actions are limited because gender is politically and therefore socially controlled: “Rather than ‘woman’ being something one is, it is something one does.”

Is there really such a thing as gender, and should a specific gender act in a specific way? As per example, is it absolutely necessary for a woman to wear skirts instead of jeans, cross (Continued on page 21) 19

Gender Trouble

made.” While culture and parental influence obviously played a part, it seemed that many of the subject choices and future career paths of girls and boys were based on their innate preferences, and not aggressive social engineering as championed by certain communities.

Here is a case which proves that gender is innate and refers to the biology state that we were born with: in 1965, Bruce and Brian Reimer (a pair of identical twins) were born in Winnipeg, Canada. When both the boys were 6 months old, they were diagnosed with phimosis (a condition in men where the foreskin cannot be fully retracted over the glans penis). At 8 months old, it was recommended that both of them undergo circumcision. However, the surgery went horribly wrong and Bruce’s penis was burnt and destroyed beyond surgical repair.

The parents of the boys, Ron and Janet Reimer, were presented with the possibility of raising Bruce as a girl and were introduced to Dr John Money from John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

actually turned out to be a huge failure. Brenda had major psychological and behavioural problems and showed no characteristics or signs of being feminine. Instead, she showed every sign of masculinity. This included standing up to urinate in the toilet, not being able to get along with her female classmates, and being more interested in rough and tumble, or fighting games. Brenda also had major disciplinary and academic problems and basically, could not fit in despite changing schools several times. She was kept back in first grade, while her identical twin was promoted.

Her parents made every effort to follow Dr. Money’s instructions scrupulously and raise Brenda as a girl. For the twins’ second birthday, Janet Reimer made her a dress from the white satin of her own wedding gown. “It was pretty and lacy,” Janet recalled. “She was ripping at it, trying to tear it off. I remember thinking Oh my God, she knows she’s a boy and she doesn’t want to be a girl. But then I thought, well maybe I can teach her to want to be a girl.

Maybe I can train her so that she wants to be a girl.” It never worked out. In 1980, Brenda’s parents finally told her the truth about her gender and gender reassignment after being advised by Brenda’s endocrinologist and psychiatrist. That same year, Brenda reclaimed a male identity, assumed the name David and underwent treatments to reverse the reassignment.

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves— it is in our genes.”

Dr John Money was a pediatrician and medical psychologist at John Hopkins University. He had earned a Ph.D at Harvard University. Money was known to be an expert on sexual behaviour and was involved in the Sexual Behaviours Unit (which conducted practices and studies on sexual reassignment surgery, converting patients from one sex to the other). Dr Money assured the Reimers that Bruce’s sexual reassignment had every chance of succeeding and proceeded to ask for a quick decision as the “gender identity gate”—his term for the point after which a child is locked in the identity— comes at the age of two and a half years to three years of age.

Bruce was 22 months old when he was surgically castrated.

A rudimentary vagina was made from the remains of scrotal skin by Dr Jones, the surgeon that conducted the surgery. After the surgery, the baby was renamed as Brenda. Both the parents were not aware that Money’s previous patients of sexual reassignment surgery were hermaphrodites with one testicle and one ovary at the same time—which meant that they had the genes and the possibility of being either a male or female.

However, Bruce had been born with regular male genitalia.

In conclusion, you may think yourself as a feminine man or a masculine woman, but at the end of the day, you are either a woman or a man. I strongly believe that children should be reared, and adults should live in the sex that matches their chromosomes: XX or XY. To paraphrase Cassius in Julius Caesar, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves—it is in our genes.”

However, reality was the exact opposite and the experiment 20

A-Voice December 2012

Photo © flatrock.org.nz

Dr John Money saw the experiment as a real success and published a book called, Man and Woman, Boy and Girl, revealing the case of the twins. In his book, he highlighted the main point that human psychosexual differences are driven by learning and environment and not by biology. To emphasise this point, he juxtaposed Brenda’s cleanliness, and interest in dolls and kitchen work with Brian’s interest in cars, and disregard for cleanliness and kitchen work. Linda Wolfe, a New York Times book reviewer wrote that, “the identical twin whose penis was cauterized at birth and who, now that his parents have opted for surgical reconstruction to make him appear female, has been sailing contentedly through childhood as a genuine girl.”

The case of David Reimer, a boy with born with typical male genitalia and endocrine system, shows that our gender identity is determined by our genetic structure—genes and chromosomes—before birth and not by external organs or society.

Dr. Milton Diamond, one of the psychiatrists who strongly disagreed with Dr. John Money’s theory, argued that gender identity is hardwired into our brains from conception and may have been the reason this reassignment failed. In similar reassignments conducted on twenty-five baby boys born with no penis but two testicles and were raised as girls, all retained strong male characteristics and most switched back to assuming male identities.

Gender Trouble

their legs when they’re sitting, work their asses off through high school, get an awesome job at a large investment bank only to throw everything away and become a housewife? Here at the A-Voice, we certainly don’t think so. And just in case you accuse us of being feminist Nazis, we also think that men should be allowed to wear whatever colour they want to and get away with it.

In the earlier stages of this article, I mentioned the nurturing of parents. Of course, when we were born, conventionally cateogorised as male or female, our parents dressed us in colours that they believed to be “gender-appropriate.” Pink is for girls, blue is for boys, and if you don’t know what the gender is yet when you’re buying a gift for the baby shower, you buy yellow. These are socially-constructed specifications that should be immediately eradicated from the face of this earth. For those of you who are snickering and saying, “I mean it’s just when they are babies, they’ll grow up and decide what colour they want to wear,” I beg you to reconsider. Unless you didn’t attend kindergarten, primary, secondary school, or college, you are obviously deluded. Children all over the world are bullied and ridiculed just for wearing the wrong colour.

The reason why the saying “It takes a real man to wear pink,” even exists is probably because you’d really have to be a man to make it through school wearing pink. Then again, why shouldn’t a “real” woman be able to defend herself?

Photo © flatrock.org.nz

Before I interrupt myself again, I’d like to declare that here at the A-Voice we believe and support the freedom of self-expression. Our society, however, does not. The people around us can be very unforgiving when it comes to the way we dress, comb our hair, or even talk. Most of the time, those “people” refer to the ones closest to us. I can remember vividly being told not to belch in public because it’s not “ladylike.” Okay, so maybe I wasn’t told that personally since I’m a guy, but you get the point. Here’s a fun fact, “ladylike” is actually a real word.

Shame on you, Oxford English Dictionary.

In an attempt to convince you that this is not a public service announcement, we shall now go into the “nature” factor. It is safe to say that society can’t be all to blame for the way people act. Since I’ve already stuck it to the parents and peers in the above paragraphs (which is more than enough I think) it’s time we looked at the possibility that some people are just, as Lady Gaga so eloquently said, born this way. Where am I going with this? You guessed it, homosexuality. In the world that we live in today, you can no longer run away from the LGBT community’s cries for fairness and equal rights. In fact, in many places around the world, it is still illegal to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transsexual. The point is that these human beings (yes they are the same species as we “normal people” are) exist and they have rights to the same privileges everyone else enjoys.

Right now, I sound like an LGBT rights activist, but please, for the sake of a better mankind, bear with me for a couple more paragraphs. I know I’m treading on

A-Voice December 2012

some very, very thin ice here but this is a social issue that we must address. This ice is particularly thin because homosexuality is a major no-no according to most mainstream religions, with exception to Buddhism. When asked about her opinion on homosexuality one of the students, a Ms. XX (names have been changed in order to... well, you know why) had this to say, “It is against God’s will, so I do not understand why anyone would do it.” “Do” this? Your gender is not something you do, it is something you are. What makes us men, women, lesbians, gays etc. is not the way we act or look, but the way we think, feel, and even need.

Should a specific gender act in a specific way?

“I am aware that it is wrong in my religion, but I cannot help it. It’s not like trying to stop smoking. It is deeper than that.

Being a homosexual is not something that I can just give up.

Not unless I die.” Those were the words of a Mr. XY, when I asked him what it felt like to go against his religion. Mr. XY is a human being who attends the same college as we do but keeps his “sexual preference” a secret by dressing more “masculine.” Easily the most ridiculous word I’ve used in this article. “Masculine” and “feminine”—who comes up with these terms anyway? We need to be able to move beyond these labels of what is acceptably “masculine” and “feminine” in order for us to progress towards a a far more accepting and enlightened society.

Regardless of all the things I’ve mentioned thus far, I do genuinely believe that there is a bright future for the world. We live in a time where the President of the United States of America (a.k.a. leader of the free world) openly supports gay marriage.

All we can do for now is to keep on fighting for the equal rights of everyone, whether they identify as male, female, intersex, gay, lesbian, transsexual, or queer. Who knows, maybe one day gay marriage will be legal even in a country like ours. In reference to a queerly funny (pun intended) video made by CollegeHumor entitled “Gay Men Will Marry Your Girlfriends” (which has a self-explanatory title), I live in fear that my girlfriend will be snapped up by a gay guy who is buff, handsome, clean, nice-smelling, and dresses better, way better, than I do.

Please, let’s work towards a future where your identity doesn’t have to fit into a neat little checkbox that says either “male” or “female,” and where you can decide for yourself who you really are.

References: http://www.aifs.gov.au/conferences/aifs7/francis.pdf http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Gender_performativity

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The Big Screen

IDENTITY ON THE BIG SCREEN

By Lim Chin Yang

F

rom Chihiro’s epic adventure in the world of spirits to the lone crusade of amnesiac spy Jason Bourne, filmmakers have succeeded in capturing the essence of what makes us all human— our identities, and more importantly, our search for them. The theme of identity is often conveyed on the big screen by showcasing characters who are in the process of discovering oneself during a journey, where the notion of identity is usually central to the characters in a film.This article aims to explore the journey of several film characters as they try to find their true self.

Spoiler Alert!

The Characters

Photo © ladygeekgirl.wordpress.com

David Webb is a man whose only goal is his mission. During his first mission, he brutally assassinated a man despite initially hesitating. The first film in the Bourne Legacy series begins with this man waking up one day, having absolutely no idea who or where he is. With two gunshot wounds in his back and a device with the number of a Swiss safe deposit box implanted in his hip, he assumes the name Jason Bourne after finding a passport under the name in the safe deposit box, along with large amounts of assorted currencies and a gun.

Over the course of the Bourne movies, he slowly discovers that he is a secret agent involved in some very confidential, international-level affairs and conspiracies.

she ends up in a strange world populated with spirits. Chihiro’s parents are turned into pigs in the world of spirits and she has to work in a bath house of the witch Yubaba to save them.

A sense of urgency is compounded when Yubaba steals her name. If Chihiro forgets her name, she and her parents will be stuck in the world of spirits forever. Working in the bath house forces Chihiro to keep her wits up as she deals with the bath house’s many strange and queer customers.

The Hours focuses on a single day in life of three women living in different eras. The three main characters in The Hours, Virginia, Laura, and Clarissa share a common interest in suicide as a way of evading the depressive aspects of their lives. Virginia Woolf is an influential author, who is writing her novel “Mrs Dalloway” in the year 1923. She constantly feels under pressure by her husband, Leonard who runs a publishing house and contemplates having her character, Mrs Dalloway, kill herself. The heavily pregnant Laura Brown feels trapped by the constraints of her role as a suburban housewife in the year 1951 and considers suicide as an escape from her miserable, unhappy life with her husband. In 2001, lesbian Clarissa Vaughan is planning a party for her special friend Richard, for winning an award in poetry. Richard, who is fighting a losing battle against AIDS, kills himself instead of accepting the award—which he believes he received out of sympathy.

The Journey They Take

In the animated film Spirited Away, Chihiro is a simple girl moving to a new home. After a series of unfortunate events,

Jason Bourne represents the shackles of our past. Jason Bourne is a man who would shoot another in the head without

Why is our identity so important to us? What happens when we lose our sense of identity? These are the questions that these directors explore. The idea that identity is both convergent and divergent is a major element of these films: our identity is based on who we are, who we’ve been, and who we think we will become. Each film focuses on a different aspect of identity.

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The Big Screen

a moment of hesitation if the mission called for it. However, underneath his cool and highly efficient façade, lies a man who seeks to find peace in life. In the penultimate film Bourne Supremacy, Jason Bourne travels to Moscow to find Irena Neski.

Irena’s parents were both murdered by Jason Bourne during his first assassination operation. Bourne confesses to the crime and apologises. As Bourne leaves, Irena is left in shock, crying not out of anger at Bourne but of relief, as she finally knows the truth and understands her past. Bourne is a living weapon; a suffering, breathing, feeling weapon who you can empathise with. But, more than ever, you’ll find yourself rooting for his alter ego, David Webb who lives for the things and people he loves.

The main characters of The Hours represent the gift of the present. Clarissa ties the loose ends of how the film deals with the theme of identity together by drawing parallels with the title character, Mrs. Dalloway of Woolf’s novel. Clarissa is an embodiment of Mrs Dalloway—she distracts herself from life the same way the character did. Both Virginia and Laura struggle to find happiness in their lives while Clarissa reminisces on the time she spent with Richard as the happiest days of her life.

However, Richard realises that their happiest days are behind them. This leads to him commit suicide before his party as he believes that he has become a source of pain and regret for Clarissa. Later that night Laura, who is Richard’s mother, visits Clarissa’s apartment. Laura believes it was a better decision for her to leave her family rather than commit suicide. She has led a happier life as a librarian since then.

On the other hand, Chihiro represents the path we take in this dark and constantly changing world called life. In the world of spirits, the boy spirit Haku is her most trustworthy companion.

It is he who must teach her how to survive and restore her parents to human form. Chihiro must give up being an apathetic 10 year old, and in the process she meets many spirits who, despite losing their identities and hopes to Yubaba, all have a great sense of determination which she yearns to emulate.

Over the course of their respective journeys, the choices and decisions these characters make help shape their ideals and beliefs. After successfully rescuing her parents, Chihiro leaves the world of spirits and as she walks out, Haku tells her to never look back. It is a thought-provoking moment because as much as we seek identity, we must also be ready to move on and to move out of the shadows of our mistakes. No matter if one can distort reality or warp time, there is always an eternal quality to identity. Jason Bourne’s mind may have been broken but he is still the same person inside; David Webb still lives within him. The people in our lives and the events we live through construct our emotional and psychological selves. We need to know who we are in order to know where we belong in the world. Each of us needs to better understand ourselves and understand how our choices are a function of who we are, while creating who we are.

References: http://www.questia.com/library/literature/ literary-themes-and-topics/identity-in-literature

Photo © sharetv.org

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?r es=9C0DE6DE113CF934A15751C1A9649 C8B63 http://www.cinemaseekers.com/Sokurov2. html http://www.enotes.com/cinema/discuss/ identify-film-based-theme-identity-118343

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Behind The Masks

P S Y C H O P A T H S :

I

BEHIND THE MASK OF SANITY

By Davinia Gunasagran

n popular culture, psychopaths are depicted as calculating and socially inept individuals with a set of soulless, empty eyes. Some of them may fit this description perfectly but othersblend in with relatively high IQs, an attractive aura of self-confidence, and boundless charm—all the while concealing a non-existent conscience. If that does not give you the heebie-jeebies, this will: approximately 5% of the population are psychopaths. While your paranoia consumes you (could my sullen next-door neighbour or pleasant classmate with an impeccable side-parting be a serial killer?), let us examine the term psychopath.

Photo © wikipedia.com

Psychopathy and sociopathy are both antisocial personality disorders, and while they share similar characteristics, psychopathy is a much more severe diagnosis. According to the Psychopathy Checklist formulated by renowned psychologist Dr. Robert Hare, among other traits, psychopaths exhibit a lack of remorse and empathy, are compulsive liars and tend to be supercilious, in an I-am-a-Norse-God way. The root of psychopathy is not clearly defined, but an abusive childhood and genetic factors have been linked to the disorder. In a recent study, psychopaths have been found to have low levels of density in their paralimbic system, the part of the brain that is responsible for processing emotions. Hence, there is an ongoing debate as to whether psychopathy should be considered a disease or disorder, and if rehabilitation is remotely possible. Are psychopaths a human form of evil, or are they people afflicted with a crippling disease? To help you decide, here are a few criminals that put the “Psycho” in psychopaths.

Human Hunter: Robert Hansen was a diffident, pock-marked adolescent that was bullied in his school in Iowa. He burned down his school bus garage and committed petty thefts, causing his first wife to divorce him. Moving to Alaska, he earned himself a new wife and a better reputation with the locals as a good hunter. They had no idea that his hunting skills were not limited to animals. After being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, he began his killing spree of at least 17 women from the ages of 16 to 41. Bipolar disorder is a debilitating illness that causes major mood shifts, and is primarily caused by hormonal/chemical imbalance and biological traits. In his case the line between bipolar disorder and psychopathy is blurred. He would rape and torture his victims before setting them “free” in the woods, where he would shoot them down after giving them a head start. The testimony of one living victim and the discovery of a rifle and map of his buried victims led to his conviction. He is now serving 461 years in prison (yes, he’s still alive!).

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Behind The Masks

The Killer Clown: Photo © wikipedia.com

John Wayne Gacy entertained kids at parties by dressing as “Pogo the Clown,” a character he devised himself. As a child John was obese, constantly physically abused by his alcoholic dad as well as molested by a family friend. In 1968, he was charged with sexual molestation of a young boy and served jail time. After divorcing his wife, he returned to his hometown in Chicago and began luring homosexual men to his home—where he tortured, raped, and murdered 33 of them. When suspicious police knocked on his front door, Gacy nonchalantly invited them into his house, which reeked of what they later found to be the smell of decaying bodies. 29 bodies were found under the floors. He was convicted and in 1994, killed by a lethal dose injection.

Photo © static17.deviantart.com Photo © dark.pozadia.org Photo © planetrown.deviantart.com

Dr. Death:

Photo © wikipedia.com

Dr Harold Shipman was a bright pupil, and his mother’s death from lung cancer when he was 17 motivated him to become a doctor. After graduating from the University of Leeds, he was soon suspended as a doctor for illegally acquiring morphine. Later, he was allowed to continue his profession and chose to start his own practice. Over 23 years, he killed 250 patients, all by administering a lethal dose of diamorphine. He was finally arrested after he forged his last victim’s will, a mayoress, leaving everything to him and not her daughter, who reported him to the police. As most of his victims were women, some psychologists believed his mother’s death to be a factor, while some said he enjoyed the immense power he held over his patients’ lives.

Simply put, he enjoyed playing God. While serving 15 life sentences, Shipman committed suicide by hanging in 2004.

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Behind The Masks

The Earthquake Alibi :

Photo © wikipedia.com

Herb Mullin seemed to peak at high school, being a smart kid and voted “Most Likely to Succeed.” However, soon after graduating, his close friend died in a car accident and he became addicted to drugs. An identity crisis forced him to adopt different personas such as a yoga disciple, amateur boxer, hippie, and a sombrero-wearing Mexican. What sparked this “crisis” is schizophrenia, which is a severe mental disorder that induces intense paranoia and delusional thinking due to imbalanced chemical reactions in the brain. Guess what he added next on the list? His first victim was a homeless man he bludgeoned to death. His murders were committed in psychotic episodes that left him unhinged, extremely dangerous and guiltless. He committed 13 murders in California, ranging from hitchhikers to acquaintances, all with no apparent connection. He was convicted when a witness testified to his outright shooting of a victim in his driveway, but pleaded insanity. It was hard to disprove it, when Mulin claimed that his murders prevented a formidable earthquake from hitting California and he had telepathically obtained permission from four victims to kill them. Also, when he took the stand, he proposed that he was Einstein’s reincarnation, and he was the “leader of the next generation.” He was sentenced to life.

Photo © wikipedia.com

Angel of Death : Kristen Gilbert started off as a pretty and smart community school grad. After the birth of her first child, Kristen took the late shift at a Northamptons hospital, and the death rate tripled over the period of three years. She also began an affair with the hospital’s security guard, and tried to impress him with her “polished” nursing skills during medical emergencies. After divorcing her husband, people began to notice the significantly increased deaths during her shift, and rumours circulated. Their suspicions were confirmed when an impatient Gilbert asked her supervisor, “If my patient dies, can I get off early?” When he replied in the affirmative, her patient died from cardiac arrest a few hours later. During the seven years she worked there, 350 deaths occurred, and it didn’t take long for the police to pinpoint her role in them. Besides, when the security guard/lover left her, she desperately called him and said “I killed those guys.” She was sentenced to life in prison.

could your sullen next-door neighbour or pleasant classmate with an impeccable sideparting be a serial killer?

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Photo © tumblr.com

Behind The Masks

SUPERHEROES:

MASKS OR THE FACES BENEATH?

By Tan Wei Jian

M

ost people like to say that they dislike people who seem to put on different masks as they interact with different people. If that’s the case, then you obviously haven’t read enough comic books or watched that many cartoons in your childhood. When it comes to putting on masks, no one does it better than our (fictional) superheroes, who are torn between their Secret Identities (SI) and what we will call The Suit.

By secret identities, I mean the more-or-less average guy on the street or millionaire playboys such as Peter Parker, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, and Tony Stark. On the other hand, The Suit refers to the suit they put on as their superhero personas (which are Spiderman, Superman, Batman, and Iron Man respectively). Of course, there are countless superheroes in the comic universe, but to avoid alienating our less comic-crazy readers, we shall focus on the more popular ones.

The Reasons Why do superheroes have secret identities anyway? Are they afraid that the villains will get them when they’re not wearing The Suit? This is probably not the case as most of them still have their powers no matter where they go, contrary to the popular saying “The suit maketh the man.”

So, what is the real reason? To quote Batman in “The Dark Knight Rises,” the mask is not to protect yourself from harm, but to protect your loved ones from your enemies. If everyone knew your true identity, then with a bit of Googling and Facebook stalking they would know who your friends, family, and lovers were. Indeed, the best way to hurt an invincible person is to strike those he vowed to love and protect; that way, you can break his soul without even touching him. With the mask, a superhero’s identity is safe; the identity of his loved ones remains a secret.

There are also practical reasons why The Suit exists. Superheroes have their personal lives to lead. Socializing, eating, and even paying the rent: superheroes do that too. Unless he is a multi-millionaire like Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark, he probably needs a day job to survive. Saving the day can make you an idol or a celebrity but once you start charging for it, you’re going to really annoy some people. And no sane boss would hire The

Suit in his workplace. Think of all the battles it would attract to the workplace and the destruction that is bound to occur!

Hence, for all their real-life money-making needs, there has to be a secret identity.

There is also the publicity issue. If a superhero’s secret identity is revealed, he or she is sure to be hounded by the paparazzi everywhere they go as their lives pique the interest of everyone, from the hard-core fans to the thief looking for his golden opportunity on a famous victim. It would then be impossible for them to walk down a street without encountering an obsessed fan begging for an autograph or a guy with a flashing camera, for who doesn’t want a piece of an idol’s world? But these superheroes spent half their lives fighting villains—super or not—and they need a break which their Secret Identities can provide. (Clark Kent and Peter Parker spend the other half of their lives holding a camera, so they definitely do not need more of those flashing lights.)

“the mask is not to protect yourself from harm, but to protect your loved ones from your enemies.”

The Clash Now, it is pretty obvious why superheroes need two identities. However, problems arise when these identities clash with each other. It’s difficult to continue assuming your Secret Identity as you go through mundane chores such as gardening, (Continued on page 28)

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Behind The Masks

grocery-shopping, and arguing with your boss when you know you have the superpower to settle everything without breaking a sweat (although wearing a Batman suit might be useful when negotiating a salary raise). Balancing temptation, morality, and practicality is a difficult thing to do. As Terry Pratchett, a fantasy writer, so aptly put: “The only thing harder than knowing how to do something is knowing how not to do something.”

The Conclusion

There is also a conflict when the secret identity and The Suit both force the persona to pretend to be someone they’re not.

While Bruce Wayne is out and about organizing charity balls and romancing supermodels, he’s definitely playing the role of a wealthy playboy, which is not who he is. But, even as Batman, when he threatens to drop a crook fifty stories below unless he coughs up the whereabouts of the Riddler’s hideout, he’s playing the role of a murderous psychopath, which is also not who he is, since he abstains from killing. Hence, the real face of Bruce Wayne/Batman remains a mystery to most people, maybe even to himself.

Although superheroes represent a successful version of JekyllHyde transformations, these transformations nevertheless demonstrate our primal need for a separate identity to put up in front of others or protect our true image, and the complications that ensue after one can no longer can tell them apart. You see, constructing a mask to hide behind is simple, but separating your true self after using the mask is the real challenge.

Photo © comicartcommunity.com

“separating your true self after using the mask is the real challenge”

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Photo © rebecca.deviantart.com

Also, what if the Secret Identity and The Suit are one and the same, or the transition between the two cannot be controlled?

For the former, which include the Punisher and Hancock, it is probably much simpler for them as they only have one face to show the world, no secret identity and no pretending required.

For the latter though, it would be much more complicated.

Like the Hulk and the Ghost Rider, it would be scary to be normal around your loved ones for one moment and suddenly imbued with superpowers the next. Not being in control of your own actions and potentially hurting those around you―how would you be able to trust yourself and get close to anyone at all?

It is an imperative that superheroes have a second identity― The Suit. It represents what each of us would do ourselves, if given the element of anonymity, or a “suit” that we can put on whenever we want. But it must be known that superheroes are merely vainglorious metaphors of the Jekylls and Hydes in each and every one of us. Even as superheroes battle supervillains, even as good battles evil, all of us have our own battles waging in our mind. Who really sits behind the mask we use?

What if the mask is lifted to reveal a second mask? Do we really know ourselves?

Social Awareness

Photo © dailyworldfacts.com

CHILD ABUSE

By Yip Mun Yee

T

he words “child abuse” were originally, only used to describe any type of physical abuse inflicted upon a child by an adult. However, as time passed, professionals are now aware that there are many different types of abuse, all of which have significant effects upon a victimised child.

Today, the term “child abuse” has been broken down into four major categories: physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect. Each form of abuse may occur in isolation or as a collective; for example sexual abuse usually involves emotional abuse.

The most common form of abuse in Malaysia is child neglect. Although neglect is a form of abuse which is not easy to define, in general, it is an act or behaviour which results in the child’s needs not being consistently met and a reduction of their physical and emotional well-being. This may include not sufficiently providing a child’s physical needs for regular meals, safe living conditions, medical needs, or even adequate clothes. It also includes refusal to respond to the child, showing no interest in their presence, or consistently preventing the child from having normal social interactions. Many parents or guardians have failed to provide the necessary care and supervision for their children, making it the most common A-Voice December 2012

cause of death among children in our country.

The second most common form of abuse in Malaysia is physical abuse. This refers to physical aggression such as beating the child with a belt, scalding the child with hot water, and other inappropriate, violent actions which can injure a child physically.

Most physically abusive parents defend their actions by insisting that they were just trying to “discipline” or “teach” their child. While physical punishment has a slightly different meaning (it is the use of physical actions to inflict bodily pain, but not injury, for the purpose of correction or constrain), it can easily get out of control and become physical abuse. Punishments exist for children to learn from their mistakes and repent, not to scar them physically and emotionally. In addition, parents or primary caretakers who fabricate or induce illness in a child by deliberately inducing symptoms through administration of drugs, intentional suffocation, overdosing, tampering with medical equipment, and falsifying test (Continued on page 30)

Photo © priscillapresleyng.com

Photo © postnoon.com

Types of Child Abuse

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Social Awareness

results can be considered to be physically abusing that child.

Sexual abuse is another main form of child abuse. Any act of using a child to create sexual satisfaction for another person is recognized as sexual abuse. There are two types of sexual abuse: physical and non-physical sexual behaviour. Physical acts are more obvious; they include touching the child either directly or through clothing, inappropriate kissing, masturbation, and rape.

Non-physical sexual abuse usually goes undetected, since the child is not physically harmed. It is also more difficult to identify as, for example, photographing a nude child playing on the beach does not constitute as sexual abuse unless it is for sexual purposes like prostitution or pornography. Other examples of non-contact abuse may be exposing a child to pornographic material or sexual acts, genital exposure (flashing), inappropriately observing a child undress or using the bathroom, and directing a child to do sexual poses.

Photo © theinspirationroom.com

Another form of child abuse is emotional abuse. Emotional abuse refers to an adult’s behaviour which causes detrimental effect upon the child’s emotional and social development as it

Turn off the lights and help Annie overcome her fear of the dark.

-----Pedophilia. You might not see it, but it could be happening.

affects the child’s subconscious mind. An example of a child who is often ridiculed, undermined, ignored, frightened, exploited or bullied is likely to grow up with low self-confidence and low selfesteem. A child who is raised in a family with domestic violence or drug and alcohol abuse is likely to suffer emotionally as they witness or hear violent acts. Besides that, exploiting or corrupting a child’s mind is also a form of emotional abuse: this happens when a child is encouraged, taught, or forced to perform improper or illegal behavior such as exposing the child to antisocial role models and rewarding a child for stealing or being involved in sexual activities.

(Continued on page 31) 30

Symptoms/ short-term effects of child abuse (according to www.kidscape.org.uk) Neglect • Constant hunger and tiredness • Poor personal hygiene • Poor state of clothing • Emaciation • Untreated medical problems • No social relationships • Compulsive scavenging • Destructive tendencies Physical Abuse • Unexplained recurrent injuries or burns • Improbable excuses or refusal to explain injuries • Wearing clothes to cover injuries, even in hot weather • Bald patches • Fear of medical help or examination • Self-destructive tendencies • Aggression towards others • Fear of physical contact/shrinking back if touched Sexual Abuse • Being overly affectionate in a sexual way inappropriate to the child’s age • Medical problems such as chronic itching, pain in the genitals, venereal diseases • Regressing to younger behaviour patterns such as thumb sucking or bringing out discarded cuddly toys • Lack of trust or fear of someone they know well, such as not wanting to be alone with a babysitter or child minder • Become worried about clothing being removed • Suddenly drawing sexually explicit pictures Emotional Abuse • Physical, mental and emotional development lags • Sudden speech disorders • Continual self-depreciation (‘I’m stupid, ugly, worthless, etc’) • Overreaction to mistakes • Extreme fear of any new situation • Inappropriate response to pain (‘I deserve this’) • Neurotic behaviour (rocking, hair twisting, selfmutilation) • Extremes of passivity or aggression A-Voice December 2012

Social Awareness

up into caring people and form loving relationships, survivors have trouble with intimacy, even with their own children in some cases.

Photo © michelephoenix.com

At the societal level, victims of child abuse may have difficulties in school, leading to poorer employment prospects later in life and placing the victim at a higher risk of living in poverty. When victims of childhood abuse find it hard to cope with their situation, they might turn to alcohol or drugs as ways of escape, and risk becoming dependent on these substances.

These situations can all contribute to making the victim more likely to act in ways harmful to society, such as criminal activity, violent outbursts, and continuing the patterns of abuse.

Long-term effects of child abuse Time alone will not heal the effects of child abuse; only when the victim starts to consciously work on them can they be resolved. As children, they are completely dependent upon and vulnerable to the people who were supposed to care for them and keep them safe. Therefore, to survive, they tend to form a “self-blame” mechanism. This is especially true when the children are taught to hate themselves or when they feel strong affection for the abuser. Children of five or older—who know and care for their abusers—are usually aware that the acts are wrong, but they remain loyal to the perpetrators. It is a lot less scary for them to take the blame, than to live with the fact that the people they depend on and love so much are abusive.

Child abuse is a generational plague. In other words, an abusive father was most likely abused when he was a child.

MASA (Mothers Against Sexual Abuse) found that 85% of child sexual abusers were incest and sexual abuse victims themselves. Psychologists classify this phenomenon as the generational cycle. “When a stone drops into a pond, it creates ripples that spread from the point of impact to the edges of the pond. The same thing happens in families: children learn from the adults, who learned from their parents, who learned from their parents and so on. If a person’s upbringing included physical, emotional, mental and/or sexual abuse, you can be fairly certain that person will raise his or her child the same way,” said Claire Reeves, founder of MASA. To break this cycle, survivors of abuse will need to receive proper help.

Photo © michelephoenix.com

This “self blame” mechanism affects them forever.

Photo © s3-ec.buzzfed.com

This self-blame affects them forever. Most survivors have no idea that they deserve, and are capable of having a much better life. Many victims of childhood abuse find it difficult to believe that anyone could truly love them, value them, and respect them; they tend to be suspicious of people and relationships. They have a lot of problems with trust; it takes a lot of conscious effort on their part to trust again and to trust appropriately. This can be so severe that they may even isolate themselves, or even worse, throw themselves desperately onto people who will take advantage of their vulnerability, thus reinforcing the abuse. While some victims of abuse grow

An ad campaign by Y&R Mexico which points out that 70% of abused children turn into abusive adults and that we must do whatever we can to break that cycle.

As a young adult, how can you help?

Stopping child abuse begins with awareness, so don’t keep this information to yourself! Spread the word to everyone you know so that they can better understand child abuse.

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Social Awareness

If you ever witness or suspect child abuse, do not physically confront the abuser. As upset as you might be from witnessing child abuse, never compromise your own safety.

Quickly alert others in the area whose job it is to handle the situation—such as management or security. However, If the abuse is violent and taking place at a location where there is no management or security, contact the police or UNICEF Malaysia by calling

“When a stone drops into a pond, it creates ripples that spread from the point of impact to the edges of the pond. The same thing happens in families: children learn from the adults, who learned from their parents, who learned from their parents and so on.”

32

15999 with the following information: - address or location where the child is being abused or neglected - type of abuse or facts of the case - identity of the abuser or any information related to the abuser Alert them to the situation and let them know that somebody needs to look into it.

To quote Yushima Cherry, “When we ask, ‘Who will end child sexual abuse?’ without taking a stand ourselves, we become part of the problem.” I hope that our readers, who now have a wider perspective on child abuse, will be part of the Malaysian movement to prevent and stop children from getting hurt. Put yourself in the victims’ shoes: how would you feel if someone ignored your cries for help? Don’t ignore them any further. Your simple actions can change lives.

References: http://www.kidscape.org.uk/professionals/childabuse.shtml http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/briefings/fii_pdf_ wdf83368.pdf http://www.examiner.com/article/ generational-cycle-of-child-sexual-abuse http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/239 http://www.unicef.org/malaysia/ campaigns_getonboard-reportchild-abuse.html

When we ask, “Who will end child sexual abuse?” without taking a stand ourselves, we become part of the problem.

A-Voice December 2012

Photo © lookslikegooddesign.com

You can start off by promoting programs in college such as child abuse prevention strategies, tips to keep the children safe, and fund raising for the local victims. Don’t do it alone; ask your friends or volunteers for help. The more people you get involved, the better your chances of increasing public awareness on child abuse. Besides that, UNICEF Malaysia takes part in various activities on child protection. They have a lot of past experience from working with religious leaders and international societies. You can always visit http://www.unicef.org/malaysia/ to know more, and even volunteer to be a part of their program. In addition, you can always lend a hand by helping child abused victims in child crisis shelters like Shelter Home in Petaling Jaya http://www.shelterhome.org/.

Volunteer!

Photo © themalaysianinsider.com

YAYASAN CHOW KIT

by Lim Yuli

T

Photo © mgccon.com

here is a common, one dimensional perception of Chow Kit—a shady red light district where dodgy things happen. To quote a close friend of mine, “Chow Kit is like the Bronx of KL.” I, too, was guilty of this perspective and was highly apprehensive when applying to Yayasan Chow Kit (YCK) as a volunteer. However, I decided that I needed something to do with my time after A-Levels and I really wanted to step out of my comfort zone.

The article in the August 2012 edition of the A-Voice about YCK seemed like the perfect opportunity.

On the day that I was due to start at YCK, I was anything but excited. In fact, I was filled with dread wondering what I had gotten myself into, whether I had bitten off more than I could chew. For starters, I had to get used to the idea of taking public transport to the city every morning. Then, I had to walk about 1 km on Chow Kit Road, by myself, all the way to the centre. This may seem like a small feat for most of you but for a sheltered daddy’s girl like me, it was just plain scary. Nevertheless, I politely told my nerves to shut up, took the journey by myself, got a bit lost—changing lines at train stations and confusion between shoplots on Chow Kit road made me half an hour late on my first day!—but I A-Voice December 2012

finally arrived. When I got to the centre and met the kids, my apprehension and doubts slowly melted away.

The kids at YCK are some of the friendliest kids you will ever meet. I think the phrase “I immediately felt welcomed” finally rang true to me. Contrary to common belief, these kids are not unwanted children of sex workers or drug addicts or anything of that sort. Instead, most of them are undocumented children who cannot attend school because they have no birth certificates. Their lives are not particularly dramatic or tragic; they are just normal kids trying their best to obtain some sort of formal education. It wasn’t hard to tell how downright ecstatic they were to meet a new face.

The one thing that really took me by surprise on my first day was the courtesy, manners, and respect the children have towards their teachers and the volunteers. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but when a child stretched out his hand to me I thought he was asking me for a sweet. Instead, he took my hand, bowed his head, and touched my hand to his forehead.

That gesture of love, humility, and respect left me speechless and moved me to my core.

At the centre, I was assigned to tutor four kids who were too far behind their peers to join the usual classroom syllabus.The kids’ ages ranged from 9 to 16 years and had different levels of advancement (and attention spans!). I had to literally start from ABC because most of them could barely read or write. It proved to be an overwhelming challenge to handle all of them at the same time because their foundations were so weak and they really should be given oneon-one tutelage. Unfortunately, manpower was—and still is—scarce so I had to pair them according to their literacy and numeracy skills. Even so, it was difficult to keep them in check, let alone make sure that they were learning.

Every morning, they were separated from the other kids in another classroom for what the teachers call “special class” with me. I have always wondered whether they felt any kind of social exclusion because of this. However, my observations of them during their breaks proved that they suffered no such prejudice. All the kids there treated them no differently. They laughed and ragged each other just the same.

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Volunteer!

My kids were not the only ones doing the learning. I learnt a great deal from them too. I learnt to humble myself and to be limitlessly patient. Let me tell you about each of them. Y, age 9, is so fidgety and so easily distracted that he stretched my patience to new limits, ones that I had not known of before.

A, age 14, is an average learner with a tendency to boss the others around; R, a very intelligent child and a quick learner who is unfortunately easily bored because he picks up the lesson much quicker than the others; S, a polite, hardworking child with a huge craving for knowledge.

On my first day, one of the management staff told me, “Their attention spans are really short, must be very very patient with them because they are very slow.” This was completely untrue and I refused to subscribe to this prejudice. I learned that the worse possible thing you could do when teaching a child is to set your own limits on them. The student who proved that to me was S.

Photo © Lim Yuli

S is a child who is so eager to learn that he has made me truly understand the phrase “a joy to teach.” He is possibly the most hardworking, dedicated student I have ever met. He started off with the weakest foundation: he could not even form his ABCs without effort. However, by the time I left the centre, he was so far ahead of the rest simply through his hard work and insatiable hunger for knowledge. Every break time, he would stay back and ask me to teach him extra information while all the other kids were outside playing or gorging themselves on nasi lemak. He never gave up even when he thought the lesson was way too hard for him.

A kangaroo I drew! The kids thought it looked like a bunny with a pouch and a fox’s tail.

S: Saya ingat arnab!

Sometimes when i watched him, I would get frustrated not at him but on his behalf, simply because he tried so hard but still could not get it. I would think to myself, how can he not be frustrated or disappointed when he’s been trying for so long. Nevertheless, he persevered at every task until he was able to do it. I remember the joy I felt when he was able to pronounce his first word: “tree.” I could not contain my happiness; I was jumping up and down in joy while clapping my 34

My kids were not the only ones doing the learning.

I learnt a great deal from them too. hands. S was, and will never be complacent when it comes to gaining knowledge. My last memory of him at the centre was checking through the answers to his times tables and feeling overjoyed that he got them all right. For me, S is a testament that hard work eventually pays off even when you have fewer opportunities than the others. There is an old Chinese proverb “出污泥而不 染 .” It describes the resilience of the lotus that grows to become pure and untainted even though it is sowed in a muddy bank. This is exactly how I would describe S. Although waking up early in the morning to go to the centre sometimes felt like a chore, the moment I stepped into the classroom of small, happy faces, I couldn’t think of anywhere else I would rather be. There was so much frustration and patience involved while I was teaching them, but there was also pride, joy, and satisfaction. On the last day, I only remembered the upsides of teaching and I could not bear to leave my kids. All of the children rushed forward to thank me, salam me, and some of them even teared while doing so.

When I walked out of the centre onto dusty, hazy Chow Kit road, I couldn’t help but look back at the place that taught me resilience, humility and patience. I was scared when I first arrived. Scared of the language barrier, scared of the public transportation, scared of rowdy kids, scared of everything... I learned to overcome all of that by stepping out of my comfort zone and plunging into the deep end. Now, I walk away with no regrets whatsoever, knowing that I made a difference, however slight, in someone’s life.

A-Voice December 2012

College Affairs

O Photo © Tan Wei Wen

n the 7th of October 2012, SASA scholars (Recipients of the Student Achiever Scholarship Award from HELP University) held a charity event to raise funds for 4 homes: Yayasan Sunbeams Home, Trinity Children Centre Home, Trinity Home, and TiRatana Welfare Home. This event was cleverly named the HELPing Hands Run.

into four categories: Under-18 5km, Open 5km, Open 8.5km, and Fun Run (3km). At the sound of the air horn, the first two categories started running followed by the latter two.

Along the run, marshals were seen guiding runners to the correct route. The route was definitely not easy: it was quite a challenge to run up and down those steep hills. However, this obviously did not deter the runners from completing the race as they gritted their teeth and pushed their aching legs forward. A dose of 100 Plus and a splash of water at the water station was all it took to revitalise the runners and keep them running to the finish line.

Less than 30 minutes later, the first batch of runners completed the run. Joy could be seen on their faces as they rejoiced in their achievement. When asked to comment on the run, Sylvia Moey (the 17 year old winner of the under 18 category) said, “I thought it wasn’t very well organized as there were marshal problems. Nevertheless, the entire event was quite good and I thought this was a good idea to raise funds for charity.”

Photo © thesolemates.wordpress.com

In the wee hours of the morning, the dedicated SASA scholars were already up and running to prepare for the run. Booths were set up and banners were hung in place, as participants slowly trickled in. Before the run commenced, there was a short warming up session where people were seen stretching and dancing to the infamous K-pop hit, “Gangnam Style.”

Excitement filled the atmosphere as the participants— pumping with adrenaline—moved towards the starting line in front of HELP Residence. The participants were divided

by Tan Xin Wen

(Continued on page 36 ) A-Voice December 2012

35

College Affairs

Although there were some glitches which resulted in a few runners getting lost, other areas of the run were managed smoothly. Desmond, 19, who participated in the Open 8.5km category believed that the most important thing was the purpose behind this run. “It’s good that we’re doing something for charity and at the same time promoting fitness,” the Alevels student exclaimed.

to their collective hard work and effort, they have managed to raise RM 9500. With the help of various sponsors such as Marigold, Ambros, Kind, and Block Up, they managed to achieve their ultimate goal: to contribute to the lives of orphans and underprivileged children in the four homes while still having fun.

Photo © Arina

Photo © Tan Wei Wen

Even though there was a slight delay in the awards ceremony, frustration quickly turned into delight as the medals were given out. Photographs were taken and the HELPing Hands Run came to an end. Darren Timothy, the head organizer of this event alongside Timothy Sim, shared the difficulties of organizing this run. “It was hard as this is our first time hosting such an event. And being 18 year old students, none of us have the years of experience in planning that so many others do. I do hope that next year's batch of students will do better should they continue this project,” he stated. Well, thanks

R E S U LT S DAY Photo © facebook.com/HELPUniversity

(Continued on page 37) 36

A-Voice December 2012

College Affairs

18

months, 591 days, 14184 hours, 841040 minutes, 51062400 seconds for the HA07 intake.

15 months, 467 days, 11208 hours, 672480 minutes, 40348800 seconds for the HA08 intake.

After all those nights of burning the midnight oil it all came down to this day. For the other intakes, it was results day for them too but it wouldn’t be their last one just yet.

16th August 2012. It was doomsday for the A-levels students.

A day when the truth would unfold. Lines were gradually forming as students started flooding into the lower foyer of the Main Block at HELP University. By 2pm, the foyer was crowded with hordes of people waiting to get their hands on a slip of paper that would determine their future.

Nervous whispers echoed throughout the foyer: Did I do well enough? Would those hours of studying every day pay off? Did I meet the university’s requirements? Most of the students were obviously tense and worried. They wiped their sweaty palms against their jeans over and over again and while clutching their stomachs, they tried their best to quell those fluttering butterflies within. Nevertheless, some had stone cold, emotionless faces, appearing almost indifferent to the reason they were standing there that day.

Tick Tock. Tick Tock. The staff from the A-levels department arrived and went to their respective stations with stacks of papers in their hands. The lucky ones at the front of the queue stretched out shaky hands to accept the proffered results slips. With the piece of paper folded in their clammy palms, they slithered towards a corner; some sucked in a deep breath and quickly flipped open the paper; while others were hesitant and unfolded the paper inch by inch, preparing themselves for the worse.

Photo © miami.com

Tears of joy and shouts of laughter could be heard from those who managed to score the results they wanted. Peers hugged

each other tightly with wide smiles. However, with the good comes the bad—despair etched on the faces of those who didn’t achieve the grades they wanted.

Some of the top scorers: Loo Han Rong - 5A* - University of Cambridge - Economics - Securities Commission Scholarship - Advice to juniors: University is a lot harder than A-levels, so...

Prime Ch’ng Sernh Lee - 4A* - University of Warwick - Accounting and Finance - Advice to juniors: Study hard.

Tan Gui Ming - 4A* - University of Bristol - Medicine - Advice to juniors: Listen in class. Do homework and have fun studying.

Surprisingly, two of the top scorers, Loo Han Rong and Prime Ch’ng Sernh Lee were dissatisfied with their results, the former scoring 5A*’s and the latter 4A*’s. “When I first received my results, they didn’t meet the conditions in my offer. I felt so disappointed and helpless,” said Han Rong, who only managed to achieve his last A* for Economics after sending his paper in for remarking.

Overall, HELP obtained an overall of 91% passes for the June 2012 examination results. The number of straight A's obtained is 38.8%, with 132 students achieving 3A’s and above. The results were received with mixed feelings, but all the students deserved congratulations despite their results.

Although the journey through A-levels has ended for most of the seniors, the one to university has just begun.

And that is a whole new road and opportunity, so it is time to move on.

A-Voice December 2012

37

Theater

Arty, applying the Kiss of Death on Grandma Kurnitz.

It’s all about balancing work and ... work. Karen trying to do her homework even whilst rehearsals are happening!

Production Sneak Peek

N

eil Simon’s multi-award winning play, “Lost in Yonkers,” is a play set in the early 1940s against the backdrop of World War II—though it has the least concern for it. There’s a far more important domestic war raging in the

By Samantha Cheh Kurnitz’s Kandy Store in Yonkers, New York. and Thulaja Thessa Teenage brothers Jay and Arty, who are sent to live with their Jewish, German-refugee grandmother, Grandma Kurnitz, have to battle it out with her for about a year, as their father, Eddie, travels the country to work and earn enough money to pay off his debts.

Their father’s family is not the easiest family to understand. There’s Aunt Bella who’s just a little off the hinge. She makes great ice cream sodas but that doesn’t count for much when she missed her first year of high school because she couldn’t find it. Uncle Louie, their only living uncle, is a mysterious man of many talents, full of speakeasy swagger and wit—is he the mobsters’ henchman he’s rumored to be or he is just regular Uncle Louie? Aunt Gert isn’t the strangest one of the family but she certainly does leave a lasting impression. A walking respiratory disorder, she’s sweet and just a tad bit nervous. And they say you can’t pick who you’re related to. Jay and Arty learn that the hard way.

Neil Simon’s masterpiece of tears and laughter swept the Tony and Pulitzer Prize Awards of 1991 with its sharp humor, quick fire dialogue, and wacky personalities. The play’s emotional and climactic face-offs bring to mind the everyday dramedy that is our own family lives—and at times, make us thank heaven that we’re not Jay and Arty.

Photo © Andrea Wong and Isabelle Tan

We are family! and we’re having a SERIOUS conversation.

38

And the ubiquitous feet shot.

A-Voice December 2012

LOS T IN YONK E R S

“I’m a body-guard for a very prominent and distinguished political figure. It’s sort of like an FBI man, only they call it... something else.” -Uncle Louie

A must-see piece of theatre that is set to leave you lost in wonders.

“Who knows?… She’s been crying for -- (sucks breath in) -- two days now. I’m sorry. It’s hard for me to talk.” - Aunt Gert

“Sometimes my mind wanders. The kids in school used to say, ‘Hey, Bella!

Lost and found called and said, “Come get your brains!” -Bella

“It’s hot!

I’m so hot!”

- Arty