“Veritas vos liberabit”
ISSUE 4
Junto
A STUDENT PUBLICATION OF HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Is the ETS Parents charging too Receive much for Powerschool computer Access repairs?
Hong Kong International School 1 Red Hill Road Tai Tam, Hong Kong http://dragonnet.hkis.edu.hk
FEBRUARY 2012
Red Cross Returns to HKIS for Blood Drive
By Andrea Herman Staff Writer
By Stephanie Tang Staff Writer
Since the implementation of the 1:1 program last year, students have been told multiple times to take good care of their laptops in order to reduce the number of laptoprelated accidents at school. Despite these warnings, there is still a high number of laptops going in and out of the ETS office in the library for repairs. According to an Educational Technology Services (ETS) staff member, the number of laptops sent into the office to be repaired averages 5-10 per week; this number is especially high when students return from vacations. The cost of these repairs so has raised some concerns among students. “Getting your computer fixed is actually really expensive,” said sophomore Emma Deignan. “I feel like it costs more than is necessary.” Several other students who have had their computers repaired agreed that the price charged by HKIS to fix a keyboard or a cracked screen is significantly greater than that charged by other off-campus computer centers. Sophomore Carla Achcar is one of these students. “I had water spilled
In mid February, parents will gain access to powerschool, a move that receives mixed reviews from students and staff alike. At the start of the school year, the student body received access to powerschool, with some unexpected side effects. Some students became obsessed with their grades, constantly updating the page. The intended purpose of powerschool was to help students keep track of their assignments and stay on top of their grades, eventually opening the site to parents. This will allow parents to keep track the progress of their children. According to Ms. Harvey, Powerschool was opened for six weeks last spring to a small group of students. These students were allowed to give feedback on the program before it opened to the entire student body. The one unanimous response was that students did not want their parents to gain access to their grades. “Students are not necessarily on board with this move,” says Ms. Harvey. Students understand the benefits of allowing parents access, but are not in favor of the change. “Parents have the right to see it, and I can see why the school wants them to, but I don’t like that my parents can see it any minute of
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NEWS All For A Vision Featured on MTV Iggy Page 4
Former HKIS Student Launches Book Page 5
Project Balance Page 4
Valentines Day Dance Page 6
PHOTO BY JODIE CHAN By Andrew Yu Staff Writer
February 27, 2012 will see the return of the annual Blood Drive hosted by the National Honor Society in conjunction with the Hong Kong Red Cross. Although HKIS has had blood drives in the past, in recent years the project has been on hiatus. The blood drive returned last year due to the efforts of three NHS
JUNTO WEBSITE COMING OUT SOON!
members, then-seniors Nicola Tang and May Lin Siu and junior Jodie Chan. “This is mostly a student run event,” Jodie Chan, now a senior, comments. “I am going to be this year’s organizer and will act as a liaison between HKIS and the Hong Kong Red Cross”. Instrumental to this project are Mrs. Haskins as faculty advisor and the high school nurse, Esperanza Ciriaco, “as supervisors to help with some of the more complicated
aspects of this project,” said Chan. According to Chan, “Yes, of course, procedures are entirely safe.” Potential blood donors must first send in an application form, and are then given an interview regarding “health issues, safety, insurance, etc.” For instance, those who have recently traveled to certain parts of the world may not be eligible to donate due to the fear of “disease and transmissions.” This allows the Red Cross to “make Continued on Page 3
COLUMNS
2012 YEAR OF THE DRAGON
FOOD: STUFF BARTON EATS THE GADFLY Page 8
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Hong Kong International School 1 Red Hill Road Tai Tam, Hong Kong Junto is a student publication of Hong Kong International School. Student editors make all content decision. Please feel free to submit letters to the editors. Submit your letter to junto@hkis.edu.hk. Letters may be edited for clarity. Teacher Advisor .............................................................................................Chris Taylor Editor-in-Chief ..................................................................................Sanchita Kanthadai Editors ...........................................................................................................Thomas Ruan Emily Williams Christine Herman Charlie Packer Layout Editor .......................................................................................................Jinny Lee Layout assistants ........................................................................................Tiffany Chung Photo Manager ..................................................................................Victoria Montecillo Photo assistants ..........................................................................................Gabriella Tam Hannah Passamonte Amy Griffin Kira Bauman
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Is the ETS charging too much for computer repairs? From Page 1 on my laptop,” she said. “When I went to the ETS office to ask how much it would cost to fix it, they gave me a really high price. My dad thought it was suspicious so he brought it to another computer center, where they told him it would cost HK$11,000 less than the ETS said it would.” The difference in price Achcar found is only around two thousand dollars less than it would cost to buy a totally new laptop from the school. This difference has led to rumors that the large price gap is a result of an added interest to generate profit for HKIS. “I don’t know if they’re actually raising prices to create revenue,” said junior Daniel Zhu. “But if they are, it’s misrepresenting the costs of the school. If they really needed the money, they should raise the tuition rather than trying to squeeze it out of us in these ways.” Though many of the complaints about the cost of repairs have been directed at HKIS itself, Mr. Buck says that the school has nothing to do with the price of these laptop repairs. “The ETS itself does no repairs,” said Mr. Buck. “All of that is done by SENCO, which is a separate company contracted by Apple. The price that students pay is given by SENCO, which in return is given to them by Apple.” Mr. Buck also stated that the reason it might cost more to have a computer fixed at school is because SENCO is restricted to using Apple parts and following its protocol while other centers are free to use cheaper computer parts to fix laptops. ETS is responsible only for software-related issues; they do not handle the physical
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computers themselves. With regard to students’ concerns, Mr. Buck said that since a new Apple store has recently been opened in IFC, students now have another option for fixing their damaged computers. “At Apple, they might be able to waive the price so that you don’t have to pay for your repairs,” he said. “However, SENCO doesn’t have the freedom to fix things for free because they buy the parts that they use to fix laptops from Apple. If money is an issue, students are always welcome to get their computers repaired at the Apple store. Many students find it quicker and more convenient to do it here though, especially those who don’t live near Central.” Mr. Buck also denied all allegations that HKIS is attempting to make a profit out of laptop repairs. “The only thing we have to do with the fees is the negotiations with Apple to settle on a price to buy the laptops,” he said. “The school does not make money out of these laptop repairs; in fact, it’s the opposite.” Mr. Buck explained that the school takes care of the insurance of the laptops, which is built into the tech fees that students pay in order to receive their computers. “Because of the extremely high level of repairs that take place here, Apple wants to increase the insurance,” Mr. Buck said. Despite the fact that the school is not the one deciding the costs of computer repairs, some students feel that they should still argue for lowering the price. “They should charge lower because we are such a large group,” said senior Edmund Ho. “The school should be responsible for giving them incentives to do so.”
Red Cross Returns to HKIS for Blood Drive
sure there is no incubation period after travelling.” Blood donations are also not available to those who are under 16, and potential donors between the ages 16 and 17 must have parental consent. After the interview, professional nurses sent by the Red Cross come in and perform the procedures. Last year more than 40 people participated in the NHS Blood Drive.
This year, Chan is aiming to make the blood collection process more efficient. “Last year, people flooded in to have their blood taken during lunch time, which meant there was a lot of waiting around.” This year, there are plans to implement a sign up system, both by hand and online, to see what time best suits individual people “so not everybody is crowded in the same time slot.”
VICTORIA MONTECILLO/JUNTO
Complimenting Craze Spreads to HKIS By Victoria Montecillo Staff Writer & photographer
Following the controversy of last year’s senior hit list on Facebook, HKIS students have taken up a growing trend in the United States: online compliments, with the creation of a Facebook page called HKIS Compliments. The trend began at James Madison University, when an anonymous student created a JMU Compliments Facebook page, with the sole purpose of giving students the opportunity to make each other happy and compliment their fellow peers.
This compliments craze spread to the rest of the country, and eventually to international schools across the globe such as Seoul Foreign School. HKIS picked up on this trend last fall, with a student making an HKIS Compliments Facebook page in late November. The page was constantly being updated with new compliments for a few months, with anonymous messages being posted like “You’re hilarious,” or, “I’m so glad I met you,” or, “you’re an amazing dancer!” Many students think that the compliment page is a sincere effort to raise morale in the school; Jayne
Ng, an eleventh grader, said, “It’s nice that people care about each other and that they’re making an effort to stop the hit list.” Word of this new trend hasn’t reached all of the students at HKIS. Nathalie Ellis-Einhorn, a twelfth grader, said, “I don’t know anything about it, I’m not friends with that profile on Facebook so I haven’t heard anything about it.” Despite the positive reactions from the students, this project seems to have died off. There hasn’t been as much activity on the page since mid-December, right before the Christmas break.
HKIS Students Win Scholastic Art and Writing Awards By Martin Man Staff Writer
A total of twenty-one writing awards and fifteen art awards have been given out to HKIS students participating in the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers 2012 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Sixteen students in the writing categories and five students in the art categories were recognized as regional winners in the ‘International Region-at-Large’. The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers has held the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards since 1923, using it to identify and recognise teenagers with artistic and literary talent worldwide. Teenagers in grades seven to twelve submit their work in the hopes of winning an award, earning scholarships, and having their works exhibited or published. The eleven writing categories were dramatic script, flash fiction, humour, journalism, personal essay/memoir, persuasive writing, poetry, science fiction/fantasy, short story, writing portfolio, and novel writing. The seventeen art categories were architecture, ceramics & glass, comic art, design, digital art, drawing, fashion, film
& animation, jewellery, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, video games, art portfolio, and photography portfolio. Three levels of awards were given out: Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honourable Mention. Approximately 7-10% of regional submissions receive Gold Key, 10-15% receive Silver Key, and 15-20% receive Honourable Mention. Writing Gold Key: Alison Cheung (Personal essay/ memoir) Samantha Li (Flash fiction) Martin Man (Journalism) Thomas Ruan (Poetry) Writing Silver Key: Archit Batlaw (Persuasive writing) Larry Chan (Flash fiction) Aidan Cheng (Short story) Daisy Cheng (Short story) Su Anne Choong (Poetry) Samantha Li (Short story) Martin Man (Poetry) Hajin Park (Personal essay/memoir) Claire Spackman (Poetry) Stephanie Tang (Short story) Jonathan Vuylsteke (Poetry)
Writing Honourable Mention: Elise Chen (Poetry) Nikki Kwan (Personal essay/ memoir) Martin Man (Persuasive writing) Thomas Ruan (Poetry) Kristofer Siy (Flash fiction) Jonathan Vuylsteke (Short story) Art Gold Key: Larry Chan (Drawing) Art Silver Key: Larry Chan (Drawing, two awards) Natalie Chyi (Photography, two awards) Art Honourable Mention: Larry Chan (Drawing) Aidan Cheng (Photography) Natalie Chyi (Photography, four awards) Tin Yan Lee (Photograph, two awards; printmaking) Bruce Li (Sculpture) Regional Gold Key award winners now go on to be considered for national-level recognition in the United States. Results will be released in March and those who win national awards will be invited to attend a ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
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PROJECT BALANCE
All For A Vision Featured on MTV Iggy
By Samantha Klein Staff Writer
By Gabriella Tam Staff Writer
HKIS electro-rock band All For A Vision has recently been featured on MTV Iggy. The MTV article includes a short introduction to the band and a detailed review of All For A Vision’s latest music, including their most well known song “New Age Anthem.” All For A Vision’s two front men, Fortuna Hau and AJ Ballard, explained that they received an e-mail from MTV Iggy journalist Beverly Bryan stating their interest in writing an article about the band. Bryan’s e-mail “was
wondering whether they could send in their band biography, and music” to them. The article was then published a few weeks later, and describes ‘All For A Vision’s’ music as “vibrant and energetic songs that breathe some fresh life into well-worn styles.” Bryan also explains that, “the songs are written with just the right amount of emotional honesty, but another is that the music is solidly rooted in underground dance styles.” Ballard believes that “People who may have read our article may have become more aware of our music. However, we are currently not necessarily one of the more
PHOTO BY CHRIS CHEN
important members of the Hong Kong music scene compared to other more well-known bands.” All For A Vision formed during the summer of 2011. AJ Ballard and Michael Decocinis, otherwise known as ‘MoDeKo,’ were working on new tracks and asked Fortuna Hau to write the lyrics for them They later filmed a music video for their new song and recruited Daniel Lau to play drums. Thus far, All For A Vision has performed 10 gigs. They are currently working on their new album.
SAT PREPARATION By Bronwyn Lloyd Staff Writer
As the January SAT approached, many students took advantage of SAT tutors as a means of gaining a leg up in the tests. The two most commonly used institutions by HKIS students are The Edge and AmericaPrep. The Edge teaches with more of a course-like structure, whereas AmericaPrep offers more opportunities to take practice tests. The advantages of the two different approaches, like most classes, depend upon each student’s specific learning style and preferred method of test preparation. “I definitely benefitted from
The Edge because I was able to learn how to efficiently find the best answer,” says Junior Vivian Chen, who has taken courses at both AmericaPrep and The Edge. “At AmericaPrep we were given so many opportunities to practice with previous SAT tests…when we get something wrong, we can find out what exactly our mistake were so we can improve.” The Edge is a much larger operation in terms of both staff size and physical workspace. AmericaPrep consists of a one-room office space, two or three teachers for the various classes, and practice tests happening throughout the day. The Edge has a large teaching staff and the classrooms take up
much of the space on the building’s floor. However the smaller scale of AmericaPrep allows for more intimate classes of one on one or small groups of students, where the teaching style at The Edge leans more towards classes of six students or more. The SAT has gained so much notoriety and infamy within the HKIS community that to take the test without having seen any kind of tutor has become rare in the student body. There are of course other options for a student seeking help for their SAT exam. Many older HKIS students HKIS already tutor their younger counterparts in various subjects.
Before the start of first semester exams, the school began to create a peaceful atmosphere in the 5th floor conference rooms. These rooms offered hot chocolate and a relaxing environment for stressed out students to unwind. This was a part of a plan called Project Balance. Project Balance was created by collaboration between counselors Mrs. Passamonte, Mrs. Nunez and Mr. Fleischman. They worked as a team to create a soothing area where students could come and interact with each other in a stressfree environment. This project offered massages, yoga sessions, board games and healthy snacks to students. Mrs. Passamonte explains that this project was created because “the culture of this school can be a bit stressful, they wanted to create new opportunities to connect with people instead of everyone always having their laptops open.” The counselors look forward
to pursuing such a project in the future. Mr. Bishop stated, “We are looking at other possibilities as long as it serves a good purpose for the kids.” Since students responded positively to Project Balance, these ideas will be pursued further. Mrs. Passamonte mentioned that it would be nice to create a student lounge or “make the guidance department a little more friendly, and welcoming because the counselors are not just there for academic advising.” Project Balance was made to relax students during spirit week; however, many students feel that it did not do enough to address the deep-rooted competitive culture present at HKIS. On the other hand 11th grader Nica Chan commented that “Project balance was very fun. I liked doing the puzzles.” Regardless whether some students regard Project Balance as being pointless, this project was a new experience for HKIS. Counselors and many students find Project Balance to be a successful first step towards solving stress related problems at HKIS.
Parents Receive Powerschool Access From Page 1 any hour of any day,” says Anisha Kalyanswamy, grade ten. The administration is aware that allowing parents powerschool access may lead to an excessive amount of parental control. Because of this, parents will only be able to log on after attending a training session. These sessions are held on the 7th and 8th of February. There are also sessions for middle school parents. This training will not be solely technological. Parents will also be taught to allow their children some freedom, and not to get upset with them unnecessarily. “We don’t want parents putting inappropriate
pressure on their kids over grades, over little one percentage point differences in grades,” said Ms. Harvey. In a typical quarter, grades will fluctuate, and the administration worries that these rises and falls could lead to added stress from concerned parents. Allowing parents powerschool access was a school-wide decision. Some of the high school staff is concerned with this, as they feel that it grants parents too much control. High school is supposed to be an environment where students become more independent, and giving parents too much information can inhibit a student’s freedom. “Powerschool is useful for...record keeping, but it is not useful for managing your child’s life,” said Ms. Harvey.
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Mid-term New Students By Ivy Tse Staff Writer
A total of 43 students are new to HKIS this semester, 5 of which are in the high school division. Joining HKIS in this term are two students in Reception 1, one student in Reception 2, two in Grade 1, seven in Grade 2, six in Grade 3, five in Grade 4, three in Grade 5, five in Grade 6, one in Grade 7, six in Grade 8, three in Grade 9, and two in Grade 10. The number of students that leave after the previous semester determines how many new students are accepted. According to Becky Vong, the Admissions Coordinator of HKIS, “There are fewer leavers in the mid-year than year-end.” As a result, more students are new at the start than in the middle of the school year. Students are allocated into homerooms and classes with open spaces. These class placements are done by administrators of each division of the school. Eri Kunimatsu, a new 9th grader, said, “I was just given a list of classes and told that I could choose from any of them.” Admissions processes do not change for students coming in January. Documents such as applicants’ student records and teachers recommendation forms are submitted to the school. Ms. Vong said that, “For those who apply for Reception 1 and Reception 2 classes and for those who are attending non-US accredited schools, our [the admissions office’s] pre-entry interview or pre-entry test will be required.”
The Kwik Adventures of Baxter Brave & Tommy The Salami Book Launch By Gigi W Choy Staff Writer
HKIS alumni Derek Kwik ‘86 and former HKIS student Isabel Chun ’14 launched their picture book The Kwik Adventures of Baxter Brave & Tommy The Salami midDecember 2011. Kwik is the first Chinese person to have run across the four most extreme deserts: the Gobi Desert, the Atacama Desert, the Sahara Desert and the South Pole. The Kwik Adventures of Baxter Brave & Tommy The Salami is his second published book, but the first children’s book he has ever written. The author mentioned that he wanted to “bring back the old school learning style to HKIS where you actually have to go out and do it in order to learn about real life experiences.” Kwik wrote the book to encourage others to explore and go on adventures. “Kids today don’t really get to learn through real life experiences,” he said. “TV only shows certain aspects. For example, if a kid wanted to learn about a desert, he or she would most likely watch TV to gather information. National Geographic would most likely be their primary source, but just by looking at a plastic screen, you don’t really know how hot or dry really feels like.” Kwik plans to donate part of the earnings from the book to The Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which has always been his favorite charitable organization. “Running and fundraising are just small commitments, but caring for animals is a lifetime promise. I think this is a really important message for others,” Kwik said. Isabel Chun, currently studying at Milton Academy, competed against other potential student artists at HKIS before being selected as the illustrator of the book by Kwik himself. “Throughout the entire process of completing the book, I learned to work with deadlines and tell a story through art instead of just drawing random things that came to mind.” The illustrator described her weekends, which would be spent meeting with Kwik. The author would talk to Isabel about the storyline, while she drew. “I am so happy with the final product. It was so many months of hard work and it looks great!” Isabel exclaimed. Many of Isabel’s friends at HKIS attended the book launch and were very happy with what she had accomplished. “I’m really proud of her! I think she put in a lot of effort into making it,” current sophomore William So said. “I find it really cool and amazing,” says Hannah Turley, a sophomore. “Izzy has always wanted to do artsy stuff, the fact that she was able to do something like this just shows that you can go for it,” said Turley.
Former HKIS Student Launches Book By Nicholas Liu Staff Writer
For one grueling but fulfilling year, former HKIS student Isabel Chun would meet financier Andrew Kwik every Saturday during her frequent visits to Hong Kong to work on a new undertaking; a 110page children’s book about an intrepid explorer and his heroic dog. The explorer, Baxter Brave, bored with living in a typical city, ventures out on an adventure across deserts, jungles, and oceans with his daschund Tommy the Salami. Andrew was the author of the book while Isabel was the illustrator. The book launch for ‘Baxter Brave and Tommy the Salami’ took place on the 18th of December in the HKIS High School Library, with many young children as well as teenagers and adults in attendance, including friends, former teachers, and Isabel’s parents, Andy and Yvonne Chun.
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“Of course, as a parent I am very proud of my daughter for being the illustrator of this book. Even more so because I watched her grow up as a lover of every kind of art. It began with drawing and painting and later included music and photography as well,” said Ms. Chun. Isabel, now attending Milton Academy, is a very accomplished photographer, but it was her father who snapped pictures as Isabel signed book after book. “When I was little, I would have the instinct to draw when I saw paper. I just couldn’t help it, I liked it too much,” Isabel said, scribbling her signature on the cover of yet another book. “My parents praised me whenever I would do a drawing and always encouraged me to pursue my interests.” While Isabel and Andrew wrote autographs off in a side
room, the children sat attentively in a storytelling session outside, complete with props, role playing, and interactive activities for every few pages. Regarding her other artistic pleasures, Isabel said, “Photography and music are also a big part of my life. But I haven’t been able to commit to them as much since I started the book. Hopefully I can find more time now that the book is finished.” Both characters in ‘Baxter Brave and Tommy the Salami’ are based on real life people, the former on the author himself, and the latter his dog. In fact, Andrew, an adventurer himself, has ran across seven deserts, two jungles, and hiked two mountains. “Baxter Brave and Tommy the Salami” made the shelves of many large bookstores, including Dymocks. It was produced to raise funds for the SCPA organization.
DISTURBING TREND AT HKIS By Katya Dajani Staff Writer
Hong Kong International School fosters a stressful environment and, consequently, some students are finding it difficult to cope with pressure. There is a consensus amongst HKIS students that “stressful” is the correct adjective to describe high school life. Students in all grades have started noticing a disturbing trend: an increasing number kids have been experiencing depression related issues. “Well, it was just a combination of everything – balancing classes and clubs, studying and friends. Once I fell behind on one assignment, everything started to fall apart,” said a student who preferred to remain anonymous because she felt uncomfortable with publicizing her situation. “I’ve heard some rumors about depression. I knew it had something to do with being stressed, which didn’t surprise me because HKIS does have a very competitive atmosphere,”
said Karen Lee, a junior. “Our peers really affect what we see as important, so when they complain about messing up on an assessment or gripe about their parents dissatisfaction with their performance at school, it makes some of us feel insecure about our own grades too. After all, most of us are Asian, and the Asian student stereotype is pretty spot on,” said Lee. Others, like Junior Isaac Zhang, thought that “the system of grading makes everyone so stressed out about school - it’s hard to enjoy the little things.” While some such as Barton Liang, Senior, viewed the “very rigorous set of classes” and “students’ high expectations for themselves” rather than HKIS itself to be the root of anxiety. Most think that school isn’t the only cause of this trend. “There is a multiplicity of sources and this issue isn’t unique to HKIS,” said Mr. Ferrin. It’s difficult to pinpoint the root of this trend since different students are affected by a variety of factors.
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Lettuce Eat: A Look Into the Vegetarians of HKIS By Thomas Ruan Editor
In a scene from the 2005 film “Everything is Illuminated”, Jonathan sits down at a restaurant in Ukraine with his two local guides, Alex and his grandfather. After explaining he is a vegetarian, Jonathan is subjected to a series of questions and puzzled looks. “How can you not eat meat?” Alex asks Jonathan, who uneasily replies “I just…don’t.” Alex then turns to his grandfather to translate, and after a rapid-fire exchange in Russian, asks Jonathan in a genuinely confused voice, “What is wrong with you?” Alex’s bewilderment, though exaggerated, is not that uncommon. For a meat-eater, vegetarianism can seem like a complete oddity. How could someone completely give up all meat? Why would they make such a commitment? How can one stay healthy without a traditionally balanced diet? As it turns out, there isn’t just one answer for those questions. Historically, vegetarianism has mostly been practiced for religious reasons. In the East, the principle of nonviolence is central for Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains. This extends to nonviolence towards animals, which is interpreted in many different ways. For some Hindus, like Aviyanca Prakash, this translates into a completely vegetarian diet. Prakash’s family all practice strict vegetarianism, a lesson she learned very well at age six when she ate a chicken nugget out of curiosity. “My father was pretty angry,” she recalled. Prakash’s story is unique amongst Hong Kong International School vegetarians in that she hasn’t eaten meat (bar one “scrumptious” chicken nugget) all her life. Most other vegetarians decided to make a switch at some point in their life. Prakash thinks her diet “is not difficult” because, as she explained, “its something I’ve lived with my whole life. It’s difficult to become vegetarian.” Indeed, many vegetarians have found the transition to be quite challenging. When Florence Wong converted this summer, she found that it wasn’t just a simple switch.
Although she thinks stopping meat consumption is “actually pretty easy,” Wong found that “initially there was some difficulty with my relatives.” In her college essay, Wong wrote about the challenges she had when her beliefs came in conflict with those of her family. She writes about how “sneers and jokes about dying vegetarians arose, and [her] relatives snickered at the prospects of [her] health.” Disapproval from family wasn’t the only challenge Wong faced. Once she accidentally ate seafood pasta from the cafeteria, which she described as “a little confusing.” Another time, she ate meat at a friend’s place because she “didn’t want to be rude.” “That circumstance was an exception, because I was staying over,” she said. When Julia Lee first told her mother she wanted to be a vegetarian, she received a positive response. However, Mrs. Lee said her “honest opinion was – ugh, oh my gosh! Now I have to cook something especially for her.” Yet, she quickly realized that this was a “selfish reaction.” So, she read books and did research on how to build a healthy vegetarian diet, because “Julia couldn’t just eat rice with vegetables.” As it turns out, protein can be easily found in non-meat foods, such as soybeans, lentils, dairy products, tofu, seeds, quinoa, and many others. The misconception that a vegetarian diet is low in protein is quite widespread. Although there are plenty obstacles standing in the way of vegetarians at Hong Kong International Schools, there are just as many reasons not to eat meat. For most vegetarians, the main justification has to do with the treatment of animals. Lee stopped eating meat after watching the 2005 film “Earthlings.” The movie, which is narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, shows the myriad ways that humans exploit and mistreat animals. The second part, about food, contains some particularly disturbing images – cows are bled to death, piglets squeal as their tails are snipped, dolphins are harpooned, and all sorts of other animals are subjected to numerous sufferings.
“Earthlings” is quite traumatic, so it isn’t difficult to see how Lee would have been affected by it. Interestingly enough, though, after about nine months without meat, Lee “gradually transitioned” back to an omnivorous diet. When she had to help Cambodian villagers kill a chicken, she began thinking that “sometimes you can eat meat” if the animals “are raised in a holistic way and if its out of necessity,” her mother said. Lee was much less diplomatic when she recalled her reason for switching back. “I realized it was a bit stupid,” she said, “I was so annoying about it.” Environmental concern is another reason for going vegetarian. Mr. Taylor believes that it is “basically unethical to support” the meat industry because it is not sustainable. When he lived in Canada, he was an avid supporter of the Green Party of Canada, a political party that advocates environmental friendliness. So, seven years ago on his birthday, he decided to stop eating meat in order to do his part to help the environment. He and his wife try to be as sustainable in other ways, too; they don’t own a car, wear organic clothes, and use cloth diapers for their young daughter. Mr. Borque, a middle school teacher, eats vegetarian primarily for health reasons, which is somewhat rare in the Hong Kong International community. When he was growing up, he would occasionally experience a “crippling pain” in his abdomen that made him “just want to ball up.” All the doctors Borque went to didn’t know what was causing this to happen. The pains continued until a friend told him about a segment he had seen on Oprah. On it, a doctor explained that a very small percentage of people lack enzymes to digest meat properly. Borque recognized similar symptoms, so he tried not eating meat, and the digestive pains went away. Despite all of these arguments, some people, like Felicia Tsao and Sarina Daniels, are vegetarian simply because they don’t like meat. Tsao said she stopped eating meat at the beginning of this school year because, “I don’t like meat. Meat
is gross.” Although she agrees with some of the environmental reasons, “they’re not my sole reason.” Daniels stopped eating meat for a reason similar to Tsao’s. “I realized I didn’t like the taste of meat, and I thought it was stupid to choose that over a perfectly good, tasty alternative that was also healthy,” she said. There is a great gender imbalance within the Hong Kong International School vegetarian community, an imbalance that extends to the vegetarian population at large; a 1992 study found 68% of vegetarians in the US are female. Even fictional vegetarians are more likely to be women than men. Jonathan from “Everything is Illuminated” seems like a rarity amongst Lisa Simpson, Phoebe Buffay from the TV series “Friends,” Elle Woods from the film “Legally Blonde,” and Hazel Lancaster from the book “The Fault in Our Stars.” There are many theories as to why this might be so. Wong said that this is probably because of a “misconception girls have that meat builds your body up,’ an idea that she believes is false. “To generalize,” Ali Cheung said, “girls are more emotional than boys.” So, they would be more likely to be affected by troubling images of factory farming. Jonathan Safran Foer (who, incidentally, wrote the book that was adapted into “Everything Is Illuminated”) recently published a book called “Eating Animals” that deals with his vegetarianism. In one section, he addresses the claim that abstaining from meat is overly sentimental: “Is arguing that a sentiment of compassion should be given greater value than … having a burger … an expression of emotion and impulse or an engagement with reality and our moral intuitions? Two friends are ordering lunch. One says ‘I’m in the mood for a burger’ and orders it. The other says ‘I’m in the mood for a burger,’ but remembers that there are things more important than what he is in the mood for at any given moment, and orders something else. Who is the sentimentalist?”
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FEBRUARY 2012
Valentines Day Dance By Arshia Bhatia Staff Writer
This year, the juniors will be hosting the Valentine’s Day Ball on February 11th. While past junior classes have focused on the theme of “Winterball,” this year’s class has focused specifically on Valentine’s Day. This is especially good timing because it gives a chance for the new students to interact and meet people from other grades. The Juniors organize this dance each year as a fundraiser for Prom in the spring. According to junior class treasurer Stephanie Park, “The junior class wishes this experience to be a stress reliever from schoolwork received from classes.” Last year, the junior class hosted a “Winterball” dance. Many students from all the grade levels attended and enjoyed the night. Franziska Cheung, a sophomore, said, “I thought it was a lot of fun, the music was great and it was a great way to socialize with your friends and at the same time meet new people.” Even though some people enjoyed the dance, as always there was a mixture of opinions. Many students thought the music was average and did not fit the theme. Archie Kwong, a junior, added, “A lot of the music was techno and dubstep and it’s hard to dance to that kind of music, especially keeping in mind the theme of the night. Also, the food could have been better.” Kwong still plans on going to the Valentines Day Ball to support the junior class, something which is true of much of the student body. Many students have been wondering why this year’s dance decided to focus on a Valentine’s Day theme rather than a Winterball theme. Park pointed out that “We changed the date because there was a huge drama production during the original Winterball time, so we had to re-schedule to another time. Rather than holding the Winterball a week later, we thought a Valentine’s ball would be a better idea. This was great for us because it gave us more time to prepare and make the Valentine’s Day ball really good!” The Class of 2013 hopes to hold a successful and even better school dance than last year’s. They are encouraging people to go and enjoy a stress free environment, delicious food and dance.
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JUNTO
Budgeting at HKIS
By Archit Batlaw Staff Writer
Different departments at HKIS have different budgets and spend their money differently. “Budgeting is crucial to providing the resources needed,” said Mr. Gill in an email regarding budgeting at HKIS. Mrs. Brown and Mr. Seehafer shared this sentiment. The math department’s budget is around $260,000, according to Mr. Gill. “The majority of the money goes to Student learning tools such as textbooks, math contests and technology/software.” The humanities budget is around $400,000 according to Mr. Seahafer. He said, “Around 80% of this goes towards replacing textbooks and we have to take into account new books and also replacements for books that have been lost. Then some of it goes towards professional development and bringing in honorary speakers.” He also said that the “budget has been relatively consistent in the past few years.” The science department
declined to disclose their budget this year. Mrs. Brown, when asked about the process for determining the budget, said, “In terms of process, our lab technician inventories all the chemicals and supplies each year to determine what needs to be replaced and what needs to be bought new. As we create new labs, we look at the supplies we currently have, and budget for new ones if we don’t have them available. We also need to consider repairs, as our microscopes, probes and balances need cleaning and repairs each year. We also need to consider textbooks for the courses we offer and stay current with those every 5 years.” The system is “completely computerized,” according to Mrs. Brown and “after placing a purchase requisition, it goes though approval channels (department chair, principal before moving to the finance department). The finance department is very good to help us find new suppliers and get quotes for items.”
Regarding infrastructure upgrades, Mr. Seehafer said that, “the administration works with the departments and it generally takes a few years to get a new room.” The humanities department “first talked about [their] artistic vision for the new department several years ago and then worked with the administration to make this a reality. The entire process took about two years.” When asked about infrastructure, Pat Hall, director of facilities management for HKIS, said, “Money spent on projects typically come from capital reserves that are set up to cover the renewal and replacement of the buildings, building systems, fixtures and furniture…We spend on average about $30 million per year on these types of projects. How much of that goes into infrastructure varies each year, but on average it is probably close to 50%-65% of the capital outlay each year. There is also a portion that goes to alteration or adaptation of the building for new programs.”
PART-TIME JOBS
By Flora Liu Staff Writer
Over the past year, there have been a growing number of job opportunities available for high school students in Hong Kong. Several high schoolers at HKIS have taken up the chance to gain work experience and earn hourly wages. The opening of Forever 21’s flagship store in Hong Kong this January means more work opportunities for students. Details on its website confirm that the job offer extends to students in Form 5 and above. Forever 21 isn’t the only brand that has chosen to offer high school students part-time jobs; other stores include Hollister, Saffron Bakery and Island Wake. The refurbishment of Murray House in Stanley Plaza geared towards a western base is launching a range of shops and restaurants that are also willing to accept international school students for part-time jobs. HKIS students’ fluency in English, compared to that of most local people, allow them to communicate easily with foreigners and tourists. Chris Szik Sai, a sophomore who works at a store in Stanley Plaza, says, “I sell stuff and help out around the shop. We sell clothes, watches, ski gear,
basically everything.” Chris also mentioned that his job is very flexible. Some people might expect students with part-time jobs to have difficulty balancing between school and work. However, Szik Sai continues, “If you have too much homework you can call in to tell them you can’t make it.” George Molina, a friend of Szik Sai’s, decided to work at Island Wake over Christmas break. “My friends and I saw the sign and we were curious,” said Molina. He also mentioned that he didn’t have any real motivation for choosing to work, but that at the end of winter break he had gained some work experience. In America, having a part-time job in high school is common. According to Mr. Bishop, most students work during afterschool hours. He believes that working does have its benefits. “Parents in the States encourage their high schoolers to have a job because it fosters independence and good work ethic. They can bring these skills to college and the real world,” he said. “The culture we have here is slightly different. Parents mainly focus on academics.” Mr. Bishop believes that it would be difficult to go to school and have a job for HKIS students. “In addition to homework,” he
continued, “the majority of HKIS students have extracurricular activities, such as sports and service clubs. They are super charged academically and need time for themselves.” Some HKIS students have tried part-time jobs but given them up. “I didn’t have time for work,” replied Nick Chan when asked why he quit his part-time job at a clothing store. Kat Liang, a sophomore who worked at a high-end baby goods store, said she had a similar problem. “My mom’s friend ran out of staff and needed some help. I worked there for three months, but I didn’t have enough time to do homework. It cut into my Sundays as I worked the whole day on minimum wage.” The bold Forever 21 ads surrounding Causeway Bay may be a reminder that another American brand has chosen to enter the Hong Kong market this year. However, the poster nailed to the temporary front door of the flagship store, reading “Recruiting Now! Managers, Visual Merchandiser, Sales Associates,” also highlights the fact that there is an increasing number of job opportunities available for high school students in Hong Kong.
FEBRUARY 2012
Environmental Awareness at HKIS By Beatrice Yeung Staff Writer
Although there are numerous environmentally friendly initiatives going on around the school, students are generally not familiar with any of them except for the plastic- bottle free campus policy. Roots and Shoots’ plastic bottle-free policy has received considerable positive feedback from the student body. “I think it helps us to understand how much we use plastic bottles and how unnecessary they really are,” says Lindsey Frahm, a high school junior. Another student, Senna Lamba (11), concurs, adding, “I support it because I think plastic bottles are unnecessary when you can just have your own bottles.” However, when it comes to other environmental initiatives that HKIS has undertaken, such as the newly implemented Sustainability Committee, students generally do not have a clear idea on their purpose or even their existence. Neither Frahm nor Lamba knew about the Sustainability Committee. “I had no idea such a thing
was established,” says Amy Griffin (10). On the other hand, students interviewed who were aware of these initiatives did not display enthusiasm in joining them. “Is that the new thing that was started up? I heard about it, but I don’t know if I will be joining it,” commented Jackie Li (11). HKIS has become a plasticbottle free school with the support and cooperation of the student body. However, students aren’t aware of the majority of environmental friendly policies and activities going on around the school, such as the Sustainability Committee and our participation in Sustainability Meetings coordinated outside of school and involving a network of eco-schools. Griffin said, “In all honesty, although I think that this year has shown a considerable jump in terms of the plastic-bottle free campus policy and people recycling and trying not to waste paper, I think that we could be a lot better about our environmental consciousness.”
Change to SOS By Samantha Fong Staff Writer
A community service program called SOS, or Service On Saturday, has been established at HKIS since 1995. Students that choose to join that program go to a location like an elderly home or a school for children with Down syndrome where they assist people. SOS has undergone several changes this year, according to some of its leaders. Jessica Chan, a senior, said that publicity for the program has undergone major changes. According to Chan, due to advertising of the program during marketplace, the program is better known this year. Chan also said that enthusiastic teacher supervisors like Mr. Kersten are another factor that contributed to the rising popularity of the program. Chan said that even though last year’s program wasn’t as well publicized, it provided “a good opportunity for people to interact with the community.” Another leader in the program,
Jacqueline Chau, said “SOS is more organized as a club this year. Last year, every piece of instruction was given verbally. But this year, they have a formal structure for the club, like writing leader logs, having meetings, and Ms. Ng goes to different SOS each week to observe us.” Even though she wasn’t the coordinator of the SOS last year, Ms. Ng said that the size of the programs seemed to have decreased a little. She said that in order to emphasize the quality of the work, not the quantity of people, only the most committed and dedicated students were chosen to participate. Also, the number of students in each program has changed, with some having about twenty students, while others around ten to twelve. One change that was supposed to be implemented, but didn’t materialize, was reducing the number of programs to 5. In the end, none of the programs were eliminated, and thus there are still 14 programs today.
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By Martin Man Staff Writer
BARTON LIANG/JUNTO
Stuff Barton Eats: “Gai Daan Zai” – Egg Puffs By Barton Liang Staff Writer
When I discovered that the egg puff stall in the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry pier had gone out of business, my heart felt like it had been ripped from my chest and I immediately burst into tears. All right, that’s ridiculous. But I was definitely disappointed that I would no longer be able to grab a quick snack on my way home from the Space Museum or stuff my face while admiring the skyline. The exact origins of these delicious puffs are unknown, but one urban legend has it that the special egg-shaped mold was intended to make up for the scarce amount of eggs in the batter. Egg puffs have been made from the same basic recipe of eggs, sugar, flour, and light evaporated milk since they first appeared in the 1950s. The egg puff, locally known as “gai daan zai,” has also been hit by the tough economic climate of the past few years. At the food stall across the street from Times Square (on the crosswalk between Matheson Street, Russell Street, and Percival Street) the price label has been written over several times in the last year, rising from $10 to $12 and now to $15. Still, the price increase hasn’t deterred Hong Kongers from enjoying the signature street-side snack. Lines in front of egg puff stands are common and business hasn’t
FEBRUARY 2012
JUNTO
decreased, at least not here in Causeway Bay. In fact, Hong Kongers are so fond of egg puffs that they’ve been listed as one of Hong Kong’s top 50 classic street snacks, as featured on CNNGo. Egg puff stands seem to be a common childhood memory of Hong Kongers, young and old. Weekend family outings, whether it was biking in Tai Wai or flying kites in Sai Kung, always seemed to be punctuated by street hawkers selling egg puffs and waffles. For many, egg puffs are a part of their daily routine. “I buy some every day after work,” said Fong, while waiting in line at an egg puff stall in Causeway Bay. “My kids always come [to buy egg puffs] after school,” added Mandy, a massage therapist. So what is the “perfect” egg puff? A proper “gai daan zai” should be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Some shops even put their egg puffs in front of a fan after taking them out of the griddle for maximum crispiness. If given the option of choosing from a display case, always go for the ones that look a little darker than the typical golden-brown for the perfect crunch. So, next time you’re out shopping in Causeway Bay, stop by a snack stand and grab a bite of Hong Kong’s history. Your taste buds will thank you for it!
Everything we do in school seems to, in one way or another, go towards our university application. The moment we enter high school it’s as if we are planted on an assembly line that fits us with sundry attractive facets, appealing qualities and other ‘attention-grabbers’ so that we may woo a university into accepting us ere our four years are up. When I was in 10th grade I took health class—with family, first aid, and drugs units—during the Humanities Two ‘skip day’. Last year I found out that—with the changing of the PE system— health had been cancelled and replaced with ‘sophomore seminar’. The loss of important and potentially lifesaving CPR training notwithstanding, the seminar touches on university preparation—yet another institution to prod students to university. The US university application system and our collective fixation on ‘mastering’ it in order to gain acceptance to prestigious universities has spawned manifold unintended consequences. One of these is an obsession with leadership that has developed in this school due to students’ attempt to impress university admissions officers. This sick fixation has led to so-called ‘leadership inflation’, where clubs have excess leaders in perfunctory positions merely contributing token effort. Members often join with the express interest of eventually attaining such positions after several years and such a goal dwarfs their motivation for furthering the actual purpose of the club. This preoccupation extends too to the general mania of joining service clubs and other extracurricular activities. Because of universities’ wish to gauge applicants’ level of extracurricular commitment and willingness to do service, students have come to develop a preoccupation with joining as many clubs
and service activities as possible. They forsake true commitment for simple quantity of extracurricular activities, and lose sight of the real aim in the process. In between leadership positions and clubs, students overstretch their commitments and end up not being able to devote adequate time to any one activity. Somehow, students think the only legitimate leadership that can be attained is through titles in a club or as a class officer. They fixate on the titles as if they are the only things that make a leader. To appease these students who stay with a club several years and expect a position, multiple titles are created for work that one person could have done in the first place. Sometimes those leaders’ work does indeed end up falling back into the lap of one person who manages everything, rendering the other positions purely titular. Being titled a ‘club leader’ clearly should not be what defines true leadership. In fact, there is a question of whether or not club leaders can truly be called ‘leaders’. In their routine managing of club meetings, emailing of reminders, setting-up of ‘Google Docs’, organising of fundraising events, etc., surely these students can at most be labelled ‘administrators’ or ‘managers’. Leaders command respect and inspire their followers to help further their cause. It is debatable any ‘leader’ in school does this—not club leaders, not class officers, not senators. I do not claim to know definitively what this elusive ideal of leadership consists of, but it comes in so many more guises than simply a petty title. A person living an honourable life guided by moral thought and upright behaviour can serve as a role model for all people. Someone who works diligently in school and constructively contributes to others’ education is to be looked up to. People who show compassion towards animal life or passion for societal issues lead others to emulate
their concern for the problems around us. Instead of holding appellations as arbiters of leadership, we should recognise everyone can lead in different ways. Leadership cannot be given as an accolade, nor does an accolade need to be given for someone to be a leader. Taking a broader view, there is a general overemphasis on leadership in HKIS. It is generally agreed that there might be several too many clubs at the school. The administration already takes steps to limit the number of new clubs founded each year, but given the school’s fixation on leadership, students feel forced to either compete for the limited existing positions or to found their own club and create themselves leaders. The growing number of clubs is forever struggling with each other to gain members. As the number of clubs rise each year, the competition for the limited followers will inevitably increase—to what end? We need to realise that being a follower is just as important as being a leader. If we reach the point where leaders don’t even have enough followers, the essence of leadership is completely lost. Without followers, a leader is nothing; what would Jesus, Ghandi, Sun Yat Sen, or any leader have been if there weren’t brave followers who were first to step up and support them in their cause? They would have been no different than street-corner nobodies spouting revolutionary drivel. ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’, as the saying goes. It is a fact that the world needs more followers than leaders. It doesn’t pay for everyone to set off individually to do his or her own thing. HKIS needs to snap out of its leadership delusion and realise that club leadership positions are far from true leadership, such titles do not make a leader, and that good followers should be valued as much as—if not more than—any pioneering leader.