The High 81

THE HIGH EDITION 81 | APRIL 05, 2019

FEELING BLUE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Hannah Besson DEPUTY EDITOR

Suhasini Mehra

WACKY WEEK

MEN’S RIGHTS

ISL RAPPERS

The Death Match

Oppressed?

Mic Drop

2

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Hannah Besson

A

fter a year of being editor-in-chief as well as my time as a writer for The High, I can say with confidence that I have learned the importance of journalism firsthand. Student journalism, as demonstrated by The High, is more powerful than it may seem. The High has the power to encourage the good in our community as well as to create change where change is due. However, I learned the most about myself and the role I wanted to play not only as a journalist, but also as a person. A lesson that I believe many journalists learn is one that goes far beyond writing good articles - at times the right thing isn’t always the easiest to say.

Facing this reality helped me to reinforce the values which I carry and those of those around me: for this I will be forever grateful to The High.

More than that, I am grateful for those who have guided and supported both the newspaper and me in the past year. Mr. Ribas and Mr. Kirby find a way to combine laughter with wis-

WORD OF THE MONTH Artemis Faulk Philistine means “a person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits” so if you don’t want to be one, stop reading right here pal. Because you are getting more intellectual right now.

dom, making The High a learning experience which produces not only good journalists, but good people as well. Mr. Ribas, thank you for pushing me to write for myself and not for others. Mr. Kirby, thank you for your puns. Leo, Raquel, and Tom, thank you for the help and the love, it has made The High by far one of my most valuable memories.

Suhasini, thank you for your meticulous attention to detail and eyes that catch all the things that slipped past me. You have been an amazing deputy editor and I couldn’t leave The High in more capable and committed hands. I wish you the best of luck.

To our readers, keep reading and start writing in, The High is the perfect place for discussion and will force you to challenge others’ opinions and perhaps more importantly, your own.

EDITORS Khwaish Vohra Tom Secheyron Eleanor Payne Raquel Muzquiz Elif Civelekoglu Artemis Faulk Jade Tan - Graphic Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS Advice from Y13 Y13 siblings Climate Change Art Rappers Wacky Week Men’s Rights Ben Shapiro

03 04-05 06-07 08 09 10-11 12 13

College Scandal Border control Internationalism Coming soon Global Politics Guts Farewell Brexit

14 15 16 16 17 17 18 19

3

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

I

n four years of high school things have changed drastically, and yet, in some ways, everything is the same. In year 13 we are all pretty much just as cluelessww as we were in year 10 - though we pretend to know what we’re doing. However, we have learned some important things about ourselves and about others both academically and otherwise. And so, I decided that sharing the lessons we have learned would make a valuable parting gift from year 13 to the school. The following year 13’s would advise their 15 year-old selves: Adam: “To not hesitate to get seconds in the cafeteria.”

Agne: “That no, your workload will never get smaller so enjoy your pre-IB years more. Spend more time working on your “passions” like reading cause you won’t have time later on and having a passion helps you hang on during the more stressful times. In general do more stuff for yourself and not just to please others. Invest time in your friendships - they are so important and make high school so much more worthwhile.”

Alexei: “To focus every bit of energy on big tasks, less on the smaller classwork so you can have more time for yourself, and make sure you review your class content in any science or humanities cuz a bit of revision every week is gonna be good for all exams especially the last ones. Try to cut down use of social media, youtube and netflix in summer year 11 so you can keep having friends whilst using time off to work.” Finally, and perhaps most importantly he added that he would mention “that [he’d] be getting “The Barn” for [his] English IOC.” Apoorv: “To do something that is genuinely awesome to you for your IAs and EE. My EE was the hardest thing I have ever done, I wanted to give up 90% of the time and it was way beyond the IB Physics course, I mean no teachers could help with it. But at the end it was the one thing I’ve done in my life that I am the most proud of. So, do what you want to do.

Please don’t think about grades - they are super important but they’ll come when you work hard and do what you love.

These two years everyone says are horrible but you can make them the best years of your high school life. Never complain about not having enough time - you’ll feel like there’s too much work, there’s too many friends to hang out with, too many football practices to attend, too many service commitments to fulfill, but remember that everyone has 24 hours in a day. It’s what you do with your 24 hours that defines you.

No one has more time than you and no one decides how you use that time but you. Make every second count.”

A year 13 boy: “To learn to care about the right things. When you start to worry too much, or get really troubled, it’s either because you’re caring about everything and so you’re disap-

Hannah Besson compiles words of wisdom pointed because everything isn’t under your control or because you’re not caring about anything in which case you’re gonna be pretty miserable in the future. It’s something that adults obviously know but as a teenager it can take a while and I figure I would’ve liked to realize how important it is to care about particular things in life and put less focus on things that don’t mean anything to you. Accept that everyone around you has something to teach you. Trust your teachers, they know more than you think. Take your time we don’t all learn the same things at the same time and what you may lack compared to others you might compensate for in other personal experiences. Work hard, but don’t take yourself too seriously. Expect things not to go as planned.”

Elena: “That hard work pays off. That the hours spent dancing and dedicated to studying will help in the final outcome.

You’re not wasting your time. I would tell myself to be more outgoing, people don’t bite and adults are actually interesting to talk to. I would tell her to not be afraid. That 15 year old Elena has every right to speak her mind and not let her voice be silenced by the opinions and influences of others.”

Georgia: “That high school can be rough at times so make sure you have people in your life that are going to support you. And it’s super important to remember that no grade defines you even if it feels like it in the moment, so keep your life balanced.”

Izzie: “That despite the rough times and sad days, it will make the great times in the (near) future even more valuable. Your life will change completely in 2 years, so remember that everything happens for a reason and everything will work out despite how difficult it may be in the moment. You will soon meet people who will positively change your life forever, so be patient, and good things will come!”

Matvey: “To work on yourself more [and] be more disciplined.”

Minnie: “Not to stress about school and to just get work done. That they should have fun while they have free time, and spend it with people. Also to branch out and connect with others in the year group instead of just staying in a friend bubble.”

Raquel: “To surround yourself with the right people.”

So, our advice in a nutshell? Be social and pour yourself wholeheartedly into your work, friends, and activities; take the serious things seriously but relax about the other stuff.

Finally, save a part of yourself for yourself, something to hold onto when it feels like everything and everyone else is going crazy.

4

FROM THE NEXT GENERATION

I

t’s as if just yesterday, we were pulling on our older siblings’ hair at the age of seven, yelling at them repeatedly for snitching at the age of five, and were being cradled in their arms when they were toddlers and us newborns. Now, they are nearly adults, and us, teenagers. The idea of posing for the cliché pictures that our parents managed to force us into now awakens feelings of horror within us.

Graduation is just around the corner, the Year 13s are starting to make preparations for the next chapter of their life.

Unfortunately, this chapter will begin with them leaving. They will be going off into the wider world, by themselves. With this separation, comes the nostalgia. Whether it be looking at old photos, or simply being anywhere that you have a memory with your sibling, you can’t help but just stop and think of all those times.

Having older siblings is a unique experience that cannot be described in words. The fact remains that the world is a happier, more carefree place when you know that there is always someone that you can turn to who has experienced the exact same things you are right now. This is almost like a safety net that we do not appreciate nearly enough until we realize that things are changing. After all, the fact remains that things are changing, and they will not stay the way we want them to forever. Despite our efforts, things are bound to change, and the sooner we can accept that, the happier we will be.

Mark Besson, Coline Coubat and Elif Civelekoglu

Of course, it is not always sunshine and rainbows to have an older sibling. There are many memories of silly arguments, stealing each other’s belongings, and disagreements. However, these are normal things that any sort of relationship goes through. Sure, there is the factor that we have to share a living space with them for at least a decade, which undoubtedly forces us to get along. Yet, over time one realizes that the one thing that they were so angry about was not a big deal.

This is simply part the process of saying goodbye: being able to look back at childhood memories, and thinking “I cannot believe I was this angry”. Or still bear a grudge over the stolen chocolate bar 6 years ago.

The process of saying goodbye, no matter who, is always an emotional experience. In this case, the feeling is amplified by the knowledge that for the first time, you will not be under the same roof as the siblings. We are all a part of families that have moved at least once; despite this, our siblings have always been with us. This is one of the greatest things that we took for granted: it was impossible to even think of our lives without the older sibling with whom we could fight, argue, yet always love unconditionally. Yet the time of living under the same roof is over: many of our siblings will be going elsewhere, where they will have their own lives, and we will have our own. However, this should be a happy moment: this is a beginning, not an end. So, instead of saying ‘goodbye,’ say ‘see you later.’

We are growing up, and we will need to learn how to stand on our own two feet. Yet, this doesn’t mean that once we don’t need them anymore, our bond with our siblings will break.

Remember, growing up isn’t synonymous to growing apart.

No matter what, they will still be your older sibling that has been with you since day one. The time of “us” isn’t over, far from it. We will still go to them for help, have fun with them, and rant about our problems. What we will never forget are all the years they spent helping us.

Growing up, we were always told that if we have a problem or an issue, we should go to our siblings for help and advice.

And that we did, and still do. This resulted in our siblings becoming one of our best friends, and our most permanent ones. A sibling’s bond is hard to describe: you have known one other for practically all your lives. You have seen one another fail, succeed, cry, and laugh. wBeing able to be a part of the year 13’s journey of finishing IB was an unforgettable experience, which by no doubt prepared us for when we enter our final, most trivial year of our high school career. Us as younger siblings have always admired our older brothers and sisters, whether we show it or not. Following high school, the likeliness that we will live in the same house as our siblings will drop, as we will all go to schools in different places, and perhaps even get jobs.

Illustration by Minnie Lowin

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DOWN MEMORY LANE “I was being carried by a nanny to my brother's room, and I pooped on his carpet. He cried.” - Rebeca Ravara

“My favorite memory with my sister was walking around Barcelona and talking about our many different interests.” - Luke Besson “Walking our dogs in Noville with our entire family.” - Mark Besson

“For 2 years me and Jono sat together on the school bus in the morning when a new kid in year 6 joined ISL. [This kid] got on the bus one morning with his hoodie drawn up over his face, crying because his sister was going to Uni. Jono sat next to him and hugged him for the entire way to school while he cried and told Jono how he missed his sister - it was the cutest thing Jono has ever done.”

- Jasmine Howard

“One day back when we were living in England, Eleanor was pretending to kick me in the face for some odd reason. Perhaps that's what the cool kids did back then? Well, to make a long story short, she ended up actually kicking me and making my face bleed. Happy days.” - Lucy Payne

“I really wanted to say thanks to Heloise for giving me so much advice on so many things. There have been so many times where I came to you before anyone else (friends, parents) because I knew I could trust you to keep me and my problems safe and that you knew what was best.” - Coline Coubat “I wanted to thank Arda for being such a great brother to me for all these years. You gave me better advice than I can even hope for no matter what, and for any subject. Thank you so much for being my brother, and I will miss you so much.”

- Elif Civelekoglu “Joanne was chasing me around the house until the point where I ran into a wall with my two front teeth sticking out. Of course, my frail little teeth both fell out and I was left with an empty window in my mouth and a terrible lisp for a while until my adult teeth finally grew out.” - Jade Gavin

“जब में चार साल की थी, और स्कूल का पहला दिन था, और तुम मेरा हाथ पकड़ के मुझे मेरे क्लास तक ले गये ।”- Anushka Singh

6

THE DEBATE: CLIMATE

O

n Friday, 15th March 2019, over 10,000 students, babies, children, grandparents, and young adults took to the streets of Lausanne as part of a movement of climate change marches all across Europe. ISL saw many of its own students skip school to take part in this historic march. The atmosphere during the march was electric. Everywhere you looked, there were young people taking the initiative to advocate for the climate and the collective power of the youth was on full display.

The premise of these climate change marches was that we need to raise awareness about the climate, and pressure governments to take action themselves. Specifically, the marches in Switzerland have the goal of pressuring the government into informing its citizens about the state of the climate, so that by 2030, Switzerland would have a net carbon emission total of zero.

These goals, however ambitious, are what we need to seriously consider. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere right now is the highest it has ever been during our entire existence. While this is already alarming enough, what is even more concerning is the rate at which we are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere - almost 10 billion tonnes annually. Dire consequences arise with this rapid increase in carbon dioxide levels; increased natural disasters, rising sea levels, loss of biodiversity, flooding of major cities and much more.

When students were asked what motivated them to take part, many replied that Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish activist, and her school strike inspired them to take action.

More importantly, however, many of the students replied that they understood the direction this world is taking. They understand that if we continue on this path, our planet will soon be uninhabitable for not only us but most life on this planet. They also echoed the sentiments of the organizers in the climate change march in that they wanted the people in power to take the initiative to enact legislation that prevents further damage of the planet.

Khwaish Vohra A lot of teachers and students on the day of the march expressed reservations about the specific intentions of the students attending the march. While they supported the general cause of the march, they felt as if the march was just an excuse for these students to skip school. While this may not be an accurate representation of everyone who attended the march, it is important to remember that the solution to climate change is not as simple as a single march. The solution lies in our attitude and our approach to the planet. Yes, we can urge governments to take action. However, the real change needs to come from us. The march does not achieve anything if we do not follow up on the goals set out. We need to rethink our energy use, the habits we currently have that contributed to an unnecessarily large carbon footprint.

Change is infectious - if we all start to hold ourselves to higher standards, people will follow suit.

As students in ISL, we are constantly surrounded by conversations about the climate. The school has been taking steps to reduce our own carbon emissions through initiatives like the EcoSociety and various recycling programmes. Furthermore, the school has been placing an emphasis on educating us about the causes and consequences of climate change in subjects like French, Geography, Global Politics, Biology and yes, even in homeroom. We need to take these lessons into consideration and actively imbibe them in our daily life. Actions like taking shorter showers, eating less meat, recycling, composting your food waste, and using less plastic are small changes you can make to positively impact the environment.

When countries like The United States pull out of the Paris Agreement, or major Australian oil lobbying firms obstruct the path to cleaner energy, we quickly realize that we cannot wait for other people to save our future.

So even if the march did not mean much to you (it might even have been an excuse to skip school) this is a cause that all of us should be extremely concerned about.

Climate change is real, and it’s up to us to save the world from our own destruction.

The solution lies in our attitude and our approach to the planet.

Photograph by Eleanor Payne

7

CHANGE MARCH

Photograph by Eleanor Payne

Good protests can be like spiritual experiences for certain people

I

n recent years, many people have been found to be keen on protesting for big issues they believe the government and people with more power need to take action to change.

A few weeks ago in Lausanne, there was a climate change protest, which many students at ISL attended. However, recently, there has been a debate about whether protesting is actually effective or not.

Overall, protesting is not a waste of time and has a variety of benefits that accompany it. For instance, protesting increases the visibility of the cause. Many policy debates can seem abstract and difficult to understand or keep up with for people who are not directly impacted by the events discussed. Policy debates are also held by people with big names, and people who have a lot of power in the world.

However, protests provide a place for passionate people to put themselves out into the world and represent an issue.

These protest marches are done by real people, all showing their eagerness to be ambassadors for causes that matter to them. Furthermore, when a large group of people take the streets together to protest something unjust, or something they believe in happening in their communities or in the world, governments, politicians and other key-decision makers take notice. In some cases, protests have been able to change policies in countries. For instance, in 2006 the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4437, which was essentially a bill that called for the deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants, however, after massive protests across the United States, the bill was retracted. Of course, there is no guarantee that these global decision makers will

take action based on the protests, but they will notice them.

Another benefit that protests provide is a sense of solidarity.

During a protest, you can let the issue you feel passionate define you, and you stand with others who are just like you.

Through this, you share a sense that you stand strong together and that you’re one in terms of this issue. This makes protests feel more real to participants, as you’re also able to meet others that share similar ideologies and build communities to share and swap ideas with. Lastly, protests also excite and motivate people because good protests can be like spiritual experiences for certain people, as they’re getting out into the world and doing something big to make a difference. Often times, working on a solution for problems can be difficult and depressing, so protests are a way to bring a bunch of people together, not only to share ideas for possible solutions, but also to be inspired by each other to get up and work towards better solutions every day. Protests also bring newly committed activists together, giving a second wind to all those people who have been working towards a solution in the midst of the struggle for political change.

Therefore, reflecting on the recent protest that many ISL students attended, even though some students may have used it as an excuse to skip school, it was ultimately a beneficial and productive step towards the right direction. Protests have been able to inspire beneficial change in communities, so it can be seen that the climate change protest in Lausanne was another step towards the betterment of the world and humanity.

Ella Irwin

8

NOT AN EASY SEVEN

Ally Hatcher paints her masterpiece

M

any students say Art is: “The easy.” “The simple.”

“The easy way out subjects.” “The class for the lazy ones.” “The effortless seven.”

Hear me out, I beg to differ.

I cannot say much for the other Arts, such as theatre and music, but as a Visual Arts HL student in the Diploma Programme, I truly hope that these comments cease to continue from both students and adults in and outside the school.

While I am currently, at this very moment, procrastinating on finishing my deathly Process Journal, but being so close to the finish line of the art syllabus as a whole, I just can’t help but think of the views that some people have on art. Yes, it may not involve the load of information to memorize, like for chemistry and biology, but let me tell you one on one, it is far from easy. Maybe if you’re unbelievably organized, you have a crazy mind for creativity and new ideas and art is your priority above all classes, this may not apply to you. However, having to end up with 8 to 11 (HL) pieces of work for an exhibition that you are pleased with, 13 to 25 (HL) pretty and extremely detailed slides of process throughout two years and an in-depth analysis of artists with your own creation in response is, I’m telling you again, not an “easy seven”. Yet, after countless nights of tears, sweat and way too much stress, Visual Arts has made me into a better person.

to your daughter or son becoming a doctor or becoming a world renowned mathematician, but that’s not all life should be about. Isn’t creativity, expression, and being a risk-taker (come on, it’s in the IB learner profile) just as important? If you’re looking for an easy subject, this is not the place for you, but if you want to grow and develop your artistic side, expand your artistic knowledge and understanding, and challenge yourself with a class that is structured differently, art will be incredibly rewarding.

P.S. Now a message to anyone involved, please do split the class into two because 18 students is too much for one teacher and for everyone to get the help they deserve, so even though you may not find the arts important, please pay close attention to the above.

Photographs by Eleanor Payne

As much as I hated researching artists, brainstorming, experimenting, and everything else that comes with it, when I finally found my passion for a medium, for a theme and for several artists, I couldn’t be happier. Wanting to try out one’s technique because it’s so fascinating or being so invested in brainstorming because of a crazy idea, it can’t get much better than that. Most importantly, when exhibition night arrives and teachers, students and parents come to see your work, you can’t help but feel that it was all worth it. I am not saying that you won’t be in pain throughout this process, because you will, but I am happy and proud to say that Itook art. For the parents, I agree this won’t really contribute

9

IT’S A RAP Tom Secheyron goes with the flow

T

he number of people you can spot in downtown Lausanne with earbuds stuck in their ears these days is absolutely insane. I walk through Flon and St. Francois every evening in order to get home and this addiction to music which people currently have is shocking. Music and other forms of auditory entertainment seem to have many different purposes for individuals of all kinds of ages. Concentrated adults will listen to podcasts on politics, hoping to use a shiny, new, complicated word during their next important work meeting. Kids will jam out to pop and obnoxious teens will never hesitate to blast rap through speakers when they have the chance.

At ISL, despite the newly-enforced rule which prohibits all students to use earbuds during school time, the addiction to music, and even producing music, is a phenomenon which is easy to notice within the high school. Most recently, the development of music producers who use the well-known platform Soundcloud as their outlet has been contagious.

Two prominent and very active producers from our very own student ranks are Max Wester (Y13) and Lucas Leach (Y12).

Through their social media platforms and methods of self-promotion, their songs have gotten hundreds of plays on SoundCloud, making me question what really drives these two to be so dedicated to the production of music, and most specifically, rap.

When talking with Lucas regarding his reasons for starting to make music, he referred back to his childhood years with a grin on his face, telling me that he has always felt as if “(he) could easily come up with lyrics, (that) it kind of came naturally.”. Max, on his side, had actually been writing music and lyrics for years, he just struggled to find the confidence to post them before his SoundCloud success. He told me that he “doesn’t really care what anyone thinks of it, I make music for me.” His thought process and building of confidence to post his music on SoundCloud were even more intriguing as he explained that he asked himself: “Why not? What’s the worst that can happen?” Despite the obvious advantage that creating music counts for CAS in the DP, it does seem as if both of the rappers had to first realize that this was something they wanted to pursue, combining a mix of talent and determination to bring attention to their work.

Another key factor for both of these individuals when judging their music has been the number of plays which they have received. This was a topic I paid particular attention to as they shared their experiences with me: for both, more plays allows for more feedback and therefore confidence in their music. Max Wester told me that he was especially “proud of the progress I’m making in terms of my writing ability.”

For him, the importance of impactful lyrics was a key factor

in all of his songs, as he emphasized that he has “a bunch of stuff written down that is way better than anything I’ve posted yet.” For Lucas Leach, with his birthday being just last week, he used the occasion in order to release his first “EP”, or Extended Play. A collection of songs which he is especially proud of as “it’s been very well received”. Regarding his plays, he said that these have been “consistent, which is a good sign as I try to build my fanbase.”

One last aspect stuck out to me while talking with both producers: their constant search for improvement and development of their music. Lucas was quick to mention: “I’ve reached a certain point of confidence: I am even thinking about moving my music to Spotify soon.” He explained to me that shifting platforms would allow him to increase his plays due to the popularity of Spotify amongst teens in Europe and all over the world.

Max, on his side, also pointed out that he “hasn’t had enough freedom” to post as much as he wants to due to schoolwork.

However, he did leave me with a bold statement, echoing his enthusiasm when it comes to the music he produces: “I love SoundCloud because it allows me to say whatever the hell I want to say and no one can tell me that I can’t.” Whether this translates to long-term jobs in the music industry for both of these boys is yet to be seen, but the potential is there. Don’t believe so? Go check them out on SoundCloud: @LucasLeach and @Wester.

Photograph by Gabi Leach

10

THE DEBATE: WACKY WEEK Suhasini Mehra

D

on’t get me wrong: I love Wacky Week. It’s the only week in the year when I could, and will, wear a cloak to school every day without anyone batting an eye.

It’s a ridiculous week of crazy costumes and the birth of new memes, a time for everyone to let go of some of the stress of the semester and have some fun in the last few days of term. Key words: anti-stress, pro-fun. Yet, recently, I’ve heard an increasing number of people, students and teachers alike, criticizing Wacky Week for giving them more stress than enjoyment, and I have to ask: why? The problem lies in the competitive nature of the week. Competition can be immensely fun—healthy, even—but, in the case of Wacky Week, the competition has really gone too far.

It’s something of a tradition that Year 13 wins every year—a rite of passage, in a way. Perhaps the system is rigged, as I have heard some complain, or perhaps Year 13 simply has greater accumulated experience than the rest of us. Whatever the case, the continuous victories of each generation of Year 13’s has lead to a surprising amount of frustration and an almost aggressive drive to win. This drive stokes the already high levels of competition, feeding the fire of ambition and year-group pride. And this ambition, in turn, leads the most competitive people of each year group to start prodding the rest of the year to match their pace. And therein lies the problem. Not everyone is as invested in Wacky Week as those few people. So, when Wacky Week starts to become more about racking up points than having fun, the less competitive students rightfully feel resentful. This leads to a fractured year group and increased enmity between each year—

the antithesis of what the week is supposed to be about. As one student questioned: “Why are we unable to let ourselves enjoy the week [just for] fun?”

And Wacky Week’s mutation into a deathmatch doesn’t just affect us as students. It affects the school staff, and not to mention the environment. The most egregious case of this is in the Secret Performances: high-pressure skits put on by seven different year groups, each group more determined than the last to go all out and make an impression on the judges. This frequently leads to the reckless purchase of elaborate costumes, prop items that will never again be relevant to anyone, and copious amounts of confetti that the school staff are forced to clean up—and, if you’ve ever cleaned up after a ten-year-old’s birthday party, you know that confetti is a nightmare to get rid of. As one student rightfully pointed out, “For a school where many students go to a march for ‘government action against climate change’, the number of single use costumes purchased and waste created is very hypocritical.”

Wacky Week is great. It’s fun, competitive, and it gives everyone the chance to create and innovate. But, just before Wacky Week starts, take a moment to step back, take a deep breath, and remember what the week is all about: school spirit, fun, and unity. And if you find yourself getting a little too invested in the competition, just remind yourself of this student’s words of wisdom: “There is more to life than Wacky Week.”

Not everyone is as invested in Wacky Week as those few people

11

IS IT TOO COMPETITIVE?

You may as well stop moaning now and go in with a winning mindset

W

acky Week is not getting overly competitive. It is as simple as that. There is not too much tension, there is not an overemphasis on winning, and it is definitely not causing an unusual strain on Year 12/Year 13 relations. The rivalry between the DP years is as much of a tradition as Wacky Week itself; without it, the week would lack a crucial sense of determination that drives the week to satisfy its wacky name. “Every year people claim that the year 12 and 13’s are too competitive, but at this point, it is practically a rite of passage,” explains Emma Longford. The fact of the matter is that Wacky Week is a competition; if the objective was not to win, there would not be a point system in place, refined to three clear criteria, and a variety of unbiased judges would not circulate homerooms every morning.

“If there wasn’t an aspect of competition, it just wouldn’t be as fun,” says Juan Pablo, a member of the StuCo events team.

In reality, the issue with Wacky Week is not the over competitiveness of the years, but it is the reluctance of certain year group members to just go with the flow. It is completely (well, not totally, but maybe a little) understandable if a student doesn’t want to get super involved, but it can be difficult if they jeopardize the rest of the year group’s chance at success. Honestly, just throw on a green or red shirt that will help to soothe the tension among the rest of your classmates. You don’t need to spend hours on your costume (although it’s entirely comprehensible if you do) to be a part of the spirit. The reason (if any) that people seem to believe that Wacky Week is being taken a little too seriously is because the students who want to do well feel that they have to step up their game

to compensate for the slightly less enthusiastic people who sometimes stubbornly refuse to cooperate. Wacky Week is an amazing time to let your inner spirit soar and bond with your year group, after all, what way better than to unite with your classmates than with a victory? According to Ellie Parsons, a key orchestrator of Wacky Week, “[She has] never felt so close to [her] year than during Wacky Week.”

People sometimes claim that Wacky Week fractures the year group, but actually it can do the complete opposite. Wacky Week gives the adolescents of ISL the opportunity to step back from their work, or any inter-year group drama that may be happening at the time and turn their full attention to getting into the wacky spirit and the competition of the week.

“I think that a little healthy competition is really good,” says Brooke Bumbacco. If you embrace Wacky Week with open arms, instead of trying to resist it, you may find that it unlocks new friendships and creates fantastic memories.

In the end, despite the grumbling, when Wacky Week comes around again, the year groups bind together in an ultimate contest to prove who is the craziest. Even the students who complained about the over-seriousness of the week can’t help but cheer their year around the football pitch at RunBuggy-Run as they realize with a sense of ecstasy that this could be the year that they actually win, and they hop on board the competitive train. So, you may as well stop moaning now and go in with a winning mindset, sit back and enjoy the wacky ride.

Poppy Harrison

12

IT’S A MAN’S WORLD

A

bout a month ago, I watched a TEDx Talk on the Men’s Rights Movement (MRM) by Cassie Jaye. She proclaimed herself to have been a feminist. She talked about her encounter with the MRM and recalled one of the activists having told her: “If you look outside, most things have been built by men”. Of course, at first she was very offended by the statement, but then she came to the realisation that he didn’t mean to oppress females or try to show men were better in any way. In fact if the roles were reversed a feminist would say: “Look around, everyone you see has been birthed by a woman”. Although people naturally get offended by these words, it is important to understand that the MRM isn’t trying to fight feminists. Of course, there will always be some people that do for both genders, but the nature of the MRM is to address problems men have in society as well.

Let’s address some of these problems to gain a wider perspective. On average, 4 to 8 men out of a population of 10,000 commit suicide for every woman. The only country where female suicide outweighs male suicide is China. When you think about it, it is clear why more than double the men commit suicide than women. “Societal standards” create the impression that men aren’t supposed to feel or at least show emotion, which may lead them to feel trapped and even go into a state of depression. This situation may escalate if they don’t receive any support and may lead to them thinking about ending their life.. Also, without support the situation only becomes worse and - for many people - will lead to them ending their life. Many people aren’t aware of this. Many say men are very privileged and that can be correct, but it is important to realize how men are also oppressed.

For equality to happen, I do not think that it is necessary for anything, be it privilege or infrastructure, to be taken away from women. However, I do think that it is necessary for men to have equal opportunities as well. For instance, in the US whilst there were 2,000 domestic abuse shelters for women in 2017, only one was provided for men. And, when someone says this, the media shows it, as if this MRA was saying: “Women shouldn’t get that many shelters as they do not need them” But usually this is incorrect. What a true MRA will mean by this is that men are getting much less help for a problem that affects both genders. Here is an example: Did you know that domestic abuse, physical and psychological, for each both males and females is very similar? I am not saying they are the same, do not get me wrong, but perhaps not many people would think of the gender ratio for domestic abuse as 2,000 to 1. At least this is to be hoped. The actual ratio for reference is 3 women for every 1 man get abused domestically in the US.

Danix Santos #MenToo My last example is in court. About deciding someone’s future. A study published in the journal: “Social Psychological and Personality Science” by Andrea L. Miller surveyed 500 judges from a state court system: 68% male, 30% female, 2% other. Another 500 people who were not qualified in law (lay people) were also surveyed. In this survey the surveyees were told to analyze a child custody after divorce mock court case. These people were also surveyed on their beliefs on traditional gender roles in society. In the mock court case a woman and a man were “fighting” over custody of a child.

Both parents had the exact same conditions (full-time jobs, some conflicts with caring for the child). All the laypeople and judges who supported traditional gender roles overwhelmingly gave the woman more custody than the equally qualified father. And when looking at just the judges, the numbers were even more unequal. Only around 3% of judges gave the father more custody time which was a worse statistic than the lay people. And again when the MRM introduces this it is taken as: “Women are less qualified to take care of children than men” which is not at all the intent. There is a difference.

And it is important to realize this for any issue.

The fact that the modern media that surrounds us is putting words in people’s mouths is going against their own principles. The principles of freedom of expression. Of course, anyone can show the things I have mentioned above but heavy backlash is to be expected. To get back to the main point the Men’s Rights Movement is not to be viewed as the opposing side to the feminist movement. Feminists strive for equality of the genders so both genders must be represented because it isn’t just one gender being oppressed. So, in order to know the full truth one must look at the claims of both sides. And remember kids, women are not the only victims.

Illustration by Jade Tan

13

A CHAP CALLED SHAP TALKS...

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en Shapiro has been dubbed as “the golden boy” of the millennial conservative movement. His “facts don’t care about your feelings” approach has granted him a spotlight in conservative, reactionary media, millions of views on Youtube and 2 million Twitter followers. He is famous for “destroying liberals” -- mostly unmedia trained college students -- with “facts and logic”, focusing on controversial topics such as identity politics, abortion and gun control and expressing a mainstream conservative perspective.

Shapiro is known as an eloquent and well-read speaker who presents his arguments in a calm manner, juxtaposed to his angry and overly emotional opponents. For conservatives, he’s an endless source of entertainment and intellect. But for me Shapiro serves as a reminder of the dangers of impressionability in the internet age.

What Shapiro has done is understand the importance of adapting your content to suit the media age; he oversimplifies situations with disguised comedy tailored to the humour of the internet -- how else would someone who said “Arabs like to bomb crap and live in open sewage” be so popular? Teenagers are malleable, so it’s no wonder why a large portion of Shapiro’s audience is made up of teenagers. As teenagers consume his viral videos and talk show episodes, they’re attracted to his wit and his demeanor and subsequently fail to create their own opinions and instead adopt Shapiro’s often harmful ones. Shapiro’s “facts don’t care about your feelings” slogan continues to push a narrative that, because liberals are more empathetic and compassionate, they operate on emotion alone -- implying that they disregard reason, which makes the leftist opinion less credible for Shapiro and his flock of sheep. His tweet “[...] I think homosexual activity is a sin. As a leftist, you don’t have to care. Get over it.” serves as a reminder of Shapiro’s preference of reason over emotion and suggesting one should be apathetic towards controversial opinions. The narrative that you don’t have to care when someone makes a claim that fuels social prejudice over minority groups will only allow the prejudice to carry on. The way to stop prejudice is to call it out, to hold people accountable. But Shapiro takes calling out his bigotry, his racism, his pro-life agenda as the left being intolerant, as being overall emotional. His viewers buy into his narrative and accept it as truth.

The mindset and rhetoric Shapiro has cultivated is written in the vocabulary of the internet; it’s easy to consume and this is what Shapiro owes his success to -- his fans buying into his narrative that the left are overly emotional and a conservative ideology is right, pardon the pun. When his fans accept his narrative, they don’t take time to ponder the possibility that what Shapiro is saying is misleading, false or harmful.

With his Harvard law degree, the “public intellectual” has been granted the freedom to lure in impressionable teenagers who end up blind to the consequences of believing, for example, that there isn’t income inequality. Shapiro’s fast

Ellie Parsons watches too much YouTube

delivery leaves no time for reflection but as a generation who demands immediacy, who needs reflection? As it turns out, Shapiro’s fans are happy to be spoon fed ideologies and opinions -- who knows, maybe some of his fans genuinely believe that Obama is “philosophically fascist” after hearing Shapiro say it. For someone who brands himself around his use of facts, Shapiro does an awful lot of cherry picking to best suit his narrative and falls back on arguments based on religious dogmas all too often. Gish Gallop is a rhetorical strategy when one rapidly says numerous fallacious arguments so that it is impossible for your opponent to respond to them all. It’s at this point you can claim that you “owned this liberal” with “facts and logic” because they adequately addressed all your points. Shapiro fans mistake this for intellect.

My strong dislike for Shapiro could be met with confusion: why do I care so much about what people watch and choose to believe? And the answer is rather simple and lies in the fact that this kind of media mobilizes a harmful political agenda.

It’s the “public intellectuals” like Shapiro, who choose to only talk about the overly emotional and-easy to-provoke Social Justice Warriors, who make people hesitant to call themselves a feminist. It’s the cultivated mindset that the left are overly emotional SJWs who deny facts and logic that pushes teenagers to turn away from progressive politics and into the rabbit hole of the reactionaries. It takes a quick browse in his Youtube comments section to see how well received Shapiro is -- and how he has managed to manipulate thousands into thinking he is an intellectual heavyweight.

Upon the consumption of media, I encourage everyone to consume actively; take genuine time to reflect and think. Ask more questions: Why am I agreeing with this? Is my agreement a result of good argumentation? Accepting harmful ideologies because of how they are presented in an argument will only lead you down the line of straying away from progressive politics, leaving progression in societies issues at a stand-still. Perhaps if our generation’s attention span wasn’t fleeting and if we took more advantage of the internet to thoroughly educate ourselves on topics before drawing conclusions, maybe we wouldn’t have so many teenagers who support one who says “Renewable energy: dumbest phrase since climate change.”

Illustration by Kia Bagha

14

WOULD YOU PAY TO PLAY?

A

s the news about the college admission scandal in privileged universities in the US broke out, social media feeds were flooded with various opinions on this topic. Although a large amount of people were discovered to have payed either the University in question, the SAT organisation, or other separate bodies in order to enrol their children in privileged institutions such as Stanford, USC and Georgetown, amongst many others, the most shocking, so to speak, case was that of Lori Loughlin, also known as Aunt Becky in the well-known tv series Full House and its more recent sequel Fuller House. Lori and her husband Mossimo Giannulli, a well-known clothing designer and owner of a fast fashion brand sold at Target, paid a total of 500,000 dollars to get their daughters, Olivia Jade and Bella, into the University of Southern California. Not only did they manipulate their SAT scores, but they also styled their youngest, and most well-known daughter, Olivia, as the coxswain of a crew team, staged an action shot using the training equipment and paid USC’s associate athletic director to enrol her as an athlete.

Sadly, she was injured after the first competition, meaning she would not be able to lead her team during the season, nor guide them through it as a captain, although I’m sure she attended their races despite her injury, showing support and leadership for her team.

On the other hand, you would think that after this incident, Olivia Jade would have plenty of time to focus on her school work, but also make some time for her growing youtube channel, which has accumulated almost two million followers. However, like Olivia said in one of her videos, which has now been deleted, “[she] doesn’t know how much school she would actually be attending”, and that, “as [her viewers know], she doesn’t care about school”. So why is she going?

When the news first broke out, there were varying opinions; those who were outraged by the fact that someone can pay their way into universities where they don’t necessarily deserve to be, taking away the spot of someone more deserving, and those who couldn’t care less. I would probably include myself in those who are outraged by the news, although this doesn’t affect me personally. Instead, as I read more about the news, I become more and more conflicted about where I stand in terms of who I blame: is it the people who accept these enormous amounts of money? Is it the parents of these kids, or is it the children of these privileged families themselves?

I’d like to blame the children who are aware of what their parents are doing in order to give them a privileged education which they don’t even want, yet still remain quiet and pretend, in front of the press, that their parents’ decisions are made with the best intentions in order to protect them.

It’s almost like they’re trying to convince themselves that

Raquel Muzquiz did not take her SATs what they are doing is even remotely okay. I’d like to say too that the parents are the ones to fully blame. They’re the ones who force their children into something that they don’t necessarily want to do, just because they “didn’t have the opportunity themselves” and of course, they know what’s best for their children, because getting a good education is so important. Surely, an education is important, and I definitely think it should come before a social media job, where one’s fame can grow and suddenly drop from one moment to another. As a result of this scandal, not only have Olivia Jade’s two major sponsorships dropped their collaborations with her, but USC is considering expelling her. No more privileged education and no more influencer trips to New York fashion week or Fiji with major brands like Tresemme, Sephora or the clothing app Dote. All for paying her way into somewhere she knew she didn’t want to go nor would have made it in without having paid bribe money.

So, who am I blaming? Privilege, and everything that comes with it. I blame the idea that people who are economically privileged feel like they are superior to others who aren’t, and feel like they have the authority to get what they want when they want it. It’s the fact that they normalise this situation which blurs the line between right and wrong, and makes it fade away until it almost disappears. It is the fact that with privilege comes the idea that everything is thought of as a transaction, especially education. If Lori and Mossimo saw education as something so crucial for their daughters, why didn’t they enrol them in a “less privileged” university?

Was it to give them the opportunity to experience the elite education system, or was it simply a matter of maintaining their exclusive status?

It’s a matter of maintaining their exclusive status Olivia Jade isn’t the only person under fire for this: she isn’t the first, nor the last. I don’t think people should blame one person for something that happens every day and in every occasion, whether it is paying someone to do your homework assignments because you feel that you have the authority to do so, or giving someone extensive amounts of money to correct your SAT scores in your favour. Yet, I do think that we, whether we are privileged or not, should not let money or status blur the line between right or wrong for our benefit so much so that it disappears, because that’s when we become the ones to blame.

15

OPEN MINDS, CLOSE BORDERS

A

few weeks ago, during a High School Assembly, an exISL teacher came to speak about his experience as a volunteer at the Calais refugee camp and persuade us to “Choose Love”. The presentation brought up some valid points and had a positive message regarding the struggles of others and selfless actions that could be taken to help them.

However, there was an idea that stood out from the rest.

While presenting a book he’d recently read and agreed with, he explained that one of the main points the book made was that humans should have a right to move and settle anywhere in the world. If free movement and citizenship in any part of the world became human rights, guaranteed and enforced, the world would be a radically different place. Suppose such a thing could be implemented by a global agreement which will not take place in the near future. However unrealistic, this hypothetical scenario is fascinating and thus it is important to explore the implications of such an event.

Purely practically, the arrival of millions of people year after year would place considerable strain on existing infrastructure and the provision of services in host countries; for example, the effect of Syrian civil war on Lebanon. According to UNHCR, Lebanon, Syria’s neighbor, has generously taken in 1.4 million Syrians, who now represent a quarter of the Lebanese population. This has put serious pressure on Lebanon’s provision of education, healthcare, water, and electricity. According to the IB Geography textbook, there are now more refugee school children than Lebanese school children in Lebanese schools.

In a similar fashion, countries like Sweden could attract millions since their welfare system is one of the most comprehensive and generous ones in the world. Sweden is part of the Schengen area so it is fair to argue that “if Europeans can enter, why can’t others?” Though they are allowed to temporarily live and work in another Schengen country, citizenship is not granted. Furthermore, some Schengen members have, in the past, reintroduced border controls to fight illegal immigration and terrorists fleeing from country to country, highlighting some problems of the system. However, if an influx of people on a large scale were allowed to occur, the welfare system would collapse and the many citizens who depend on it would suffer as a result.

Secondly, a world where everyone has the right to move and settle anywhere in the world would imply a lack of controls on what people enter a country’s territory. To acquire citizenship, which provides the right to move and settle in a country, individuals have to be determined to broadly share that country’s values and to pose no physical or economic threat.

Without such controls, people with bad intentions would have no trouble moving to and living in any country, presenting a direct threat to its inhabitants. Take for example ISIS fighters returning from Iraq back to Europe. Would it be wise to enforce their right to move to any country?

A dangerous assumption to make is that the people taking

Misha Miroshnychenko and Victor Ivanov

part in this mass migration are the same as the people who compose the populations of host countries. Yes, fundamentally they’re humans and broadly share the same aspirations, but it can’t be taken for granted that they share the culture, traditions, moral and ethical values, and language. For a cohesive, united, and effective society, people ought to be able to understand each other and share common values. The assimilation of an individual into a society can only happen with time and immersion in the local community, but this process isn’t guaranteed.

It is only natural that people try to settle in places where their culture or religion are shared since those can provide a sense of community and belonging. Imagine being someone who fled their country to avoid conflict and then finding yourself in a completely foreign country where you don’t understand the speech or share their traditions. There are many enclaves that demonstrate this tendency, be it Molenbeek in Belgium, Department 93 of Paris, or the numerous Chinatowns across developed nations. In most of these cases, migration was controlled and even limited which means that once restrictions are removed, this effect will become more pronounced.

Formation of large communities that are concentrated and unintegrated, will lead to a lack of unity, conflicts of interest, and rampant tribalism in politics and other aspects of society.

Diversity is what makes humanity beautiful and rich, and cultural globalization is the greatest threat to it. A mass movement of people, which would undoubtedly occur when moving and settling in any country becomes a right, would lead to cultural displacement or cultural replacement due to the scale of the movements which would render assimilation impossible.

An agreement that grants everyone the right to move and settle anywhere in the world has negative social, economic, and political impacts that are often overlooked. A useful metaphor is that of a home: people don’t leave their doors open, and they prefer to live with individuals they won’t argue with constantly over fundamental issues. There are many other solutions to the problems of people who are considered to be disadvantaged which do not threaten to disrupt the global social, economic, and political order like this proposal does.

When solving problems of a colossal scale like poverty, war, and immigration, policymakers should give as much, if not more emphasis to reasonable and effective solutions than to those that emphasize love and compassion. This, of course, is not to say that compassion has no place in policy, but it doesn’t merit a primary role.

The greatest criticism of this policy is that people would be able to easily escape any issues in their home country, and this would mean that there is no real incentive for long-term change for the better. Instead, we should use multilateral cooperation, technology, and knowledge-sharing to help those who face the most relentless and cruel circumstances.

16

HOLI MOLEY!

S

hould there be more international and culturally diverse occasions at ISL where all students can fully immerse themselves into new culture?

Following the success of the Chinese New Year event at school back in February, the ISL community vibrantly came together once again, on the 21st of March, for the Indian celebration of Holi: the festival of colour. “It is days like today that bring down borders between people and allow people to understand and appreciate other cultures, something that is increasingly crucial in our divided world today.”

These words were said by Khwaish in year 11 during the event. Her words are a clear reflection of how the cultural differences among humankind can have such a positive impact. It is international celebrations like this that help unity to thrive.

ISL prides itself with representing a wide array of nationalities, over 60 in fact, among their student and staff body but fail to represent traditions and customs from all around the world in an equal way. More than 10% of these nations are not from the West yet only a limited number of holidays such as Easter, Halloween, Valentines Day and International Day, all primarily from Europe, actually allow for student participation.

What about the Indian festival of light Diwali, St Patrick’s Day in Ireland or the Brazilian Carnival just to name a few?

The possibilities are endless with how the school could be transformed for a day to honour one anothers traditions.

Only during this years Holi event and Chinese New Year event did it fully feel like the whole school was able to par-

COMING SOON

W

ho are your favorite artists?

From the old-school Simon and Garfunkel, the hit-movie A Star is Born, Adele’s soulful songs, the unique Billie Eilish, or the legendary QUEEN, all of these genres and acts will be present on May 7th in the auditorium.

Eight months ago, all of the Year 10 singers gathered and began organizing a project to raise awareness about AIDS. The reason why we chose AIDs as our cause is because we found that AIDs still isn’t talked about enough to children and people who are currently suffering from it in Switzerland are still facing discrimination and difficulties because of this. We are therefore going to be giving all proceeds to the organization Aide Suisse Contre le Sida, which is a Swiss organization that helps raise awareness about AIDs throughout Switzerland and offers support from it’s victims.

In terms of the concert, there will be a solo song for every individual as well as a duet with another member of the team.

The songs that will be performed reflect all of the talent and effort that has been put into this project.

Buy your tickets as soon as you come back to school after April break in the foyer during first recess! Everyone who buys a ticket before the event and not at the doors will be offered a free drink or cookie!

The reception will begin at 17:30, May 7th, with food and drinks available, before the concert starts at 18:00.

See you there!

Jaina Patel take and experience something new and insightful. Previously, with events such as Thanksgiving, Sankta Lucia and Hanukkah, only a certain minority put on a display for the other cultures to enjoy. What is to say that others cannot get involved too?

“Except for the recent events of Chinese New Year and Holi, limited efforts have been taken by the school to actually get lots of the students involved. I definitely think that more can be done to improve events in future years.” A fellow member of the student body declared.

The school is definitely going in the right direction, but without cramming the school year with millions of events, we can still find ways of enhancing students global awareness with whole school celebrations.

Coline Coubat

17

GENEVA CONVENTION

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ast week on Tuesday, 26th March, Year 12 and Year 13 Global Politics attended the 11th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in Palexpo. This event takes place annually, sponsored by a 20 non-governmental organizations such as UN Watch, Human Rights Foundation and Lantos Foundation: Human Rights and Justice.

Each year, on the eve of the United Nations Human Rights Council´s main annual sessions, activists from around the world meet to raise awareness for human rights situations on an international scale . “The Geneva Summit was not only an educational field trip, but it extended our knowledge on Human Rights but also, an emotional experience getting to hear about how many people worldwide are daily being violated of their human rights,” explains Matilda Otterstedt in Y12.

Presenters included human rights activists and former political prisoners from China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela

and Syria, all of whom gave insights about their personal struggles freedom. A few of the noteworthy speakers were Abdalaziz Alhamza, a co-founder of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently; Irwin Cotler, the Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights; and Ketty Nivyabandi, an exiled Burundian activist.

“The presenters were engaging and offered a fascinating perspective on Human Rights. I was impressed by who the presenters were and they enabled a broader view on human rights,” says Olivia Schlaepfer in Y13.

“The topics discussed gave me an insight on what was happening in the broader world, and not just the USA, Russia, or UK which are the predominant countries we talk about. For example, hearing about Venezuela in depth was intriguing,” remarks a student in Y12.

Two awards were presented: the International Women’s Rights Award was

GUT FEELING

W

e all know the saying “trust your gut.” Nevertheless, we all know that the gut doesn’t think. All the thinking is done by the brain. It’s obvious… or is it? Recent studies suggest that the old saying has some truth behind it.

The intestine or “gut” is connected to the brain through the Vagus nerve, which travels from the neck to the chest and finally to the gut. You can look at the nerve as a phone cable which connects the organ to the brain. The brain controls many different organs through the Vagus nerve. However, only the intestines possess autonomy. If you disconnect the brain from the intestine by severing the Vagus nerve, the intestine, unlike many other organs, will continue to work. The intestine contains its own complex neural system. Some scientists even call it the “second brain”.

Interestingly, 90% of all the interactions between the brain and intestine are of the intestine sending signals up the Vagus nerve to the brain. In addition to that, 90% of serotonin, a neurotrans-

mitter responsible for happiness, is produced in the intestine. This is very important because depression is often caused by the lack of production of serotonin. Our intestine is inhabited by a great number of bacteria. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to produce a lot of chemicals required for life. The collective of all bacteria in your intestine is called “the microflora”, which affects a large proportion of the signals sent to your brain.

There is also a very nice saying, “You are what you eat”. This turns out to be also surprisingly true. The microflora of your intestines affects the signaling of the intestine to the brain. Your microflora, at the same time, is defined by the things you eat. Therefore, your character and the way you behave may be affected by what food you consume.

In addition to that, the type of food you eat may affect your children. If your microflora mostly receives carbohydrates and fats, the chance of your offspring being more antisocial or even being on the autism spectrum dramatically

Tindra Österling

presented to Nimco Ali, an award-winning British-Somali feminist and social activist. She is the co-founder and director of Daughters of Eve, a survivor-led organization and has helped transform an approach to ending female mutilation (FGM). “Personally, I was impressed by the woman who won the award. She was an ideal role model of a powerful woman who stands up for what she believes in,” says a Y12 student.

The second award was the Courage Award, which was presented to Dhondoup Wangchen who is a self-taught filmmaker who secretly shot a documentary in 2008 to uncover life in Tibet under the Chinese Community Party’s rule. He was sentenced to six years in prison and he escaped Tibet in December 2017.

Overall, the Geneva summit offered an enriching experience to Global Politics students, who were able to engage in real world problems.

Daniel Friedman increases. This knowledge is key. Scientists in Japan started developing treatments against depression based on changing a person’s microflora. If you remember, 90% of serotonin is produced in the intestine and depression is connected to the underproduction of serotonin. Scientist try treatments including L. acidophilus, L. casei and B. bifidum, which are proven to positively affect production of serotonin. Thus, if you are feeling depressed, eat a yogurt; maybe the bacteria will make you happy again. Humor aside, this experiment has been done on two group of depressed patients. One was fed a diet with a high concentration of the bacteria and the other received a normal diet. After 8 weeks, the psychological situation of the first group improved significantly.

It is important to keep in mind that this area of research is quite young with very small group of researchers involved in it. However, the research done looks very promising.

18

SIMPLY THE BESS Rafael Ribas thanks u, next

S

earch online for quotes about leadership, and you will find page after page of pithy aphorisms about what it means to lead a team - from politicians, philosophers, business experts, random celebrities. Compare that with the people that lead you, the ones you choose to (or have to) follow: teachers, coaches, mentors, relatives. What makes a good leader? More precisely: what makes you want to follow a particular leader?

even some of our writers) about gender equality and the discrimination - visible and invisible - that most women will have to endure in our school as well as in society, it is important to reiterate the value of having a young woman such as Hannah demonstrating that leadership does not need to involve shouting, bullying, or bragging. The best leader is not the loudest, the most popular, the funniest. The best man for the job is often a woman.

One of the key features of The High since its inception, more than ten years ago, is to empower students with the ability to lead each other, to identify the attributes of leadership that you have among yourselves. I have been a privileged observer of this process, and I have particularly enjoyed, and learned from, observing a wide range of types of leadership.

Allow me a few words to celebrate one in particular, as our current editor-in-chief takes her place in our imaginary hall of fame.

A year in The High is made of lots of small stories. Eight issues, dozens of articles, hundreds of pages, thousands of conversations. This year brought a revival of our letters page (currently only frequented by teachers; what are you waiting for?); we also attempted new formats with our two-side debate articles, our Spotify playlists, our Instagram stories. We even changed our masthead once, becoming The Equal in celebration of Equality week. Hannah has led these innovations; that does not mean that she came up with all of these ideas, but she created the atmosphere where they could appear, and gave them the space to grow and blossom. As a result, we are now a more diverse and open paper, with the largest roster of writers, illustrators, photographers, and editors that we have ever had. We run a gamut of opinions, and we are learning that we do not all have to agree with every single word we print. We strive to make our newsroom, as much as possible, a scale model for our school: a fun, sometimes loud, sometimes silly place, where nonetheless we buckle down and take things seriously to deliver the best product we can.

Hannah Besson joined the team about two years ago; she was initially a quiet presence in our newsroom as she found her bearings; she wrote a couple of reviews and a lovely article about life of ex-students in college. And then, suddenly, Hannah’s article about popularity and student cliques caused an unexpected stir. As a newspaper, we are used to controversy and to having unpopular opinions - but our backlash had mostly come from teachers and administrators. The storm that followed that article, snowballing from WhatsApp to Instagram and back again, was one of the ugliest ever. I was very disappointed by the reaction of some members of the student body, and I cannot even imagine what Hannah had to endure.

But that was also the moment I learnt about Hannah’s perhaps most important leadership quality: being principled.

Her moral compass is perfectly attuned, and she will not hesitate calling out what she perceives as wrong. She would not escalate a war of words, but she will not compromise her integrity in order to please others. It was then that the news team felt that we would be willing to follow Hannah.

And follow her we did; and in doing so, we discovered her other qualities. We realised how caring she was, working with younger students to help them identify where an article could be improved, or talking to writers one-on-one to brainstorm new ideas. We learnt to respect her commitment to excellence and low tolerance for excuses, embodied in Hannah’s outstanding skill at eye-rolling. We appreciated her modesty, and how she steps away from the spotlight, letting each member of the team shine in their own right.

I am reluctant to describe these as feminine qualities. However, at a time when we still have to remind our readers (and

Hannah Besson has taken us several steps closer to this platonic ideal, by showing us that respect for others does not mean letting wrong ideas go unchallenged; by modelling the right balance of care and dignity; by taking responsibility for the outcome while letting everyone make their own decisions. She has been our leader, but she has not dragged us along.

When I had a chat with Hannah a year ago, to see if she would be willing to take this responsibility, I told her that The High aimed to be everyone’s newspaper, but that she should feel the liberty to make it a bit her own. She has turned this statement around, and has left her unique mark by letting everyone take ownership. We are better than we were a year ago, and I am delighted to believe this for the eleventh consecutive time.

On behalf of everyone who works in making this newspaper happen every month, thank you, Hannah. We wish you all the best in the coming months, and we hope that you will take us, and our paper, in your heart wherever you go next. It has been an honour to have you as our leader for a year. You are already part of our story.

19

BREXIT MEANS BREXIT

INTERNATIONAL DAYS - APRIL

Joseph Nobs

Artemis Faulk

2 World Autism Awareness Day 4 International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 6 International Day of Sport for Development and Peace 7 International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and World Health Day 12 International Day of Human Space Flight 20 Chinese Language Day 21 World Creativity and Innovation Day 22 International Mother Earth Day 23 World Book and Copyright Day and English Language Day and Spanish Language Day 24 International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace 25 World Malaria Day and International Girls in ICT Day 26 International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day and World Intellectual Property Day 28 World Day for Safety and Health at Work 30 International Jazz Day

Illustration by Jade Tan

20

WORDSEARCH: CATCH THEM ALL

Find the name of every Year 13! There are 93 of them.