The High 88

THE HIGH EDITION 88 | MARCH 06, 2020

GOING VIRAL

Illustration by Sharmila Joy

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Suhasini Mehra DEPUTY EDITOR

Khwaish Vohra

STAFF LIFE AFTER INTERNADIVERSITY? PLASTIC TIONAL DAY Everything is all white

Can the Eco Society save us?

No food, but some music

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EDITOR’S LETTER

C

OVID-19, also called the Coronavirus, is in Vaud. This is a simple fact, and there isn’t much any of us can do about it. By now you all have heard the same guidelines about a million times: sneeze into your elbow, stay home if you’re ill, and, of course, the Holy Grail of flu prevention—wash your hands. (By the way, if you haven’t seen the Vietnamese handwashing dance on TikTok… do yourself a favor and watch it now. You’re welcome.)

COVID-19 is in Vaud, and I have been increasingly surprised at the response I have seen from my fellow students—although perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised. It is in times of crisis that we often see the best in ourselves—and, equally, the worst. Since the end of half-term break, it seems that all anyone can talk about is the Coronavirus, whether in hushed, fearful comments in homeroom, or loud, cyclical arguments on group chats. Some people view the virus as a glorified cold, others see it as the Bubonic Plague of the 21st century; some people think we should all be quarantined at

Suhasini Mehra

home, others think fake coughing on others is peak comedy; some people worry that exams will be postponed and Year 13 will all have to reapply to our universities, others are convinced that the school will stay open no matter what, no matter the consequences.

It’s a trying time, but, as I watch group chats and real-world communications alike fall apart, my message to you all is this: be kind to each other. Be patient. Don’t be dismissive, don’t be aggressive, don’t condescend. That is the true Holy Grail of dealing with this crisis, as it is for any crisis: be kind to each other.

Be kind, and wash your hands.

EDITORS Ellie Parsons Rohan Reagan Tanvi Anand Elif Civelekoglu Athan Massouras Salim Markabi Sophie-Marie Pasewald Carlijn van der Weijst Hannah Brennan

TABLE OF CONTENTS Teacher diversity School motivation Mind your business Eco Society Plastic-free Covid - Shanghai Covid - ISL International Day

03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Why so mad?

Climate change 1917 Humane Women in media Authoritarianism World music Puff the Porcupine

10 11 12 12 13 14 15 16

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#STAFFSOWHITE Tanvi Anand inquires about the diversity among teachers

W

e are international.” It’s in our title, it was the reason for our logo change in the first place, and it’s the reason why we hold a day every single year where we eat food from all over the world.

As a student body, we are international. According to the 2018-2019 annual report, we come from over 54 different countries and speak over 45 languages among us. Our internationalism takes many forms, from the way we look, to the clothes we wear on International day, to the football teams we support during the World Cup. However, the same can’t be said about our staff population.

ISL’s staff body represents around 25 nationalities, the top ones being the UK, Switzerland, the US, and France. These countries all have something in common: they are overwhelmingly white. In fact, all the top represented countries by staff (greater than 3% representation) are countries with a predominantly caucasian population.

Now, there are many issues with creating generalizations like this based on some data: race and nationality are not correlated. However, it’s evident upon first glance that almost all teachers in the high school are white.

Chloe Uzoukwu, a Year 11 of Nigerian origin mentions that: “she felt less alienated when she was in primary school due to a black teacher being present”. The importances of having minorities within the teaching body cannot be stressed enough: according to a study by the Center for American Progress, “minority teachers have higher expectations of minority students, provide culturally relevant teaching, develop trusting relationships with students, confront issues of racism through teaching, and become advocates and cultural brokers.”

The school understands the importance of diversity. Mr. Blanc, the head of Human Resources at ISL mentioned that, “while we always try and look for the most qualified candidates, we have started considering diversity. We need to recognise that even though this is an international school, it is very much a ‘white’ school. Everyone is aware of it and we are all willing to further diversity within the staff body.”

The school takes creating a welcoming environment very seriously. In fact, when hiring a new member of staff, they look at their “cultural awareness” to ensure that they will be tolerant towards cultures. However, an anonymous student of colour mentioned that they had heard “numerous intolerant comments [directed towards a certain minority] from both students and staff.”

For teachers of colour, however, their experiences are more

positive. “In this school, I am one of the few non-white members of staff. When I first came in, this was very evident. As I got to know more teachers, I realized we had many shared experiences: many teachers had taught in Asia and had the same experiences as I did, even if they were white,” said Mr. Lee, a Biology teacher.

The main reason that ISL has such a Western teaching body comes down to work permits: it is notoriously difficult to secure a work permit as a non-European or American national. Switzerland is very stringent when it comes to giving out work permits and many cantons impose quotas.

Much like students, teachers at international schools tend to move around a lot, exposing them to new cultures. Each school has a different makeup as far as student and staff body populations are concerned. After speaking to Ms. Foster, who has taught at many places, including Brunei and Tanzania, she pointed out that the staff makeup heavily depended on the curriculum being taught: an American school would have more American teachers.

The IB curriculum is rooted in internationalism, and according to Ms. Foster, it attracts a slightly more mixed teaching staff. However, a significant majority of teachers in international schools are caucasian.

This isn’t only true for international schools. According to the Harvard General School of Education, about 50% of American high school students are non-white, whereas over 80% of teachers in U.S. schools are white. The reasons behind are not entirely clear, but there are many initiatives in place to encourage more young minorities to become teachers.

As an institution, we are the most diverse we’ve been in ISL’s over 40 year history. We are starting to make some progress but there is a long way to go.

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ASSEMBLY LINE SCHOOLS

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n recent years, there has been controversy on whether school is effective at providing students with the necessary ‘know-how’ in order to truly find their passion. Or… do they dumb students down to match societal expectations to not go beyond the blueprint? Or worse- to just pass exams?

I’m sure I speak for the majority of students who feel like death waking up in the morning—if you actually slept—and dread going back to school, morning after morning. There is a huge problem with motivation, which is influenced by many things: parental pressure to perform, overflow of assessments and deadlines which seem insurmountable, or working your hardest and not getting the results you want.

The statistics tell the same story: while 74 percent of fifth graders report feeling engaged in school, just 32 percent of high school juniors say the same.

School certainly doesn’t make it easier for students to be passionate about certain subjects. They have restrictive curriculums and rigid, narrow criteria on which all of us are assessed. School makes it seem like it doesn’t matter whether you enjoy doing your subject—all that matters is getting into that one special university.

What happens though when you exit school and then university? It feels like we are still using the same criteria in our work to the point that it almost feels like you’re going up a ladder with no end. This raises the additional question, what are we really working for? Why are we letting these systems dictate our way of life? Surely education should be about discovering your passions to the best of your abilities? What is happening to the academic world that is making learning so daunting for so many current students?

Learning, before the advent of compulsory education systems, was an enriching experience which armed people with valuable knowledge. People strived to learn and develop themselves. However, in recent decades the attainment of knowledge has become mandated for us by a system whose primary role, from the beginning, was not to uplift and enlighten, but to act as a form of social control.

The more modern form of compulsory schooling originated in the 16th century, however, it was not until the 18th century that the modern compulsory schooling began to take hold internationally under King William I of Prussia. Prussia established its national compulsory schooling system in 1717.

Subsequent schooling reforms throughout the 18th century built on this foundation and paved the way towards the development of the factory model of schooling, which is still the dominant public schooling model in the West today. The model emphasized standardization of teaching, testing and learning rates, respect of authority over exploration of truth and uniformity over progress and innovation. The Prussian system was so efficient at inculcating into its citizens a worldview which benefited the Prussian state, that by the end of the 19th century, North America and all countries in Europe implemented the model in their own countries. Many indi-

Lina Vilenska sees the writing on The Wall

viduals and states that were promoting this model were not looking to stimulate innovation, invention, and development of ideas to promote social prosperity, but instead, wanted to exploit the model as a means of social control and social engineering. It’s extremely telling that the Founder of the Board of Education in 1903, Frederick Taylor Gates, said this about the system: “In our dream… the people yield themselves with perfect dolicity into our molding hands.”

With the advent of manufactured education, the values which lead to true student motivation were gradually lost. So, how can we be expected to navigate ourselves in the ever-demanding world of academic pressure, while remaining truly passionate about the things we learn? In a telling interview with Mr. Alexander, this was revealed: “Some people see the IB program as being almost like a factory, producing products, and the exams are just a way of shaping those products.

I think within those constraints, there is room for creativity.

But unfortunately, subjects which permit a lot of creativity, like the Arts, don’t get a lot of students taking them, and that is partly because universities don’t accept them, but it’s also because of parental pressures that students end up taking slightly less traditionally creative subjects.”

So programs like the IB have made strides in order to improve the situation at hand, however, many other factors need to be accounted for when talking about student motivation. A huge part of this is the lack of creativity which schools allow for the lack of intrinsic motivation in students, which is the internal motivation to do something. “All schools encourage conformity, to an extent. All societies, to some extent, have conformity at their root. Schools are trying to prepare students for adult life, and a part of that is teaching students how to conform.” From a teacher’s perspective, this task is no less harder: “One thing we always have to be careful of as teachers, if we are trying to encourage the kids to think for themselves. Unfortunately, there is a lot of comfort to be had in being told what the answer is and to be passive, and only absorb things. It is very hard, as a teacher, to develop intrinsic motivation in students, when there are so many extrinsic motivators out there that are competing.”

Extrinsic motivation is present in learning everywhere, where that wasn’t much the case even 50 years ago. Students often feel a lot of pressure, and feel like they are being overassessed, depending on extrinsic motivation in order to keep going, leading to overstressing, worse academic performances and sleeping issues, among others. The response to these issues is quite slow, not helping the case.

This is not an accident that students aren’t feeling motivated. The system itself is made in a way that limits the ways that students can become motivated in the first place. And although systems like the IB have greatly changed the way that the education system teaches young minds, an effective solution still needs to be found in terms of truly inspiring students and preparing them for a fulfilling future.

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BIG TEACHER IS WATCHING YOU

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ow involved can teachers get into our personal lives?

No one knows if we really have privacy outside of school. After all, the school knows everything about us. Many students have complained across High School that teachers have been too involved in their personal lives and yet nobody really knows if there are any specific guidelines for the teachers to follow.

I asked Mr. Kirby, the year 12 level leader, different questions about student privacy. I started off by asking if there are specific guidelines that teachers have to follow about getting involved in students’ personal lives? Mr. Kirby Said ‘Not explicitly or specifically. Things that occur within the school community, yes. But for things that occur outside and don’t have ramifications on the school community, there are no fixed guidelines.” He continued by saying, “If bullying behaviour takes place online (even outside of school), and is affecting students at school, then I think there is a strong argument for the school to support those affected.” This shows that teachers can technically get involved in our personal lives no matter what the situation, but it depends on the teacher.

An anonymous student in year 12 said, “It is ironic that we need a guideline because it means that teachers are not able to mind their own business, and that they don’t understand at what point it is inappropriate.”

I feel that teachers make assumptions based on the extreme which therefore impacts the way they treat us in school. I personally feel uncomfortable seeing teachers outside of school as I know that they always assume the worst about my actions. This may lead to them pulling me outside of class and trying to talk to me about what they saw. Sometimes they may even make inappropriate jokes during class which not only makes me feel uncomfortable but also my peers.

An anonymous student in year 11 said “Teachers get too involved and depending on the situation I think they should, but there is a line that should be drawn.” He continued by saying, “There are certain things I understand teachers should get involved with, like bullying, but I don’t think it’s okay for a teacher to come up to a student saying they saw them smoke in Lausanne or call their parents”. Of course, it is understandable that a teacher gets involved in a student’s life if the student is engaging in activities which could be detrimental to their mental or physical health and by extension have an impact on their performance in school and education; however, when smoking or drinking outside of school are teachers really allowed to get involved and also involve our parents?

I asked Mr. Kirby about what he would do if he saw a student smoking or drinking. Mr. Kirby responded, ‘It depends on some factors, such as age and how well I knew the student. If it was a student in the DP who I had a good relationship with, I might be tempted to talk to them at some point, but not to criticize them. Just to see if they have thought about the long

Esmée Keulen will see you after class

term issues around using a very addictive substance. But it would depend on the relationship I had with the student’. Mr. Kirby also said, ‘If the student seemed to be in a dangerous situation or out of control, it might be appropriate to talk at school at some point (if the student wanted to – it wouldn’t be appropriate to force them to talk if they didn’t wish to)’.

This seems like a reasonable action, however not all teachers feel the same way and wouldn’t act in the same way as Mr. Kirby. Teachers may feel differently and may not talk to us personally but may feel the need to contact our parents which is unfair as teachers don’t have the right to act like our annoying little siblings and tell on us to our parents. Students know what they are getting into and what they do outside of school which is their own choice. It is not up to the teachers to decide whether what we do is right or wrong. Some of my peers have been called out by teachers for drinking while it is perfectly legal because they are over 16. These students were taken outside of class with all of their peers watching and talked to about their drinking habits. Which is completely stepping over the line as students were embarrassed for no particular reason apart from what the teacher thought they saw. Teachers don’t know the whole story behind what they see, so it is wrong for them to call us out for only focusing on what they believe they saw.

Another year 12 student said, ‘In my old school there weren’t any guidelines, the teachers knew if they would be crossing the line, it’s not that they didn’t care because if someone would get bullied they would do something about it like talk about it in assemblies’. She continued by saying, ‘If we would drink or smoke they assume that it is our parents responsibility and don’t get involved’.

It is our parents’ or guardians’ responsibility to know what we do outside of school including drinking or smoking, our parents and guardians also should teach us from a young age what is morally wrong and right and if they fail in this area (which is unlikely) the invisible hand shouldn’t fall upon our teachers. It is the teachers’ jobs to teach us about the effects and consequences of our actions. However, this does not give teachers the right to tell us what we can or cannot do. ISL should have guidelines for teachers to know what’s appropriate and inappropriate when it comes to students’ personal lives.

Illustration by Sophia Ahmed

6

IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

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limate change is visibly happening and gaining attention, and the world (or at least some of it) has been making an effort to live more sustainably. ISL’s contributions to climate change definitely aren’t minor; the Eco Society began in 2015 to help enforce positive environmental changes. They are now made up of fifteen members, spending their Thursday lunchtimes to make ISL greener, and while their impact on the school last year was notable, some feel they’ve switched to incognito mode since September.

So far, the Eco Society has been managing the somewhat infrequent Fridays for Future messages in the notices, which made a small dent of improvement with some students choosing public transport over cars or opting away from buying single-use plastic for the day. They can also be seen in the hallways during Thursday’s lunches counting the contents of PET bins. “There is a sort of twofold aim [of the Eco Society]... we have the school community, and ways that we can impact and change and help [it] become a greener place, and there’s the general education side of things in terms of educating students, staff and parents about climate change,” said Ms. Baker, one of the teachers responsible for organizing Eco Society. The removal of single-use plastic bottles last year, albeit rather symbolic as flavored water quickly replaced them, was a step in the right direction. Students were still wondering what was yet to come before the assembly in which the Eco Society presented their data, with one year 10 student mentioning, “I haven’t really heard from them all year. I don’t know if they’re working behind the scenes but they haven’t communicated anything in assemblies or to the year groups, so we don’t really know what they’re doing.”

Similar statements were echoed by many others, and they have a point. So far, those not involved in the weekly meetings are finding it difficult to mention any significant events correlated to the Eco Society throughout this school year.

Now, this isn’t to say the Eco Society isn’t doing anything.

Impact can’t be measured with a ruler, and the perceived impact of something may vary significantly from how much has actually been done. Not all changes are immediately noticeable; some things take time to shift, while others remain behind the scenes and aren’t taken into account by the student body at all.

One action that was mainly left in the shadows was that many members voluntarily gave up their time to help wash up cups used at the middle school discos to avoid single-use disposable ones. And although we’ll have to wait a while to see it, they were working towards a more Eco-friendly International day as well.

They also have more planned for the future, with one member saying “we’re working up to things and we’re winding up to making a change.” Just how much of a change this will be remains to be seen, but according to Ms. Baker, they’ve got things coming up in assemblies, in the newsletter, and are looking to support ISL’s plastic free school campaign which

Olivia Kurali is looking for the Eco Society will be put into action next year. Their focus area this year is waste in the highschool, and Ms. Baker provided an insight into what is involved in the process. “We’ve done a survey, we collected data from various places, and we’ve spoken to various members of staff, such as the operations team to find out more.”

They’re also working towards the Eco-Schools award, an internationally recognized award given to schools in acknowledgement of an active student body which has taken steps to improve the environmental impact of their school. Sounds like a good plan, right?

The first reveal of information was in Monday’s assembly, where they showed us impressive data they collected regarding the amount of waste ISL produces per year. They’ve shown that they have the information, but we still don’t know what’s going to come out of it. Just like the world knows climate change is happening but nothing productive is really happening in response. Knowing the amount of waste we produce may result in people rethinking purchases, but ultimately won’t make much of a difference unless active steps are taken by the Eco Society to push us to change.

The question is, why has none of this information left the domains of Mr. Printer’s classroom in the seven months we’ve been at school? The Eco Society has been working all year, yet communication via assemblies, notices, the newsletter is only just beginning. For the first two thirds of the year, we’ve been left in the dark.

Most people in the student body care about the environment to some extent. Even if someone hasn’t committed to Eco Society, that doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to volunteer or help out. An improvement could be more regular communication via their planning board (such as by using the one on the second floor, which has remained the same all year), which would allow for more engagement, resulting in a community more willing to adapt to achieve the goal of making ISL a greener school.

Take the Eco school award: if it were communicated earlier on to the rest of the students that this is a goal, more would be willing to make incremental changes in their lifestyle to reach the intended goal. If all of the statistics and data, are suddenly dumped on us nearing the end of the school year, there may not be enough time to provoke significant change.

It is necessary to keep in mind the Eco-society’s meetings are limited to thirty minutes per week, and it’s difficult to fit in all subject matters. However, more communication throughout the year could lead to assistance from outside the Eco Society, making it easier to focus on other aspects, such as communication, to get more done in a short amount of time.

While we haven’t heard much so far, there’s no doubt that the Eco Society has put in a significant effort into improving ISL’s sustainability. They’ve got plenty in store, and we could be well underway to receiving the Eco-Schools award thanks to their initiative.

7

IT’S FANTASTIC, MADE OF PLASTIC

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he school has recently announced that they are in the process of going single-use plastic free by the start of next school year, but what does that exactly entail for all of us? What’s going to change? Hopefully this article will help clear things up and let you know what life at ISL will be like next year.

A large question on everyone’s mind is the vending machines and what they will be like next year or if there are even going to be any next year. As Mr. Cairns explains, there are alternatives to packaging such as paper bags or using jars, but there are some situations which are more difficult. For example, you can’t use jars in vending machines so there are going to be some situations where there are no alternatives to this because it’s just not possible. But there are a limited number of itemswhere there is no alternative available. He is aware and accepts that this may cause some upset within the student body.

Around 80% of high school students use the vending machine with half of those students buying four items a week on average, almost once a day. His response to this is “In any change like that what people will find is something that makes their life a bit uncomfortable...your life is going to be affected and that’s ok.” You may be wondering, “Why even make this change?” and as Mr. Cairns puts it “Schools should reflect what societies should be, not the way societies are...

The school is trying to take a position on [climate change which] we think is important...There are a hundred things that we could do but we think that we should start with one thing and do it well.” The school is working to find specific alternatives for vending machines but it is unlikely that removal of these beloved machines is going to occur.

After speaking to Mr. Romain Gibert, the cafeteria manager, he was able to give more insight into what may happen to the cafeterias and vending machines after this change. He continues to explain the alternatives that they have. For drinks that normally come in plastic bottles they would try to buy in them boxes or glass. As for the vending machine, he believes that the vending machines will have less choice in terms of snacks, such as Balisto. They will try to order what they can with different packaging fit for the vending machines but if it is not possible to put it in the vending machines with the new packaging, they plan on selling it in the cafeteria on the North campus. In other places where possible, they will use reusable containers for food such as fruits. There are few items outside of the vending machines that will be affected.

Sandwiches, for example, are one of these few items which they are still in the process of finding alternatives for.

Rohan Reagan spills the ice tea

Mrs. Rebecca Chou, the vice-president of the PTA explained how this initiative will affect the PTA and events run by them.

For the most part, the PTA tries hard to not use single-use plastic and only does so when the circumstances such as events at a swimming pool or lake where it is harder to take reusable cups. Most of the other plastic used during their events or meetings is reusable. In the future, it is very feasible for the events to be plastic free, all that is needed is the budgeting in of paying a higher price for reusable materials and for hired help to wash dishes used. The process of permanently adjusting budgets for each event to ensure reusable materials can be used is currently underway. Mrs. Chou’s stance on the school going single-use plastic free is clear: “I think it’s a very important initiative. For me personally and as the school I feel it’s the right direction. It just means we have to think of things in a different way and think of new solutions.”

Last school year, there was an initiative to make the school go single-use plastic bottle free, but as we know, they were quickly replaced by flavored water bottles in single-use plastic. Mr. Cairns believes it is because it was a student based initiative which can cause problems when a group of students is telling other students what they can or cannot do.

So what makes this time around different? This time around it is no longer the students leading this change. There is now a clear focus on this issue of single-use plastic and with the weight of the school behind it, the change is possible.

There are some changes behind the scenes that will be occurring too. Mainly on how the school will deal with what they buy coming in plastic such as laptops or textbooks. As for laptops, to decrease the amount of single use plastic, instead of only the DP students bringing their own laptops, it is being considered to have all highschool students bring their own laptops. As for other things the school may be buying, the school is still gathering information about where they use single-use plastic and then they will start brainstorming decisions. They are also looking to outside sources, such as other schools to see what they are doing that is working well and what they are doing that is not working. Not much will be changing in the kitchens, however, because as it stands, they do not use much single-use plastic to begin with so it will not be hard to make this change for them. The only plastic they currently use is reusable.

So, for the time being, there are a lot of uncertainties as to how the school will be different next year. All that is certain is that the school is working their hardest to go plastic free and trying to implement the best feasible alternatives.

8

LIFE IN QUARANTINE Coline Coubat longs for human contact

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ormerly known as 2019-nCoV, now as COVID-19, the ‘sickness that comes from China because Chinese people eat everything and anything that moves, and they deserve it because they are killing Uyghurs’ is a virus which, unless your access to world news and social media has been blocked, you’ve probably heard plenty about. The outbreak of the airborne disease that has spread around the world in just a few weeks since it began was in Wuhan, China. The disease has had a major impact on the world, and not just in terms of health: xenophobia has been on the rise throughout the world, the app Plague Inc has seen a rise in downloads, and your iPhone shipping might be delayed because factories in China have been closed since January. Rather than arguing whether or not you should take your Uber because the driver looks Asian, or why no country deserves to have a deadly virus, I would just like to explain to you how the disease spread so quickly, and my perspective of the virus as someone who currently resides in Shanghai (~800km away from Wuhan). It is a fact that the local government has known about the outbreak since December but only took action in January when things had already gone too far. Why didn’t they take action?

Lunar New Year. The most important celebration in China was approaching, and this is when everyone returns home to visit family and spend time with them. This is the only time of the year when Chinese citizens can truly be reunited with family, and the Chinese government refused to shut down cities and transportation methods right before the beginning of this major holiday.

As the government did not stop any mode of transportation, many citizens living in Wuhan went home or traveled abroad with their families to nearby countries. This was the start of the spread. The coronavirus is pretty infectious: just being around someone, touching something they touched, or shaking hands with someone with coronavirus can cause an infection.So that’s how everything started and began to spread throughout the world, and since then the government has begun to take action. As many of you may already know, additional hospitals are being built in Wuhan to accept all the people who have the sickness, the government has announced that they have fired several Wuhan officials, and President Xi Jinping has promised to battle the ‘demon coronavirus’. 46 million people in China have been put on lockdown, most of them in Wuhan, which to put into perspective, is the same as the entirety of Spain. Added to all of this, after the huge scandal that the Chinese government had caused during the 2003 SARS outbreak, no one is trusting the numbers that they are releasing. Who knows if there are actually 74,500 people within China that have caught the disease? How many more are there? It must be noted that the official numbers do not count the number of people who have died at home from the virus because there was no more space in hospitals.

So, what do things look like now in urban China?

In the middle of the New Year holiday, all schools, public or private, were informed that their reopening would be decided by the Chinese government. The date school was supposed to resume before the outbreak was February 3rd, but the date has just been pushed back over and over again February 17th, March 2nd, and now, it has been announced that school campus reopening dates are undecided. When the date is announced, all staff members and families must return to China a minimum of fourteen days before said-date so that we can be quarantined. As a result of school closure, we have been doing online school. Every day, teachers, who are spread out across the world from London to Thailand to Portland (twenty different time zones), post assignments and homework at 8 AM Shanghai time and are required to give a minimum of 24 hours for students to complete these tasks and turn them in. And let me tell you, never in my life have I ever wanted to go to school more than right now. Online school has only been a pile of stress and problems that have been growing exponentially as each day passes. Having to try and understand the content of a course based on a dysfunctional PPT, endless pages of reading, homework for practice, is not really teaching me anything. And don’t get me started on the summatives. Please. Who likes having their computer on ‘lockdown’ mode and your camera open for teachers to watch every passing second?

I was, fortunately, able to leave China, as I had plans for Lunar New Year, and once the holidays had been extended and the online school announced, I was able to go home to Seoul, South Korea. The tensions have been high here too, with no one leaving their houses unless absolutely necessary, and always taking a mask with them. Those without a mask are avoided and ignored. I’ve been living the nomad life: I’m in Paris now.Although the majority of students from my school have left China to different countries and diplomat families have returned to their home countries, the ones who remain within the country are in the most difficult situation. They don’t leave the four walls of their houses, having nothing much to do other than online school and lounge around. My friend has been living off a variety of different egg recipes because she doesn’t want to go buy groceries. Year 11 Biology students are confused because, how are you supposed to write up and perform your first lab of the year about homeostasis when you’re locked up? They can’t leave now - most countries are beginning to refuse people who reside in China or who have been there.

The second most populated city in the world, known for its lively and bustling streets, is now empty and silent.

9

ON YOUR MASKS, GET SET, GO!

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s it finally time to start carrying hand sanitizer, wearing masks and stocking up on food? As we all know, the novel coronavirus - officially named COVID-19 - is thought to have spread from Wuhan, China from December 2019. It has been transferred from person to person and recently reached us here in Switzerland. Currently, there are at least 111 confirmed cases and even the first death just yesterday.

So how can the ISL community be prepared for the worst?

The virus comes from the Coronavirus family, which affects animals and humans. The disease is spread through direct contact with an infected person or being near enough to inhale the virus. The main symptoms are fever, dry cough, and fatigue, however, those with existing medical issues or who are older in age are more likely to develop serious symptoms. Only around 2% of diagnosed patients have passed away due to this virus. In comparison, other coronaviruses such as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) had mortality rates of approximately 10% and 35%, respectively. The WHO declared this as a global emergency due to widespread disruption. The search for a vaccine or cure is going on, but it is difficult to develop one in a short time span of a few weeks, especially with the virus mutating so quickly.

Schools across Asia and Europe have been temporarily closed to control the spread of the coronavirus. Fortunately, our school has not been required to make such extreme decisions yet. Nevertheless, it is important that no one in the ISL community is affected by the virus, so the school has already begun to take necessary precautions. “We are trying to be careful, we are trying to be structured, we are trying to be clear. And what we want to do is provide people with good information,” Mr Cairns explains. The first step was sending updates to parents every few days about the severity of the situation. After which, a risk matrix, assessing the situation in the school’s perspective, was uploaded onto the ISL website. Throughout the process, the school has been following up with the Federal Office of Public Health, WHO, and the Canton of Vaud medical and education offices for advice. The crisis response team at ISL, including the Director, Principals, and Nurses, meet daily to make collective decisions based on the updates. Recently, International Day was postponed because of the high risk of having a large number of people together. All international trips until Easter have been cancelled. These measures may seem unnecessary — I mean, how would International Day bring the coronavirus? — but student safety is a priority and the school is going to minimise risks wherever possible.

Conversations that the school could close and that we would all have to communicate via online classes have been circulating. These concerns are not entirely untrue, but the risk

Pavi Venkat Sridhar superspreads information

is not at a level where the school needs to shut down soon.

The latest update from the school has put the risk at a 3 on a 4-level scale (3 being moderate risk - local transmission in Switzerland but schools continue as normal with adequate precautions). If the level was a 4, there would be high risk and the schools in the region would be requested to close.

In preparation, the IT department has been looking into options for communication between teachers and students to ensure that education still continues. Since students and teachers already have experience with Google Classroom, this would be the main platform of communication. A video conferencing application looked into is Google Meet. It allows up to 30 people to connect through a video call. To avoid having to stare at a screen all day, the teacher would explain the instructions at the start of the lesson and give time to complete them. If software issues arise, there are alternative ways in which the IT can connect to a student’s laptop to fix it. ISL is constantly learning from other schools in Hong Kong, Singapore and China to find out how they are tackling the problem. Technology Integration Specialist at ISL, Mr Ribas, says, “The aim of these preparations is to minimise the impact as much as possible, but it will take patience and effort from everyone.”

A question that keeps lingering at the back of the mind is, “What if someone at ISL has the coronavirus?” In this case, ISL would contact the authorities and follow their instructions “to the letter,” as Mr Cairns says. The most important thing for the school to ensure is to keep order and continue education.

At this point in time, hygiene is one of the biggest factors determining the spread. The school nurses advise that students do their best to wash their hands correctly as “this is the students’ primary protection”. Anyone who has been to an infected area recently has been requested to stay at home for the incubation period, which is around 2 weeks. If symptoms begin to show, it is advised to seek medical attention immediately. ISL has taken steps to target hygiene - the regularity of cleaning has been increased, and even though ISL was striving to be an eco-school that doesn’t use chemical cleaning products, the products used now contain bleach.

There have been other infectious diseases in the past and there is hope of developing medication for COVID-19 within a few months. All people need to do now is to recognise that there are risks, and that we need to support each other in the community. In situations like this one, our sense of community is put to the test. Mr Cairns shares “we’re all in the same boat and we’ve got to look after each other. How you respond to another person who you think may be infected is a real measure of the person you are.”

10

THE HUNGER GAMES

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nternational Day is an event where we celebrate the different cultures and cuisines from the school’s nationalities. Parents cook foods traditional to their home countries, and we have the privilege of being able to indulge in the dishes. It is a day where students look forward to stuffing their mouths with lots of food, but it’s also where we celebrate our international community.

As we found out last week, International Day was postponed from 5th March, to a later date. Because of this, I decided to interview Mr. Cairns so that the student body could get a better idea of the reasoning behind this decision.

When I think of the reason why International Day was postponed, I automatically think that it was because of the coronavirus. This is true, however, the justification is much more complex.

Firstly, Swiss authorities have just

announced that there should not be any gatherings with more than 1,000 people present for safety reasons. Although our school population may be under this maximum, we are still close to the limit.

Another factor involved is that at the time the decision was made, there was no way to tell how things with Covid-19 would progress in Switzerland. Mr. Cairns stated, “Inevitably, whenever we’re making a decision, we’re trying to think, ‘well if it goes this way, this happens, and if it goes this way, this happens’. So what are we going to do?”

The leadership team has the role of trying to second-guess what will happen in the future and take the safest route.

As International Day invites parents to come into school, there is the question as to how the school can control the flow of people and objects that are coming into its space. These things are being brought into a small area, and it’s

WHY ARE YOU SO MAD?

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nger. One of the very few emotions that can define so many aspects of our lives. One of the only emotions that can drive us away from each other in just a few seconds, from the impulsivity of our emotions.

Instant regret. So why is it that anger makes us hurt the ones we care about the most?

Humans interpret situations in a variety of manners, many of which can trigger angry reactions.

Ranging from mild to explosive, they often are likely to create cumulative damage over time. Anger often serves to make people feel more powerful when they can’t express their more vulnerable underlying emotions. We are preceded by feelings of frustration, hurt, unmet needs, or perceived injustice.

However it wouldn’t be right to generalize the reasons for which anger occurs.

Each individual has their own ‘triggers’.

You’re walking to class, the person in front of you wont pick up their pace and you find yourself getting a little frustrated. You might sigh loudly, roll your eyes, or keep your emotions completely hidden. Every reaction is personal and unique to each individual. There is no way to predict the way someone will react. How extreme a person’s reaction and response to anger justifies its capability to destroy relationships in a matter of seconds.

It seems ironic that the ones we tend to release most anger towards are those we care about most, though this is exactly what usually happens. It is possible to say that love doesn’t exist, complacency does. When we love someone we discover an appreciation for everything it is believing that abusing will not damage it. However it is often that overestimate love, expecting more than it can provide. The connection created through love can only resist so many obstacles. Therefore when

Skye Erickson difficult to check if anything is hazardous.

People sometimes imagine that there’s one person who sits in an office going, ‘right, yes, no, no, yes’. And of course, that’s not true at all.” said Mr. Cairns.

When making this decision, a team of staff in leadership roles as well as the school nurses, were involved to make a clear and rounded choice. They then went to the PTA to discuss their ideas and pass the final verdict. This group of faculty knows that no decision is perfect, but they must take into account the safety of our community.

The school is also keeping in mind both the science and people involved.

I quote Mr. Cairns, “In this case, the school is deciding to act on the side of caution” and they put in the effort to choose the safest choice for both the school and its international community, based on the factors involved.

Anja Mervar we overestimate and abuse its complacency in anger, we hurt those we care for the most.

Have you ever felt the need to stay angry at someone just for the sake of protecting your integrity? It may seem like a necessary measure to take at the time but anger can turn into a habit, making us think less rationally. If this reaction becomes a habit, you might quickly find yourself losing people unintentionally. it is often too late to regain the ones we lost in the process.

Whether seen in a relationship, or just towards a friend or family member, anger is almost inevitable. The way in which a person reacts can certainly be abrupt, but ultimately it is derived from love and care for them. To control our reactions in order to preserve the bond we couldn’t bare losing demonstrates true appreciation for those we love.

11

MELTING POINT Carlijn van der Weijst wants to build a snowman

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et me start off by asking, where did the snow go? We’ve all been waiting for the time to wake up in the morning, get ready for school and hear your parents complain about how slippery the roads are, with a fresh cold layer of snow on the sides of the roads. We’ve been waiting with anticipation to throw ‘illegal’ snowballs during school, but will this day even come? Climate change is an issue that has been increasingly popular over the years due to the disasters it has caused. I’m not here to tell you that everything we’ve done is bad, but I’m not here to tell you that everything we’ve done is enough. Yes, our whole generation is doing more than most could ever imagine, but is following Greta Thunberg in marches, promoting a vegan lifestyle, reposting about the natural disasters on Instagram and all the other ways we try to promote climate change enough?

The key term in all of this is promotion. Our generation has been an important actor in increasing awareness of the consequences of our actions, however, is simply promoting enough to help stop climate change? I’m not saying that nobody does anything, because I know that multiple people are actively trying to help save the environment such as eliminating single-use plastic, using more public transport, and even becoming vegan. I know our generation is trying our best but it isn’t enough until we get the older generations to join us in fighting this war.

We’ve had tremendous improvements to the battle, but over the past couple of months many disasters have still been happening. For example, for the first time ever on record Antarctica’s temperatures have been higher than 20°C. The previous highest recorded temperature was recorded in 1982 and was 19.8°C. Usually, temperatures in Antarctica are steady but over the last couple of years this has changed drastically.

This temperature increase is happening all around the world, even in our own ‘cold’ Switzerland. Finally last week we had our first couple days of snow but this was the first time in the past winter to have snowmen worthy snow. Our winters aren’t getting shorter; they’re becoming non existent. Imagine having a winter without any snow. Seems impossible right?

Well, the chances of this happening are quite high. The universal goal of making sure our global temperature doesn’t go above 2°C seems unlikely especially after the US withdrew itself from the deal. In order to achieve this goal almost all nations would have to work together to decrease their carbon footprint massively.

One of the worst consequences of climate change that has impacted Switzerland was our shortened skiing vacations; however, Australia has had far worse compared to us. There have been multiple natural disasters including droughts, bushfires, extreme heats, heavy rain, and many more disasters. Due to all of these disasters, over 18 million hectares

of land has been destroyed, at least 28 people have died, 3,000 homes have been destroyed and about one billion animals have been affected. All of this has happened since last September. Australia has pretty much turned into a place of chaos. However, Australia isn’t the only country drastically suffering from climate change. As most people know, Antarctica’s ice caps are melting at an increasing rate. Last month, an ice piece almost the size of Atlanta broke off a glacier in Antarctica. This piece was over 300 square kilometers and was located in the western region of Antarctica. According to NASA, the area holds enough ice to increase global sea levels by 1.2 meters. If more of these ice caps melt, everyone is impacted, even more than we are now.

I know our generation is trying our best but it isn’t enough I know you’ve all read a thousand articles about how important it is to take action against climate change, and of course every little bit counts, but will this ever be enough? Is going to climate marches (and missing school) really the answer to the global climate change problem? I believe that solving the climate issue involves multiple steps. The first step is noticing and researching what it actually includes. I believe we’ve done this very well as there are multiple institutions and organisations continuously researching about what we can do to stop climate change. The next step is promoting the issue and making people aware of the issue that we face. This is what we’ve been doing for the past couple of years, which is amazing as I’m sure that everyone has now heard of climate change. The next step to solving this issue is actually taking action. This may be the most important yet hardest step. We can encourage our parents to drive less, use less plastic and recycle. Even though it may seem like small actions, every little step counts!

Now is the time for us to take action and move on from the promoting stage in order for the issue to actually be resolved. We can keep going to the marches, continue sharing and reposting images of disasters on Instagram, but it won’t change anything. Everyone knows the state our earth is in right now, so it’s up to us to decide whether we can resolve the issue that thousands are denying to be true.

12

1917

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ou have most probably heard of ‘1917’, a World War I movie based on two soldiers’ dangerous journey to prohibit an army battalion from falling into a trap which would lead to a massacre. Sam Mendes, the director, is no stranger to creating suspense: he is responsible for the last two James Bond movies and Jarhead.There are many famous war movies, most notably ‘Saving Private Ryan’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Dunkirk’ but ‘1917’ is nothing like you have seen before. It is directed in manner that makes the movie seem as though it was filmed in one shot and in real time, which creates a feeling of suspense never felt before in cinema.

This is not the first time that Mendes has created a feeling of suspense using long shots: evident in Spectre’s opening scene during the Dias De Los Muertos parade. However, he has brought this to a whole new level with ‘1917’. As

Charles Lozinski-Brown viewers, we are brought right into the movie, and feel connected not only to the characters but also to their emotions. Whilst the movie itself lasts two hours, we experience a connection with the characters which is not often felt in cinema. Not only is the skill of the director a work of art in this movie, the cinematography is breathtaking to look at and depicts the contrast between a war torn and a peaceful, beautiful European countryside. There is no surprise that this movie won best cinematography at the Oscars; it is a fascinating movie to watch which shows a new style of movie making in an extraordinary fashion. It is not only different from other war or action movies from a cinematography standpoint. Mendes is very good at creating tension in his movies by creating a long build up till action occurs, most famously done in ‘Jarhead’ which never reaches the cli-

HUMANE TOUCH

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he word ‘humane’ is used to describe actions which are appropriate, ethical. Its original significance defined qualities that are supposedly universal amongst human beings, attributes that demonstrate care and empathy for others. The word humane is derived from the word human, It is however, difficult to understand this link given the many cases of cruel acts that our species has inflicted upon our world. In particular, the treatment of animals used for fur farming.

Typically seen amongst the upper class, fur is a fashion statement. For much of our history, fur has been a symbol of economic prosperity, luxury and social status. Since the 1990s, the production of fur has doubled. Of course, some might suggest that fur is most commonly seen amongst higher class, and is therefore not a highly concerning issue. This couldn’t be further from the truth; each year, over 1 billion rabbits and 50 million other species are killed in fur farms or captured from the wild

for their fur. Cheap labor has encouraged fur farming and consequently made it easier for the facilities to be bad quality and enforces worse treatment of animals in the process. Most commonly, it is minks that are farmed for their fur, followed by foxes. Nearly 100 animals can be used for the making of a single coat!

PETA conducted an exposé of Russian facilities, where animals were bred to be slaughtered for their fur. 700 cages were found containing 2,000 animals in one shed. Undoubtedly, this is unethical, not only does it cause physical strain for the animals, but they live in constant fear and stress. The numbers aren’t even as relevant when we can just take a look around us and visualize this change. Fur is no longer a survival method as it was in the stone age, when an animal was killed for multiple purposes, providing warmth as well as food. Nowadays it can be seen throughout all seasons, whether it be for a keychain accessory, purses, pillows, etc.

max. Thankfully ‘1917’ does break the tension multiple times throughout the movie but still achieves restless buildups which will have you on the edge of your seat. It is not a movie which simply relies on violence and action to succeed, which feels like a recurring theme in cinema lately. It is refreshing to see a movie, which is fundamentally themed around violence not overdo it. such as Micheal Bay movies which don’t let the audience create relationships with the characters and can only be appreciated for their practical and special effects.

‘1917’ is a movie which will leave you breathless and emotionally drained once it is finished. It is worth watching as it is a beautiful movie which will leave you in awe. It is also worth watching for its cinematography which is simply indescribable and has created a new manner in which movies can be enjoyed.

Holly Rees The aspect of this that I find shameful is the fact that there are alternatives to keeping warm, and remaining ‘luxurious’ in appearance. There is little need for animals to undergo such horrible conditions for so little purpose.

It would be simple to insert a couple pictures that demonstrate the horrific suffering these animals endure before their death, but I found myself becoming more passionate on the topic after having looked into it further than the visuals.

For some, it might be simple to attribute no guilt to this cause, buy a fox scarf, keep warm in your rabbit fur gloves, but it is better to be informed on the problematic aspect of it. Nowadays with new and improved technology, designers are able to almost replicate the soft feeling of animal fur, which I believe is an effective way to eradicate the use of fur. Fur farming is one of many reasons as to why the word humane should not be used to describe our human race.

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MORE THAN A SIDEKICK

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V shows and movies are a significant part of our lives, and they can even shape the person we become. After all, it is rare to find someone who did not have a fictional character who they admired and wished to be like. We admire these characters as we can relate to them and wish to overcome the challenges in our lives- just as they do. With the 21st century’s ever rising awareness of social issues, many expect to see a change in how women are portrayed in movies and TV shows. Traditionally, the protagonist of this media would be a straight white male, and a woman would be, at the very best, his sidekick.

Sadly, it is quite difficult to name any female characters that are part of the main cast who are not typecast as love interests. This resulted in outrage as women were being portrayed as nothing but a potential partner, who needed a man to take care of her. Currently, inequality between males and females is among the most discussed topics.

Thus, there is an increasing demand to see women in leading roles.

learn from which allows them to grow.

By showing these women as having no flaws whatsoever, apart from some “cute” defects, a negative message is sent yet again. Some of the best examples of such “flaws” include: low self confidence, clumsiness, having a bad memory, and more. These characters are one dimensional, and are a product of lazy writing. However, there are sometimes genuine flaws with the character. These are not dealt with properly. Often, they are not shown as something to be fixed via life lessons and/ or a solid ass kicking, but as something to be celebrated. This blocks character development, as nothing is different with the character in the end. Compare and contrast Thor and Captain Marvel, both super strong protagonists that started out as being extremely arrogant. In Thor’s case, his arrogance is his downfall, and he has to pick himself off the ground without his powers, teaching him humility and allowing him to earn his powers back. Captain Marvel began the movie arrogant, saved the world, and ended it arrogant.

This has resulted in Hollywood trying its best to meet the demand, and so the trope of the strong independent women is the newest cash cow. There is nothing wrong with doing what the public wants to see: it is the entertainment industry after all. What makes such media so disgusting however is not the concept itself, but how it is executed. In a world where doing the most insignificant things, such as saying that we live in a bad society will gain one so much support, it is not that hard to label a movie as being “a revolutionary statement that single-handedly destroyed the patriarchy”.

Personal relationships have unsurprisingly been thrown to the back seat when writing the storyline. After all, if the main character herself has no personality whatsoever, we shouldn’t expect much of any other character.

Often, there are just enough moments between the main character and her female friend to say “Girl Power”. Otherwise, the friend serves as comedic relief and a personal Wikipedia. And of course, no boyfriends. This is a bit more forgivable: not everyone is in a relationship, nor are they interested in one. If it’s already established that the character has strong connections that she can rely on, there is absolutely no need for a romantic partner. However, if there are no friends to rely on, and the partner is poorly written to the point of having toxic characteristics, then there is again, a problem.

Instead of being brainless love interests, women are now portrayed as Mary Sues who can do no wrong. This is also a problem, as neither of these characters are anywhere near realistic.

Humans are complex beings, who have flaws and make mistakes that they

Elif Civelekoglu wants to rewrite the script People need friends, and main characters are no exception. Interactions with people they trust is often the best way to make audiences like a character more, as a “pet the dog” moment. Such scenes reveal the emotional side of characters, allow for character development, but most importantly, humanize them. Not including such moments is a marvelous failure made by screenwriters and directors. The world may be ending, all of her family has been killed in front of her, and her friends have been kidnapped, but the biggest outburst shown is a lot of crying, and back to normal while looking flawless the next scene. For example, look at Scarlett Witch. After her brother, Pietro, was shot and killed, she had a mental breakdown. It was very clear that she had been severely affected by this incident, and fans were left wondering how this would affect her character in later movies. There was absolutely no sign of grieving the next movie. She seemed to have completely forgotten that she had a brother in the first place.

Furthermore, women are written as men, by men. There are simple differences in how women act, think, etc. compared to men which cannot be accurately replicated by a male writer. What ends up happening particularly with female superheroes or any action based film is that their greatest strength is physical. Physical strength, of course, is not to be underestimated, particularly if your job involves any sort of physical threat. Captain Marvel is perhaps the biggest offender. Women are simply different compared to men.

There are other types of strength, such as emotional strength, compassion, and more. Portraying physical strength as the chief strength of women doesn’t send a particularly good nor accurate message.

Media should not be written by men, for money, but by women, for women.

14

AUTHORI... AUTHANI...

DICTATORSHIP

Sophia Ahmed laments the rise of the power-hungry

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he world is falling into chaos as dictatorships rise and democracy dies, and the United States of America is seemingly following the footsteps of North Korea! Seemingly. A common thing I hear, even from my own parents, is that the United States’ current government and president prove that democracy is dying or is dead. You may be wondering, ‘What’s happening with this world and why?!’ Trust me, I have that same question ringing in my head whenever I look at news, and see that there is another tweet or comment from Mr. Trump himself.

Authoritarianism is currently rising, but, you may be wondering what exactly it is. Authoritarianism, defined by Britannica, is “the blind submission to authority, as opposed to individual freedom of thought and action.” I can already see readers’ thoughts jumping immediately to North Korea. Yet, North Korea isn’t the only authoritarian government.

One obvious way of identifying authoritarian governments is their projection of ‘strength’. Displaying strength for authoritarian leaders allows them to boast to their people or other countries about their strength. For example, those North Korean military parades and nuclear tests we are all more than familiar with. However, North Korea is not the only offenderRussia and China have also been known to throw a lot of military parades. Leaders of authoritarian governments themselves would try to portray themselves as strong. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan once had a TV crew film him lifting a golden lampost in a meeting room, while other people looked on and clapped. Even Donald Trump wanted a military parade to march on Washington D.C. Why? Well, keep that question in mind as I’ll touch on Trump later.

The second trait of authoritarianism is when governments and leaders identify and demonize enemies. Leaders of authoritarian governments can use this tactic if they feel like they are at risk of losing popularity and, often, demonizing enemies is one reason why so many people just blindly follow their lead. A clear example anyone would recognize is Donald Trump’s racism and xenophobia towards Hispanic communities and other minorities. Another example of someone using this tactic is Vladimir Putin of Russia. A few years ago in Russia, Putin decided to go after gay people, saying that homosexuality was a weapon from the European Union against Russia. Many people believed him, despite his incredibly false and ridiculous statement. Recently, Putin has proposed to make a constitutional ban on homosexual marriage, which is more than concerning. Also, Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has been known for his demonization and harsh punishments on drug crimes; he even threatened drug dealers with death in a Christmas advertisement that aired in the country.

The last trait I will mention is when a leader or government tries or succeeds in silencing critics. On November 23, 2006, the former Russian spy and critic of Vladimir Putin, Alexander Litvinenko, was assassinated by poisoning with polonium. It has been suggested that Putin gave the orders behind his assassination as Litvinenko gave harsh criticism towards Vladimir Putin and defected to London. Some of Litvinenko’s criticism includes calling Vladimir Putin a pedophile.

Another example,is in Poland when it’s leader, Andrzej Duda, lowered the retirement age in Poland’s supreme court from 70 to 65 in July of 2018. This was to boot out some judges he didn’t like. Effectively, around 40% of the judges had to leave, including the first President of the Supreme Court. So as you can see, leaders will do anything to find loopholes or silence opposition.

Now we finally turn back to Donald Trump. He exhibits authoritarian traits, yes, but is the U.S.A. about to dissolve into an authoritarian state? Currently, no, the U.S. has not fallen into a dictatorship. This is because there are still rules and institutions in the United States government that prevents the country from heading that way. Still, we are at risk, especially when we have a leader who loves to appear strong, demonizes minorities and certainly hates it when people oppose him, whether it’s on Twitter or in real life. I won’t say democracy in America is “dead” but I will say that democracy in the United States of America is at risk due to a leader who may just as well establish the country as an authoritarian state in the future.

Illustration by Manon Libine

15

NOTES WITH A DIFFERENT FLAVOUR ICELAND

Björk, an Icelandic art-pop singer, has become synonymous with musical innovation. Since her debut album, it was clear that she was unique in not just her Icelandic throat technique used while singing, but also her sensibility, creating passionate, quirky and eclectic ballads from a very young age. My recommendation is not Björk’s solo material—though I also recommend it—but her work with the band The Sugarcubes and the album Life’s Too Good, in which she, and her bandmates, have found the perfect mix between the mature post-punk influences and the vulnerability and passion behind Björk’s vocals.

Recommended track: “Birthday”

PERU

The Blind Street Musicians of Cusco were my introduction to Andean folk that comes from the Andes region in South America. Admittedly there is limited information about my recommended album Peruvian Harp & Mandolin and the musicians that created it, aside from the fact that they are local blind street musicians. Though there is enough charm in this album to simply put it on and ponder how it came to be on Spotify of all places.

Recommended track: “Marinera Cusqueña”

ated some of the best pop and folk music ever. Selda Bağcan, a famous folk singer, has been described by Florence and the Machine as the “Turkish Kate Bush.” Her debut album Selda is particularly interesting because of its psychedelic rock undertones—do not let the album cover mislead you; this is not just a girl strumming a guitar. Selda cannot be found on Spotify, but her two compilation albums, Türkülerimiz 1 and 2 can, the latter of which becomes more electronic.

Recommended track: “Dost Uyan”

NORWAY

This one is for the fans of Joy Division and the like. Alle Tiders Duster is a Norweigian post-punk and new wave band—though it would be reductive to label them as Norway’s Joy Division. Alle Tiders Duster are able to effortly jump between an eerie or funky sound—this is an undoubtedly weird albeit rewarding band to listen to. Like many post-punk artists, regardless of the country, they dropped one album (Rødt Lys, 1982) and then dipped.

Recommended track: “Kom ikke nærmere”

BRAZIL

Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges with their album Clube da Esquina created melancholic, lush, and melodic music that has no parallel. As a double album, it amazes me with its consistency; each track can stand on its own but they ultimately come together in the warm and tropic embrace that is this entire album.

Recommended track: “Clube da Esquina No. 2”

MALI

TURKEY

Turkey has, unknowingly to many, cre-

Wassoulou is a genre of West African music and is traditionally sung by women. Lyrically, women’s issues such as fertility and childbearing are addressed. Nâ Hawa Doumbia at a very young age already had a powerful voice, which was noticed by various contests and radio stations. I am rec-

Ellie Parsons spices up her Spotify playlist

ommending one album, La grande cantatrice malienne, vol. 3, because I think it serves as a good introduction to her work but one should note that her style developed throughout the years from her first few records to her later work that used electric guitars and synths.

Recommended track: “Dan Té Dinyé La”

CHINA

For the lovers of Cocteau Twins—one of the greatest bands of all time—Faye Wong are just as ethereal and melodic on their album Fúzào. Track 8, Disappointed is where Faye Wong’s vocals shine their brightest—there is a strong feeling of longing amongst the playful nature of this album. Required listening for all dream pop fans.

Recommended track: “Disappointed”

POLAND

Księżyc released their self-titled album back in 1996. Unfortunately, you can’t find Księżyc’s music on Spotify, but a quick Youtube search will lead you to this album that I will call a masterpiece.

It would be mistealding to reduce Księżyc to a folk album, and to attempt to confine it in a genre would be a disservice. I have listened to this album for more than a year multiple times per month, though it remains a great mystery to me. Breaking through the medieval influences and ominous vocals lies a feeling of great comfort I cannot explain. Księżyc, with its unique sonic pallet, creates not a portrait but rather a sketch of a nocturnal and abandoned church, somewhere in Poland.

Recommended tracks: The whole thing.

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TIK’D OFF Illustration: Zoé Poinssot Story: Sharmila Joy

WORDSEARCH

Find the main nationalities of ISL teachers.

What do they all have in common?