Volume IV; Issue 2
January 2011
King’s Academy, Manja - Madaba, Jordan
An Ivy League Visit King’s hosts Harvard University’s Dean of Admissions By RAMY BADRIE ‘12 STAFF WRITER
During school meeting on October 19th, 2010, King’s Academy students were honored with a visit from Harvard University’s Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, William Fitzsimmons. King’s’ Headmaster, Dr. John Austin, was delighted to be able to have Fitzsimmons as a guest speaker due to Fitzsimmons’ persistent advocating of the concept of financial aid. This concept is undoubtedly one of the fundamental bases of King’s, where financial support is secured for those who are impressive enough to be admitted in the context of open and just competition, but cannot cover any or all of the Academy’s costs. As Fitzsimmons spoke, he re-
peatedly accentuated Harvard’s enduring commitment to opening itself up through educational opportunities to people around the world, no matter what their financial backgrounds are. Additionally, Fitzsimmons shed light on how Harvard has been recently enhancing its financial aid program, as well as its’ outreach with international students, noting the major changes in terms of the University’s demographics as a result of this from only five years ago. Fitzsimmons went on to elaborate on this by explaining Harvard’s adopting of the concept of internationalization and it continually working in order to fully achieve this by increasing its visits to different countries around the world. see HARVARD on page 3
ROBERT BAHOU ’11
Dean Fitzsimmons of Harvard visits King’s Academy to give a talk about financial aid and college applications.
Meissa House in the Lip-Synching Competition, performing “Hit Me Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears.
King’s Has Spirit, Yes We Do The story of the first annual King’s Academy Spirit Week By ROBERT BAHOU ‘11 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The Lion was anxiously waiting to run on stage; the presentation before his seemed to go on for hours, especially since he complained that his mane was excessively warm at the time. After a long wait, the music started and he ran down, and so began King’s Academy’s first ever Spirit Week. Spirit Week, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept, is a week where each day comes with a theme, and students are supposed to dress or act to the particular theme. The Proctors met and planned the entire spirit week, and most students will agree that it was a major success. Some believe that our school doesn’t necessarily exhibit the most, school spirit, but, in events where a class’ or dorm’s reputation is on the line,
Amman Model UN Conference a Success By RAMY BADRIE ’12 STAFF WRITER
From Amman Model United Nations’ (AMMUN’s) highly modest beginnings after it’s founding with only two General Assemblies and less than 200 participants and its later rapid expansion to include more forums and international participants with last year’s AMMUN conference being highly regarded due to it having established the Conference as one of the most significant ones taking place around world, the anticipation was high for this year’s AMMUN conference. Unsurprisingly, with endless hours of hard work invested by the Conference’s director, appointments
and participating delegates, so as to ensure its success, the 2010 AMMUN conference turned out to be arguably the most successful conference ever conducted due to the presence of a strong secretariat and competent delegates who demonstrated a high level of productivity, political awareness and debate skills. To begin with, this year’s conference— which took place between October 27th and November 2nd—included a General Assembly (GA) A and B, an Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a Human Rights Commission (HRC), a Disarmasee AMMUN on page 2
the spirit seems to flourish. Two of the most successful events ever to have been hosted in King’s occurred during Spirit Week. The first of the two was the Lip-Synching contest. Each dorm was assigned a CD with a random selection of three songs, and were asked to perform a dance to that song. Out of the six dorms in the competition, two stood out above the rest - Nihal and Meissa - and these two dorms were passed through to the final round. Nihal chose Aqua’s Barbie Girl, and Meissa chose Britney Spears’ Hit Me Baby One More Time. Nihal and Meissa however, seemed to enter the competition with the same goal, to win. The judges faced a very tough time choosing a winner from the two, so an encore was called for where both dorms would compete in a sudden
death round. Nihal won the round as it was a “Dance Off ”. Though perhaps judging the winner of a lip-synching competition this way was a little unorthodox, the crowd cheered away. The second wildly successful even of Spirit Week was the “Garbage Disposal” contest. The idea was coined last year by Anna Rose Kelso ‘10, a King’s alum now at Vanderbilt. The idea is that contestants sit through twelve grueling rounds of eating contests to represent their grades, their dorm, or the faculty. But this is not the conventional eating contest where quantity is the deciding factor this is the type where completion determines success. It is the type where disgusting food is the element that the participants have to see SPIRIT on page 3
Table of Contents Pages 2 -3 OPINION
Page 4 HEALTH
The Balance Between Sleep and School Are Ivy Leagues Worth it?
Page 7 FOREIGN LANGUAGE
The French Parliament Rules on the Niqab and Burqa
How to Get Slim
Two Years of a Foreign Languge Is Not Enough
Lethargy in Our Lives This Year vs. Last
LIFE
Textspeak Invading our Language Movie Reviews Time Management Tips
Top 10 Places to Visit in France An Italian Holiday is Approaching!
High Intensity Interval Training
Pages 5-6
Tortilla Recipe
Pages 8 FUN PAGE
A King’s Crossword Most Likely To...
OPINION
Page 2
The Rexonian
AMMUN
continued from Page 1
ROBERT BAHOU ’11
Sleep > School
A few extra points on a math test is not worth as much as a few extra minutes in bed By RAMY BADRIE ’12 STAFF WRITER
With high school students all over the world finding themselves fraught due to their overly packed course schedules and the seemingly infinite hours of homework that such schedules entail-as well as an increase in academic and social expectations- it comes as no surprise that the majority of such high school students are sleep deprived. Additionally, with such students not getting the average eight hours of sleep that their teenage bodies need, they are unable to remain fully healthy and deal with the biological changes that are occurring in their bodies. However, an argument has been proposed that could potentially change one’s view on the matter. While this may seem almost impossible to do for the average overachiever, it is undoubtedly true and has been backed up by numerous scientific findings. According to Psychologist David G. Myers, is that “[t]he wellbeing we obtain from each additional minute of sleep is far more important than the short-term successes we gain from each moment we try to keep our eyes open.” Now, part of the reason behind the sleep deprivation that many high school students deal with has to do with a combination of both highly demanding course schedules and extracurricular activities, as well as persistent social expectations and the general teenage habit of going to sleep at late hours. Unsurprisingly, many dedicated students would rather stay up late completing homework on regular bases, so as to maintain or achieve high academic, extracurricular and social standings, instead of fulfilling the eight hour sleep requirement their bodies generally need. Another reason behind such sleep deprivation is procrastination, which eats away at potential sleep hours. Technology related attractions, such as Facebook and YouTube, only increase the time spent procrastinating by many students. Even worse, with colleges all around the world becoming increasingly selective (Ivy Leagues, anyone?) many students continue to unhealthily give up a large amount of precious sleep, which they alternatively invest into their academic and extracurricular work. By doing such, they hope to end up with a transcendent resume worthy of the Ivy League. However, according to Psychologist Myers,
the countless hours of sleep many high school students deprive themselves of are not worth the short-term benefits they attain from doing such. As Myers goes on to articulate, “Less sleep leads to diminished brainpower and productivity, increased irritability, higher susceptibility to stress and illness and more cravings for stimulants such as caffeine and chocolate.” Worst of all, sleep deprivation can result in the death of its victims. In a study conducted by the National Institute of Health’s National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, it was discovered that an alarming 55 percent of all car crashes in the United States of America (U.S.A.) are a result of the drivers of such cars—all below the age of 26—falling asleep while driving. To further support the idea that many students need to simply sacrifice some of the time they devote to the completion of their homework and, in turn, allocate this time to their sleep needs, it has been scientifically proven that sleep increases the strength of students’ memories, boosts their moods and the levels of their concentration, controls their hunger and weight, strengthens their disease-fighting immune systems and, above all, decreases the risk of death. Due to all of this, it cannot be stressed enough how important it is for sleep deprived students to step away from all their stresses for a moment or more, so as to truly prioritize their lives and, more importantly, to maintain their health. To further elaborate, such students need to recognize how unhealthy it is in the long run to push themselves beyond their academic and extracurricular limits and to, instead, be realistic in terms of creating schedules that perfectly meet such previously stated limits. Alternative solutions that pacify the student’s ambitions as well as their basic needs are plenty. If a student uses free periods, O-blocks and any other form of free time they have, they can finish their homework relatively easily. If students focus on doing activities outside of the structure of the school, this will add more to their resume than a stack of AP courses. If a student works on making him/herself unique rather than a workaholic, a relaxed yet fulfilling high school career is guaranteed. It is the maintaining of one’s health which really matters and will ultimately make a difference.
ment Commission (DC), a newly established Environment Commission (EC), a Security Council (SC), an Advisory Panel (AP) and an International Court of Justice (ICJ). In addition, this year’s conference featured MUN workshops, daily MUN newsletters, as well as several keynote guest speakers. Furthermore, the “Hands-on Experience” tradition was maintained through the establishment of a committee that focused on this. What is more, AMMUN’s recently established Environment Commission—which was done so as to recognize and allow students to debate persistent environmental problems—resulted in AMMUN being one of the first MUN conferences in the Middle East region to do such. Undoubtedly, the establishment of such a committee is commendable, as through such, this year’s conference was able to and upcoming years’ conferences will continue to work towards improving the current quality of the environment by attacking several of the different facets of ecological ruin. As for the theme of AMMUN 2010, it was chosen to be “Sustainability”. The Secretariat elaborated on the choosing of this theme by emphasizing how the majority of the problems plaguing the world today stem from unsustainable approaches taken by certain parties involved in the solving of these problems, such as with the Treaty of Versailles—which was drafted after the ending of the First World War—requiring the unilateral disarmament of Germany and several other states, a requirement that indisputably was one of the main factors behind the occurrence of the Second World War. On a more positive note, by this year’s conference’s theme being chosen as such,
Executive Editor Managing Editor News sub- Editor Opinion sub- Editor Life sub- Editor Fun Page sub- Editor Sports sub- Editor Faculty Advisor
AMMUN hoped to, was able to and will continue to take steps, so as to tackle some of today’s world’s most critical problems revolving around ecological degradation, the deteriorating world economy and a lack of substantial social growth and advancement. Indeed, delegates found themselves being repeatedly urged to face the problem of sustainability from all of its different aspects by them being advised to take note of not only the short-term effects of their decisions, but, more importantly, the long-term effects of these decisions. On a different note, speaking as an eye witness, the 20 students who represented King’s Academy in AMMUN—AbdelMuiz Shawar, Ali Abu Khadra, Amr TajiFarouki, Awn Al Hadeed, Burhan Aldroubi, Faisal Muasher, Firas Mouasher, Hamdi Alaud – din, Hamza Naghawi, Issa Asfour, Kareem Mufti, Karim Ayyad, Mounir Ennenbach, Mumen Abdelal, Ramie Altawil, Ramy Badrie, Sumaya Awad, Yazan Haddad, Yousef Alireza and Yousef Oweis—proved to be a great source of pride for the Academy’s community. To attest to this, all of these students debated strongly and had resolutions, which either all or nearly all passed. Moreover, three students—AbdelMuiz Shawar, Firas Mouasher and Ramy Badrie— were awarded Best Delegate, Ramie Altawil was awarded Delegate Most Likely to Become a Leader, Mounir Ennenbach was awarded Most Intelligent Delegate, Hamza Naghawi was awarded Most Thorough Researcher, Sumaya Awad was awarded Best Informed Delegate and Burhan Aldroubi was awarded Most Polite Delegate. Finally, King’s Headmaster, Dr. John Austin, attended the Conference’s closing ceremony, which meant a lot to King’s participating students.
ROBERT BAHOU ‘11 IMAN ABU ALIA ‘11 JOOHO SHIN ‘12 MOUNIR ENNENBACH ‘12 SEEMA SAMAWI ‘11 REEM AL HADDADIN ‘11 ZACK SAMAWI ‘11 MR. BOWMAN DICKSON
OPINION
January 2011
Page 3
Are Ivy League Colleges Worth the Fuss? 40 or 50 students but most are going to be far smaller. But in comparison to Universities, who tend to herd it becomes exceptionally difficult to shine or prosper in hundreds of undergrads into lecture halls for the introsuch an environment. Thirdly, many seem to be under ductory courses, this is nothing. One of the missions of the false impression that one has to attend an Ivy to en- liberal arts colleges is to teach students how to think, joy a good shot at grad school. But the truth is that small talk, and write. But then you may ask, don’t all schools liberal arts schools dominate the list of the top 10 insti- do that? Not necessarily. You can graduate from plenty tutions that produce the most students who ultimately of universities without writing essays or research papers, earn Doctorates. These colleges produce twice as many because who in their right mind would want to grade students who earn a PhD in science than other institu- 500 essays? In small class settings, liberal arts students tions, but this shouldn’t be surprising, as small liberal are more likely to be required to write papers, give class arts colleges provide the sort of representations and collaborate with search experiences that big universi- I’d say the bottom line their classmates and professors. Now, ties often reserve for grad students. in terms of cost, many students need is this: for all those Now of course, these may be some financial aid, and private liberal arts who worship the Ivy disadvantages, but don’t forget, they colleges are often quite generous in Leagues, I’d suggest the grants they award. are great schools, and they will provide an education that is better than I’d say the bottom line is this: for that you at least entermost other institutions around the tain the possibility that all those who worship the Ivy Leagues, glove. I’d suggest that you at least entertain So one is lead to ask? Would it be a small liberal arts col- the possibility that a small liberal arts lege could be as good college could be as good or even suwiser to opt for a smaller liberal arts college for an undergraduate educa- or even superior for an perior to an Ivy for an undergraduate tion? Well, these colleges have quite undergraduate degree. degree. If you have a chance to go to some advantages over Ivy Leagues. one of the best universities, don’t hesLiberal arts colleges exist solely to itate, but don’t close your eyes to othteach undergrads. That’s far different from universities er opportunities, and think long and hard about where that are designed to focus chiefly on faculty research and you see yourself ending up. A college’s name may be of graduate students. Star professors at many universities great importance to you, but remember, you’re probably including the Ivy Leagues never go near undergrads. At going to spend four years in the college you choose, so a liberal arts college, a student can’t hide in the back of you want to make sure you enjoy it. In the end it just a large lecture because, well, there aren’t any large lec- boils down to where you truly feel you would fit in and tures. There may be some introductory courses that have enjoy your time.
Perhaps small, liberal arts colleges could provide just as good, if not better an education By ROBERT BAHOU ’11 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
For many years, the Ivy Leagues have been the only universities in the United States that the world beyond its borders knew about. In Jordan, places like Williams, Amherst, Wesleyan and other great colleges go completely unnoticed by the sheer overshadowing reputation of the Ivy League Universities. Students all over the world strive to attend these colleges, but one must ask, are the Ivy League Universities really the best places to go for an undergraduate degree? It seems like many people’s primary goal is to say that they graduated Harvard, or Princeton, or any another Ivy League, without regard to the actual experience of attending such an institution. The truth is, it might actually be to attend a small liberal arts school for an undergraduate degree. There is no doubt that these Universities provide an exceptional education, but at what are the disadvantages? Well, firstly, Some of the Ivy Leagues and other big universities are universities that are aimed primarily towards their graduate schools, or students attaining Masters and or Doctoral degrees. The Undergraduates subsequently get much less attention from professors and will go largely unnoticed. Most, if not all of the classes in freshmen year will be taught by Teaching Assistants, and it will most likely be well into sophomore year when the Undergrads get their first professor, and chances are, the professor won’t even learn their names. Secondly, these universities attract students from all over the globe, and only the best are accepted, so consequently the school fills up with a sea of excellent, brilliant young adults and
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HARVARD
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ROBERT BAHOU ’11
Highlighter Day, a theme day during spirit week where everyone wore white shirts and highlighted each other, was a great success.
SPIRIT
continued from Page 1 conquer. It needn’t be said that the servings weren’t pretty. The final round was between Thaer Al Sheikh Theib ‘11, and Ms. Ruba. Although Ms. Ruba won the competition, at first it seemed that Thaer would be the obvious winner. After every serving he would announce to his fellow seniors that he was enjoying the food, just to rile up the crowd. Ms. Ruba was representing the freshman grade, but arguably, the faculty won the competition, as the
competing freshmen were knocked out in the very early stages. The day of Garbage Disposal was also the day of “Class Color” where each class had to come dressed in a specific color. Seniors were dressed in red, juniors in blue, sophomores in black and freshmen in white. In the final stages of the Garbage Disposal contest, Thaer was met by a sea of red shirts cheering and chanting his name, a true example of King’s Spirit. Spirit Week consisted of other activities, such as the Highlighter Day, where students would come dressed in white
shirts carrying highlighters, and highlight all their friends, so to speak. There was also the house theme day, where each dorm picked a particular theme and dressed accordingly, Nihal’s theme was Orange, Meissa’s theme was Public Safety, Sulufat’s theme was “Anything with a Tie”, Atair chose to be pageant winners, Alnilam came as the Mimes and the women of Murzim showed up as High School Stereotypes. All in all, Spirit Week was a great success, and students will be ready and anxious for next year’s Spirit Week.
Therefore, as Fitzsimmons goes on to further elaborate, the students attending Harvard now come from all around the world and from all economic backgrounds. Even more, Fitzsimmons desired to encourage those King’s students who have the academic, but not the financial ability to be admitted into Harvard to not be discouraged in applying for admission. As Fitzsimmons goes on to explain, Harvard’s newly reformed financial aid program covers all the University’s costs for those families whose yearly income is below 60,000 dollars. Just like King’s, Harvard fosters the philosophy that deserving students should not be denied admission because of their weak economic backgrounds, instead seeking to accommodate the financial needs of such students. Last, but not least, Fitzsimmons emphasized how privileged King’s students are to be able to attend such a school whose student body is representative of 22 different countries around the world, where the knowledge students obtain from their peers is just as important as the knowledge obtained in school, something that Harvard holds highly significant. Indeed, the reason behind the importance of the education offered both here, at King’s, and Harvard is that both educational systems have high quality and diverse student populations. What more, in a world marked by increasing interconnectedness and diversity, the relevance of such education that continually places emphases on the importance of diversity cannot be underestimated.
HEALTH
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Question Time: How can I get slim? By SEEMA SAMAWI LIFE SUB-EDITOR
Q
I have an awkward stomach. All of my fat is at the bottom, and I can feel my abdominal muscles underneath. I have a pretty healthy diet, and I am a swimmer. How can I get slim?
A
ROBERT BAHOU ‘11
High Intensity Interval Training The real deal about drinking alcohol By MUHANNAD ABBASSI ’13 STAFF WRITER
There is a little known exercise that is considered far more effective than conventional cardio that burns fat at a much higher rate as well, it is called, HIIT. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. The Workout is very demanding on the body, but most anyone can do it. You don’t need any specific machines or weights for this exercise; all you need is your body and space. If you prefer, or if it’s cold, you can also use the machines in the Gym like the treadmill or the bike You should start with 5-10 minutes of light jogging followed by stretching to get warm-up your body and prepare for the intense workout you will perform. Start with sprinting, (run if you are not in decent shape), for 15-20 seconds, you should give 100% to get the full benefit of this type of training. When you finish your sprint/run give yourself a 1:5 work rest ratio which means if you sprint for 10 seconds you would “walk with attitude” according to Ms. Reem Abu Rahmeh (walk at a pace of walking which is equivalent to that of your walking if you were late to class; which should be a decent speed) for 50 seconds. After you finish 1 sprint and walk you have completed a set. For fitter individuals, you want to aim to complete 6-7 sets. For others, work your way up to 4 or 5 don’t just go at once and do 8. Take this from personal experience, the beginning of summer I tried 10 sets all at once instead of gradually working my way up and I couldn’t walk properly for 3 days after that. You can do HIIT in many different ways. You can bike , you could jump rope, you could even swim – it all works. The point of HIIT is to constantly shock your body from a state of high intensity to low intensity, to your heartbeat racing, and then dropping. According to bodybuilding.com, “HIIT is one of the newer and more effective ways to burn body fat. As many have experienced, HIIT provides an intensive aerobic option, which takes a fraction of the time to complete compared to the more traditional cardio methods.” And it has some other effects; HIIT will “provide a maximal fat burning effect, and an increased metabolic rate that can last for over 24 hours after training.” Y If you have less time, you should opt for a higher intensity workout. If you don’t have time to work out during the day, try waking up an hour earlier, at first, you’ll hate it, but I guarantee you, eventually, you’ll love it.
Hi there! So there are a few things that you need to know before you can hope to slim down. There isn’t one single thing that you can do to slim down. It’s more of a combination of things. First of all, you need to look in your gene tree, if in your family people have a tendency to have belly flab, then it’s probably genetic. This is something that you will have to deal with but the good news is that you can work to eliminate it, but keep in mind that you will always have some tummy weight, and it’s not your fault. Another thing, it is impossible to tone only your tummy area. Abdominal exercises don’t affect the fat underneath your epidermis. Your muscles are being toned, and your muscles are responding as you can feel them but not showing. This means that you are building up muscle under your fat making you appear fatter. As you cannot “spot train” your abs, you must do a general workout. The best is cardiovascular exercise. Cardio burns the most calories and leads to the greatest reductions in body fat. If you spend more time doing cardio, you’ll lose more weight. The important thing is to cross-train so you do not injure yourself. Make sure to increase your activity gradually, so basically don’t go from 1 hour of cardio to 4 hours of cardio at once. Also ab-strengthening exercises are often overdone and you have a risk of overloading your spine. This is bad because you may be putting pressure on your spinal discs that can be damaging. Though keep a note, exercises that work your transverse abdominals are beneficial if exercised. There are also certain foods which you should try to stay away from such as alcohol, fried foods, fast food. Foods high in trans fats and saturated fats should be avoided at all costs, they just encourage your
The Rexonian stomach to grow bigger. Something else to note is that the stomach fat is always the last to go and you must keep eating healthily and exercising even after you lose the weight so it doesn’t pile on. The key is to make sure that you burn more calories than you eat so you are always losing. Yes it is hard to know how much you’ve burnt or eaten but take it as a gut feeling, if you feel you are overdoing it, then you probably are. Studies have also shown that if you add protein to your diet (say increase protein to 35%of your calorie intake), eat more vegetables, and add calcium (such as yoghurt) you will lose stomach fat quicker. Calcium helps you burn fat and also limits the amount of new fat your body makes so it’s really healthy. Also avoid bad stress. Stress releases Cortisol (a hormone) which makes you hungry so you eat more and gain weight. This usually ends up with you overeating and as most of your Cortisol receptors are in the tummy area you will gain weight mainly around your tummy. So you definitely need to deal with stress. Another thing about food, don’t eat late at night snacks. At night your metabolism isn’t as high as it is during the day, so you tend to store a lot of the fats rather than burn them. So make sure to watch your sugar intake and also try to limit your intake of foods containing sodium such as pasta and TV dinners. Firstly TV dinners are unhealthy because while watching TV you engage less with others so you burn less. Also, they have a lot of sodium in them so they’re not good for losing weight. This said please don’t go on a very low calorie diet, just cut out that extra piece of toast or dessert. Low calorie diets are extremely unhealthy. So the basic idea is general weight loss that will lead to general slimming which will get part of your stomach. Sadly there isn’t one single thing that works. It’s more a combination of things. To summarize, in a nutshell here are the things to watch: 1. Work your transverse abdominals 2. Don’t starve 3. It’s in your genes 4. Calcium is great for you 5. Cortisol is bad for you 6. Don’t overwork your abdominals 7. Do a lot of cardio 8. Don’t eat late 9. Try to cut down on sugars 10. Increase your protein intake
Lethargy in our Lives What does it mean to be lethargic and how can we prevent it from happening to us? By SEEMA SAMAWI’11 LIFE SUB-EDTIOR
Lethargy; noun, the quality or state of being lazy or sluggish (Miriam Webster) So you’re having a tiring, slow week. You feel drained and you just aren’t motivated to work, you’ve got no energy left and you just want to get rid of that feeling. You get stuck in a destructive, lethargy causing cycle. You search for ways to break the cycle and decide that there is no way out. Does this sound familiar? Do you want to beat this state you’re in? Then you are reading the right article. Fatigue is caused by many things: lack of sleep, poor diet, lethargy, you name it! But what helps beat that feeling? Fitness!
If you force yourself to be active when you are exhausted, you are pushing yourself past the limits that you have set for yourself. This is a good thing. Running, for example, is the best form of release in our lives. When you run, there is nothing that can get you down. Don’t say “Oh I think I’ll skip the gym today, I’m too tired”. If you’re too tired, you should make the effort to go to the gym! Yes, you do use energy to work out, but that will get you out of the cycle of postponing a healthier life style. Sports also get your heart rate going, making you feel instantly energized. And if that’s not enough, endorphins and adrenaline are secreted while exercising. Endorphins are
powerful substances, which are also known as happy hormones. Endorphins have the ability to affect your mood and the longer you are active, the larger the quantities in which they are released. They bring about a state of exhilaration and bliss to you once you’re active. Adrenaline really helps to get rid of stress. It gives you a high buzz, which is healthy in normal amounts, helping you get rid of your fatigue. Have the two chemicals inside of you, and you’re that much better than you were a short while ago. So next time you feel exhausted and lethargic, hit the gym! Not only will you get rid of your tired state, but you would also feel healthier and more energetic.
LIFE
January 2011
Doesn’t it seem like we are busier than last year?
Page 5
Is it Textspeak’s Fault?
gr8
Textspeak is merely another one of of the effects of a decline in the emphasis of formal writing approaches in schools today By RAMY BADRIE ’12 STAFF WRITER
ROBERT BAHOU ’11
Changing Times Is King’s getting busier or are we just getting older? By FARAH KILANI ’13 STAFF WRITER
[4:01:54 PM] Marah: So Sunday was a short day (: ... WHAT WAS SHORT ABOUT IT I’LL NEVER KNOW!! [4:02:03 PM] Farah Kilani: HAHAHAHAHAHA [4:02:19 PM] Marah: I mean last year was just perfect, we would leave at 12:30 and enjoy the rest of the day. I actually had a life back then -_[4:03:04 PM] Farah: I knoww! Thursdays were much more convenient! [4:03:18 PM] Marah: Oh and what’s up with school meeting and birthdays, “sing it on your way to the dining hall” ... seriously? -.*** [4:15:19 PM] Sewar Quraan: The school day is way too long :( and O block is not enough for anything, I barely get to go to my dorm, change, then go back. And i REALLY don’t like the new co-curricular system; they should give us at least one day off. *** [4:07:16 PM] Tammara: Walek it’s crazy!! I’m so pressured I have a million things to dooooooo! It’s impossible what they’re doing to us... Cocurricular every single day Farah!! *** [7:51:03 PM] Fadi Hamati: keef king’s? [7:53:03 PM] Farah Kilani: changed a LOT! So many rules…TOOO strict *** [8:56:16 PM] Barakat Saqa: Walik Kings is taking our lives away!! [8:56:36 PM] Farah Kilani: I know, trust me. My next article is on this subject. *** Maybe “taking our lives away” is an exaggeration, but to tell you the truth, as students, our energy is absolutely drained by the end of the day. It was completely different last year; co-curricular activities ran
twice a week and we had more free time in the afternoon. Most of us did what we wanted to do and that didn’t mean we were messing around and doing nothing. On the contrary, we had time for our family, friends and ourselves, but this year’s schedule has taken up our entire day. So much so that some of us just collapse on our desks in study hall and end up studying all night. This is coming from the point of view of a five day boarder; I bet day students are going through hell and back. Those conversations are just a tiny sample of the complaints that go on between students every day; I know this year we started a new beginning, so to speak, by opening a new page and setting us on the better track but is it imperative to go through all this? I’m pretty sure we’re mature enough to occupy our free time doing something productive. I don’t mean to be too negative but it’s just an honest opinion, between co-curricular activities, studying, and keeping up with everything going on around us, waking up in the morning is almost a tough thing to do. But you never know the outcome; some of us might actually end up as something out there, thanks to this. So how far is this change going? What are the seniors’ plans for graduation and prom this year? How are students adjusting to the new faculty? Are we having an Open Day? (I know many of you are concerned about the Fashion Show). There are a million questions popping in our heads every day, and I can’t tell you what to expect, but let’s just wait and see how this year turns out. It’s tough, and pretty stressful, but I guess all we can do is to just believe that it’s for the best, and hope that next year would be a bit less nervewracking. So to whomever it may concern, take this into consideration, please.
With an increasing number of students immersing themselves in the language of texting, commonly referred to as “Textspeak,” by means of their cell phones and computers, many educationalists are voicing their qualms concerning the allegedly negative effects of Textspeak on students’ writing skills. Now, from a narrow-minded perspective, such a claim may seem to be plausible due to Textspeak’s format compelling its users to look past grammar, syntax, and punctuation and to instead focus on informal and overly succinct writing. What’s more, these educationalists fear that students who increasingly convey themselves through slang, over concision, and emoticons will eventually lose the ability to form more articulate and grammatically correct writing. The thing is, though, only from such a one-dimensional viewpoint can such a hasty generalization be made regarding the effects of Textspeak on students’ writing. Moreover, according to the Edutopia’s Sara Ring, a large percentage of educationalists see only a small amount of substantiation regarding the supposedly negative effects that other educationalists are claiming Textspeak has on students’ writing. Even more, Ring goes on to state how some educationalists are pleased with the surge in the number of students communicating through Textspeak, as students are writing more and creating their own valuable and efficient language of expression, even though it lacks a traditional vocabulary. Indeed, the popularity of Textspeak among students is not something that should plague educationalists with qualms. As for those educationalists who blame Textspeak for being behind the decline in the quality of some students’ writing, it is important for such educationalists to recognize that Textspeak is merely one of the effects of schools nowadays lessening their focus on formal methods of writing. As an anonymous educationalist teaching in the United States of America (U.S.A.) explains in Edutopia’s comments section following the poll entitled, “Does text messaging harm students’ writing skills?” “[Textspeak] is another symptom of the decline of emphasizing formal writing skills in our schools - print and cursive writing, spelling and grammar.” To further elaborate, such formal writing skills have decreased in importance in schools, while it seems that informal writing has risen in importance at their expense because of its overuse. Consequently, middle school students find themselves greatly lacking in the facet of formal writing, which poses more of a problem as they reach high school, then college and next begin applying for jobs. As a result of this, Textspeak cannot be viewed as the enemy due to a great percentage of students entering middle school, for instance, with highly underdeveloped writing skills. Hence, rather than educationalists blaming Textspeak for a decline in some students’ writing skills, they should instead focus on teaching their students the importance of formal writing, as well as the need to separate the
format writing that should be used when completing schoolwork and the informal writing employed by Textspeak users. If educationalists continue to blame Textspeak for some of their students’ poor writing skills, instead of paying attention to the bigger picture explained here, the language of formal writing will undoubtedly continue to diminish in use and as a result, the language of texting will come to dominate the majority of people’s writing. Further discarding the adopted idea of some educationalists that Textspeak deteriorates the quality of students’ writing, Lind Ullah, a teacher residing in the U.S.A., states in the comments section on Edutopia how it is important for such educationalists to recognize the parallel between Textspeak and learning a different language, such as Spanish, French or Chinese. Ullah goes on to further explain how all of these forms of language should be viewed as new and valuable ones, as they further one’s ability to keep in touch with people who have moved to a different location or communicate with people from a different culture. Additionally, the slang and succinctness employed by Textspeak users is not something that should be worried about. First of all, I believe almost every age group—whether the previous ones or the current one—can be characterized by the slang they developed or have developed. Even more, the brevity of Textspeak is also not something educationalists should fear, as the importance of one’s writing being coherent and succinct is one of the most taught and repeated things in schools all over the world. Just like educationalists teach students about the different genres of writing, such as an autobiography and a biography, they need to equally focus on teaching their students how to differentiate between the language of texting and all of its informalities and the formal writing that must be applied when students are completing their schoolwork. Thus, students will be able to better recognize the stark differences between informal and formal writing and, in turn, be able to separate these two forms of writing, so as to not have the informalities of Textspeak slip into the required formal nature of their schoolwork. Furthermore, educationalists should support Textspeak, since students are writing more because of it. Yet, many educationalists perceive this writing as being irrelevant and insignificant, another hasty generalization, but they must take note, according to eHow.com’s Lisa M. Russell’s article, “The Effects of Text Messaging on English Grammar,” that students are also revising more in an attempt to edit their writings to include only a few significant and relevant words. The article goes on to further state that teachers can also incorporate Textspeak into their teaching plans in a positive way by assigning their students a project in which they are required to demonstrate the differences between traditional English and Textspeak or trace the development of language from the former to the latter. In addition, according to USATODAY.
omg I<3U
LMFAO
rofl brb
lol see TEXTSPEAK on page 8
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LIFE
The Rexonian
At the Theaters...
*Adapted from college board.
Movie reviews from the people you trust most - your classmates
THE EXPENDABLES
DUE DATE
By NADEEM MADANAT ’12
By NADEEM MADANAT ’12
STAFF WRITER
STAFF WRITER
The expendables follows the story of a team of mercenaries, led by Barney Ross ( Sylvester Stallone), attempting to assassinate a warlord on a remote island after getting the job from a mysterious client. The plot twists and turns to reveal its true intentions as the team of mercenaries find out more about their target. “The Expendables” is bursting out with explosives, gunfire and the thrilling air of an action video game while delivering the long expected appearance of all the world’s greatest action heroes in one movie. Put simply, the movie is great. Why not take a break and watch exploding helicopters and big men with even bigger guns as part of an interesting storyline?
To me, watching this movie was like inhaling Nitrious Oxide, because throughout the movie, I could not stop laughing. In “Due Date,” an expectant father, a slightly dumb but kind hearted actor, and a dog are thrown into a small car to drive across the country. In a nutshell, this movie does exactly what shouldn’t be done to people and with the hilarious combination of the extremely variant characters, it accumulates to non-stop comedy. This movie has been recorded in my books as one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen, and trust me, I’ve seen many. I applaud the producers of the hangover for delivering another hilarious hit.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 By RAMY BADRIE ’12
STAFF WRITER
We all feel overwhelmed with our work at times, so maybe these tips will help you! Here are some time management tips to keep an integrated life:
Master the To-Do List Every Day.
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Make a to-do-list and prioritize your tasks. Naturally you should be executing the most important tasks first. This helps keep you organized!
Use free periods and extra time wisely.
You shouldn’t spend your spare time socializing with your friends when you can be reviewing for the test you have next class!
Don’t Agonize.
STAFF WRITER
Paranormal Activity 2, the shock and suspense filled sequel to Paranormal Activity, will undoubtedly manage to hook you for most of the time while you wait for the sense of the unknown to arrive while it lingers throughout the movie, you will feel a sense of horror, shock and excitement, all mixed together. Now, that is not to say that this sequel is without its flaws. Just to get it out of the way, this second installment in the franchise is surely not of better quality when you compare it to the first installment, even though this movie is a commendable sequel, as the first one managed to form a deceivingly insipid horror movie by shrewdly combining both structure and material. Furthermore, while the movie’s weak psychodrama does not hinder too much the overall impact of the movie, it will still plague the minds of moviegoers who value a movie’s structure and material equally. I, for one, struggled for a while to record that the husband and wife of the family, Daniel and Kristi, were actually married; I could not understand how Daniel’s crotchety personality and Kristi’s effervescent one could be compatible. Another thing that irked me about the movie was its sudden ending and even worse, it is not the type of sudden ending that will compel you and keep you hooked as you anticipate the next installment in the franchise; it was just the too-soon-and-annoying kind of ending. Putting aside these flaws, however, the movie is a creditable sequel. As for the basic context of the movie, it revolves around a family comprised of a husband, his second wife, a baby boy named Henry and the husband’s daughter from his previous marriage who reside in a suburban home in Carlsbad, California. The family repeatedly finds itself and its home threatened by a seemingly extraterrestrial presence. At first, the family believes they have been robbed due to the house having been messed up. However, this seems unreasonable due to nothing having been taken by the alleged robbers. Consequently, the family decides to install a hidden camera and
By NORA NESHEIWAT ’14
surveillance system, so as to uncover exactly who or what is threatening the family. What will really hook you, though, is the filming method of certain parts of the film, specifically the scenes that revolve around the hidden camera and surveillance system. I mean, with all such images pointing in a downward direction and being filled with large angles, it will require only several glances from you, even if nothing really significant is happening, to fill you with fear. Furthermore, the movie will keep your eyes working, as you will find yourself constantly scanning the parts of the home shown, so as to uncover the purported extraterrestrial presence you believe has occupied the house, attempting to expose it before it can scare you. Unsurprisingly, you will not be able to do so, which makes the shock and suspense factors of the movie so strong. This makes up for the generally unbelievable performances given by the cast members; whereas these actors are supposed to appear to be believable and, as a result, make you believe that you are actually watching a real documentary of the sort, instead they come off as a group of actors thrown together into one big movie with each actor’s movie personality differing more than the other. So, if you are the type of moviegoer who cares equally about a horror movie’s content and the believability of this content as they care about its structure and the heart attack like scares you may be given as a result, then this may not be the best horror movie for you. (I would recommend the horror movie Carrie in the case for you, an overly watched and referred to horror movie, yet still one of the best ever made, in my opinion, at least.) With that being said, if you are more interested in being repeatedly frightened and having your eyes perpetually working at a high rate as they attempt to uncover the extraterrestrial presence that is supposedly occupying the house before it can scare you, then you will definitely love this movie.
Instead of agonizing, just do your work! Don’t waste your time or stress out, it won’t accomplish anything. Procrastination is your worst enemy.
Just Say No.
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If your friend asks you to go out and you have an exam coming up, you should know it isn’t going to kill you to say NO. You’re the most important person in your life.
Find the best time for yourself.
If you work better in the afternoon, do your homework then! Don’t wait until it’s late and you aren’t at your optimum study mind frame!
Revise Daily.
Reviewing helps reinforce what you’ve learned in class. This means you’ll need less time to study before a test. You can do this by writing more notes after class, flashcards, rereading the text you took in class that day, etc. That way you’ll be ready for pop quizzes!
Make a communication schedule.
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If phone calls or text messages are distracting you, organize a plan with your friends when they can expect you to answer. Also let them know when you won’t be able to reply.
Become as organized as possible.
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Allow yourself enough study time and plan your activities accordingly. Figure out how much free time you have each week before you add any commitments, you don’t want to overwork yourself!
Keep your Priorities straight.
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You can’t do everything at once. Establish the importance of each item. Then set realistic goals that are attainable.
Sleep…Zzzz.
You need a good night’s sleep! For our age group that is around 9-10 hours of sleep at night, full grown adults require 8-9 hours of sleep. Without that, you won’t be able to concentrate! So make sure you sleep!
¡ЯEЖØÑİÄИ!
January 2011
Volete Sapere Chi E’ Santa Lucia By GIULIA WALID ’12 ITALIAN CORRESPONDENT
Ebbene si…ci siamo quasi. Tra poco più di una settimana, la note tra il 12 e il 13 dicembre, una santa di nome Lucia andra’ nelle case di tutti i bambini per lasciare un dono! E’ una tradizione che si tramanda da decenni solo nelle regioni del Nord d’Italia, ma è ancor più famosa in Svezia Norvegia e nei Paesi Scandinavi. Nel resto dell’Italia è molto più famosa la Befana: la famosa vecchietta un pò streghetta che a cavallo della sua scopa attraversa i cieli sopra i tetti delle case e lascia dolci e doni ai bambini buoni ed è senza pietà per tutti quei bimbi “cattivi” per i quali c’e’ solo un pezzo di nero carbone!!!! Santa Lucia ha le sue origini nell’Antica Roma, durante le persecuzioni dei Cristiani da parte dei Pagani e a causa della sua fedeltà a Cristo è stata resa Martire, le sono stati cavati gli occhi per umiliarla.In seguito a questo Lucia come tanti altri Martiri della Chiesa è stata nominata Santa: La tradizione
popolare poi ha fatto il resto... siccome era stata privata del dono della vista, le è stato attribuito il merito di essere lei a portare i doni affinchè tutti i bambini con gli occhi e il cuore puro possano vedere “la Luce” nella propria vita. E’ sempre merito della tradizione popolare quello di vederla affiancata da un aiutante e un asinello che la accompagnano a consegnare i doni durante la notte rischiarata dalla luce delle candele. La sera prima di andare a dormire i bimbi preparano insieme alla mamma qualcosa da bere e da mangiare, in segno di attesa dell’importante ospite quando poi il mattino seguente si sveglieranno i bimbi tra tanGIULIA WALID ‘12 to disordine (è sempr colpa dell’asinello!!!) troveranno i tanto attesi e desiderati doni che Lucia ha lasciato per loro. Il giorno di Santa Lucia non è vacanza e se coincide con un giorno di scuola i bambini si svegliano molto presto, senza fatica, per scoprire i doni che hanno ricevuto!
Dos años de lengua extranjera no son suficientes By OMAR HALAWA ’12 SPANISH CORRESPONDENT
Nuestra escuela ofrece un excelente programa de lenguas extranjeras que incluye español, francés, y chino. El problema es que la mayoría de los estudiantes dejan una lengua extranjera dos años después de empezar a causa de los ‘requirements’. En King’s Academy es requerido hacer solo dos años de un idioma extranjera. Después de eso, se puede continuar con la misma idioma o se puede dejar este programa para hacer otros cursos como los APs (Colocaciones Avanzadas). Para hablar con fluidez en una lengua extranjera, hay que hacer un mínimo de cuatro
años de cursos con mucha práctica. Por eso considero, es en vano estudiar una lengua para dos años ya que, con el tiempo, se la olvidará. Muchas universidades en los Estados Unidos y otros países, les gusta el estudiante que es cometido a una lengua extranjera. Los profesores del departamento de las lenguas extranjeras están trabajando para extender los años requeridos. Otra solución es hacer cursos de la lengua fuera de la escuela después de los dos años. Hay muchos Institutos que enseñan lenguas extranjeras en Amman como el Instituto Cervantes para el español, el ‘Institut français de Proche-Orient’ para el francés, y el ‘Confucius Institute’ para el chino.
Loi ou pas, leur voile, elles ne le quitteront pas (Résumé) By HAMZA NAGHAWI ’12 FRENCH CORRESPONDENT
Le Parlement français a adopté le projet de loi sur l’interdiction du niqab et burqa en public. 2000 femmes, qui croisent que le voile intégral fait partie de leur identité comme musulmane, sont concernées. Ces femmes se sentent que l’application de cette loi sera pour les stigmatiser. Dalila qui a 18 ans explique que le gouvernement a adopté cette loi parce qu’en France, il y a des hommes qui contraignent leurs sœurs, leurs épouses ou leurs filles à porter le voile intégral. Cette loi oblige les femmes en-
voilées de leur propre chef à rester chez elles. Donc, Dalila indique que la loi doit être changée afin de devenir plus adéquate ; il faut punir ceux qui obligent le voile mais pas celles qui le portent heureusement. De plus, elle ajoute que quand elle porte le niqab, elle non seulement se sent libre et bien mais encore elle est chaste et supérieure sur les hommes. Si elle le trouvera nécessaire, elle vivra en Angleterre où elle pourra porter le voile intégral et travailler en même temps. Aya, une autre française qui met le niqab et qui a 22 ans, dit qu’elle n’est pas prête pour enlever le voile même si
les sœurs l’ôtent. Elle explique que la loi n’est pas son seul problème ; les gens ne les laissent pas tranquille. Et comme conséquence, beaucoup des femmes envoilées décident de l’enlever afin de se protéger et pour donner leurs enfants la vie qu’ils méritent. Mais après avoir sacrifiée cette partie de leurs identités, ces femmes ne se sentent plus elles-mêmes. Les musulmanes portent le voile pour leur Créateur et rien ne pourrait le changer. Les gens pensent que c’est une prison, mais ils ont tous faux ; cette nouvelle loi sera ce qui les emprisonnera !
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Les dix meilleures destinations pour la France By ISSA ASFOUR ’12
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FRENCH CORRESPONDENT
La Tour Eiffel: La Tour Eiffel a été construite par Gustave Eiffel en 1889. Cette tour est considéré le monument le plus visités au monde. Musée du Louvre: Le musée du Louvre est l’une des plus connus musés d’art dans le monde où il était une fois un palais royale. Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris: La cathédrale est construite autour de la 1163 à 1345, elle est visitée par plus de 12 millions de personnes par an. Arc du Triomphe: L’Arc a été commandé par Napoléon pour commémorer les victoires de ses armées; le tombeau du soldat inconnu de la France se trouve ici aussi, et chaque soir, une flamme est allumée pour la mémoire. Versailles: Ce palais est construit sous le règne de Louis XIV - connu comme le Roi Soleil pour montrer au monde sa richesse et la puissance de la monarchie à son époque.
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6
Mont st Michelle: Mont St Michel est l’un des monuments les plus reconnaissables en France, situé juste aux côtes de Normandie. En fait, il est le site le plus visité après Paris! Mont Blanc: Mont Blanc est la plus haute montagne dans les Alpes, située entre l’Italie et la France. Mont Blanc est le site où les premiers Jeux Olympiques d’hiver se sont passés. Châteaux de la Loire: La Loire est un terrain de jeu pour la royauté du 15e au 18e siècle, possède de nombreux de châteaux de la Renaissance belle, comme le Château d’Amboise, Chambord, Chenonceau, Blois et Cheverny. Carcassonne: Il est considéré la plus grande ville fortifiée et un des plus beaux exemples d’architecture médiévale en Europe. Lascaux: Qui se trouve au sudouest de la France et inclure certaines des plus belles collections d’art préhistorique dans le monde.
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Receta de Tortilla Española By JOHANNA LEE ’13 SPANISH CORRESPONDENT
Los ingredientes: · Seis papas medianas en cubos · Dos cebollas pequeñas picadas · 1/2 cucharadita de sal · Dos cucharadas aceite de girasol, GETTY IMAGES · Siete huevos · 1/4 taza de leche · Sugerencia para servir: ensalada de tomate lloviznado con aceite de oliva En un tazón mediano, mezcla (con las manos) las papas, cebollas, y una cuchara pequeña 1/2 de sal. Calienta dos cucharas grandes del aceite en una sartén grande. Frita las papas y las cebollas con calor bajo, y tapa la sartén por cinco minutos. Sube el calor por cinco minutos hasta que la cebolla este suave y dorada. Quita la sartén del fogón y derrama el aceite. Mientras tanto abre los huevos dentro de un tazón mediano. Agrega la sal y leche y mezcla. Agrega las papas y las cebollas a los huevos y mezcla bien. Limpia la sartén, y pon la sobre el fogón. Frita la mezcla en calor alto, con dos cucharas del aceite. Frita la tortilla hasta que este dorada y después baja el calor por unos minutos. Cuando la tortilla este cocinada pon un plato grande sobre la sartén y dale la vuelta. Regresa la tortilla a la sartén para dorar el otro lado.
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FUN PAGE
The Rexonian
The King’s Crossword
By Robert Bahou ‘11
Most likely to be prom king 2011: Faris Mdanat Most likely to replace Buddha: Kimo Most likely to be Pinocchio: Hatem Abuteen Most likely to write a book about his exploits in Vietnam: Zaid Itum Most likely to become a politician, In Kuwait: Jaber Al-Sabah Most likely to win an Oscar, 6 Times: Abdullah Khalayleh Most likely to become your Godfather: Adel Nesheiwat Most likely to be the prince of Ajloun with a castle made of Tatly: Izzat Mukattash Most likely to Hmm. : Karim Zeine Most likely to find the solution to global warming: Faisal Akkawi Most likely to win the Nobel Peace Price: Mohammad Hassan Most likely to become a smuggler: Muhannad Abdeen Most likely to learn medicine from House MD: Mansoor Ghoto Most likely to own a gardening franchise in Mexico that provides free BBM typing lessons: Haya Abdul Hadi Most likely to have 25 kids and love them all equally: Jude Dajani Most likely to marry a bedouin and join the Olympic running team: Leanne Conway Most likely to have lego robots build his house: Omar Darwish Most likely to be world champion chubby bunny: Jameel Madanat Most likely to become a Marine/Navy Seal who is married to Selena Gomez: Johnny Khoury Most likely to create laughter forever: Karim Zeine Most likely to start a “Revolucion”: Thaer Al-Sheikh Theib Most likely to play division basketball: Zachariah Samawi Most likely to ski to the top of mount everest: Raja Badr El Din Most likely to star in Bab al Hara: Burhan al-Droubi Most likely to win Arabs Got Talent: Rana Abulaban Most likely tohold a record for the world’s longest thought: Laura Currie Most likely to become the first human dolphin: Ghayth Sandouka Most likely to go camping with Mr. Carlos: Hasan Abu Kharma Most likely to win a Pulitzer Prize: Robert Bahou Most likely to become a famous singer: Rana Abulaban Most likely to become Miss Syria: Hanadi Sabek Most likely to leave half way through: Ghaida El-Tayeh Most likely to become bestfriends with a guy named Trevor: Sterling Beecroft Most likely to become CEO of the BBC: Faris Jayousi Most likely to be on the Bachelor: Faris Batayneh Most likely to corrupt a child’s mind: Farah Hamati Most likely to import Potatoes from Lebanon: Yusra Bitar Most likely to own a Potato Factory that employs Oompah Loompahs: Batool Sawalha Most likely to speak 9 languages and be a professional Frisbee player by the age of 22: Qxhna Most likely to be a Swedish hippie: Saleh Abdellatif Most likely to be a Proctor, a John Proctor: Ali Shajrawi Most likely to develop a monopoly on the world’s fungi : Suhaib Mohaidat Most likely to deplete the world’s libraries: Tala Soufan Most likely to become the world’s tallest man: Omar Malkawi Most likely to own a worldwide chain of Zoos: Faisal Kabariti Most likely to start a Ponzi Scheme: Faisal Akkawi Most likely to be a poet: Ismail Tamimi Most likely to star in a cyanide comic: Zahira Shaban Most likely to be Qarawi in Oxford: Saad Abu Mohareb
Across 2. Two words: These have officially separated the senior class from their younger peers. 4. These are for thursday! 6. He seems to have disappeared, but no, he’s working in the admin building this year. Just his family name. 9. Meissa did this every Wednesday night for a short amount of time, until the boys started throwing chairs at each other 11. Chicken ‘n’ Rice! 14. The dorm that deserved to win the Lip Syncing competition 15. Dr. but not Houston 19. Challenge him in History, I guarantee you’ll lose (First and last name one word)
20. The first person to ever wear and perform in the lion suit. Note: Answer his first and last name in one word 21. Not MrLose 22. It seems like they sponsor Ms. Alia 24. That seemingly pointless software program we have to use 25. - If you don’t know her name, you definitely won’t be able to pronounce it from the spelling 26. - Mr. Ryuiji once said that we could abseil from here if we took Dance Tutorial 27. The Real Madrid fans must have felt crushed the day the 5 0 happened. 28. - Those people that are always on duty, and Ali Shajrawi played him in The Crucible
Down 1. - These two have the same exact first, middle, and last name, except, for the sake of convenience, the school spells one with an O and one with an E. Note: Just first name 3. No matter who the speaker is, he will always seem to ask a question concerning Kuwait. 5. The cheapest meal out there 6. “3” ...Think Fashion, the answer is three words 7. They’re not made for walking on the moon, but they don’t seem to protect from water either 8. We should be frolicking on this
10. - There are four of Compounds, and each year they send 10th graders to study in King’s. 12. Birthplace of the “Happy Tardy to You” song 13. These “fashionable” bags weren’t made for school 16. This word also means cold, except it’s spelled differently and it is a source of food 17. - The Jordanian word for Tissue 18. Trayless ________!! 22. This was once a fruit, but those days are long gone. 23. The color that represents the first Library warning, adapted from Football (Soccer)
TEXTSPEAK
continued from Page 5 com, many linguists believe that a modified traditional dictionary use free lingo is tolerable when speaking or texting. ‘“Language and languages change,” [states] Carolyn Adger, director of the Language in Society Division of the Center for Applied Linguistics in Wash-
ington.” Adger goes on to state that “innovating with language isn’t dangerous. I think that all of this stuff is really wonderful, because it’s expanding the writing skills of people” and allowing communication between people to be effortless and efficient. Finally, Jeremy Rankin, a cell phone shop member of staff who was interviewed by USATODAY.
com for their article, states that he spends a lot of his time “using and working with wireless devices” and as a result, “[t]he 18-year-old college student in Milwaukee admits he sometimes finds himself abbreviating when he types. I might do it by accident, but I don’t think that’s a problem as far as school papers go,”’ he stated. “I proofread my stuff.”