A 1 F IR ORCE
The Magazine.
Are American schools lagging behind? A foreigner’s perspective
Ex-Texas Villian Speaks: Interview with Vernon Stodghill, inside! The great journey of a South African woman to America, interview and more!
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Air Force 1 Spring 2009 4
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4 - Risks and Rewards An immigrant’s journey, and how he was able to make a new life for his family.
6 - USA eh? Why America’s once revered education standard, is now falling below its potential.
8 - Scott’s Story From fame, to fugitive, and having to recreate his life, Scott Stodghill has been through it all.
10 - Brack Obama Following the Barack Obama’s remark about the special olympics, a writer responds to the sudden outburst of political correctness.
12 - Moments and Memories The journey of a woman from corruption, through hardship, and how she made a difference.
16 - Bailout or Failout Should GM, one of America’s indutrial giants, be bailed out.
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18 - The Super Bowl The Super Bowl is one
of the biggest and most popular events in America. What is it that makes the Super Bowl so special?
20 - This I Believe How moments and events
changed the life of a boy, after a huge accident. How single moments can change a life.
22 - The Dora Story A young girls story of her
journey to American and her battle with her oppressors retold.
24 - Fattest and Fittest Cities of U.S. the fattiest and fittiest cities in America, and why they claimed their fame.
28 - The Heart The meaning of a life put into the terms of a journey
with one’s own heart.
29 - A Journey and a Path
son must make in living their life.
The diretions and choices a per-
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Risks and Reward
By Changseok L
“It’ll only be a temopportunity,” Jinhyoung got straight to porary stay. It’ll be a said. “ I always bework. He was great way for you to lieved that the Korean not a fluent English earn some money. education system was speaker at all, so he You’ll be getting paid corrupt and wanted had a very hard time double salary!” Those my son, Changseok, communicating with were the words my and daughter, Jisoo, to the people he worked dad were told when experience what it was with and doing his he got offered work. “Whenbe become an ever I turned assignee for in reports and International meeting minSematech, the utes, they were world’s catalyst always thorfor acceleratoughly checked ing the combecause there mercialization was no trust of technology between my coinnovations into workers,” Jinhymanufacturing oung stated. solutions. Just “As time a month later, passed, people we were aboard started to apa commercial preciate the plane travelwork I turned A Korean Airplane at the Daeju Airport. ing across the in and realPacific to Auslike here in the United ized that it was always tin, Texas from Seoul, States.” excellent. They started South Korea. “Know- On December 20, to trust me more and I ing that this kind of 1999, Jinhyoung Lee started to enjoy going opportunity don’t come and his family arrived to work.” by often, I was very at the Austin Bergstorm After a year or so he thankful and very lucky International Airport. was well settled in and to have been given this The very next day, he so was his family. “Life
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was so much more relaxed here. For once, I never worried about my ability to support my family,” Jinhyoung said. In May 2001, Hynix, the company he was being an assignee for, ordered Jinhyoung to come back to South Korea. “My wife and kids thought that we would have to go back to Korea. When I saw how sad they were, I made the decision to stay here. Besides, I knew my kids were behind on the curriculum over in Korea, so it wouldn’t do any good going back,” Jinhyoung said. Seven months later, Jinhyoung Lee traveled to Seoul, Korea where the Hynix headquarters are located. There he gave Joung-cho Lee, his CEO, a letter of resignation. “Joung-cho looked and me in disappointment,” Jinhyoung Lee said. Then, he spent the rest of the day taking care of paperwork and receiving his severance package. “It was the hardest decision ever. A decision that would
change my children’s lives forever,” Jinhyoung said. When he returned to Austin, he and his family were happy, but the only problem was there was no income. “It was hard quitting a job you’ve had
for 20 years. But it was worth the happiness of the family,” Jinhyoung said. All they had was the money they’ve been saving up for the two years they’ve been here. He started looking for a job in semi conducting. He first started with Sematech where he worked
as an assignee for the past two years. They gave him a job right away. Sematech knew that all the major technology companies in Korea knew Jinhyoung Lee, so they made him Head of Foreign Relationships. Even though he didn’t get paid much, it still allowed him and his family to apply for a permanent residence (green card). “ I never thought things would turn out this way. Things were working out so well for us,” Jinhyoung said. The following year, he also took over a second job as an account manager. “Every time I think about the decision that I made, I think about the opportunity that I have given my kids,” Jinhyoung said.
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USA
By Changseok L.
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s 1st period starts, the teacher walks up to the board and writes the warm up. I look to the right of me, there’s a guy already asleep; I look the left of me and the guy there is texting faster than I can type. I attend the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA), the only exemplary high school in my district. LASA is one of the top schools in the nation that “offer a rigorous, innovative, and nationally recognized interdisciplinary curriculum to educate socially responsible leaders, prob-
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Why USA’s standards are falling. lem-solvers and thinkers.” Yet, there are still a handful of students at LASA that sleep in many classes, text often, and don’t do
Ruth DeHolton
their homework Here in the United States, attending
school is just a way of life for most people and basically a part of the culture. Even though many kids do not enjoy school, it is considered a standard for many families in the U.S. What most American students don’t realize is that we should be grateful for a more secure and well-organized education system compared to education systems across the world. The Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A) reports that that the United States spends about eight hundred billion dollars on this defective education system per year. All of this is not wasted though. Some students work very hard in
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school and become very successful. “The thought of going to school is only a dream for most kids,” said Ruth Deholton, a math teacher at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. DeHolton was born in the Republic of Congo in 1957. She lived there for 16 years and moved to the United States of America to continue her education. She attended Swarthmore College, and then moved to Ethiopia to teach. Kids in Ethiopia cannot even pay for their school supplies, which are only about 5 to ten dollars. To people here in the United States, that is not very much for education. 5 dollars is not even enough to get a sufficient meal at a fast food restaurant. But 40 percent of families in Ethiopia that have a child
cannot pay this fine. Especially those who have more than one kid. Students may think that they will never use the
not a place where I felt safe and had fun in. School was practically a prison for me. In Korea, teachers are allowed to punish students for any violations of the school rules or policies. This “punishment” includes being beat on the calf muscles or the palm of your hand. There are many instances where students also have to clean the restrooms or the halls after school. Of course nowadays, these punishments have been considered inhumane and not allowed anymore, but there are still many schools that still practice this. One cause of this is because there is on average about 50-70 kids in things they learn at school one classroom under one in life. They may think that teacher. Therefore the they don’t need an eduteacher must have cation and that they are control of the class ready to start life, but they at all times in should realize that even if their classit isn’t used in life, knowlrooms. “The edge is power. These kids that think like this very thought of soon start to realize how going to school hard it is to live in sociis only a dream for ety these days without an education. most kids.” When I lived in Korea, school was
- Ruth Deholton
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Scott Stodghill His rise and fall in Texas Politics
“I
want people to know that you can make a mistake, and your life can turn on a dime.” When I look at Scott Stodghill for answers to my questions, a pair of deep blue eyes stare back. There’s no doubt in my mind that Scott has been through more than most people could even imagine, yet he is still very collected about the matter. Scott believes that his story in Texas politics can do much more than simply entertain his readers; he believes it can teach them a thing or two about the choices they make in life . “I was a little fish that fried up real big,” said Scott, trying to sum up his experience in Texas politics. As a rising star, he made it to the top, alongside acclaimed Texas bureaucrats Bob Bullock, Anne Richards, and Frank Erwin. His cocaine addiction ultimately led to his downfall, but not without a few twists. Scott started up in politics not for his own reasons but rather to please his girlfriend, a cute young Texas Christian University freshman who was looking to marry a lawyer. At the time, the fastest way to become a lawyer was to attend Baylor University Law School, in Waco, and that’s what Scott had his heart set on. Scott attended The University of
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Texas at Austin still looking in the future to Baylor Law . “I went to see my girl, at that time, but she basically told me that she was going to marry a lawyer, but that he went to SMU and his name was George,” Scott said. At that point, Scott didn’t really know what he wanted to do with his life. He then got a summer job with his grandfather’s attorney, a Texas state
Vernon “Scott” Stodghill
senator and ended up working in the state’s Planning and Coordination Department. Right off the bat, it was clear to Scott that he had an inherent gift for politics. “I was really good at it.” He began expressing his ideas, even as an intern,
By Sam T
spitting out good ideas from the second he walked into the Texas State Department. While his first plan to coordinate government jets to save resources didn’t end up being implemented, Scott still stirred up quite a ruckus fighting for his idea. Enough ruckus, in fact, to catch the attention of the Governor, Dolph Briscoe. Scott was soon transferred from the Planning and Coordination Department to the governor’s staff. Here’s when things got interesting. According to Scott, Janey Briscoe, the governor’s wife, was the real “power behind the throne”. Janey would be crucial to Scott’s great success in Texas politics. “She befriended me as kind of a mentor,” Scott said. He respected her highly, and he always valued her opinion, which meant a lot to her. His good relationship with the First Texan paid off ; “Before I knew it, I was still in school, she offered me a full time position on the governor’s staff.” Scott immediately accepted her offer and began his new position as an adviser to the governor. Not too shabby for a kid who was still in college. Through his work in the Governor’s office, Scott become acquainted with quite a few interesting people, including Bob Bullock, Anne Richards, Frank
Erwin, and President Johnson. “Those guys were serious drinkers; Bullock was in those days, and so was Frank (Erwin). I even ended up driving them home many nights.” Scott said. Eventually the alcohol took hold of Scott as well, and that’s when he really lost it.
Unfortunately, government jobs are middle class at best, and Scott was running low on money. Cocaine is, of course, a very expensive habit. Scott was an officer of the Texas Democratic Party, and was able to write checks from their account. “One day I did something I never thought I could do. I just wrote myself a check.” That was the day that none had foreseen. That was the day when bright young Scott Stodghill committed a felony. He went on doing this for about six months. One day his secretary called while he was at lunch and told him that a couple of Texas Rangers were waiting for him at his office. He knew he was in too deep and had to get out quick. “And then I did the most mature thing I could do. I got in the car, I drove to Dallas, I changed my name.” Six months later, those that Scott once knew in Austin would hardly recognize the man he had become. He was living in Dallas, hour by hour, pretending to be a lawyer. Scott knew he was no lawyer, and the prospect of getting caught frightened him at times. “I had all these clients, and I was living hour to hour. It was scary.” It had gotten to the point where he no longer responded to the name Scott Stodghill, but only to his alias name John Henry McDonald. Scott seemed to have escaped reality, but unfortunately, it seems to always have a way of catching back up. One day, while he was in court filing a motion of continuance for a case, a state senator named Oscar Mossy recognized
“I was a little fish that fried up real big.” - Scott Stodghill “I was drinking too much. That was part of the political life,” Scott said . Some days he drank so much that he found it impossible to get work done the next day. Drinking this much was new terrain for Scott, and he soon realized that it was a habit he couldn’t keep up. That’s when a buddy from the legal department introduced Scott to a new substance, a “miracle drug”: cocaine. It allowed him to party at night, but then still be able to function and perform his duties during the day. Cocaine did what it does best: it turned Scott’s life upside down. Soon it wasn’t something that he was doing for fun or socially; he was full-on addicted. “I just thought I’d found the answer to my problems,” he said. Scott didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late.
him. Mossy said “Scott Stodghill? That’s Scott Stodghill, and everyone in Austin is looking for him, governor included.” Scott was arrested, and the next day it was national news. Next came the trials. All the questions were asked, and Scott did his best to come clean. “I even had a psychiatric test. It turned up that I wasn’t crazy, just sad.” The state of Texas seemed to think that Scott was mocking them, which was not at all what he intended. Because of the embarrassing nature of his crimes, Scott was sent to a particularly violent prison. In fact, it’s one of the worst. It was a prison called Retrieve in south Dallas, and Scott was the only individual in his entire unit who committed a non-violent crime. There he was, not thirty years old, living amongst Texas’s rapists and murders. In his year and a half at Retrieve, Scott watched 6 fellow convicts murdered, just feet away. “I was sent there as a sort of political payback,” Scott said, and admitted to me that to some extent, it worked. After serving his prison time Scott, strived to make something beautiful of his life that had fallen into shambles. He became a minister and is currently writing a book about his experiences. “I was just a boy who was lost then,” he said. He made it clear that you’re not defined by what you have, or where you are in life, but rather by who you are as a human being. He emphasized how the choices you make can change what you have in a split second, and you have to be ready for the consequences. “My life has purpose and direction now.” I believe him.
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America’s Push for Politcal Correctness
By Sam T
Does it cross the line?
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arack Obama doesn’t hate the disabled, and it is absolutely ludicrous to suggest so. On March 19, America’s President Barack Obama was condemned for remarks about his bad game of bowling; he received the unimpressive score of 129. “It’s like -- it was like Special Olympics or something,” Obama said on the Tonight Show in response to Jay Leno’s sarcastic remarks. All across America, changes
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to increase something’s political correctness have been occurring; whether its changing popular football game title’s from “shootouts” to “showdowns, or to making universities change their mascots to avoid Native American stereotypes, one thing is for certain. America had its mind set on things being prim and proper, and as of now, there is a revolution. At risk of sounding cliché, too much of anything is bad. Too much reform for political cor-
rectness is bad. Yes, president Obama shouldn’t have made the Special Olympics reference, but without American’s colossal need to persecute those who aren’t “politically correct”, the joke would have been inoffensive. The fact that people attack Obama for his “stereotypes” only adds more validity to the phrase, and blows the incident up into a nationwide story. The American public needs to stop persecuting public figures on their political correctness, because it creates a dou-
Photo by Peter Soza
ble standard between them and the VIPS. The change from Red River Shootout to Red River Rivalry seems miniscule, but it has some much more shocking connotations. If something as non-violent as a sporting event can trigger such a reaction, what’s next? Is the word death, even in serious contexts, not to be used at all? And why bother to even have violent words if they will never gain the status of “political correctness”? That’s where infringing on people’s first amendment comes in. That’s when too much political correctness becomes a problem. When it really comes down to it, making changes to make a saying more politically correct is the first step towards censorship. I don’t have to tell you about how America was founded on the principle of freedom, in all shapes and sizes, and so infringing on those freedoms is simply un-American. Unfortunately, it is happening all across the nation. Years ago, Disney was accused of being racist in its film Aladdin. Is it a coincidence that the more evil characters had darker skin? In just the first few minutes of Aladdin, the merchant song establishes the Middle East as a barren
wasteland where the justice system runs on a clear and simple limb-removal policy. One line in the song even goes as far as saying that the Middle East is a place
political correctness can have a large amount of political sway. While Barack’s comment about the Special Olympics was mildly offensive, it is something that an everyday American would say, well, everyday. Barack got elected for his appeal as just another American, and therefore the people should treat him like one. If he had been able to spend the time he used apologizing to America about his “blunder” on some of the more pressing issues, like the economy and the war, then America might be in some better shape now. Analyzing every little thing Obama says is a waste of time. Let the man do his job. America’s compulsive need for everything to be non-offensive is most definitely not a good thing. It provides fuel for slander and allows naïve citizens to look down upon others. “Where they cut off your ear Take the word retard for if they don’t like your face” example. The word retarded (oddly enough, that line was isn’t a bad word; it’s simply changed in the DVD version a word. It should seldom be of Aladdin). In response to used as an insult, but when this political pressure, they referring to someone who made the almost too politiis mentally disabled there cally correct Pocahontas, a should be little fuss. I worry film featuring a happy Nasometimes that America will tive American girl in tune turn into a highly censored with nature, that finds true society, and lose the freelove with a white man. Nice dom element that makes save. This is an example it so appealing to foreign of how America’s desire for onlookers.
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d n a s t n e m Mo s e i r o Mem
A
black man lies on the floor, crumpled in pain, while a white man stands over him with a look of triumph, written on his face. A car drives by and a little girl sees something she will remember for life. A journey does not always have a start and a finish line, but moments inside it that define the way a journey plays out. If any moment could be described as the start of Denelle Silver’s journey, it is this one. “Something is wrong, we have to stand up, we have to say no, we have to fight injustice,”
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By Gabriel K
Denelle said. “Always have to, always have to fight.” And a long fight, Denelle’s life has been. From the corruption and struggle in her home of South Africa, to finding hope in a new country and having the hope snatched from her grasp. The endurance and strength of Denelle Silver’s has been tested, but she has always found a way to persevere. Because she is white, Denelle was not subject to the rules of Apartheid. This did not change the fact that evidence of the corruption and tragedy were all around her. She grew up
in an environment not unlike that in America in the 1950s. Black and white people had to use different entrances to the restaurants, different water fountains, and even different sidewalks. All of this deeply disturbed her, and she felt that she needed to stand up for what she believed in. As a teenager, Denelle finally had a chance to fight against all of the suffering she was seeing. She joined the Democratic Party of South Africa, the political party opposed to the rules of Apartheid. They were
trying to prevail over the National Party Government, which supported Apartheid. To help the Democratic Party, Denelle worked on many different causes, including rallies, voting rights for black
people, and anything else that her party needed. “We were just trying to support people who had no rights and trying to get the government to change their views,” Denelle said. “We never
won anything, but still, it gives you some voice in some way.” Denelle then attended college, and in 1985, graduated from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa
“The presence of G-d that I had always felt did not diminish after she died. The feeling and faith were still there,” Denelle said. “Also my mother strongly believed in G-d, and she accepted that she was dying, and it strengthened her faith, so how could it not strengthen mine.” with a major in teaching. A year later, she began teaching high schoolers. Even though she was trained to teach younger kids, she always preferred the older kids. They added to the learning experience and even the way she looked at teaching. “Not to sound so cliché, but I loved teaching. I mean, I do love teaching, but it’s really more than the teaching,” Denelle said. “It’s not just learning about how to teach even better all the time and [learning] new ideas and keeping up with modern
educational trends, but really learning from the people I’m supposed to be teaching.” Though she lived in a troubled time, Denelle had a very good upbringing in South Africa. She lived in a very orthodox Jewish community with people who shared her faith and beliefs, and had a job she greatly enjoyed. Her life in South Africa was very happy, until in 1993, Denelle’s beloved mother died of lung cancer. “I was the youngest in my
family and I was very close to her and I nursed her until the minute she died. That in itself is a huge loss,” Denelle said. “This left me feeling almost like an orphan.” One thing that helped her get through the death of her mother was her belief in G-d, and devotion to Judaism. She grew up in Orthodox Jewish community, and had always followed the laws of G-d. Instead of turning away from G-d in her time of despair, she embraced G-d.
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“The presence of G-d that I had always felt did not diminish after she died. The feeling and the faith were still there,” Denelle said. “Also my mother strongly believed in G-d,
membered in South Africa. “Teachers are respected here,” Denelle said. “In South Africa, no one respects teachers. They’re seen as if you can’t do anything, you just go and teach because that is an easy job.” She was presented with an opportunity to help shape young minds, and she used this opportunity, not only as a teacher, but also as mentor to help influence the people she worked with and taught in ways that they could never imagine. Community has always been an important part of Denelle’s life. She has always tried her hardDenelle Silver in Austin, Texas est, not only to teach other and she accepted that she the Austin Jewish Acadpeople what she knows, was dying, and it strength- emy, but after a couple but also to learn everyened her faith, so how of years, she moved on thing she can from others. could it not strengthen to a more formal educa “Community is immine?” tion. Instead of teaching portant because we learn After the death of kids in a classroom, she and grow that way and we her mother, Denelle travworked with people of all become better people and eled abroad for a couple ages. Denelle taught in if we are better people of years, and then came programs such as a kid’s then the community is betback to South Africa, but religious school to help ter.” there was nothing left prepare them for their Bar/ Denelle’s impact on there for her. She taught Bat Mitzvahs, and the Austin’s Jewish communifor a few more years, but Melton Program to teach ty can hardly be described in the year 2000, at age adults about Judaism. by just words. Many of her 37 she moved to Austin, The experience of teachstudents are completely Texas to be with her sising in America was far different people after they ter who had moved here different from what she re- complete her classes.
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earlier. After immigrating to America, Denelle got a worker’s visa to live and work in America as a teacher. She started off teaching middle school students at
David Brockman was one of her students and a tutor at Congregation Agudas Achim. “I stand in awe of the respect she commands with our Congregation’s youth and their families,” said Brockman. “Denelle fulfills important responsibilities not only that others would execute less gracefully but also with a passion and deep knowledge of Judaism indispensable to the synagogue’s work.” Even though she was one of the most wellknown and well-liked teachers in the Jewish community, she began to encounter problems. With the struggling economy, Congregation Agudas Achim, the place where she works, had layoffs where they cut jobs. One of these jobs was Denelle’s. After losing her job, she was faced with a whole new set of problems. Since they sponsored her worker’s visa, she lost the sponsorship when she was laid off and now had no way to stay and America legally. “I have applied
for a path to obtaining a green card but unfortunately that isn’t going to work. It’s so complicated to explain. I’m not going to try. All I can say is that $15,000 and 9 years later I am no closer than before.” Denelle’s plan is to move to Canada to again stay with her sister. She intends to work in Canada, but she cannot apply for a job yet because if she leaves the country, she cannot come back. For people such as Lauren Frager, her influence on the Jewish youth in Austin will be sorely missed. “As my middle school teacher she instilled in me a certain confidence to always be my-
self,” said Frager another former student. Because of Ms. Silver, I entered a large public high school with a strong foundation of priorities and morals and I never waived from doing the right thing.” Many people see something they disagree with, call it out, and then forget it. Denelle Silver was not one of these people. After witnessing a tragic injustice earlier in her life, Denelle sought to fight against injustice and help prevent it in the future. Every student she taught is one more person who is willing to be strong. We all try to make a difference to the world we live in, and Denelle Silver is a perfect example of a person who has.
The South African Flag
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Bailout or Failout?
By Gabriel K
Should we be bailing out big companies or giving our money to entrepreneurs with novel ideas?
“T
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he only would buy enormous cars structuring and rebuilding constant that drove 10 miles per their company. In March is change, gallon of gas. But in those 2009, Rick Newman, a continuing days, Bob Dylan was still reporter for US weekly, change, incranking out hit songs, and wrote that GM has already evitable change that is the gas cost 36 cents per galbeen granted $13.4 billion dominant factor in society lon. For the times they are in government aid, and is today. No sensible decision a-changin, yet GM is not. pushing for as much as can be made any longer In July 2008, due to $25 billion more. I think without taking into account the economic downturn, that it is the government’s not only the world job to make sure that as it is, but the world this request is deas it will be,” science nied. fiction author Isaac Of course, Asimov once said. there will be conse Maybe we quences to allowing would be better off an American symbol learning from scilike GM to die off. ence fiction and GM employs over making an effort to 100,000 Americans look to the future. who will be directly America’s biggest affected if the comcompanies are tumpany fails. MSN bling down from an financial commentainability to adapt to tor Michael Brush an ever-changing reported that the A Hummer, one of the biggest gas guzzlers world. The timeline failing of GM could onthe market, made by GM is now almost 10 also lead to at least 1 years into the 21st century, Merrill Lynch released to million people losing their and companies such as Reuters that the idea of jobs in the companies that General Motors are stuck GM filing for bankruptcy is supply parts to GM. GM reliving their glory from the possible. To try and avoid owes huge debts to part 20th century. Yes, there bankruptcy, they requested supply companies such as was a day when people government aid for reDelphi and American Axle
& Manufacturing, and if GM declared bankruptcy, their debts could be relieved, possibly toppling these companies and all the people who work for them. The loss of these jobs could then result in over a billion dollars in lost taxes. This seems like a lot
It is also possible that a couple of years, or even months from now, GM will fail again and we will end up right where we started, minus the billions of taxpayer dollars. Though GM’s CEO, Richard Wagoner Jr., has been forced to resign, a CEO is only a small part of a company’s management. There is no reason that “The only constant this will stop the poor is change, continumanagement that led to ing change, inevitable gas guzzling SUVs, and as Michael Brush also change, that is the wrote, the spending of dominant factor in soci- $103 billion on employee pension over the last ety today.” 15 years. We can either the hit now, and - Isaac Asimov take face the consequences of the lost money and jobs, or bail them out and have to go through to lose, but sometimes, it the same situation further is time to cut your losses. down the road. Who says that the billions During the recent of dollars GM has received economic recession, the are enough to bring them American government has back on track? Car sales become too spend happy. have dropped like a rock, On February 10, 2009, the and GM has shown that Washington Post unveiled they can’t adapt to what a government bailout planconsumers want. While ning to spend almost 1.5 foreign automakers such trillion dollars to rescue as Honda and Toyota nosome of the country’s oneticed the shift in consumtime economic giants. If er’s preference from Hum- America wants to call its mers to more fuel-efficient economy free enterprise, cars, GM was left behind. then it needs to stop bail-
ing out the giants and let the market fix itself. The money saved can be spent saving the 401k’s of the people who have been or will be cut by GM. GM is paying for the bad business decisions they have made over the past years. It is not the government’s job to give them a second chance. Instead, the government should be investing in entrepreneurs with great ideas for energy efficient cars that will compete with the foreign market. Over the past 10 years, America has lost its title as the land of opportunity. As long as we keep bailing out companies, the American Dream is dead. If Michael Dell asked for a loan to start building computers today, he probably wouldn’t get. Instead of trying to revive the grandeur of once great companies, the government should be supporting what made America great in the first place: The chance for everybody to have his or her own fifteen minutes of fame. The chance to have your ideas heard. The chance to make it big. The chance, to live the American Dream.
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l w o B er
p u S e Th
By Gabriel K
The Commercials Commercials cost 3,000,000 per 30 seconds, and they still all sell. They have the best commercials of the year, no question about it. Some people who could care less about the game watch it, just for the commericals.
The Event It is the people’s time to hang out with friends, see the family, and party. Beers, chips, salsa. Millions of households are quiet for most of the night, but when the plays happen, the cheers can be heard across the street.
The Field Workers spend hours bringing the field up to par, for one game. It needs to be perfect. The grass, the paint, the stands. It is the event.
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The Fans 100,000,000 people watch the game every year. One-third of the country. It’s the game. The cameras flashing, the lights. they play it in a warm place every year, just for the fans.
The Media Hype The super bowl has two weeks just for media. Interviews, predictions, just talking about the game. They have it all. People love to talk about it alomst as much as they love to watch it
The Game It is the best game of the year. No questions asked. The best two teams play each other on the biggest stage. Not all games are close, but the memories, last forever.
The Play Not in every super bowl, but in some, there is that play that leaves the audience speechless. David Tyree’s catch on his helmet, Joe Montana to Dwight Clark, Santonio Holmes in the back of the endzone. Hero’s get remembered, but legends never die.
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This I Believe By Gabriel K I believe that the things, possessions blood drip from my falife of a person is not I shall call them, for ther’s forehead and my measured in years but our entire life is based mom groan in pain on in moments. When a on using these three the ground. I rememman lies dying on a things, and even the ber lying on the hot hospital bed he does poorest man has them. desert sand, hugging not go back and reFor the beliefs we hold a stuffed fish that was member all of the indear, the choices we my only comfort. For I dividual years of his make, and the actions was four years old, and life, but the special we perform are what after our tire had blown moments out, our of it. The car had times flipped of his onto the life that side of makes his a mainly life spedeserted cial. For road. And we are all I rememspecial in ber the our own man. A life, and man I Knowledge is made up of the things that you know to be true, by the did not and the things that you believe to be true. end of it, know and each and every person make a person’s life. will never know or recwill make a difference. I remember lying ognize. The man who I believe that in the hot desert sand in jumped out of his car to every person’s life the middle of the Arizo- help the family of four is made up of three na desert, watching the lying in pain on the side
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of the road. The man called the ambulance and had us transported to the nearest hospital. The man, the rich man, the hotel owner, who let us stay in one of his suites, free of charge, after a terrible car wreck.
hero. And when I talk about the beliefs I hold dear, honor is my top choice. For the chance to make a difference in the life of somebody else is the greatest gift of all anybody could give me.
Car accidents happen all the time. They can be dangerous and deadly as well as change the victims’ lives forever.
I truly admire a man like this. A man willing to go to such a great length to help people he did not know. For this is honor. And it will never show up in his checkbook or in an awards case, or on anything tangible, but for the rest of my life, this man will be my
And some people who know me well can understand that after what this man did for
me, it takes somebody a long to time to earn my respect. For G-d has given each one of us the gift of spending time on this world, and it is our choice on how we want to use this gift. This man could have been anybody, but at that point in his life, he was a saint. I live a life of passion, made by the very essential thing that I believe drives a person. His soul. And it is my soul, that everyday drives me to get off my bed and to make a difference, in the hope that one day, I too may get the opportunity to accomplish something great.
Ambulances drive to scenes to bring wounded victims to the hospital.
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To America!
A young girls trip of a lifetime
needed to get out. I was Recreated by Sam T fourteen. At that time in RusAs told by Dora Gross sia, Jews were not allowed to simply leave My name is Dora. My the country. It made no parents, my three sisters sense to me; the govand I lived in Kilinin, ernment wanted us out, Russia, just northwest of but kept us in. We made Moscow. Some would special arrangements and say we lived a hard life, gave away everything but I knew no other. But we owned, for a chance then, the yelling started. in America. It was a “Go die!” They would Russian soldier who say. Not just to me, but made us the bargain. At to my whole family as first I thought he was bewell. We were nothing ing kind, but then I met more than filth to them, him. He was no different just because we worfrom any of the others in shipped Yahweh as our our town, coming into god. In 1935, a day after our house, demanding our house was nearly all of our things. But burnt to the ground, we had no choice. We my parents decided we packed the few things
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we were bringing and got ready to set off. “NO!” said the soldier, in a condescending manner, “Leave the rope; it’s the thing worth the most in the godforsaken hellhole.” That rope was what we used as a makeshift leash for my fouryear-old sister Rachel, but again, we had no choice. The next day, we snuck away from the terrible place we had called home for the last time. In Moscow, the ports were crowded. We held on to Mia and Rachel, my two youngest sisters, just to be safe. We could see our boat, and then we could hear it. It was
leaving. We dashed those last 100 feet and barely made it. With the boat leaving, my family and I scrambled onboard. Rachel was nowhere to be seen, but there was no time. We had to leave her behind. One should never judge another from their beliefs or culture. I thought that went without saying, but apparently not.
Dora Gorss (second left), with her husband Albert (left), and their daughter Marsha (second right) and her new husband Norman (right).
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TOP TEN!
8 New York
Fattest Cities in America
4 Memphis
10 San Antonio 9 Las Vegas 6 Dallas
7 New Orleans
5 Chicago Windy Cit y
3 Detroit
r e g r u B 12 Inch
2 Philadelphia Fast Food Tax
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! k a e t S e s e e h C y l l Phi
1Houston Texas
Three years running, Houston has had been crowned the fattest city in America; quite the honor. Due to factors such as the region’s climate, which is hot and humid, bad air quality and a relative lack of outdoor recreation, staying active presents a Texas-style challenge. In addition, Houston has large amounts of fast food, along with the rest of Texas. There are more than 150 McDonalds in the Houston area alone.
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TOP TEN!
10 Boston
9 Lousiville- Jefferson
Fittest Cities in America
5 Milwaukee
8 Seattle 7 San Francisco
6 Colorado Springs
4 Tucson
3 Virgina Springs
2 Honolulu
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e t a m i l C e s i c r e x E Great
1
e r o m i t l a B Baltimore, Has been named the fittest city for the first time. Programs such as “Be fitBaltimore,� created by the city council helped people become more aware about physical fitness and proper nutrition. Baltimore prides itself on its superior fitness and the well-being of its citizens. Many additional factors helped Baltimore, such as the amount of public park space, access to health care, air quality, and the relatively small number of fast-food restaurants. Baltimore has become safer, more prosperous and more conducive to fitness.
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The Heart
By Changseok L.
I look at you my heart, My love, life, and want to be, My pain, death and sorrow,
The paths that we have chosen, And the journeys we will choose, The life that is ours, And the moments that are true, The prayers and pain and bloodshed, The hopes, curses, and fear, The need to keep on living, Though ravens drown beneath, Separate we are nothing, But together we are mighty, For one may fall, but two will endure, And endure we did and always will, What we hold and what we touch, What we need and what we want, How we live and how we fight, Needing to cry and use our might, I look at you my heart, And ponder what to say, For what is there that you don’t know, And would be meaningful to say, For you my lifelong treasure, And fire that is deep, The love, life, and want to be, pain death and sorrow, The fight and drive that makes me live, And the hurt and helplessness that circles in gold, The wings that will finally come and take me away, And the judger of my deeds, The rights and wrongs, that I regret, That made me love and moan,
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The life is ours and the death is ours, Because forever, we will be together
A journey and
By Changseok L
a path
Darkness falls, darker than the scariest nightmare The air, colder than you’ve ever felt before settles in around you It drives the last drops of happiness, pain, and hope away, until it is gone, Gone to a place much better, yet much worse than here The noises cease as the air becomes silent, The world goes come in closer and closer until you can’t breathe, Suffocating on the air that once kept you alive And then, it is only you, Your life is gone, your hope is gone, yet you, still remain, You begin to struggle, harder then you’ve ever struggled before, Yet it is not good enough You think of the sister, and her heart of gold, The friend, ever so loyal, yet ever so kind, And the girl, standing alone Though the task is impossible, you continue to fight, Fighting for nothing, but for everything, as well, The music starts, piercing the gray, Light grows closer, yet your eyes go dim, The shell spins and spins, like the top of child, But this one moves faster, yet slower as well It spins and spins, until it can spin no more, Blurring the distance, yet brightening the far, The movements grow slower, as the shell grows weary, It slows and slows, until it can move no more, It cracks not to fast, yet not to slow, Slowing the journey, slowing the fall, The air grows warm, and the lights grow bright, Cracking the shell, and beginning anew
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Meet the Writers Sam T. was born and raised in Goleta Valley; a quaint beachside town nestled on the coast of Southern California. Now living in Austin, he enjoys lakeside bike rides, sampling the local cuisine, and above all else, writing. Sam simply loves to write. Electronic Magazine is hands down his favorite class at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy of Austin, the magnet high school that he currently attends. When not brainstorming new ideas for his stories, Sam loves to play ultimate Frisbee and soccer with friends in the park. He feels the sports have a kind of poetic element to them, and that each pass on the soccer field reminds him of wordplay in the English language. To Sam, each soccer trick is just another flawless word to add to his ever-growing vocabulary.
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Gabriel K. was born in Houston, TX. Work changes for his dad, Tony, relocated Gabe often in his childhood, moving to San Diego at age 2, and finally settled down in Austin at age 4. He played soccer until an ACL injury to his knee at age 10 prevented him from being able to play. Sports are and always have been a big part of his life. Along with sports, Gabriel enjoys reading, watching TV and hanging out with his friends. He also enjoys spending time with his family. Gabe, his dad, his mom Kim, and his brother Aiden make a point of spending time with each other, whether it is going out for dinner, or going on a family vacation. For this reason, Gabe is really close to his family. Changseok was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. He moved to the United States in 1999 and has lived here ever since. He enjoys playing all sports especially tennis. He attends the Liberal Arts and Science Academy but dislikes it a lot due to the huge amounts of homework everyday. Even though English is not his favorite subject, he has enjoyed the class Electronic Magazine very much, because he has never had a chance to use such a wide variety of fine Adobe programs to create a masterpiece.
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