PAID
MERCER IS SCHOOL DIST 400
October 20, 2017
mihsislander.org
Finley, the therapy puppy Meet MIHS’s new emotional resource dog Features > 3
Volume VII, Edition 2
MI vs Bellevue
Baby Designer Fashion
A hotly contested sports rivalry spanning generations Spread > 6/7
MIHS Senior Grayce Millard starts off her fashion career with style A&E > 10
Live Music Lab: Sophie Feldman Joy Francke staff writer
Photo by Sophie Poole
Mohamad Imran poses in front of the Main Entrance at Mercer Island High School.
Mohamad Imran’s journey to MI Hannah Whobrey staff writer
Like many students on Mercer Island, 16-year-old Mohamad Imran is new to the city. However, unlike most Mercer Island students, Imran came to America last year as a refugee, hoping to escape the brutal ethnic genocide against Rohingya Muslims in his home country, Myanmar. Situated in Southeast Asia, Myanmar’s people are in the midst of a crisis. Previously known as Burma, Myanmar gained independence from colonial
England in 1948, and was briefly democratic, until a military coup in 1962 installed a dictatorship. Despite electing a new leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in 2010, the military still holds most of the power in Myanmar. Conflict in the country flares often due to Myanmar’s diverse population. There are many minority groups living in Myanmar, and sadly persecution is common. Today, Rohingya Muslims are widely hated throughout the country, as many Burmese people are convinced that Rohingya
Muslims are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. “The Burmese government don’t give any documents. They say that these people are not Myanmar people, these people are Bengali,� Imran, who is a Rohingya Muslim, explained. “I was born in Burma; my grandparents were born in Burma. All Rohingyas were born in Burma, originating for a hundred, hundred centuries.� Unfortunately, in 2012, the Burmese military began targeting Rohingya communities such as Imran’s.
“All the students went to school, and the Burmese military came in, and they used bombs on anything. During prayer time, all the men went to mass, and someone used a bomb. Everyone was killed there,� Imran remembered. “In June, ten religious teachers were killed by the Burmese military.� “It was a very bad situation in Burma, so many children moved to another country, because here, school was no good.� Imran escaped to Thailand, where he lived in the jungle for many months. (continued on page 2)
Sophie Feldman is the first guest on the MIHS Islander’s new segment, called the Live Music Lab, featuring student musicians. Live Music Lab will present several new artists from Mercer Island throughout the year in conjunction with KMIH the Bridge. Feldman, a senior this year, recently released her debut EP, “Distance,� and is known amongst her peers for her impressive YouTube channel, which features music videos, original songs, and covers, in addition to her multiple performances
of the national anthem at school assemblies and sporting events. Feldman grew up busking in parks, performing at school events, appearing at artist showcases, and playing at various gigs for restaurants and auctions. Her passion for music began when she started playing guitar at age six, quickly followed by piano and ukelele. “My parents said that I was really responsive to music. I guess I have been singing since I could talk,� said Feldman. Feldman draws from a diverse group of mediums, including music and literature. (continued on page 10)
Sophie Feldman performs for a video in the Live Music Lab.
Photo by Grady Short
The interview of a lifetime and its aftermath: a reflection by Teddy Fischer Teddy Fischer cartoonist
Last summer was the first time I had ever worn the same clothes for more than three days straight. I spent what seemed like an eternity camped out in my living room with last year’s Editorin-Chief Jane Gormley responding to emails that never seemed to stop. I appeared on CNN, NPR, and in the Washington Post —and all of this happened because of a prank text. Towards the end of the school year I had the opportunity to interview the current Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. Mattis’s private phone number had been leaked to
the public accidentally by the Washington Post, who used a picture of a Trump staffer in an article that happened to expose the number on a piece of paper the staffer had been handling. The Post wrote a follow up article about the number’s exposure after they confirmed that the number belonged to Mattis. Though the Post tried to erase the existence of the picture on the internet, nothing ever truly dies, not online. I found the number after someone attached a link in the comment section to an article on a smaller website that borrowed the same picture from the Post, and had not been removed. Long story short I asked
for an interview, he called back, and here we are. I formulated questions based on foreign policy, and wrote an article on education and terrorism, while Jane made nearly all of the questions that dealt with human interest, formulating a reflection article, and transcribing the interview. What came of that interview was not only many lessons that Jane and I will take with us for the rest of our lives, but three distinct, online articles, including a 6,000 word transcript of the interview that brought The MIHS Islander international attention. I never thought that the story would gain as much traction as it did, especially
because it was slow to take off. After I was approached by King 5 and a pre-taped interview was shown on air weeks after our articles had already been published online, the story was picked up by Vox. From there, almost every major publication published an article about our interview. Immediately Jane and I were met with requests for interviews. These requests came from radio talk shows, online journalists who wanted us to contribute to an article, broadcast news, and local TV stations. We spent most of our days checking mail and calling on to talk shows and calling journalists, occasionally
venturing into Seattle for studio interviews. We received emails from Buzzfeed, NPR, BBC, the Seattle Times, the Huffington Post, and Bloomberg, to name a few. Our first interview on live television was with Q13Fox. The nervousness I felt in anticipation of the broadcast was over whelming. I was well prepared because of the volume of interviews I had already done. Most reporters asked similar questions: how did you get the Secretary’s number, why did you ask for an interview, how did you make your questions, what did you learn from the experience, what’s next? (See more of Fischer’s article on page 12. The full article can be found at mihsislander.org.)
The MIHS Islander @themihsislander
For more content and expanded articles, scan the above Snapcode, visit our social media, or check out our website at www. mihsislander.org.