MUWCI TIMES
THE PORTRAIT ISSUE words by Maria Victoria Moreno, Benjamin Junghans, Christoph Trost, Radhika Singh, Krista Kaufmann and Jeppe Ugelvig edited by Jeppe Ugelvig
PORTRAIT: AGENTS OF CHANGE by Maria Victoria
SUBJECT: THE JOKER What is an Agent of Change? Do we need them? Agents of change, that’s an interesting subject. Well, from what I’ve seen, they’re a group of people who join to make a difference when actually they gather to make themselves think they’re making a difference, it’s quite adorable. I must say I’m stunned by their selfdetermination and by how they’re truly convinced of being these super heroes, but to be honest, I’ve had enough of those already. It’s incredible how they sit all day and discuss wonderful plans on how to save the world, a plan to solve what they think is wrong with societies. The interesting thing is that these plans aren’t all that wonderful, but for some reason people love them… and you know what I’ve noticed? Nobody panics when things go “according to plan.” Even if the plan is horrifying! But that is how it is. Needing agents of change? That’s funny. Are you an Agent of Change? Some respect, will you? I don’t want to sound arrogant, but if I may, I’d rather refer to myself as an agent of chaos. See, if what we so desperately search for is change or revolution - to make a statement; then why waste time fighting a battle that’s already lost? The way I see it: change takes actions… but real actions, you know? With straight forwarddecisions; no talking, no planning, no thinking, no asking for permission, but doing. What we need is to introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair! Let me make it easier for you to understand. If I decide to perform a magic trick and make you disappear, then I would change the norm and alter the expected. I’d be an agent of change: changing just that particular you. But if on the other hand I perform a magic trick and make everyone disappear, that would be chaos, wouldn’t it? And that would be fair; wouldn’t that make me the best magician? The delicate thing with chaos though, is that like a magic trick- you have only one chance to do it right, but if you do, you win. See, these agents of change - these civilized people, they’ll eat each other up. I’m not a monster. I’m just ahead of the curve.
PORTAIT: PLAYBOY BUNNIES RADHIKA SHARES HER OPINION ON AMERICAN SEX-SYMBOLS by Radhika
Kaushik was brilliant as a scary rabbit. Sadly, he was hardly sexy. Playboy Bunnies, on the other hand… I asked people what they thought of what Playboy Bunnies did and what they thought their personalities would be like. More often than not, people laughed, made a condescending face and only then answered. As if the mere idea of even bothering to talk about playboy bunnies was a little ridiculous. The answers I got usually ranged from heavily deprecatory (They’re all losers) to condescending (‘I get why they might do it…but I wouldn’t’). Playboy Bunnies, for those who don’t know about them, are waitresses at the Playboy Club in Las Vegas. They are often viewed as sex icons because of their perfect appearances, which is a major criterion for their being selected to be a Bunny. Part of their costume is a low-cut one piece, bunny
ears, and a bunny tail. If their appearance is not immaculate they are ‘demerited’. They are not allowed to gain or lose more than one pound. Most customers aren’t allowed to touch them; only the ‘key holders’ of the Playboy Club are allowed to have any type of sexual intercourse with them. They are often thought to share one brain cell between the whole lot of them. Some didn’t take my question seriously, saying things like ‘They have more silicon than all of Silicon Valley. They have silicon transplants in their brains because they are hollow…”. The people who did answer seriously responded in variations of these three phrases: “They’re stupid”, “They must be… outgoing?”, and “They have low self-esteem and dignity because they’re relying on only their appearance and body for money”. One person said “They degrade themselves
because they portray themselves as stupid sexual objects to cater to men”. A playboy bunny is never forced to become one. It’s a lot of hard work and even requires the ability to identify 143 brands of liquor and garnish 20 cocktail variations. Therefore we can conclude that a Playboy Bunny wants to be a Playboy Bunny. Isn’t it female empowerment if a woman does what she wants to, even if it might be sexual intercourse without love? Why should it have negative connotations? Society still views women as delicate creatures who only want to have sex for love. If they don’t, they are disgracing themselves. How stupid. Women get horny too. This comes back to how even we call a man who easily gets girls a ‘player’ but a girl who easily gets guys a ‘slut’, meaning that it’s alright for a man to have meaningless sex, but not a woman. As a person I talked to said, “If a woman chooses to be a Bunny, she can still be empowered…it’s not necessary that she is selling herself out. Playboy Bunnies can be intelligent and know that they have beautiful bodies and want to use it. A woman has a right to choose what she wants to do with her body.” And if a woman does choose to have loveless sex, why should the way they do it matter, even if it includes acting “naïve, innocent, and dumb”? I personally believe that most only act this way because they’re smart. They know what sells. They know how to make the most of what they have within the prejudices they are confined under. Society says they must be unintelligent because supposedly only dumb women would choose to degrade themselves in this way; a
dignified woman wouldn’t. The Bunnies laugh and play along, knowing we are comfortable sitting with this belief. But maybe they’re much smarter and secure than we think. They do what they want regardless of society’s views and get a lot out of it. Let me just say that an ex-playboy bunny is now one of the world’s richest women in the world, and another is the head of the New York Stock Exchange Company. We know nothing about their real personalities and only see them based on what the media (a profitmaximizing entity) tells us. The media, in turn, only tells us what they know we are comfortable with. Blindly we follow, feeding the belief that these women fall into “degrading themselves” because they are “dumb”. We are the stupid people for judging what they do and forming impressions on why they do it.
PORTAIT: … WELL … GUESS! BENJAMIN PORTRAYS ONE OF US by Benjamin
Hello, my name is Mr./Ms. X. I’m living somewhere near Paud in a really international boarding school. Before I came there I lived somewhere else for quite a while. As a child I was super talkative (worse than now) and really into fairytales. I liked fighting with my siblings, but I was not uncivilized. At least I believe so. I learned to read when I was eight, because I’m a little bit dumb and that is something really nice to know about me. If I were an animal I would be a fish, because I already know how it is to live on earth and to be a bird is not very original. That is why I’m vegetarian and don’t eat fish. I really don’t want to take the risk to eat myself. My future husband/wife should be unexpected, surprising, funny, awesome, wearing glasses (although it might look too clever), laughing all the time, adventurous, a little bit crazy (but not too much) and he needs to love art and me strongly. And I want us to have a passionate love story (leave each other and than come back, you know…) My role in MUWCI is to give kisses and tea to everyone especially to the people in the med-centre. Because I think that the med-centre is the worst place to get better, but my aura and my tea might cure people. At student meetings I look and am very angry and if I agree I’m not only shaking my hands, but my whole body. Generally I think the people here are amazing and therefore I really like to go to student meetings. They are super clever, but I don’t always understand their intellectual vocabulary. My favourite dish in the Caf is Masala Dosa, because it is the only Indian food I know the name of and because there is this guy, that makes it for me and I think that’s really cool. I feel so special. After MUWCI I’m going to fail my life, because I’m not prepared, yet. I’m quite scared. You know, it’s a big deal. But after failing my life, when I reach this comfortable state of retirement I will write short stories for children and also illustrate them by myself. So, that is all you have to know about me. Now guess who I might be… KISSES!! I tried to draw myself in order to give you some help with my identification:
PORTAIT: RANDOM FACEBOOK PERSON by Krista Let me introduce you to… Jordyn Weiss, born on 24.05.1993, from Farmington, Missouri, went to Central High School. Jordyn is a joyous, young girl who loves cheerleading (“All I have to say is that the Central Cheerleaders...are 3rd in state. Nuff said.”) since she’s been a child. Her music taste can be directly traced back to the top charts of the last 3 years (Beyonce, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Kesha, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Owl City, Akon, Jay-Z, Sean Kingston… well make it up yourself). Her passion for dance and chanting does also find expression in the kind of movies she likes to watch (such as Step up, Hair spray, Dream girls) and her very being finds particular resemblance in a TV-series about hyperactive, wide-eyed teenagers who like to hop around and scream on stage such as Glee (so get in touch with her, Lydon!). Also, Jordyn votes for the democrats and is a Christian. Here a little side note, apparently she does not have a boyfriend, so there’s still some chance left for you – unlike she knows who Pope Benedict XVI is, so you’ll probably have to return all the special-flavored rubbers back to the PSG. But that’s beside the point now because, you may believe it or not, Jordyn also likes to read (Twilight and even Pride and Prejudice - I secretly wonder whether she grasped Austen’s sense for irony considering the fact that it took our beloved A2 teacher one whole term of hard work to make us understand the subtlety of the English language). Last but not least, Jordyn has a wide range of interest (besides dancing and cheerleading) such as photography and Facebook. Interested? Hey! I’m Jordyn... I'm a ballerina, photographer, and cheerleader! I'm fun and I like to socialize! If you want to know more...just message me! ♥ J And if you want to see Jordyn, she has a proud collection of about 420 pictures of herself (which, among other things, also includes a broad documentation of her development as a baby girl to a cheerleader).
CHILDREN OF MUWCI: VINCENT by Jeppe One of the most overlooked minorities in our lovely community is the teacher’s kids. Even though they are young, go to school elsewhere and rarely raise their voices at college meeting they are still a part of, and a contributor to the atmosphere here. Despite their young age the kids are somewhat surrounded with mystery. Who belongs to whom, do they go to school, how old are they, do they talk? You accidentally bump in to them at the most pleasurable places of campus: the pool lawn, the coffee shop or some distant corner of the Caf. They stroll by in the big, fancy jeeps with private chauffeur. But who are these people? Do they have anything to say? I met up with Vincent over a cup of coffee and a piece of cake. Vincent is 10 years old, he lives in Wada 4 and his favorite dish is Pizza. He does not like the Caf food, and wished that his mother, Claudia, would cook more often. He’s a really cool guy. Jeppe: Hi Vincent. Is it true that you go to the Mercedes Benz School? Vincent: Yeah, I do. Nice… Do you like it there? Yeah. Yeah, it’s good. Did you go to a different school back home? Yes, I was in a small school till forth grade, but I didn’t like it there. The teachers were so strict, and we had like five pages of homework every day. How did you come to MUWCI? Well, my brother was here in, I think 2007, and my mother wanted to see the place. So we visited him for a week. Then one day I came from school and then she asked me if I would you like to go the college, I asked what college, she said the college where we visited your brother, and I said: “Yeah, maybe”. We left in the summer. So this is you second year here. Do you like it here? Yeah. Do you have a lot of friends? Mhhm.
(He tells me a story of a really cool friend, who lives in a suite in New Marriott Hotel (the father is the manager). Once, he went to a birthday there, and the whole place was filled with waiters, just waiting to serve them.) Who are your best friends here at MUWCI? (Without hesitation) Marius, the big one. And Nawar. They were with me last year and they always play football with me and buy me things at the coffee shop. I go to the coffee shop a lot, mostly every day. We talk about the teachers’ kids. He is good friends with Rohan, but he is eight, and Vincent is ten, and he can feel that sometimes. The rest of them are very small. What else is going on in your life? I heard you got a new iPod? Yeah, it’s really cool. I also got a new Pokémon game. Nice. You play a lot of games, right? How many consoles do you have? I have Xbox, Play Station 1, 2 and 3, Nintendo DSi, a fake PSP, a Gameboy Color, a normal Gameboy, Nintendo Wii… Wow. That’s quite a collection. Who buys you all these things? My dad. My mom would never buy me anything! Vincent, you are quite famous amongst students, especially for your jokes and your Wada Concert performances. What do you want to be when you grow old? I want to go to MUWCI, so I can be with Rohan and go to the pool and the coffee shop. Then I want to be a wrestler (he shows me the only decoration in his room, WWE, ECW, RAW and SMCDOWN, titles of various wrestling tournaments, written on the wall). And if not, I want to be a comedian. I could imagine that. You’re leaving this year, right? How do you feel about that? It’s not certain! But I don’t want to leave. I like it here. So what will you do when the day comes and you have to leave? I will stay in my room and hang on to the curtains.
PORTRAIT: ALEXANDER MCQUEEN A DISTURBING GRACE by Kevin
My dears, there are three things that mark our existence on Earth: Birth, life, and death. A mortal rhythm that shapes the Universe we are living right now. When some claim that the graces above the clouds have destined our lives as they are supposed to be, a couple others fade away in their own will. Now here I am sitting opposite to an empty chair recalling the time when someone would eventually show up in that oh-so-posh suit and open his mouth while saying “If you could bring a person back to life, who would that be?” This kind of cliché is nothing special compare to others, but to a young boy (Oh no, I am a young adult now) whose inspiration has led his idea burning like hell, there’s nothing wrong in playing the Grim Reaper for awhile. Oh forces of nature, I solemnly swear that my intention is pure of innocence in reviving the great soul that fashion kind has ever seen. I hereby present Lee Alexander McQueen (17th March 1970 – 11th February 2010). Who would have thought that the son of a taxi driver would drive around the World’s greatest fashion capitals while embracing the definition of beauty? The tale began when the 16-year-old Lee McQueen abandoned his education in favour of apprenticeship. It was not just an ordinary apprenticeship that most lads in the country would brag on, but on Savile Row, his client would include royals
such the Prince of Wales himself to communist enthusiast like Mikhael Gorbachev. His experience there gained him the art of British tailoring, which included razor sharp tailoring and became his imperial signature in the coming years. Youngsters in his generation were thrived to pride while McQueen at the age of 21 was thrived to win. After a brief commitment with Koji Tatsuno in the name of fashion, he moved his way to Milan under the supervision of Romeo Gigli. It was due to his great achievements and hard work that made McQueen to finish his master degree at the prestigious St. Martins College. In his final runaway for the degree, he showcased a collection based on his nurtured experiences thanks to the big names in the industry. The entire collection was famously bought by the international icon named Isabella Blow, who immediately became his greatest patronage and best friend. It was his first triumph of the upcoming hundreds. McQueen was notorious for translating the vision of beauty in places that mankind often neglect. His notable masterpiece would always include controversy and awe. Collections ranging from “The Highland Rape (Fall 1995)” to “The Widows of Culloden (Fall 2006)” could explain his ambitions in delivering a striking image of eeriness yet remained benign for the sartorial-savvy.
His fashion shows were always designed to impress. There was a time when industrialized robots were used to spray paints onto a white dress in the middle of the show. It created a spectrum of amazements from the known to the unknown crowd (No. 13 Spring/Summer 1999). Then there was the usage of the century’s latest technology in the hologram version of Kate Moss. It was the finale of his 2007 show depicting the last battle of Scotland against England. It was also the period when the industry boycotted Kate Moss for her drugs scandal. Whether it was a live dance floor or a human size chess game, McQueen’s creativity allowed him to present his collections uniquely with a strong message. His pride of his Scottish roots could be traced in his fashion line and public displays. When Queen Elizabeth II made him the Commander of the British Empire, his pride in this root could be seen in his head to toe highland look. In early May this year, the Metropolitan Museum of Arts celebrated his great contribution in the fashion world by exhibiting McQueen’s works throughout his entire life.
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (May 4th – July 11th 2011). This also proved that Fashion does play a major decision in shaping our contemporary art phenomenon. Andrew Bolton, curator and organizer of the exhibition, explained that the ensemble has represented McQueen’s own political identity and culture. His 19 years career in the industry has been defined as the work of Romanticism: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
The Romantic Mind Romantic Gothic and Cabinet of Curiosities Romantic Nationalism Romantic Exoticism Romantic Primitivism Romantic Naturalism
On February 11th 2010, Lee Alexander McQueen was found dead hanging on his wardrobe just a few days after the death of his mother. The departure of his most influential comrade, Isabella Blow in a committed suicide in 2007 also rumored to be the cause of his grief. The Fashion World lost one of its most celebrated inventors of the century. Dear Grim Reaper, it’s your call of duty once again.
Sources: 1. ‘Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty’ http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/about/ 2. ‘Rebel Leader’ http://www.style.com/trendsshopping/stylenotes/042511_Alexander_McQueen/ 3. ‘Alexander McQueen’ http://www.vogue.co.uk/biographies/080422-alexander-mcqueen-biography.aspx 4. ‘Alexander McQueen biography’ http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/alexander-mcqueen.html 5. ‘About Alexander McQueen’ http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/int/en/servicePages/aboutMcQueen.aspx
IS IT A MATTER OF EFFICIENCY? CHRISTOPH REFLECTS ON MUWCI TIMETABLE
by Christoph
Cafeteria. Dinner. Chatting. Once in a while it happens that you leave the cafeteria, need to hold on, breath deeply and you just think. Something has been said. Something has been heard. “You are the coolest one if you don't work and still get good grades.” was claimed. It should be possible, but I wondered how one can reach this state? After realizing that I am not able to find a reasonable answer I asked a couple of people from our community: What does productivity mean here on MUWCI? It could be fulfilling a fixed framework and get these things you decided to do done as Bridget and Yanna suggested. But “you can still feel productive if you did your work well” (Yanna) even though you could not manage to finish everything. Or maybe productivity is there if you are able to “allocate your time” (Sylvester). But on the other hand we can't always measure efficiency on ourselves. Sometimes there are certain external circumstances that determine it: “I feel productive with respect to my teaching when I have managed to convey what I wanted to convey and my students have understood what I wanted them to understand” is what Kermeen needs to feel productive in context to teaching. Surprisingly four out of four interviewees said that they are not entirely satisfied with their way of working. Everyone claimed that improvements in terms of organization and planning are necessary or at least desired. Is it this place that creates these feelings? Or rather the IB? Or is it even an attitude that is necessary for being here? How do we get more organized and concentrated? Yanna said some specific suggestions, such as getting lockers in the AQ to keep books and such things there. The usual instrument that Bridget mentioned in order to get more organized, work more efficient, that my teachers kept telling me since third grade is planning more in advance. However, it might be helpful to bear in mind that you always need to adjust yourself to external circumstances, for instance to a batch in Biology that changes every year. There is no universal recipe for everyone at every time, Kermeen said. But isn't there anything like a general scale we can refer to? Maybe we can utilize a geometrical shape: Some UWC alumni told me before coming to MUWCI that there is something like a typical UWC-triangle: sleep-study-socialize, whereas you can only focus on two of them simultaneously. Bridget, Sylvester and Yanna are convinced that one should try to achieve a state somewhere in the centre of the triangle. A way of working where your academics, your social live and your health are balanced seems logical. “But where would our Trivenis fit in?” asked Kermeen. Another triangle would be study-trivenis-socialize, if one assumes that everyone is old enough to estimate their own limits. Are we able to do that? Especially if it comes to sleep?
There must be a particular time of the day to be really productive. According to Bridget she “could work better and more efficient in the morning.” But as it turns out now it just does not seem to work if we spend less than 6 hours in library or AQ. However, when I took a couple of minutes an walked through the study areas of our campus I wondered whether we would still need to come back not earlier than curfew, if we would really make use of the time that is given. Time seems to be important when we work, irrespectively how and on what. But what about the place? Many people have their fixed spot to work. It might be in their room or in the AQ or library if one prefers a separation between work and home. Or it could be just a matter of comfort and calmness - “Wherever I feel comfortable” thinks Sylvester. Or is it a matter of the tidiness of a workspace? The English and History teacher among the interviewees appeared to be quite neat in that relation– “when I leave I try to tidy up every day” she says. One elementary part of the residential live must be the fact that we do not have any family members here. But we do have close friends and roommates. It doesn't seem to be the same as if you would need to be there for a whole family – where you simply cannot choose so easily whether you want to spend time with them or not . I actually never thought how it would be to come to Wada one, when there is a family with its own problems waiting. You can't hide or run away or take a day off from being mother. It could be kept in mind if we talk and especially demand something from our faculty members. So, is it really efficiency that matters? The statement that “A certain degree of efficiency is required, you can't spend too much time; You have to travel before moving forward ”(Bridget) seems to be self-evident. However, it cannot be the only concept we focus on. Kermeen used the term “accountability” which does not only sound better, it also includes more than just “working efficient” in order to get good grades. But what exactly that includes needs everyone to figure out for themselves. Even though we seem “to drown” in work sometimes, one fact made me looking forward and optimistic: All of the interviewees said that they would leave their work for a desperate friend or student who needs urgent help coming late at night. If we project this small group of students and faculty to the whole community we can say that we are still humans, and no IB-soldiers. Or as Yanna concluded “That's what you will remember after 5 years; this relationship, rather than a lab report.” Thanks to all interviewees: Bridget, Kermeen, Sylvester and Yanna.