Senior sales:
Green club organizes sale of former belongings. Page 3
Overview:
Soccer and swimming teams finish strong. Page 7
s e o u l i n t e r nat i o na l s c h o o l
Tiger Times volume X X X XV
issue 10
M AY 2 0 1 4
First Sports Banquet celebrates departing athletes By Jean Cho and Yeena Yoon
Providing an opportunity for students to appreciate the senior athletes on all varsity teams, the Sports Banquet was held on May 20 after school in the auditorium. Students and teachers who wanted to celebrate the accomplishments of this year’s senior athletes attended the banquet, so that teams could reunite one last time. “Our seniors are not only the leading players on the field but are also great leaders for us on the benches,” said Jane Lee (10), varsity girls soccer player. “It’s hard to picture our team without them and they will be missed greatly. We wanted to thank them for building such a great team with positive energy, so we tried to express our gratitude at the sports banquet.” Weeks before the event, the Tiger Sports Council (TSC) asked members of sports teams to create video messages for their seniors. Many athletes got together in order to present a truly memorable farewell for the leaders of their teams. “After watching the video messages, the seniors told us the video was cute, which was something we were all aiming for,” said Togo Tamura (11), varsity boys volleyball player. “We wanted the video to be short, funny and memorable.” Though originally a part of the
Ferry tragedy incites diverse public reactions By Hareem Kim and Michael Kim
Photo by Kelly Kim
Laughing at the video the varsity girls soccer team members made for the departing seniors, Debora Kim (10) and Alix Kim (9) look back at their team memories. It was the last season for seven soccer players. regular year-end awards assembly, the athletics awards ceremony this year was included as a component of the Sports Banquet. Among the awards were the Manager of the Year, Unsung Hero, KAIAC Scholar Athlete and SIS Athlete of the Year. A total of five seniors and two juniors received awards on this day. “I was actually pretty surprised when they called me, because I won the Most Valuable Player award for tennis, so I didn’t think I would be considered for the award,” said
Sangwon Kim (12), recipient of the Unsung Hero award. “But it was definitely a pleasant surprise. Tennis is something I look forward to everyday; all my teammates are my family. What I really am going to remember is not the result, but the memories of practicing.” After the awards ceremony, students gathered in the reception area, where TSC members had prepared free food and a photo booth. As students enjoyed the provided sandwiches, cake and chicken wings,
they looked back at their seasons, expressing both nostalgia for the past and excitement for the future. “At first, we had doubts because the banquet was a new event for us,” said Yoon Young Kim (10), TSC member. “But we think it was really successful overall. Next year, our goal is to be a little more prepared; the videos were prepared at the last minute, and we received many of them on the day of the event. Nonetheless, we are very proud of what the banquet turned out to be.”
HSSC adjusts election, increases accessibility to students By Christine Seo
Executive members of HSSC recently decided to alter the process for the elections held at the end of each school year by providing more campaigning options and revising the qualifications for certain positions. Candidates were able to utilize campaign videos and posters. They also answered questions during the panel debate, which took place in the auditorium on May 22. The online campaigning method of uploading one-minute videos to the HSSC website, which was required for only the class council candidates, made the campaigns more accessible to the student body. Candidates were able to make themselves known and promote their ideas or future plans. According to Sean Syverson, HSSC adviser, this made the elections less dependent on popularity, and emphasized the platforms of each candidate.
ttonl.org
Photo by Hollis Hwang
Running for the position of HSSC executive vice-president, Sophia Chi (11) shares her vision of next year’s student improvement committee. “The election process was becoming more of a popularity contest, a direction that was straying too far from our vision,” Mr. Syverson said. “We get very caught up in the idea of tradition but tradition is only worthwhile if it is still meaningful. If something is not right or out of place, we should fix it. That’s why we wanted to change the election pro-
cess so that it focused on the ideas of the candidates, not their popularity.” The panel debate, which was a part of the HSSC election process last year, allows students to listen to different candidates’ responses to certain concerns and issues. “We decided to take away the one minute speech and hold only the panel debate because it is much
more time efficient,” said Scarlett Kim (12), HSSC Executive President. “The debate allows the audience to thoroughly understand which candidates qualify for the positions they are running for. The videos and posters are also effective because they will engage the student body in the debate.” In addition, the qualifications required for students running for certain positions were revised. Previously, candidates were required to have HSSC experience to apply for executive council positions. The new policy allows any student who holds a leadership position to occupy executive council spots. “Many people tend to reelect students or vote for someone based on their experience in HSSC,” said David Moon (10), junior class vice president candidate. “Thus, such candidates are at an advantage. However, the new system allows the election to become a more legitimate way to determine the best candidate.”
Public outrage and alarm following the Sewol disaster on April 16 have been at the forefront of international and domestic media coverage. Following the incident, reactions ranged from mounrnful to malicious. After the incident, hoaxers circulated text messages claiming that they were from the passengers. Such messages rekindled hopes that there were survivors trapped in air bubbles under the sunken ship, prompting excessive rescue attempts. Because of the risks associated with the rescuers as well as the psychological damage experienced by the relatives of the ferry passengers, police warned hoaxers that legal action could be taken on account of impersonation charges. “In a time of tragedy, people usually bring out the best of themselves,” said Kristy Corcoran, middle school counselor. “However, this incident actually shows that it can also bring out the worst of them. As a mom myself, I can’t imagine anything crueler than a parent receiving a fake message from their supposedly dead children who they are grieving about. I was absolutely shocked when I heard that was happening.” On the other hand, on April 22, 30 university students from all over the nation formed an organization called Autonomous, Alter, Active Life Together (ALT) to pay their respect to victims. They proposed adopting the yellow ribbon as a symbol to represent the nationwide sentiment of grief regarding the Sewol disaster. The online movement grew popular after celebrities such as Jo Kwon, a member of the K-pop group 2AM and model Hye Park joined the campaign by posting the image on their Twitter feeds. According to ALT, the yellow ribbon previously symbolized the hope that survivors could be found, and now acts as a tribute to the passengers who passed away in the tragedy. “I think the symbol is an easy way for people to connect with each other after the tragedy, and I hope it gains even more recognition,” Stephanie Cha (10) said. “Also, it lets people focus on the tragedy itself instead of looking to blame others. I think too many people are forgetting the tragedy and focusing instead on the investigation of those responsible.”