Tiger Times Volume 32 Issue 7

Warm welcome to Kyle On March 6, Kyle Zhou Yi Lunardo, child of Ms. Rain Yi Zhou and Mr. Richard Lunardo, was born. He is the newest addition to the SIS community.

Seoul International School Volume XXXII, Issue 7 April 2009

Go to page 4 for more about Kyle

Mixed reactions shared by students at Lock-In

By Andrew Hwang

Students gathered once more for the annual HSSC-hosted LockIn, which stretched from April 3 into the next morning. Similar to last year’s Lock-In, participants were given free reign to watch movies in the auditorium, play video games and later, treated to performances by their peers at Tiger Palooza.

But the variety of events and activities apparently failed to attract many students. Only 176 students, roughly about half the high school population, showed up. Most were freshmen who wanted to attend for their first time.

“For some people, Lock-In is just boring,” said Justin Oh (10), a member of The Apollos, which performed the closing act at Tiger Palooza. “Seniors, juniors and even sophomores went [partying.]”

Students were also reported to have used Lock-In to deceive their parents. For instance, such students said they were going to attend LockIn but instead planned to go out

on their own. These acts prompted HSSC advisor Mr. Gray Macklin to send out an e-mail to parents, cautioning them of the deception.

“For the most part, we firmly believe in our students’ ability to make the right decisions,” the email said. “We have a responsibility to communicate with parents when the safety of their kids may be jeopardized, even if by their own decision making.”

Other issues like poor heating and the relative lack of freedom to roam about the campus were a common complaint that resulted in a low turn-out. The boundaries of the school were limited to the basement, auditorium and first floor.

“In the beginning, [the event] was pretty exciting and fun,” said Derek Jung (9). “But later on it got kind of boring. I couldn’t stand being ‘locked in.’”

But the Student Council also took pains to improve this year’s event over the last, converting the gym into a dedicated sleeping area after 2 AM and providing tasty hodduk and dukbooki in the parking lot area. The Student Council hired food vendors earlier in preparation of the Lock-In. They arrived with a truckload of Korean food for students at the end of Tiger Palooza.

The Student Council paid Ho Lee Chow to provide students with a

What do you want to learn?

As the scheduling season swings around again, the Tiger Times asked 50 students what classes they would like to see offered in future school years. Considering SIS already covers a wide range of science and math classes, options from AP Art History to Latin were hypothetically offered to polltakers, who also suggested classes such as woodshop, Japanese, German and AP Physical Education.

Andrew is making the chart for Stephanie’s article!

Survey by Stephanie Char Graphic by Andrew Lim

Inside This

Issue

filling dinner before Tiger Palooza.

This was an improvement from the previous Lock-In, at which Domino’s pizza was served for dinner.

Student reactions were also more positive for the Palooza compared to the rest of Lock-In. Performers included past favorites with groups like Phunktion and The Apollos, along with surprising newcomer performers Sarthek Jena (12), who performed a stand-up comedy routine, and musical group The Cliché, comprised entirely of sophomore girls.

“We were happy that we accomplished our first performance successfully,” said Cliché bassist Leslie Chung (10). “As for me, I’m just glad we did it. The whole band concept was pretty new to us.”

She went on to give thanks to the other Palooza performers for helping the band before and during the event.

“We couldn’t have pulled it off without them,” she said.

Although many SISers chose not to come to this year’s Lock-In, those who did contributed to creating a spirited and lively event.

“This is probably the smallest audience we’ve ever had,” said Jong Seok Kim (12), making the closing remarks at the Palooza. “But it’s also the most spirited one.”

Photos by Jennifer Sun

WASC sends back report on school Anticipation: Administration awaited official accreditation from WASC headquarters for upcoming school years.

By Elizabeth Song

After a nervous wait, Mr. Paul Gowans, Deputy Headmaster arrived at his office the Sunday after spring break to find the school evaluation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) waiting for him.

According to Mr. Gowans, the assessment clearly laid out the strengths and areas in need of improvements in the school curriculum. Thus, what the administration now needs to do is to form a lucid action plan that lays out what the school is going to do in order to fix the weaknesses that the WASC members laid out.

This report, on which the administration is currently working, is

due May 1 and will be presented to year accreditation. the entire staff and possibly even the Students were also generally parents after it is finished. supportive of school’s effort to reThe members of WASC that ceive accreditation, but were not reviewed the school also sent the very positive about some aspects of evaluation to the WASC office in the that effort.

United States, where their officials “Of course I want our school will determine whether SIS will be to be accredited,” said Patricia Kim accredited for one, three or six more (11). “But honestly, I felt that our years. school was kind of artificial when If the school is the WASC memaccredited for one Mr. Gowans stated bers came. And I more year, it signidoubt our school fies that the school that he was quite con- will change very is on probation and fident SIS would get much.” needs to make mastuat least a three year dentsOther were jor improvements. A three-year accredita- accreditation. pleased that the tion shows that the school was makschool does not have a curriculum ing such an effort but desired an inthat is particularly weak, but needs creased amount of communication to make improvements neverthe- between the administration and the less. A six-year accreditation means students. that the school is on the right path “Well I’m glad that the school and qualifies to be fully accredited. and WASC are working together,” When the school was last eval- said Peter Hong (11). “But I think uated in 2003, it received the full six students are unhappy with the fact year accreditation; thus, Mr. Gow- that [the administration] doesn’t disans stated that he was quite confi- cuss what is going on with the whole dent SIS would get at least a three student body.”

“

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Unsatisfactory: Lock-In was beset by low student turn-out despite the best efforts of student council.

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FOCUS_6

SPORTS_10

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A letter from Raymond Ha (11) on math and calculators.

Dance Club moves to a new beat.

Taboos and unspoken cultural norms infiltrate what we say and do.

Doodling drawbacks are demolished.

The Tiger Times unveils teachers’ sports histories.

True love secrets revealed with Disney.

Page 2 April 2009

VIEWPOINT What you thought

Editorial: What we think

Response to Versus article on calculator from February issue Technology provides convenience, but what matters is what shape and form this convenience takes. If calculators are used to assist critical calculations that would otherwise be delayed or plagued by human errors, then it benefits us. We are able to save time and end up with a precise answer. It does not hamper our intellectual creativity; it allows us to explore more avenues of thought in a shorter space of time. If, however, a calculator is used as a substitute for understanding, we learn nothing more than which buttons to press in a certain sequence. Math and Science become tedious, mechanical exercises in how to read arrangements of pixels on an LCD screen.

This is, in my opinion, precisely why some students find such subjects to be dull. Students are much more apt to be receptive to learning if they are given an explanation of why certain things are they way they are. This does not mean that we need to ex-

plain the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic to elementary students to explain that 1+1=2. It merely means that we need to explain that one apple and another equals two apples. This also applies to some of the more advanced concepts studied at our school. Such basic conceptual understanding opens the door for further intellectual curiosity, but the calculator offers a lucrative substitute for students.

While textbooks in advanced courses do heavily incorporate the calculator, its use assumes that the student is using it to enhance his or her understanding, not replace it.

We are bound to have mathematical geniuses regardless of whether or not we have calculators.

What really matters is whether we are going to have inquisitive, curious students who have a solid foundation from which to delve in to the complex concepts introduced in college, or students who are merely proficient at pushing plastic buttons. Those who invented the calculator did not have a calculator to help them make it. from Raymond Ha

On pronouncing Sarthak Who knew that the simplest of things are the most complicated?

Have you ever experienced the false being true, the real being unreal, or the extraordinary being ordinary?

I’m not who you think I am; what you thought true is false, the unreal is real, and the ordinary is extraordinary.

I am Sarthak Jena.

No! I’m not Sarthak (pronounced sar-tack). I am Sarthak (pronounced sar-thuck; the “th” should be pronounced like the “th” in Luther” and “a” is pronounced like “u” in the word “luck”).

Why has the proper pronunciation of my name been sealed up, away from the knowledge of all those who know me? What is it that had made the handsome and brave Sarthak turn into a coward who hasn’t had the courage to correct has proliferated and acknowledged the improper pronunciation of his name, his identity? For how long? For the last 7 seven years.

Indians, traditionally, think not in the 24 hour cycle, but in “Cosmic Time”. Indians are not brought up to master and adhere to the Greenwich Mean Time or the Indian Standard Time, but this Cosmic Time—which is pure and sacred. No wonder Indians have patience enough to have eyes glued to a cricket match; a match

that can last for 5 days, 8 hours a day. Not only do Indians watch these matches, they enjoy them!

There is a clear rejection of the fast and furious lifestyle of the average worker, or the “Bali! Bali!” attitude indelibly etched into the minds of Koreans. Whereas a normal person would take seven seconds to correct his pronunciation when greeting another, Sarthak took seven years to figure out that he needs to correct others’ pronunciation of his name. Now that’s Cosmic Time in full practice.

Also, it is well documented that Indians amuse themselves in their leisure in a unique manner— their favorite pastime being the sharing of tongue twisters. It isn’t rocket science, then, to figure out that the pastime of tongue twisting would be applied to the names of their children; from “Vaijhantimala” to “Chandrakishore Gopalnanda”, the complexity of Indian names is endless. This must mean one thing—“Sarthak” too was derived from the fondness of tongue twisters, to challenge those who came across the easily conquerable seven-letter hurdle.

The truth has now been unearthed; the deep dark secret life of Sarthak Jena has finally been revealed; the international Indian man of mystery has solved a truly mysterious case. from Sarthak Jena

This month’s editorial

Only a few weeks of school remain for seniors. Graduation is approaching, and the much longed-for summer vacation is not far ahead.

However, there is something else, something much bigger: college.

Let’s rewind for a moment to November. Even while submitting applications, the reality of going to college doesn’t hit. The application process is more like a business plan; we categorize colleges into reach, target and safety schools, gather our stats, craft our essays and tweak our résumés to please or make an impression on admissions officers.

Although some of us have dream schools and careers, to be honest, most of us have absolutely no idea as to what we specifically want for ourselves in the future. For so long college had been like a mirage—it seems so close and so real yet cannot be reached—we don’t really stop to think about being alone, outside of the insulated and safe routine of high school and home.

Now fast forward back to April.

College results are out; the seniors

Given: Exorbitant costs for student trips prevent many from going.

By Seungho Yang

What do SIS students need to experience educational opportunities abroad from extracurricular activities? The list obviously includes diligence, dedication, effort and talent but most importantly, money.

As students strive to compete with other elite students outside of school, they leave Korea to participate in various international conferences or competitions. Such activities include international Model United Nations (MUN) conferences, field trips and sports competitions such as the Asia Pacific Invitational for cross-country teams and Far East Tennis Tournament for tennis teams.

Students who are given the opportunities to attend are chosen through a very selective process based on their talents and efforts; however, students must jump over another hurdle before they could actually go: Paying the bill.

The costs for these trips easily exceed one million won. The Hague International MUN (THIMUN), for example, cost over two million won for a week of conference and hotel stay. The burdensome price tag can put a big financial strain on students and their families, especially in times of economic depression. The fact that students’ families can afford to

Managing Editor Janice Yoon Songpa P.O. Box 47 Seoul, South Korea 138-600

Production Editor Gina Han Graphics Editor Jennifer Sun

of its many opportunities. It doesn’t matter if your school is ranked first or hundredth; what ultimately matters is how and whether you took a step closer to your life goal.

To a high school kid, going to college is such a big deal—so much that we kill ourselves with our commitments. We deem high school to be only pertinent to college. On the contrary, high school is not just something that comes before college; rather, it is a part of the greater scheme of life. Getting involved in high school is great, but the activities should be relevant to your real interests. If you’re going to wear yourself down, you might as well have fun while you’re at it.

It will help you prepare for a career path and show on your application, and admissions officers will know you’re genuine. They’re supposed to; they are paid to know.

It would be irresponsible to say that getting into college isn’t everything. But it is foolish to say that college is everything. After all, it isn’t the end; like we’ve heard so many times, it is only the beginning.

SIS should sponsor student trips

Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Choi

Seoul International School

have a choice to make. Where do I want to go? What do I want to major in? How do I want to spend my college years? What kinds of friends and connections do I want to make?

But these questions all boil down to: What do I want to do with my life?

Here’s a secret, though. The college of your choice does not make or break your life. It is how you go there and how you get out that make all the difference. This often seems hard to believe—especially for the underclassmen—but it’s true.

It is perfectly understandable that you want your mother to be able to boast to her friends that her child went to this or that high profile college. But don’t let others’ expectations dictate which college you finally attend. It’s much better to brush and shine their ruffled feathers once you’ve been successful later than to hit the ceiling early on.

You can go to your dream, reach school and waste four years, stumble into grad school just to buy some time and even then lack a specific goal. The school didn’t do anything; you simply failed to take advantage

Copy Editors Stephanie Char Kristin Kim Reporters Mellanie Ahn Michael Chung Yuri Han Andrew Hwang Eunice Kwon Elizabeth Song

Photo by Jennifer Sun

Spending four days in Beijing, China, BEIMUN delegates and BEIWATCH staff paid over one million won for the trip. pay for the tuition does not necessarily mean they have extra money to spare. Just this year, many athletes and MUNers therefore dropped out of the programs because they could not cover the expenses.

Take the Varsity Girls Soccer Team, which has been holding fundraisers because almost half of the members on the team cannot make it to the upcoming soccer tournament in Osaka, Japan. Although SIS does cover 25 percent of the cost of school trips, it is apparent that it is simply not enough for many students and their families. Consequently, these students have to miss educational and competitive opportunities unattainable domestically in Korea.

This is not the case for students attending many private schools around the world. Phillip’s Exeter Academy in New Hampshire has tuition costs similar to that of SIS,

Layout Artists Vickie Ahn Paul Cho Andrew Lim Elli Shim Seungho Yang Michelle Yi Photographers Yoonie Kim Alex Kim Jennifer Park

but it covers the full cost of schoolsponsored trips. Likewise, SIS students who represent the school with their excellence and achievements under an international spotlight should be rewarded by having their fees covered by the school at the very least. The current 25 percent coverage simply does not suffice.

Although covering the entire cost may not be very realistic, SIS should pay more for school-sanctioned trips because students put in hours of work, effort and sweat to represent SIS in a positive light, and money should not prevent students from taking part in learning experiences exclusive to those in high school.

For now, SIS can take a first step in the right direction by sponsoring KAIAC trips as they are not as expensive and burdensome to school as the international trips are.

The Tiger Times exercises the right to report on and editorialize all topics, events or issues, including those unpopular or controversial, insofar as they affect or interest the school, community, nation and world. We refrain from publishing material that advertises illegal products or services, is obscene, libelous or invades privacy. We refrain from publishing material that creates a clear and present danger of the immediate materials and substantial physical disruption of the school.

Advisor Ms. Carolyn Brown

April 2009 Page 3

VIEWPOINT

Students should be able to wear hats at school Korean government unable

to pinpoint the problem

Unnecessary: Hats are not an issue at SIS.

Despondent: US mortgage crisis has turned Koreans into powerless consumers hanging by the thread.

By Andrew Lim

Most schools have dress codes in order to keep students safe and focused on academics. Schools prohibit students from wearing overly tight or revealing clothes with profane slogans or sexually explicit content. SIS is not an exception.

The SIS Handbook states that “clothing with profane slogans and pictures, more than one set of earrings and hats are not permitted during the school day.” Unfortunately, there are several shortcomings to this policy.

Schools ban wearing hats at school because they can be construed as a gang symbol, used in cheating and distracting in class.

However, these reasons do not apply to students at SIS. First of all, gang regulation never was and probably never will be a topmost priority at SIS. Because of the school’s relatively homogenous and conservative environment, worries regarding gang violence are mostly unfounded. The chance that students will interact with gangs is extremely low.

Second, it must be understood that banning hats will not prevent students from cheating. If a student is determined to cheat, he or she will find a way to cheat somehow.

Instead of a hat, a student can use a hand, pocket, pencil case or even the desk to cheat. Visors on hats do have the potential to conceal study notes, but so does practically everything else people use. Pencil cases can hide almost anything, and even basic clothing can cover cheat notes

By Alex Kim

written on a student’s skin.

Third, while hats are deemed distracting and may obstruct the view of other students, this is purely subjective. Large hair accessories could also be considered a distraction or an obstruction to other students’ view of the board. Let’s also consider laptops, which are intended to be useful tools for students who prefer typing over writing. Because wireless internet is available at all times, laptops can cause students to stray off to online entertainment, arguably even more distracting than a hat in the classroom.

Lastly, students also have the right to freedom of expression. Hats are merely an accessory that can show a student’s character and contribute to his or her individuality. In addition, hats can potentially help

students focus better during class by stopping them from having to worry about how they look at that moment. For example, a hat can be used to cover a bad haircut, or bed hair which some students consider extremely embarrassing.

Indeed, actions like monitoring inappropriate clothing and electronic devices in classrooms are needed by the school to create a healthy, organized school environment.

However, if, as the status quo hats are banned, then virtually anything else that could have the slightest chance of being troublesome should be banned as well. Hats should be allowed, and the energy used to enforce the hat policy should be used to prevent students from acting in ways that are really disruptive to the class environment.

The problem is that the Korean government is utterly incapable of solving the nation’s economic crisis.

Despite its massive “stimulus bill” passed to create 550 thousand temporary jobs for the unemployed, it is not a satisfactory replacement for those jobs that are lost.

The KOSPI value has continued to plummet, and what was hitting near 2000 points a year ago is now struggling to keep its head above the 1200 line. The unemployment rate is at a staggering 3.3 percent, with more than a 140,000 job losses in the month of February. The South Korean economy is at its worst in more than forty years, with exports in cars and other consumer goods dropping by more than 18 percent.

The nation’s industrial output has dropped by 16.6 percent this past month, College graduates are having an especially difficult time competing for employment.

The unemployed population is now totaling a million, but the government’s plan is to cushion the economy by employing youths, who represent only a small fraction of the unemployed. It is grossly inadequate in a time of need, in the sense that the majority of the people who are now actively seeking jobs, including people in their

middle age, are simply not being addressed in the plan.

The Korean media is steadfastedly supporting the government’s scheme to pull the nation of its recession, and this pro-government propaganda is bluntly ignoring the problems that need to be addressed.

If the newspapers and the television broadcasts can take their eyes off the government for a moment and focus more on advertising fresh job opportunities, then the Blue House might have less to deal with.

The won is quickly losing value against the standard of the dollar and the yen, and many Japanese entrepreneurs are flocking over to the Korean peninsula buying up buildings, businesses, and goods. Department stores are busy greeting Japanese customers, and there are even talks about the Japanese purchasing the Jeju Islands. If the value of the won continues to drop, it means that Korean consumers are going to have to suffer through an inflation while foreigners enjoy their holidays shopping in Korea.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration on the other side of the globe is not looking too promising either. Less than two months after moving into the White House, Obama and his cabinet members have been trying in Congress to fix the economy with a monstrous bailout package, grappling with two wars, reversing old school Bush-era policies, and introducing sweeping education reform. What Obama really should be doing is focusing on bringing the world economy back to its feet before it plunges into a depression.

VERSUS: Should independent AP studies be allowed and recognized by the school?

Fairness: Recognizing independent AP studies allows students to make up for shortcomings entirely out of their control.

It should go without saying that entering the college of one’s choice is an extremely rigorous and unpredictable process, requiring four years of toil with much sweat and shed tears. It should be a given that students, teachers and school administrators alike recognize the clear and very real risk that SISers face of being undercut at gaining acceptance in their dream schools. But SIS’ policy of refusing to recognize independent studies and test-taking of Advanced Placements (AP) students partake outside of school has shown that it is not fully aware of student needs.

The Tiger Times surveyed students on what classes they would like to see offered at the school. Out of 50 students, 22 stated they wanted to take AP Microeconomics, while AP Macroeconomics and AP US Government and Politics each received 21 votes.

Other courses like Art History and Music Theory also attracted interest. Understandably, SIS is currently unable to provide such courses, namely from the relative small number of students which makes it financially infeasible to hire all the teachers needed.

But while students here are struggling to take certain subjects on their own, students living in the US have the opportunity to enroll in accredited AP courses in the plethora of local community colleges should their high schools be unable to provide them. It is clear that SISers wishing to pursue careers in

Ineffective: Independent AP studies harm students’ ability to show full individual potential.

fields like economics are at a distinct disadIt is no longer possible to take thirteen vantage—not only or more AP courses at SIS. Some are they deprived students have complained about of the classes most these restrictions, but such conrelevant to their straints are beneficial for students

By Andrew Hwang interests at school, in actuality. they also have little access to the recognized Students take AP classes to demonstrate venues of independent study that many stuthat they are prepared to take college level dents in the US have. Most SIScourses. While selfers are thus forced into private studying is a major institutions like hagwons that SIS aspect of college would refuse to give its stamp courses, AP courses

By Elizabeth Song of approval, meaning students’ are designed to let college transcripts would be under-par comstudents get a feel of what classes will be like pared to their competitors, especially those in college. These courses were conceived so from the US. It does not take much to predict that students could get a sense of how colhow a student’s application would be viewed lege lectures would be run, how projects, by colleges when no “official” study courses such as labs, would be done and how they of his or her proclaimed specialty have been would solve problems with teacher guidtaken. ance. Thus, studying out of an AP MacroThere is also a clear moral imperative to economics Barron’s review book is not the recognize these studies as well. The students equivalent of taking the course: students are enrolling for AP courses out of SIS are donot able to get a proper idea of what the coling so because the school itself was unable lege class would have been like for their AP to provide the classes needed to increase the curriculum. Learning would be test-oriented chances of getting into and succeeding in rather than class-oriented. their college of choice. If students can invest In addition, as the school administration time and money into taking such courses the states, independent AP studies would distract school, then it is only fair that SIS reward students from their already busy school life their efforts by approving their studies and and prevent them from being able to do their allowing them to come to equal terms with best on their school work. Many students students from other schools. who “independently” study for AP exams

YES

NO

will actually depend on hagwons, or other test preparation institutions, to prepare.

The time used to prepare for these extra AP courses could in fact be used more productively, such as by focusing more on extracurricular activities. Through such programs, students can explore new and unique projects to enrich their experiences, add to their education and develop their individuality and interests.

These extracurricular activities display that students are grasping all the opportunities that are offered within the school to enhance their abilities. It is necessary to show dedication to these activities because it demonstrates that students are involved in them because they are genuinely interested, rather than for the sake of their resume. Therefore, even from a practical perspective, devoting more time into extra-curricular activities is more useful to place on résumés to colleges than more AP courses.

Furthermore, in the uptight and competitive environment in today’s high schools, it is quite possible that without any restrictions, students and parents would go on an AP frenzy and over-commit students to more AP courses than they need or can handle.

Thus, the school has valid reasons for not allowing and recognizing self-studied APs, for doing so would completely defeat the goals of APs.

Page 4 April 2009

News

Say hello to Kyle Zhou Yi Lunardo Upcoming seniors express

interest in Computer Science

By Jennifer Park

To Mr. Richard Lunardo and Ms. Rain Yi Zhou, March 6 was the happiest day of their lives: at 6:06 p.m., Ms. Zhou gave birth to a healthy baby of 2.9 kg, Kyle Zhouyi (Joey) Lunardo. Kyle’s name was taken into special consideration, for Mr. Lunardo and Ms. Zhou wanted to incorporate both of their last names and their Italian, Canadian and Chinese nationalities into his name. At last, they came up with the middle name, “Zhouyi,” which represents Ms. Zhou’s family name and resembles the nickname for the Italian name “Joseph.”

With every moment of their lives focused on Kyle, Mr. Lunardo and Ms. Zhou are currently “doing the right things to assist his motor and cognitive development as an infant and then early childhood,” said Mr. Lunardo. In order to achieve this goal, they have spent much of

Recovery: Administration hopes this new course will regain popularity it had in 2000.

By Michelle Yi

Photo courtesy of Mr. Richard Lunardo

Mr. Richard Lunardo, PE teacher, embraces his first child, Kyle Zhouyi Lunardo, at the hospital where he was born. their time researching and asking the most recent parents of the SIS staff for advice.

As they want Kyle to learn both English and Chinese, the Lunardo family is moving to Shang-

hai, where Kyle would be exposed to the Chinese culture. Then after a few years, the family plans to go to Canada, where Kyle will learn English as his first language.

mational poster on heaters.

“We are simply trying to increase student awareness,” said Mrs. Hasiuk. “The ‘no meat day’ was created just to show the students how much energy is consumed in the production of beef. [The process of producing beef consumes a lot of energy because we have to feed, shelter, and slaughter the cows.]”

The members of the Green Club were proud of the success of its latest project that attempted to decrease energy on heating.

“We first looked up facts to post on the daily bulletin and put up posters around school,” said Christy Kim (10), Green Club member. “I thought the project was effective and the students did not seem to complain a whole lot about turning

off the heat.”

On the contrary, however, some students expressed their discomfort when the heat was turned off.

“I knew that there was a ‘no heat day’ but many of the students were unaware of Green Club’s project,” said Jenny Han (10). “The students complained because we were really cold in some of the classes and it was really inconvenient.”

Nonetheless, the Green Club has recently been making more active contributions to the school.

Lately the club has succeeded in persuading Dr. Hyungshik Kim, the headmaster, to purchase recycling containers to place around school.

The Green Club hopes to promote the habit of recycling amongst the student body.

Green Club campaigns to save the environment Awareness: Green Club creates energy source conserving days to help students save the environment.

By Mellanie Ahn

The Green Club, created last fall, has spent a lot of its effort trying to conserve the environment.

The club’s current major plan is to discourage the school from using one particular source of energy on the seventeenth of every month.

The club began its project this March, by conserving heat. The club promoted this by turning off all the heaters in school and hanging infor-

Starting next year, Computersavvy students will have the opportunity to take a college-level programming course. Thirty-two students from all grade levels recently signed up to take Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science, which will be taught by the current Graphic and Web Design teacher Mr. Robert Havens.

Mr. Havens petitioned the administration to enable him to create AP Computer Science class, which would contain a minimum of fifteen students. He believed that a small class would enable him to focus on every student’s questions and concerns in time for the AP test in May, since his main priority is to get students as best prepared for the test as possible.

AP Computer Science was a part of the computer department’s curriculum back in 2000 and 2001.

The reason for its removal was that the teacher who had been instructing the class left the following school year, and a replacement teacher could not be found. Mr. Havens has already had experience teaching various programming classes in Singapore at his previous school.

Students will be chosen for the class on a first come, first serve basis. Those who asked for Mr. Havens’ recommendation earlier will have a higher chance of taking the class. Currently, there have been many positive responses, especially

amongst rising seniors. Naturally, these students were the first fifteen in Mr. Havens’ list of recommendations.

“Computers are used for every kind of work [nowadays],” said Robin Kim (11). “So I think this AP class will be useful for the future.”

Graphic and Web Design classes will continue to be offered. On the other hand, AP Computer Science will focus on programming, in contrast to the focus on artistic components prevalent in the Graphic and Web Design classes.

Ever since the removal of AP Computer Science back in 2000 and 2001, the administration hoped to bring back programming into the Computer Department. With the arrival of Mr. Aaron Knochel, the previous Graphic and Web Design teacher, the Computer Department took a turn with more importance put on art, using programs like Photoshop and Illustrator. Now with a qualified teacher to instruct AP Computer Science, the administration decided to reinstate the class into the curriculum. According to the CollegeBoard AP Computer Science Description guide, the class “is built [largely] around the development of computer programs or parts of programs that correctly solve a given problem.”

“AP Computer Science will [consist] mostly of lectures, reading from various textbooks and taking tests repeatedly,” said Mr. Havens.

“The rest of the time will be in the [computer] lab, a chance for the students to use programs like Java and apply what they have learned from their readings. To be successful in this class depends on the attitude of students. It is [a] matter of choice.”

Spirit Week: Take Two

Dressed from head to toe in monochrome maroon, Karen Kim (12) and Eunice Kwon (12) flaunted their school spirit.

With a yellow t-shirt, a plush cushion, and canary slippers, Tiffany Kim (11) dressed up as her favorite TV character, Spongebob Squarepants.

With a vest over her polo shirt, Michelle Ryu (11) dressed up as Mr. Macklin, striking a signature Mr. Macklin pose.

The history teacher, on the other hand, came to school wearing a hoodie, cap, and a pair of jeans, dressed up as Phillip Shin (12).

Both dressed in greens and jeans, Pearl Kim (11) and Alex Kim (11) displayed their friend-twin-ship.

Dressed in a red freshmen class t-shirt, Danbi Kim (9) struggled to win the individual tug-of-war competition against the juniors.

April 2009 Page 5

News

Math Club enhances student interest Impressive: Despite the lack of participation in the first few events, students and teachers complimented the week’s finale.

By Vickie Ahn

Throughout Math Week on the week of March 16, all high school students were able to participate in math activities ranging from a lecture on calculators to a math treasure hunt and even brainteaser jeopardy. The last event was an assembly regarding Pi Day, which received mostly positive feedback, and allowed the week to end on a successful note.

A lecture on calculators, hosted

by Mr. David Shellabarger, kicked off Math Week. At this event, students were given the opportunity to learn different tricks and tips about using and programming on the TI83, TI-84 and TI-89. Unfortunately though, attendance at this event was low.

“Only about four students actually attended the lecture,” said Mr. David Shellabarger. “It was a bit disappointing, but I think we had a great time nonetheless. I was able

Photo by Alex Kim

Holding up a white board with the answer, Peter Hong (11), Jae Lee (11) and other juniors collaborated to solve math jeopardy questions at the assembly given on Pi Day. to teach them how to program the TI-84 and TI-89, and how to use the Heron’s Theorem to find the area of a triangle.”

Student turnout remained similarly low for Tuesday’s and Thursday’s events. Due to a schedule conflict with the drama production running at the same time, only 15

2009 HSSC Task Auction Task

Sold For (Won)

Sold To

Mr. Macklin’s Student Exchange

250,000

Nick Hong (11)

Mr. Corcoran’s Surprise

250,000

Elsa Lee (10)

Dinner at Ms. Choi’s House

200,000

Jeehwan Yoon (9)

Eddie’s Tutoring (Chemistry, Math, Physics)

200,000

Andrew Lee (11)

Karen’s U.S. History Set

120,000

James Han (9)

A Personalized Mug

by Jenny Son

120,000

Younghwan Sim (9)

Executive Council Helper Set

110,000

Jongseok Kim (12)

Mr. Rider’s Chocloate Mousse

100,000

Christine Shim (10)

A Date with the Flower Boys: Brian Kim, Sean Kim, Philip Shin, and Michael Jung

100,000

Ryan Jeon (9)

Mr. Haven’s Cookies

100,000

Hannah Kim (11)

SAT I Packet: Raymond Ha, Janice Yoon, and Stephanie Char

58,000

Jason Huh (9)

Two Hours of Counseling from Mr. Schneider

50,000

Nick Hong (11)

Ms. Krueger’s Mexican/Thai Food

50,000

Adam Kim (12)

Ms. Dzinic’s Portrait of You

45,000

Sanghyeon Lee (11)

Mr. Shellabarger’s Recommendation

40,000

Paul Cho (11)

Mr. Rider’s Mamma Mia Front Row Seats and Cast Party Invitation

40,000

John Eom (12)

Freshmen Helper Set: Stephanie Song and Brenda Myung

40,000

David Lim (9)

Prom Table Pick

21,000

Kevin Son (11)

students participated in Ms. Sue Choi’s Brainteaser Challenge, while 10 students participated in Mr. Christopher Moore’s Math Treasure Hunt.

“Attendance in Math Week events was greatly impacted because different events occurred this week,” said Ms. Sue Choi. “It is

discouraging that so [few] students participated when we prepared for two months in advance. Math Week should be supported not only by students, but by other staff members as well.”

Fortunately, Pi Day, the last event of the week, was extremely successful. At this assembly, stu-

dents were involved in Math Jeopardy, which asked math related questions in nature, history and even movies. In addition, students observed a demonstration of how to solve a Rubik’s cube by Mu Alpha Theta (MAT) members, watched a math related Drama production and partook in a Choco Pie eating contest.

The fact that the attendance for this event was mandatory did not diminish the students’ and teachers’ enjoyment.

“I was dreading being in an assembly about math for two hours,” said Tricia Roh (10)). “But the event was really fun overall. The skit was amusing and it did not even seem like we were doing math.”

Though overall participation may have been low, Math Week was a success in terms of fulfilling its purpose. According to Mr. Michael Castellani, Head of the Math Department, the purpose of hosting Math Week is to help students enjoy math.

“When most students and people think about math they either sigh out of frustration or exasperation,” said Mr. Castellani. “In creating Math Week, we wanted students to gain another perspective and see that math can actually be entertaining.”

Three SIS students reap what they sow Motivated: As if to shrug off the economic downturn, students are working hard for pay.

By Kristin Kim

By Yuri Han

SIS has long been home to the sons, granddaughters and cousins of the richest families in Korea.

But now, some students are making time to work and earn their own money.

Recently featured in the Joongang Daily, Andrew Lim (11) is making his name known as a young entrepreneur. When he moved to Chongqing, China in 7th grade, Andrew met a business partner who helped him set up an online store of his own on Auction.com, the Korean eBay. Though the store is currently closed because of his busy junior year schedule, Andrew made a total of over 48,000,000 won over the course of four years by selling a variety of electronic-related products ranging from memory sticks to PSP LCD Screen protectors.

“When the very first transaction was made into my bank account, I felt an overwhelming surge of pride,” said Andrew.

While the title of a CEO sounds prestigious, Andrew had his share of hardships. Some of his products, including headphones and soccer uniforms, had to be recalled because they were unpopular.

“It gets sort of boring,” Andrew said about his work. “But I’ve already invested some of the money I made into Chinese stocks. I plan on continuing the business once I graduate.”

Photo courtesy of Andrew Lim

Working late into the night, Andrew Lim (11) checks his auction account and verfies his current financial balance.

Eddie Ha (12) also shared his insights about working as a tutor for pay.

“People ask me so much about making money, but honestly the number one reason why I tutor is because I just love tutoring,” said Eddie. “Money comes second.”

Eddie added that he was happy he could make money doing something he truly enjoyed. He has tutored only about three people on a regular basis, but by giving periodic lessons to those who approached him for help, he has made a total of about 1,000,000 won.

“But please [note] that I do not receive allowance, so most of the money goes to transportation and lunch,” said Eddie. “I do not want people asking me to buy too many things for them!”

Michael Park (12) worked for a

couple of months at Coffee Bean for a dramatically different experience, but soon quit.

“I was able become friends with a lot of older people and learn how thankful I should be while working for minimum pay,” said Michael.

“But it got boring.”

Michael made barely enough money to buy the new laptop he had wanted, let alone afford basic necessities such as lunch.

While Andrew, Eddie and Michael all worked for a variety of purposes and chose to use their money in different ways, their attempts to make money have been lauded.

“I think it’s really respectable and responsible that they are trying to support themselves with their own money,” said Eunice Lee (9). “They have inspired me to do the same in the future.”

Deep-rooted: Taboos develop in every culture.

Laws and parental restrictions are not the only things that prohibit students from behaving in a certain manner. As if instilled in their minds, people know not to pass certain boundaries even though those limits are not written as law. Taboos are restrictions formed from emotional aversions and social customs and characterize the way people behave and think.

As civilizations developed their own distinctive cultures, taboos formed as well to keep a sense of unity among people. Most sociologists concur with John Locke’s belief that most human knowledge comes from experience,

while some taboos are instinctive. Each community perceives similar experiences and ideas through their physical senses, and through socialization, people learn from an early age what is and what is not considered socially acceptable.

Therefore, some taboos developed from the early prejudices perceived about certain ideas. Taboos were seen as threats to moral codes and social standards. To go against a taboo was considered the utmost shameful and appalling, and people refrained from behaving in any way that seemed offensive to their community’s customs. This created a group of people with common ideals.

Many different aspects of each society’s culture ultimately

formed taboos. Some taboos can be traced back to religion since religion plays an important part in the way of life of many areas. In many religions such as Christianity and Hinduism, premarital sex is banned and disclosure of such activities would result in much disgrace for both the individual and the family. Thus, virginity was considered some sort of proof of one’s sense of morality, and sensuality was considered sinful. Even whispering about the subject with close friends was unadvised.

Korea is not an exception. Infused with a mixture of Western and Asian culture, there are several taboos exclusively existing in Korea, as An Introduction to Korean Culture, edited by John H. Koo and Andrew C Nahm, also states. Since the beginnings of Korean culture, there were many taboos about the relationships between females and males.

Korean culture was largely affected by the wave of Confucianism during the 10th century, and Confucian teachings sought to prevent sexual contact. Consequently, it became taboo for boys and girls over the age of 7 to be in the same room.

However, in an ever-changing world with several scientific and social

Living under conserv influenced by Korea’s ra curriculum is based on a advancements, many taboos have traditional Korean sch become irrelevant, and radical And yet, some studen ideas are becoming more acceptable.

Certain stud Societies are being more open about activities such as ha ideas of premarital sex with the new are considered illeg technology provided by birth control and for these students’ contraceptives, according to Vanderbilt partaking in such a College’s Orbis Media Network. As a there are a number o result, in contemporary society, more to defy such taboos women are playing a comparatively casts students who d equal role to men in society. participation in thes “Younger generations the age of the individ always push the boundaries,” In regards to tho said Mr. Damon Six, separated into groups psychology teacher. “You situations they put them have to decide over time partying, stay silent the n if they [taboos] still make disapproval and criticism sense or if they are too they silently suppress thems rigid.” denying the fact that they we As time goes on, large. This sort of conduct de ideas and standards will taboos themselves. Our cons be challenged by younger they must choose between generations.

What is who are yet minors shoul regarded as proper today participate in such activi may be deemed absurd

At SIS, stud later. Although these taboos extremely cautious a exist today, they may change such molding. One later on as society reassesses its of one’s reputatio culture. direct result of through is nece

By YURI HAN should live up

It is infuriating when a friend who studied during the mere fifteen-minute break does better than another student on a test she or he studied hours for the night before.

It is just as maddening when one puts in an hour or two on homework, while writes in random information just to fill up space and the teacher merely checks for completion In an effort to avoid such situations, students claim to have studied “not at all” or “just for when in reality they may have studied for hours by creating a list of possible questions and answe Partly, students act blasé and apathetic about grades because it is considered cool. When stu whether their grade is 93 or 93.5, they are called “nerds.” Acting as though she or he did n excuse when the student does badly on a test or any assignment.

The mentality behind it is the fear of failure. If a student were to walk around with he all the time, people may believe that she is very smart. If that same student fails a clas all the top universities, she “fails.” Not only did she lose her social appeal as a “ne not succeed academically.

By acting like a student does not study, he unknowingly gets ahead. N big deal if he fails a class or goes to a mediocre university, it is also a huge expectations; if he is accepted to the top universities, he is seen as incred One of the most obvious but sensitive rules is the “act as thou your friend cheat” behavior.

It is considered taboo to tell on your friends, no matter wha is screaming at you. Whether it is moral or not, at times students abide to these social guidelines.

Those who try to do the “right” thing and tell the tea “cheap.” Telling on a friend is like social suicide, since one “selling out” one’s friends travels quickly throug school.

By EUNICE KWON

vative circumstances, many SIS students are heavily ather inflexible views on taboo topics. Although our a Western system, which is known to be more liberal than hools, many activities are nonetheless considered taboos. nts decide to defy taboos, either legally and illegally. dents, despite being minors, engage in highly frowned-upon aving sex, drinking alcohol and smoking. Since all of these gal unless one is 19 years old, there is little or no justification ’ behavior. The law prohibits under-aged citizens from actions for safety and other societal reasons. However, of high school seniors who are technically old enough legally. Nonetheless, our conservative environment defy taboos in a negative light. Many view student se activities as morally abhorrent, regardless of dual in question. ose who challenge taboos, they are generally distinguished by how they deal with the mselves in. Some students, after a night out next day because they are afraid of facing the of their fellow peers and teachers. In a sense, selves. Some try to defend themselves by lying— ere involved in activities discouraged by society at eceives not only others but also the students who defy servative milieu forces students into a dilemma, in which following temptations and upholding reputations. Students ld be abiding by the law. For those who are legally permitted to ities and do so willingly, however, lying is not the solution. dents may sometimes feel like they are being forcibly shaped into and conservative individuals and wish to thus break away from e should understand that in doing so, it is at the potential expense on and that one must boldly face the consequences that are a one’s actions. A certain degree of consistency and followessary. If one risks one’s own reputation to defy taboos, one p to one’s actions.

e another n. r five minutes,” ers. tudents care about not study is also an

er head in textbooks ss or gets rejected by erd,” but she also did

Not only is it not a e deal if he exceeds dible. ugh you never saw

at your conscience s are pressured to

acher are called the story of ghout the

By YOONIE KIM

Abruptly congratulate the seniors about their college admissions, especially if you aren’t sure.

Openly express your joy in joining a selective club or organization in front of others who were not able to.

Look down on others because you take more AP courses.

Tell on your friends for cheating or for late hand-ins.

Deny requests to show others your homework.

Tell on your friends for skipping school.

Say “No” when upperclassmen make you do all the work.

Talk trash about your teachers to their face.

Be anti-Obama.

Openly talk about students who smoke.

UNG

EL CH

HA

By MIC

are situa ve items h SIS ic The abo h w in jects tions/sub en face “moral” oft ts n e d u st mas. al” dilem her ic th e or “ eit n s e r Tim se The Tige or condones the n s te o m pro “rules.”

Page 8 April 2009

LIFESTYLE

Four pretty “flower” boys are in Flowers: And burly boys are out the door.

By Eunice Kwon

Q: Do men really deserve all the drama we drop on them?

A: A lot of girls complain about the complete absence of romance in their lives. But if you’re wondering where chivalry went, remember what stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle once said. “Chivalry is dead. Women killed it.” Now, as a fellow female, I’m immediately compelled to stand up for all the women in this world and claim that our emotional outbursts are justified, that men don’t meet our lenient standards. They forget anniversaries and check out attractive passerby (sometimes men, too.)

But ladies, there definitely is blame to share. Generally speaking, we are quick to conclusions. We are easily intimidated by other women who are more beautiful than we, and even the smallest hint that our men are interested sends our insecurities skyrocketing. We accuse men of trying to force us into stereotypes, but we play by the double standards for the genders as well. Men always have to be there for us and comfort us, because they are men. Men always have to surprise us and sweep us off our feet, because they are men. Men do deserve much of our drama—the tears, the tantrums, the throwing of potentially deadly household appliances… but on certain occasions, they really don’t. So the next time you instinctively grab that soup ladle to fling at your beloved, ask yourself this: does he really deserve to be sent to the ER for buying you a pair of pants two sizes too big? Now… if the answer is yes, by all means, throw that spoon.

Q: Why aren’t we taken?

Although macho men were considered the more appealing type in the past, modern girls—Asian girls in particular—are seeking more and more feminine men.

Kkot-mi-nam, or flower boys, are “in.” The popular Korean drama Kkot-bo-dah Nam-ja, also known as “Boys Before Flowers,” starring four “pretty” boys—the F4—has girls swooning everywhere.

What is the exact appeal of these boys? Usually it is not every girl’s dream to be outshone by a boyfriend who is prettier than she.

Yet, it is interesting to consider the social changes that are taking place in the world. As girls become more masculine—or develop and share more traditionally male characteristics—by being more assertive, taking on leadership roles and participating in active sports, it seems that their ideal boyfriends are becoming more feminine.

Gender equality is taking on

a new shape. Gradually, a majority of both sexes have become androgynous, taking on neither of the extreme, traditional gender roles.

Because women are now taking on many of the stereotypically male qualities, they require men to balance out by taking on some stereotypically female qualities.

For example, the character So Yi-jung from “Boys Before Flowers,” played by Kim Bum, looks relatively girly, but girls still find him appealing. This may be attributed to his friendly and warm demeanor, quite different from the impassive stereotype of a man, which goes along with the old belief that “real men” do not cry. His artistic side also appeals to female viewers, as he is seen as a sensitive person.

However, he still retains some masculine characteristics, such as assertiveness, physical strength, and confident ambiance that make him not a girly guy, but an approachable person.

A manly guy has typically been the jock or the stoic. Thanks to teen movies and novels, such as Princess Diaries, many girls now attribute

athletic and muscular qualities with immaturity and empty-headedness.

In addition, a manly man may now be thought of as unemotional, making him less relatable.

This shift is more dramatic in Asia than it is in the Western countries. From the debut of H.O.T. (High-five of Teenagers), pretty boys became popular and following H.O.T., came the series of “idol” groups consisted of feminine boys, such as Dong Bang Shin Ki, Super Junior, SHINee. In the West, there are popular pretty boys such as Chace Crawford, who stars as Nate Archibald in Gossip Girl and Zac Efron from High School Musical. However, the appeal of pretty boys is not as prevalent as it is in Asia. There are more actors and singers with unique looks and sometimes “bad” boy attributes who are popular, such as Shia LaBeof from Transformers, Ed Westwick from Gossip Girl and Robert Pattinson from Twilight.

Regardless of why or how the manly guys left the scene, “flower” boys are in. And by the looks of it, they are here to stay.

A: Obviously because we’re all too fat, too ugly, too stupid and too uninteresting. Or at least, that’s what many of us seem to infer from an extended period of leading the single life. Ladies, ladies, ladies. Do not immediately assume that just because you are not in a relationship, you are universally unwanted. Women tend to react to this false conclusion either by starving or binge eating, neither of which will lengthen their life spans. This kind of unhealthy psychology only translates into a lack of confidence, which in turn does not attract too many men.

There are enough Prince Charmings in the world for all of us. Call it soul mates, call it destiny. And believe. But don’t set your hopes too high on meeting the man of your dreams in high school, particularly this one, with less than 200 male students and at which chivalry is especially dead. Asking girls to prom online is the regrettable norm. And even after a failed high school relationship, do not lose faith in the male race. You have only been alive for less than 20 years and in the many years left to come, will most likely find the love of your life. Mr. Right is definitely out there—just not here, not now. Just you wait. It will be worth it.

Kristin’s

KitchenTaste-Off

On this month’s menu: (Affordable) Japanese!

The economic crunch and your status as a student prevent you from enjoying the luxuries of sushi and sashimi, but now go ahead, indulge your taste buds and say, do-tae-mo o-ee-shee-des!

Kristin is going to send her photos to me when she gets home

Little Home Haroo

☺☺☺☺☺

Located on Rodeo Street, Haroo serves both traditional and fusion Japanese dishes. I especially crave the signature cold momeel dish when I’m angry because of its cooling qualities. A cross between Japanese noodles and Korean naengmyun, momeel is served with crushed ice floating on the surface. The crispy pork cutlets uniquely served with warm curry sauce perfectly complement the cold noodles. Service is like that of any other crowded Korean restaurant: frustrated ajummas yell at each other and shove customers out of the way, but they sure serve food at the speed of light. The price range per dish is only about 4000 to 6000 won, so taking your friends out to Haroo for acing that Pre-cal test isn’t a bad idea. Plus, if you get lucky, you’ll be able to eat next to celebrities.

Ohk Ju-Hyun and Jo Yuh-Jung took my table as soon as I left!

☺☺☺☺

Kobahko

I underestimated this chain Japanese restaurant when I was dragged in, but I left with a satisfied stomach. Sets ranging from 6,000 to 10,000 won immediately impressed me and my friends even before we tasted the food. Of the many other options I had including omurice and dupbab—rice covered in marinated vegetables and meat—I chose to play it safe by ordering the fried pork cutlet and momeel. In comparison to the price, the quality of the meat was impressive and the coating of the cutlet was somehow extra crispy. When I inquired why this was so, the store manager responded that they grinded fresh bread crumbs every morning.

I thanked the waitresses for their kind services as we left, for they provided what seems like an unlimited amount of dagwang, Japanese pickles!

April 2009 Page 9

LIFESTYLE

Versatile English teacher finds first teaching post abroad enjoyable

1 | Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Rejoice, perfectionists! Lynne Truss, the Messiah, has finally come to liberate today’s world from bad punctuation, one apostrophe at a time. With her wit, humor and much ranting in between, Truss explains the basic usage of punctuation. She even includes apostrophe stickers for those who want to correct bad punctuation in the world (after all, anyone, after breezing through the non-reader-friendly book, would be annoyed by even the slightest mistakes). Eats, Shoots & Leaves is a book—actually, closer to a Bible—for grammar sticklers and beginners wanting to write and e-mail the way they are supposed to.

2 | Helvetica: This independent documentary film focuses on the ubiquitous Helvetica font in celebration of its 50th anniversary in 2007. The creative photography and direction keep the documentary interesting even for the audience unfamiliar with typography and graphic design.

Director Gary Hustwit explores contemporary graphic designs that employ probably the world’s most iconic font, Helvetica, with different opinions regarding the font from various designers. Helvetica’s incorporation of these voices also adds to its compelling narrative.

3 | Crank: Starring Jason Statham (featured in countless action movies like the Transporter series), Crank quite literally is an adrenalinepumping film that keeps its viewers captivated throughout the entire movie.

The story unravels around a hit man Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) who wakes up to the news that he has been drugged with a poison that will kill him unless he keeps his blood adrenaline level high. To survive, Chelios goes on a rampage, stealing cars and taking stimulants, ultimately making the movie a hilarious and exciting ride from beginning to end.

Diverse: Ms. Sandra Goldsborough might have been teaching on SIS’ second floor rather than the third.

By Stephanie Char

When she was in university, Ms. Sandra Goldsborough actually planned to teach biology or chemistry.

“I was really fascinated by the sciences,” said Ms. Goldsborough, teacher of US Literature and Communications, “as much as I was by the power of words. Your power is limited if you can’t communicate well.”

Her belief in the importance of good communication eventually led her away from her initial path to focus on the humanities. She taught for five years in New Mexico and seven in the state of Washington before coming to SIS for her first venture teaching abroad. She had, however, wanted to teach internationally for a long time: this desire grew out of her first stint at teaching on a Native American reservation in Indiana, where she grew up.

“It’s only when you leave your culture that you can appreciate your own culture and others,” said Ms. Goldsborough, explaining one of the reasons she left the US. One of the factors in her decision to come to SIS was Ms. Goldsborough’s friendship with Ms. Heather Purcell, SIS’ Elementary Librarian, which was formed in their university years.

Doodling can help people remember better Breakthrough: Mindless drawing is not as mindless as it seems to be.

cuisine includes fish paste or some type of meat. On the

other hand, she has found vegetarian alternatives such as vegetarian kimbab and fresh tofu.

Overall, Ms. Goldsborough has enjoyed her time at SIS so far, especially considering how the community of teachers is open to and enthusiastic about traveling to other cities in Korea or to other countries.

“Everyone’s already proactively planning for their trip next Chusok,” she said, “and I’m looking forward to my time here later on as well.”

Photo by Yoonie Kim

We All Scream for

Ice Cream!

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? (90)

By Elizabeth Song

The random scribbles when you are bored in class or the coloring you do while laughing on the phone with your friend have been found not to be the simple scribbles we once thought they were.

According to a study published in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, people who were given a doodling task while listening to a boring phone message remembered 29 percent more of the information they were given in comparison to those who did not doodle while listening to the same message.

In this study, 40 members of the research panel of the Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge were asked to listen to a tape giving the names of several people and places for two and a half minutes. Of these names, they were told to only write down the names of the ones going to a party. Half of the people being tested were told to shade in shapes on a piece of paper while writing the names down. The test

While she has found Seoul a fairly easy city to navigate, especially its subway lines, Ms. Goldsborough had to accustom herself to smaller personal space bubbles. She explores Seoul’s rivers by bike regularly, hikes when she can and has taken culture classes sponsored by the Korean Cultural Foundation.

“I’m really enjoying my time here in Seoul,” said Ms. Goldsborough, “although I had to adjust to a few different cultural norms.”

After reading extensively on the US meat industry and the ethical treatment of animals and pursuing a healthier personal alternative, Ms. Goldsborough became a vegetarian after graduating from college.

“My family calls it my ‘college phase,’” said Ms. Goldsborough, “but my ‘college phase’ probably won’t be over any time soon.”

Thus, she did face a few problems when eating out in Korean restaurants, since much of Korean

Photo by Jennifer Park

Mint Chocolate Chip: 24 (27%)

A student sketches a few images of cartoons on the top of her essay to recall information and equations memorized the day before the test. subjects were not specifically told to doodle, since that would have made them self-conscious and decreased the accuracy of the test results. None of the participants were told that this experiment was a memory test.

“I doodle a lot all the time and I thought it meant that I was disorganized,” said Joshua Cho (11). “But I guess doodling isn’t all bad.”

Students that had usually been criticized for doodling since it was regarded as a sign of not paying attention, were pleased that such research had shown a favorable outcome towards drawing.

“Doodling isn’t good in the sense that it shows you aren’t very

interested in what you are doing,” said Daniel Lee (10). “While it’s understandable that teachers do not like doodling, I don’t think it should be entirely frowned upon, especially since research like this shows there is a positive side to it.”

However, some teachers were not entirely sure if the results of the study necessarily applied in classroom settings.

“I think what factors need to be considered are the age groups and the context of what the person is doing while doodling,” said Ms. Sue Choi, math teacher. “I don’t really see how doodling can help students remember things in pre-calculus.”

Others (Coffee, Mocha, Cookie Oreo Cookies Dough, ‘n Cream: Chocolate/ etc.): 23 (25%) Vanilla/ 27 (30%) Strawberry: 16 (18%)

What is your favorite ice cream Brand? (87)

Baskin-Robbins: 24 (29%)

Cold Stone Creamery: 22 (27%)

Haagen-Dazs: 22 (27%) Others: 14 (17%)

Graphic by Paul Cho

Page 10 April 2009

SPORTS

When teachers were once sports heroes

Soccer

Varsity Boys 5 wins: 4 losses: 2 ties Varsity Girls 3 wins: 7 losses: 1 tie Varsity Boys began counting up their wins as the season progressed, with game losses only to the Seoul Foreign School (SFS) Crusaders and the Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS) Guardians by a margin of one to three points. While the boys’ control over the soccer ball improved, a lack of effective communication remained one of the pitfalls for the boys. “The team has improved on keeping the ball on the ground,” said John Eun (11), “but still there are only a few people who talk on the field. And we need more guts. Too many people try to play too cute and nice.” The Varsity Girls used more and more pressure tactics on opposing offense players as part of their defense. Besides developing game strategy, the Lady Tigers also focused on the rawer elements of their sport: plyometrics remained a key component of after school practices, and the girls sought to remain in shape by meeting and playing in various fields around Seoul over spring break.

Swimming

Varsity Boys 3rd place Varsity Girls 1st place At Camp Humphries, the latest site to witness Tiger Shark domination, the Varsity Swim Teams retained their standings despite the absence of a few key swimmers; other swimmers, such as co-captain Chanjun Park (9), swam more events in order to compensate. The Tiger Sharks’ gain in speed was partly attributed to a unique training schedule, which included separating swimmers into various groups based on factors such as events, and setting aside Wednesdays especially for relay training. “That helps a lot because relay is one [of the events] where most of the points come in,” said Varsity Boys’ Co-captain Herbert Chun (11). Their standings proved that the Tiger Sharks’ performances were top tier, with many personal best records being set as well. However, a great deal of appreciation went chiefly to swimmers who took on extra or longer, more difficult events, such as Junsoo Shin (9), recognized by Assistant Coach John Rider.

Stats

5:0

5:2

Lady Tigers defeat KIS Phoenixes on April 1

Varsity Boys stock up another win against the SAHS Falcons on March 14

Words

“Even though we beat GVCS really well, a lot of people didn’t have the confidence in playing in a game or as a team. Individual players would use their skills and score.

But today during the KIS game, we passed with one another and the new girls have developed this sense of control and experience. So ultimately we know how to play as a team. We support each other more especially since we spent a lot of time together, and we developed individual skills a lot too.

“Now, we pass with a purpose. We don’t just kick the ball every time we get it aimlessly. We pass it to players in good positions, and everyone knows all the positions on the field. We are the first to the ball now and aren’t hesitant to use our bodies. Plyometrics definitely worked us out and we are more flexible and strong because it works out a lot of muscles, like the ones in your stomach and legs. Developing those muscles are helpful in the game because we can hit the ball with our stomachs and it doesn’t hurt.

“I’m just very proud of them and I’ve never felt like I was on a team until this year.”

—Jiwon Choi (12), Varsity Girls Soccer Captain

Photo courtesy of Mr. Gray Macklin

Trained by an ex-college wrestling champion, Mr. Gray Macklin nails down his opponent.

Legendary: Several teachers and coaches were once athletic stars.

By Paul Cho

The teacher who always seems to wear collar button shirts and colorful neckties could have been a sports star when he was younger. In fact, several teachers were engaged in sports as students, competing at high levels and reaching top ranks.

Mr. Bruce Martin, chemistry teacher, is currently the Varsity Girls Tennis Coach. He has been playing tennis ever since middle school, and in his 20s and 30s he represented his city, Tauranga, New Zealand. According to Patricia Kim (11), he is “really good.” Mr. Martin defeated teams representing other cities and regions in Northern New Zealand, and was also active in several other sports, including golf, rugby, cricket and squash.

“I played a lot of sports,” said Mr. Martin. “I enjoyed tennis probably because I was a bit better at it.”

Now that he is too old to compete on a professional level, he plays to stay “reasonably fit and active.” But whenever he plays, regardless of his age, he becomes

competitive.

“My nature changes when I get on the court,” said Mr. Martin. “It’s like me sitting behind the handles of a car. I want to beat everyone. Did you hear about Mr. Keith?”

Two years ago, Mr. Martin defeated Mr. Bryan Keith, then Varsity Boys’ tennis coach, in a friendly tennis match, which he stated showed his competitive spirit.

The teacher known for his college-equivalent history lectures, Mr. Gray Macklin, was a wrestling star in his high school and early college years from 1984 to 1990. In his final years of high school, he became captain of the team, came in third place in the Georgia state competition and also received his school’s sportsmanship award.

He started in eighth grade when his homeroom teacher, a National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) college wrestler champion, recommended young Mr. Macklin to try out for wrestling instead of basketball over the winter.

“My [homeroom teacher] said basketball wasn’t the sport,” said Mr. Macklin. “I loved wrestling.”

He believes “parents will never support” wrestling at SIS because the sport is for the lower class in Korea, and because wrestling is dangerous. He therefore settles for

coaching the Varsity Boys Soccer goal keepers, Andy Chung (12) and Alex Jung (11), whenever he has the time.

As for Ms. Katherine Trueman, English teacher and coach for the Varsity Cheerleading squad, she was never a cheerleader because “cheerleading isn’t that big in Canada.”

In fact, she decided to coach because Ms. Helen Conley, former Activities Coordinator, was desperate to find a cheer coach, because otherwise there would be no cheer team. So after a series of emails, Ms. Trueman decided to take the job—at last notice.

“I kind of caught myself in a trap,” said Ms. Trueman.

Before taking the job, she did not support “the provocative clothing and the idea of having to entertain a mass” because of her “feminist point of view.” But later, she began to appreciate the sport itself.

“Someone standing at the end of someone else’s hand—that’s amazing for both parties,” said Ms. Trueman. “Now I know a lot more about cheerleading.”

Although Ms. Truman was never part of a sports team, her experience as cheerleading coach renewed her narrowed views.

“Sometimes it’s nice to be proven wrong,” said Ms. Trueman.

season] practices,” said Mr. Keith.

“The Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference (KAIAC) only allows teams to practice eighteen times before the season actually begins.”

Since such is the case, most sports are not allowed to hold continuous boosters to keep athletes fit throughout the whole year. Mr. Keith also stated that it is the athlete’s responsibility to stay in shape at all times, but in reality many of the athletes spend most of the actual season trying to get back in shape rather than polishing up their skills.

“Boosters are beneficial for creating more enthusiasm but are not useful for those students who do not consistently work out,” said Ms. Chris Fazenbaker, the Varsity Girls Volleyball coach. “These boosters are not necessary. [And even if we do hold them] it would be difficult to gather the students during vacations because everyone is so busy.”

According to Mr. Keith, the only sport KAIAC actually allows to

continue throughout the whole year is cheerleading, because many of the base school cheerleaders cheer for both basketball and football seasons. Thus, to take advantage of this privilege, the SIS cheerleading teams hope to begin their season earlier next school year.

“Like other athletes, the cheerleaders need to be fit before we start the season,” said Ms. Katherine Trueman, Varsity Cheerleading Coach. “One of the skills that SIS cheerleaders enjoy is stunting; this requires a lot of strength and stamina. [And if we start practices earlier] it means we will be more solid when lifting up girls, our tosses will be more controlled and higher, and that we will be less likely to have injuries.”

The cheerleading team will therefore choose their team members before summer vacation to start practicing before the season begins.

However, other sports such as volleyball and cross country have yet to make plans to start training before summer vacation.

Pre-season practices met with mixed responses Limitations: Due to certain established rules, some coaches are hesitant about practices before season.

By Mellanie Ahn

Many athletes who play only during certain sports seasons of the year know that during their off-seasons, they tend to lose their “athletic vibe” and a lot of their muscular strength and agility. Boosters have been organized in the past as an attempt to arouse more enthusiasm for the particular sport and keep athletes fit and healthy.

Despite the attempts by the coaches to prevent their athletes from getting out of shape, according to Mr. Bryan Keith, Activities and Athletics Director, the boosters are not effective if the athletes do not continue working out during summer vacation.

“There also are limits to [pre-

April 2009 Page 11

SPORTS

Varsity Girls Soccer team fundraises for Japan trip Experimenting: The team finds a new way to prepare for their tournament.

By Yuri Han

For its first overseas tournament in six years, the Varsity Girls Soccer Team prepared to compete in the Saber Cup Invitational Tournament in Yokohama, Japan, from April 9 to 12, by fundraising during home games.

Although the team can afford the trip and the school supports sports team every year by paying for 25 percent of the teams’ airfare, the girls soccer team thought they could use the raised money to buy a team dinner in Japan.

The team felt that it was especially important to go to Japan because it is unlikely they will be invited to the tournament again if they do not compete this year.

It is uncommon for sports teams to fundraise for themselves, but the soccer team’s efforts to sell instant noodles, baked goods and a variety of other snacks on game days have proven to be a success. From time to time, the team members bought the baked goods to be sold, but they made their own whenever possible to maximize profit.

“The girls really enjoy doing this,” said Jean Choi (12), Varsity Girls Soccer Co-captain. “It has been going fairly well, and people

have been devoted to making this work.”

Spectators and athletes have been the main contributors to the fundraiser. After school, students and athletes including those from other schools enjoyed the snacks offered by the team. “[The team] seemed really eager to go to Japan, enough to sell food on a really cold day,” said Nicole Park (10). “It is a good idea because they know that people are going to need food and water. After the last class, people are tired, and athletes really appreciate the food.”

Meanwhile, the fundraiser also gave the team an opportunity to socialize with one another when they were not playing soccer.

“It is easier to talk to people outside of soccer,” said Stephanie Song (9), Varsity Girls Soccer player. “When we are playing during the game, we are competing with ourselves and others, but during the fundraiser, there is no tension.”

The Varsity Girls Soccer team also plans to fundraise for the upcoming years, possibly even for other things such as uniforms as well as the Japan trip. “[The fundraiser] has never been done before,” said Brenda Myung (9), Varsity Girls Soccer player. “The other teams will learn from this, and it will open up opportunities and plans for next year.

We’ll probably do this again next year.”

Oh where, oh where have letterman jackets gone?

Lost: Many students have a misconception about letterman jackets.

MONTH

GVCS @ SIS KIS @ SIS

By Vickie Ahn

Students can be seen wearing the white and black jackets around SIS. However, due to a lack of information, only a few student-athletes have the letterman jacket.

“It is kind of embarrassing to purchase and wear a letterman jacket if you are not exceptionally good at your sport or if you are not a senior,” said Herbert Chun (11). “You kind of feel uncomfortable wearing it until you know you deserve it.”

This notion that only senior and significantly skilled athletes should own lettermn jackets is incorrect.

According to the Leather Sleeves Newsletter, the homepage of the Varsity Leather Award Society which works to preserve the letterman jacket tradition, letterman jackets can be worn by any student who received a letter for participating in a varsity athletic team.

In addition to such a misconception, the number of students who own a letterman jacket continues to decrease because many student-athletes do not know how or where to obtain these sports coats. Only the students who are involved in several sports or have been athletes for sev-

Photos by Jennifer Sun and Alex Kim

Photo by Jennifer Sun

Wearing letterman jackets has been a long tradition. eral years know where to buy them.

Student athletes, in fact, can order their own jackets. Under the athletics section on Edline a link to the homepage of Queen Exports, SIS’ letterman jacket distributor, is available. They can acquire the phone number and order the jacket themselves. An alternative to this method is to ask Mr. Brian Keith, activities director, or their team captains.

The letterman jacket was not created simply for athletes to display their achievement in athletics.

In fact, wearing the jacket is actually a way for all students represent their school.

“Ideally, any student can buy a jacket,” said Mr. Brian Keith.

“Though the student may not have a letter, it still gives shows his or her school pride and support.”

April 1, 2009: SIS vs. KIS

Varsity Girls Soccer

After 1 draw and 8 losses, the ladies grabbed their first win rolling over KIS 5:0.

71’—The Tigers are playing an impressive game to- 77’ —Touch out by KIS, Jean Choi (12) goes for a corner 71’ – The Tigers playing an 4:0. impressive game tonight, KISSIS’s Phoenix Wow. The coachShe is implenight, leading theare KIS Phoenix Wow. The coach is leading kick to the secure first 4:0. conference victory. kicks! menting a big achange.

VickieVickie Ahn (11) replacing the starting goalie Kwonbox, (12),over whotwo is instead striding implementing big change.

Ahnis(11) is replacIt arches intoEunice the penalty KIS defenders, ontothe thestarting field asgoalie a striker! ing Eunice Kwon (12), who is instead to Kwon! She heads it! GOAL. For the first time in SIS 77’ – Touch KIS, Choi (12) goes for a corner kick to secure SIS’s first conference victory. She kicks! It striding ontoout theby field as Jean a striker! history, a goalie scores a goal! arches into the penalty box, over two KIS defenders, to Kwon! She heads it! GOAL. For the first time in SIS

Varsity Boys Soccer

3:3.

Until 78 minutes into the game, nobody SIS would lose, or even tie the KIS, game.who Up 2:1 only two 78—3:3—Until 78 minutes into the game,thought nobody 80’—3:2—Unbelievable. hadwith struggled to minutes left, the Tigers were struck by two goals by the KIS offense only to barely bring up the score back to a thought SIS would lose, or even tie the game. Up 2:1 score throughout the whole game, flipped theupgame tie at only 3:3 intwo the minutes last seconds An’swere (12)struck efforts.bySIS,around rankedin third the KAIAC conference, suffered draw with left,by theJerry Tigers justina matter of minutes.

The clock read a80:00. against KIS, the eighth, moving another step away from the KAIAC conference champion title. two goals by the KIS offense only to barely bring up The referee will blow the whistle any minute now. Co-

the score back up to a tie at 3:3 in the last seconds by captain Jerry An, standing for a final kickoff, must make 80’ 3:2. Unbelievable.

KIS,ranked who had to score throughout game, flipped the game around in Jerry– An’s (12) efforts. SIS, thirdstruggled in the KAIAC a decision. the Willwhole he pass to the mid-field giving the refjust a matter of minutes.

The clock read 80:00.

The referee will blow the whistle any minute now.

Co-captain Jerry conference, suffered a draw against KIS, the eighth, eree the chance to blow the whistle? Will he try to dribAn, standing for step a final kickoff, make a conference decision. Willble he pass to the givingNO. the referee theachance to moving another away frommust the KAIAC through themid-field KIS defense?

He takes shooting blow the whistle?

Will he try to dribble through the KIS defense?

NO. He takes a shooting stance, waits for Eddie champion title. stance, waits for Eddie Cho (10) to tap the ball to him, Cho (10) to tap the ball to him, and shoots! The ball soars and overshoots! the KISThe defense, accelerating up, up, up, ball soars over the forward, KIS defense, accelGOAL. The ball swirls into the top-right corner of the goal.erating 3:3. SIS miraculously ties the game with only seconds forward, up, up, up, GOAL. The ball swirls into remaining in the game. the top-right corner of the goal. 3:3. SIS miraculously ties the game with only seconds remaining in the game.

By Andrew Lim

Page 12 April 2009

SMALL TALK ** * * *

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Field Day & Lock-in 2009 Jennifer Sun

“Watch out! If that thing pops on me, it would take hours for my clothes to dry.”

The UNICEF’s cleaning crew saves the day by cleaning up all the mess on the field.

“Ready?”

“1, 2, 3...”

“Pull!”

FauxNews

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With her pale white face, scarlet red lips and bright blue Bambi-like eyes, Snow White strongly believed that someday, her prince would come.

But really, will everyone’s prince, or princess, come someday? Are we all meant to meet ours?

As sickeningly cliché as it sounds, people have contemplated upon this issue, whether or not we are destined to meet “the one” within our lifetimes, for centuries.

The pessimists tend to claim that destiny and a “special someone” have never existed, do not exist and never will exist, except in the minds of those who romanticize about such things. They point out the people who live and die alone, having never found love within their lifetimes, as well as the people who get divorced.

“There is no such thing as a soulmate,” one student claimed.

The highly idealistic ones, on the other hand, state that it is everyone’s fate to meet and live happily ever after with their significant other.

They base their belief primarily on faith and that one never knows what to expect in life.

Who is right?

Realistically speaking, it is most unlikely that we will find our future lovers suddenly walking up to us while we are in the midst of singing in harmony with birds and gazing wishfully into a well.

And it is even more unlikely that we will marry someone we have never spoken to before in our lives.

And it is most unlikely that we will eat a poisoned apple and fall into a deep sleep to be awakened by a kiss from a prince.

However, it is possible that someday we will find the one we love. But rarely in life will we find that things like that just come to us that easily. They will come if we are willing to find them and work to get what we want.

We have to earn our happily ever after.

So some day, your prince may come—if you really want him to.

*

O-M-G, you speak Teacher Water Dump: Mr. Castellani sacrifices himself for the entertainment of many.

Retaliation time! →

“May I have my hodduk please?”

“Hurry, we need to sell all the ddukbokgi before the drinks run out!”

Acronyms are constantly being created for convenience—in sending text messages with a cell phone or chatting online, people want to use the fewest number of letters to express the most they can. This is completely understandable. Why waste finger power and limited text space writing out “I love you” when you could simply write “ILY1?”

There’s absolutely nothing impersonal about it.

But really, why did Internet slang and texting shorthand make their way off-screen?

Nowadays, teenagers and unfortunately, some adults, resort to phonetically spelling out such acronyms in real life, face-to-face conversations.

The movie “Bring It On: All or Nothing” depicts this perfectly in more than one scene.

After hearing Britney is moving, her best friend Amber says, “Aw, Britney, I-M-Y-A2.”

Britney responds to Amber and the rest of the cheerleading squad,

Spontaneous celebrations involving alcohol, drugs and automotive vehicles erupted throughout the streets of America Thursday night after the release of a longanticipated report by the Student Advocates group. The report concluded that teenagers were in fact the most responsible and mature of all age groups.

“People have always wondered about what goes on in the minds of teenagers,” said Dr. Gerald Proctor, one of the report’s writers. “Well, it turns out that they’re quite ahead of the rest of us adults.”

The report summarized the findings of a nine yearlong $10 million study. Students from 14 to 18 years of age were asked a series of questions testing longterm planning skills, personal responsibility and political savviness. The results, when compared with similar studies on other age groups, showed teenagers were by far the most mature out of them all.

“I watch the evening news and listen to my parents talk,” said Mary Watkins, junior at Little Rock High School. “So I know I am right when I say that we should bomb Iran.”

Teens also felt vindicated by the report’s assertion that parents need not give guidance to their children.

“My parents just don’t understand me,” said one freshman boy, whose identity was withheld for safety reasons. “They never had to go through anything like I did, so they should just lay off.”

Others also praised the report as a step forward for teenage emancipation from adult-imposed rules.

“Adults enjoy masking their ulterior motives with words like ‘love’ and ‘care’, but they are not fooling anyone,” said David Sharif, Amnesty International spokesman.

“Giving birth, raising your own flesh and blood and gaining wisdom through many years of life does not mean you’re any better than teenagers at big decisions--it’s preposterous.”

But for teens, the only thing that mattered was that they finally had the freedom to do the things they wanted.

“We’ve been fighting for this for like, five years,” said Tommy Green as he stumbled out from a club.

“We’re finally getting the recognition we deserve.”

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“Webspeak?”

“Aw, guys, I’m going to M-Y-SM3.”

In light of the above conversation, for a listener who does not “speak IM” all the time, the acronyms may make the speaker sound a tad bit unintelligent or unsophisticated.

Even if we were to excuse teenagers and accept this sort of dialogue as a “phase” soon to be grown out of, the sad truth is that similar conversations can be heard across office cubicles.

“Nancy, I need that report on my desk in the next hour.”

“O-M-G4, wasn’t it by tonight?

Okay, but B-R-B5, boss wants to see me. T-T-F-N6!” “… Alright, see you.”

Okay, sure, Nancy was in a hurry. The acronyms saved her maybe 1.28 seconds at most. But it wouldn’t hurt to keep the office environment a bit more down-to-earth.

After all, work is not supposed to be enjoyable.

People who speak “Webspeak”

interchangeably with, well, “Reallife-speak,” often cannot self-determine which situations call for the absence of acronyms. Spelling out acronyms detracts from the delivery of extreme emotions.

“I cannot believe he asked her out to prom over me, W-T-H7!”

Honestly, acronyms just don’t do anger justice.

And to look at the other end of the emotions spectrum, in expressing happiness, why not simply give a hearty laugh, instead of screaming out, “L-O-L8?”

Empathy is also lost in translation, as “Webspeak” tends to desensitize.

“O-M-G, I’m so sorry about your loss” does not sound as genuine as it could be. Why undermine your credibility as a person capable of feeling sympathy for another?

People need to really think about the essence of acronyms and whether they deserve a place in everyday, offline conversations. Seriously. S-O-S9.

For those yet unacquainted with “Webspeak”: 1. ILY: I love you, 2. IMYA: I miss you already, 3. MYSM: Miss you so much, 4. OMG: Oh my gosh/God, 5. BRB: Be right back, 6. TTFN: Ta-ta for now, 7. WTH: What the heck, 8. LOL: Laugh out loud, 9. SOS: Save our souls

Say What?

JANiCE YOON