SIS hosts its first-ever Terry Fox Run
On Friday Sept. 24, students participated in SIS’s first Terry Fox Run, a school-wide fundraiser coordinated with the Terry Fox Foundation. Students ran in honor of Terry Fox, a Canadian athlete who, despite the amputation of his leg after cancer at the age of 18, embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise funds for cancer research.
“The Terry Fox Run has been around for a long time, and I was familiar that some international schools participated in the Terry Fox Event,” Jim Gerhard, Head
of School, said. “We are always thinking of ways that we can have our students give back and build a sense of belonging with our community, and for the SIS community, understanding the struggles of those with cancer is important. The Terry Fox Run is a great way to express our compassion and understanding for cancer patients, and is there anything better that we could donate money to than cancer research for children?”
The fundraiser was the first K-12 school-wide event since the beginning
of COVID-19. Such a large-scale event required a high level of communication and coordination, which presented many logistical difficulties for Danica Derksen, the head coordinator, as well as the Terry Fox Event student leadership team. Despite facing obstacles, Ms. Derksen and the leadership team were able to successfully execute the Terry Fox Run.
“The vibe and overall success of the Terry Fox Run was great,” Ms. Derksen said. “It was awesome to see people getting engaged in the fun run. For me, it was the first time that I had coordinated an event with 800 to 900 kids, and there were a lot of intricacies between the three school levels. We had to address a lot of questions and logistical difficulties, including how we were going to count laps and raise money. But while this was a last-minute event, I think this year’s event was executed smoothly and next year will be even better.”
Clubs also played an active role in setting up booths and engaging in fundraising efforts during the Terry Fox event. From finding innovative means of raising funds to creating fun activities for students, club executives and the Terry Fox leadership team helped raise 6.7 million won, surpassing the initial goal of 5 million won.
“We put two things in mind when planning the event: one, to make it a fundraiser for cancer research and two, to honor Terry Fox’s legacy as a running
athlete,” Alex Kim (11), Terry Fox Leadership Team member, said. “We tried our best to find ways to keep students motivated to run and participate, and I think it was successful because when I was running, I saw more people running than I initially expected.”
While students enjoyed volunteering and participating in events including spikeball, basketball 3v3, and the fun run, the core message surrounding the importance of mental perseverance and cancer awareness resonated with many students. Furthermore, while some feared and criticized the event as being potentially unorganized and ineffective, the effective execution of the Terry Fox Run raised optimism that this could become a recurring event.
“We raised a lot of money, and the event was flawless thanks to the efforts of Ms. Derksen, the event organizer, and the students and teachers who also helped out.” Dr. Gerhard said. “It was well scheduled, well advertised, and well communicated. I think all the kids had fun and appreciated that they were contributing to a good cause. Also, the assemblies were quite powerful and sent a good message. I think it would be good next year if we had a little bit more extensive of an event. We might invite some alumni or parents to come run and help us raise funds.”
By: Sean Kim Sophomore, reporter
Counselors start off school year with grade level meetings
Since Sept. 12, the counselors have implemented a new initiative to reinforce mental health within the school community. By utilizing Tuesday activity periods for assemblies and student wellness meetings, this year’s counselor meetings will emphasize the importance of active engagement between counselors and students, as well as the virtues of a healthy mindset. This was first seen in the counselor meeting on Sept. 12, as counselors encouraged students to take a mental health survey and gave a presentation about positive thinking.
“The survey was a result of an online professional development workshop that I attended, and it was in regards to perfectionism,” Arnette Scharf, high school counselor, said. “I thought it would be very useful for our students because there is a healthy level of healthy striving for excellence that can become too much and go into negative territory. There may need to be more discussion about healthy striving and healthy balance, because some people may not see the problem.”
The survey is the first out of many new changes in the counselor meetings this year, as the counselors are planning on holding meetings about topics such as time management, sleep, conflict resolution, relationships, negative thinking, and digital citizenship, on a more frequent basis. Counselors are also implementing several non-voluntary drop-in sessions, where students are given the opportunity to relax and destress from the school environment through meditation, and other relaxing activities. While meetings have only been held a few times per semester in the past, the
layout by Eric Kim
change in Tuesday activity-period block will allow counselors to plan sessions without the worry of club overlap and attendance.
“We made it very intentional to have that one free day, so that not only students can have counseling lessons, they can have meetings with Mr. Macklin and others,”
Amy Kuhn, high school counselor, said. “As a counselor, mental health is real. I think everyone should take it seriously and sometimes I think there’s a lot of denial. Not just in SIS, but worldwide. Every culture, every ethnicity, every background, mental health is real.”
Generally, meetings are focused on mental health issues that impact students under high academic pressure to ensure students are aware that mental support is an option. Furthermore, the meetings highlight the importance of a mental health balance and underscore the importance of self-reflection.
“I attended all the counselor meetings that they held at the start of the year, and even though we had more of the meetings, I think that there was no particular effect or change that was brought by having more meetings,” Hyerin Chae (12), counselor meeting attendee, said. “By having more meetings, it just made students value the meetings a little less. The things that we did in the meetings were not that much, and it was usually very short with the content that we went over.”
The position of mental health in SIS has always been highly contested, as students faced with significant academic pressure are often left with little opportunities to learn about healthy coping mechanisms.
Conversely, efforts at increasing awareness for mental health have been inconsistent throughout the years, and concerns of whether or not these new initiatives will be successful still remain. Considering the effort made to clear Tuesday activity periods, students may see a particular emphasis on mental health this year.
“While I do think that counselors talk a lot about mental health, I’m not really sure it’s quite useful or effective,” Yates Park (11), counselor meeting attendee, said. “I think that there should instead be more initiatives
of maybe trying to separate test dates or giving a better schedule towards students to reduce mental health. Some days we will have four summatives a day, and because they are not technically unit tests, we don’t really get any of the perks of the three summative rule. It’s quite stressful to not only study weeks in advance, but also to pull an all-nighter to study for tests.”
By: Jason Jihoon Shin Junior reporter
Fall Pep Rally held for the first time in years
On Oct. 10, screams and laughs filled the B3 gym as students and teachers gathered for the fall pep rally. On the day of return from the three-day-weekend, the rally was as energetic as ever with students fresh and energized from the break.
Despite the pep rally usually occurring in winter, the event raised school spirit and
recognized fall athletes for their achievements during the fall season. Pep rallies are an essential part of connecting with the student body—especially at SIS where high school-wide events are rare—and serve to invite the community to appreciate athletes’ hard work throughout the season. This fall, SIS participated in cross country, volleyball,
ASR students ride the high wave
On Sept. 27, the Advanced Sports and Recreation (ASR) class traveled to Siheung Wave Park for their surfing unit—a new addition to the course’s curriculum. Students spent nearly the whole day at the park, learning basic surfing skills and techniques.
“The idea is to give students as many different types of experiences as possible that they may encounter in the world after graduation,” Adam Yannakakis, ASR Teacher, said. “We wanted to make a step in not only a progression of sports but access to alternate types of physical
SIS practices civil defense drills
Announcements could be heard overhead as students followed their teachers down to the cafeteria, patiently waiting for the radio broadcast to start.
On Aug. 23, SIS prepared for the first civil defense drill issued by the Korean government in six years.
Photo by San Schwede (10)
The development and firing of Hwasong-18, an intercontinental ballistic missile, raised concerns over North Korea’s military expansion, causing South Korea and the US to resume joint military exercises. After North Korea launched over 23 ballistic missiles on July 24 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, the Korean government issued a regional emergency civil defense drill instructing pedestrians to evacuate to underground shelters.
The national Korean civil defense drill includes four types of alerts: security alerts;, air raid alerts;, chemical, bacteriological,
golf, and tennis.
“The purpose of the first sports rally was to recognize and celebrate our athletes,” Brandon Fraseur, Athletics Director, said. “ With this being my first year, I’m still getting to know TSC and all the things they do at our school, but I’m optimistic about future events as well with our creative executive team and members.”
One part of this season’s iteration was the events organized during the rally. Students across grades cheered as D$Q performances, tug of war games, and proud teams made their appearance. When the teams finally made their way down the gym, each one of them were met with shouts of welcome from the students. Senior athletes were sent off with applause in recognition of their final fall sports season at SIS.
“I liked how all the athletes for the fall season contributed in the pep rally because it showed that you’re a representative of your school,” Sungjoon Hur (9), boys volleyball athlete, said. “The tug of war was also interesting because of some twists like how the boys varsity golf team won.”
This was on the part of extensive planning by the Tiger Sports Council (TSC), a club that directs athletic events and informs the student body on sports teams.
activity out there.”
The students enjoyed their day at the wave park, spending time both learning and practicing their surfing skills. The lesson was focused on the four-step “take off” technique, where students learned how to get from a flat position to standing up while riding a surfboard on a wave. After being instructed by a coach at the park, students all got a chance to practice their newly learned skills in the main wave pool.
“At first, I was excited for the field trip, because I could go on a special field trip and skip classes. However, I was scared and skeptical that I wouldn’t be able to go on the surfboard,” Jacquline Lee (12), ASR student, said. “However, when we actually did start the lesson, I was able to do it and in general everyone was surprisingly better than expected.”
The PE department is also organizing a skiing unit for the ASR class, set to potentially take place in January. The unit would be similar to surfing, as students will travel to an outside facility for a day to learn about basic techniques of the sport. Though there have been some logistical struggles with dates and availability, the department hopes to provide new experiences to its ASR students.
“The possibility of the skiing unit has
Everything logistical, from borrowing the gym to scheduling late buses, was part of their role.
As the pep rally happens annually, an important part of what TSC considers is how to distinguish each rally from the last by including more students and season-specific events in the future.
“Our goal for the pep rally is always ‘more engaging, more fun,’ and as my first time being an executive, I wanted to make it successful,” Stella Eu (10), TSC Executive, said. “This time, we decided to reflect more on past iterations, so events like D$Q are going to be brought back.”
Despite the event staying largely the same each year, however, students and athletes alike still enjoy the event as it continues to be an integral part of the athletic experience for students.
“I think there were a lot of fun activities that made people engage a lot,” Joshua Han (9), high school student, said. “The introduction of the varsity players was pretty cool, and next time I hope to attend as a varsity athlete.”
By: Jian Hong Sophomore, reporter
got me extremely excited,” Ryan Jung (12), ASR student, said. “I am already very into skiing, as I’ve been going almost every winter break. Having a unit in class would be really fun, as it would give me the opportunity to go skiing with a lot of my friends.”
SIS sports are becoming increasingly expansive, with the addition of new units to ASR being just one example. Other widespread changes include new varsity teams for golf and track & field. The addition of new units to ASR may also imply similar changes to lower-grade PE units as well. Although ASR is an especially unique class, with its frequent outside-of-school trips and special units, changes to the PE curriculum seem to be very feasible.
“I think there may be a possibility for [new unit additions] in Life Sports,” Mr. Yannakakis said. “The difficulty is timing. With the ASR class, we have office hours as essentially a travel time, but for other classes that are not scheduled during class time that allow for grace periods, travel time is a challenge.”
By: Yoon Choi Junior, Copy editor
and radiological (CBR) alerts;, and dismissal alerts. These alerts inform civilians of potential attacks. On the other hand, students are expected to follow a special evacuation procedure issued by Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
“When the school is notified of a possible threat, we will issue an evacuation announcement after which students will follow teachers to the cafeteria,” Gray Macklin, high school principal, said. “Students should take the instructions and practice drills seriously in the event of an emergency and follow the directions of their teachers— they know what they are doing.”
Although SIS was able to evacuate efficiently under five minutes, the drill was not free of complications.
“I was really surprised when we were told to go down to the cafeteria,” Raymond Kwon (9), a participant in the school drill, said. “I have not even adjusted to high school life,
and we are now preparing for the bombing of our school out of the blue.”
While the school drill served to get everyone in an “emergency mindset,” some felt as if it exacerbated concerns over the school’s safety.
“The drill made me feel as if even school was not safe,” Yool Choi (10), an ideologue, said. “When I saw rows of students lined up to leave the classroom, my image of school being a safe haven of learning was destroyed. I do understand that we need to get into an emergency mindset, but I do not think a hasty evacuation drill is the way to do it.”
As students made it down to the cafeteria, they were instructed to take a seat and listen to the radio, as it broadcasted guidelines necessary to ensure safety.
“When I was walking down to the cafeteria, everyone around me was talking about what would happen if North Korea invaded,”
Chong Min (11), an avid news reader, said. “Even I was a bit worried seeing things I read in the news actually impact me.”
The broadcast was simple: immediately follow a teacher when alerted of an invasion and calmly make it to a designated underground facility. Lasting a few minutes, the broadcast ended with a message to stay strong from the announcers.While inconvenient and frightening for few, the importance of the civil defense drill could not be more stressed.
“It’s all about getting students into an emergency mindset,” Mr. Macklin said.
“Here at SIS, we want to guarantee your safety, and the only way to do that is if you understand the importance of our drills.”
By: Carson Park Sophomore, reporter
Photo by Gyusung Lee (12)
Photo by Eric Kim (11)
National Assembly votes to remove Lee Jae-myung’s arrest immunity
In an unexpected blow to Korean Democratic Party chief lawmaker Lee Jae-myung, the National Assembly voted to remove Lee’s constitutional immunity from arrest, citing that his five pending criminal cases make him ineligible to receive it. His most serious allegations include allowing private developers to profit illegally from a city project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi and impersonating a prosecutor during a criminal trial. Additionally, Lee was accused of illicitly paying off North Korean authorities for favors as the mayor of Seongnam during his visit to North Korea. The Democratic Party currently holds a majority in the National Assembly, making it easy to protect Lee’s political immunity, as demonstrated when the first motion to remove his arrest immunity was struck
down along party lines. Yet, the Ministry of Justice and the prosecutors in Lee’s five pending criminal cases petitioned for the National Assembly to hold a revote on the motion. The second motion passed, as 29 liberal lawmakers voted to remove his arrest immunity, leading to a final vote of 149 votes for and 135 against. “I was surprised that the motion to abolish Lee’s arrest immunity was approved because of the supermajority that the Democratic Party holds,” Seungwoo Oh (10), politics enthusiast, said. “While I believe that it is obvious that he is corrupt and the criminal charges against him are severe enough to warrant a potential arrest, I am disappointed that it took revealing that Lee irrationally sent funds to North Korean authorities for politicians to realize his corrupt nature. I also
Korea hosts 75th anniversary drill
On Sept. 26, South Korea staged a military parade in Seoul for the first time since 2013. Showcasing an array of advanced weaponry, the parade displayed South Korea’s military strength and served as a warning to an increasingly provocative stance assumed by North Korea.
“Military parades are essential in displaying power for a geographically vulnerable nation like South Korea,” Chris Blendheim, veteran of the US army, said. “South Korea seems to have a sense that their military is reflecting the country’s values and defensive militaristic strengths, especially when compared to North Korea, which is using their military parades to showcase dominance and authority over its people. Furthermore, military parades reinforce the idea that maintaining a country’s high standard of safety only comes with a strong defense force.”
A prominent feature of the parade’s displays of weaponry was the Hyunmoo ballistic missile, a weapon reverse engineered by South Korea and designed as a retaliation force against missile strikes. The parade also featured homegrown missiles and interceptors, which form the cornerstone of South Korea’s three-pronged defense system meant to deter and respond to military threats.
“Any missile, such as the Hyunwoo ballistic missile, that is extremely accurate and has both huge maneuverability and firepower is beneficial to any defense system,” Bruce Mize, veteran of the US army, said.
“The display of the Hyunwoo ballistic missile shows enemies, such as China and North Korea, a countries’ capability to bomb them because without portraying and having a strong military force and weaponry arsenal, South Korea is likely to
layout by Lucy Jang
blame the entire liberal party for their lack of common sense, as seen when they voted for a corrupt criminal.” As a candidate running for the head chair of the Democratic Party a year ago, Lee vowed to renounce his constitutional arrest immunity, which was reaffirmed when the Democratic Party established that its lawmakers would renounce their impunity. Yet, the Democratic Party has not met these promises, and the refusal by politicians to voluntarily discard their immunity from arrest has prompted renewed demands for lawmaker’s arrest immunity to be removed as a constitutional right altogether, a difficult process in an already polarized political setting. “Getting rid of arrest immunity is impossible without amending the Constitution,” Aidan Hong (10), Koreaen politics observer,
said. “The Constitution safeguards the privileges of National Assembly members, ensuring a separation of powers from the executive branch, which holds investigative authority, in order to guarantee the legislative body’s autonomy. However, recent controversies surrounding the so-called ‘bulletproof National Assembly,’ where some members facing criminal accusations are shielded, makes me think that constitutional immunity should be removed altogether.” In protest of the vote to remove his arrest immunity, Lee went on a 24-day hunger strike over what he described as the “dictatorship” of the current administration. While Lee has been supported by the majority of fellow Democratic Party members who insist that the prosecutions against Lee are political attacks, the 29 liberal
lawmakers who voted for the removal of Lee’s constitutional immunity suggest, according to political analysts, that his criminal charges have caused disunity among party members. “Because the subject of this investigation is the leader of the main opposition party, I believe the case will continue to hold the public’s interest,” Aidan said. “Detaining a National Assembly member involves a complex process, and with the numerous indictments on trial, the issue over a potential arrest of Lee will continue to evolve based on evidence uncovered during ongoing investigations. Since Lee’s political career hinges on the outcome of this trial, I expect the legal proceedings will be full of controversy.”
BY: Sean Kim Sophomore, reporter
North Korean-Russian meeting raises global concern
incur huge losses in the case of a military conflict.”
Military parades have traditionally occurred every five years, with the exception of Moon Jae-in’s administration due to his Sunshine Policy that focused on reconciliation with North Korea and the distancing of US ties. However, Yoon Suk-yeol’s administration reintroduced the parade in honor of the 75th anniversary of Armed Forces Day, dedicated to troops who fought in the Korean War.
“The US-Korea relations has been an issue under debate for over half a century now,” Geunhyung Hong (10), military and airplane jet enthusiast, said. “However, I think it is impossible to deny that the American military presence has worked to the benefit of Korean citizens, at least in aggregate.”
On the other side of the peninsula, North Korea held a military parade on Sept. 9 in honor of their 75th founding anniversary. Their parade emphasized close relations with China and Russia, as Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un reopened the nation’s borders with China, which were closed due to COVID-19, and visited Russia.
“Kim Jong Un constantly has missile testings and military parades to display North Korea’s military prowess to both its citizens and countries such as South Korea,” Mr. Blendheim said. “North Korea continues its missile tests and is expanding its relationships with other Communist countries, so I believe South Korea should not tune its military acts down to appease another country. Korea flexing its military muscle through military parades make instigators and aggressors think twice about threatening South Korea.”
BY: Sean Kim Sophomore, reporter
A meeting between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin on Sept. 13 at the Vostochny Space Center in Russia caused concerns regarding possible arms trade negotiations. Both countries have previously engaged in arms trades, and Russia is currently in need of assistance for its war efforts in Ukraine. Amidst such concerns, Pyongyang has publicly stated that it will not trade weapons with Russia because doing so would constitute a serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
With the current Russo-Ukrainian war, Russia has been struggling due to its lack of support from the international community. Meanwhile, Ukraine has received aid from most members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), supplying Ukraine with resources, food, medical supplies, and military support. Because of this, many predict that Russia will turn to North Korea as a possible ally, receiving aid in return for valuable resources and foreign currency to finance North Korea’s development of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“When Putin invited Kim Jong-un to Russia, the way that Russia treated him was abnormal in the sense that it was really nice,” Wongyeom Yang (11), inter-
national relations enthusiast, said. “It shows how Putin is desperate for North Korea’s ammunition. Right now, the EU and America are both sanctioning any sales of arms to Russia. The only source of arms is China or North Korea. China is not willing to sell arms because they have other businesses to tend to in Taiwan, and they don’t want to be caught in the eyes of America.”
After expressing willingness to actively support NATO countries involved in the Ukrainian war against Russia, South Korea has signed deals to supply tanks, aircraft, and weapons as military aid. Responding to this possible arms trade, the government enforced a unilateral sanction on North Korea’s defense minister, which also concerned other individuals involved in arms and financial transactions with Russia.
“The world stage is giving into aggression and that’s allowing North Korea to do what they want,” Bruce Mize, social studies teacher, said. “If South Korea wants to stand up, they’re going to have to get China on their side to do something. With the Trilateral meeting coming up with China, South Korea, and Japan, that would be a good opportunity to get China as an interme-
These trades and the resultant strengthening of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang could have significant consequences within the Korean Peninsula. The South Korean Foreign Ministry stated the need to “sternly respond to North Korea’s illegal activities that threaten the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsulas and the international community.” With the threat of North Korean nuclear missile programs benefiting from Russian financial support, this arms trade threatens the security of South Korea.
“This seems concerning not just because it threatens the safety of the international community but also me personally,” Jihwan Alex Lee (11), international relations enthusiast, said. “The frightening possibility of this arms trade is definitely going to keep me on edge for the next few weeks. Even as a kid, I’ve always been afraid of what would happen if South Korea is under threat due to North Korea.”
BY: San Schwede Junior, reporter
diary to talk to North Korea. China has the most clout as to what North Korea does or doesn’t do.”
Korea’s success at Asian Games inspires students
Despite being pushed back a year by COVID-19 restrictions, the 19th Asian Games were held from Sep. 23 to Oct. 8, in Hangzhou, China. One of the largest sports competitions held every four years in the winter and summer, 45 countries and over 12,000 athletes competed in the games this year.
Korea was thought to be a strong candidate for winning many medals as they had shown exceptional performance in the past. Sending 1,140 athletes, Korea aimed to receive the third most amount of medals, right after China and Japan. This year, Korea also saw success in the newly added events, particularly the e-sports event.
On Sep. 29, Lee Sang-hyuk, or Faker, Korea’s best League of Legends player, led Korea to victory against China in the e-sports finals—providing him and his team with an exemption from mandatory military service that accompanies gold medals in either the Olympics or the Asian Games. His team and the inclusion of the e-sports event changed conceptions regarding games in Korea, influencing the younger generations.
“It was a very good addition because it allowed people to understand that gaming is actually a sport,” Winston Chen (10), president of the E-sports club, said. “Especially for older generations, they often have a misconception of how gaming does nothing but ruin brain cells. I hope Korea’s victory allows students and teachers to show more support and interest toward e-sports and the club, maybe even getting to implement e-sports into KAIAC.”
Another favorable result for Korea was the men’s soccer team. They started with a win against Thailand, and continued a winning streak all the way until the finals against Japan, winning 2-1.
“The results reflected their domination over each game,” Minjae Choi (10), varsity soccer player, said. “I expected them
to dominate since Korea has so many talented players who play in teams overseas. Other than the high level of soccer they play, I think one reason behind their consistent performance was their strong belief of winning.”
As new athletes are hoping to debut on the global stage for the Asian Games, there has been significant individual pressure. Hwang Sun-woo started the season with a loss against a Chinese swimmer, but was able to come back strong in the 200m freestyle race, eventually receiving a gold medal and inspiring other athletes.
“I think the system of developing young swimmers in Korea is changing,” William Park (10), varsity swimmer, said. “The new swimmers are very young, so I think they have a bright future. From watching Hwang Sunwoo’s comeback, I realized that the effort and training doesn’t go to waste because it will help me get satisfying results in the end.”
Other athletes such as An San and Lim Si-hyeon also performed remarkably, securing no. 1 and no. 2 in the individual women’s archery event. Although Korea did not accomplish their goal of receiving 50 gold medals, they still placed third overall.
The Korean teams not only showed great results but also demonstrated the strengths and capabilities of new athletes. In fact, viewers were inspired by the athletes’ determination.
“While watching the game, the agitation of soccer I had that was missing for a while reappeared,” Grace Choi (11), three-sport athlete, said. “As spring season initiates, I will constantly communicate with my soccer coaches and teammates to form new routines and line-ups.”
BY: Yeonjae Kim Sophomore reporter
Netflix adapts live-action ‘One Piece’ series
Netflix’s live-action adaptation of “One Piece” was internationally released on the platform on Aug. 31. After four days, the series reached Netflix’s Top 10 list in 93 countries and debuted at no. 1 in 46 countries. Under the close watch of Eiichiro Oda, the original creator of “One Piece,” the series was made by executive producers Matt Owens and Steven Maeda. The series also features a diverse cast consisting of Iñaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, Mackenyu, Jacob Romero Gibson, and Taz Skylar. Remaking anime into live-action is considered exceptionally difficult as it requires translating the unique elements of an anime without losing the appeal of live-action. Following a streak of underperforming Netflix anime remakes, many were skeptical about its release; however, reviews of the series have been mostly positive. Critics said that the show was well produced and, by focusing heavily on the characters, highlighted the best qualities of Oda’s original creation. With a strong cast and high-quality visual effects, the world of “One Piece” was brought to life. Though the show relied significantly on CGI, many set pieces were real-life creations, such as the ships, which were constructed for the series.
MNET releases a new season of SWF
After Street Woman Fighter 1 (SWF1), a competitive teambased dance tournament, gained huge popularity and success in 2021, MNET surprised fans with a second season. The network aired the first episode of SWF2 on Aug. 22, releasing new episodes weekly.
There are eight total dance crews competing, each with 5-7 members: BEBE, 1 Million, Jam Republic, Lady Bounce, Wolflo, Tsubakill, Mannequeen, and DeepNDap.
“My favorite crew from the show is Mannequeen because my favorite dancer, Redlic, is part of that crew,” Lucy Park (10), SWF enthusiast, said. “I like Redlic because she’s really pretty, good at dancing, and she seems sweet. I also like Mannequeen a lot because their most used genre of dancing is waacking, and I
enjoy watching this genre of dance.”
SWF2 has already gone viral on multiple social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. In fact, many users are participating in dance challenges choreographed by members of the show. Popular dance challenges include the ‘Smoke’ choreography, created by Bada Lee of BEBE, and ‘Click Like,’ choreographed by Latrice from Jam Republic.
Unlike last season, SWF2 accepted two international crews: Jam Republic and Tsubakill. Jam Republic is globally recognized, with some of the members previously being a part of ‘The Royal Family,’ one of the most famous dance crews worldwide. On the other hand, Tsubakill consists of only Japanese dancers, renowned for their chore-
ography in K-Pop and J-Pop.
“I think that being more inclusive internationally allows South Korea to spread its dance culture even further around the world,” Hyeonhong Chang (10), SWF viewer, said. “I also enjoy watching Jam Republic and Tsubakill represent their country and their dance cultures in their own way. It makes the show a lot more entertaining.”
The first crew that was eliminated from the competition was Tsubakill, leaving fans in shock as viewers expected this crew to be a potential champion. This has led to some backlash against MNET on social media platforms as global fans believe that Tsubakill was only eliminated due to their Japanese background amidst the political tensions between Korea and Japan.
“I think compared to other live-actions that came out—not just anime, but Disney movies such as Little Mermaid or Mulan—it was portrayed pretty well,” Erica Lim (12), long-time “One Piece” fan, said. “Zoro was adapted really well, and I think the acting for Luffy really emphasized the goofiness we can see in the manga. Of course, there were some unfortunate parts, but I can accept certain changes done as intentional stylistic choices.”
Others criticized how the story was cut and simplified to be more digestible as an eight-episode series, covering only 8.7 percent of the total plot within 451 minutes of run time. Additionally, some long-time “One Piece” fans said that the acting did not accurately translate the original characters and felt childish at times. This especially concerns the protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, played by Iñaki Godoy, whose personality is more enthusiastic. According to some fans, the acting was too distracting and took away a lot from the viewing experience.
“It honestly wasn’t good enough to convince me to watch more than three episodes,” Yuha Jeon (11), longtime “One Piece” anime fan, said. “The biggest issue was the pacing, and I think the way they condensed
all the content wasn’t ideal. They decided to skip over some plot points in the story, which I think were too important to have been left out.”
Despite these criticisms, the series is said to have increased the standard for live-action adaptations. Following its release, Netflix announced that the production of Season 2 would begin shortly. Marty Adelstein, CEO of Tomorrow Studios, which produced the live-action series, states that the script has already been prepared and hopes that production will continue for 11 more seasons to cover the entire original plot. Ultimately, the series has brought a new wave of fans for both the manga and anime, as well as first-time watchers who have no prior experiences with the franchise.
“Considering the manga and anime, the series fell flat,” Olivia Lee (10), “One Piece” manga fan, said. “The series by itself works a lot better and I see what they were trying to do. Overall, the video quality was nice and the actors matched the characters. So compared to other live-action anime adaptations like Death Note and Attack On Titan, it’s a good improvement.”
BY: San Schwede Junior, reporter
“I felt confused because I thought that they would be a potential winner, or at least place in a higher ranking as they are a highly skilled team,” Seungmin Jeong (10), Tsubakill supporter, said. “I thought that another crew would be eliminated first as some crews lack teamwork, and some dancers don’t show enough respect for other dancers.”
Like all past Street Fighter seasons, SWF2 allows fans around the world to vote for their favorite crews performances every day, allowing fans to contribute to who wins the competition. Although the votes are supposed to be conducted based purely on dance skill, the show is filled with drama among crews, contributing to polluted votes.
“I think Jam Republic has a very high chance of winning this season,”
Jimin Son (10), Jam Republic supporter, said. “They have a very big loyal and international fan base, allowing them to gain advantages as they are usually one of the top most voted crews.”
As SWF2 progresses, viewers continue to support their favorite crews by voting and posting their favorite crews’ dance challenges on TikTok. Fans continue to wait in anticipation for each new episode hoping their favorite crews are not eliminated, and as to which team becomes victorious.
BY: Chloe Kim Sophomore, reporter
FOCUS
BIG DATA’S MIDAS TOUCH…
By JASON JIHOON SHIN
Amazon has a total of 12 million products directly in their inventory, with an additional 600 million products tied up in other storage services. But with their algorithm, millions of products are tailored to a user’s specific taste out of 310 million users. The power of the algorithm does not stop here; Amazon can also anticipate delivery locations, shipments, and organize reviews for all those products to provide customers with the best experience. The program that allows these conveniences to happen is big data management, and it reflects the changing corporate culture where companies are finding every possible way to cut inefficiency and increase service quality.
Recent developments in big data show us that it will be an innovative tool that consumer-based companies will use to maximize the quality of their products, a catalyst for faster and more rational company decision making, and an unprecedented way of measuring business performance. In other words, as Harvard Business Review calls it, the wider application of big data would be a “management revolution.”
Due to an exponentially increasing reliance on digitalization and technology, companies such as TikTok, Amazon, Google, and even Netflix are adapting their corporate culture rapidly to more efficiently manage their data. With big data management being the one of few if not only programs to tackle this demand, its effects can be seen unanimously across industries.
For instance, data management developments include FinOps, a new financial operating system, Data Fabric, Data Meshing, Blockchain, and many more. Data management is also seen in more familiar systems such as iCloud, AI, Meta algorithms, and You-
Tube feeds.
The result? Companies are able to better optimize their customers’ experience on the screen, creating a more enriching experience that is specific and unique to each user.
“There are tons of different types of data,” Marc Montague, IT Coordinator, said. “For my side, I have to look at network data, drive or google data, log-in data, and standardized-assessment data, and other kinds of stuff. It doesn’t go through me, but I see a lot of it. We use that kind of stuff to help not so much monitor on a minute by minute second by second thing, but like on an aggregate level, we use it for making sure people are making the right choices and are going to websites that are right and educational, and keeping programs that are not safe off the network. Our job is to keep that whole network safe and secure. We use lots of specific programs, but I can’t tell you for security reasons. But we have network monitoring software that allows us to keep the data safe and running.”
Beyond the direct effect a system of big data management can have, the improvement of experience in technology can create a more digitally cohesive society, where data improvements are able to reach the day-to-day lives of many. For example, people are integrating their digital profiles, resumes, and businesses online, while organizations such as schools, churches host their data primarily on live spreadsheets. The flaw of previous analog data systems—inefficiency—is solved by the new digital trend.
“I first decided to make my channel to record my memories with my dog Bono, and I started to go beyond that by recording my memories in school by filming and editing school vlogs,” Kris-
tina Kang, youtuber and school vlogger, said. “And since I was the one who wanted to share my experiences with other people, including people that I don’t know, I’m okay with having my information online such as my name, age, school, and things like that.”
Admittedly, however, big data management is not without its faults. Hacking and privacy considerations are always at the forefront of concerns, while companies such as Meta and Tiktok are already undergoing controversy for the data they collect from users.
However, when considering the trade-off of big data use, the benefits outweigh the potential consequences— hackings and privacy issues can be regulated, monitored, and fixed, while the large benefits of big data management are still making progress and can have huge upside potential in all areas.
This is not to say that problems with big data are unmerited or without weight, but rather that when considering technology like big data, an important question to ask is what the alternative might be. Until a concrete alternative solution better than big data emerges, our only course of action is to improve upon our current system— which inevitably requires more use of big data anyway.
It is no secret that the trend of digitalization will persist for much of the foreseeable future, and as our reliance on technology continues to increase, our data will also inevitably see the effects of digitization. Especially amongst SIS students, who in a few years will embark on their own professional journey, understanding the impacts of digital technology and big data management has never been more pertinent.
layout by San Schwede
… AND ITS ACHILLES HEEL
By JIAN HONG
In the massive world of online data, it is no surprise that scandals regarding privacy occur. In January 2018, the Indian press reported a data leak from Aadhaar—one of the largest Indian big data information sites. In Aadhaar, everything from biometric data such as fingerprints, iris scans, and photographs, to personal information including the names, addresses, and contact details of over a billion Indian citizens are stored. This overwhelming amount of information was found available for less than £6 online, ready to be bought.
The Aadhaar scandal is an example of the risks that come with the mismanagement of big data—data that is larger, fast growing, and diverse.
Information on our lives is accessible to those who wish to find it, fueled by an industry of data brokers with a value of $200 billion a year. Yet many often willingly trade off their data without first considering the repercussions of exchanging this information for technological services. Skimming over privacy policies, accepting all access requests, and making their profiles public are all examples of subconscious decisions people make with potential unintended consequences.
“With increasing demand for social media and online consumer services in society, I think the use of big data is more and more important,” Stella Chae (12), President of a social issue club Speakers of SIS, said. “Big data has transformed platforms like Amazon and Instagram to be as large as it is now so I think it is very efficient.”
Deceptive phishing is a prime example of the consequences of stolen personal information as scammers use voice information and details about private lives to trick the elderly. According to Juniper Research, a research center
on market data and forecasts, such hackers, scammers, and virus spreaders are expected to cause damage to 33 billion accounts this year alone.
The problems with big data do not only pertain to scamming, however. Issues regarding data usage have become increasingly prevalent recently, stemming from leaked data scandals as well as biased data analysis. For instance, data analysis used in employment could be skewed towards candidates of a certain racial background, or rely on biased statistics.
“I think the Internet allows people to not only interact, but get a lot of information,” Ellen Park (10), avid Internet user, said. “Through different types of social media apps, many people can have access to private information such as your school, age, and appearance. Protecting yourself from leaking too much information is important, and you can do so by keeping the posting minimal.”
Issues of data privacy and safe Internet usage have become far more important for teenagers and children.
Considering that 50 percent of Asian children under 13 years old have a Facebook account, age restrictions have been proven meaningless with loosely enforced and easy-to-bypass screening processes. Uninformed consent to data policies expose children and students who actively use data platforms to privacy risks by large corporations. However, due to the pervasive nature of technology in their lives, this data collection has become normalized for many according to a study by the London School of Economics on teenagers in the US.
“I don’t think we’ve even tapped the surface of the potential harm that can be achieved now with the exponential
growth of AI,” Gray Macklin, HS Principal, said. “Uploading all of that stuff is just feeding the monster. If there is a video of you talking on there, they could create an image of you, having a conversation that you never had, saying something you never did. The biggest challenge is getting students to take warnings seriously, because they’re predisposed to thinking those issuing the warnings don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Experts and analysts agree that such glaring problems must be resolved before the public uses platforms that utilize big data with ease. Stronger regulations and accountability principles must be enforced by the government, and to support the urgency consumers must also not overlook issues of data security and scrutinize practices. Many current laws, such as the Fair Crediting Report Act, a regulation in the United States that aims to govern access to consumer information access, are unspecific to real practices and have not caught up with current technological capacities, requiring reform to be effective in the modern age.
While big data has admittedly contributed to numerous significant innovations and efficient processing, with these future adjustments, many may better appreciate the widespread availability of big data for the benefit of the general public.
“I think it’s an amazing tool, but at this point there are some dangers because it’s almost impossible to protect people’s privacy,” Steven Nave, social issues enthusiast, said. “As far as learning goes, it’s going to take years to regulate and make sure that it is used in a non-harmful and productive manner.”
8 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Hyunseo Cecilia Yoon: Pursuing activism through science
From her activities in the local library helping children learn English and environmental science to her two-hour climate change protest, Hyunseo Yoon (11) has paved her own way to being a scientific activist.
Hyunseo attributes her passion for science to her desire to raise awareness for commonly unknown subjects, conveying how science is relevant to the fascinating phenomena she finds in her life.
“I like science because I think it is a field that directly impacts our life,” Hyunseo said. “Most people think that science is directly related to technology but I love science because I think there is a lack of representation to it. There are so many great scientists out there that do great things but are unknown because they lack the ability to reach out to the community. That’s why I want to do more things to reach out to other people and be an activist,”
Hyunseo’s activism is most visible through her Instagram account, where she proactively
layout by Eric Kim
posts science book reviews, club activities, and volunteer work. Recently, she even posted a two-hour march protesting against climate change. By engaging viewers with up-todate information about her work, Hyunseo strives to communicate her activism to the broader Internet community.
“The Instagram account first started out because there was a new PR for the science club, and I couldn’t just shut down the old one,” Hyunseo said. “I started to keep it active by posting book reviews. But then I soon realized that it could be a portal for me to teach younger children and I’m a strong believer in early education. I think that teaching a young child something important has a much larger impact on his or her life than teaching them something more complicated when they are 30 or 40 years old when they already have these established beliefs.”
Her strong belief in the importance of education is reflected through her participation in programs for elementary and middle
school students in a local public library, playing engaging games, reading books, and discussing relevant scientific topics in both English and Korean. Hyunseo also participated in multiple read-aloud sessions for SIS-kindergarten classes, where she was able to talk about her passion for science, whilst inspiring her young audience to read.
“I first started out the volunteer activity as a fill-in for someone else while they were on vacation.” Hyunseo said. “After that, I wanted to start something of my own and petitioned to create a new program that can teach kids about English and Science. I spend the majority of my time reading to these kids and translating between English and Korean. I wanted to make them realize how enjoyable it is to read. I wanted to give these kids some lasting message at the end of each session. So for example if we read a book about polar bears, then I would end the session with a brief discussion about climate change and the environment. My activity with the kindergar-
ten kids in SIS started with Mr. Rock last year. I talked to him a lot about how much I like drama and reading and he invited me to come read for little kids. But after that first time, Ms. Hill, the kindergarten teacher, invited me more to come over and read books of my own choosing.”
Spreading awareness about science has persisted through her other activities as well, such as her recent climate change protest where she marched for two hours, from Cheonggyecheon to Namdaemun, as part of her activity in the Amnesty International Club. Wanting to share her first ever public protest, Hyunseo held up a sign relating to the TV show Squid Game and climate change, calling it a “deadly game that we’re in together” and reinforcing the fact that climate change doesn’t just bring “a few victims,” but the whole world instead.
From education, social media, and protests, Hyunseo Yoon has spent a majority of her highschool life building an activist portfolio in her own ways and
resources. Following through with her high school career in activism, Hyunseo plans on majoring in biology in the future and studying in ways to better understand the human body through genetics and lifespan studies, particularly about how human DNA can make treatments of genomic medicine more efficient and change based on our diet.
“Greta Thunberg was such a big deal a few years ago,” Hyunseo said. “And I think the only reason why she was such a big deal was because there is no scientist that appeals well to the public. We’ve known that cli mate change is an issue. We have all the numbers and the statis tics. But yet we differentiate ourselves from those scientists. So I want to become a scientist that not only knows the facts but also how to connect with communities.”
BY: Jason Jihoon Shin Junior, reporter
Photo by Chloe Kim (10)
What is your trend?
Take a stroll through any class or hallway at SIS and there is a fairly high chance that you will come across a student performing dance moves, filming videos, or scrolling away through thirty-second clips of content. Many of these activities originate from TikTok, a social media platform for creating, sharing, and discovering short videos that have often produced the latest fads. Recently, there have been a slew of new TikTok trends captivating SIS students, so we took it upon ourselves to discover their popularity amongst TikTok users.
The ‘Never Back Down Never What?’ trend is where a person or group of people are encouraging others in a depressing situation by shouting “never back down never what!” Then, the respondent replies with a dejected “never give up.”
“I think the trend appeals to the masses because of its potential for relatability, for the audio clip is often paired with fun depictions of relatable scenarios,” Charlotte Kim (9), TikTok user, said. “For example, I know the cross country team uses this chant in order to raise spirits and encourage one another to push to the end. In addition, the trend also regularly features two or more people, thus making a piece of media relating to the trend optimal for sharing with friends.”
The ‘Grandma Old Photo’ trend is where a person puts on a filter of an elderly woman. The photo then transitions into how one would look in their best outfit as a grandma. While it is hard to verify whether the filter is accurate or not, students have still found it amusing to
see their future selves.
“This trend makes you stop and think about life,” Esther Park (10), TikTok user, said. “The grandma trend makes you think about how time is ticking fast and how one day, I will be old and potentially look like my filtered old grandma version. Furthermore, I believe that the grandma old photo trend is unique to me since it allows me to realize how short life is and that beauty and youth do not last forever.”
The ‘Roman Empire’ trend starts with a person asking another individual how many times one thinks about the Roman Empire. In this case, the “Roman Empire” represents a precious something or someone that the person in question thinks about frequently. Many people have come to interpret their Roman Empire as their love life or other important moments in their life.
“This trend is appealing to me because there are different ways people approach this trend; some of them take this seriously by saying that their empire is their time spent with their grandma or a significant other, while others take it jokingly,” Ashley Croft (10), TikTok user, said. “Also, the trend sometimes displays valuable moments or a person in someone’s love life, so this trend, which is more serious than other TikTok trends, can be used as a display of emotion. Moreover, the most touching part about it is that the characters have a bittersweet relationship, so it is pretty sad and affectionate when people reveal what their Roman Empire, the person or object that an individual most thinks about, is.”
Editorial
KKondaes, say kkoodbye
by Junseo Lee editor-in-chief
The tense atmosphere as they pass by, their noonchi aura and judgemental eyes sweeping through the hall. The helplessness of watching as they cut the lunch line. The wince as they declare, “Back in my day…”
The word kkondae is thrown around quite often in most Korean school communities, and SIS is no exception. While originally used to merely describe older authority figures, the term has taken on a more negative connotation amongst modern youth, often being used to refer to someone who is old-fashioned or overly demanding of respect simply because of their age.
Within the SIS community it is more specifically used by underclassmen to describe upperclassmen that abuse their older status and demand often undeserved respect from them. While some upperclassmen and even underclassmen may defend this long-standing tradition, claiming that it instills a sense of respect amongst rude and rowdy younger students, the persistence of kkondae culture ultimately creates a harmful cycle that exacerbates pre-existing issues in our school environment.
The obvious consequence of this culture is the divide that occurs between upper and underclassmen in a school that already struggles with fostering a sense of unity amongst its students.
A student that fears or dislikes their upperclassmen will naturally be hesitant to interact with or be led by them, and with 145 of all club executive positions being filled by seniors and juniors compared to only 27 sophomores and no freshmen, this sentiment will only lead to difficulties for the effectiveness of student organizations and the school community as a whole. Ultimately, using kkondae culture as a means to have younger students respect their upperclassmen is a counterintuitive solution.
Looking past the SIS bubble, the kkondae mindset can also be harmful to students’ future relationships and career. Not only is kkondae culture a fundamentally Korean practice unfamiliar to the American peers that most SIS students will spend time with, but the notion that an older age is an immediate indicator of superiority is also deeply flawed.
The primary perpetrators of kkondae behaviors are typically those who believe they must receive respect because they are older and more experienced than those in lower grades, despite being at most only two-to-three years older than their peers.
Of course, these two-to-three years may seem far more significant to students as it takes up a comparatively larger portion of their lived experiences, and in terms of the time these students will spend at SIS, it is indeed likely to separate them from their younger peers both in terms of maturity and intelligence.
However, outside of SIS, students must learn to respect and follow others for their actions rather than their age and, more importantly, convince others that they should be respected rather than demanding it.
While the issue of connecting older students with younger ones may have proven difficult to overcome for SIS in the past, the realization that kkondae culture is by no means a valid excuse to mistreat underclassmen or an effective method of leadership and garnering respect will only serve to alleviate current grade level divides and work towards improving the SIS community.
Though Korean society is admittedly ruled by strict social hierarchies and a twisted, modern version of traditional Confucian values, the SIS community, as an educational institution and an enclave of western culture, has the responsibility to support the progress being made in changing these outdated ideals. Upperclassmen in particular should serve as a model for their younger peers by making the first move to treat them as equals, teaching them that respect goes both ways.
Let yourself be heard. If you have any responses to articles published in the Tiger Times or original contributions, please send them to tigertimes@gmail.com
layout by Eric Kim
What happens to an AI deferred?
A world teeming with wired humanoid robots, humans spiraling down the slide of lethargy, and red dust blanketing the skies. Even prior to the rapid advancements of Artificial Intelligence (AI), these characteristics have become synonymous with a dystopian tech future, perpetuated by countless movies and TV shows. Though such scenarios often dramatize reality, they have nevertheless fostered public paranoia— yet the reality is that AI will encroach very little on jobs, with jobs among humans and AI already fully allocated.
The quasi-post-apocalyptic world of AI replacing humans is certainly an understandable extrapolation of current trends. In fact, the International Federation of Robots announced a positive trend in industrial robot installation, with a 170 percent increase from 2010 to 2018. As this shift toward AI continues, humans seem bound to be substituted. After all, AI ostensibly provides unique benefits necessary for many jobs: efficiency, free labor, and, most of all, rationality and objectivity. But to put faith in AI’s objectivity and soundness is foolish, meaning that jobs involving decision-making are safe.
Many attribute AI’s biases to polluted data, hypothesizing that if developers could somehow input a perfectly objective dataset to the system, all biases would cease to exist. But far more than the easily correctable dataset needs to be considered; the larger contributor to AI bias is rather the inherent system of AI. According to Emily Bender, a linguistics professor at Washington University, AI systems are stochastic parrots, meaning they “haphazardly stitch… together sequences of linguistic forms… according to probabilistic information.” Unlike humans, AI systems do not have definitive opinions. Thus, today’s large language models like Google’s Bard and
OpenAI’s ChatGPT that interact via language are the opposite of sternly objective, as is evident by when these models “hallucinate” and spout fabricated information that can sometimes even contradict themselves.
“ChatGPT definitely gives polluted and fabricated answers,” Jeffrey Yoon (12), ChatGPT user, said. “Especially for gaining ideas and researching general statistics I often use ChatGPT. I found that while I give a certain prompt, it would often reference false sources or fabricate information that is extremely misleading.”
Yet another problem of AI is the inability to justify answers like humans. For humans, important decisions are made after rigorous logical reassessments: impactful decisions logically occur after reasoning. But for AI, it is the opposite. When prompted to provide a justification after arbitrarily generating an answer, they create an a posteriori explanation that was never factored into the equation.
Though some may believe that these errors can later be circumvented, they are unavoidable. Deep learning AI has evolved to consume information and give a logical answer based on the wording of the input. Unlike people, the very system of such AI is built upon the ability to distinguish between even minute details: more specifically, while “horrible” may be encoded (vectorized) as [3, 18], “dreadful” would be encoded as [3, 19]. Although nearly identical, these small differences can accumulate over larger prompts, invariably producing this error. Further, following this nature of vectors, AI simply combines all the vectors within a given prompt and produces an answer that reflects that finalized vector. Therefore, the answer they give goes through a process distinct from humans.
Apple: the liar of the century
Apple’s mission statement promises that they will strive for the “best user experience to customers through innovative hardware, software, and services.” Yet, the company’s commitment to this statement seems to have significantly waned as they focus their efforts on good profits over good products. From overpriced services to poor worker environments, Apple has made it abundantly clear that their priorities now lie in establishing a monopoly.
The iPhone epitomizes this. Apple not only overcharges customers for their iPhones, but also makes their services strongly Apple-reliant; purchasing another product from the brand is almost inevitable with perfectly compatible devices and services brought to customers’ attention via constant advertisements. Furthermore, it was revealed that the cost of repairing Apple products exceeded the normal repair cost by more than three times its price. This would not be a problem, had Apple products had a high standard of quality and durability, but when errors, and phone damages are all too common, Apple’s trap of overfeeding their customers with their products is unwelcome.
“AI can never overcome the human brain,” Junho Lee (11), KAIAC Robotics member, said. “The main software of AI are called neural networks, which are a downgraded replica of the human brain. So, our brain can do what an AI can do much more effectively. Creativity, feelings, and emotions too. For instance, we can program AI to feel in certain situations but they can never develop independent and original thoughts or understand them.”
All of these flaws in AI suggest that critical errors manifest when applied to jobs that require careful decision-making—but that is not to say AI should be abandoned altogether. Rather, humans must hold an appropriate amount of trust in AI without blindly trusting it. Many experts share this opinion that the optimal balance between AI and human intelligence is by demoting AI’s industrial role to tedious tasks while elevating humans to more creative and managerial tasks, thus augmenting human productivity. As such, some jobs may be limited by the rise of AI, but jobs overall will remain resilient in the face of change. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum, while 85 million jobs will be replaced by 2025, AI will also create 97 million new jobs.
While AI is seen as a revolutionary technology with limitless potential, it is bound to the realm of manual labor when it comes to practical applications to the economy. Few jobs that require any form of decision-making will be breached; only those that are pure manual labor will be replaced. But as humans adapt as they always have, even more novel jobs will be created, proving that our fear is simply paranoia.
tain and manage Mac computers because the OS infrastructure or system works in terms of how we can help students,” Marc Montague, IT Coordinator, said. “Personally, I don’t really like the operating system of Apple. They spend too much time and effort making it look cool, and it’s not for people who actually do work.”
“I like Apple products primarily because I have used Apple my whole life,” Lin Chiang, an avid Apple user, said. “I have gotten used to using them. This is probably the reason why I keep purchasing apple products because I already have many apple products so it’s more convenient for me to simply stick with apple products for sharing files and stuff. Apple products are more aesthetically pleasing too. They are prettier and have better camera quality.”
Apple overcharges almost four times as much as local third-party repair fees.
Yet Apple’s technological exclusivity, which restricts third-party repairs, makes it harder for local repair services to catch up with the competition and thus forces customers to be more reliant on Apple. Apple’s integrity and professionalism used to justify its repair-service dilemma, but that is no longer the case. Apple reduced the cost of their repairs this year, only to use a weaker material structure for the new iPhone 15. The weaker material of the iPhone 15 would mean that Apple repair services are inevitable either way, making the point of the slight reduction of cost meritless.
“For us as a school, it’s easier to main-
Apple has also demonstrated a concerning lack of attention to workplace equality. Last month, South Korea initiated a probe against Apple under the suspicion that their app developers had been unfairly overcharged and underpaid. Last year, Apple faced a multi-billion euro lawsuit for wrongfully overcharging users’ in-app purchases and subscriptions. Apple has been suspected of enabling dangerous working conditions in factories across third-world countries. In their pursuit of profit, they have single-handedly managed to raise the working quota without raising the pay, exploiting the workforce of their factories.
Apple’s products have also been found to be dangerously built. France banned the iPhone 12 for suspicious levels of radiation, and other countries from the EU are quickly following suit, removing the iPhone 12 and also re-evaluating the safety of other iPhones. For a multi-billion dollar company that prizes its innovation and user-friendliness, such concerns should by no means be common.
From their most popular product, their repair services, their acts of unfair conduct in their working environment, to their dangerously built products, Apple’s virtue has seemingly disappeared in recent years. It is inevitable that companies change as they grow and develop, however, Apple should strive to adhere to their mission statement, and provide an experience that isn’t made to look good, but to do good as well.
by: Eric Kim Junior, Copy editor
by: Jason Jihoon Shin Junior, reporter
How SIS can improve on the Terry Fox Run
After a lengthy hiatus from schoolwide events, SIS came together for the first time in years for the Terry Fox Run on Sept. 22. With the discontinuation of events like Family Fun Day, the SIS community was notably devoid of a fun occasion. The last campus-wide event to happen was before the COVID-19 pandemic in Family Fun Day in September 2019. Although the Terry Fox Run represented a successful return to school events, especially given the time gap between it and its predecessors, the event provided several lessons that SIS can learn to improve future events.
The Terry Fox Run successfully brought together our student body, from the youngest kindergarteners to those with only several months left of high school. As the school’s Instagram page shows, many students were all smiles throughout the event, whether they were participating in the club-run booths scattered across the field, playing the Terry Fox trivia Kahoot! game, or running around the campus.
A success factor of the event that should be replicated in the future was the mandatory attendance policy, which created a vibrant turnout. Holding more school spirit activities like the Terry Fox run during the school day can help destress students by momentarily diverting their attention from aca-
demics. Similar events could revitalize SIS’s lack of school spirit—with more schoolwide events being held during the school day, fewer students would be disadvantaged by missing class or incentivized to not participate.
“It would have been better if we started planning the event further in advance since most of the organization got rushed toward the end,” Jane Park (12), Terry Fox Run organizer, said. “Even though the first schoolwide mention of Terry Fox was toward the end of last school year, I think it would have been better if we had more concrete logistical preparation done sooner before the actual event date. For example, we could have reached out to clubs earlier than we did.”
Despite these successes, there were notably several areas for improvement. The first email with details for planning activities and the donation collection system was sent only two weeks before the event, which placed great pressure on clubs responsible for organizing booths and hindering efficient fundraising. Additionally, though some clubs wished to set up more complex booths,, the school was unable to provide them with the necessary resources to do so.
“We were planning on making a booth for e-sports club where we would have TVs set up outside with Nintendo
Viewpoint Feature:
Following the permanent cancellation of Family Fun Day, SIS lacked an annual event in which students of all grades could participate. That was until September’s Terry Fox Run, which marked the first schoolwide event since 2019. While the event suffered from some hiccups, it was a generally graceful return to on-campus fun.
WhataspectsmadetheTerryFoxRunsuccessful?
Inwhatways,ifany,canfutureschoolwide events be improved?
Switches running Mario Party,” Winston Chen (10), E-Sports Club President, said. “Unfortunately, the activities director [Brandon] Fraseur said that we couldn’t get electricity to run to the field, so we were ultimately forced to do a scooter race game. The scooter race was pretty fun, but our booth could have been better and more aligned with our club if the school could give us electricity on the field.”
Note that electricity was previously provided in events such as Family Fun Day, and thus clubs were able to set up booths like the electronic rodeo machine and inflatable spinning obstacle game.
To better the quality of future school events, organizers must be more mindful of available planning time, and SIS needs to provide more financial and informational support to those involved in the event. Furthermore, the SIS community must engage in more effective communication regarding such events to improve them in the future. For instance, a postevent meeting involving club leaders, organizers, and administration could serve as an opportunity for constructive feedback, and increased transparency with the planning processes of such events would allow students to communicate what activities they would like to see.
This article by no means argues that
the Terry Fox run was not successful— it is a clear step in the right direction for SIS, and the general SIS population seems to agree. However, by focusing on these aspects to improve, SIS can work toward creating more enjoyable school events that build upon this year’s Terry Fox Run. Such changes would not only foster a more vibrant school environment but also remedy problems like the lack of school spirit and an overly studious sentiment.
Although the Terry Fox Run was a step in the right direction, there are many lessons to be learned from its execution to apply to future activities. If these necessary improvements can be made, the SIS community would stand to benefit.
“The Terry Fox event was good because it gave all of us a reason to get out of class and get some exercise in, which was refreshing,” Joseph Kang (9), Terry Fox Run participant, said. “But if clubs had more funds from the school to make more fun and expanded booths, and if more planning happened earlier in advance to make sure that the event ran as smoothly as possible, future iterations of the Terry Fox event or even other events could be even better.”
by: Jason Lee Junior, Copy editor
12 SMALL TALK
Point Counterpoint
By Eric Kim (11) and Jason Lee (11)
Classics in high school education
In an era where education aligns more closely with the present, the importance of the classics—famous, often philosophical texts from the Western canon—has become highly contentious. While supporters of the classics contest that texts such as Plato’s “Republic” or Shakespeare’s “Othello” are foundational to students’ understanding of life, critics argue they are counterproductive and irrelevant to a modern educational curriculum. In this article, we argue each side of this debate to illuminate the extent to which classic readings are valuable for educating students.
For:
In any educational institution, students are met with the familiar math and science courses for STEM, and language and history classes for the humanities. This standardized curriculum seems to take education as a means for economic productivity, emphasizing superficially practical subjects while disregarding more abstract concepts like ethics and justice. However, classics, rich in philosophy and conceptual ideas, provide unique benefits—not only are those topics inherently valuable, but they also have the potential to shift the way learners think.
The Course Code: AP Social Studies Courses
SIS offers a wide range of AP Social Studies classes—AP US History (APUSH), AP World History (WHAP), AP Economics (AP Econ), and AP Psychology (AP Psych). Each course is individually unique, with varying resources, techniques, and skill sets.
WHAP is one of the 2 AP courses offered to sophomores, whereas APUSH is available starting from junior year. With frequent tests, a heavy memorization load, and a substantial amount of required writing, these classes can be distinct leaps from their prerequisites of World History and US History, respectively. Both courses introduce students to the four exam sections found in all history APs: MCQ, SAQ, DBQ, and the LEQ. To prepare for these exams, students not only have to memorize content but have to use their knowledge to synthesize and interpret history, as creating connections and developing defensible claims are a critical part of the required class criteria.
Useful resources include the YouTube channel “Heimler’s History,” which provides an in-depth analysis of specific content as well as general reviews of each unit. Though WHAP is first available to sophomores, many upperclassmen take the course as well, so seeking advice or insight will be relatively simple. In contrast, the SIS curriculum for APUSH has drastically changed from previous years, and the number of students that take the course has significantly decreased—thus, gaining up-to-date student input on the course may prove to be difficult.
“I personally use notes from Mr. Miller and create my own notes to help study for APUSH,” Edward Sohn (11), APUSH student, said. “Notes from Mr. Miller help me see the big picture and understand how different concepts relate to each other (comparison, contrast, significance, and methods). For my own notes, I created tables and subsections that organized each unit by specific details.”
AP Econ, unlike the other social studies courses, is only offered to seniors and consists of two exam sections: MCQ and FRQ. The course itself is also split in two: Macroeconomics, the study of national economies, and Microeconomics, the study of individual economics. Both require students to have basic mathematical and graphing skills, as well as
By Yoon Choi (11)
the ability to critically analyze economic concepts. A good channel for AP Econ is “Jacob Clifford” who not only offers reviews of content and units but also provides a helpful “Ultimate Review Packet” for the final exam.
APAH is offered starting from junior year. Considered one of the most unique APs, the course examines artworks from a historical context, analyzing the development of artistic expression over time. The course has a heavy load of memorization, as students will need to know specific aspects of each artwork, such as its title, author, date of creation, materials, as well as the artworks’ content, context, form, and function. Contrary to other fine arts courses, APAH does not actually require artistic skill, but instead heavily emphasizes writing like the other social studies classes.
“The main unique thing about APAH is that it’s a mixture of a multitude of things,”
Anika Kurebayashi (12), APAH student, said. “Obviously it’s a history course, but you need to have a basic understanding of art and its creation to be able to succeed. Personally, I think the course becomes easier to understand if you take an AP Art course because you can apply the knowledge from one to the other.”
AP Psych, like APUSH and APAH, is available to students starting from their junior year. In AP Psych, students will learn about various psychological principles and how to apply them to individuals. Though often considered a relatively less rigorous AP course, AP Psych involves a lot of memorization and application of concepts, almost similar to a course like AP Bio or APES. Practical resources include “Mr. Sinn” and “CrashCourse,” two YouTube channels that are both very casual yet informative review tools.
Overall:
APUSH, WHAP, and APAH cover a wide range of content, AP Econ requires basic mathematical and statistical skills, and AP Psych involves much memorization and application. Use resources available to you— “Heimler’s History”, Albert.io, and AP Classroom—to improve your chances of excelling in the AP Social Studies courses and ask upperclassmen about their experiences with each course for input on course selection.
It is important to note that many of the topics taught by the classics prepare students for the complex reality that they face after graduating high school. Although many dismiss philosophy as obsolete, it is arguably more pertinent to our daily lives than most other commonly taught subjects.
The world is filled with complexities indefinable by the Pythagorean Theorem or the Laws of Thermodynamics— instead, philosophy teaches the truly practical discipline of navigating life’s gray areas, giving both general guidelines to life and answers to moral dilemmas. Though some subjects like science include similar values like the scientific method, they ultimately fall short in application compared to the explicit practical impacts of philosophy.
One may argue that these abstract concepts are relevant only later in life, but seldom can they be properly learned independently—due to the necessity of discourse to stimulate consideration of alternative perspectives—or are deeply explored in the first place.
Furthermore, the fact that these classics have survived through centuries and even millennia is testimony to their value: they tackle timely yet timeless issues, pertinent wherever and whenever.
In fact, the vast majority of modern written works build upon concepts proposed in these foundational texts. Apart from philosophy, political texts, literature, and books on mathematics also allude to classics—thus, classics are often a prerequisite to understanding other texts.
Philosophy’s limits are practically nonexistent. It permeates virtually all academic subjects, branching into every corner of our lives. An early exposure to philosophical classics in high school provides valuable lessons, whether in preparing for college or life as a whole.
“The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life.” - Plato
Against:
Perhaps nothing is more loathsome for students than being assigned to read an archaic, seemingly incomprehensible classical text. While the likes of Plato, Homer, and Shakespeare are vital to academia, they are (in their unabridged form) incongruent with a high school education. Joining the classics with the secondary curriculum comes at the expense of learning, even if it happens under the pretense of creating a holistic education.
The old-fashioned language and complex sentence structures associated with classical books often make them more difficult to understand for teenagers. Students thus often become disinterested in the reading altogether and either fall behind or rely on online summaries. Classical literature also has a disproportionately high number of accessible online summaries and analyses designed to give students an easy way out of engaged learning. As a result, the more the curriculum focuses on such literature, the less likely students are to take the time to learn the book themselves.
Moreover, the themes and social norms in these books are often outdated, perpetuating values such as sexism, racism, patriarchy, and white hegemony. For instance, sexist gender standards dominate many ancient Greek works, in which women are irrelevant to the story or occupy solely domestic roles. Not only does this potentially harm students’ learning by normalizing and indirectly teaching now-unacceptable cultural norms, but the cultural disconnect makes it difficult for students to relate to the material or feel comfortable engaging with it. Given that high school is meant to prepare students to pursue higher learning and careers, it is counterproductive to focus on literature that feels irrelevant to today’s society.
Instead of classical texts, high schools should focus on acclaimed contemporary literature. If students truly want to learn the classics, there are many university courses and non-school materials to study them. Rather than looking centuries into the past for texts, teachers and administrators should look toward acclaimed modern texts, such as Pulitzer Prize winners whose works are often equally insightful and far more culturally relevant.
“Attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.” - Horace Mann
“Preparing for an upcoming tournament at YISS, Sahngwon Lee (12) passionately gives his speech in Forensics.”
Photo by Gyusung Lee (12)
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