The Blue & Gold: Volume XXVI, Issue 4

Taipei American School | 800 Chung Shan N. Rd., Section 6, Taipei, Taiwan | blueandgoldonline.org | VOLUME XXVII, ISS. 04 | May 14, 2020

COLLEGE

FEATURES

SPORTS

Class of 2020 college matriculation

All Female Hall of Fame Recipients

Daniel Liu returns with silver medal

PAGE 16

PAGE 12

PAGE 4

2 Student-only graduation ceremony will be held outdoors

the blue & gold may 14, 2020

Arts Festival 2020: the show must go on

By Natalie Scheidel (‘21) On April 27, Upper School principal Mr. Andrew Lowman announced in an email that graduation will now be held outdoors. Previously, on April 14, Mr. Lowman had said that graduation had been changed from May 23 to May 8 and there would not be an in-person ceremony.

Now, the graduation ceremony will be held on May 23 as originally scheduled, but due to the government’s suggestion of a maximum of 500 people for outdoor gatherings, family members will not be able to attend.

At the ceremony, students will have to wear masks. The administration has also organized times for seniors to take portraits in their caps and gowns, which students will not have to pay for.

As a school, TAS must adhere to the regulations of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the Central Epidemic Control Center (CECC) and the Ministry of Education while coming up with the best option for seniors and keeping everyone safe. As such, when deciding what to do with graduation, it was extremely difficult for the school to find a solution.

However, after getting a great amount of feedback, Mr. Lowman decided to make the change. “I’m thrilled that we are in a place now where we can find a happy compromise that fits both in the government’s regulations and for seniors to have a celebratory ceremony that every senior deserves,” Mr. Lowman said.

Upper and middle school choir students rehearse with Joanna Nicholas Artist in Residence Ms. Shou-Ling Wu prior to the concert.

[AMBER WU/THE BLUE & GOLD]

By Amber Wu (‘23) Ms. Shou-Ling Wu, the former director of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, was this year’s Joanna Nichols Artist in Residence for the annual spring concert.

The annual spring concert featuring the choir and orchestras, was pre-recorded this year on April 25 as a result of COVID-19 coronavirus social distancing measures.

The brass and woodwind players were not able to participate and perform in the concert as they could not remove their masks while playing their instruments, violating social distancing guidelines.

There were other major shifts to the performances this year: Ms. Andrea Blough, Upper School vocal music instructor, made a few changes to the repertoire for her classes. Dr. Ruth Lin, the string teacher, had also decided to have the piano and violin soloists substitute the

winds and brass parts for pieces played by the String Orchestra.

Throughout the rehearsals, Ms. Blough has been taking the social distancing guidelines very seriously. For example, Ms. Blough made sure that there were only “five students per riser” to ensure that the choir students were “able to really spread out.”

Even though the biggest challenge while singing with masks on is mastering the complex breathing techniques, Ms. Blough believes that wearing masks will improve the students’ ability to breathe and pronounce notes correctly.

“We are being asked to think about how much breath we can take and what kind of breaths to take in a very different way [when we wear masks],” Ms. Blough said. She also added that the choir students “really only have our eyes to be expressive

[when singing].”

Throughout the years of preparing for the spring concerts, Ms. Wu has been helping the choir classes at TAS. “[Ms. Wu]’s helped find soloists and professional choristers if we need a little extra help in any of the sections [previously],” Ms. Blough said. “She’s helped fund soloists and professional courses if we need a little extra help in any of the sections. So she’s familiar with how we’re doing things.”

Dr. Lin expressed her disappointment for the string orchestra students’ inability to undergo a concert playing with non-string parts. “I think that’s really unfortunate, because [they] don’t get to have the experience,” she said. “[They have] been working hard, but that is the way it is given the circumstances and we are just doing whatever we can.”

New IB course allows students to explore sports on and off the field

By Audrey Hwang (‘23)

Many of the resources used in this new IB class will be online resources, allowing students to maximize their educational experience. [AUDREY HWANG/THE BLUE & GOLD]

Taipei American School will begin to offer IB Sports, Exercise and Health Science as a new course for the 2020-21 school year. This class, taught by Upper School Strength and Conditioning Head Coach Dr. Robert Mitchell and King University’s Head Strength Coach Dr. Christine Coniglio, is designed for students who are interested in sports related sciences.

The class will cover topics of anatomy, muscle metabolism, cardiorespiratory physiology, biomechanics, sport nutrition, and the role that sports plays in society.

This class may intrigue students who want to pursue a career in kinesiology, exercise science, or any other health related field. The goal of this class is to deepen students’ understandings of how the body works in relation to exercise and nutrition.

Although there are no prerequisites for this class, students interested in this class should have a solid fundamental understanding of (and interest in) biology, health, and other physical sciences.This course will be offered as a standard level course for students in the IB program and beyond.

Prior to teaching this course, Dr. Mitchell coached and worked with student-athletes in

the Tiger Center. He received his doctorate from East Tennessee State University in Global Sport Leadership in 2018, making him an expert in sport related topics. “I’m excited to teach this course since exercise science has been a big part of my coursework throughout my academic career,” Dr. Mitchell said.

As part of his preparation for this course, Dr. Mitchell is reviewing the course textbook and all other materials used in this class. Many resources used in this course are online.

Alongside Dr. Mitchell, TAS has also hired Dr. Coniglio to teach this course. She is currently teaching Exercise Physiology at King University in Tennessee.

Upper School principal Mr. Andrew Lowman and Upper School physical education teacher Mr. Terry Lagerquist have been trying to form a class like this for several years now. “We wanted a class that would best prepare students for university level human sciences class,” Mr. Terry Lagerquist said.

This class will inform students of a range of sport related sciences and hopefully inspire some students to pursue careers in the field of sports medicine.

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the blue & gold may 14, 2020

A Series of Unfortunate Cancellations: sports banquet and prom

These dresses will not be worn this spring because prom and sports banquet were canceled. Athletic awards were announced online.

By Sabrina Chang (‘21) Due to the government’s social distancing measures regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, most school events outside of class have been canceled, including the sports banquet and prom, which were originally set to take place on May 8 and May 15, respectively.

These are two of the biggest annual events for upper school students that would have been one of the many culminating “lasts” for the Class of 2020.

On Feb. 20, the TAS community was informed that the sports banquet had been canceled. “[The sports banquet] is a great chance to recognize people for their leadership and achievements throughout the year,” Abe Pogue (‘20), three-season athlete and recepient of the Senior Outstanding Athlete

award, said. “It’s a great chance to see people being recognized for their leadership and achievements throughout the year.”

The sense of community is a big part of TAS athletics. “A lot of people ask me why I didn’t focus on one sport, and one of the biggest reasons is that the team experience is irreplaceable,” Abe said.

Abe is just one of the many seniors who have experienced the special atmosphere of the sports banquet and hopes that younger student-athletes will continue to get the most out of the TAS athletics program.

“Don’t ever be satisfied with where you are, there is always more to learn and room to grow,” he said. “Oh, and drink the juice at the sports banquet next year. It’s really good.”

Prom is another important milestone event that seniors look forward to as a

chance to socialize. It is also their last large formal event before graduation. The decision to cancel prom was made right before spring break. “[Prom is] seen as a right of passage by a lot of students and is a chance to celebrate the seniors,” Dean of Students Dr. Daniel Long said.

“Although it is a huge disappointment, we must comply with the social distancing guidelines of TAS, the Ministry of Education, and the Taiwan government,” Dr. Long said.

The theme of this year’s prom was supposed to revolve around the Roaring Twenties and Asian culture. “We were inspired by the movie ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and wanted to combine the Western and Asian culture of TAS,” Melissa Chang (‘21), co-prom head, said. “The Roaring 20s was a very extravagant period, and we wanted to

[SABRINA CHANG/THE BLUE & GOLD]

explore the Asian aspect of it through red decorations and antique items.”

Although students are disappointed, the prom heads are still trying to make the best out of this. “I have already completed the photo booth designs, so I think it could be fun to edit people’s photos into it as a ‘virtual prom’,” Melissa said.

Despite these unfortunate cancellations, the TAS community, especially the senior class, is fortunate enough to be able to still physically attend school. “In these moments, it’s important to appreciate what we have in this community and be grateful that you can still come to school and sit with your friends during lunch,” Dr. Long said. “The seniors should still take time to celebrate this graduation milestone in their own way and express thanks to the people who have helped them along their journey.”

Asymptomatic TAS alumnus Eddie Margolis contracts COVID-19

By Natalie Scheidel (‘21)

Upon the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Eddie Margolis (‘19), then in the United Kingdom, was advised by his university to head back to Taiwan on March 15.

After his arrival, his mother became worried as Eddie had come back from a high risk area and wanted to make sure he did not have the virus. Eddie had a runny nose and a mild sore throat but otherwise, had no major symptoms.

After being tested, Eddie was relatively certain he had not contracted COVID-19 as he was not exhibiting any of the more common symptoms of the disease; to his surprise, the test came back positive. “I was a little shocked considering I felt I took the necessary precautions in wearing masks and

periodically washing my hands throughout my entire journey home,” Eddie said.

Immediately after getting Eddie’s test results back, Eddie’s parents tested themselves as well; thankfully, the tests came back negative.

There is currently no experimentally verified treatment for COVID-19, so the doctor had informed Eddie that treatment would only be able to target symptoms such as coughs and fevers. “They did prescribe me hydroxychloroquine paired with an antibiotic whose name I can’t recall, but took me off the medication after a few days as certain studies elucidated the possible detrimental cardiac side effects,” Eddie said.

Isolated from everyone, Eddie was not able to see his family as they were going through a 14-day self-quarantine, but he

remained in contact with them through daily video calls and texting. Since he was on break from school and did not have any assigned work, he spent the majority of his time at the hospital reading.

For Eddie, the most terrifying aspect of the virus was the variation in symptom severity experienced by different patients.

Since he was a “silent carrier,” he could have transmitted the virus to his parents who are at a higher risk for severe illness.

Eddie recovered relatively quickly. “The nurses told me I was extremely lucky and that there was a person who had tested positive for the virus for more than 70 days by the time of my discharge,” Eddie said.

Thankful to be back in Taiwan, Eddie believes Taiwan did an excellent job in requiring all people who test positive for

the virus to be isolated in negative pressure wards to contain the spread of the disease.

In his 11 days spent in the hospital, he was given three tests, all of which needed to come back as negative before his discharge. The hospital staff would do routine temperature, heart rate and blood pressure checks when bringing in Eddie’s three meals. Even after he was discharged, Eddie was told to remain vigilant about his condition and undergo another 14 days of self-quarantine to ensure other people are not put at risk.

“All in all, I’m sure people have heard this time and time again, but do not cut corners when it comes to social distancing rules, washing hands, or wearing masks, as slight mishaps can mean the difference between contracting or not contracting the virus,” Eddie said.

AP tests are digital, IB exams canceled

By Vanessa Kang (‘20)

Quickly adapting to the rapidly changing situation of COVID-19 coronavirus, the International Baccalaureate (IB) program announced on March 23 that their examinations for the 2020 school year would all be canceled. Soon after, the College Board was also quick to address the changes resulting from the pandemic, and a new online testing format was implemented for Advanced Placement (AP) exams.

The AP test now consists of a 45-minute free response section and can be completed on electronic devices including phones and

laptops. Students will also be given the option to hand write their exam and upload their submission onto the AP website.

The AP test now consists of a 45-minute free response section and can be completed on electronic devices including phones...

Because of the uncertainity which arises as a result of these changes, the AP is now, for the first time, allowing full refunds to students for the tests that they originally signed up for instead of partial refunds as some students no longer want to do the exam. If any Taipei American School (TAS) student chooses to cancel an exam, they will be allowed to keep the AP designation on the TAS transcript and the weighting in their grade point average.

Though upper school students will not be penalized for not taking the AP exam, they are still highly encouraged to do so.

“Those who are currently still in ninth to 11th grade should definitely consider doing the exam as planned because they don’t know at this point whether they will need their score in order to earn academic credit [in the future],” AP and IB coordinator Mr. Warren Emanuel said.

As the panndemic progresses, educational foundations ensure the safety of students through implementing measures while also rewarding them with academic credit.

Though these circumstances of testing are not ideal, decisions were made under consideration of the safety of students.

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the blue & gold may 14, 2020

IASAS year in review

By Allison Kwan (‘21) The first season Super Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools (IASAS) Championship event was held at International School Manila from Oct. 10-12. with soccer, cross country and volleyball teams competing.

The varsity girls’ volleyball team won the gold medal for the first time in eleven years and were undefeated for the entire tournament, sweeping Singapore American School by winning three sets to zero in the championships.

“At the end of the day, the biggest highlight was probably just watching everyone step up...playing with poise I’d never seen before. The chemistry between Kimberly Huang (‘22) and our hitters was the best it’s ever been.

We have a chant for her now, when she makes an other-wordly set: that’s not possible; it’s KIMpossible,” Mr. William Fillbach IV, head coach for girls volleyball, said.

“The biggest highlight was watching everyone step up.”

The girls’ cross country won silver with Sarahi Zuniga Ruiz (‘20) and Evelyn Lai (‘20) finishing second and fifth, respectively, in both the 5K and 3K races of the IASAS Cross Country Championships.

“What I may remember the most, however, was the fun and laughter the girls shared,” Mr. Steve Anderson, the girls’ cross country coach said.

Boys’ soccer and boys’ cross country came in fourth place while both girls’ soccer and boys’ volleyball came in fifth place.

The season two IASAS tournament, also jokingly known as “The Bronze Age,” was held from Jan. 30-Feb. 1 in Bangkok, Jakarta, and Singapore with basketball, rugby, swimming, tennis and touch teams competing.

Every team won bronze aside from the rugby team who took home fifth place. The boys basketball team continued with their five-year bronze streak.

The swimming teams also earned bronze despite the boys swimming team winning back-to-back gold medals the previous two years.

While season three IASAS championship events for softball, baseball, badminton, golf and track and field were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both Ms. Kim Kawamoto and Mr. Mike Corsini, Athletic Director and Associate Athletic Director, commended all TAS student athletes’ efforts to maintain their fitness and prepare to perform at their best despite the fact that they could not compete overseas.

The girls badminton team hopes to continue their 16-year gold streak while the girls golf team is eager to maintain their four-year gold streak next year.

The 2020 IASAS teams have collected a total of seven bronze medals, one silver medal and one gold medal in both the IASAS tournament championships for TAS.

Daniel Liu spent the first half of his freshman year at an international school in Belgium, where he played soccer. [AMBER WU/THE BLUE & GOLD]

Daniel Liu (‘23) returns to TAS after winning silver for his school in Belgium

By Amber Wu (‘23) Daniel Liu (‘23) returned to Taipei American School this semester after winning a silver medal for soccer in Belgium, where he spent the first half of his freshman year at St. John’s International School. He participated in the International Schools Sports Tournament (ISST), a European private school’s equivalent to TAS’s Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asia Schools (IASAS) tournaments.

Daniel developed an interest in soccer in second grade at TAS, when many of his friends were playing. However, it was not until fourth grade when he began to take soccer seriously and trained.

Daniel has attended to various soccer camps throughout the years. He first went to Manchester, UK, with a few of his friends during the summer. In 2016 and 2017, he and the soccer team he continued playing for, the Inter Taoyuan, traveled to Japan, Spain and Belgium. In 2018, he went to France.

Unfortunately, he broke his collarbone and had to get surgery.

Recently, Daniel traveled to Belgium to

pursue his soccer career. “It was a different environment than [the soccer training] in Taiwan,” he said. “I learned a lot from my teammates and the seniors,” Daniel stated that training in Belgium was more rigorous compared to training in Taiwan. “Even though the training was tough, it was very fun to play with people who share the same passion as I do,” he said.

“It was very fun to play with people who share the same passion as I do.”

After a few months of extreme training in Belgium, Daniel and his teammates earned second place in ISST. “It was very nice getting second place because that was the first time I’ve ever kind of won something for a school, which is very exhilarating,” Daniel said.

Mr. Oliver Harley, Daniel’s coach, has been training him for more than five years.

Coach Harley expressed that he was very proud of Daniel’s achievements. “To have the honor to accompany people through certain stages in their lives is an incredible opportunity,” he said.

Coach Harley hopes that Daniel can “achieve his maximum potential in [soccer] and reach for the highest level possible,” as he believes that there are no limitations to Daniel’s abilities if he continues to train hard.

“When you find a person who is passionate about the game, you hope they can make it their career,” Coach Harley said.

As he plans to remain in TAS in his sophomore year, Daniel hopes to participate in IASAS next year as he missed the season this year. “There were a lot of connections that [my friends and I] made in middle school,” he said. “I hope we play as well as we did in middle school and hopefully get placed at least third, or even first next year [in IASAS].”

Logan Chen (‘20): Long jumping his way into Emory

By Nicole Chang (‘21)

Logan Chen was recruited by Emory University for track and field.

[NICOLE CHANG/THE BLUE & GOLD]

Track and field has always played a major role in Logan Chen’s (‘20) high school career: he believes that this sport has also contributed to his college acceptance.

Logan was recently recruited by Emory University to be part of their track and field jump squad team this fall.

Emory is a Division III school, which means it does not give out any athletic scholarships. Division III is the lowest level of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is the largest of all the NCAA divisions.

Since Emory is a prestigious and selective school, Logan decided to send in his track and field long jump records to increase his chances of getting accepted into college. Logan feels that being a track and field athlete secured him a spot at Emory University because he did not only apply to the university with his academic record.

However, the college recruitment process was not easy and required a lot of patience. “I had to email a lot of coaches,”

he said. “A lot of the time, the coaches won’t email you right away and it might [even] take three to five emails just to get into contact with them. It is also not necessarily guaranteed that the coaches will even reach [out to] you.”

Some of the coaches also required him to make certain jumps to make the team, which was “almost impossible for him” to do.

However, his hard work ultimately paid off, when he got accepted into college. “I think his mental strength is his biggest asset,” his track and field teammate Eugene Yang (‘20) said. “He is able to push through and work even harder in situations when others would quit or slack off.”

Logan recommends students who also plan on getting recruited for sports in college start early. “[You] ha[ve] to start in your freshman year. You have to pursue your sport and you can’t only be good at it, you have to be the best at your sport and do whatever it takes to be the best,” he said.

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the blue & gold may 14, 2020

EDITORIAL

Reflecting upon the year: a glass half full

During any other year here at Taipei American School, the month of May would be a time of joy and celebration, filled with events and gatherings. Yet these last few months of school have been marked by the gripping effects of the COVID-19 coronavirus. We have spent weeks steadily marching onwards to the end of the school year, with the possibility of a nationwide lockdown or school shutdown looming over our heads. As students and faculty roam the hallways wearing surgical masks, it is a grim reminder of the uncertainty of this pandemic.

Typically, The Blue & Gold uses print editorials to present our critical stance on a community issue. But these are rather atypical circumstances. In the midst of this public health crisis, The Blue & Gold would like to take this opportunity, in our last 2019-2020 print edition—to highlight positive change.

In celebration of our achievements, in recognition of all the ways that we have inspired each other, we remember: Last October, our varsity girls’ volleyball team won the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools championship for the first time in eleven years. At the International School of Manila’s centennial “Super IASAS,” students from all different schools came to support our girls’ volleyball team. For the championship match, bleachers were overflowing with Tiger fans.

When the girls won the championship

point, blue and gold streamers erupted triumphantly into the air, a sea of fans rushed onto the court, piling on top of the players. Later at the closing ceremony, the team received a standing ovation. Beating the three-time defending champions, the TAS girls’ volleyball team remained undefeated for the entire tournament and won the championship in three straight sets.

During the All American High School Film Festival, our film team scavenged the streets of New York looking for cardboard boxes to use as props for their project.

Through three jetlagged days and sleepless nights, fighting fatigue and feeding each other water—they created their comedy film, “A Fishy State of Mind.” On the final day, their film premiered in front of an audience filled with students and teachers from other schools; the team waited with bated breath as hosts announced the awards.

And then, the incredible: “A Fishy State of Mind” won Best Picture. After claiming their award, the film team posed for a picture on the red carpet, proudly holding a Taiwan flag.

Sometimes, though, glory doesn’t come in the form of medals and awards.

Last November, many brave young women came forward and spoke their truths, breaking the silence about the intolerable ways in which students have violated community values by distributing sexual photos of other female students.

Through this rough and ongoing process,

students have sparked a conversation about ways in which the school’s character and sex eduation curriculum needs to change.

Most importantly, it is our hope that this will serve as an important reminder that much work lies ahead. This long awaited disruption of the status quo—we owe to the courageous, unapologetic leadership of the young women of this school.

As a journalistic organization, we celebrate student expression of all forms. In particular, we would like to highlight this year’s IASAS dance production, “Elsewhere.”

“Elsewhere” opened to piano music with six dancers sitting on chairs. Two chairs on each end were, noticeably, empty. The piano melody repeated over and over again, as the six dancers moved across the stage, swirling around, wandering further and further away.

Suddenly, the piano stopped. It was replaced by the slow thump of a beating heart. One new dancer stumbled out from the wings, joining the others.

“Elsewhere” was dedicated to alumna Erina Sawa (‘18), who passed away earlier this year. The dance explored many different interpretations of afterlife: purgatory, suffering, utopia. It was simultaneously an expression of grief and a celebration of life, a moving performance that touched every member of the audience. We at The Blue & Gold are continually amazed by the ways in which our community finds beauty and light in times of darkness.

That brings us to our most current

challenge. In February and March, TAS made the decision twice to switch to online learning for a total of four weeks in light of the pandemic crisis. Seeing the administration make difficult decisions to protect student safety, we are reminded that Taipei American School students are granted privileges that few around the world can afford. Access to advanced educational technology, national healthcare, and being able to go outdoors, are things we take for granted every day.

This health crisis has only demonstrated the resilience of Taiwan’s government.

Having learned from the SARS outbreak back in 2003, Taiwan decisively implemented effective quarantine and social distancing measures. And while the government enforces these rules, Taiwan’s citizens do not hesitate to bear the responsibility of protecting themselves and each other by wearing masks and taking important sanitary precautions.

Our students have not sat idly by in the fight against the coronavirus. Whether it is by developing a faster, cheaper way to produce 3D printed face shields using a water jet cutter, or developing a viral detection test that produces results within 30 minutes— the ways that students are choosing to use their opportunities, reflects upon the kindness in our community.

Let us remember the challenges that we have faced this year, and the ways that we have united to overcome them.

[COURTESY OF DUSTIN RHOADES]

[COURTESY OF TAS iGEM TEAM 2020

[COURTESY OF TAS FILM DEPARTMENT

[COURTESY OF MIKE CORSINI

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the blue & gold may 14, 2020

STANDARDIZED STANDARDIZED TESTING TESTING IS IS RACIST RACIST AND AND CLASSIST CLASSIST

Standardized testing preparation books can cost around NT$900. [NICOLE CHANG/THE BLUE & GOLD]

By Nicole Chang (‘21) As the world shuts down due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, many prestigious universities across the United States have decided to make standardized testing requirements optional for the Class of 2021. But should this change be permanent?

Should colleges really start dropping their standardized testing requirements?

Standardized testing has long been problematic. Following the Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, all educational institutions in the United States were forced to integrate. In response to this ruling, these institutions, which had long been fraught with racial issues, used standardized testing as a way to prevent integration.

Standardized testing was created by eugenicists in the 1900s. Eugenicists believed that white people were superior to black people and thus created standardized testing

as a way to distinguish between different races; its very foundation was based on the idea that African Americans were genetically, intellectually inferior to white Americans. To filter out who could and could not attend their schools, early creators of these tests made it so that white people were most successful.

They did this by creating questions that put minority students at a disadvantage, and this cultural bias in standardized tests was still prevalent until just a few years ago.

For example, in the mid 1990s, a question appeared on the SAT that asked students to compare different analogies to each other.

Students were asked to compare four analogies to the analogy, runner: marathon. The four options were (A) envoy: embassy, (B) envoy: embassy, (C) oarsman: regatta, or (D) horse: stable.

The correct answer was (C) oarsman: regatta. According to author Leslie Yalof Garfield in her book The Cost of Good

School trips are underrated TAS school buses take students to and from the airport for trips. [IAN HO/THE BLUE & GOLD]

By Ian Ho (’21) We don’t have enough time to bond.

When I talk with my friends, school is all we talk about. “What did you get on the bio test?” “Did you do the homework yet?” We should not be waiting for four years until our graduation trip to try living with our friends and actually getting to know them.

What we and the TAS Upper School needs more of are school trips. Of the 200 people in our grade, we likely are close with less than 10 percent. We are never forced to meet people, and chances are, we will never know people in our grade that we don’t already know. This is where the school trip’s bonding magic really works.

You can work on a project with a stranger for a month, and only be on working terms, but the moment you hang out with them in a different setting, you would like them more than if you had worked with them for a month. And that’s because school can sometimes be boring. It’s the same reason corporations bother having corporate trips: because good working environments cannot be all about work.

Furthermore, TAS’s motto on the homepage is “a bridge from island to the world.” How can you connect an island to the world when its students haven’t even

seen half of the real world as part of our education? We learn about racism in the U.S. in our history classes, but you cannot say you know what it is like when you have never been there. Experiences outside the classroom are invaluable.

When I went on a MUN trip with people I had never even talked to before, we sat down, ate dinner together, and we went from talking about clubs to talking about love interests. People’s true natures are revealed at night. At night, you are too tired to care about your image, and you talk about things genuinely. At school, by the time night comes and you get tired, you are already at home and you break down alone.

But a club trip is never enough. You spend 7 hours of the day, in MUN for example, discussing world issues, and only get to share the evening with your classmates. You also get tons of homework, tests, quizzes piled on you when you leave. Surely, seven hours a day of bonding, visiting places together, rather than working while traveling would bond people better.

School trips force you to spend time with people you don’t know, making yourself emotionally vulnerable. That is how you get to a person’s core, and that is how you can truly bond.

Intentions: Why the Supreme Court’s Decision Upholding Affirmative Action Admission Programs Is Detrimental to the Cause, this question is biased as it requires a knowledge of “white upper-middle class social norms”. According to Garfield, approximately 53 percent of white Americans chose the correct answer, while only 22 percent of African Americans chose (C).

However, although these racial issues have definitely improved, standardized testing continues to be a difficult issue. Instead of only being racist, it is now classist. Rich people tend to do a lot better in standardized testing as they are able to buy practice books and tutors to help them prepare for these tests. According to The Washington Post, SAT scores have a direct correlation to a family’s income. The higher the income, the higher the SAT score.

“When you have any sort of standardized test, if you have the capability to spend the time and study for it, and you have the money

to buy you someone who helps you prepare for that test, it’s really testing your ability to test for the test,” Upper School history teacher Mr. Jordan Brown said. “Certainly, basic math and English tests can determine whether you have those capable skills or not, but I’m not sure if that is something we should be totally relying on to ensure that we have equal capabilities or equal possibilities.”

Although proponents of standardized testing argue that testing is a “fair and objective measure of student achievement,” I completely disagree. Standardized tests do not only give more privileged students unfair advantages, but they also promote unreliable measures of student performance.

With the global pandemic at its peak, and with more schools temporarily dropping standardized testing requirements, now seems like the perfect time to start reconsidering standardized testing requirements and its implications.

Should you learn Mandarin?

By Jonathan Chen (’23) It’s not rare to hear others argue that Mandarin is the “language of the future”, which might intrigue you to hop on the bandwagon and sign up for a local mandarin class. However, let’s talk about statistics.

Only 0.76 percent of the global population outside of China, a 50 million population, speak Mandarin. Even inside China’s borders, 17 percent of their population, 236 million Chinese citizens, still do not speak Chinese.

However, the second reason why you Mandarin might not be as essential as it seems, is that the time it would take up for you to learn the language may outweigh the benefits. Chinese is known as the hardest language to learn, with 2,500 to 3,000 characters. Characters also have both different and overlapping definitions, and if that’s not enough, six different tones to

match with each phrase. It was estimated by professionals that it would take 2,200 hours for someone to achieve some type of proficiency in the Mandarin form of Chinese. That is six years if you spend one hour a day studying. Instead of sacrificing six years, we could always shift our position to the wonderful: technology.

Which brings up my third reason, there is a global market worth 50 billion dollars for translation technology. This technology allows us to immediately translate foreign dialogue or text into any other language.

Google has created its Pixel Bud earphones, which enables you to instantaneously translate dialogue with a tap.

Don’t get me wrong; mandarin is a great language with high cultural value, but if you are a person with a crammed schedule, it might have to wait a little bit longer on your bucket list.

Many TAS students speak both English and Mandarin. [JONATHAN CHEN/THE BLUE & GOLD]

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the blue & gold may 14, 2020

The debate on graduation honor cords Graduation, also known as honor, cords are colorful strands that have a tassel on each end.

They are worn around the recipient’s neck at graduation to signify a certain level of achievement in various academic and extracurricular activities. Most high schools in the United States and many American international schools have this honor, but Taipei American School does not. In this article, two Blue & Gold writers discuss their opinion on this tradition.

FOR:

By Sabrina Chang (‘21) The Taipei American School diploma is largely known as the most prestigious award there is for students here, but I believe that it is the smaller individual achievements along the way that make the meaning of the diploma so unique for each student.

Graduation cords may either seem useless or unfair to students. I do think equality is important and I agree with Mr. Lowman that the TAS diploma is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon any senior. However, students work extremely hard throughout their high school journey and the cords help celebrate these achievements at the biggest event of the year, and their final one at that.

The purpose of awards ceremonies is for individual celebration. However, a lot of hard working students do not receive awards during these events simply because of limited quotas for each category. With graduation cords, everyone who reaches a certain level in a category can earn it and wear it proudly.

Furthermore, honor societies such as the National Honor Society or the language honor societies require applications and countless hours of work which should be recognized; they symbolize a higher level of achievement than just any club at TAS. It’s not so much of a way to show off, but

more of a way to celebrate an important accomplishment that has played a big part in the students’ lives.

TAS has a plethora of clubs and opportunities for high achievements, and it would be difficult to choose which clubs or achievements would deserve cords. However, if the school is able to decide which awards are given out at the annual upper school awards ceremony, they should also be able to choose which marks of achievement or clubs can give out cords through the same process.

Graduation cords provide a way to motivate students to work hard all throughout high school and reward those who do, thus it shouldn’t be seen as “unfair” but rather something that anyone can earn depending on their mindset. The members of the TAS community who are against graduation cords likely fear that graduation cords promote toxic competition. But that is simply a result of a toxic mindset. It should not be an issue for students who strive for success and improvement within themselves, as graduation is not only a celebration of the class journey but also each student’s individual high school journey.

Ultimately, the spirit of the graduation ceremony is a celebration of the senior class, and that celebration can include graduation cords to recognize those who have achieved major accomplishments without taking away from the class or the honor of the diploma.

AGAINST:

By Ian Ho(‘21) The issue with having cords in graduation is that the people who receive cords will always be the minority. The nature of the award is like such, it excludes the majority of people. At Taipei American School one of our most important value is that of kindness.

By having a minority and a majority, there is no kindness, only imbalance. I agree with the TAS administration’s decision to prevent the spread of honor codes because if they want students to value kindness, their own school decisions must also uphold that value.

For those who know they did well in school, they either received awards during the award ceremony or have already received good grades. There is little reason for people who did not get an award to feel their differences by adding further distinctions.

The purpose of graduation is to celebrate the end of a journey. Don’t bring competition into a celebration. There is no reason to score points in a game that has ended. It would just dampen the occasion.

If a student was participating in clubs for the sake of helping their college applications or winning awards, then their extracurricular achievements would have already been sent to colleges and served its purpose. If students were doing the clubs for fun, then that’s all

There is no reason to continue scoring points in a game that has ended. the more reason why a cord would not be needed to make them feel like their time had been worthwhile.

Traditionally, honor societies in a school would get to wear a special cord for graduation, but Furthermore, Taipei American School’s clubs are so different.

There are five honor societies alone. There are dozens of clubs just as rigorous and honorable as the honor society. If we count all of these clubs, we might as well give a cord to everyone.

The decision on who could get cords would be too subjective. Service clubs may be labeled as less valuable than honor societies if the school’s official system reward one over another. In fact, more non-honor service clubs probably interact with more people in need than honor club members really do.

Everyone deserves an award for their hard-earned four years of high school.

A graduation ceremony that promotes kindness and equality for all students may be the best award of all. We’ve already received different grades, but this is one place where we can all be equal: our diploma.

College is a traditional, not necessary, next step

By Vanessa Kang (‘20) After receiving decisions from colleges, I really began to think more deeply about why I am going to college and what I am hoping to get out of the experience. At the time, I didn’t really think through why I was applying to college; I didn’t fully consider the possibility of anything outside of a college education as no one around me was taking a different path. Through this article I hope that the classes that come after me can think more thoroughly about the choice to attend college and other alternatives instead of blindly conforming to the norm.

“There are many examples of people living successful and fulfilling lives without a college degree,” Mr. Anthony Ives, AP Psychology teacher, said. “The choices we make are heavily influenced by the people we are surrounded by. TAS’ culture frequently promotes the idea that all people should go to college right after high school by default, but that’s not always the best option for everyone.” Those who don’t clearly consider personal reasons for why they want to go to college right after high school sometimes end up unsatisfied with their overall college experience and saddled with a large amount

of debt that can be hard to justify.

According to Mr. Ives, taking a gap year can be a good alternative for high school seniors who are unsure of the next steps to take. It can allow students to truly figure out their interests and do things they never got to explore during high school. “You could travel, work or even learn a new language.

The possibilities are endless.”

In addition to the examples Mr. Ives cited, there are a wide range of alternatives to college that every student could take into consideration as they move on from high school. For instance, students could consider volunteering at a local organization. There are lots of options such as Animal Taiwan, The Center, or the Red Cross. Internships are also a great way to gain exposure to work experiences in the real world.

Ultimately, there are lots of options students can consider pertaining to their future and college isn’t the perfect choice for everyone. Especially with the current situation of schools potentially unable to accommodate so many students from all over the world, it would benefit us all to reconsider whether college is the best post high school destination for us.

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the blue & gold

Capitalism is not a form of protection: the corrupt ISDS system

By Laura Hsu (‘22) As you walk down the streets of Taiwan, you feel a sense of safety and protection, every product you purchase, every choice you make, the government is able to protect you.

Instead of having a constant fear that looms over you tirelessly, you feel safe and secured. But this feeling may only exist if your country is not involved or threatened by the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). e ISDS mechanism protects foreign investors from economic harms caused by host government actions or policies.

Essentially, it gives special legal privileges to foreign investor companies, such as Veolia of France, a waste management company, or a cigarette company, Philip Morris International. ese rights grant companies the ability to sue the host government in a third party arbitration tribunal for failing to meet certain basic standards. is issue may seem distant from our everyday lives. ough in reality, if this system was kept in place with its unjust rules, our government may not be able to preserve our personal rights. To put it in simple terms, ISDS may threaten our individual rights, since countries are not able to maintain control over the nation itself.

Given the complicated circumstances of this tribunal system, it is hard to understand this issue with elaborate definitions. One of the most classic examples of ISDS is one Elizabeth Warren has been quite vocal about.

In 2015, she mentioned the weakness in the ISDS system, the specific case she included was one that included the government Alexandria, Egypt, where a foreign company sued Egypt for raising its minimum wage. e result of this law was that the company was required to pay more for their workers. is example points out the helpfulness of the ISDS mechanism in allowing companies to address problems that

are similar. e problem with the whole system is that it grants special privileges to foreign investors and the ones that can take best advantage of that are the most powerful companies.

As a result, the global economy is affected when multinational companies have power that potentially suppresses government’s from taking social or environmental actions.

In fact, the loophole in this system creates a huge problem for states, as they must sacrifice the risk of being sued in order to protect the rights of their citizens. It is important to find ways to reduce the power of the most powerful companies to prevent them from bullying states.

ISDS threatens individual rights, since countries are unable to maintain control over the nation itself. e only way to do so would be to bolster the power of states within a state versus foreign state situation. e first step in maintaining the rights of states is to ensure fairness. In my opinion, establishing an all equal and universal ruleset will allow both sides of the dispute to gain access to a completely transparent process throughout the ISDS settlement. is ruleset should be written to focus on maintaining state sovereignty.

On top of solutions like ensuring an even playing field for both the states and investor companies, it is crucial to spread awareness about this issue.

Spreading awareness will shine more light on ISDS cases, allowing more voices to contribute to the discussion, and also increasing its chances of becoming an unprejudiced system.

COVID-19: Looking at the big picture

By Jonathan Chen (‘23) e COVID-19 coronavirus is undoubtedly a crisis our global community is going through together. While we praise those who stand their guard to protect our society and mourn for those who have been harmed, it is important for us to maintain a positive view and progress as a society. ere are still some forms of positive outcomes the global community can reap from the current COVID-19 situation. e first is the reduction of air pollution and global warming. As a recent report from Forbes finds, due to the pandemic people have been encouraged to stay home, factories and the transportation sector of most countries have been shut down.

In March, the amount of Carbon dioxide fell by 40 percent in Asian Regions, 30 percent in the UK and 30 percent in New York. As the World Health Organization finds, three million people die each year due to pollution, which is why experts conclude, the decreased pollution has not only saved 11,000 lives in England, and 77,000 lives in China.

In England, it has also led to 6,000 fewer children from developing asthma, 1,900 fewer emergency hospital visits, and 600 fewer pre-term births. e second reason why our society should be positive is because the pandemic will help improve future iterations of our flawed healthcare systems. Due to this virus

outbreak, our global healthcare system has been exposed as severely lacking; not only are we not able to supply sufficient amounts of testing kits, but many hospitals lack life-saving equipment such as masks and ventilators.

After this catastrophic outbreak, healthcare companies and the government will be pressured into amending our system so the next time there is another severe virus, we will be better prepared. e last reason to stay positive is because our medical knowledge and technology will also be forced to innovate. As the Seattle Times analyzes, there will be a US $200 billion dollars worth of investment by the government into medical artificial intelligence.

Such investment could spark a revolution in medical technology, including a method of analyzing or organizing medical data, and assist making the cure. ese are the potential silver linings, but it is still extremely important for the global community to maintain its current awareness on this pandemic. ere are still 3.3 million people struggling with the virus, with millions more of medical staff all over the globe sacrificing their time and risking their own health to help save more lives.

Tragedies like this pandemic will never be a good thing, however it is catastrophic events that act as an alarm clock to the flaws in our society.

How to buy your first stock

By Lana Lee (‘22) As uncertainty grips the world amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the stock market is no exception to industries with worrying volatility. e direction of the market remains impossible to predict, similar to that of the coronavirus crisis. However, understanding the basics of stocks during this adversity is crucial to take the first step into investing once the market starts to resemble a steady state.

What Stock Is Stocks represent an ownership share of a company. When you buy a stock, you become part owner of the company—maybe only a very small part, but you are still an owner.

Before Buying Stocks Make sure to research as much information as you can. Look for trends in a company’s earnings growth: if it generally increases over time, the company is probably worth investing in. e price-earnings (P/E) ratio offers a measure of how expensive a stock is. To find the P/E ratio, divide the current share price by its earnings per share. Lastly, look for companies that pay modest but regular and increasing dividends over time.

Start a Brokerage Account A brokerage account is an investment account you can use to buy stocks. You can open one through an investment company, then fund the account by transferring money from your checking or savings account.

Between using a managed and online brokerage account, many choose the latter option—which allows you to open an account at no cost and to operate your own investments.

Interactive Brokers is a good online brokerage platform for non-US residents. A managed account includes assistance from a human advisor or a robo-advisor.

How to Earn Money Investing in Stocks ere are two ways to earn money when you invest in stock: price appreciation and dividends. Price appreciation is when the stock increases in value because the demand has increased. You will earn a profit when you sell stock that has appreciated.

A dividend is a payment made by companies as a reward to investors for putting their money into the venture. Large companies tend to issue regular dividends (monthly, quarterly or annually) because they seek to maximize shareholder wealth in ways aside from normal growth.

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the blue & gold may 14, 2020

DEBUNKING PROTEIN POWDER MYTHS

By Charlotte Lee (‘20) Protein powder is perhaps one of the greatest mythical confusions of the fitness industry. With a myriad of contradicting advice on the internet about when to take it, what kind to buy and the effects it will have on your body, the vast majority of people fail to truly understand what protein powder really is. In an effort to help the Taipei American School community better understand how to reach their fitness goals, The Blue & Gold asked Strength and Conditioning Head Coach Dr. Robert Mitchell, and Head Athletic Trainer Ms. Amber Hardy a few of the most commonly asked questions about protein powder use.

What does protein powder do for you that food can’t?

Essentially, nothing. Protein powder, just like food, consists of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) that help repair your muscles after damaged. “Damage” refers to the microtearing of your muscles when you lift weights, run and push yourself to new physical limits. BCAAs will help you rebuild your muscles so that you can recover faster.

Neither food nor powder forms of protein, contrary to popular belief, make you bigger or stronger. They merely help you recover faster, which allows you to workout more.

Neither food nor powder forms of protein, contrary to popular belief, make you bigger or stronger.

Both Dr. Mitchell and Ms. Hardy emphasize that food should be your primary source of protein. Those who are sedentary need 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of weight per day. Those who live an athletic lifestyle—which includes student athletes and those who consistently work out in the gym—need 1.4 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram. This amounts to 20 to 30 grams of protein per meal. Therefore, protein powder is truly only a supplement.

It should be used for convenience purposes: it’s much easier to drink a protein shake after a workout than to cook a chicken breast on the spot.

When should you take protein?

There is a lot of different advice about when to take protein powder, but it largely depends on what works best for your particular body. For example, if you can

digest protein powder relatively fast, then you are the kind of person who can down a protein shake 30 minutes before a workout.

But for others, this may cause discomfort or bloating.

According to Dr. Mitchell, there’s a two hour window after your workout when your body is the most “hungry,” and that’s when your body will utilize what you put into it the most. However, for women, this window is more like 30 minutes, Ms. Hardy adds. Drinking protein powder within this window will help your body recover the fastest.

What kind of protein should you take?

Not all protein powders are the same, so it’s critical to do your research on what kind of protein powder you want. If you want to gain weight, what you really want is not a protein powder, it’s a “weight gainer” that contains extra calories. If you just want the protein, then you should look for a protein powder that is low in added carbohydrates and sugars.

Whey (milk) protein is very common, but not all whey is the same, Dr. Mitchell says. Whey isolate is micronized, absorbed into the body faster and higher quality, while whey concentrate is made from less filtered milk, containing additional calories.

[CHARLOTTE LEE/THE BLUE & GOLD]

Other types of protein include casein, quinoa, soy and pea protein. While whey protein is usually marketed towards males, vegan protein is just as effective as any other type of protein, because it contains BCAAs.

Will taking protein powder make girls “bigger”?

Both Dr. Mitchell and Ms. Hardy highlight that lifting heavy weights cannot make girls “big” because there is not enough testosterone in their body to help them build that much muscle. Similarly, protein powder does not contain anything that cannot be found in natural food sources, and will not change your body.

Ms. Hardy, who drinks protein powder and lifts weights regularly, said, “I know a lot of girls try not to offend me, but to them, I’m big. But that’s my [natural] muscle build.

Even if I didn’t lift, I would still have broad shoulders. Taking protein does not make you bigger.”

Overall, the advice that we should really be keeping in mind is to not overthink what protein powder is doing for your body.

Protein powder should not be used as meal replacement whenever you have access to regular healthy food, and it is in no way a necessary ingredient for you to reach your fitness goals.

Mr. Zimmerman is set to teach at Singapore American School

By Sabrina Chang (‘21)

Mr. Zimmerman has worked as a TAS college counselor for the last three school years. [SABRINA CHANG/THE BLUE & GOLD]

Mr. Cory Zimmerman, who has been a college counselor at Taipei American School for three years, will be moving next year to teach at his old high school and our fellow IASAS school, Singapore American School (SAS).

However, his decision to leave was not an easy one to make. “I love living here, and a big part of that is working at TAS, especially with such motivated students,” Mr. Zimmerman said. “However, I was also excited to have the opportunity to return to SAS, a school that I was part of before, in a region of the world that I continue to love.”

Mr. Zimmerman was also a college counselor at his last school in the United States, but the environment was very different compared to Taiwan and TAS. He has been able to learn and expand his knowledge as a college counselor immensely during his time at TAS. Mr. Zimmerman has been especially impressed by the resources offered by TAS, which contributes to the primacy put on

education here. “When I give small tours to college representatives, they are sometimes shocked that we offer resources that even their university might not have,” he said.

Mr. Zimmerman is known for being very charismatic and understanding with all of his students. “He is super friendly and easy to talk to,” Maya Rosenshield (‘21), said. “We are able to talk about a lot of different things, and it feels like a no-judgement zone.”

Mr. Zimmerman’s current junior students will be distributed among the other counselors, which is a plan that the college counseling office will begin implementing soon. “Having to switch counselors is not ideal, but I do trust that all the college counselors are very qualified,” Maya said.

Aside from being a college counselor, one of Mr. Zimmerman’s favorite moments at TAS was serving as the boys’ varsity swimming assistant coach. During IASAS of his first year here, he and the other assistant coach had to step up and lead when the head coach could not make it. “Seeing the students swim out of their minds was really

special, and it was amazing to take home first place,” he said.

Mr. Zimmerman plans to make the move to Singapore in July with his wife, Sarah, who is over seven months pregnant.

However, nothing is set in stone due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and Mr. Zimmerman continues to check-in with SAS about the situation.

“What you are afforded [at TAS] is really special, so I hope that you each take advantage of it.”

Mr. Zimmerman has loved living in Taiwan and hopes that TAS students really appreciate everything that is offered here.

“What you are afforded here is really special, so I hope that you each take advantage of it,” he said. “It’s such a bittersweet move, and I’ll miss [Taiwan and TAS] dearly!”

10

the blue & gold may 14, 2020

A TAS parent shares her experience with miscarriages

By Phoebe Chen (‘21) and Natalie Scheidel (‘21)

[PHOEBE CHEN/THE BLUE & GOLD]

It was an ordinary afternoon when Taipei American School parent Mrs. Jenny Wang Chen felt a sudden lower abdominal pain. Curious as to why she would feel menstrual-like cramping while pregnant, she ran to the bathroom. It was not until she sat down on the toilet and felt something drop through her stomach that she knew what was happening—she was having a miscarriage.

A miscarriage, also known as a spontaenous abortion, occurs when the embryo or fetus naturally dies before the 20th week of pregnancy. According to Planned Parenthood, miscarriages most commonly take place during the first trimester (first 12 weeks), and eight out of ten miscarriages happen during the first three months of pregnancy.

When Mrs. Chen had her first msicarriage at 27 years old, she had already had her first child but was hoping to have another. “I had just had my first baby and my husband and I really wanted to have a second child as soon as possible so they’d be close in age,” Mrs. Chen said. “To our luck, I did get pregnant soon after.”

However, the good news did not last long. A few weeks after conceiving the baby, Mrs. Chen was informed that there had been no discovered heartbeat, which meant that the baby had not been properly developing. “The doctor had told me very straightforwardly: the baby would either

naturally miscarry, or he would have to perform an abortion,” Mrs. Chen said.

Though she had expected to lose her baby, it was still heartbreaking for Mrs. Chen when she first saw the miscarried fetus. “I wasn’t really sure if it was the miscarried fetus, so I made my husband look,” Mrs. Chen said. “Honestly, he wasn’t too sure either, but my cramps stopped afterwards, so I was pretty certain that it was.”

“Talking is a tool that we can all use as women to battle our loses, because it reminds us that we aren’t alone.”

Although both Mrs. Chen and her husband had wanted to have another child, they knew miscarrying the baby was the healthiest outcome. “All we could do was remind ourselves that it wasn’t meant to be, so it was okay that I wasn’t having it,” Mrs. Chen said.

After miscarrying, it took Mrs. Chen another four years without contraceptives to successfully conceive her second child.

After her second child, it took another five years to naturally have her third.

“Having a miscarriage just stopped my entire system,” Mrs. Chen said. “I also had a second miscarriage later on, where the baby once again did not have a heartbeat.

Sure, I was more prepared the second time around, but it didn’t make things much easier.”

Although miscarriages often go unmentioned, Mrs. Chen encourages more women to share and embrace their stories.

“Miscarriages will always be devastating, especially for women who struggle to successfully conceive children. However, it’s natural, and the power of conversation is immense,” Mrs. Chen said. “Talking is a tool that we can all use as women to battle our losses, because it reminds us that we aren’t alone.”

According to the American Pregnancy Association, speaking up is a crucial step towards acceptance and forgiveness for women who have miscarried. By seeking counseling or attending support groups, women can begin the healing process and transition through a time of loss.

Ultimately, Mrs. Chen hopes to share her story so that others who may be dealing with the same problems feel less alone.

“Both emotionally and physically, it changes you,” Mrs. Chen said. “A lot of women are secretly hurting after an incident like this, and I hope that by sharing my story, there’s another woman that feels just a little bit better.”

A beginner’s guide to mental health counseling at TAS

By Amanda Chiu (‘20) Under the high pressure and competitive curriculum at Taipei American School, many students have experienced stress or anxiety. It is important to note that everything discussed with the counselors is confidential and will not be disclosed to other people at any time, with the exception if the student is hurting themselves, being hurt by someone else, or hurting other individuals.

Throughout the years, TAS has been making progress to ensure student’s wellness through support services such as therapy and counseling. “The majority of our work is meeting with students and families,” Upper School academic and personal counselor Ms. Song Han said. That being said, students can also meet with their counselors during their free time if they are ever stressed about school or life in general. This year, the academic and personal counselors have implemented an online scheduling program to make it more convenient for students to schedule meetings with their counselors.

Although counselors cannot observe every student’s in-class performance, they work with teachers closely to make sure the well being of each student. “Many times we will consult with teachers to see what they

observed in the classroom,” Ms. Han said.

After considering the student’s performance at school and their social or emotional struggles, sometimes it is recommended “that [students] do get counseling from Ms. Sherri Lee Grande or counseling outside of school.”

Ms. Grande is currently both the Middle and Upper School psychologist and will work only with upper school in the next school year. She provides short term therapy related to school problems and psychological testing for students who are concerned about their learning issues. “[I usually do] four to six weeks of counseling, but it can go longer,” Ms. Grande said. “If students are having other issues, I also work with outside psychiatrists, doctors, and psychologists in the community.”

Counseling is important as it can help students identify their source of stress or anxiety and provide solutions to solve problems. “I definitely feel like there is more anxiety and stress among students recently, especially worries about the pandemic, academic performance, and the transition to college,” Ms. Grande said.

Peer pressure, which can encourage students to always take a full load of

challenging classes, also contributes to stress in school. Talking to counselors who can relate with the student is beneficial to reaching a healthy and balanced student life as they can discuss and provide a better solution with the student.

“I hope everyone could realize talking to someone who is not [their] friend or family member could be really helpful.”

For students who are uncomfortable talking to counseling professionals at school, there are also outside sources around Taipei that provide therapy services. One of the resources outside of school is The Center, a support network that provides counseling, cross-cultural education, and information services to meet the needs of the international community in Taipei and throughout Taiwan.

“We establish a relationship with the patient first and understand the presenting problem, [whether] it is [students] upholding too high expectations of themselves or parent and child relationship struggles,” Lower School counselor Ms. Cindy Teeters, said.

After six free sessions at The Center, students will be charged for the more meetings. If the family is unable to pay after the free sessions, they can apply for financial aid. Furthermore, if parents are not supportive of the student getting therapy, the student’s counselor can advocate for the student to get additional free sessions or financial aid. Students over 14 years of age are eligible to take therapy sessions individually. However, parental support is strongly suggested.

Ultimately, students are always welcome to talk to their personal counselors whenever they would like. Even if the problem is minor and does not necessarily need therapy, open discussions are the best options to solving problems.

“Everyone will benefit from therapy. In reality, your problem is your problem. I hope everyone could realize talking to someone who is not [their] friend or family member could be really helpful,” Ms. Teeters said.

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the blue & gold may 14, 2020

SENIORS STAYING SOBER: two teenagers’ perspectives on alcohol

Julie Oh (‘20): Old promises can be kept

Dhirpal Shah (‘20): no “experimentation”, no problem

Julie Oh says she has stayed true to her promise to never get drunk, even though at 18 years old, Dhirpal Shah says he has fun even without drinking alcohol and does not feel peer pressure to drink, even though he is 17 years old. [CHARLOTTE LEE/THE BLUE & GOLD] Julie is of legal drinking age in Taiwan. [LANA LEE/THE BLUE & GOLD]

By Lana Lee (‘22) It is not easy to commit to your own vows, especially one that you made years ago. However, Julie Oh (‘20) is still committed to the vow she made in seventh grade, that she will never get drunk.

This was a promise she made to herself in front of her friends when she was an underclassman. “Even after learning about alcohol and its culture, I chose to commit to this promise,” Julie said.

From an early age, she learned about the consequences that alcohol consumption can bring. Besides, having parents who do not find much joy in drinking, she was never given the impression that drinking was important to have fun.

Her family’s faith in Christianity has strengthened her commitment to avoiding alcohol. “[The Bible] says that while alcohol is not evil in and of itself, the abuse of it is because it makes us lose control,” Julie said.

Her first experience with alcohol came unexpected when she was 11 or 12 years old. It was during communion at church, where she was caught off guard. “I didn’t know it was wine and it started burning my throat,” she said. “The next time communion happened, I was handed grape juice instead.”

Now, Julie only drinks on a few occasions with close friends or for

celebratory purposes like birthdays or college acceptances. On the occasions where she does drink, it is mostly “a glass or two of wine, or something light that a friend brings that tastes good.”

Beyond the vow she has kept since middle school, she has recently committed to several more rules: little to no drinking at big parties and no hard liquor. Her philosophy on dependency remains unchanged by the fun that alcohol brings. “I personally don’t like the idea of associating having fun with alcohol,” Julie said. “I want to coexist with enjoyable things, reaping benefits, like the ‘vibe’ alcohol creates, rather than be ‘under its influence’ where I’m unable to have complete control over myself.” Her philosophy applies not just to her attitude toward drinking alcohol, but to photoshopping pictures of herself. eating junk food, spending a lot of money, or just in general, being dependent.

“I believe that all human beings are susceptible to alcoholism,” she said.

Knowing that many rely on alcohol as a coping mechanism, avoiding routine alcohol consumption is one way she keeps her distance from addiction. Even without her parents’ influence throughout her upbringing to sway her away from alcohol, she believes her philosophy of selfregulation alone has been enough for her to

By Charlotte Lee (‘20) Growing up, being different has never been a problem for senior Dhirpal Shah (‘20). Towering over his peers at 194 centimeters tall, Dhirpal is the kind of person who embraces his differences.

He has always been one to crack jokes in Mandarin, make friends with strangers, and turn an awkward situation into a funny one.

“I’m just a very ecstatic, eccentric kind of guy, and I like people,” he said. Thus, whenever he is with friends at parties, alcohol is never in the picture for him.

When people say, ‘drink a little bit’, that’s subjective, right?

“I grew up believing that drugs and alcohol just wasn’t for me, and quite frankly, the more I look around, I firmly believe that the choice I’ve made is correct,” he said. His family follows the religion of Jainism, and one of the main pillars of his religion is that people shouldn’t need to rely on any tangible substances to live their life.

As a result, Dhirpal will never just have a drink or two, or even take a sip. “I don’t

want to make the line blurry for myself at all. When people say, ‘drink a little bit’, that’s subjective, right?”

His family’s religious beliefs have shaped, but not dictated, his philosophy on drinking. “My dad talks to me about this a lot, and he says to me that if I want to drink, ‘sit with me and we’ll drink together.’” But despite his parents’ openness, Dhirpal has no desire to experiment with alcohol.

Still, he doesn’t believe that not drinking necessitates feeling like an outcast. Peer pressure is never really an issue. In social situations, he believes that it is important to “be mature” and “show others that you’re not making an argument with them.” In turn, others will respect your personal choice.

That’s not to say that Dhirpal has never been tempted to drink. On the contrary, he says that temptation happens all the time. “It’s about resisting that temptation, right?” he said. “Someone’s always going to hand you a drink, and if the first time [that happens], you start drinking...then you have to start questioning your willpower.”

Yet still, Dhirpal believes that he has the same amount of fun, if not more, than people who drink in social situations. As he waves his arms around, smiling, responding to interview questions, and providing animated responses: it’s not hard to believe.

The talented O’Malley brothers pursue their passion for music

By Allison Kwan (‘21) and Ian Ho (‘21) It is a well-known fact that the O’Malley family members are all musically inclined.

Max O’Malley (‘20) and Tai O’Malley (‘22) have a mother who studied piano at San Francisco Conservatory. Thus, the brothers had contact with the music starting from a young age.

Max O’Malley (‘20) started playing his first instrument, the piano, in first grade.

Ever since the summer of 2019, Max has been making song covers and uploading them both on his Instagram page and YouTube account. He uses a digital audio workstation (DAW) to mix his music. “I taught myself through YouTube and I also have a tutor that comes over once in a while,” he said. The style of music he enjoys is described as pop and rap with melodic tones. He is especially inspired by the artists Bazzi and blackbear.

So far, Max has only released one original song, “Can We,” which is available on YouTube. The song “Can We” is described as an experiment for him to get used to using the equipment and messing with vocals. “Mixing is really difficult because you want to make the song flow well,” he said. Max utilizes a variety of plugins in order for the sounds in the song consistent in terms of volume and frequency.

Tai O’Malley (left) and his older brother Max (right) both create music in a TAS practice room. [IAN HO/THE BLUE & GOLD] Max’s passion for music will not stop after high school. “I will be majoring in music tech or music business in college,” Max said. Allie Chiang (‘20) trusts that Max will truly be able to shine in the music industry even past his college experience. “I believe people will see [Max] for what he has to bring to the field and hopefully he will be successful and be happy with what he has accomplished,” Allie said.

However, Max is not the only member of his family with a bright future in music ahead. Tai O’Malley started the violin at five years old and started making music at

the age of eight. Since then, he has attended the Santa Rosa Symphony summer camp every year, with a focus on composition, along with his younger brother Matteo O’Malley (‘24). In his third year attending, he brought in two of his compositions to be critiqued.

Tai started composing more advanced works starting in his third year of attending the summer program. He first wrote a piano sonata with orchestral music from “Super Mario Galaxy” as inspiration. The grand orchestral music within video games served as a strong influence in Tai’s music. Today,

Tai works with a professor, introduced

by Mr. Abernethy the music department head, who teaches him music theory and composition.

Last year, Tai was the co-winner for the Association for Music in International Schools Young Composer Competition 2018 with his composition “Starshine,” and another composition of his, the “Valse Rhapsody” was submitted to the International Association of Southeast Asian School Music Convention. “I was fortunate to be there, to see how he receives feedback, critiques and bounces off of ideas,” Ms. Anderson said. “Even though Tai was finished with his piece, he had the musician mentality that his work is never done.”

Ms. Anderson observed that over the years Tai has shown growing awareness to the performers playing his music.

Sometimes when pieces are too difficult, fewer instrumentalists will perform it. “I think Tai has done a remarkable job of finding the fine balance of doing something a little bit on the edge, and not betraying his artistic ingenuity,” Ms. Anderson said.

In the future, Tai plans to support musical entrepreneurship through startups while Max plans to continue releasing more original music.

12 The outstanding athletes of the Class of 2020 are all female

the blue & gold may 14, 2020

Charlotte Lee (‘20) is the only Hall of Fame inductee who is not mentioned in this article. She received two Hall of Fame awards for volleyball and touch rugby, however, because she is our Editor-in-Chief, she is not covered in this print edition due to conflict of interest. See our online coverage for our profile on Charlotte’s athletic achievements.

Chloe Mann

Evelyn Lai

By Audrey Hwang (‘23)

By Audrey Hwang (‘23)

Chloe Mann (‘20), an IASAS AllTournament athlete for both soccer and touch rugby in her senior year, ends her outstanding athletic career at Taipei American School with a Hall of Fame award for touch rugby.

Chloe played in three IASAS finals over her four years of high school soccer.

In her junior year, she was co-captain of the only TAS girls soccer team to be ranked first going into the 2018 IASAS final after round-robin play. She was Coach’s Choice of the girls’ varsity soccer team as a junior, and MVP her senior year. Varsity soccer coach Mr. Julian Thornbury calls Chloe the play-maker of the team. “[Chloe] has great vision on the field and understands the game well,” Mr. Thornbury said.

Along with soccer, she is exceptional at touch rugby. Besides being co-Coach’s Choice on the varsity girls touch rugby team as a senior, she was also the highest try scorer at IASAS with five tries as a junior, and the highest try scorer on the TAS team in Taipei Touch League as a senior. On top of that, Chloe scored the bronze medal winning try this year at IASAS. Varsity touch rugby coaches Mr. Anthony Joe and Ms. Michelle Lawgun describe Chloe as a dominating force on both offense and defense. “She always makes extra meters when she carries the ball [on offense]. On defense, her footwork, positioning and determination make her

Evelyn Lai (‘20), a three-time co-MVP of cross country, MVP of track and field, and seven-time IASAS medalist in both cross country and track and field, leaves Taipei American School with a successful running career earning two Hall of Fame awards this year.

Evelyn started her running career at TAS when she joined the cross country and track and field teams in middle school because her brother Austin Lai (‘16) was also a runner.

“Running seemed like the simplest sport that didn’t require years of practice, so I decided to run with my brother’s encouragement,” Evelyn said.

Since freshman year, Evelyn has been a vital scorer on her cross country team, contributing to the team bronze, silver and gold medal at IASAS cross country. Along with an outstanding cross country career, Evelyn also holds a school record for the 800m relay.

She has won medals for the 3000m, 1500m, 800m relay, 400m relay and the 800m during IASAS track and field.

Evelyn has also proven to be a leader and a great teammate. Alongside teammates Sarahi Zuñiga Ruiz (‘20) and Elly Lee (‘20), Evelyn was a captain of the cross country team in her senior year, and was co-captain of the track and field team her junior year. “As seniors, [Sarahi and Evelyn] did an excellent job balancing the need to give attention to younger runners, sometimes sacrificing some of [their] own training,” girls’ varsity cross

Chloe Mann scored the bronze medal winning try at touch rugby IASAS. [AUDREY HWANG/THE BLUE & GOLD]

an impassable force,” Ms. Lawgun said.

Chloe’s dedication and commitment to fitness and off-season training allowed her to perform at such a high level. “[Chloe] has always been one of the fittest, strongest girls on the team in her four years of playing varsity touch,” Ms. Lawgun said.

Amidst Chloe’s glorious achievements, injuries have hindered her athletic journey.

Two weeks before her junior year’s soccer IASAS tournament, Chloe was faced with a traumatic concussion that prevented her from playing much for the first few days of the IASAS tournament. “[During a soccer game,] me and a teacher went out for the same ball and we bumped heads…

I blacked out for a few seconds and [the teacher’s] head was bleeding,” Chloe said.

Through it all, Chloe has risen above and proved herself to be a great athlete, teammate, and leader. “Chloe is definitely in a class of her own,” Ms. Lawgun sai

Sarahi Zuñiga Ruiz

Jesse Whiteford

By Sabrina Chang (‘21)

By Sabrina Chang (‘21)

Sarahi Zuñiga Ruiz (‘20) is a very accomplished and decorated cross country and track and field runner, with three MVP awards, three all-tournament awards, eight total IASAS medals, and school records in 5k and 3k. Sarahi earned two TAS Hall of Fame awards this year.

Interestingly enough, Sarahi didn’t even know she liked running until freshman year. “I saw running as a chore without many expectations,” Sarahi said.

“But Coach Anderson provided constant encouragement from the very beginning.”

Sarahi is extremely grateful to have teammates who share her passion. “Cross country may not seem like a team sport, but having your teammates to push you during races and off season is a huge part of the sport,” she said.

Her favorite shared moment with her team is from last year’s cross country IASAS when she and two of her teammates came in the top five out of 42 total girls. “It was really special. My coach, [Mr. Steve Anderson], said he had never seen our team at that level before,” Sarahi said.

Sarahi’s favorite individual accomplishment was winning an individual gold medal and beating the school record for the 3k race during track and field IASAS last year. “My goal was to get third, so I was really excited,” she said.

When asked how he would describe Sarahi as a runner, Mr. Steve Anderson, coach of the girls’ varsity cross country team, said, “she is a tough racer who always

Jesse Whiteford (‘20) is an exceptional, triple-threat student athlete in soccer, touch rugby, and track and field, and she is the only senior who has accomplished the feat of being a Triple Four-Year IASAS athlete this year. She ends her high school career with a Hall of Fame award for touch rugby.

Jesse’s sisters, Nico Whiteford (‘15) and Shantih Whiteford (‘18), also played the same sports as her during their time in high school. “They had a really big impact on me in sports, and I was excited to follow in their footsteps once I got to high school,” Jesse said.

Jesse has eight total IASAS medals from all three of her sports, and her accomplishments are a true testament to her hard work. “She’s as tough as they come and hates to lose,” Mr. Julian Thornbury, soccer and track and field head coach, said.

“Her high standards and insatiable desire to achieve them have propelled her to great results.”

Being a Triple Four-Year IASAS athlete is no easy task. Jesse had practices year-round and took many trips to the other IASAS schools to compete. “It was really important for me to stay focused and balance my sports and academics to be successful,” Jesse said.

Earlier this year, Jesse had the opportunity of playing for the Chinese Taipei team at the 2019 Touch World Cup in Kuala Lumpur. “It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” Jesse said. “The overall level was really high, it helped me improve a lot.”

Sarahi Zuñiga Ruiz holds school records in the 5k and 3k. [SABRINA CHANG/THE BLUE &

GOLD]

seems to say ‘come and try to beat me, but you are going to be in a world of pain if you think you can do it’, while smiling the whole time.”

Being a co-captain has also been a big part of Sarahi’s senior season. “I didn’t realize that I could have an impact on other people, and it’s really great to know that I can help motivate them,” she said.

Sarahi, along with co-captains Evelyn Lai (‘20) and Elly Lee (‘20), helped foster positive team chemistry through their leadership. “It is no surprise that their senior year team has forged a very close bond,” Mr. Anderson said.

Other runners have also helped shape her athletics experience and strengthened her mindset, such as TAS alumna and Hall of Fame runner April Chu (‘17), who she always looked up to as a hard working and talented runner.

Sarahi has ultimately wrapped up her career at TAS as the number one cross country runner in school history, and her legacy will continue to inspire other runners and athletes.

Evelyn Lai is a versatile runner who can run 400m to 5k races. [AUDREY HWANG/THE BLUE & GOLD]

country coach Mr. Anderson said.

Evelyn is always looking for ways to improve. Mr. Anderson likes to call her a student of the sport. “She has studied other runners and made notes of their running form and training and racing strategies,” Mr. Anderson said.

However, the journey to greatness was not always smooth. At certain points, Evelyn has felt burnt out having to balance running along with other extracurricular activities, and on top of all that—academics. Though, through all the moments of self doubt and feelings of unmotivation, Evelyn has found running to be a mentally beneficial activity.

“I found that running by myself provided me with a quiet space in which I could spend time alone with my thoughts, which helped me manage stress,” Evelyn said.

After an impressive four years of running in high school, Evelyn has left TAS as the second best cross country runner in school history.

Jesse Whiteford is the only Triple FourYear IASAS athlete in the Class of 2020.

[SABRINA CHANG/THE BLUE & GOLD]

Jesse is not only a three-season athlete, but was also a co-captain each season this year. “Being a captain has taught me to see things from the perspective of my teammates and understand what they’re going through,” Jesse said.

She is recognized as a leader on and off the field by her teammates and coaches.

“Jesse has a great way of bringing levity to any situation and making her teammates more calm,” Mr. Thornbury said. “She is goofy, silly, and fun but also knows how and when to compete, and her teammates really look up to her for that.”

Jesse is a one of a kind player, and her passion for the sports she plays is truly evident to everyone. “Jesse has the X factor.

Her highlight reel from this season’s [touch rugby] IASAS is incredible,” Mr. Joe said.

“But it’s Jesse’s love for the game of touch that sets her apart from others. She even makes Terrible Tuesdays seem like it’s our happy place.”

Ultimately, Jesse will graduate as an extremely successful athlete: TAS’s number one try scorer at IASAS of all time.

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the blue & gold may 14, 2020 PHOTO BY KELLY PHIL/THE BLUE & GOLD

Vintage laughs don’t age well

By Ariel Lee (‘23)

The world is always changing, taste in what is acceptable on television changes with just about every new season and new show.

There have been plenty of TV shows through the ages that once may have been acceptable, but the concept just wouldn’t be well-received in this modern age.

By Phoebe Chen (‘21)

Gilmore Girls

Friends

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

It’s hard to watch “Gilmore Girls” in large part because living in Stars Hollow is a hollow dream. Since the show first aired 20 years ago, the show tackles issues featuring mom and daughter Lorelai and Rory Gilmore as they navigate through school, work and life. That was a very different time, and viewers know that there are some jokes that just wouldn’t happen today.

For example, when Luke said to Kirk, “Whats with the gay bag?” unfortunately, back in 2003 people were still calling things “gay” as an insult. Another example would be when Lorelai reads a review Rory wrote about a ballet, in which she fat-shamed the lead ballerina comparing the ballerina to a “hippo” and even commenting on the rolls visible in her leotard. Even saying “I don’t think the guy is supposed to wince when he lifts the ballerina.” As a society, we have just recently realized how insensitive and completely out of touch with reality these jokes are and they certainly would not work today.

Whether you watch it or not, there’s no denying that everyone of a certain generation has probably seen an episode of “Friends”. The show aired more than 25 years ago, but still, the show is notable for following the lives of six reckless adults living in Manhattan, as they indulge in adventures which make their lives both troublesome and happening.

Because of the popularity of the show, this makes the obvious sexism, homophobia and all round lack of diversity all the more interesting. An example of this would be the lack of diversity in the casting.

Considering how multicultural New York is, all six of the main characters are white, straight and middle class. And with the exception of Charlie, who appears in the last two seasons, named black characters rarely appear for more than three episodes in a row at a time. Considering the different personalities of these characters, the lack of diversity of the show is ridiculous and narrow minded.

“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” is one of the most influential sitcoms of the last few decades. It was one of the few that managed to have its fair share of humor and emotional moments. The show, aired over 30 years ago, never shied away from examining hardhitting subjects or exploring important aspects of everyday life. However, there are a lot of cringe-worthy moments that would never make it into a television show in 2020.

One example of this is seen in the episode “Not With My Cousin You Don’t.” Long gone are the days where male relatives are casually policing women’s bodies and lives.

Unfortunately for Ashley, the cultural shifts weren’t quite as far in the 1990s. In the episode, Will and Carlton overhear Ashley talking with her friends about her date.

Instead of minding their own business, the pair decided to try and control her life.

Not only is this uncool, but it’s also pretty creepy. Long gone are the days where male family members treat female members like possessions.

Seniors should add these places to their summer bucket list

By Amanda Chiu (‘20) and Kelly Phil (‘20)

Jiufen

Mao Kong Mountain Lanterns at Shifen

A clay tea set overlooks the gorgeous Maokong mountains [AMANDA CHIU/THE BLUE

Pass time during quarantine by playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons game

Crowds of people walk through one of Jiufen’s many alleys [AMANDA CHIU/THE BLUE

& GOLD]

Hundreds of lanterns take to the sky in Shifen Old Street carrying people’s wishes [CHARLOTTE LEE/THE BLUE & GOLD]

Taking the MRT Brown line to Taipei Zoo Station, you can try the Taiwanese version of high tea with a glass-bottom gondola ride through the Maokong Mountain.

Along with the lush forest, gorgeous mountains, and tea plantation views, you can enjoy a variety of high-quality local teas such as Tie Guan Ying or Oolong brew while looking over Taipei City. The Maokong mountains will truly be worth the trip.

If you want to wish for good fortune before starting college, Shifen Old Street is famous for its colorful lanterns. You can write your wishes on the lantern and release them into heaven. Taiwanese people believe the gods will see the lanterns and give blessings to your wishes. The railway tracks also add to the old-school and historical feel of Shifen.

Be careful of the trains passing through every little while!

Feeling a little spirited away? Jiufen is famous for its resemblance to Miyazaki’s award-winning movie “Spirited Away” as the buildings here remain unchanged after the Japanese occupation in Taiwan. As a former gold mining town, Jiufen has numerous small alleys and lanes where traditional food and souvenir shops reside. While there, you can witness the old, prosperous, and historical side of Jiufen during the gold rush.

& GOLD]

Originally a simple social simulation game, the Nintendo “Animal Crossing” franchise has advanced itself with its most recent “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” game. Unlike previous versions of the game, which provided little leeway for users to determine the foundation of their game, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” allows users to completely select, cultivate and build their islands.

“New Horizons” can be bought digitally on a Nintendo Switch and physically in the form of a game card for NT$60.

In “New Horizons,” players create characters and move to an uncharted island. Upon arriving on their new islands, players progress through the game by establishing their own colonies and by inviting new residents and opening up buildings or shops.

The main objective of the game is to receive a five star island rating.

To do so, players must accumulate a required amount of wealth and build enough amenities, such as stores and a museum.

Of the eight previously-released versions of Animal Crossing, “New Horizons” has the most unique and engaging storyline. This is partly because in all other versions of the game, users start with pre-selected characters, buildings and islands.

However, in “New Horizons,” users are granted control over their time zones, island location and structure, invited guests and much more. Rather than being bound by limitations, “New Horizons” grants their players the opportunity to create anything they desire.

Another impressive addition of the game is improved graphics. Compared to its first version, “Animal Crossing: Wild World,” “New Horizons’” visuals are not only of higher quality, but are also more stimulating. Instead of simply being showcased through a flat, dull Nintendo DS screen, “New Horizons” is played on the Nintendo Switch, a new video game console that can also be connected to other devices such as a television set. The Nintendo DS screen, on the other hand, on which previous versions of the game like “Wild World” is played on, is merely 2.9 inches tall and 5.2 inches wide.

Ultimately, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is by far the most advanced and entertaining released version of the Nintendo Animal Crossing franchise.

Those who are already familiar with the series will greatly enjoy this new edition of the game, and individuals who are considering investing in the game should definitely do so.

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the blue & gold may 14, 2020

What’s all the “hype” with Hype Kitchen?

By Laura Hsu (‘22)

Hype Kitchen’s “Hype Classic Burger” dish served on a checkered decorative paper layered tray with strawberry milkshake on the side. [LAURA HSU/THE BLUE & GOLD]

Fast food restaurant chains are using cutting-edge technology to make convenient food more efficient and tasty in any store a customer may visit. Though one may enjoy the fast food experience, it takes away the authenticity of sitting down and enjoying a plate of cheese fries or a tightly packed burger.

Luckily, on a Sunday afternoon, I came across someplace special—with the capitalized bright green words “Hype Kitchen” plastered on the glass windows of the exterior, the small dinerlike restaurant instantly caught my eye.

Recently opened in March, Hype Kitchen mimics the vibrantly colored diner one would come across in a ‘90s movie. Down to the efficient counter service, the mildly hot “Sexy Chili Dog” and the richly flavored shakes, Hype Kitchen ticks all the boxes a classic diner should.

Since the diner’s target customers are of a younger age group, the diner reflects the audience’s likings by decorating the diner with cheerful, splashy decorations. The marble white counters and dark green spin chairs adds an extra flare to the interiors. Hype Kitchen is

the perfect location for a retro photoshoot to spice up your Instagram feed.

One of the most popular dishes, the “Hype Classic Burger” has a perfectly disc-shaped ground meat patty, with a fresh piece of lettuce, a slice of tomato and gooey melted cheese to top it all off. The charred exterior that holds the burger together has a crispy texture to it. Once you bite into the burger, savory flavors release in your mouth. The burger is not only visually appealing, but it is irresistibly tasty and has a satisfying fat aftertaste that follows.

Hype Kitchen’s “Cheese Dog” is another signature dish the diner offers. Served with both ketchup and mustard drizzled on top, the adequately spiced hotdog encased with a slightly warm hotdog bun is held together by melted cheese slices. The dish seems to always be in high demand, with almost every customer ordering one “Cheese Dog” per table.

This particular diner has genuinely wellmade dishes and restaurant designs that satisfy the growing social media demand. Hype Kitchen is a real life example of how a small scale American-style diner can thrive in a quiet neighborhood in Taipei.

Reliving the ‘Bulls Era’ in “The Last Dance” Michael Jordan's NBA STATS

Hall of famer Second all time NBA leading scorer with 32,292 points Six-time NBA champion Five-time Most Valuable Player Six-time Finals MVP 14-time all star

By Jonathan Chen (‘23) On April 19, “The Last Dance,” a documentary of the legendary 1996-97 Chicago Bulls was released. The seven episode series is centered around the three Chicago star players/hall of famers: Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman. The series explores the different rumors that were present during the eventful 1996-97 season. Even more exciting, the series has focused much of its coverage of the undisputed ‘greatest of all time’ Michael Jordan, focusing on his relationships with his teammates and the management.

An extremely memorable moment is the coverage of Jordan’s foot injury in the 1986 NBA season. Jordan has never suffered a major injury before, after acknowledging he had broken his foot, he was forced to miss

64 games. This bored out a young, passionate Jordan and he secretly played pickup games in his alma mater, University of North Carolina.

When Jordan returned to the Bulls, everyone was surprised that he had become even better. However, the Bulls’ management team did not want to risk their future by playing Jordan on the court again, opposing the will of a fiery Jordan. Ultimately the two came to a compromise, Jordan was allowed to play 14 minutes a game.

But as legends go, limited playing time was not bound to stop Jordan, in the 18 games he played, he averaged 22.7 points, outscoring all of his teammates. He also single handedly led the Bulls back into the playoffs. To mark his presence, Jordan even scored the highest points ever scored in a NBA playoff game: 63.

Though losing in the first round to the mighty Celtics, Jordan made it clear it was his time to dominate the league.

It is moments like these we are not able to experience or acknowledge simply by watching a basketball game. The series does not stop its coverage on the Chicago Bulls’ success, but to each event that built up to this success. To be able to witness the details between these astonishing accomplishments allows us to appreciate greatness and feel like we are part of history.

The detailed coverage from “The Last Dance” uncovers many events we were unable to acknowledge as fans, which makes the series so exciting and allows us to enter the minds of one of the greatest teams to play the game. As a result, I would give this series a 23out of five.

“Westworld”: a modern take on the AI revolution

By Kelly Phil (‘20) HBO’s “Westworld” aired on Oct. 2, 2016 and its third season is coming to a close within this year. The third season of “Westworld” retains the signature complexity and gorgeous cinematography of the show.

The first season of “Westworld” followed the events that transpired on Westworld, one of several theme parks where astonishingly lifelike robots populate re-creations of various historical periods. For a very large price, the wealthy can come and roleplay the fantasy of their choice for a spell, tourists for whom morality is optional and hedonism is encouraged because, after all, the robots (called “hosts”) are not real people. It was here that viewers were introduced to hosts like Dolores Abernathy (played by Evan Rachel Wood) and Maeve Millay (played by Thandie Newton).

As the seasons progressed, the show followed the path to consciousness the hosts followed while in the park. At the same time, viewers were introduced to park managers like Charlotte Hale (played by Tessa Thompson)

and Bernard Lowe (played by Jeffrey Wright).

Throughout the first two seasons, a figure shrouded in mystery named the Man in Black (played by Ed Harris) acts as the main antagonist.

Season three takes place in the aftermath of a major event in season two when the hosts began to fight back and tear down the park around them. Throughout both the second and first seasons, there were running threads tied to the elite who ran and attended the park. This mostly related to an internal power struggle within Delos (the corporation that owns Westworld and its sister parks) and teasing that the actual purpose of Westworld is not entertainment but data: a perfect psychological profile of all the elite guests who visit it, built using their unfettered behavior in the parks.

This summary, however, does the show little justice “Westworld” is one of the most overplotted shows on television. It uses nonlinear storytelling, constant references to literature philosophy and periodic plot twists that add an unbelievably dense nuance to the show. In many

ways eason three contains the same complexity that was present in the first two seasons but is unable to capitalize on them in the same way.

Season three’s appeal to taking down an electronic system or AI technologies has a degree of pretentiousness that is a little more ridiculous than I suspect it is intended to be. Season three sees a new character named Caleb (played by Aaron Paul), an ex-army vet struggling to make his way through life with what appears to be a social credit system. Caleb droning on about how the game is rigged is not nearly as much fun as Dolores going to town on a group of bodyguards trying to protect whoever the big tech overlords will turn out to be. But even at its most pompous and silly, Westworld remains a thrill a second, and ironically, given that it loves a Big Question, it’s best enjoyed when not thinking too deeply about the answer.

At the same time, the show looks amazing, with a pure cinematic blockbuster feel from start to finish. Evan Rachel Wood is excellent as this new ultra-Dolores, on an unbending mission to smash the system.

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the blue & gold may 14, 2020

FAREWELL TO THE BLUE & GOLD SENIORS [PHOTO BY AMANDA CHIU/THE BLUE & GOLD]

Charlotte Lee: Editor-In-Chief

Kelly Phil:

Copy and Section Editor

Amanda Chiu: Sports Editor

Vanessa Kang: Staff Reporter

By Amber Wu (‘23)

By Jonathan Chen (‘23)

By Sharon Lee (‘22)

By Audrey Hwang (‘23)

Charlotte Lee (‘20), the Editor-In-Chief of e Blue & Gold, has been involved in journalism for four years. She is also the cocaptain of touch rugby and volleyball teams, a two-time hall of fame athlete, and the president of Amnesty International at Taipei American School. She will be heading off to Brown University after graduation.

In middle school, Charlotte developed an interest in joining e Blue & Gold because her brother, Julian Lee (‘18), brought copies home for her to read. She idolized the writers and read every page of each issue. Charlotte found the newspaper production to be very inspiring. “e Blue & Gold is a place where students [take] learning into their own hands by becoming better writers,” she said. “ey make the community a better place just by voicing their opinions.”

Although Charlotte initially joined e Blue & Gold out of curiosity, she learned to utilize this platform as a way to advocate for topics that she is passionate about as she further immersed herself in the publication. “[Being in e Blue & Gold] shows me that it’s a place where you really do have a lot of freedom to talk about what you want,” she said. “It re ects whatever effort you put into it, and that’s really rewarding. I feel very grateful that I had the opportunity to grow alongside it.”

Charlotte will miss interacting with members of the TAS community. “I think e Blue & Gold has given me an excuse to talk to people about things they care about and the things I care about too,” she said. “at’s really important, because at school, we’re all really busy. It’s hard for people to stop and give them your time. But because of the school newspaper, they will do that for you.”

Ms. Abigail Chen, Charlotte’s English teacher for three years, is very proud of Charlotte as she often sparkles her classes with her quirkiness. “I am most proud about Charlotte’s strength and con dence in using her voice to speak her truth and ght for what she believes in,” Ms. Chen said. “I will miss her intensity and competitiveness.”

As the Editor-In-Chief of e Blue & Gold, Charlotte’s advice for underclassmen is to overcome any hesitation when they pursue their passions. “If you ever have an idea that you want to explore, the best time to do it is always immediately,” she said.

“You should always follow your instincts.”

Kelly Phil (‘20), the Opinions, Verdict and Copy Editor of e Blue & Gold, has been involved in journalism for four years.

She has also been involved in the community as a superior distinction member of the National Speech and Debate Association, the vice president for UNICEF at TAS, and an officer for partisan health. She will be heading off to the University of Michigan Ann Arbor after graduation.

Kelly’s journalism career started from freshman year when she decided to join e Blue & Gold to pursue her interest in writing. She says “I joined because I always liked writing so I always pictured myself writing for a school publication one way or another.” roughout her four years involved in e Blue & Gold, her favorite memory was the layout sessions, which allowed her to not only “bond with other members of the staff,” but designing pages for the press also allowed her to “explore a creative outlet outside of writing [she] didn’t think [she] would have ever discovered if it wasn’t for joining the paper.” As a result, Kelly is also most proud of the different writing and layout pages that she had to produce for past issues. She believes that it is because of her journalism experiences that she was able to “push [her] creative ability and [her] writing to its fullest extent” throughout high school.

Re ecting back to her high school career, Kelly said she would have “tried to get more sleep in [her] junior and senior year.” She was heavily involved with extracurricular activities such as debate, UNICEF, basketball and after school teaching.

Kelly will be attending the University of Michigan Ann Arbor next year. “It was de nitely a school I really wanted to attend so I’m excited to go. e primary reason I wanted to attend UMich was for their debate program, so I’m looking forward most to debating for them,” she said. Kelly leaves with a suggestion for the freshmen, as she says “sleep is really important and makes a world of difference.”

Finally, Kelly discusses the importance e Blue & Gold has been to her. “e Blue & Gold introduced me to a group of people who were passionate about writing and who showed dedication to making the paper the best it could be, and that feeling of being around motivated people is what made this publication so special.”

Amanda Chiu (‘20), the Sports Editor of e Blue & Gold, has been in journalism for three years. She is part of the IASAS softball team, and plays the alto saxophone in the Wind Ensemble. She is also the secretary of the Japanese Honor Society. Next year, she will be heading off to the University of Washington.

Amanda joined e Blue & Gold out of curiosity to learn more about journalism. She wanted to improve her writing skills and saw the members of the editorial board as great role models. However, she felt very nervous when she rst joined e Blue & Gold. “I saw the bond between the journalists in our class and wondered if I would be able to join them one day, and possibly become a leader,” she said.

Despite her initial worries, Amanda wishes that she had joined e Blue & Gold one year earlier during her freshman year. She encourages underclassmen to not hesitate in exploring their interests early on in upper school.

One of Amanda’s favorite moments in journalism was when she got to do layout for the rst time. “It was really exciting but also frustrating because I had to zoom in so much on InDesign, and adjust every line to perfection,” she said.

Besides her love for layout, Amanda is also very passionate about challenging the norms of society and often covers people who may be considered a minority at our school such as our supporting staff.

Her English teacher, Ms. Simone Zhang, describes Amanda as a wonderful student to have in her class. She feels really fortunate to have taught Amanda for two years. “Her internal landscape is very full, she’s open to a lot of possibilities and she’s willing to be different.”

Amanda is very caring towards her peers and often goes out of her way to support them and brighten up their day. “She is very vibrant and funny, and makes her friends laugh a lot,” Eugene Choi (‘20), Amanda’s friend, said. “She cares a lot for her friends and wants to make them feel happier and less stressed.”

Ultimately, Amanda feels that e Blue & Gold has allowed her to bring an impact to the school. “I’m not someone who usually expresses my emotions, but e Blue & Gold has allowed me to express my feelings towards the school and my passions,” she said.

Vanessa Kang (‘20) has been involved in journalism for two years. During her time in e Blue & Gold, Vanessa has established a concrete role as the staff’s resident artist, having created many appealing print covers and layouts.

Vanessa joined e Blue & Gold as a junior when she was inspired by the cover art of a previous print edition. Re ecting on her journalism career, she is glad that she joined e Blue & Gold in her junior year.

“It took a lot of courage [to join the class] because I didn’t understand the culture of the class or what it would be like, but I joined anyway because I wanted to write and express my opinions and do art too,” Vanessa said.

To Vanessa, e Blue & Gold was a place where she could voice many of her opinions with comfort. She enjoys the openness in daily conversations and the ease of writing without as many structures compared to many English classes at Taipei American School. “It was refreshing to write in a style that is actually your own,” Vanessa said.

Along with being an active design student in e Blue & Gold, Vanessa was involved in the I Love Art Fashion club and the Chinese Honor Society. She also took IBHL Visual Art in her junior and senior years where she created many watercolor pieces while incorporating a whimsical theme.

Based on her own high school experiences, Vanessa advises upper school students to take advantage of TAS resources. is can include classes only provided at TAS, or programs that are relatively harder to nd outside. “I think [taking] IB Visual Art was a really unique experience that might have not been offered at other schools,” Vanessa said.

As of this publication date, Vanessa is still choosing to go to college at either Rhode Island School of Design or Parsons School of Design under a Graphic Design major. Due to the current COVID-19 coronavirus, her freshman year at college remains uncertain. “All this time that I have been given to think about what my next steps are and this makes me more unsure of the value of college education,” Vanessa said.

After leaving e Blue & Gold, she will miss the day to day conversations in class and doing cover art for print editions.

16

the blue & gold may 14, 2020

800 CHUNG SHAN N. RD. TAIPEI 11152 TAIWAN

The Class of 2020 has gone through an unorthodox senior year due to the pandemic.

[PHOTO COURTESY OF TAS YEARBOOK]

A letter from the senior class presidents Dear Class of 2020, This year did not really go as we planned.

Well, that might be an understatement. Senior Lock-In was “indefinitely postponed”. Season 3 IASAS became local exchanges. Prom was cancelled. Our last Class Performance *cough Airband* victory was robbed from us.

Graduation almost became a photo slideshow.

The “lasts” we were looking forward to never happened.

Even being on campus for the first semester of college seems unlikely as the world struggles to contain the spread of COVID-19.

When normality is disrupted by the unknown, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by ever-changing headlines and forget how far we’ve come. Our high school journey should not be solely defined by the setbacks we faced in these past few months, but by the countless milestones we’ve achieved thus far. We’re known for being one of the most spirited classes in TAS history. We’ve

won competitions, paved the way for future generations, and broken school records (and speakers). We’ve voiced our opinions no matter what the circumstances may be.

And as we move on to the next chapter in our lives, let’s not forget the people and experiences that have fundamentally changed how we think and act. No matter how rapidly the world changes around us, it’s important to remember where we came from. We came from these red brick walls and everything within them: quiet productivity in the library, spikeball in the courtyard, the beloved chicken leg on rice, late nights in the lab, a spotlight on center stage. Victories, sorrows, and everything in between.

We’re soon going to move on to a bigger world. We’re soon going to take on the challenges college life thrusts upon us. As we look beyond the TAS bubble, we’re soon going to make new memories, memories that the people you’re surrounded by today may not

be a part of. Ten years from now, these people may no longer be significant characters in your story. However, as you flip back through this chapter, remember the good times that we’ve shared, and the not-so-good times that made you a stronger person. Celebrate the ups and downs of high school life because you’re never going to experience anything quite like it again. But most importantly, say “thank you” to everyone who helped you along the way for those are the people who brought color to these pages.

Class of 2020, it’s sad to watch everyone go, but we’re excited for what the world has in store for you. And no matter what happens, we’ll be rooting for you every step of the way.

Love, Your Class Presidents (Yan Ying and Emily)

92 percent of senior survey respondents for the Class of 2020 report being accepted by one of their top five schools to which they applied.

King’s College London Lafayette College Massachusetts Institute of Technology New York University Northeastern University Northwestern University Occidental College Parsons School of Design Pepperdine University Pomona College Pratt Institute Princeton University Purdue University Rice University Seattle University Stanford University Stevens Institute of Technology Mechanical Engineering The New School The University of Chicago Tufts University University of Rochester University College London University of Alabama University of Arizona

NEWS EDITOR SHARON LEE (‘22) OPINIONS AND VERDICT EDITOR KELLY PHIL (‘20) FEATURES EDITOR LAURA HSU(‘22) SPORTS EDITOR AMANDA CHIU (‘20) STAFF WRITERS VANESSA KANG (‘20) IAN HO (‘21) ALLISON KWAN (‘21) SABRINA CHANG (‘21) LANA LEE (‘22) AMBER WU (‘23) ARIEL LEE (‘23) AUDREY HWANG (‘23) JONATHAN CHEN (‘23) ADVISER MS. LINDSEY KUNDEL

Oh, the places they’ll go!

Arizona State University Berklee College of Music Boston University Brown University California Polytechnic San Louis Obispo California State University, Long Beach Case Western Reserve University Central Saint Martins Chinese University of Hong Kong Christ Church, University of Oxford College of William & Mary Columbia University Cornell University Duke University Emory University Erasmus University Rotterdam FIT Fashion Institute of Technology George Washington University Georgia Institute of Technology Haverford College Hong Kong University Science and Technology Imperial College London Indiana University Kelley School of Business

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CHARLOTTE LEE (‘20) MANAGING EDITORS NATALIE SCHEIDEL (‘21) NICOLE CHANG (‘21) COPY EDITOR KELLY PHIL (‘20) SOCIAL MEDIA & MARKETING PHOEBE CHEN (‘21)

University of British Columbia University of California, Berkeley University of California, Irvine University of California, Los Angeles University of California, San Diego University of Cambridge University of Canterbury University of Colorado Boulder University of Edinburgh University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign University of Indiana, Bloomington University of Manchester University of Michigan, Ann Arbor University of Notre Dame University of Puget Sound University of Southern California University of Sydney University of Texas at Austin University of Texas at Dallas University of Toronto University of Virginia University of Washington Vanderbilt University Washington University in St. Louis Wellesley College

The list of colleges is accurate as of May 5.

United States of America: 85.3 percent

Europe & United Kingdom: 6 percent

Canada: 7.3 percent

Oceania & Asia: 2 percent

MISSION STATEMENT The Blue & Gold is a student-run publication dedicated to sharing stories from the Taipei American School community. Produced and distributed free of charge monthly during the academic year by staff writers at TAS, the Blue & Gold strives to showcase and interrogate the community it serves.

CORRECTIONS We take all measures possible to report accurately, and seek to bring professional, thorough reporting to our readers. Please report any inaccuracies in Blue & Gold content to out email, blueandgold@tas. tw.

OP-EDS AND EDITORIALS Editorials collectively represent the opinions of the Blue & Gold’s editorial board, while op-eds represent the opinions of each writer. Opinions in the Blue & Gold do not necessarily reflect the views of TAS student body, staff, faculty, or administration.

THE BLUE & GOLD ONLINE The Blue & Gold runs an online edition that publishes articles every weekday when school is in operation. Find the website at blueandgoldonline.org.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We welcome letter submissions from all readers. Email your signed letter of under 500 words at blueandgold@tas.tw.