November 2021 by The Affair Magazine

CURRENT AFFAIRS IN A WAY YOU'LL LOVE

Sahithi Lingampalli founder art co-director

vice executive layout co-director

Kavya Gurunath

Ashmita Annamalai

vice executive science co-director

Geethikaa Tarra

art & media, opinion codirector

Evelyn Chen

art co-director

Vrinda Gandhi

vice executive public relations co-director

Parker McElroy

politics & world events director

Juee Deshmukh

science co-director

Taruni Manam

vice executive lifestyle co-director

Samita Pandit

lifestyle co-director

Grace Yoon

politics & world events codirector

Cindy Zhang

opinion co-director

Harvi Karatha

editing co-director

Uday Lingampalli

COVER ART BY SAHITHI LINGAMPALLI

editing co-director

Aathmika Radhachandran public relations co-director

meet the staff

WRITERS: Gunkriti Kaur Harshvir Chahal Helen Bian Kavya Gurunath Mia Grace Nitya Baratam Parker McElroy Rachel Adam Sahithi Lingampalli Tanishka Gangavelli Thejo Tattala ARTISTS: Evelyn Chen Juee Deshmukh Sahithi Lingampalli

EDITORS: Ameya Aneja Anvitha Mattapalli Ashmita Annamalai Dominique Samantha Geethikaa Tarra Harini Akurathi Harshvir Chahal Helen Bian Jason Liu Jeet Parikh Juee Deshmukh Manushri Bapat Mia Grace Myint Myat Theingi Nitya Baratam Parker McElroy Ritika Soni Samita Pandit Shoffana Sundaramoorthy Tanishka Gangavelli Taruni Manam Uday Lingampalli

LAYOUT DESIGNERS:

Hannah Huang Harini Akurathi Helen Bian Inchara J Sahithi Lingampalli Sierra Tan Tanishka Gangavelli

contents

ART AND MEDIA

4 5 OPINION

The Importance of “Girl with a Pearl

4 7 Should Colleges Stop Using SAT/ACT Scores

Earring

for Admissions?

The Facebook Outrage

4 9 Should Assisted Suicide be Legal?

TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN

5 1 MOTM

Digital Contact Tracing

5 3 SPONSORS

The Integration of Fashion in Prosthetic

Technology

Self Driving Cars

POLITICS AND WORLD EVENTS

Drought in Madagascar

Dolphin Hunting in the Faroe Islands

Huntington Beach Oil Spill

Meng Wanzhou Released

SCIENCE

What is Planet X?

Mental Health Medicine

Science Basics: Genetics

LIFESTYLE

Día de los Muertos

Diwali

Hanukkah

the importance of girl with pearl earring A two year long scientific study of the painting yielded fascinating, yet still widely unknown information about Vermeer’s work in 2020.

art & medi

the facebook outrage It is undeniable that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s invention has contributed to the molding of the social media world. No matter how one uses it, social media has cultivated an environment of toxicity. Now, people are realizing it.

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If you’ve ever taken any art, European history, or art history class, chances are that you’ve already heard about one of Johannes Vermeer’s famous (if not the most famous) paintings, “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” The painting is known for the subject’s “enigmatic gaze, the colors and the delicate quality of the light” (Martinique, 2020). Even though the identity of the woman in the painting is still unknown, a two year long scientific study of the painting yielded fascinating, yet still widely unknown information about Vermeer’s work in 2020. Maritshuis, the museum in the Netherlands which currently houses this painting, collaborated with a team of researchers in an attempt to learn more about the mediums as well as the painting methods Vermeer implemented in creating his masterpiece. The researchers discovered two things about the painting: there were more details within it that had eroded due to time, and the quality of the paints used was astounding.

the impo Unlike the images we see online, the subject is not actually painted on a simple dark background. Researchers discovered that the background was actually a dark green curtain that disappeared over centuries due to various physical and chemical changes that occurred in the paint (Martinique, 2020). The fabric was discovered using advanced imaging techniques with color variations and visualized diagonal lines suggesting that it folds, all of which are completely unseen to the naked eye (Mauritshuis, n.d.). The painting was also found to have several revisions made by Vermeer, specifically on her ear, headscarf, and back of her neck (Machemer, 2020). Additionally,contrary to popular belief, the woman does have eyelashes — they’re just impossible to see without macro-x-ray fluorescence scanning and microscopic examination (Martinique, 2020). Even crazier is the fact that her pearl earring is in fact an illusion, merely created by a strategic layering of translucent and opaque white paint. Polarized light photographs give a deeper insight into Vermeer’s painting style. These photographs demonstrated that

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originally composed the using various shades of brown ck, and contoured the woman e, black lines (Mauritshuis, n.d.). nately to those who were the identity of the woman was overed. Experts believe that this was not created to emphasize ject but rather the outfit and er (Machemer, 2020). These s — known as tronies — allow t to demonstrate their ability in g fine details, such as “an garment or characteristic facial Essential Vermeer, n.d.). Thus, cket and headscarf were ated specially with paint made is lazuli.

apis lazuli, a royal blue semis rock, was estimated to have a alue higher than that of gold Vermeer’s time period. The tion of the paint itself was to be extremely timeng, with a discovery hinting rock was first melted and then d (Mauritshuis, n.d.). Other such as the red used in the s lips, came from insects ous to Mexico and Southern , whereas the white was from lead mined in England.

Thanks to the researchers and Mauritshuis, so much has been discovered about Vermeer’s undoubtedly most famous work. The researchers noted that they still have so much they want to discover (Mauritshuis, n.d.). Martine Gosselink, Mauritshuis’ director, remarked on behalf of the team that they felt they got “a little closer to her.” With rapidly advancing technology, it is definitely possible to find out so much more about this painting, and the researchers will keep on working on discovering all the secrets hidden behind centuries of wear.

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THE

FO AU CT ER B A O OG KE 9

WRITTEN BY Mia Davis EDITED BY Geethikaa Tarra, Myint Myat Theingi, Jason Liu LAYOUT BY Helen Bian ART BY Sahithi Lingampalli With nearly three billion users, Facebook is the world’s leading social media platform(Statista, 2021). In addition to Facebook, the company also owns Whatsapp and Instagram. The family of apps has taken the world by storm. With this in mind, it is undeniable that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s invention has contributed to the molding of the social media world. No matter how one uses it, social media has cultivated an environment of toxicity. Now, people are realizing it. On October 3, 2021, an interview with a Facebook whistleblower was released on “60 Minutes”. Frances Haugen, the whistleblower behind the leaking of thousands of Facebook documents, revealed her identity in the interview. She had been a part of Facebook’s civic-integrity branch, working to

ensure that misinformat spread across the platfo once the election of 202 the civic-integrity team w (Haugen, 2021). She and that this removal ai insurrections of January the Capitol was storme occurred, Facebook was n with protecting the pub higher levels of engag along with other evidenc to recognize that Faceb concern was one of prof supporting the public.

Facebook’s head-turning not stop there. Haug algorithm change in 2018 users using negative me that propelled Facebook inflicting damage upo Internal Facebook doc Haugen disclosed while supported claims that soc fueled issues surroun illness, specifically in Instagram’s algorithm specifically modified to media consumption, an gain more profit. Mi negative media that toxicity gets the most rete

Public disapproval can a regards to the w Skepticism arises as pe the validity of Haugen’s cl

tion was not orm. However, 20 concluded, was eliminated others believe ded in the 6, 2021, when ed. When this not concerned blic, but with gement. This, e, led Haugen book’s primary fit rather than

concept of negative media garnering more attention, more clicks, and more revenue. It is unclear whether or not these claims are valid, and only time will tell.

g behaviors do en cited an 8 that hooked edia, a change forward while n its users. cuments that e anonymous cial media has nding mental young girls. has been o gain more nd, therefore, sleading and perpetuates ention.

Following the release of the interview, on October 4, Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram experienced an international shut down. The social networks became inaccessible as users were unable to load content. Lasting around six hours, the shutdown resulted in a multi-billion dollar loss for Zuckerberg (Brown, 2021). Facebook’s stocks plummeted, impacted by both the world-wide outage and the whistleblower’s allegations. According to Santosh Janardhan, Facebook’s vice president of infrastructure, “...configuration changes on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic between our data centers caused issues that interrupted this communication”. Essentially, it was a technological issue rather than one intentionally made in response to the whistleblower. The back-to-back occurrences were likely unrelated but worked hand in hand to create conversation surrounding the safety of Facebook, Instagram, and similar platforms.

lso be seen in whistleblower. ople question laims,

On October 5, the whistleblower testified at a Senate hearing, titled ‘Protecting Kids Online: Testimony from a Facebook Whistleblower.”

Haugen was adamant about protecting the youth from the dangers of Facebook and its products, as they disregard the safety of their juvenile (and, frankly, all) users. She called upon Congress to act, saying, “The company's leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer, but won't make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people. Congressional action is needed. They won't solve this crisis without your help.” She also testified for the British Parliament on October 25. Haugen is not alone in her endeavors a second Facebook whistleblower testified in Parliament on October 18. Sophie Zhang, a former data scientist, came out with a memo published on Buzzfeed around September of 2020. In the memo, she stated, “I have blood on my hands,” having personally contributed to the spread of misinformation within her position. Facebook’s controversies continue to develop as more voices are spotlighted. With this comes food for thought: should we continue to use social media platforms knowing the risks? And are the manipulative behaviors being disclosed worth the instant gratification that social networks often provide? Many are beginning to disagree, but it is likely that few will make the change to delete social media.

TECHNO Digital Contact Tracing

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only affected public health around the globe, but it also deeply shifted the way we live. Learn about how digital contact tracing can help alleviate some of these issues!

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Through the integr prosthetic techno their prosthetic limb on why they have t rather how cool or i

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ration of fashion in logy, the focus on b is no longer placed the prosthetic, but interesting it looks.

Self Driving Cars

Learn more about the history of self driving cars, why so many companies are striving to make one, and the controversy surrounding them!

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only affected public health around the globe, but it also deeply shifted the way we live. Society’s efforts to flatten the curve include far more than just hospital treatment and vaccinations. Every movement is a potential for harm, with a virus that can easily spread leaving its host without symptoms — and thus something that must be seriously regarded. Contact tracing is a “public health practice [...] use[d] to identify and notify people who have been exposed to someone with an infectious disease” (California Department of Public Health, 2021). Traditional contact tracing typically has the infected person answer a phone call or fill out a survey from the health department, asking them who they may have come in contact with while contagious. These contacts are then informed of their “possible exposure to the virus” (California Department of Public Health, 2021). While regular contact tracing has been proven to be successful in the past with ebola, measles, and HIV, among other diseases, it has a few sizable limitations. Traditional contact tracing requires a large, well-trained workforce -- something that is both costly and inefficient to maintain. Additionally, accounting daily for the hundreds of

strangers one comes into contact with in public spaces like subways or restaurants is nearly impossible (Shahroz et al., 2021). Thus, with the rise of the current pandemic, digital contact tracing techniques are being employed instead. This is typically done through phone apps that monitor the individual’s movement using either Bluetooth or GPS. Digital contact tracing can also fall into two other categories: centralized and decentralized. With centralized contact tracing, anonymous IDs of mobile phones are shared to a centralized database which “perform[s] contact-tracing, risk-analysis and alerts notifications to the users” (Shahroz et al., 2021). In decentralized contact tracing, the mobile phones themselves “perform contact matching and notification by downloading the contact database from the server” (Shahroz et al., 2021). Many countries, such as Singapore, South Korea, Israel, Italy, Germany, and China (Shahroz et al., 2021) have implemented digital contact tracing fully. Additionally, prominent tech corporations, in the “spirit of collaboration” (Shahroz et al., 2021), Google and Apple have announced their joint effort in furthering COVID contact tracing technology. Google and Apple have announced

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DIGITAL CONT by Helen Bian, edited by Harshvir Chahal, Tanishka Gangavelli, &

eir joint effort in furthering COVID ontact tracing technology. Despite all the positive sides of gital contact tracing, this solution is ot a cure-all. Several factors that limit e effectiveness of digital contact acing are “low app adoption rates, low obile phone penetration, privacy and ust issues, potentially high falseegative rates . . . and the reliance on e tracing apps on Bluetooth for oximity calculations” (Shahroz et al., 021). In short, digital contact tracing quires a few vital tools that its users ay not possess, and elicits concern in ome about data privacy. Nonetheless, gital contact tracing has been onumental in the COVID relief effort many who have and will continue to dopt it.

TACT TRACING Shoffana Sundaramoorthy, art and layout by Sahithi Lingampalli

integration of fashion in

prosthetic techno alleles design studio.

round 2 million Americans have

lost a limb in their life (Lubitz, 2015). Although the prosthetics industry has not been around for long, it is considered as life-altering technology for many amputees. That being said, it is also important to understand how one’s identity as an amputee can cause conflicting feelings regarding one’s appearance. Many people with prosthetics, at some point, feel insecure about their disability as kids, teenagers, or even adults in their formative years. Prosthetic limbs, though extremely useful, are seen as the user’s complete identity. Whether their limb was lost through diseases like cancer, or specific types of trauma like a car accident, not many amputees want their experience to be the front of conversations when meeting new people. However, with the prosthetics industry continuously progressing over the decades, amputees are now able to express themselves in a unique way through individualized prosthetic limbs. Through the integration of fashion in prosthetic technology, the focus on their

by harshvir chahal * edited by tanishka gang art & layout by sahithi lingampalli

prosthetic limb is no longer placed on why they have the prosthetic, but rather how cool or interesting it looks. Founded in 2013 in British Columbia, Canada, Alleles Design Studio is one of these brands that allows prosthetic limbs to be turned into a fashion statement, whether it be through the

incorporatio colors and (Jagannatha McCauley founders of weren’t d companies; prosthetists clinicians. amputees,” prioritized actually w they’re gett hang out w stuff we c 2018). “Before one hand or lot of ‘So mo wears a m prosthesis, finance we come up to Giuffria is a advocat experien to Alleles generally s decrease in

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on of different patterns, d even types of material an, 2018). As quoted by Wanner, one of the cof Alleles Design Studio, “We designing for insurance ; we weren’t designing for s; we weren’t designing for We’re designing for Wanner said. “So we style and what people would want to wear while ting dressed and going out to with their friends. That’s the care about.” (Jagannathan,

e … when they realized I had r I wore a prosthesis, I’d get a orry’ or ‘I’m sorry for asking’ -ore pity,” Angel Giuffria, who muscle-operated myoelectric told Moneyish (a personal bsite). “[Now] I have people me and say, ‘This is so cool.” n actress and disability e who attributes her positive ces with her new prosthetic s. Alleles’ prosthetic limbs start at $260, a significant price compared to

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prosthetic limbs as a whole (Jagannathan, 2018). As wonderfully put by Wanner,

"Fashion is a great platform for showcasing the future and removing stigma for people who wear these devices. It's exciting to remove that awkward barrier. They can say 'Oh, where did you get that?' instead of 'Oh, what happened to you?” — highlighting the importance of selfexpression.

s s s e e e l l l f f f

ven though the concept of selfdriving or autonomous cars may seem extremely new (you may think of Elon Musk and Tesla as the first self-driving cars!), the first autonomous car actually dates back to as early as 1939. At the 1939 New York World Fair, General Motors created an exhibit to display their vision on the future of roads: automated highways directing selfdriving cars (Gringer, n.d.). For the same exhibition, known as Futurama, Norman Bel Geddes, a theatrical and industrial designer, designed the concept of “an electric vehicle guided by radio-controlled electromagnetic fields generated with magnetized metal spikes embedded in the roadway” — aka the first self-driving car (Gringer, n.d.). Geddes’ concept became a reality in 1958 by General Motors, and that reality was further improved by Japan in 1977, who added cameras to the car. In the nearly 45 years since then,

technology has vastly improved. those improvements came a generation of autonomous cars.

Popular companies are racing to c a car that is fully autonomous; Aud Tesla have created the world’s autonomous publicly available veh Other companies, like Goo Waymo, are also attempting to c autonomous technology to rival t of Tesla and Audi’s (DiploFounda n.d.). According to The New Times, tens of billions of dollars been spent on developing technology — with companies like and Uber, who originally investe creating autonomous techno dropping out with fears of spending much money on the pursuit. though this pursuit is “one of the hyped technology experiments of century,” the title doesn’t come in (Metz, 2021).

D R I V I D R I V D R I VI I

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Self-driving cars hold the potential to advance public safety considerably. Nevertheless, their approach to public highways must overcome both ethical and technical hurdles. Building trust among human passengers and selfdriving cars is fundamental to the use of autonomous vehicles. The current lack of trust may arise from high-profile controversies and accidents involving passengers and autonomous vehicles. Tesla’s FSD, or Full Self-Driving, vehicles heightened concerns as its technology was released without proper safety-focused communications while demanding drivers to monitor the road constantly. Uber’s self-driving vehicles caused controversy after one test drive ended with a fatality when the vehicle failed to recognize a pedestrian. The risks and mistrust of autonomous vehicles make safety the top priority for companies and their

passengers. The shift from self-driving cars with varying levels of autonomy to fully autonomous vehicles is in the process to be executed. Self-driving cars ensure an efficient and sustainable mode of transportation for everyone, preventing accidents and making commuting convenient for all. Top automotive companies such as General Motors, Ford, and Tesla are in the concluding stages of developing their driverless vehicles which implies we, are on the verge of witnessing a radical alteration in the way we commute.

c a r s c a r s c a r s I N G I IN NG G

OMINIQUE SAMANTHA, ANVITHA MATTAPALLI | LAYOUT BY HANNAH HUANG

DROUGHT IN

Madagascar is currently facing its worst drought in four decades, resulting in widespread famine. Alarmingly, this drought is the world’s first climatechange induced drought.

MADAGASCAR

Every year in the North Atlantic waters of the Faroe Islands, hunters partake in the Grindadrap, a longstanding tradition where long-finned pilot whales are beached and aaaaaa slaughtered for their meat and blubber. This year’s hunt killed nearly 1,400

IN T H E F A R O E IS L A N D S

dolphins, causing global criticism and outcry.

WORLD POLIT

HUNTINGTON BEACH OIL SPILL

Concerned swimmers reported that the water had a worrying sheen to it. Once the conditions were clear enough to investigate, it was discovered that the pipeline along the beach had leaked over 120,000 gallons of oil across a 35241-foot area.

孟晚舟

MENG WANZHOU RELEASED Meng Wanzhou’s recent return to China has brought back attention to her extradition case. What is the background behind this case, and what does this decision mean?

TICS

WRITTEN BY RACHEL ADAM EDITED BY MIA GRACE, HARINI AKURATHI & PARKER MCELROY LAYOUT BY HELEN BIAN ART BYJUEE DESHMUKH

D R O U G H T

To maximize their harvest, farmers in Madagascar rely on consistent monsoon seasons (seasonal changes in wind direction that lead to increased precipitation) indicating when to plant and harvest crops. Due to soaring temperatures worldwide, weather events like monsoons have become unpredictable. Additionally, because of years without rain, water has become scarce. Dust storms have begun to ruin soil used to grow crops. Goats, sheep, and cows are dying of starvation, making the situation even worse. A remote village in southern Madagascar called Berary harvested no crops this year, illustrating the gravity of the drought (Kalezdi, 2021). According to the World Food Programme’s “Hunger Hotspots'' report, 1.3 million adults are food insecure and require immediate humanitarian aid, (a 15% increase from 2020) and over 135,000 children are suffering from severe malnutrition. Furthermore, dwindling wages are increasing the rate of extreme poverty. Food shortages have resulted in higher prices of staple foods like rice, escalating the situation.

The average price of a 1kg grown rice in Madagas Antananarivo, is between $0.63 USD (Famine Ea Systems Network, 2021), Madagascar’s population than $1.90 USD a day (Bo 2019). Some families are be sell their possessions to a low-quality produce and m to survive - that is, if they and have access to tran visit a market that’s still st families don’t even have a and pans or firewood to co The food shortages have f to take desperate measu eating locusts, mud, or raw a mixture of clay and lea people to feel ill and weak.

Fortunately, some organizations and gove working to assist Madaga has set up clinics to t suffering from malnutritio Doctors without Borders, a

MADAGASCAR IN IN IN

Over the past four years, southern Madagascar has been suffering from an intense drought that is now causing a humanitarian crisis.

bag of locally car’s capital, n $0.53 and arly Warning while 75% of lives on less orgen Project, eing forced to afford measly, meat in order y can locate it nsportation to tocked. Some access to pots ook their food. forced people ures, such as w cactus, and aves, causing .

humanitarian ernments are ascar. UNICEF reat children on. Likewise, an

international humanitarian group that provides medical care to victims of natural disasters, constructed a center to treat critically malnourished children, with plans to expand its capacity later. Doctors Without Borders has also established mobile clinics that have treated 4,339 people suffering from malnutrition and distributed over 200,000 lbs of rice, beans, oil and salt. Additionally, after discovering that over ⅓ of the children they treated suffered from diseases caused by unclean water, they distributed 50,000 gallons of water to people. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme, in addition to dispersing food to 750,000 citizens since the start of 2020 (Thakral, 2021), has been working with the Malagasy government to find long and short-term solutions to the crisis. Some ideas include: planting more drought-resistant crops, breeding stronger cattle, building a water pipeline, supplying water pumps and rapid-grow vegetable seeds to the neediest, and distributing cash to help people afford basic necessities. Additionally, the US and South Korean governments have provided $40 million and $200,000 USD in aid to Madagascar, respectively (Yonhap, 2021). Depressingly, none of this was Madagascar’s fault - according to the Global Carbon Project, Madagascar has only contributed “0.01% of all the carbon dioxide generated from 19332019.” Despite contributing minimally to

climate change, southern Africa has had to bear the brunt of its effects. The nearby countries of Angola and Mozambique have also dealt with both food shortages and the increased frequency of cyclones (Subramanian, 2021). The suffering of the Malagasy should be a wake-up call to the rest of the world. Their drought is a sign of worse things to come - for example, the World Bank thinks that climate change could cause over 140 million people in subSaharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America to migrate due to unfarmable land, having a devastating toll on the global economy, leading to food shortages world wide. The world needs to act now in order to mitigate further consequences of climate change. If you’re feeling powerless, there are still ways to help Madagascar from your home. The World Food Programme requires millions of dollars to continue feeding Madagascar’s malnourished population. The minimum donation amount is $5.00, and every dollar counts! If you are unable to donate, you can share information about the drought on social media. Awareness is crucial during moments like these. Lastly, call or write to your elected officials about the situation. This drought in Madagascar, and climate change in general, is heartbreaking and terrifying, but we can play a collective part in finding solutions.

The coastline waters are a stark red as both community residents and spectators gather around to watch the Grindadrap. Almost a carnival-like spectacle, the grind is a long-standing tradition in the Faroe Islands where whale and fish hunters beach and slaughter long-finned pilot whales and white-sided dolphins for meat and blubber (Duignan, n.d.). Going back almost a millennia to the times of the Vikings, the grind is considered an essential part of Faroese culture and is seen as a way for the community to come together. It typically involves the annual catching of around 600 Northern Atlantic dolphins,

which are later equally distributed to families at no cost (Faroese Government, 2017). However, this year’s hunt of around 1,400 induced criticism and outcry from animal rights organizations that claim that the hunts are cruel and violent. The hunt begins around July and August, when a pod of long-finned pilot whales (which are a species of Delphinidae oceanic dolphins) or whitesided dolphins are sighted by overseeing men.

By Tanishka Gangavelli Edited by Parker McElroy, Shoffana Sundaramoorthy, Jeet Parikh Art by Sahithi Lingampalli Layout by Harini Akurathi

The men take up their boats and herd the dolphins to shore by creating a semicircle barrier between them and the open sea. The dolphins are either trapped in shallow waters or forced to beach themselves, where they are met by ready hunters who slaughter them by severing their spinal cord and carotid arteries (Duignan, n.d.). Dolphins that don’t end up beaching themselves are dragged to shore by ropes and blunt hooks which cut into their blowholes. Although the Faroese government has issued a statement saying that the killing of the animals is a quick and painless process,

IN THE

the otherwise shrill cries of calves being separated from their mothers and an entire pod thrashing in their own blood is enough for conservation groups to call out the practice as barbaric and violent (Whale and Dolphin Conservation, n.d.). The animals are butchered in front of the residing communities and each family receives a portion of the meat and blubber. This year’s grind, which occurred on September 12th, was considered the largest ever catch to date. It consisted of the killing of 1,400 dolphins,

prompting even those who support dolphin hunting to speak out about the extreme practice (Kwai, 2021). Criticism over the use and distribution of all the excess whale meat and blubber, safety of consumption, and integrity of killing methods prompted the government to recognize the true nature of the grind. The grind was originally an important event as it provided the main food source for the islands, but in the 21st century the hunt has become less depended upon by the Faroese as they began to abstain from whale meat. A survey taken by the People for Ethical

Treatment of Animals (better known as PETA) concluded that only seven percent of Faroese adults consumed the pilot whale meat retrieved from the hunt, and 47 percent stated that they didn’t or rarely did (Hassan, 2021). This sparked outrage as to why a wealthy, autonomous body would need the meat of 1,400 dolphins to sustain itself. The safety of whale meat is also under question. In the 1970s the Faroese Food and Veterinary Agency deemed various parts of the pilot whale including the blubber, liver and kidney to be unsafe for human consumption due to high levels of methylmercury, the insecticide DDT, and a potent carcinogen. It was also indicated that there was a link between whale meat consumption and higher occurrences of neural damage such as learning disabilities in children and Parkinson’s disease among adults (Duignan, n.d.) The dramatic images circulated of the grind raised concern over whether the right methods were being used to kill the dolphins.

FAROE ISLANDS Paul Watson, the founder of the animal rights organization Sea Shepherd, described the hunt in action: “People tend to drink a lot and it’s a big party akin to the Roman gladiator games.” Further adding on to the questioning of morale and values when it comes to animal rights. Major conservation groups believe that killing animals excessively for entertainment and more than just for survival is unjust, immoral, and inhumane. The Faroese government, however, defends the hunt.

It claims that the hunt has always been “sustainable, regulated, and communal,” being an integral part of Faroese culture and society for centuries. They also believe it is vital for the wellbeing of the community to continue the legacy. (Faroese Government, 2017). Dolphin hunting is a regular occurrence practiced by many regions throughout history. The hunt in Taiji, Japan is often widely discussed when it comes to the ethics to widescale dolphin hunting. Although the hunt has been long-standing, change is happening (Duignan, n.d.).

HUNTINGTON BEACH SPILL

OIL

By Parker McElroy Edited by Uday Lingampalli, Mia Grace

The Huntington Beach oil spill, also known as the Pipeline P00547 incident, was first reported on October 1. Concerned swimmers reported that the water had a worrying sheen to it. Once the conditions were clear enough to investigate, it was discovered that the pipeline along the beach had leaked over 120,000 gallons of oil across a 35241-foot area (City of Huntington, 2021). The beach was officially shut down on October 3 and did not reopen until October 11.

The offending pipeline is the property of Beta Offshore, a massive oil producer in Southern California. At around 2:30 a.m. PST on October 2, the company received a low-pressure warning from the pipeline. They shut the pipeline down at approximately 6 a.m. PST and reported the incident to surrounding communities around 9 a.m. PST (Levenson, 2021). The US Coast Guard investigated the incident and determined the severity before issuing a report the next day, stating the environmental impact of the event.

On October 5, Governor Gavin Newsom of California declared a state of emergency due to the spill. The response by the Unified Command of various national and state agencies went in full force immediately, with 7 aircraft and 328 response personnel deployed on that day alone. Almost 5000 gallons of oil were recovered and eight animals retrieved from the affected area, most of which were alive (Hill, 2021).

As of the beach’s reopening on October 11, the spill was still being cleaned up but the risk to the public was minimal due to the initiative taken. Residents were advised to keep an eye out for response personnel and for any tar balls washing up on the beach, but swimming in the water was deemed acceptable. (Colbert, 2021)

As of the writing of this article on October 16, the cleaning of the water is effectively complete. Drones are being used to further monitor the situation, but it looks like the California government’s early response contained the spill effectively. There have been a total of 98 animals recovered, with 65 recovered dead and the others taken to rehabilitation centers with the hope of full recoveries and reintegration back into the wild. Though decontamination sites continue to run, things are looking up for the Southern California coastal area and the people and wildlife who reside there. (Hill, 2021; Cho, 2021)

Art by Sahithi Lingampalli Layout by Tanishka Gangavelli 26

On December 1st, 2018, Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was detained in Vancouver International Airport and placed in a detention center after an extradition request from the United States. US prosecutors charged her with fraud and the circumvention of US sanctions on Iran. Specifically, Meng was accused of covering up attempts by Huawei subsidiary companies to sell equipment to Iran (Warburton, 2020), although Meng denied these allegations. Soon after, the Chinese government arrested two Canadians, Michael Korvig and Michael Spavor, as retaliation. The Two Michaels, as they would be referred to by the media, were charged with “spying on national secrets” and providing intelligence to “outside entities,” though it is an open secret that they were arrested in relation to Meng Wanzhou (Nossal, 2021). Meng was then released on bail to face house arrest. In the following months, evidence for the allegations against Huawei gradually came to light. Tensions between China - Huawei in particular -- and the combined force of Canada and the United States increased as the US pursued formal extradition. On March 3rd, 2019, Meng sued the Canadian government for arresting her and breaching her civil rights. Even more, throughout 2019, China delayed and blocked shipments of various types of Canadian goods, including canola oil and pork (Warburton, 2020). The nearly three-year-long case went beyond Meng and Huawei, carrying the

baggage of worsening political tensions with it. On September 24th, 2021, the United States Department of Justice reached an agreement with Meng, in which the prosecution of charges against her could be deferred until late 2022. This deal allowed Meng to return to China, but not without a price for Huawei. As part of the agreement, Meng admitted that the facts in the prosecution agreement were true, including that she “misrepresented Huawei's relationship with Skycom to HSBC” (Duffy & Perez, 2021). Meng’s admission could contribute to the US’s case against Huawei. However, complying with the agreement would mean good tidings for her, as doing so would warrant her charges to be dismissed after December 1, 2022 -- the end of the deferred prosecution agreement (Duffy & Perez, 2021). Soon after Meng Wanzhou was released, China released the two Canadians they had arrested as political hostages in late 2018, shortly after Meng’s arrest (Sanger et al., 2021). Despite that, China continuously denied that their arrests were in any way connected with Meng’s case (Duffy & Perez, 2021). Additionally, on the US side, White House press secretary Jen Psaki denied that the decision on the case was an unofficial hostage exchange between China, Canada, and the US, claiming instead that the US Justice Department had reached an independent legal decision (Chen, 2021).

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science basics: genetics

s a planet beyond Neptune exist, or a dwarf planet, like Pluto, that exists e Kuiper belt.

Genes are the blueprints for building the chemical machinery that keeps cells alive. Humans and all other forms of life are impacted by genetics and its studies.

mental health medicine The conversation around mental health has picked up in the last few years and though we have a long way to go before we are talking about it enough, we have come far. What we haven’t talked about as much is mental health medication.

A prediction spreading around the world is making astronomers feel something exciting in outer space is yet to come. Two astronomers have predicted a ninth planet, which exists in the celestial world. The planet beyond Neptune is often referred to as Planet X. The search for Planet X has been going for a while now. In the early years of the research, many false celestial bodies were found as planets; one of them was the planet Pluto, but after a while, it was concluded as an interpola between Uranus and Neptune. It was Percivial Lowell (Gorvett, 2021) who proposed the hypothetical situation of a planet existing beyond Neptune. The search began in the late 19th century and continued into the early 20th century. Lowell wanted to prove the planet's existence with the help of mathematical analysis before actually observing it.

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A very similar process was s discovery of Neptune: it mathematically proven b observation of it on its orbit The quest to discover Planet X construction of the Lowell o in Arizona, USA. Lowell di some funds for the discovery X. In 1930, Clyde Tombaugh the dwarf planet, which was as the ninth planet. For a whil Pluto, but later it was obs Pluto was too small for its affect the giant plane questioned Pluto’s planetary 2006, Pluto was downgraded planet by the international as union.

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Uranus. It is said that many strange objects exist in the Kuiper Belt - region of solar system behind the orbit of Neptune where exists comets, asteroids and other celestial bodies made up of icy objects, which gave a huge rise to the result to where it was believable that Planet X can exist. 2 Caltech astronomers, Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown announced to the world that they have found evidence which states that a giant planet is tracing an unusually elongated orbit. (Fesennmaier, 2019) This information is based on mathematical analysis and detailed mechanical modeling, with the help of mathematical analysis, the Caltech team predicted that a much larger planet may exist beyond pluto. This planet will likely explain the gravitation of unknown orbits in the Kuiper belt.

It is too early to say that but it is a start to a process that can lead to something more exciting. (Batygin, 2019) With the long research going on from decades to find the planet that is either unlikely to ever exist or it does exist, will lead to something very shocking and exciting to the world, we are still unaware of what's to come for Planet X.

The mass of Planet X is said to be 10 times more of Earth and be similar to Uranus or Neptune. The predicted orbit is 20 times farther from our Sun. They also said that this is not a detection of a new planet,

MENTAL M HEALTH

By Kavya Gurunath and Harshvir Chahal Edited by Juee Deshmukh, Ameya Aneja, Taruni Manam Art by Sahithi Lingampalli, Layout By Hannah Huang Sometimes, therapy, or other treatments for mental health conditions, may not be enough. Sometimes, mental health medicine is prescribed to an individual to help them out. But how do these work? How can a chemical affect your mental health? Mental health medications are catered to an individual's medical conditions. There are a few basic categories of mental health medication. Antidepressants are usually used to treat depression, but they can also treat ADHD, insomnia, and pain. Anti-anxiety medications reduce symptoms of anxiety, such as panic attacks, etc. The most common anxiety medications are benzodiazepines. Stimulants used to treat ADHD increase alertness, heart rate, blood pressure, etc. Antipsychotics help manage psychosis when someone’s perception of reality is affected; this includes hallucinations or delusions. They are used to treat conditions like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Mood stabilizers help

treat mania and bipolar disorder. They help with mood swings and depression (National Institution of Mental Health, n.d). In regards to how mental health medication works, the answer would depend on the medication at hand. Antidepressant medication (typically known as SSRIs) is known to help increase serotonin levels. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter in charge of mood or happiness. Anti-anxiety medication works in a similar way; the chemical gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is increased in the brain, allowing the nervous system to essentially “calm down”, as it helps reduce brain activity (Davis, 2021). On the flip side, antipsychotics such as Abilify (which may also be used to combat initial sideeffects of antidepressants), tend to reduce dopamine levels, thus reducing psychotic symptoms (Mind, 2020). Some antipsychotics may be prescribed to patients taking new antidepressants For ADHD medication, chemicals such

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ne and norepinephrine are as they are in charge of and concentration (Hassan, any different medications, y’re for the same condition, ying ways.

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medication, is perpetuated. This is generally called “Pill Shaming”. Many who are uneducated on the importance of mental health medication tend to share their concerns regarding side effects, most of which are manageable, short-term, or easily avoided by changing medications. Also, there is the myth that those who rely on medication for their mental conditions are “weak”, “crazy”, or “lazy”; these are false and come from a place of deep-rooted ignorance. To read in-depth about the stigma behind mental health medication and how it silences those who need help, we recommend “How the Stigma Around Mental Illness Medication Prevents People from Seeking Help” by Shape.com.

We need to break the stigma around mental health. Your mind is just like your body. It can get hurt sometimes, and might need some medication to help maintain it. That being said, Affair Magazine encourages those who need these medications to seek support from the right people, and brush off discouraging statements. We also encourage those who suspect a mental health condition to see their general practitioner and seek the help they need.

by Nitya Baratam & Mia Grace Edited by Helen Bian & Kavya Gurunath

i s a B e c n Scie

Genetics is the scientific study of genes and heredity, or how certain traits or characteristics are passed from parent to offspring as a result of variations in DNA sequences. A gene is a segment of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, that contains directions for building one or more molecules to ensure the body functions the way it is designed to. DNA is shaped in the form of a twisted ladder, also termed a double helix. The two ladder rails are called backbones and are antiparallel, meaning they run in opposite directions to each other. The rungs of the ladder are pairs of four building blocks; each building block is either adenine, thymine, guanine or cytosine.The sequences of these bases provide the instructions for building molecules, most of which are proteins. All of an organism’s genetic material, including its genes and other elements that control the activity of those genes, is part of its genome. An organism’s entire genome is found in nearly all of its cells. The human genome is typically the same in all human beings, just with small variations.

Our DNA, including all of our genes, is stored in our chromosomes, structures where proteins wind up DNA tightly so that it fits in the nucleus. Humans typically have 23 pairs of chromosomes in their cells. The two chromosomes in each pair contain the same genes, but they may have different versions of those genes as we inherit one chromosome in each pair from our mother and the other from our father. 22 of these pairs are called autosomes and don’t differ between sexes. The 23rd pair, however, defines our biological sex. These are called sex chromosomes and they differ between males, females and intersex people. Females have XX chromosomes, males have XY chromosomes, and intersex people have different combinations of chromosomes, the most common being XYY. All cells, despite functionality, maintain the same DNA. Daughter cells that form during cell division must have DNA identical to that of their parent cell. The process that makes this possible is known as DNA replication. A variety of enzymes are utilized to replicate the DNA.

Art by Sahithi Lingampalli Layout by Tanishka Gangavelli

ics: Genetics The first enzyme in the activity is helicase, which unzips the DNA by breaking the hydrogen bonds between the base pairs. Single-stranded binding proteins, or SSBPs, hold these unwound strands apart to ensure that they do not wind back together. The enzyme primase then fixes RNA primers to the DNA, which essentially serve as flags for the replicating enzyme, DNA polymerase III, to begin the synthesis of the daughter strands. DNA polymerase III attaches free nucleotides to the parent strands of DNA, ensuring that the base pairings are correct - adenine pairs with thymine, and guanine with cytosine. This pairing occurs in the 5’ to 3’ (pronounced five-prime to three-prime) direction. DNA has directionality, determined by the location of carbons in the deoxyribose sugar (which contributes to the “deoxyribo” in deoxyribonucleic acid).

Because of the antiparallel nature of DNA, the 5’ to 3’ ends of the strands face opposite directions. One of these is the leading strand, while the other is the lagging strand.

The leading strand directly follows behind helicase as it unzips, while the lagging strand forms in the opposite direction. DNA polymerase III must leap-frog to create the lagging strand as RNA primers are continually placed. This process forms Okazaki fragments, as fragments of DNA are formed rather than a continual strand. DNA polymerase I and the exonuclease replace the primers throughout the lagging strand with free nucleotides. The final enzyme of the process, ligase, seals the gaps between the Okazaki fragments of the lagging strand like glue. With that, the process is complete. Certain health conditions and traits can be passed down genetically through families, which are known as hereditary diseases. Common examples include sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis, both of which reduce lifespan and lead to frequent hospitalizations (Farooq, 2020 ). Genes can also undergo mutations, which impact protein synthesis and can negatively impact, or even eliminate, the proteins produced. This leads to improper functionality and inflicts damage. By understanding genetics, we are better able to understand our health.

Lifestyle Día de los Muertos Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday that celebrates deceased relatives and the afterlife.

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Hanukkah Hanukkah (aka the “Festival of Lights”) conjures up images of traditional Hannukah activities, however, the history behind the holiday is actually quite inspiring, and shows that miracles can happen.

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layout by Helen Bian

Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday that celebrates deceased relatives and the afterlife. Historically, the gates of the afterlife are opened at midnight on October 31st and are closed at the end of November 2nd. November 1st is typically reserved for the celebration of deceased children, while November 2nd is a time to celebrate deceased adults (History.com, 2018).

Día de los Muertos is sometimes confused with Halloween and All Souls’ Day, even though these are all their own unique holidays. Though all three celebrations come from the introduction of Roman Catholicism to their respective cultures, Halloween was derived from a Celtic holiday (History.com, 2009), All Souls’ Day is solely Roman Catholic (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1998) and Día de los Muertos stems from the traditional celebrations of the Mexican indigenous people (Dayofthedead.holiday, 2019). It is also important to note that Halloween was initially about celebrating the end of the harvest season (History.com, 2009), whereas All Souls’ Day is about the souls who are believed to be trapped in purgatory (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1998). Día de los Muertos, on the other

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colours and the skulls pay homage to the Aztec roots of the holiday while also providing additional decoration for the beautiful ofrendas. Food is another part of the holiday that makes it a unique celebration. Pan de muertos, sugar skulls and many other traditional Mexican foods are prepared during the weeks before the holiday in large quantities so that there is enough for everybody, both living and dead (Dayofthedead.holiday, 2019). The Day of the Dead is a beautiful holiday celebrated using vivid colours and joyful music. Instead of looking at death as something solemn and morose, this holiday focuses on celebrating the lives that our loved ones lived before they met their demise. Día de los Muertos has evolved into a familycentric holiday, where delicious food is shared and songs are sung together to honour the lives of those who have passed. Though every culture has their own way of dealing with the existential concept of death, the Mexican tradition of Día de los Muertos is something that has taken on its own identity and traditions after being born from indigenous culture and influenced from colonialism, making it a very beautiful holiday celebrated by many.

Diwali, also recognized as Divali or Deepawali, is a major festival celebrated over five days in various parts of India by individuals of diverse faiths including Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Muslims, and even Buddhists. Marked by the Hindu lunar calendar, the festival itself is celebrated on different dates each autumn, but is typically observed during the month of either October or November. Diwali is respected as “the festival of lights.” The celebration gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to signify the inner light that shields them from spiritual darkness. Many Hindus observe Diwali by lighting small oil lamps known as diyas in praise of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune. Each religion marks a distinct Diwali story and historical landmark. In one of

the foremost stories in Hindu mythology, Diwali is the day Lord Rama, his wife Sita Devi, and brother Lakshmana return to their homeland 14 years after staying in exile. The villagers lit a pathway for Rama, who had defeated the demon king, Ravana. Another Diwali legend in Hindu mythology is that Diwali marks the day Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura and freed the followers of his kingdom. After he slew the demon, Lord Krishna declared the day as a day of festivities. In a few regions of India, individuals burn effigies of the demon kings in both chronicles as part of their celebration. People also celebrate Goddess Lakshmi throughout Diwali. As the goddess of prosperity, wealth, and fertility, the Diwali tale has it that she chose Lord Vishnu, one of Hinduism’s most important deities, to be her

husband on the night of Diwali. In other cultures and societies, Diwali coincides with harvest and new year celebrations. Diwali is celebrated in grand festivities and activities across the world. On the first day, families clean their homes and decorate them with colorful garlands of flowers and rangoli (intricate patterns designed from colorful powder or sand). On the second day, clay lamps called diyas are placed in patterns in houses and temples. On the third day, Lakshmi puja takes place, in which families pray to goddess Lakshmi for health, wealth, and good fortune. Sweets and grand feasts are offered to Goddess Lakshmi and then consumed by friends and family after puja. Fireworks, or patakas, are another favorite Diwali festivity. On the fourth day, gold, gifts, clothes, and sweets are

exchanged. It is also considered the first day of the new year, and people exchange best wishes for the next year. On the fifth and final day of Diwali, brothers visit their sister’s homes, where they are welcomed with love and grand feasts. From all of us here at the Affair Magazine, we wish you a happy Diwali!

BY NITYA BARATAM & THEJO TATTALA EDITED BY PHYLLIS LIU, HARINI AKURATHI, & TARUNI MANAM ART BY JUEE DESHMUKH LAYOUT BY SIERRA TAN

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Today, for us Jews, Hanukkah (aka the “Festival of Lights”) conjures up images of sizzling latkes on the frying pan, competitive games of dreidel with friends and family to win the treasured prize of chocolate gelt, sweet sufganiyot, and of course, the lit menorah. The history behind Hanukkah is actually quite inspiring, and shows that miracles can happen. Hanukkah commemorates events that occurred during the second century BC, specifically, the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where Judah Maccabee led the Jews against the oppressive Greek-Syrians (Blumberg). After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, there was a power vacuum, and multiple battles were fought over Alexander’s territories, one of them Israel (Briggs, 2020). In 200 BC, Antiochus III, a Greco-Syrian king, gained control over

Israel. He was tolerant of all religions, including Judaism. His son, Antiochus IV, however, was not. He attempted to force all Jews to worship Greek gods and convert to Greek polytheism, in an attempt to unify his empire. Antiochus IV went so far as to outlaw Judaism. Jewish religious texts - along with their owners were brutally destroyed, sometimes even being crucified alive (History.com Editors, 2020). Later, in 168 BC, his army caused chaos in Jerusalem, murdering thousands, and desecrated the Second Temple by sacrificing pigs inside of it and placing an altar dedicated to Zeus in it as well. Angered by the hostility towards the Jews, as well as the destruction of the Second Temple, the Jewish priest Matthias and his sons plotted a rebellion against the Seleucid Monarchy and Antiochus IV. After Matthias’ death in 168 BC, one of his sons, Judah (aka “the Hammer”) picked

up where his father left off, leading the Jews to victory and driving out the Syrians within two years using guerilla warfare tactics. Two years after the Syrians were driven out, Judah and the Jews regained control of Jerusalem, cleansed the Second Temple, and lit its gold menorah, rededicating it to God. The seven branches of the menorah represented knowledge and creation. The menorah was supposed to stay lit during the night all 365 days a year. Miraculously, despite there being only one night’s worth of untainted olive oil, the menorah remained lit for eight days, buying the Jews time to find a supply of new, untainted olive oil. As a result, the Jewish sages started a new, annual, eight-day long festival to celebrate this miracle from God, and to memorialize the victory of light over darkness. This year, Hanukkah will begin on November 28 and end on December 6. The most important tradition of Hanukkah is lighting the menorah, which is typically displayed in a prominent window. Every night, at sunset, one more candle is lit (the candles are lit from right to left, the same way that Hebrew is read). A ninth candle, the shamash or “helper” candle, is used to light the other candles.

Additionally, many delightful treats (fried in oil, as a nod to the olive oil that lasted eight days), are made. These foods include latkes (fried potato pancakes), which are typically dipped in applesauce or sour cream, and sufganiyot (fruit jelly donuts). The game of dreidel is a classic - players spin a dreidel (a four-sided spinning top) to win a pot of gelt (chocolate “coins.”). Each side has a different Hebrew letter on it, each having a separate meaning relating to the game. The letters nun (‫)נ‬, gimel (‫)ג‬, hei (‫)ה‬, and shin (‫ )ש‬represent the saying ‫ֵנס ָּגדֹול ָה ָיה ָׁש ם‬, meaning “a great miracle happened there.” Also, when Jewish scholars would illegally study the Torah (a sacred Judaic text), when Antiochus’ soldiers would appear, they would hide their Torah scrolls, take out their dreidels, and pretend to have been playing a game. A more modern tradition is giving gifts, similarly to Christmas. The history of Hanukkah demonstrates that, even in the worst of times, there’s always hope to be found, and that light can triumph over darkness, which is important to keep in mind, especially in our current situation.

OPINIO Should colleges stop using SAT/ACT scores for admissions?

ON Should assisted suicide be legal?

Should Colleges Stop Using

SAT/ACT SCORES For Admissions?

BY RACHEL ADAM | EDITED BY NITYA BARATAM, MYINT MYAT THEINGI, TARUNI MANAM | ART BY SAHITHI LINGAMPALLI | LAYOUT BY HANNAH HUANG

With colleges recently going testoptional due to COVID-19, reducing the opportunities for high school students to take the SAT or ACT exams, people have begun to question the necessity of these exams, and whether they are doing more harm than good. First off, preparation courses for the SAT and ACT have become increasingly common, but many of these courses charge high fees that are

unaffordable for some people. If students are unable to receive tutoring for the SAT or ACT, it makes it more difficult to achieve a higher score. Free resources such as Khan Academy exist, however, if you don’t have internet access at home (which is a reality for 14% of children according to the National Center of Education Statistics), it is challenging to access these resources. Also, many lowincome students may be working after school to support their family and simply don’t have the time to prepare for these standardized exams. Many claim that standardized testing scores put all students on an equal footing in the admissions process. However, according to a 2019 report

by the College teens scored abo SAT while only and 9% of Blac same. The num test is truly unbia a stark differenc of white and Blac According to a by Wayne Au, University of Wa testing was used immigrants, wom the US as me justify educat produced...inequ

Another concern is the psychological and physical impact these tests have on young adults. According to a 2016 report by Christina Simpson, a graduate student at Harvard’s raduate School of Education, teens felt more stressed than adults. She said that 69%

of students felt stressed about getting into a good college while between 30-36% of teens felt anxious, overwhelmed, and depressed because of school and standardized tests like the SAT and ACT (Simpson, 2016). Furthermore, before the No Child Left Behind Act (which increased the Board, 45% of white importance of ove a 1200/1600 on the standardized tests in the 12% of Hispanic teens US) was passed, several ck teens achieved the adolescent psychiatrists, mbers don’t lie - if the child development ased, why is there such experts, and educators ce between the scores argued that the increased ck/Hispanic teens? amount of standardized a report written in 2013 tests would “literally make , a professor at the children sick.” Health ashington, standardized experts have since noted d to “declare the poor, an increase in men, and nonwhites in stomachaches, vomiting, entally inferior, and to headaches, sleep tional systems that disorders, anxiety, panic ualities.” attacks, and depression; all of these symptoms are directly linked to standardized testing.

The well-known Varsity Blues scandal showed the lengths parents were willing to go in order to get their children into elite colleges. Rick Singer, the mastermind of the scam, paid people to take the SAT/ACT exams in place of his clients' children. There’s a problem with the higher education system if people feel the need to sacrifice their morals to get into a good college. The SAT/ACTs reflect the inequality in America today, and are harming both the mental and physical health of teens. These tests should have less weight in the admissions process.

I IS G S D U E S L E D S B S ? L E L L E A L T U I S H O U L D A S S I S T E D A S H O U L D A S S I S T E D D S I LD I O E G H B SS LE U H S O DE A S S D L ? U I C I D E B SI U I C I D E BE E L E I L D T E C U L A I S B I O G U OU E S H E L E G A S L E G AL L? ?H D S L H I A IL S S C D I D ? E E U L L L T B S U U A S I E O O G S D H H E I S S S H L C A I S L I D U D ? E E S L L L T B U U A S I E O O G S D H H E I S S H L S C A I S L I D U D ? E E S L L T O B U A S H I E O G S S D H E I S S L D C A I ? L E I L U D T E S A L S S I I B G U S S E E O S S L D H I A A L L S I I C D D I E E L L 49 U B B O U U S By Gunkriti K Edited by Uday Lingampalli, Harshvir Chahal, Geethi Tarra, Ritika Soni. Assisted suicide is defined as assisting a person to kill themselves. It is intriguing to know that in the world we live in, there can be methods regulating assistance in dying. People who feel the desire to meet the end of life as a solution and cannot continue to live in a world where they seek nothing, can ask for a physician’s help to prescribe drugs, which can be regarded as assisted suicide. An important factor of assisted dying is giving legal certainty to physicians to practice it openly. Yet it comes with conditions that are stated in every jurisdiction that physicians are only allowed to regulate assistance in dying or engage themselves, with the consent of the patient. Assisted dying can only be prescribed legally by a physician if the patient is going through a severe incurable disease or a medical condition. However, this has led to a negative statement rising, about physicians’ support not valuing the lives of older people with chronic diseases and disabilities. There are arguments against the ethics of a physician to help someone commit suicide to end intense pain and/or suffering, and also arguments about the legality of the actions.

Yes.

In some states of the U.S., a minor below the age of 16 needs their parents’ permission for assisted suicide, However, at 16, one only needs their parents’ involvement in the decision making, and 17-year-olds can make this decision by themselves and proceed with their choice.

It was observed that 85% of doctors opted for assisted dying for dementia patients because it makes them suffer from something that is unlikely to make their future sustainable. Most of the world supports the idea of assisted suicide, but is at a stage where processing life activity is difficult and are willing to die, and dying is the only possibility they want.. Assisted suicide would be beneficial if it is legalised.

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Meng Wanzhou Released Chen, D. (2021, October 4). What Does Meng Wanzhou’s Release Mean for China-US Relations? The Diplomat. Retrieved October 16, 2021, from Link Duffy, C., & Perez, E. (2021, September 25). Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou reaches agreement with US to resolve fraud charges. CNN. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from Link Kharpal, A. (2020, January 9). The extradition trial of Huawei’s CFO starts this month — here’s what to watch. CNBC. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from Link Nossal, K. R. (2021, January 19). Wrong place, wrong citizenship: The tribulations of the “Two Michaels”. The Intepreter. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from Link Sanger, D. E., Bilefsky, D., & Benner, K. (2021, September 24). U.S. Agrees to Release Huawei Executive in Case That Strained Ties With China. The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from Link Warburton, M. (2020, December 3). Timeline: Key events in Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou's extradition case. Reuters. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from Link

REFERENCES FOR TECH Digital Contact Tracing California Department of Public Health. (2021, June 30). What is Contact Tracing. CA.gov. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from Link Shahroz, M., Ahmad, F., Younis, M. S., Ahmad, N., Kamel Boulos, M. N., Vinuesa, R., & Qadir, J. (2021, May 19). COVID-19 digital contact tracing applications and techniques: A review post initial deploymentsMuhammad Shahroz,a Farooq Ahmad,a Muhammad Shahzad Younis,a Nadeem Ahmad,b Maged N. Kamel Boulos,c Ricardo Vinuesa,⁎,d and Junaid Qadire. NCBI. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from Link The Integration of Fashion in Prosthetic Technology: Alleles Design Studio Jagannathan, M. (2018, July 6). This duo wants to do for prosthetics what fashion designers did for eyeglasses. MarketWatch. Retrieved October 19, 2021, from Link Lubitz, R. (2015, September 25). This is what the future of prosthetics looks like - and it's gorgeous. Mic. Retrieved October 19, 2021, from Link Self Driving Cars Gringer, B. (n.d.). History of the Autonomous Car. TitleMax. Link DiploFoundation. (n.d.). The rise of autonomous vehicles. Digital Watch. Link Metz, C. (2021, May 24). The Costly Pursuit of Self-Driving Cars Continues On. And On. And On. The New York Times. Link Baidu. (2020, December 16). Building a self-driving car that people can trust. MIT Technology Review. Retrieved from Link

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REFERENCES FOR LIFESTYLE Día de los Muertos All Souls’ Day | Description, History, & Traditions. (1998). Encyclopedia Britannica. Link Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos). (2019). Day of the Dead. Link History.com Editors. (2021a, October 12). Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos). HISTORY. Link History.com Editors. (2021b, October 14). Halloween 2021. HISTORY. Link Diwali “Diwali—Festival of Lights.” National Geographic, 23 Oct. 2014, Link Lowe, Lindsay. “What Is Diwali? Everything to Know about India’s Festival of Lights.” Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays, 2 Sept. 2021, Link Anonymous 02/12/2020. “What Is the Diwali Festival, and How Is It Celebrated?” Real Word, 26 Sept. 2020, Link Hanukkah Briggs, A. (2020, December 9). Hanukkah: The history and traditions of the Festival of Lights. National Geographic. Link Britannica. (n.d.). Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. Encyclopedia Britannica. Link History.com Editors. (2020, December 7). Hanukkah. History.com. Link

REFERENCES FOR OPINION Should Colleges use ACT/SAT Scores for Admissions? Au, W. (2013). Hiding behind high-stakes testing: Meritocracy, objectivity and inequality in U.S. education. The International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives. Published. Link Hubler, S. (2021, May 15). Why Is the SAT Falling Out of Favor? The New York Times. Link Lambe‍, S. (2021, March 18). Operation Varsity Blues: A Guide to the College Admissions Scandal. Entertainment Tonight. Link Simpson, C. (2016, May). Effects of Standardized Testing on Students’ Well-Being. Harvard Graduate School of Education. Link USAFacts. (2020, October 19). More than 9 million children lack internet access at home for online learning. Link Viera, M. (2018, October 1). The History of the SAT Is Mired in Racism and Elitism. Yahoo Finance. Link Should Assisted Suicide be Legal? Medical News Today. (n.d.). What are euthanasia and assisted suicide? Retrieved from: Link Government of the Netherlands. (n.d.). Euthanasia, assisted suicide and non-resuscitation on request. Retrieved from: Link Frost, T.D.G., Sinha, D., & Gilbert, B.J. (2014, January 15). Should assisted dying be legalised? BMC. Retrieved from: Link Heide, A. V. D. (n.d.). Assisted suicide and euthanasia. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from: Link

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