The High 69

THE HIGH

SEXISM (found on page 3)

Illustration by Manon Libine

EDITION 69 | NOVEMBER 17, 2017

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Edward Fraser Amara Sarao

GENDER IDENTITY

SMOKING POLICY

INTERVIEW: MS MAY

2

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

I

t’s about time we give ourselves a good look in the mirror. Who are we? Are we as accepting as we’d like to think? As The High, it is our job to dig beneath the surface and reveal the true colors of ISL. And that’s exactly what Issue 69 is all about.

ISL is perceived to be a very accepting school, often more than most others. But in creating this issue, we discovered, that like many high schools, ISL has many obscured, yet common, views on relevant and sensitive topics. See our journalists, Pia and Heloise, uncover the truth behind our views on the gender binary and the ‘T’ in LGBT — revealing an unexpected and disturbing truth. These are the people who walk amongst us in our school hallways — a place many believe is their safe haven. In our cover story this month, Maddie opens our eyes towards the daily sexism many students face within the walls of our school. Fredrik dives deep to investigate the school’s true policy on smoking — are they blurring the lines? And Raquel informs us about how gossip — an issue most of us face, even at ISL — is not just fun and games, but rather, can completely damage one’s self-worth.

Though we like to purport ourselves as accepting, open-minded individuals, the dark side of any high school is inevitable — and we’re here to show you ours. So here we are, holding up a much-needed mirror to ISL.

AMARA SARAO & EDWARD FRASER Editors-in-Chief

EDITORS Fredrik Falk Giovanna Rojas Suhasini Mehra Sophia Scokalo Raquel Muzquiz

Nick Jennings Ipek Özkazanç Khwaish Vohra Maddie Johns Manon Libine

TABLE OF CONTENTS Sexism Gossip Smoking Policy Travelling Tanzania Trips Gender Identity Read, Watch, Listen

03 04 05 06 07 08 09

Personal Project Ms May Fictional Characters TV Shows Harvey Weinstein Being American Poetry Competition

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

3

MURMURS OF MYSOGYNY

I

s Google a boy or a girl?”

“Obviously a girl, because it won’t let you finish your sentence without suggesting other ideas!”

A couple of weeks ago, in my Year 12 English class, this joke was displayed on the board as we walked in. We were asked to stand on one side of the room if we thought it was sexist, and to stand on the opposite side if we thought it wasn’t. Everyone agreed that it was.

Okay, good. However, we were then told that if we thought it was acceptable to laugh at this joke, to move to the other side of the room. More than half of my classmates (mostly boys, might I add) immediately switched.

Prior to this experience, I had always viewed the students of ISL as educated individuals with a developed sense of cultural understanding and the ability to think globally. In other words, I thought of us as people who were accepting of everyone because we were surrounded by “everyone”. Different nationalities, religions, and cultures (among other things) were all represented, and accepted, with open arms at our school. However, a social prejudice against women is still evident at ISL. After class, I wanted to get Mr. Lloyd’s perspective on the lesson he had just taught. He told me that after running the course on Language and Gender for three years now, he has experienced the same thing every time: “girls tend to understand and relate to the content covered, while boys think it is exaggerated or that [he has] only chosen extreme examples.” He went on to add that he thinks this particular unit makes gender roles within our own society more visible, forcing boys to “think more critically about their own assumptions, and then confront them.”

But why do these boys only face their casual sexism during a mandatory class lesson? What is stopping girls from

standing up to the prejudice rooted in our social beliefs?

After talking to multiple female students about their experiences with sexist situations at ISL, the most common answer I received was that “they know they have been in/heard some, but can’t remember exact instances.” In fact, unless a girl had a specific situation to talk about, everyone who I spoke with said exactly that. This normalization of sexism is causing students to think nothing of the blatant misogyny they overhear in the halls. Boys making jokes of sexual assault and domestic violence, mocking feminism and powerful women, or trivializing a girl’s character to be solely based on her appearance. There is a culture amongst some boys at this school where they put themselves above the girls around them, and instead of it being challenged, it has become the norm.

One common area where multiple sexist situations rooted from was PE and the sports community at ISL. I talked to one girl who said that in her Year 11 PE class, the students were split by their teacher into different levels to make it fair: “on one side girls, and on the other boys.” Another said that girls were never asked by their teacher to help carry the equipment, instead only “big, strong boys” were needed.

When I was speaking with Mr. Lloyd, he also mentioned an observation he had regarding the separation of girls and boys on the football pitch. As he put it, “when it’s ASA time and girls football is going on, the pitch is full of girls, but at break time the sports are dominated by boys.” This social pressure for boys to do their “thing” and for girls to do theirs is inhibiting all students from freely acting how they’d like.

However, despite my prior beliefs on the direction of the gender bias at ISL, I also found that some people have experienced sexism against boys. For

Maddie Johns does not find your sexist comments funny example, a student in Year 12 spoke to me about how she’s noticed teachers favoring females during group projects.

She finds that more often than not, in group projects teachers will appoint the girls as group leaders as opposed to the boys. If questioned, she says that the teachers justification is typically related to the idea that girls are organized and prepared while boys are reckless and not focused. I also spoke with a parent of a boy in Year 9 who felt that there is a clear bias against boys when it comes to recognizing academic and behavioral success. She pointed out that several times, the overwhelming majority of Effort and Commitment awards go to girls. She felt that effort and commitment may look different from boys, and teachers may not be as familiar with recognizing it. This ongoing celebration of female students’ academic successes may be a great thing for ISL’s girls – but it may also be having an inversely negative and detrimental impact on boys’ self-esteem and confidence, in academic terms.

There is a universal assumption by students and teachers at ISL that sexism is not an issue here. And, while I must admit, although we celebrate diversity and advocate for equality all the time compared to most other places in the world, casual gender discrimination is still evident. Let me ask you this though: what if instead of everyday sexism at ISL, there was everyday racism? What if the dozens of nationalities and cultures we are surrounded by were constantly ridiculed? What if different religions weren’t accepted or a child was made fun of by the color of their skin?

I suspect you think this would be an issue. That these “jokes” and actions would be unacceptable. I would as well.

But I also think that the general naivety amongst people at ISL that sexist jokes are just jokes, or that teachers “don’t really mean it” when they put you down for your gender, is unacceptable.

4

YOUR GOSS IS GROSS

M

y purpose is not to tell all of you who gossip to stop. Not because it isn’t very damaging: it is. But because I know that it won’t get me anywhere. Because I know that everyone gossips, it is something nearly impossible to stop.

If you think about it, there is no real reason to gossip. It doesn’t benefit you or even make you feel good in the moment. Sometimes, it seems that gossiping is in our nature. It becomes hard for us to not talk about last night’s party and discuss what someone was wearing. It becomes hard for us to walk around school and not glance at someone from head to toe, and then look at our friends and give them “The Look”. And if you are reading this right now and are acting all surprised as if it’s something you’ve never done, don’t kid yourself. Everyone has done this.

Everyone has said things like, “Can you believe what he/she did?” or “He/she is so ugly!” We tend to think that because everyone says these things, it makes it okay for us to do it too.

Sometimes these comments are considered somewhat “normal”, because we are all entitled to our own opinion, and because we think that if we say it within our inner circle, it is “okay”. Deep down, or not so deep down, we know that it is not, and making disrespectful comments about someone is unacceptable. At times it’s hard to think about how the other person might feel if they knew what was being said about them. It is hard because we are selfish: it sounds harsh to say it, but it is true.

When you say that someone is untrustworthy, for example, you are probably doing it because that person has told one of your secrets to someone else, and you are really angry. Maybe you are saying it because you want to get attention from people and take attention away from the person you are gossiping about. Maybe you are saying this because that person hurt your feelings and you want to “get them back”

for it. But all these reasons don’t take away the fact that what you are doing is damaging, possibly even breaking that person.

It may feel good to get back at someone. It may feel good to get attention from many people that you probably don’t care about, because we as a community feel that being popular is more important than being honest, but think about how the other person might feel. It’s not a question of experience, but more about sympathy, and putting yourself in someone else’s position.

People often base their judgements off of what someone has said about someone else, rather than having basing it on first hand experience, and will point a finger without knowing the full story.

They don’t stop it because they are scared that if they try to, they will get picked on too.

If we were to take a bit of time to listen to those that have had rumours spread about them, we would realise how much they can impact someone.

It can impact someone to a point that they do not want to get out of bed and they don’t want to go to school because of what other people might say, or how everyone might look at them. Having someone say things like,“you aren’t trustworthy” can make someone feel “sad” and like they can’t trust their own friends, because most times, it is one of

Raquel Muzquiz has something to tell you your friends who say it, as a male student at ISL who had this rumour being spread about them mentioned. “Some people didn’t say anything to me, which affected me”, he also said, “because it made me feel like they thought that too”. It is hard to have someone say something like that about you, knowing that it is not true, but not being able to do anything about it because people won’t believe you. I asked this person if he felt like this had affected his reputation, and I was surprised to hear his response; “I don’t think that it has affected my reputation so much, but I feel like it has affected me, and how I see myself”. This proves how powerful gossip is, and how having someone say something about you, even though you know it is not true, can make you believe that you should stop being you and try to please others instead. It can make you believe that you aren’t trustworthy because everyone is saying it, and it can break you. A girl from the same year, who had rumours about her cheating on her boyfriend said, “I was shocked at the fact that people would go to that extent, when they shouldn’t even care about it. It’s none of their business”. She also said, “I think people just enjoyed spreading this rumour about me, even if they didn’t care”. Everyone knows how much damage gossip can do to them, yet they don’t stop it because they are scared that if they try to, they will get picked on too. So instead, they think it is better to “disguise” themselves this way.

So, gossiping should not be taken lightly. Just because everyone does it, it doesn’t make it okay for you to do it too, because what starts off as a comment within you inner circle ends as an announcement to many people, and this can really affect someone’s life. It is more important than what it seems to us now, and the problem with it is that it is has spiralled out of control. We cannot control how the story changes from person to person, and we cannot control how far it gets.

5

WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE

O

ur school’s smoking policy is a topic of frequent discussion, and the recent Year 13 trip to Biarritz is a perfect example of the problems that it faces.

For those of you that don’t know, when briefing the Year 13’s about the trip, teachers stated that they would send students home if they caught them smoking, but they then followed it up by telling students to, therefore, “make sure [they didn’t] get caught”. Naturally, the teachers didn’t want to find anyone smoking, and the smokers didn’t want to be found. This in itself is an interesting approach to the issue by the school. You could argue that it encourages smoking by not enforcing the strict policies set in place; however this would be a very naive and idealistic way to look at it. There are students in high school that do smoke, mainly in Years 12 and 13. The teachers know who most of these students are and would, of course, prefer it if they quit; however, they also know that there is little they can do. They have to enforce a strict non-smoking policy on school campus, but beyond that they are essentially powerless. Students claim that teachers frequently see them smoking by the bus stop right outside the school property and do nothing to stop it, so why should trips be any different? Either the policy itself is flawed, or their enforcement of it is.

On the second day of the trip, we were quickly informed that the leniency which had been previously implied was now gone and that those caught smoking would be sent home.

The punishment itself had not changed, but the teachers tone definitely had. This sudden change of focus frustrated many smokers. One was particularly outspoken about his frustration. He understands that the school can’t condone smoking, but at the same time going out of their way to stop him won’t make things any better. Catching him won’t force him to stop. They will have wasted time and effort, and he will still be smoking as he had before, just that now he will have been suspended for a couple of days. Several teachers came up to this notorious smoker before the trip to confirm that he understood what the rules were: so long as you don’t make it too obvious, we won’t see you. When this suddenly changed, he and all the other smokers had a problem; smoking is an addiction and quitting isn’t that easy. So they still had to do the exact same thing as before, only now a hostile environment has been created which didn’t benefit anyone, least of all the students.

It is understandable that the school has to take a negative stance to smoking, but at a certain point you have to ask if it’s worth it. Perhaps sanctioning a student caught smoking is going to help them and cause them to quit smoking, but if we are being realistic, this is not going to happen. The teachers know this, so why are sanctions the only way the school really deals with this problem? The school does go out of

Fredrik Falk tears down the smokescreen

their way to inform us about the dangers of tobacco, which is great: not a single student who goes to ISL can claim that they have not been informed of all the harms that smoking brings. However, this clearly isn’t enough to discourage everyone from picking up the habit.

The dilemma of how to handle this issue is not something new and, according to Ms. May, the school is well aware of the problem. She recognises that the current enforcement of the policy is unclear from the students’ perspective. However, changing this is not as easy as it sounds. Obviously the school needs to take a hard stance against smoking in order to defend their students, and Ms. May’s sentiment mirrors this, when she states that “There are certain things we expect from the students while they are here,” referring to the school campus. This is very fair. However, students smoke at the bus stop, and according to the school, this counts as school property. Despite this, several of the smokers I have spoken to frequent this spot and according to them it’s not unusual for teachers to spot them in the act. This has yet to lead to any negative repercussions.

So, not only is the policy unclear at school, but the problem worsens when we go on trips. On the one hand, the same policy should apply, but on the other hand smoking is an addiction. “We understand that some students feel the need to smoke, and the problems that come with addiction,” says Ms. May. During most of the year this is not a problem, but “teachers are not used to spending all day with students” and the same is true for students. This creates an awkward situation that both parties would like to avoid.

Fixing the holes in the policy won’t be easy, however. While most people might not worry about a sixteen or seventeen year old smoking, it’s another problem if a younger member of high school was to start. So should the IB students have their own set of rules, and if they should, what should these entail? What kind of school would allow their students to smoke, and even more importantly, what kind of parents would send their children to an institution that does?

Ms. May says that this is definitely something that should be discussed, and that it is important to include all the relevant parties: parents, teachers, and students. But the reality of it is that nothing will come of such a discussion, and nothing can. Parents like the current policy and, if anything, want it tightened, but what else could be expected from them? This, along with Swiss law, will ensure that the policy doesn’t change. Perhaps this is for the best, but it means that students who wish to smoke will continue to be forced to sneak around the idealistic and unrealistic policy which is half-heartedly enforced by uninterested teachers who are well aware of the futility of their efforts.

6

DESTINATION EVERYWHERE

W

hat makes us international students? The simple answer is hidden in the question — international. By definition, international means “existing, occurring, or carried on between nations” and I guess most of us would nod our heads and go “seems about right”.

As international students, a lot of us are used to moving around from country to country — be it to live or just to visit. Traveling is so ingrained in our system — to search for the wider world is a goal for many of us once we get out of high school. To either go traveling with our friends, like the Year 13 graduation trip, or to travel to another country to study. It seems that there is an idea floating around that the more you travel, the more you learn, and the more holistic your perspective may become.

I’ve always loved traveling. My mom used to travel a lot when she was younger — rock climbing in Kilimanjaro, exploring the Himalayas in Nepal… she was quite the adventurer. When my siblings and I grew old enough, she decided that she wanted to travel the unconventional, hidden beauties of the world with us. So that’s exactly what she did. I remember she used to spend hours and months planning our trips: researching, learning, absorbing every important piece of information she could find about what would make a trip as valuable as possible. It amazed me that she found it so important. Admittedly, I took it very much for granted until I could fully appreciate what these travels have taught me.

It started with a few weeks in Bhutan — a lot of hiking, temple exploring, and private tours around the more rural areas. I remember loving this trip — oddly enough, it surprised me how different an environment could be to the one I knew. The clothing, the people, the language… it all fascinated me. During our trip, my parents decided that we would spend a few days teaching English at monasteries and schools. I cherished

it, and my interest for humanitarian work was completely inspired by that single trip.

Most recently, I visited Antarctica. No, I’m not kidding. Yes, it was cold and no, I didn’t see polar bears (that’s the North pole). I did however, see lots and lots and LOTS of penguins… Heads up, penguins smell really gross. As you can imagine, Antarctica was by far the most eye opening trip of all: it was as I could get from anything I knew. I loved every part of that trip and I highly recommend going before it changes too drastically.

I could write and talk for a long time about the travels I’ve been on — the best parts, the worst, and all the sweet, simple moments in between. But I’d need a lot more than 1000 words, and you’d need a lot more time. If you want to know more, let’s go get some coffee and talk.

So what about traveling brings us to a more holistic understanding of the world around us? The obvious answer lays in the differences across destinations. It’s really easy to forget how varied our community is at ISL. Our school is a private, English-speaking international school, right above a well known city in Switzerland. Most of us speak multiple languages, do multiple sports, study like hell… we are a community that is fairly separated from the wider environment which surrounds us. Think about it, even when it comes

Sophia Scokalo stamps her passport to our sports competitions, it’s almost always with other international schools along Lake Geneva. But the second you step out of what you know, you open so much potential to learn.

The whole “broaden your perspective” idea has some truth to it. By immersing yourself into unfamiliar cultures, one can develop a sense of self-awareness that can come in handy when interacting with people from these cultures.

Whatever reason you have behind traveling, part of it will be self-indulgence.

That isn’t a bad thing — exploring culture or getting a little shopping done here and there is never really a bad thing. What I would say is whenever you travel outside of your home country, make yourself aware of your surroundings. Learn how to say “please” and “thank you” in the language of the place you’re visiting and appreciate the fact that you had the privilege to get there in the first place.

I’ll leave you with one final thought.

Traveling is a privilege. Whether I was teaching at schools in Bhutan, or eating with reindeer herders in Mongolia, I was reminded that I am incredibly lucky to be able to travel the way I do, to go to the school that I go to and to live the life that I live. I am humbled by the people I meet and all the experience I have accumulated. By finding interest in the world around you, you can learn more about you than you would expect.

7

TANZANIA: 11 YEARS ON

W

hen someone around the school says “Tanzania”, everyone knows what they’re talking about. The trip creates quite a buzz, especially throughout the year group whose turn it is to go. The trip has been taking place for 11 years now. Every year a group of around 20 students along with 3 teachers go and help a school in the Moshi area, building, painting, and teaching the students English.

But how has the trip evolved over the years to maximise our impact and leave a lasting effect on the people we meet?

The trip commenced when a teacher from the International-

“Prostitution is a part of Tanzania’s economy, so does that mean we should involve ourselves with prostitutes?”

School of Moshi contacted ISL. They run a programme which brings in groups of students from international schools from across the globe and, on top of service work, offers a range of different cultural activities from safaris to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. ISL responded to the programme with interest, but only intended to go if the trip would solely be service work. The reason behind this, said Mr Foley, was so that it didn’t look like a “bunch of rich kids going on holiday to Africa”, which is how the trip is viewed by many. I then argued that it is part of Tanzania’s culture, and contributes to the country’s economy, so why couldn’t we indulge for a day or two? He replied with: “Prostitution is a part of Tanzania’s economy, so does that mean we should involve ourselves with prostitutes?”

For a few years, the group would travel for an hour on a dirt track to get to a house run by a couple in the middle of a nature reserve, where they would stay in tents and go on an afternoon of safari-walking, which was about the only touristic activity they would do. Over the first five years the trip ran, ISL built and painted 5 classrooms at Mailisita Secondary School. When discussing what needed to be done at the school, collaboration was key (and not always easy from Switzerland). The people ISL have collaborated with in the past seem to think that because we are “white Europeans”, we know best, when in actual fact, they do. They know what really needs to be done, not people who have never stepped foot in the country before.

Eleanor Payne reflects on the success of this trip ISL learned some important lessons from the first trip, unfortunately, the hard way. On multiple occasions, they were victim of corruption. They supported some students through school on their first trip, and when they came back the next year, the kids were nowhere to be seen. It turned out, they’d dropped out, meaning the money given to fund those students’ education was actually kept by their headmaster. They also left clothes and other supplies with him because they thought that would be the most efficient way, but again, he kept everything for himself and his family. Gradually, the Tanzania team learnt to understand that if they wanted things to be done properly, they had to go through the whole process while ensuring that everything ran smoothly.

For the past two years, the trip has been run by Indago, a company that runs trips for students in international schools.

ISL has a continous relationship with Indago as they work with the company for vairous annual school trips. The first Indago Tanzania trip was last year and it was said that the staff were “extremely nice and accommodating”. Speaking on behalf of the whole group that went this year, we couldn’t have wished for better guides to spend our time with in Tanzania.

The question is, after all these years, have we really had an impact on the communities that we’ve been working with?

It’s hard to say. Service work, wherever you do it, can be very heavily criticized, and can, more often than not, make an invisible difference. Poverty is still a big issue and overprivileged students going to Africa for a week to do some painting is not going to change that, but that doesn’t mean we still shouldn’t do it. The trip costs around 3,000 Swiss francs per student. We could just send all the money from each student to Tanzania and be done with it, but there is not as much value in that and we don’t know where it’s going to end up. Being in Tanzania and experiencing things first hand is a lot more beneficial to both ourselves and those in Tanzania — rather than sending a large sum of money. Even if nothing has fundamentally changed, every year we leave a lasting impression on the people we meet and spend time with, and they certainly have a lasting effect on those of us who go, too. Because of the people we met and the things we experienced, we come back with a changed perspective and different values, but most importantly, we come back as better people.

Photo by Eleanor Payne

8

BOYS, GIRLS...

T

hree weeks ago, we sent out a survey about gender. The responses we received were varied. Some people questioned their knowledge, some were supportive, and some yelled profanity at us.

Due to the survey’s anonymity, it truly reflected our high school’s attitude towards gender. We expected a variety of viewpoints and we certainly got that.

What we didn’t expect was this level of hate: over a third of the 122 responses were detrimental and made light of the current situation. Many respondents urged us not to “argue with biology” and admit that nonbinary people simply suffer from “gender dysphoria”.

Some believed we would “empower defects” because “transgender people are sick”, while others still hoped that we would “have a nice makeout session with a moving train”. This was shocking, don’t you agree?

Controversy was unsurprising, considering the topic’s delicate nature, but these responses depict a situation opposed to our values of respect and acceptance. At a school where we trust each other enough to leave our lockers unlocked, we also seem to share our campus with people who hold prejudiced views preventing members of our community from feeling safe and accepted for who they are.

Diversity can only flourish in a positive and respectful environment. If you’ve ever wondered why we have a severe lack of variety in our school, maybe the answer lies in our negative attitude towards people who diverge from the norm. The survey results made it clear that there are people in our school who identify as nonbinary, but how are they to express themselves in this environment?

We can do better than this. As a school, we pride ourselves on our unity, but right now, we should be questioning it. We have the power to make a difference in our hands, and it’s about time

we use it.

Without further ado, let’s shed some light on the topic and answer some questions: How does biological sex link to gender?

The intricacies of biological sex are often over-simplified in school to save time. In fact, many components like chromosomes, genitalia, and hormones make up biological sex, and each can have many variations. Sex hormones, for example, are divided into androgens (‘male’) and estrogens (‘female’), but these are both found in all human beings. Each human has differing quantities of each which can at times result in the presence of ‘masculine’ traits in females and vice versa.

SImilarly, intersex people are born between the male and female sex making it a veritable scientific example of sex being beyond a binary. As such, even from a scientific standpoint, the concept of sexes is complicated.

That’s cool, I guess. But then what’s gender identity?

Gender identity is not innate, it’s a social construct. We associate certain traits with masculinity or femininity, often thinking that these make up one’s gender, but this idea is largely artificial.

Take the example of girls liking pink and boys liking blue: this was propagated by 20th century fashion trends in the West, not an intrinsic attraction to these colours. After all, girls can like blue and boys can like pink. Gender expression (how people choose to present themselves in relation to their gender) is also separate from gender identity: a boy, whether cis (same sex and gender) or trans, can express himself in traditionally feminine ways.

Are there any cultures with different genders?

Yes, such as the Indonesian Bugis culture’s five genders or Native American two-spirits. In the Bugis culture, for example, male and female are accepted

as genders but so are transgendered (not necessarily transsexual) male and female, and a gender transcendent fifth gender (agender or nonbinary in modern terms). Similar to this is the idea of the Native American two-spirit applied to androgynous people who are believed to house both a female and a male spirit (bigender). Alternative identities like these have long histories and can be found in every continent; they are not a “newfangled trend”.

How does this relate to sexuality and LGBT+ issues?

The ‘T’ does not stand for ‘taboo’, it stands for ‘Trans’, and transgender people are an important part of the LGBT+ community and its history (see Stonewall).

Okay, but I don’t know anyone with a different gender identity.

And that’s fine! Just be aware that transgender people exist, and they have every right to. Similarly, I don’t know any people from the Maldives, but I know they exist and would be respectful of their opinions regarding global warming.

I still find anyone who thinks gender and sex are separate is stupid...

This thought process reflects a narrow-minded and ignorant approach to being human but we don’t force our opinions on others since everyone is entitled to their own beliefs so long as they don’t disrespect someone else’s existence.

Gender is not a serious issue, why write about it?

We would argue it is a serious issue, considering the disproportionate murder rates for trans people and the lack of legal recognition for non binary genders. In a society riddled with problems, those faced by non binarynonbinary and transgender people are consistently sidelined due to people’s skepticism, misinformation and ignorance, none of which are excuses to let other human beings suffer.

9

& EVERYONE ELSE Gender dysphoria is an illness and transgender people are sick.

You are entitled to your own opinion but the spread of false information isn’t helping anyone.

Science is constantly evolving, and it can be mistaken. Ideas like “hysteria” were once accepted as science, but the scientific term is now obsolete because its inherent sexism discredited it. Valid point. Might be worth adding that women were put into mental asylums for laughing for too long (as mentioned... ‘Hysteria’) Still in doubt? Check the DSM-5: “gender nonconformity is not in itself a mental disorder. The critical element

of gender dysphoria is the presence of clinically significant distress associated with the condition” similar to how homosexuality is not a mental disorder, but depression due to related life circumstances is.

You can’t just choose your gender!

Exactly.

Many transgender people do not feel as though they choose whether they think of themselves as a man, woman, or other identity: they simply feel that way. From this point of view, they aren’t choosing their gender but being forced to choose one which they don’t identify with. If gender is not a choice, then this means it should not be a choice some-

Pia Tiwari and Heloise Coubat one else will make for you either.

Some scientists hypothesise that gender identity and dysphoria is caused by hormones: if this turns out to be true, it will indeed not be a choice, as it will have been caused by a physical trait.

However, scientific research on this level is still rather new, so there is only tenuous evidence towards this.

If gender were really a choice, no one would pick a life where they face discrimination and violence on a regular basis.

READ, WATCH, LISTEN THE DARK LORD’S HANDBOOK BY PAUL DALE Have you ever wondered what the villain gets up to in the classic tale of the unexpected hero? If so, this is the trilogy for you! When eighteen-year-old Morden, half-dragon and the proud owner of a tiny business empire that he runs from his school basement is given a handbook that has written itself just for him, he embarks on a noble quest to conquer the known world and rule supreme over all. Meanwhile, the forces of Good scramble to locate a suitable hero, but run into trouble as he quickly becomes more concerned with his True Love than with his mission. Entertaining, satirical, and subversive, this trilogy takes every classic hero trope and throws them out the window, creating a story that cannot be put down - and one that teaches kids everywhere that they, too, can become a Dark Lord Em-

peror and cast a dark and terrible shadow over the earth. All you have to do is listen to The Dark Lord’s Handbook.

THE PRESTIGE This is one of my favorite films of all time. Directed by Christopher Nolan and featuring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, The Prestige is the story of two ex-friends, both magicians, who, caught up in their competition, go to the most terrible of lengths to become the best. It’s a slow burn, for sure, at two hours in length - but never for a moment is it boring. Rife with twists and shocking reveals, The Prestige will have you on the edge of your seat throughout, both because of the heart-stopping tricks and the heavy suspense that permeates through the film - finally culminating in an ending that will leave you short of breath.

Suhasini Mehra

WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING BY SET IT OFF There are plenty of songs about sadness, heartbreak, and betrayal - but sometimes all you want is to kick back and bury your feelings under a mound of anger. This song is perfect for that.

An expressive response to a cheating partner, this song is the musical equivalent of attacking a punching bag with someone’s face taped to it - so you can experience all of the enjoyment with none of the resulting hand pain or distant consideration that you might not be very good at coping with your emotions. With a catchy tune and wonderfully sarcastic lyrics, this song will have you dancing around your bedroom as you listen, right up until you break into tears and start crying into your pillow.

10

IMPERSONAL PROJECT?

A

t this time of the year for many Year 11s, the Personal Project and all the requirements that come along with it seem to overtake everything else. As the final product has to be submitted very soon, deadlines inching closer with every passing second are on people’s minds. There is no more questioning what you’ve started on, you have to push through and hopefully create a satisfying outcome.

However, many are maybe forgetting a couple things: Have they enjoyed this grueling process so far? Have they taken advantage of the choose-your-own topic, a feature that is supposed to drive many to continue work in these tough fall months? But, most importantly, do students feel like they are learning and setting themselves up for the future? Here, we will explore all of that and also take a look at the opinions of some experienced Year 13s who explain whether the Personal Project helped them ahead of their big Diploma Programme project, the Extended Essay.

“It’s been quite interesting and fun to get so in depth about something that you are passionate about.”

When it came to the Year 11s, opinions were split. Some were very enthusiastic about the process that came with the year-long project. Max Roelen, for example, said: “it’s been quite interesting

Tom Secheyron writes a process journal

and fun to get so in depth about something that you are passionate about.”

On the other hand, Kaita Hemmi couldn’t come to agree with that statement, as he expressed his anger about certain requirements like the Process Journal: “Although it is based on my interests, all the extra stuff makes me less interested.” This is an accurate representation of most people’s thoughts when it comes to everything that has to be done in addition to the final product, which really seems to interest people more than anything else.

Hemmi was more on the negative side, declaring that “this project is irrelevant to our curriculum.” However, what he said next was without a doubt the most intriguing part for me, as he suggested that students “would be able to conduct a toned-down version of the PP if intrigued in the topic.” Even though that will surely seem a bit far-reached for most, could ISL consider turning the Personal Project into something less demanding and instead prioritize the creativity of students? Only time will tell…

However, the Year 11s did acknowledge the fact that being able to choose your own topic was an important component. Both Max Roelen and Lucas Leach came to the same conclusion, as Max stated that he liked “this quite a bit because if you were given a topic, it wouldn’t and couldn’t be called the ‘Personal’ Project.” There’s no doubt about it: the Personal Project comes with this privilege of a chosen topic, and that is a huge motivator for many students who might not be as driven if this wasn’t the case. Kaita Hemmi even said that the personalized aspect is more than that: he “wouldn’t be able to survive through this process without it”, showing some of the reluctancy that many Year 11s have felt as they’ve maneuvered this task.

Whether or not this Year 11 undertaking is changed, Amara Sarao made sure to defend the project that she got done almost two years ago now. She hit on two different advantages: time management and learning how to choose the right topic. She specifically said that it is easy to “suffer through these types of dissertations if you have no interest in them.” Obviously, the importance of making the right decision when it comes to the theme of the project is huge to Amara. The time management aspect also taught her lots: the Personal Project “allowed us to understand how to manage our time and structure such a large piece of work.” She identifies this last characteristic as one that can be applied to both the Personal Project and the Extended Essay. To finish off, she ends on a resounding note: “Both of these projects, I believe, will prepare me very well for common university dissertations of longer lengths.”

As you can see, the Personal Project has been thoroughly analyzed by both younger and older students at ISL, with diverging opinions coming from it. Whether it is liked or not, it doesn’t seem like it is going away anytime soon. For that reason, I should surely get back to it myself: deadlines are rapidly approaching!

Finally, the three Year 11s were asked about the impact of this project on their future years, which holds both the Diploma Programme, but also the start of real careers. Some of the initial ideas that were brought about re-surfaced, as Lucas Leach seemed persuaded that the “extra process work is unnecessary and not useful.” He did talk about the advantages of the research, as he believes that most modern-day jobs will include some type of fact-finding. Max Roelen and Kaita Hemmi were once again in disagreement, as the first one said that “a project like this one is very essential in order to learn the basics of future DP characteristics.” Kaita

11

COME WHAT MAY Anne-Marie Rusu meets the new High School Principal

O

ver the past years, ISL has brought us big changes, especially to the leadership team. This year, Ms. Secker has stepped down from being the high school principal to focus on her teaching and become an academic counselor, passing the baton to Ms. Sian May. You may remember her from her speech on the first day of school, in which she told us to follow our dreams and never give up, or you might know her from the Philosophy Society, which she leads.

Photograph by Giovanna Rojas

Ms. May hasn’t always been a teacher. She graduated with a philosophy degree from Edinburgh and went on to work at the Scottish parliament and legal commission, but it was only when she realized how happy she was working in the education department that she quit her job and got a teaching degree. She worked previously as head of middle school in Hong Kong, and decided to join us here as high school principal as she felt it was a “natural extension of what [she] was doing” as she has always taught older students.

As a high school principal, Ms. May wants to make sure the student voice is heard and that it is an active part of the school. One of the issues that a lot of students bring up is the power we have within the school. Although some people want things to change, very few students ever raise their concerns with teachers, and instead prefer to just complain within their circle. When asked about her key goals and ambitions for her position, she replied: “I want to get to know student perspective a bit more, because I’m exposed to staff perspective a lot, and parent perspective a lot, but I probably don’t have enough to base student opinion on just yet.”

The role of the student council has been questioned before; some have asked if it’s necessary in our school if it doesn’t always have an impact, but it’s true that without a student voice, we would be completely disconnected from important decisions regarding our school. She also suggested some student-led focus groups, that - along with the more formal student council meetings - would be able to bring out more opinions that can be heard by the leadership team.

What Ms May says that she is looking forward to most is “everything and all things because it is new and [she’s] enjoying all of it” because this is such a change to her previous school.

She like the ethos, the team, and the values of the school, so she thinks she made a wise decision. Along with her new leadership position, Ms. May also teaches TOK and leads the Philosophy society. “I love teaching,” she says, stating that “ it’s just such a nice thing to do, to be perfectly honest.” She claims she is an “obsessed philosopher, so [she] needs philosophy in [her] life” and this is also an opportunity for students to see her differently rather than the ‘scary principal’.

It’s also an opportunity for students to get to know her and build a relationship that many of us already have with our

teachers. In her TOK classes, she has realized - to our benefit - that this compulsory part of the DP is not necessarily everyone’s favorite, so she is also planning to rewrite the course to make sure it’s more interactive, fun, and, most importantly, that it makes students excited.

In our tight-knit ISL community, it’s sometimes hard to adapt to others’ teaching styles, as we have been exposed to the same thing for so long, but one thing we can be happy about is that Ms. May wants to continue to build a school where we are respected and “in a friendly atmosphere” within which we can be “treated as young adults and be taken seriously”. She views her role as having a purpose to “elevate everybody” and that most of the change comes, in fact, from the students.

Most importantly, her role as a high school principal is not to be authoritarian or the distant figure behind the curtain. She is here because “[she] wants to be here” and she is here to help us and add value to what we’re doing, whether it’s your first year with the big kids in high school or you’re organizing study time and IAs. To Ms. May, she’d rather “hear the truth about what people think; there’s really no point in [her] hearing a polished version” and her main aim is to be there for students and although sometimes knowing our needs is “intuitive”, proactive students is what is required and able to drive change.

12

MY FAVOURITE FANTASY

H

ave you ever fallen in love with a fictional character?” A question my friends have never asked me. There’s one simple reason to it: we’ve all fallen in love with someone who wasn’t real at one point. For me, my first fictional love was Legolas from Lord of the Rings when I was 5, followed by Will Turner of Pirates of the Caribbean - who interestingly enough, were both played by Orlando Bloom.

But I digress. I have fallen in love with fictional characters more times than I can count, and almost all of them have ended with someone spiraling into despair for at least a week; mostly because I only seem to love characters who either suffer or die. In any case, I felt the need to share this with people whose time falling in love with people on a screen or in a book has long since past, and also to help the poor souls (or the friends of those poor souls) who still fall into a cycle that only ends in suffering and pain. Here is my guide to the stages of accepting that you are in love with a fictional character (and what to do if they die).

Stage one: Denial. Much like grief, falling in love with the man or woman of your dreams, who just happens to not be real, starts with denial. “I’m not in love with them, I just admire them, think they’re cute, want to give them hugs, blankets, and ice cream, and want to kill anyone who hurts them.

That’s not love, nooooooo.” Sorry kiddo, you’re in love with a fictional character, though it’ll probably still be a while until you accept it, so just keep on denying it until your friends (or your feelings) annoy you so much that you move onto the next stage.

Stage two: Anger. Most people skip this stage, and move on straight to bargaining, although it can still happen. Anger comes in after denial, when your feelings are too strong to hide and everyone can see it. This stage includes running around screaming at the world, and crying out “Why!? Why

can’t I just fall in love with a real person!?” This stage soon passes though, so please deal with your hysteric friend while they yell to the sky the following question: “Why can’t anyone I know be as perfect as Captain Jack Harkness!?”

Hang in there, friends.

Stage three: Bargaining. Oh dear. Now this is the stage where you feel the need to get a boyfriend or girlfriend that is as close enough to your fictional crush in looks or personality so as they satisfy your never ending attraction for that beautiful person whom you’ve deemed great enough to have your attention… even though they aren’t real. This can sometimes lead to many broken hearts, and often to the next stage. And all the while this is happening, you’ll probably have that one friend shaking their head in embarrassment at your ridiculous deeds in the background.

Stage four: Depression. It seems you couldn’t find anyone who was anything like your fictional crush and this left you in a place of depression and ice cream, and you crying your eyes out while rewatching and rereading your crush’s best moments. This stage is often the one that lasts the longest (unless you’re used to falling in love with fictional characters) and is the most painful one; where the reality that your character will never come to life,

Manon Libine reads, watches, and loves and you will never be able to hug them or give them blankets, hugs, and ice cream starts sinking in. This stage also often happens when, or if, your fictional crush dies, but we’ll look at that later.

Stage five: Acceptance. You’ve finally accepted it then? That your fictional crush will never be real, but that life goes on and one day you might meet that one person that finally clicks with you? Good, that means that you’ve finally reached the end of the roller coaster. You can still love that character, and draw fanart, write self-inserts, and daydream of your adventures together, but it finally won’t stop you from moving on with your life and perhaps finding a real person to crush on.

And that concludes the end of this article... “But wait!” I hear you cry, “You said you would help me if my fictional crush died! What am I supposed to do?!” Don’t worry, there is one simple answer to that question. The thing that you’ve wanted to give your fictional crush since the beginning. Blankets and ice cream (and hugs if your friend is willing after all you put them through). If your character died in canon, I’m sorry but there isn’t much you can do, unless they’re Marvel or D.C, in which case they’ll probably come back in the next movie.

Illustration by Manon Libine

13

LIFE STREAMING Leonardo Morosini has gone a binge too far

S

eason two of Riverdale is finally out. For those of you who don’t know, Riverdale is your typical high school drama TV show, focusing on four high school students following the death of one of their peers in the mysterious town of Riverdale. Just like any other successful teen drama series, Riverdale manages to capture teenagers’ attention by showcasing murders, drama, and romance while maintaining a high level of suspense. When I started watching it, however, I couldn’t help but be struck by the problems this type of television program creates; Riverdale and other such series are redefining what it means to be a teenager, and NOT for the greater good.

To begin with, in most teen TV series (and movies), the characters, often of high school age, are played by actors in their twenties. An example is Blake Lively who, at the age of twenty, was cast to play the role of sixteen-year-old Serena Van Der Woodsen in Gossip Girl.

Riverdale’s Cole Sprouse is twenty-five, compared to his seventeen-year-old high school character. Some might argue that this is not a problem, as the cast actors often look younger than their actual age and are made up to look the age of their character. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Ironically, actors playing teens in TV series are made to look like young adults even though they are representing teenagers.

This is relevant because teenagers are no longer encouraged to look their age and are instead encouraged to look and act like young adults. To do so, teenagers change their wardrobes and haircuts: guys go to the gym to be bigger whilst girls upgrade their makeup skills to look more sophisticated.

There is no longer a portrayal of “an ideal teenager”, as children are now supposed to suddenly look like young adults without going through puberty.

Another thing that makes me uneasy

about Riverdale is the fact that the cast was handpicked to conform to a specific beauty standard. As most people know, teenagers are at a time in their lives where they are susceptible to low self-esteem and lack of confidence: this is only enforced when teenagers are shown unrealistic depictions of their age group on television. This is more dangerous when conveyed through TV series because unlike in advertisements, where viewers know that the models were made to look attractive, TV series subtly normalize these unrealistic beauty standards.

ISL has been also affected by this. While it is not true in all cases, students who are considered to be be popular are often those who look older, have gone through puberty, and dress in an “adult manner”. Those who do not fit these criteria are often seen as “unpopular” and cast aside.

There is a correlation between binge watching a TV series and isolation.

Streaming services like Netflix have also encouraged the binge-watching culture – making people marathon through entire seasons in one go. While this mind-numbing time spent in front of a screen is fun, if overdone, it does have negative consequences. It makes people emotionally attached to shows and according to a study carried out by the University of Texas at Austin, there is a correlation between binge-watching a TV series and isolation, which could

lead to depression, and consequently plummeting grades at school.

TV series have also normalized certain high school attitudes and occurrences such as making things like drama, mental illnesses, and problems an expected element of the high school experience.

While it is good to represent the bad side of things to show that life isn’t always perfect, glorifying and normalizing bad experiences is not the way to go. Drama is an example of something that many people now want in their lives because of TV, but are scared to admit. This might be due to human nature, but it is certainly enforced by shows like Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl (pretty self-explanatory here), where the main characters lie to the police about crimes that they have NOT committed and then have to hide bodies. Moreover, many shows have glorified things like bulimia or being hospitalized for having a mental breakdown, by showing how individuals get attention for having these mental illnesses without showing the actual severity and negative consequences of such events. This is not okay because many people suffering from these mental illnesses are then accused of “playing the victim” and are neglected when they most need support from their friends.

Unlike adverts and other forms of media, TV series are often overlooked and not considered as having that much of a negative impact on teenagers. However, this should not be the case as they do have an impact and are viewed by many. While many producers have started to add a more “diverse” cast by including people from different background, they often fail to represent a common high school setting, which is often their intention. This makes us teenagers look up to impossible goals, preventing us from feeling secure in ourselves.

14

MR WEINSTEIN WILL SEE YOU NOW If you’re a big moviegoer, or just have been reading the news lately, you’ve probably heard of Harvey Weinstein.

This string of accusations made against him has inspired a wave of people all over Hollywood from big shot actors to lowly interns, all stepping forward with their own stories of being taken advantage of by powerful people. For me, this begged the question: How in the hell did things get this bad? Sure, there are plenty of one-line explanations ranging from “we live in a complicated society and culture that allows people with lots of money and lots of influence to commit crimes without consequence” to “men are pigs.” Unfortunately, those kinds of answers are what you might call too good to be true. They don’t give the full picture and offer half-assed justifications that make it sound like a problem that ought to be solved overnight.

Returning to Harvey Weinstein, if his string of sexual assaults was a oneman act, it would have been over in a heartbeat. Sadly, he also had his peers and friends who knew about it and did nothing to stop him, his employees who knew but did nothing because they were either afraid of being fired or saw it as beyond their pay grade, and yes, the journalists and victims would sooner be paid off by Weinstein rather than speak out against him. Lots of you are probably thinking: “If it was me in that position, I’d tell the world and see that bastard get what coming.”

The current reality is, no, you probably wouldn’t. But that doesn’t have to remain the case.

Let’s start with the heaviest one first: Those who didn’t speak out. Past victims and journalists who looked into the “open secret” and then let themselves be silenced by either pressure from others or by a fat pile of cash.

Victims don’t want to come forward in an industry and, on a larger scale, a society, that will punish and shame them

for speaking out. They might have been afraid that people wouldn’t believe them, or afraid of being attacked for what they say. That, and among other reasons, it’s difficult for these people to speak out. However, for this to stop happening in the future, people need to speak up before literally dozens of victims all come forward with stories of being harassed and assaulted all at the same time. There is a point where witnesses with vital proof and testimony decide that they need to help stop sexual predators before they hurt more people. All too often, this point is reached much too late, and that needs to come to an end.

They might have been afraid that people wouldn’t believe them, or afraid of being attacked for what they say.

Now looking at the employees who knew about what was going on but did nothing. Sure, it may seem easier to accuse the someone of something behind the cover of anonymity, but come on, how likely is that to work? As for a direct confrontation, how many of you are confident that you could storm into your boss’s office and tell him off for abusing his power and lacking any morals, then walk out knowing that you

Nick Jennings puts harassment in the spotlight won’t get fired the following morning?

Not many, I bet. Standing up to people with power is difficult, sometimes impossible. They have the resources to ruin your career or your life, and since they were able to gain this power, they probably have the coldness to do it without hesitation. As is too often the case, once people reach a certain standing, they don’t like being told no.

They surround themselves with “yes men” and kick out everyone else. This isn’t just a Hollywood problem, it’s a society problem. There’s a psychological trigger that keeps you from biting that hand that feeds you, and it’s the same with money. But like always, there is still a choice. Either you can stay in your comfort zone, or you can break the barrier and confront a figure of authority when you see that power being abused. The problem is too many people are afraid of the consequences.

Finally, let’s look at the Weinstein’s peers and friends. Take Ben Affleck, who earlier claimed he had told Weinstein to stop acting the way he was, then after the recent storm of accusations surfaced, tweeted how deeply shocked he was with the news. Is this a problem of money and power, or is the problem already there? The way I see it, the real problem is the “don’t snitch” mentality. Too often, we see people we like and want to impress who are doing something that we wouldn’t. Instead of telling them off, we let it slide, or worse, do it too, because whether we realize it or not, we want the people we like to be right. So just like with our bosses, we have a choice. Either stick to what you view is right, or stand the risk of becoming the very thing you used to be against. Whether or not the consequences are worth it is up to you.

15

THE EAGLE HAS FALLEN

A

s an international school in Switzerland, the question “Where are you from?” is one we hear on the daily.

Whether it be from a friend, teacher or stranger, this question allows us to intrigue those around us with our cocktail-like backgrounds which are covered in cultural color. For many of us, the answer to this question is clear cut, with no need for hesitation. However, for some, the answer is becoming more and more clouded in order to avoid facing the baggage recently acquired by the once celebrated phrase, “I’m from the United States of America”.

America, prior to the election of 2016, was a nation known, for the most part, for creating strong leaders and determined, hard-working citizens through the instillment of a powerful belief system. This belief system instilled values of equality, acceptance, and perseverance, which are vital towards the bettering of any society. The loss of the election on behalf of those committed to bettering the country was the loss of an era. An era in which I was proud to be American. Rather than being known as the hard-working and persevering citizens of a nation with one of the most successful economies in the world, the good of America now hides behind a big-mouthed, orange buffoon. I, therefore, hide behind my Swiss passport and Egyptian features, in denial of my American roots.

Prior to the worrying phrases coming out of the mouth of our Commander in Chief in the past year, the United States of America was a land where dreams really did come true. In the 20th century alone, hundreds of thousands of migrants entered the US in search of a better overall quality of life, in a country which was known to be accepting and open to change. My own grandparents left Egypt to go to America for that exact reason. And, until lately, they were correct.

Americans were becoming more and more accepting as time passed, especially behind the leadership of President Obama, who enforced the marvel of uniqueness amongst race, gender and culture alike. We were taking a shortcut to success, and we had the world backing us! But that, of course, was the calm before the storm. A storm which would reverse these efforts and hit America’s open-mind like a brick wall. The storm’s name? Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is good for precisely one thing, he never lets Saturday Night Live down. With his arrogant attitude and drive to contradict political correctness, he always manages to make us Americans put our faces to our palms in laughter, contemplating how on Earth he was elected. Enough is enough though, it’s time this finally ended. As stated by Michelle Obama, how about we forget about political correctness for a second and take into account the need for simple human decency? I, for one, am sick of the “locker room talk” and “we have bigger problems than this” justification.

It’s time Donald Trump became a role model for the country

Celia Lette takes a knee rather than a world-wide symbol of why not to fake tan.

When questioning the Americans in school, every single one felt the same way I do. Edward Fraser, for example, in year 13 stated, “I am both American and English, but when people ask, I just say I’m English.” I, like Edward, now identify mainly as Swiss in order to avoid the monster in the room which arrives alongside the words “I’m American”. So congrats to the Donald himself, you’ve really done it.

Now, to blame the Donald and only the Donald would not be just, so I’ll have to throw some shade at the other communities of people who have made me embarrassed to be American as well. These include the radical societies which aim to discriminate against all who are not white, straight and Christian. Thank you for giving me an impeccable and irresistible reason to become a larger part of the generation of “change”. It has really influenced young people to take a stand against hierarchy amongst race, gender and sexual orientation alike. Similarly, the ongoing and increasing presence of racist and anti-semitic groups such as the KKK in America is shameful and simply disgusting. How is it possible that these groups even still exist after we’ve experienced the awful consequences of social cleansing? America, you really do shock me.

Going back to Florida each Christmas and Summer vacation, I am always horrified by the abundance of confederate flags hanging in front of doorways, balconies, and stuck onto the back of cars. Regress all you want America, but I, and many others, want no part in it. I’m embarrassed to state the truth of my nationality, but for now America and I are too different to be associated with one another. Maybe in a few years this will change for the better, but for now I can genuinely say that I’M EMBARRASSED TO BE AMERICAN.

Illustration by Leah Parsons

16

THE SPY Read my emails, Write my emails.

Run the SW, Dust the HW. Configure the network, Secure my work.

Copy to Samba, Check for Maz3mbas.

NSA, why? Went yum yum Nibbled round bad bits Licked its lips It bit my Raspbian pie, Only the best keys, Slithering into the core.

The Pi collapses from the inside.

Check for viruses and monitor the virus, But there’s no hope.

It ran some ware Spread to the Pi’s friend And, 600 dollars for Windows!

Or else …

Dear Windows died.

Thanks Wannacry.

WORDSEARCH

Paolo Celati won the High School Poetry Competition with this poem

Eternal Blue, guess whose fault All is vulnerable Kernel panic, blue-screen-of-death.

Disconnect the power, rescue my data Only vacuum That sly snake, man in the middle.

Eating your tasty things invisibly.

Your paths, hatches, trails aren’t yours All trapdoors, backdoors, ways in.

But who can stop them?

Snowden saved us For now.

The monster evolves.

Eternally.

The spying serpent knows all, Your habits, ideas, secrets.

Everything

Find all the writers in this issue