20/07/2018 Issue 10
Contents 1. 2. 3.
Editors’ Note CCF camp review Should we be worried about Westernisation 4. Why do we care about Love Island? 5. A study in Superheroes 6. The Difference 7. Five amazing titles every Wally Girl should read 8. Haunted House 9. WHSG Pride Week 2018 10. Teacher Interview: Mr Sanderson 11. Emotive piece: Beatrice’s Diary 12. Creative writing: Special Sugar (1) 13. Why we shouldn’t feel patriotism about the British Empire 14. Creative writing: Welcome to Unity Academy (1)
Cover and Contents images: Cover image by Sadisha Perera Contents image by Zafirah Sadiq
Editors’ Note
Rhiannon – I’m a Year 12 and I thought that the Wally Street Journal is a really creative and interesting way for students to get involved in our school community and to share ideas. I hope you really enjoy this issue that Anya and I have worked on, and that if you weren’t involved this time, will send a submission in for us next term!
Anya – I’m in year 12, participating in the curation of the school newspaper has been an interesting opportunity to explore various areas of school life from a student perspective as well as collecting articles on a broad range of topics that can be explored better through student journalism. We hope you enjoy this edition.
We’d like to congratulate all our new writers joining the team this issue, so introducing:
Meg Riser, Year 12 Rahmat Ottun, Year 10 Fajr Amer, Year 10 Antara Singh, Year 10 Jannah Abdul-Wadud, Year 8 Cate Beattie, Year 7
One really exciting new feature of the WSJ is our creative writing serials; we have Part 1 of each, Welcome to Unity Academy, and Special Sugar, in issue 10 and we’re very excited to share this with all our lovely readers. Please contact us with any feedback – or indeed any fresh ideas – because with ideas, the more the merrier!
As always, the WSJ team will be accepting entries in the shared area folder, or by email (details of how to enter your work on the student bulletin) from the start of the half term – anyone is welcome to put forward opinion pieces, book or event reviews, poetry, creative writing, etc; we’d love to hear what you have to say. Also, if joining the WSJ team for next term is something that interests you, please let us know, we’d be delighted to hear from you. This term has been really busy, so we’ve had some exceptional entries for this edition of the Wally Street Journal that we hope you’ll love. Enjoy!
Anya and Rhiannon, Editors 2017-18
Nescliffe Summer Camp 2018 Meg Riser – 12SET This year CCF’s army section went to Nescliffe Camp in Shrewsbury during the beginning of July for a field craft orientated Summer camp. This was a first Summer camp for many year nines and hopefully one to remember. Here’s a small breakdown of what we got up to! Day 1 After a long coach journey, we arrived at the camp, took our weapons handling tests and did some general admin. Day 2 – Range Day On day 2 the senior cadets and most NCOs travelled to Wales to participate in the longrange package where they tested their advanced skills in shooting on the ranges at different distances, positions and were each individually scored. Back at camp the year 9s, 10s and a handful of NCOs stayed to participate in the short-range package which included a 25m range (with Cadet Downer placing 3rd – well done!), a WW1 talk and testing different types of rifles. A fascinating day for both parties. Day 3 – Adventurous Training Day On the third day we travelled to an adventurous training area to participate in water sports, climbing, caving, archery, team challenge and laser quest in a woodland environment. This was an exciting day that built our teamwork skills whilst also being a lot of fun. Day 4 – Fieldcraft Day 1 On the fourth day we put our combats back on and entered the training area. Here in platoons we participated in combat situations such as stopping and searching a car, learning about radios, training in built up areas (TIBUA) and paintballing in military scenarios. Day 5 – Fieldcraft Day 2 On the fifth day we got to put our fieldcraft skills to the test. In groups we went around to stands and got to work together to carry out a section attack, find codes in an escape room, learn about survival and participate in a group observation task. Day 6 – The Exercise
On the sixth day we woke up early and headed straight to the training area to start our overnight exercise in the field. In our new platoons we got to patrol for information on the enemy, carry out an ambush on the enemy and work together to carry out two successful platoon attacks. After a day full of activity everyone returned to their harbour areas to experience living in the field – cooking and sleeping out. Day 7 – Competitions and final parade On the seventh day we participated in several competitions such as the gun run and the DCCT competition (which we won) and during the final parade we were awarded the ‘Best Contingent’ award. This award was well deserved and truly reflected the hard work put in by every single cadet throughout the week. Day 8 – We travelled home feeling accomplished (but very tired).
Should We Be Worried About Westernisation? Katia Jones - 12 KBT
The term ‘Westernisation’ refers to the process whereby different societies gradually adopt western culture. This can be through lifestyle, diet, clothing, language, values, economics and politics. This concept can seem harmless – but what are the consequences of an increasingly ‘westernised’ world? Westernisation can clearly be seen in the economic systems of different countries across the world. For example, despite being located in Asia, countries such as Japan and Singapore operate in a free market economic system just like countries such as the USA and the UK. In East Africa is also Uganda, who also operates under the same economic system. This goes to show that distance or geographical location isn’t a barrier when it comes to the transmission of western values, norms and practices. Examples of westernisation are seen across the world in many different ways, particularly through diets and food. In the past few decades China has had rapid economic growth which has led to the change of diets from a cuisine that includes a balanced mix of greenery, ginger and meats to a health threatening combination of fats, grease and sodium. It is estimated that 9.7% of China's population now has diabetes, catching up with a frightening figure of 11% in America. The spread of western fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s is becoming a quick and an appealing option for wealthy Chinese individuals, but this comes at a price with the emergence of further issues such as a strain on healthcare. McDonald’s is present in over 120 countries across the globe. Countries such as India and China have changed their menus to suit the tastes of the people in the country. For example, we have India’s ‘McCurry Pan’ and China’s ‘Sausage and Egg Twisty Pasta Breakfast’ – A soup and noodle meal, which claims to be a hearty and healthy option. But to me, these seem like crafty ways in which western diets have made their way into traditional cultures.
So what real issues emerge from a seemingly harmless spread of western ideals? With the changing of diets in countries like China, I have mentioned the rise in obesity which will undoubtedly bring about a vast array of health issues and a strain on healthcare. Above this is the loss of rich and distinct local cultures along with long shaped history and traditions. For example, in Nigeria the impacts of westernisation have even prohibited the speaking of the mother tongue at home and the extinction of many local dialects. This can even be linked back to the UK with many of my friends having conflicting views with their families about issues such as marriage, homosexuality and the roles of men and women. I have certainly had many heated debates with my mother over these issues and I find that it is extremely difficult to respect and accept the values of other cultures when we live in a western culture that dominates the globe. However, despite the negative impacts of the spread of western culture there have been many positive things that have emerged from this such as values such as the spread of equal rights, religious freedom and the modernisation of many countries. In my opinion I do not think there should be a superior or dominating culture but with the rate of globalisation are we seeing the emergence of a shared global culture? If so, how will we go about tackling the tensions that may arise from this?
Love Island: Fairly Attractive People Making Themselves Look Stupid on Television to Win 50k Why do we care? Meg Riser – 12 SET
If you haven’t heard of Love Island you’ve been living under a rock and there’s quite a high chance you watch it religiously or occasionally. However, say the words ‘Love Island’ and anyone that considers themselves an intellectual that does not watch it shudders or rolls their eyes – surely Love Island is just a mind numbing waste of time? Yet Britain seems to be hooked on this one particular reality TV show, I even saw a woman walking to work the other day whilst watching Love Island on her phone. So, I’m going to attempt to understand what makes the show interesting. Firstly, there’s the people – the essence of the show. The show started with Dr Alex – the one outcast that couldn’t get anyone to want to date him but ironically was definitely earning the most money as a doctor. He seemed like the nice guy and a lot of sympathy was created surrounding his situation – it created an underdog character that had people wanting to see succeed and thus creating a point of interest and desire to watch the show. Then there was Adam whom created feelings of anger surrounding his particular situation. Adam and Megan both epitomised the concept of how being good looking puts you on a pedestal. Both of them showed signs of unpleasant personalities, mistreatment of others with disregard for their feelings and making others feel insecure yet they both thrived in finding guys/girls continuously. This created ‘villains’ for the show on an emotional level
because viewers themselves wouldn’t want to be treated in that way. The producers successfully created a strange line up of the heroes you’re rooting for (Jack and Dani), the villains (Adam and Megan plus a few more as the weeks go by) and the victims of the game (initially Alex and Samira). It makes people buy into the show because they become emotionally invested in how these people interact and progress and it is all intensified because they’re real people! Then there’s the fact it is all, actually a game and a drama fest. The producers are in complete control and with that power comes the ability to shape the show however they want. They have so much influence over how people perceive the contestants and also when they want certain things to happen. Any problems caused are normally due to the producers’ decisions of events like a random recoupling or introducing someone new etc. This all creates drama which is only exaggerated with the self-made drama that the contestants themselves create which seemingly must interest people as watching intense fights with incredibly intense promos for the show the next day creates a buzz when in reality they’re almost always over something so insignificant in the realms of the real world yet because of the environment that this drama is placed within, creates something for you to get excited over and chat to your friends with on your group chat. It’s the strange concept of watching other people that are so detached from the real world with the objective of finding ‘love’ which, in itself, isn’t something that in reality is ever so forced and constant, but humans love the idea of ‘love’ itself and taking that aspect of all tv shows and movies and concentrating it into a reality show that perhaps makes the show fascinating. The show arguably unites the nation for many reasons: it gives people something to talk about, gives a look at something most people will experience in life (finding ‘love’) (even though in a questionable way) and is on most days of the week which makes it constantly there and happening in nearly live time. It also takes contestants and gives you reason to support or dislike them whilst finding it stimulating to anticipate their unpredictable next ‘moves’ in the strange game reality that has been created. Perhaps these aspects that everyone can share together makes the show so popular. Perhaps Love Island is just a bunch of fairly attractive people making themselves look stupid on television in order to win £50k and everyone just needs something to watch during Summer. But it is fascinating that so many people watch it and love it in comparison to a lot of other reality tv shows. Maybe we just like watching people trying to get together, maybe we find it to be an interesting take on how people interact or maybe we’re all bored.
A Study in Superheroes Sumayyah Imran - 12SET I watched Avengers: Infinity War recently, and was not disappointed. Like many others, I had been anticipating the release of this movie for months; to pull off a film with 50 or so superheroes and 10 years of cinema preceding would be no small feat. The film was as marvellous (pun intended) as we had hoped, and left us stupefied and a little betrayed, which in this case is not a failure, but a testament to how strong a fan base it has built over the years. Prior to the release of this film, I began to contemplate how the MCU had managed to create such a thrilling, audience-amassing empire, and it boiled down to its characters; the superheroes. They were at the heart of all this, and captured viewers from all backgrounds. It then occurred to me just how influential this genre of entertainment is; we’re all obsessed with heroes. They’ve had various faces and forms over time, but they’ve always been there; men and women, endowed with special abilities and blessed with noble hearts and minds whose sole mission is to protect humanity. Naturally, the job description has varied over time, but ultimately, the heroes of our comic books and TV screens and the good sorcerers of the tales of old share these distinct features. And we’ve always loved to hear about their resolve in the face of peril, and of their epic battles against the forces of evil. So why superheroes? And why now? Here are some of the reasons I believe we hold these characters so dear. Alternative identities There are far too many of us who feel trapped in our own lives. Adults and teens alike, it’s easy to get lost in the monotony of work and school. The stories of many popular superheroes reflect just that; a desire to be something other than what you are; to let go of the restraints of casual, everyday life. And when you don a special suit, you get to do just that. Often, masked superheroes have vastly different personalities from their civilian counterparts; indeed, wouldn’t the ability to fly grant one remarkable confidence and self-assuredness? Many well-loved superheroes have also undergone metamorphosis-esque transformations which have changed their lives (take Steve Rogers for example). Although his goals before and after becoming a super-soldier were much the same, he would never been able to have the influence that he did without his enhancement; Rogers was given an opportunity to escape his position by the promise of becoming Captain America. The representation of the superhero alter-ego is a projection of what we all want; to be something more.
Distinct designs The unique abilities of each superhero, coupled with remarkable costumes, make the superhero genre memorable. On one end of the spectrum, you have characters like Thor, who’s straight out of Viking lore, and on the other, you have those who resemble a nerdy, web-slinging teenager from New York whose powers have been transferred to him via the bite of a radioactive spider. There’s a whole range of wild, weird and wonderful powers, and recent cinematic adaptations have brought them to life in ever more exciting ways, missing no opportunity to showcase them.
Action This is perhaps the reason that springs to mind most easily. Each character’s abilities and fighting styles are a source of fascination and merge really well together, creating smooth, well-coordinated scenes that offer thrills and adrenaline in plentiful supply. Some of the most exciting, in my opinion, are Thor and Captain America’s hammer-shield electromagnetic earthquakes (sadly absent from recent films), and basically anything Scarlet Witch can do.
Moral journeys Many of our favourite heroes have been through a lot to get to where they are now, and are still developing, and their powers or abilities enable this. One of my favourite tales of redemption is of Tony Stark. Harrowed by the devastating effect of his missiles in the wrong hands, he vows to put things right and we follow him throughout the movies as he tries to use his resources to protect the Earth from invaders. It’s clear the events of his first film hang over his conscience, and we see a man who is trying to keep what he can together to atone and to give others the future he feels he has taken away from so many. Throughout, it is Stark’s technology that is both his blessing and his curse. An idealist, he manipulates it to try to solve the problems he identifies, but it often turns against him, and his relationship with what he feels has given him meaning is really interesting to explore.
Hope There’s no denying how much is wrong with the world we’re living in. We wish we could fix it, but are plagued by fear, and the impending nature of our own mortality, which hangs over us ever more threateningly with every passing day. There’s no such problem for some of our favourite superheroes; they’re tough, smart, and resilient, and they can protect us. The idea that, in a universe that parallels our own, there are people who will fight for those who have nobody is heartening, and, perhaps subconsciously, gives us hope.
The superhero genre marries both epic fights with memorable, and often inspiring, character arcs. That’s the main reason I find it so appealing. There are a vast number of characters, with their own interesting experiences, and in this myriad of stories, there’s something for everyone.
The Difference Cate Beattie - 7 Johnson Feminism Meninism Two very different concepts That people do not know the distinction between But let me introduce The difference Meninism is fake A term used by sexism A logo to paralyse and possess Innocent victims Who do not understand The difference between equality and submission Feminism is reality A term used for empowerment A logo for those who can see The submission, the lies, the suffering Of those who are drowned By the shouts of men who think we try to overthrow them We do not want all the power We want equal power We do not want fewer rights for men We want equal rights for women We do not want subjugation over men We want a voice with which to match theirs
Five Amazing Book Titles Every Wally Girl Should Read Faheema Mukhtar Ahamed- 7 Seacole Some people just don’t like going to the library because apparently “books are boring.” I’m just there listening to them and thinking that maybe they hadn’t read the right books as small children. Or maybe they are not recommended a lot of great fiction novels these days. For some reason, my mind is going for the latter. So to save all the moaning when going to a library lesson, I am recommending 5 truly heart-warming stories, that will probably change your perceptions.
Flawed by Cecelia Ahern “A circle is a symbol of perfection.” This book follows a seventeen-year-old girl called Celestine, who has the choice to be kind or to be harshly ignorant. But here’s the catch- one simple choice can change her whole world. Flawed taught me that no-one is perfect.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline “They were arranging deck chairs on the Titanic and everyone knew it.” When the whole world is lived in virtual reality due to an energy crisis, a race for inheritance suddenly pops up. Wade Watts wants to get there first before it goes into the wrong hands. However, teamwork does prove a little more than individuality.
Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan “A kind act can sometimes be as powerful as a sword.” Percy Jackson is somehow a demigod, but Flawed by Cecelia Ahern so are plenty others. How can he, along with six other demigods and two satyrs defeat two of the “A circle is a symbol of perfection.” This book greatest of all time, alonggirl with armies of follows gods a seventeen-year-old called Celestine, monsters? Thechoice trick istotobe ignore that of who has the kind or to voice be harshly contempt your the head ignorant.inside But here’s catch- one simple choice can change her whole world. Flawed taught me that no-one is perfect.
Divergent by Veronica Roth “Fear doesn’t shut you down, it wakes you up.” It is finally time for Beatrice Prior to choose which group she wants to stay in for the rest of her life. What if she doesn’t want to stay there, though? This fantastic story taught me that no-one has just one good quality, everyone has plenty.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell “In new situations, all the trickiest rules are the ones nobody bothers to explain to you, and the ones you can’t Google.” All eighteen-year-old Cathy wants to do is write fanfiction in her own geeky fangirl time. Unfortunately, a mountain of jobs and responsibilities come her way, piled on top of college work. It’s just those moments when you know that you have to be yourself anytime.
Now you know what books you can read, these are bound to be reserved for ages. There are also plenty of other similar books like these and you can find them at the library, found in even the weirdest places. Happy Library Lessons!
Haunted House Thenuhaa Jeyaganthan - 8 Johnson
A fork of lightening slices in the air as I stared at the house. The trees hung like towering old men, clutching their backs and the grass was short and dark as if it had a haircut every week. Each window was broken into a thousand pieces. I was in two minds, half of me wanted to freeze on the spot and to turn back time; the other half of me wanted to find out what the ghostly figure at the window was. My hands covered the greasy, cold knocker of the tower which I knocked on and stiffly the cobwebbed covered door let me in. The tower smelt musty like an old penny that I had had for years and the floorboards creaked at every step I took into the tower. I felt my spine tingle with fright as I felt the scurrying of mice across my cold feet. I felt the light breeze pass me, gently brushing my hair. I saw a wooden staircase that I climbed, which led me to the turret of my house. When I got up there, I saw a dusty, dark, brown table and on top was what looked like a tea-coloured map leading to a figure that was half rubbed out. Curiosity gnawed at me like a maggot in an apple, but after a long time I decided to follow the map. So, I went into the living room then crawled through a small tunnel like an insect and finally ended up with the ghostly figure I saw at the window earlier. I said hello and the ghostly figure copied me; "My name is Sophie McCoy," I whispered and bit the bottom of my lip. This time the figure said, "That’s my name."
WHSG Pride Week 2018 Anya Desai – 12SET Between the 25th and 29th June, WHSG celebrated our annual pride week to raise awareness about the LGBT+ community and celebrate how far we’ve come in terms of positive change regarding the LGBT+ community, both generally and at our school. Pride is celebrated as a means of commemorating the Stonewall riots which took place in New York in 1969 and it is important to remember that pride originated as a protest, to remind us that there is still a vast amount of inequality in the rights of LGBT+ both in the UK and around the world with 73 countries that still have laws which criminalise homosexuality. On top of that, statistics show that members of the LGBT+ community disproportionately suffer from mental health problems in the UK despite having the same marital rights as cis-het people. Thus, it is important to recognise that LGBT+ issues go beyond the law and social stigma causes many problems. Pride is also a time to celebrate different identities and the diversity in our school. There has been a vast increase in LGBT+ representation in the media which helps to normalise the presence of LGBT+ people in society. Within our school, we celebrate the introduction of the new ‘Trans Protocol’ which allows students to use their preferred pronouns and the inclusion of trousers in the uniform, a great help to trans people. Here are some of the things SAGA (sexuality and gender awareness) society ran during pride week: On Monday and Tuesday, we ran a screening of a documentary presented by Olly Alexander, the frontman of the band Years and Years, called Growing up Gay. This was incredibly informative and spoke about issues faced by LGBT+ youth and discussed things such as feeling isolated from your peers and family, bullying and mental health issues. The documentary was incredibly insightful and also discussed how issues faced by the LGBT+ community can intersect with issues such as racism and poverty. On Wednesday we hosted a panel where people could leave anonymous questions and a few SAGA members would discuss the topics put forward and try to answer the questions. The questions ranged from things such as advice on coming out to thoughts on the idea of introducing civil partnerships for heterosexual people. Overall it was a very successful event with a high turnout and lead to fruitful discussions
On Thursday we created a mural along the stairs leading up to F2. A huge thank you to everyone who came and contributed their hand prints. We are very proud of the mural and hope it will be a part of the school for many years to come. We hope it will act as a reminder of our diverse and accepting school community whilst also brightening up the corridor.
Thank you to everyone who helped out during pride week and to all those who attended any of the events we put on. SAGA runs every Friday lunchtime in TP3 and is open to years 9 and upwards so please come along to discuss LGBT+ topics and issues (we usually have cake). Also a huge thank you to everyone who made donations to Stonewall during pride week.
Teacher Interview: Mr Sanderson What is your favourite memory at Wallington? I don’t have any one particular memory; however I will always remember the school as having an incredibly kind and caring environment where everyone looks out for each other, both students and teachers! What were you like as a teenager? In school I was far more interested in sport than lessons. Who was your teenage role model? Probably Lewis Moody, I was playing a lot of rugby and he epitomised the style that I wanted to play. Do you have a favourite chemical element? Must be Mercury, a metal that is liquid at room temperature (and can make you go mad), how cool! Is there anything you aren't going to miss about Wallington? The busy corridors, I have told many people about the time I got sent flying to the floor by a rampaging year 7 with a backpack twice the size of her! Did you always want to be a teacher? Definitely not, I was meant to be a professional footballer. How would you describe your relationship with Mr Bushell? Strictly professional, most of the time‌
Much Ado about Nothing Beatrice’s Diary By Jannah Abdul – Wadud 8 Curie
I feel like a cloud that does not possess any rain, and my mind is like a mixed garden of thoughts, feelings and memories that I withhold no control. It is as if someone has locked my brain up with a key that I can’t find and, uses me like a puppet to express my emotions and character. Maybe, I am a puppet, because even though confidence and wit seem like prominent virtues of mine, behind closed doors, I am crawling in my skin. I am so worried of people’s thoughts of me, my looks, my personality, my traits, my background and my history. The history that I ponder on every day, that both haunts me and makes me smile. How could my history be so cruel and malicious? The memories that bring a distasteful ring in my head never seem to vanish and seem to reappear when I feel most vulnerable. It is like an act I put on for others; it helps to wash away my regret, my deepest fears and everything in between. It reminds me of my childhood, when Benedick and I were as merry as ever, soulmates even. He protected me, looked after me and could always bring joy into my heart. So, my emotions would dance to his jokes and kind words. But, good never lasted for me and before I knew it, the person that felt most like family to me and replaced the parents that I wish were still alive, never came back; he changed and so did I. He became obsessed with his title, his social status, popularity, it made me feel repulsed and my stomach gagged whenever I saw a glimpse of him. He was all I knew, after all. My parents died by destiny, a war, a siege, a memory never to be forgotten, the memory that haunts me and makes me weaker every time. I still want Benedick to think highly of me, because his acceptance and his care is all I have left to live with. Those who love us most will always make us who we are and make us victors of our fate. Benedick made me feisty, different, empathetic, brave, proud and best of all not exactly an ‘Elizabethan woman’.
Special Sugar Part 1 Fajr Amer 10 Athena
“I don’t really want a woman with a ton of baggage.” My teeth clamped together, I offered him a tight, close-lipped smile and stirred at the pasta on my plate, the slippery tendrils sliding with every push of my fork. “Don’t get me wrong,” he continued, reaching over to hold my hand fondly with both of his own. “You’re a lovely person but I’m just, I’m just not ready to take care of kids, you know?” Raising my head, I forced myself not to snatch my hand away from him and tilted my head to the side, brushing a few blonde strands away from my cheek. “I understand,” I smiled, eyes falling to the rose in the centre of the table. The candles seemed to droop at my change in mood, the yellow flames blinking at the both of us innocently as darkness clouded my head. The fire brought no light to the black room of my mind. “That’s good to hear,” Nicolai breathed in relief, patting me with two fingers on the back of my hand. Then, just like that, he slid back on his chair and stood up, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt. All I could do was sit there, holding my practised smile on my lips as he tucked the chair back in and gave me a gentle rub on the shoulder. Holding my breath, I waited for the familiar slam of the door as another man left my home – fled my home, rather. As soon as the sound met my ears, I dropped the cutlery to the table, entwined my fingers in my hair, and pulled. Every time, every time this happened. I’m not sure about raising a family, they said. You already have two kids? Woof, that must be rough. Yeah. It was. “Mama,” a voice called from the living room, as sweet as artificial sugars, and other garbage that you put in candy. “Can we come out now?” Reluctantly, I let my hands fall to my lap in despair and bit down on my tongue until I could taste blood as it seeped into the gaps between my teeth and trickled down my throat. The chair screeched behind me as I made my way over to the living room door, grabbing hold of the keys on the counter. Slotting the metal into the lock, I twisted and pulled, finding my children beaming back at me with two stupid grins. I wore their favourite smile and bent down, holding my thighs. “You two want some of mama’s food today? A special treat,” I offered, watching their eyes light up at my words like Christmas lights on a tree. Kimberley nodded vigorously, yanking her twin brother’s hand forward to usher him forward. The next smile I wore was my favourite, however. With the five-year-olds bumbling behind me, I paced back to the kitchen, ignoring the photo on the wall that had been struggling to catch my attention for the past few months. On our way there, I picked up the hardly-touched plates of chicken alfredo and then dropped them onto the counter without a care. Kimberley and Adrian giggled. Paying no attention to them, my eyes zoned in on the clay dish resting on the stove so without another word, I pushed them aside and set the dish down on the table. They pulled themselves up on their chairs and sat waiting for me to serve them their special slices; very special slices, indeed.
“Remember what mama told you about praying to the Lord,” I reminded them, causing them to automatically shuffle in their seats and smack their hands together, crinkling their eyes shut. “Bless us, O Lord,” they began in unison as I cut through the thick and sticky dessert with my knife, dismissing the urge I felt to stab them both where they sat. “And these, thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty.” Swiftly opening the cupboard, I yanked the box down from the shelf and opened up the flap. “Through Christ, our Lord.” I sprinkled the powder over both slices, patting the box with one hand and watching the white crystals coat them both like layers of snow. “Amen.” They opened their eyes to find the sweet dishes set in front of them, just waiting to be devoured. Offering me two identical grins, they picked up their forks and began digging into the tiramisu I had made especially for my beautiful children. “Oh, look! Mama’s put her special sugar on it again! Thank you, mama.” “You’re welcome, baby,” I smiled, running one of my knuckles down Kimberley’s flawless skin. And then I nudged the rat poison out of sight. My very special sugar, indeed.
Why We Shouldn't Feel Patriotism for the British Empire. Antara Singh 10 Bronte
The British Empire is commonly viewed with pride and veneration, as if people are completely unaware of the atrocities that took place in order for it to become the bloodbath that it was. Although the British government enjoyed a life of luxury and economic prosperity, this was not the case for the native inhabitants of the previously flourishing lands that they colonised and decimated. The natives suffered, were tortured, and died in their millions, whilst the British enjoyed their opulent lifestyles without even blinking an eye in their direction. Therefore, the deception that the British Empire was a ‘force for good’ is a notion that is seldom challenged; it needs to be registered that the only reason for its affluence was due to the exploitation and deindustrialisation of the colonies, and the suffering of their inhabitants - all because of the avarice of the British. Many examples of these injustices exist, but as there are too many, only a few can be explored in depth. Perhaps one of the most abhorrent events was the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which appears to be unaccounted for in our Anglo-centric history textbooks, due to the fact that British soldiers mercilessly gunned down a large crowd of unarmed Indians taking part in a peaceful protest in Amritsar. Nearly 400 people were murdered during the massacre, and a further 1,200 were injured, so it is no surprise that this event has been erased from British history, owing to the brutality of this massacre. Another atrocity was the Second Boer War in South Africa between 1900 and 1902, where the British set up ‘concentration camps’ to confine the Boers as well as local Black people, so that the burghers could not have access to food and other resources. However, the poor administration of these camps led to a lack of food, unhygienic conditions and the deprivation of medical arrangement, leading to the deaths of nearly 200,000 civilians. Despite these two atrocities, when flicking through the pages of my GCSE History textbook on ‘Migration, Empires and the People’, I realised that they had been obliterated, when surely, they are key examples of the despotic nature of the British Empire – yet another instance of glorifying our imperialist history. Even when regarding Australia, which is sometimes seen as one of Britain’s most fortunate colonies, the Aboriginal people were killed in their thousands, with 750,000 of them during the late eighteenth century – this had been reduced by 90% by the mid-twentieth century. Large numbers of these deaths were caused by diseases that British settlers brought to Australia, but they also devastated the Aborigines’ ways of life, as the settlers damaged their food sources and hunting grounds by taking over their land to create profitable farms. This forced some Aborigines to migrate to towns, so they could make a living there, but they faced extreme discrimination and a higher risk of disease, resulting in more deaths. The reason for the glorification of the British Empire, it seems, is because of the ignominy that we feel as a country, and justifiably so. However, in the same way that the Germans take responsibility for the horrific events of the Holocaust, the British need to take responsibility for the disgusting events of their control in these countries. We, as a nation, need to make a sincere apology to these peoples and nations that suffered as a result of our colonial exploits; perhaps the most valuable apology, though, is merely recognising that such atrocities happened, and that the British Empire is not something we should view with pride, but something to be ashamed of.
Convergence versus contingency – how predictable is evolution? Jonathan Losos, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University, approaches this question through the contrasting views of the late Stephen Jay Gould and University of Cambridge palaeontologist Simon Conway Morris. Jay Gould stated that if we “replayed the tape of life” all over again, we would get very different outcomes, since the pattern of evolution is strictly unpredictable. In contrast, Conway Morris claimed that convergent evolution– the idea that similar conditions produce similar adaptations – is “completely ubiquitous”. Loso’s novel Improbable Destinies focuses on the evidence underlying these opposing positions, however one could argue after reading this book that he does not fully explore how their contrasting world views (Conway Morris is a devout Christian; Gould was a Marxist) influence their thinking. [1] In evolutionary biology, convergent evolution refers to the type of evolution where organisms of independent species [6] acquire similar features and characteristics through their evolution in similar ecosystems, despite the fact their evolutionary ancestors are not very closely related (not monophyletic) [7]. Faced with similar selection pressures in their ecological niches, similar populations will indeed often produce convergent evolutionary outcomes. Even distantly related groups, such as marsupials and placental mammals present evidence of convergence [1] Other examples of convergent evolution can be seen in the wings of insects, birds and bats that all evolved independently from each other but all are used to allow these organisms to fly. (6) In cultural evolution, convergent evolution is the development of similar cultural adaptations to environmental conditions by different organisms with different ancestral cultures. [7]
(17) Convergent evolution is a distinct idea from the phenomena of evolutionary relay and parallel evolution. Evolutionary relay refers to independent species acquiring similar characteristics through their evolution in similar ecosystems, but at different times (the dorsal fins of extinct ichthyosaurs and sharks). Parallel evolution occurs when two independent species evolve together at the same time in the same environment and acquire similar characteristics (extinct browsing-horses and extinct paleotheres). Features that are the result of convergent evolution are called analogous structures or homoplasies- contrasted with homologous structures, which have a common origin. [6] Following the death of Charles Darwin, most people assumed that evolution was always an extremely slow process that took thousands, millions or billions of years to produce. This meant the science could not be proved by experimentation and prediction. Now, however, it has become clear that evolution can be blindingly fast and observable in the field and the lab as a consequence of this revelation. Convergent evolution is most often the result of species being in similar circumstances and natural selection sculpts the same adaptive solution in order to aid survival. This is an idea that was mentioned by Darwin in “On the Origin of Species,” and it has been known to the scientific
community since. Convergent shows the power of natural selection and there are some outcomes that do occur repeatedly- some outcomes that genuinely support this theory. [14] In Improbable Destinies (By Jonathan Loso), Losos initially focuses on well-known examples of convergent evolution, such as the tendency of island animals – for instance hippos and mammoths – to become smaller than their continental counterparts. [12] Additionally, there have also been studies conducted that seem to favour both sides of the argument. For example, 12 populations of E. coli bacteria were grown in identical situations and left to evolve for 30 years. One population evolved a unique adaptation that was not seen in any of the other populations. It is a striking example that could show that evolution can be predictable and repeatable, but also might produce unexpected outcomes even under controlled conditions [5]. Moreover, it allows us to test the idea of the predictability of evolution over a relatively short time span. Experiments like this are now being carried out in ecosystems around the world, where multiple populations are exposed to the same selective conditions to see if they evolve in the same way. There are examples in Loso’s novel where investigations show no evidence of predictability. Robert Lenski’s study of bacterial evolution in 1988 involved nearly 70,000 generations of cells. He initiated the experiment with 12 identical lines of bacteria, and theses all grew faster and produced larger cells over the generations, so showed convergent evolution. But after around 31,000 generations, one line exhibited a unique adaptation – the ability to feed on citrate. Due to a series of random mutations, this line took a very different (unpredictable) evolutionary path from the rest of the bacterial population. [1] This leads me to believe that there is more evidence in favour of the unpredictability of evolution. However, the fact that an outcome does not completely support a prediction does not disprove the fact that the outcome cannot be predicted. Perhaps further study would allow us to predict when some evolutionary changes will not necessary fit certain patterns. Cosmologists make precise predictions about what will happen to the universe in billions of years to come. However, evolutionary biologists struggle to predict how a few bacteria growing in a petri dish might evolve over the space of 24 hours. This lack of precise predictive ability could perhaps suggest evolution is not scientific, but purely random. However, on numerous occasions in the field of science, the precision of predictions has not mattered as much as the predictions that turned out to be right. Meteorologists do not reject the chaos theory even though its predictions are never 100% correct [9]- they accept the theory since the weather broadly follows patterns predicted by the theory, and the same could be said about the relationship between the theory of convergent evolution and the predictability of evolution. The difficulty in trying to forecast the course of evolution comes about partly due to the fact that many species are free to evolve in any corner of the Earth they wish. The descendants of a single species of cat living in Saudi Arabia around 130,000 years ago, for instance, ended up taking rather different paths; those that eventually led to cougars, savannahs, lions and jaguars. Such diversions in populations might stem from tiny initial variations. (9) Stephen Jay Gould wrote in his book Wonderful Life (1989) that we were not fated to evolve the way we did; that if you could replay the tape of life and let evolution proceed from an early point, then the end result would not at all be the same. However, this argument was based entirely on logic and thought experiments. Twenty-nine years later, we now have a huge amount of data collected to ascertain how deterministic evolution is, how subject it is to processes that have occurred in the past. Twenty-nine years later, we are now in a position to criticise the ideas of Gould more thoroughly and evaluate whether or not he was right about the spontaneous nature of evolution. (4)
All of the previous examples stated seem to not completely dismiss the possibility of convergent evolution being correct. However, there are examples of animals in nature where their characteristics cannot existed alongside the theory of convergence. There is, for example, the absence of the convergent duck-billed platypus. If evolution is convergent, why don’t we have this animal outside Australia? Or can this question only by answered by the dismissal of convergence and the acceptance of contingency? It is often cited in many religious texts that human existence is the pinnacle of creation, so surely the question of the predictably of evolution has to deal with the most intelligent and arguably the most “evolved” species on the planet. Was the intelligent life of humanity already predestined by evolutionary processes like believers of convergent evolution may propose, or did the mountainous volume of human involvement interfere with these natural processes? A believer of contingency however may state that human mammalian evolution is the result of a long series of particular events that occurred in history that didn’t need to happen – they just did. If a small moment in the Earth’s lengthy history had taken a different course, would humanity have evolved in the same way, at the same speed that it did? Historians ask questions about past events everyday- What if Churchill had been run over by a car in New York City in 1931 as almost happened? What if there was no such thing as immigration or segregation? Evolutionary biologists ask themselves similar questions. If you take time to observe the plants and multitude of mammalian species in the world around us, are they the inevitable result of natural selection, or just the result of the particular events in Earth’s history that sent evolution down one randomly chosen path and not another? Any sort of minor change that might seem inconsequential at the time could result in the survival of one individual and not another. Of all the combinations of different outcomes that all species that have ever existed could have had, how could we have predicted which of these outcomes would occur? (13) How are we to say that a chance collision which occurred 14 billion years ago had a degree of predictability to it in the events that followed? One would naturally assume that evolution- a process driven by chance and random mutations, results in random, unpredictable outcomes. In the past few decades, however, the opposing view of convergent evolution has prevailed in evolutionary biology, and there is compelling evidence that these convergent evolutionists may be right. Across the Earth, evolution repeats itself and seems to follow a pattern— millions of “chance” mutations are occurring in a predictable way. The components of the eye- the lens, the retina, the cornea, do not differ greatly from the octopus to the okapi. This is extremely strange because while the octopus, okapi and human share a common ancestor, this common ancestor could not see. The eye developed independently, and in precisely the same way. [8] Many other organisms can be used as evidence to support this idea, such as the ant and the termite. These two species both live in colonies, communicate using pheromones and both enjoy living in underground fungus gardens. Yet they descend from totally different evolutionary ancestors. Although the predictability of evolution may seem to be limited, the theory of convergent evolution can be and is used to make predictions on many different levels. Using the peppered moth as an example, which evolved black colouration to adapt to pollution-stained trees during the Industrial Revolution in Britain in the 19th Century, scientists were able to predict that once this pollution had been successfully removed, the strain of pale peppered moths should be able to predominate once again, which is just what is happening now. [11] Perhaps the most striking prediction made in the history of evolutionary biology was made the biologist Richard Alexander in the year of 1975. Alexander studied the evolution of termites for several years, and he predicted that some burrowing rodents in the tropics might have evolved the same systems of eusociality that termites possessed– which later proved to be the case with the naked mole-rat. [9]
More recently, evolution is starting to look surprisingly predictable. Professor Dr Jörg Lässig believes that soon it may even be possible to make evolutionary forecasts. Scientists may not be able to predict what life will look like 100 million years from now, but they may be able to make short-term forecasts for the next few months or years to come. Predictions about infectious diseases such as Ebola and other health threats to our current society could potentially help to save millions of lives in the process of proving the predictably of evolution. In the words of professor Lässig, “As we collect a few examples of predictability, it changes the whole goal of evolutionary biology”. [13] The problem with such debates is that they are unanswerable without a substantial amount of evidence and data to support conclusions made. Science proceeds by experiment, and the only way to prove that evolution always converges is to create, for example, two distinct yet identical dinosaur worlds, with and without apocalyptic asteroids, and see what happens over the next 100 million years.[16] Convergent evolution clearly happens, as the octopus eye shows. It clearly also does not happen, as the platypus and strains of E. coli bacteria show. Except all the individual bits of the platypus are seen elsewhere — just not in one package. [8] It might not be possible to predict exactly what life will look like in a billion years but what counts are the predictions that can be made – so perhaps convergence is the key to these predictions about the future after all. BIBLIOGRAPHY [1] https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23631480-700-a-new-book-balances-two-powerfulrival-claims-about-evolution/ [3] https://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/46651/title/Humans-Never-StoppedEvolving/ [4} http://www.sciencefocus.com/article/nature/interview-predicting-evolution-jonathan-lososimprobable-destinies [5] https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/284353/improbable-destinies/#UMLbsmtzRAupwTcO.99 [6] https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/convergent_evolution.htm [7] https://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Convergent_evolution [8] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/review-improbable-destinies-how-predictable-is-evolutionby-jonathan-losos-8ckwzbk9r [9] https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13677-evolution-myths-evolution-is-not-predictive/ [10] http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/05/evolution-predictable [11] https://portside.org/2017-09-10/how-predictable-evolution [12] https://www.nhbs.com/improbable-destinies-book [13] https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/10/evolution-book/ [14] https://www.mpg.de/10636321/is-evolution-predictable [15] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0077 [16] https://www.quantamagazine.org/can-scientists-predict-the-future-of-evolution-20140717/ [17] https://convergentevolution.wordpress.com/2015/04/16/hello-world/
WHSG RAG weeks! This year, Wallington has done a fantastic job of raising money for our incredible school charities, Plan UK and Days for Girls. I’d like to share a summary of what we have achieved and for whom. The main school charity is Plan UK:
Worldwide charity protecting the human rights of vulnerable people They aim to prevent and stop human trafficking where is happens Our charity wants to free children, and specifically girls, to fulfil their full potential in a world which allows them to flourish
“At Plan International UK we strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.” https://plan-uk.org/
The Sixth Form charity is Days for Girls:
It is a worldwide charity They provide a safe, long lasting alternative to protect feminine hygiene in disadvantaged countries They also aim to provide important health education Our charity has managed to reach girls in 110+ countries over 6 continents There are designed washable, reusable pads so that women could break the cycle of period poverty
“When we mobilize girls and women,their communities and our world grow stronger. Pads are a small thing that make a big difference.” https://www.daysforgirls.org/
Here is a small selection of photos from our April Raising and Giving week mufti day. The theme was ‘decades,’ from the 70s to the 00s!
Over our two RAG weeks this year, as a school we have raised over £1500! This is a great achievement, so as a school we should keep making a difference to these two amazing charities to support their work!
Thank you for reading Issue 10 of the Wally Street Journal! We really hope you’ve enjoyed our work; that you’ve had the chance to laugh, ponder, and even shed a tear over the exceptional writing that we as a school can produce! Have a lovely summer holiday everyone �