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October 2010: Volume 8, Issue 2

ISB Students EXPOse Themselvesto the “Greatest Show on Earth”1by Francesca Bottorff & Elise Jiang, Section Editor & PR/Liason

The 2010 Shanghai Expo, like the 2008 Beijing Olym-pics, is one of those events that everyone living in China had better have a good reason not to visit. “In fact,” as high school art teacher Ms. Farrell asserts, “the Expo might even be more relevant than the Olympics, given its astounding architec-ture and unified effort from countries all over the world.”

The theme of the event—“Better City, Better Life”— sig-nifies Shanghai’s desired 21st-century status as the “next great world city.”1 With over 190 countries participat-ing and an estimated over 80 million visitors to visit over its six month duration, the Expo is both the largest and most visited event in history, according to the Asia Pa-cific Business and Technology Report. With this knowl-edge, it would almost be expected that the event would gather equivalent acclaim from within the ISB community.

For the large part, reception has, perhaps, fallen slight-ly short of expectations of many at ISB. Sophie Zhang (11) attended the Expo with ISB’s Beijing Student Press Asso-ciation (BSPA) and was among the many that were look-ing forward to the globally-recognized event: “I had high expectations because it was an event that China had been planning and advertising for years, but it turned out to be disappointing.” As a large-scale event garnering astound-ing worldwide attendance, some of the issues that have drawn criticism are typical, if not inevitable. The prospect of waiting in long lines for hours on end are probably irk-some to most, Irene Tang (10) deemed the exhibitions as “overrated, especially considering the extremely long lines in relation to the actual time spent in the pavilions.”

Other complaints included the limited availability of ed-ible food, unstable weather conditions, and sky-high prices of souvenirs. Elva Jiang (12) remarked that she “consid-ered going, but [doesn’t plan to] anymore” after hearing a negative consensus from people who went. Gavin Tan (9) claimed the only advantage he got out of the event was be-ing able to “spot good looking girls in line.” He adds, “I got lost for thirty minutes while trying to find the exit gate!”

While it might appear that the majority of students surveyed found the experience negative, the reasons be-hind this dissatisfaction are easily explained. After all, the Expo was designed with the intention in mind to impress a domestic Chinese audience. What may be impressive to a person from a rural province in China who has devoted his monthly salary to purchasing an entrance ticket might not be as extraordinary to an ISB student who is able to travel around the world and witness the sights for him / herself.

“Negative views that have arisen over issues such as over-crowding are hardly unexpected,” continues Ms. Farrell. “All in all, it was a fascinating juxtaposition of different cultures. The pavilions of smaller countries really made an impression on me. The entire event was creative, hopeful, and oriented toward the future.” Students like Kailene Chen (11) agree: “It had an inspirationally educational purpose. We were able to witness the development of China and countries throughout the world—all immersed in a vibrant environment.” Before you base your decision regarding whether or not to visit off the opinions of the naysayers, consider re-evaluating. You might just be missing out on an impressive and symbolic co-alition between the East and the West – the likes of which we may not have the chance to see for quite some time. 1Han, Amanda Chung. “2010 Expo Shanghai Draws Millions” Biz Tech Report<http://www.biztechreport.com/story/686-expo- 2010-shanghai-draws-millions>

Not As Pink As You Thinkby Sarah Tan & Watson Yim, Staff Reporters

Staff ListChina & Beyond

Editors-in-ChiefMelissa Powers Stephanie Zhou

Managing EditorJulie Leong

Section EditorsFrancesca Bottorff

Emily ChangRena Minegishi

Amelia Park Teresa TeoEric Wang

Journalists Rosalind Chang Sun Woo Choi

Maura Dentino Chan Ah Jung Kathleen Ma So Yeon Park

Sarah TanSara Tang

Stephanie Wang JJ Wong

Pamela Yan Watson Yim Brian Zhan

PR / Liason Elise Jiang

Cover ArtMelissa Powers

Art & PhotographyRosalind Chang Martha Gallant

HeRa Kang Kathy Summers Natalie Wong

Bridget Ye

AdvisorCinder Merritt

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Closed Cafeteria DoorCauses Inconvenience by So Yeon Park, Staff ReporterSince the beginning of this school

year, the small cafeteria door adja-cent to the Performing Arts hallway has been closed. None of the ISB stu-dents, who have been taking longer journeys to lunch every day, however, seem to have a clear idea about why the once-open small cafeteria door now remains shut, bearing the omi-nous words “EMERGENCY ONLY.”

The closed cafeteria door has prompted the formation of theories examining the reason behind the shut-ting down of it. Arleen Li (11) suggests

one of the most plausible expla-nations, stating that it was prob-ably “because it used to get really crowd-ed there.” The Eurest manager, Li Wei, confirms Li’s conjecture, stating that “Congestion oc-curred near [it]

almost all the time. The

Eurest team was told from the school administration that the door would be closed starting from this school year due to the crowding problem.”

The majority of students had tak-en notice of the issue of student traffic crowding the area. Jennifer Lee (10) often experienced “troubles in [her] way through the small entrance” be-cause most students were using the small entrance instead of the big one. Lee believes that most students pre-ferred the now-closed door, which was closer to high school classrooms, if only by a few meters. But ever since the popular exit site is no longer an issue, she worries no more about the “safety hazards of crowding.”

Numerous students, however, have questioned the effectiveness of the school’s decision to permanently close the door. While the administra-tion team’s expectation, as stated by the Eurest manager, was that shut-ting down the source of the problem would solve the issue, students like Megan Mackay (9) disagree. Mackay declares that she’s never been affect-ed by the student traffic. Instead, the closed door has led her to “experience

[even] more inconvenience.” Some students, however, surreptitiously at-tempt to avoid walking the additional length of the hallway. Syndi Warton (9) notes that she frequently catches the sight of “some students sneak-ing in through that [closed] door.”

After all, what concerns students most is the increased inconvenience. Even though students seem to un-derstand the problem of crowding around one door, the extra steps the school has taken appear to be an al-ternate burden. Dong Hyeok Han (11) represents one of the many students who sincerely longs for the door’s re-opening: “Our hope is simple: a re-turn to the past when we did not have to sigh, looking at the closed door, and sigh once again at the view of the extra walk waiting ahead of us.”We do not apologize

for the inconvenience.

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“Put on your seat belt” is un-doubtedly the most commonly heard phrase from an ISB bus monitor. Strolling down the aisle, he or she repeats it, again and again, with ad-mirable patience, provoking irrita-tion, impatience, and exasperation from many disgruntled students, who seldom think about the indi-vidual wearing that bright pink shirt.

“Bus monitors are not treated fairly,” says Berenice Mech, Bus Op-erations Manager. While students like Gilbert Ye (11) may insist that they simply “want to be left alone when [getting] on the bus,” passen-gers oftentimes forget that bus moni-tors are obligated to perform their duties in the interest of safety, and certainly not out of the intention to annoy. Edward Zhu (12), however, identifies the problem: “They have a hard job because many kids don’t give them the respect they deserve.”

Many may be under the impres-sion that bus monitors have lengthy breaks in between the morning and afternoon bus journeys, but they have busier schedules than students expect. Their workload may seem to be small compared to that of other members of the ISB community, but unbeknownst to most students, bus monitors actu-ally volunteer their time to the school, contributing by performing various tasks in offices and classrooms. More-over, many students may be oblivious to the fact that all the bus monitors have received training and qualifica-

tion. At the be-g i n n i n g of each y e a r , they are trained in First Aid as well as guidance on how to work with younger students. Many of the bus monitors, the majority of whom are women, are mothers as well, so they have experience dealing with children.

Ms. Mech says that “[the school] is currently working on making full use of the bus monitors’ time spent in school.” She is looking forward to setting up a TV with a DVD player for them to study English, increas-ing the efficiency of communica-tion between them, students, and parents. In addition, a plan for a small library in the Bus Manage-ment Office is also underway. Book donations from the school will ben-efit the bus monitors in the long run.

Every day, students board the school buses, and many refuse to lis-ten to instructions. Be it out of rebel-liousness or laziness, students rarely treat bus monitors with sufficient respect. They view them as annoy-ances, forgetting that bus monitors are simply trying to do their jobs. The next time you roll your eyes at a bus monitor for telling you to put on your seat belt, try to remember that he or she is more than just a pink shirt.

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China & Beyond / Student Life

ISB Students Start to Drink Greenby Sara Tang, Staff ReporterThey’re sleek,

shiny, and, as the inscription says, “proudly part of the ISB Green Team!” These are the new water bottles, envi-ronmentally friendly items every high school student at ISB was given.

So who came up with this cool way for our water to stay cool? Mr. White, the head of ISB’s P.E. department, explains, “The P.E. Department de-cided as a group that the water bottles would be a good idea. The students would have water during gym class, and they’re also convenient for class-es outside.” In order to launch the initiative, the P.E. Department first turned to the ISB Green Team, what Mr. White refers to as a “group of stu-dents, teachers, parents, and admin-istrators, whose purpose is to make ISB more green.” The Green Team approved of the idea, and the project began. There we have it: the begin-ning of the beginning of the bottles.

ISB students have expressed gen-eral satisfaction with this new ini-tiative. Elliot Wong (10) finds that the bottles “are, overall, definitely an improvement to the school. I like how everybody has their own bottle, and it’s more ‘green’, because you don’t have to buy the plastic bot-tles anymore. The downside is that they’re a little heavy, though.” Some-thing to consider, however, is that

the bottles may actually be creat-ing more waste if students don’t use them. “I threw mine away,” admits Jonathan Tai (12). “It was too ugly.”

After the introduction of refillable bottles, several teachers have opted to ban the use of plastic bottles in their own classrooms. Mr. White conclud-ed that it was the “obvious choice” for the P.E. department, and argues that “the school decided to spend money [for the reusable bottles] so that their students could be more eco-friendly.” Indeed, none of the students had to pay for them out of their own pock-ets, and it’s general knowledge that plastic bottles are harmful to the en-vironment. Perhaps they should be, to some extent, obligated to use the eco-friendly bottles out of respect for the environment. Some teach-ers have even taken in-class action to combat wasteful material. “[Chemis-try teacher] Mr. Cavallerano strongly discourages it, and showed us a video that illustrated a world destroyed by non-recyclable materials,” informs Mary Lu (12). “Mr. Beckstead, my Theory of Knowledge teacher, com-pletely banned them. You can’t even

bring plastic bottles into class.”Not everyone sees eye-to-eye on

the matter, however. Some students, like Jordan Lee (9) have voiced their concerns about the new development: “It’s not the teachers’ responsibility [to decide if bottles should be banned]. We should be able to decide what we want to drink in class.” And, presum-ably, how they are to be drunk, as well.

While there may be some doubts regarding the implementation of the new initiative, compelling evidence suggests that the bottles have indeed served their purpose. “Near the end of school last year we were collecting on average of about 2000 to 2500 bottles compared to the 700 to 1000 we are collecting now,” asserts Edward Zhu (12), one of the three leaders of Roots and Shoots’ bottle recycling program. If his estimates are accurate, the re-usable bottles have successfully con-vinced many ISB students to adopt a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Perhaps, through the implementation of more environmentally conscious programs like this one, ISB is finally taking ef-fective steps to becoming the eco-friendly institution it strives to be.

Don’t Let School Get In The Way of Your Educationby Stephanie Zhou, Editor-in-Chief

School can be tedious. The typical ISB student will have gone through thirteen years of it before setting off to see the “real world,” and by then, levels of motivation may have taken a serious nosedive. For some, the pros-pect of segueing straight into college after graduation will seem daunting, if not altogether impossible. Others may simply find it necessary to do some-thing more fulfilling before finally subjecting themselves to another four years of formal education. For those students, there’s the option of taking a gap year, or a “year off,” before college.

The gap year is regarded with a mixture of suspicion and intrigue in some circles, but the skepticism (in some cases) may be entirely un-founded. A common misconception about gap years is that applying for one will decrease chances for admis-

sion at competitive colleges. Some of the most prestigious schools in the United States (Princeton, MIT, and Harvard included1) are actually en-couraging students to seek deferred admission. For those looking to bol-ster their college applications, gap years are one way of “differentiating yourself [from other applicants]”2 - that is, if they are spent wisely.

Opting to take a gap year can also result in other benefits that could not be gained otherwise. Doing some-thing worthwhile during a “year off” may help a student find direction in his or her life. Liza Borgonjon (Class of ’10), is currently taking a gap year at Tsinghua University, as she wanted “to spend a year studying Chinese” because she’s “realized that [she has] wasted most of the opportunities [she has] had to learn it.” Doing this would be especially helpful for her because as of yet she’s “not that sure what [she’s] interested in studying.”

For some, a gap year can offer experience inaccessible through that of an academic lifestyle. Mr. Green, a high school economics teacher, “didn’t feel ready to go directly uni-versity” upon graduation. Instead, he “did a range of jobs, from working in a government office to installing garage doors. [He] gained real world expe-riences and felt a greater desire and

motivation to continue [his] educa-tion.” Students may never again get a similar opportunity. “I know I’ll have plenty of free time after I retire, but I won’t be young anymore,” admits Emma Monaghan (12). “I just want a year off to be able to enjoy myself.”

That being said, the gap year is not necessarily the best choice for every-one. “It may be difficult [for students] to go back to a structured school en-vironment after having freedom to organize everything themselves,” cau-tions Borgonjon, so those who lose motivation easily should consider their decision carefully. There’s also the issue of age to consider. Some stu-dents, like Emily Zhang (11), “would take a gap year if [they were] younger” but are uncomfortable with the idea of being a year older than their peers.

Students should, at the very least, explore the idea of taking a gap year before university, although slacker types need to be wary. Regardless, a gap year can certainly end up be-ing a very enriching experience. Who knows, you might just end up hav-ing the time of your life – and that may be more important than what any college degree can give you.1 Wood, Danielle. “Is a gap year beneficial?” MSNBC. <http://today.msnbc.com>2Griffiths, Tom. “What Is a Gap Year?” Gap Year. <http://gapyear.com>

Cartoon Courtesy of Sara Tang

You could be here. Or, you know, at school.

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Student Life

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Community CollegeThe Unaccepted Option:by Maura Dentino, Staff ReporterIn the midst of a brand spank-

ing new school year, there is one word that just keeps on coming up: COLLEGE. Every year, count-less numbers of westbound students aim for the big name universities, but has anyone ever considered at-tending a community college? After looking through ISB’s college ac-ceptance history on Naviance’s Fam-ily Connection website, the answer to that question is a resounding “no.”

Community colleges typically provide two-year programs in which students can be granted certificates, diplomas and associate’s degrees. They often act as stepping-stones for students who want attend the more elite four-year institutions; many community college students are known to transfer to the university of their choice even before their two years are up1. In actuality, the fact that most community colleges gener-ally only last for two years better indi-cates their potential for students look-ing for a transitional period before moving on to a four-year institution.

Community colleges also cost sig-

nificantly less than private colleges, and they often allow for great flexibil-ity in class schedules for students who work or have other major obligations2.

These colleges often have small class sizes as well, which means more access to professors that stu-dents would not necessarily be able to receive at a private univer-sity, no matter how elite it may be.

Despite these clear benefits, the idea of going to a community col-lege seems to be a completely for-eign concept amongst students. One student, Madi Hockaday (11) says that she is “aiming for universities that will give [her] the kind of educa-tion [she’s] looking for. [She] doesn’t

think community colleges would be able to offer what [she] needs.”

Of course, there are negatives to community colleges. The most popu-lar one to ISB students would proba-bly be their lack of prestige, but unmo-tivated students and no dormitory life are also important facets of commu-nity college to consider before making a decision, especially for those who are looking for intellectually agres-sive peers or a collegiate atmosphere.

Despite the disparaging view of community colleges that ISB stu-dents seem to have, the fact remains that some of their qualities may be what students are looking for. But unless the stigma is erased, there is no doubt that there will continue to be a lack of community college at-tendees from ISB, regardless of what community colleges may offer in terms of education and experience. 1“Know the Options” Collegeboard.com. <http://www.collegeboard.com/par ents/csearch/know-the-options>2Flavin, Andrew. ”The Pros and Cons of Attending Community College” <http://eduinreview.com>

Don’t flunk giving second chances.

In Defense of Crammingby Stephanie Zhou, Editor-in-Chief

Cramming, like procrastination, SparkNotes dependence, and a slew of other study habits, has a pretty bad rap. Teachers’ favorite words of scholarly gospel usually involve the words “don’t,” “cram,” and “fail.” The CollegeBoard, the testing authority responsible for one of the most terri-fying tests known to high school stu-dents, cautions against cramming for the SAT1. In “Why Students Fail”, the University of Dayton listed “inappro-priate study habits” and cramming as the biggest culprits for sub-60 percent test grades2 (incidentally, explaining the score on my last chemistry test).

With all the negativity surround-ing the practice, you’d think it would be best to stay away from cramming altogether. But many students echo Ali Laske’s (10) sentiments: “I try to avoid it, but I cram anyway.” On the other hand, if cramming is so difficult to re-sist, why not draw advantages from it and learn to do it the right way? After all, that prodigal 96-year-old Taiwan-ese grad student says it worked for him3, so why shouldn’t it work for you?

Many teachers, scientists, and testing authorities don’t really see it from students’ point of view. After

all, it’s been a while since they were in school. It’s easy enough to preach exceptional time management with-out realizing that students have bet-ter things to do than study for tests. Even the ISB Parent Student Hand-book acknowledges that students should socialize for more than three hours a night. The one to three hours it allots nightly for homework time, however, doesn’t seem adequate when a student has three internal assessments, four tests, and a com-mentary due in the same. Students’ obligations aren’t packaged neatly into two-hour slots. At the end of the day, cramming is the tried-and-tested technique to which many of us turn.

Though only to a certain extent, there are benefits to be reaped from cramming (but they are benefits just the same). Even teachers, when asked to weigh in on its costs and benefits, agreed that last-minute studying has its uses. “I guess cramming does help you get a better grade on the test,” acknowledges Mr. Cavallerano, a chemistry teacher. “I think it can really work. The real mistake,” cau-tions Mr. Green, ever the economics teacher, “is when you keep on do-ing it, and don’t get enough sleep…the diminishing returns set in, and you don’t have high productivity.”

Students who know what they’re doing find that cramming really does work. “It goes into short term mem-ory,” says Valerie Kung (12), “so ev-erything you cram will last until the end of the test.” Research4 shows that crammers can retain informa-tion for about a week, which is re-

B Positive - the only blood type you need to know.

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ally how long the material is needed for, at least when grades are concerned. Some students,

like Lexy Chiu (12), find that they promptly forget things no matter how they study, anyway. Studying ahead of time, however, almost ex-acerrbates the problem, because they will invariably forget things ahead of time instead. “You can almost re-member details better in the short term than the long term, “adds Chiu.

To be sure, there are ways of cramming that are better than oth-ers. A crash course in Cramming 101 dictates that students should at least give themselves enough time to get a decent amount of sleep before the test. Going into an examination foggy-brained doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to unlock your short-term memory at well. Being focused in the actual cramming session helps too - after all, not many can lay claim to effi-ciently memorizing their AP Calculus formulas in between games of Tetris.

But most of all, students should realize that cramming, as use-ful as it is, is not a perfect substi-tute for studying ahead. “Cram-ming can be good for your grades,” Chiu summarizes, “but, in the long run, isn’t always the best for you.”1“Handling Test Stress.” College Admissions. <http://www.collegeboard.com>.2“Why Students Fail.” University of Dayton. <http://academic.udayton.edu>.3“Taiwan’s 96-year-old Grad Student” USA Today. <http://www.usatoday.com/news/ education>.4“NPR: Study: Cramming Works for SATs, But Not Long Term.” NPR : National Public Radio. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/news. html>.

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Arts & Culture

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Lifestyle Hotel Displays Culture Through Contemporary Chinese Artby Teresa Teo,

Section EditorDubbed a “Five-Star Lifestyle

Hotel” by its management, Langham Place Hotel of Beijing Capital Airport embraces artful living by incorporat-ing art through its designs, cuisine, and service. With a vast collection of contemporary Chinese art, visitors and residents alike in the bustling capital city of Beijing have a chance to stop by and get a glimpse of Chinese culture.

Newly opened in the summer of 2010, the hotel is within walking dis-tance of the iconic Beijing Capital Air-port and currently displays more than four hundred individual works of art. While it is certainly not the first hotel to showcase artwork, it is the very first in Beijing to be equipped with a gallery.

According to sales manager Nancy Han, art in the hotel “enables guests to get up close and personal with cutting-edge contemporary Chinese artworks, and upholds Langham’s commitment to support the local community by promoting Beijing artists.” Not only do the pieces adorning walls and hall-ways of the hotel show off modern aesthetics, but even the building’s architecture gives off an artistic vibe. From the L-shaped structure to the

inclusion of trendy restaurants such as Fuel, a hip entertainment scene equipped with DJs and live bands, art is intricately embedded into the hotel. Langham provides a fusion of modern, state of the art design and traditional Chinese art, maintaining a stylish and futuristic appearance without excluding Chinese culture.

Despite the adage that one should not judge a book by its cover – or rath-er, judge a hotel by its design – extra artistic flair is never a bad thing. Stu-dents such as Partel Unga (11) believe that “while the design of a hotel is not the most important factor, it makes a hotel more attractive and enjoyable.”

Admirably, Langham Place also aims to inspire and encourage its guests in creative pursuits. The hotel offers an array of programs in which the general public can participate. Budding artists can even submit their artwork online that, if chosen, might be exhibited in the “Art Corner” of the hotel for a month. Workshops run by featured artists will also begin in the autumn, which art lovers can attend to learn more about the local art scene.

Unfortunately, as the hotel has

only been open for a short period of time, its furnishings are still quite bare, with relatively few guests and only a couple of its facilities avail-able for use. Its art collection is also considered small compared with other Langham Place Hotels, such as the one located in Hong Kong, which has a much more extensive collection with over 1500 art pieces on show. On the other hand, Bei-jing’s Langham Place Hotel is still creative and singular in its purpose compared to other hotels in Beijing.

“Elements of Chinese Culture: Red Army & Dragon”

DeviantArt: A Site for Sore Eyesby Rosalind Chang, Staff Reporter

ISB has an abundance of art fa-natics, many of whom are themselves amazingly creative. Alas, there are always days where one gets tired of the renowned Picassos and Michel-angelos in the art world, or when one simply wants to look at amateur work beyond ISB’s own art depart-ment. Well, there is an easy an-swer to that problem: DeviantArt.

DeviantArt is an art-sharing site that offers a smorgasbord of arts with a wide variety of styles, themes as well as both professional and amateur cre-ators. As Bridget Ye (9) says, “[The best part of] DeviantArt is that it pro-vides such a large variety of artwork for viewers.” Digital art, traditional art, animations, and even creative writing are available on DeviantArt, which makes it a remarkable site in that it encompasses all of the fine arts rather than just the visual ones.

DeviantArt also provides a great place to find awesome images for various school projects, much bet-ter than the boring and low quality photos more conventionally found in GoogleImages. Additionally, the qual-ity of these images are fairly high and the watermarks less conspicuous than other sites such as iStockphoto and Corbis, with majority of them appearing in the very corner of an image, much less irksome than a gi-ant logo printed right in the center.

This high quality is indispensible for other facets of DeviantArt, such

as its innovative Store feature. Artists are not only able to sell their artwork as hard cop-ies, but are also able to imprint their work onto apparel, calendars, and other sorts of merchan-dise. Its ability to culti-vate pasion for creative works through financial means and user interaction is one unmatched by other online art com-munities. Even DeviantArt’s tagline, immediately greeting viewers at the top of its homepage, states that the site is a place “art meets application.”1

One especially artist-friendly as-pect of DeviantArt is the ability to create and join groups. Each group has its own special theme, allowing members to find artists and other members with common interests. The groups allow users to not only submit art, but for the occasional contests, too. Groups can have themes cen-tered upon topics as miscellaneous as nature, macro, Twilight, and even the popular shoe brand Converse.

On the other hand, the mere abil-ity to present your work to such a hu-mongous audience is the reason why DeviantArt could even be used as a tool for students at ISB. Those who are looking for critique on their latest HL Art project or are even just curi-ous to hear what the public thinks of the doodles they did in a math class

can look to DeviantArt’s users as a re-source. Mrs. Farrell, an HS art teach-er, comments that “[The website] is a great resource for students who are interested in art. It also gives artists a lot of freedom with their works.”

Of course, no website is perfect. While DeviantArt has millions of us-ers (approximately 14.51 to date), the large numbers might cause many artists to remain unacknowledged no matter how extraordinary their work may be. Only a handful of art-ists in the community are therefore able to develop a fanbase. Despite this, chances are that you will still receive the critique you’re look-ing for among the 1.5 million com-ments submitted on a daily basis1.

Besides its minor limitations, De-viantArt still remains a “community where [one] can have the chance to look at other peoples’ artworks,” as Gilbert Ye (11) observes. “But it also gives [you], as an artist, the chance to present [yourself] to the art world.1”Where art meets application.” DeviantArt. <http://deviantart.com>

The DeviantArt home page.

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Sports & Recreation

PAGE 6

More Than One Side to the Dice: The D&D Caféby Melissa Powers, Editor-in-Chief

To those unfamiliar with the con-cept of table-top role-playing games (RPGs), think of them as slightly more complicated board games. The pri-mary difference between these RPGs and their plastic board brethren is the improvisational aspect – role-players are required to “make up” a story as they go along, assuming roles of in-dividual characters that they them-selves have created. The simultane-ous popularity and notoriety of RPGs have landed these games a place in pop culture as a supposed honorary badge of loserdom and the subject of a poorly-made Tom Hanks movie.

But contrary to what the token “nerdy friend” in most teen movies may wish to suggest, RPGs have play-ers from all walks of life. Still, while their presence may be fairly well-recognized in Western culture (if not necessarily always well-received), is there really the possibility of a market for these games in Beijing?

The D&D Café seems to say “yes.” Located in downtown Chaowai SOHO – partially named after Dungeons & Dragons, the RPG community’s most famous contribution to the world – this restaurant offers a fair collection of board and card games to play, as well as the relaxed atmosphere with purple couches in which to play them. Glancing through its windows before wandering in for lunch, I didn’t notice any particularly distinguishing geeky features about the place – that is, until

I was greeted with what appeared to be five random tracks from the Lord of the Rings’ soundtrack playing on repeat.

Open for less than a year, the res-taurant has already attracted a fair number of customers, especially dur-ing its weekly Games Days. Ameri-can Dan Bass, who manages the es-tablishment with his wife Yang Duo, attributes its regular customer base to “word of mouth” and the fact that “[there is] no other place dedicated to role-playing games in Beijing, [as] most others are dedicated to normal board games or to card games … Lo-cals are usually interested in playing [the latter].” Bass also attests that the popularity of RPGs amongst foreign-ers is “high, oddly enough.” Jake*, a player at the café, agrees, comment-ing that, “It seems like everybody [he meets in Beijing] plays.” One particu-larly exceptional feature of the role-playing community in China is the opportunity for foreigners to socialize with the local players. Zhang, a wait-ress at the Café, observes that “Lo-cals and foreigners do play together here, which is really rare in China.”

But as with the RPGs themselves, a change in setting can also mean a change in the dynamics of the game. Players from North America were quick to agree that there were clear differences playing in China. Interest-ingly, those surveyed seemed to pre-fer playing in Beijing. “Well, you have to know Chinese,” Jake points out.

“But it’s better,” Dan*, another play-er, chimes in. “It’s more organized.”

“It’s definitely more casual back at home, and here in China, it’s ac-tually serious,” Jonathan* explains, following up the interview with the amusing suggestion that I quote him by his role-playing name, “Karlor.”

As I proceeded to leave the café, I was met with enthusiastic invitations to “come back!” from both the staff and the players. Fascinating premise notwithstanding, the friendly custom-ers, pleasant atmosphere, decent food and fantastic service just might rope me into making good on my subse-quent promise to return. The only oth-er major observation I can offer after

my visit is that, four hours following my arrival, the same five Lord of the Rings’ tracks were still playing in the background. And, depending on your taste, that’s not necessarily a negative.

*last name removed for privacy

“What do you mean, the dragon wakes up?!”

Dynamic Warmups: A Spectrum of Perspectives

Dynamic Warmups: An effective use of time?

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Love them or loathe them, dynamic warm-ups are here to stay – at least for the time being.

The dynamic warm-ups are joint warm-up exercises between various season one sports teams that occur on Wednesdays between 3:45 and 4:10 P.M. According to ISB Strength and Conditioning Coach Mr. Gilpin, the dynamic warm-ups were implement-ed this year because of a “logistic need based on Wednesday’s faculty meet-ing times, as coaches are no longer al-lowed to leave faculty meetings as ear-ly as they were allowed to previously.”

While the warm-ups were origi-nally employed due to logistical rea-sons, they also hold many other ben-efits for student Mr. Johanson, the Director of Student Activities, states

that, “The benefits of a dynamic warm-up and/or stretching routine before physical activity are most-ly universally accepted now-- and should precede any sports session.”

However, in the eyes of some stu-dents, the dynamic warm-ups seem to have been less useful than intended. Cross country runner Adrian Cheng (11) says, “the warm-ups seem to be too general to be of any real use, as they’re not exactly specialized for any sport.” Conversely, Wini Henson (10) believes that the warm-ups are “geared for certain sports, like baseball”, making them potentially less help-ful for athletes who play other sports.

Some athletes have other con-cerns about the new program. Alan Wu (11) comments, “After the dy-namic warm-ups, we conduct our own warm-ups anyway, so [they] seem to be an inefficient use of time,” whilst Jocelyn Ng (11) mentions that, “Yes, we get all warmed up and sweaty at the end of the sessions but no-one is really stretched out properly.”

Despite the negativity surround-ing this issue, supporters of the dy-namic warm-ups claim that the ben-efits outweigh the drawbacks. Kevin

Wang (11) notes that “the point of the dynamic warm-ups is to be warmed up and ready for sport when coaches arrive from the staff meetings. In this sense, they are a big time saver.”

Furthermore, Mr. Gilpin mentions that instead of viewing the dynamic-warm ups as “something mandatory that the athletes have to do,” they should be seen as an “opportunity to unify the ISB student athletic body in order to create a stronger, more tight-ly-knit school of athletes.” In addition, the opportunity for students to work on their fitness and basic mobility will “complement and add more value to what coaches are doing” regardless of the sport in which athletes participate.

As for whether or not the dynam-ic-warm ups will be implemented be-yond season one sports, Mr. Johan-son says that the dynamic warm-ups are still a “pilot program” and that “beyond the first season, we’re not sure where we’ll be going with this approach.” However, for the time be-ing, athletes should take advantage of this opportunity and approach the warm-ups with the vigor and dedica-tion that personify an ISB Dragon.

by JJ Wong, Staff Reporter

Photo coutesy ofhttp://devicedaily.com

Sports & Recreation / Standing Columns

PAGE 7

Inner-School Rivalries Lie Beneath Our Feetby Amelia Park, Section Editor

With not only the best of students but also the best of athletes, it’s no wonder that ISB is known as a powerhouse in both academics and sports. Every year, more APAC banners are hung trium-phantly on gym walls and newly-won China Cup and ACAMIS trophies are placed on display in glass cabinets. It is this competitive nature which drives every ISB team, giving each the deter-mination to strive for pride and glory. However, does this desire to bring home medals push ISB teams over the top with competitiveness, causing them to strive for superiority even among themselves?

Many s t u d e n t s c l a i m there is “an exist-ing, but unspoken r i v a l r y ”

within ISB’s own walls – with cer-tain sports teams feeling antagonistic to-

wards one another. This “unspoken rival-ry,” however, can be both a positive and negative feature: beneficial in the sense that it provides motivation for success, but harmful, perhaps, in that it can also create hostility when pushed to its limits.

While a student may have a biased perspective due to the sport he/she plays, there is a general consensus that an inter-rivalry does exist. Katie Young (11), a rugby and soccer player, believes that there is only rivalry “in the sense that we just poke fun at each other.” By her judg-ment, this friendly competition is fiercest between “volleyball and rugby, and bas-ketball and anything.” Even Kevin Huang (10), who plays volleyball and basketball, agrees that “volleyball and basketball teams are always competing with others.”

While Young seems to have more of a positive perspective on inter-sport rivalry, viewing it as harmless teasing, other athletes disagree. Volleyball player Alexander Yue (12) holds the opinion that this rivalry can be harmful. “It can get personal when athletes begin to be-little other teams by deeming the other team’s sport ‘sissy’, like volleyball,” he says. “When it gets personal, [tension and anger] between the teams start to form.”

Apart from verbal remarks and jokes, this rivalry also manifests itself in other forms. Huang finds it in the recruitment campaigns of “players and coaches who are attempting to recruit students who don’t know what to play to join their team.” Persuasion tactics range from promotion-al videos to the ubiquitous posters and

advertisements hanging in the hallways. As Activities Director, Mr. Johanson

is not oblivious to the inter-team rivalry. He, too, has noticed the “attempts at con-vincing athletes that certain teams are better,” which he believes has to do with team pride. Additionally, he also feels that this rivalry can be healthy and ben-eficial, as it “in a good-natured way, can come from both students and coaches.” However, Johanson clearly acknowledges that boundaries between what is accept-able and unacceptable exist, expressing that “coaches in any position should not be placing the best interests of the team above the students’ interests,” in terms of the students’ decision-making process.

The question here with inter-school rivalries is whether or not they play a harmful role in the school commu-nity. For the most part, they are merely good-natured and only have detrimen-tal effects when pushed to extremes, or as Yue put it, when it gets “personal.”

After all, we’re all represent-ing the same name and playing for the same pride. In the end, whoever brings home the glory should be irrelevant. It’s the fact that we’re each working to bring prestige to the same school, not to outshine our own classmates and fel-low Dragons, that matters the most.

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TECH: Google, Internet Giant by Brian Zhan, Staff Reporter

Though only founded in 1998, Google has impacted many a stu-dents’ life. It started out as a search engine, but has expanded into other technological sections—be it a web browser, translator, or desktop ap-plication. While many of Google’s products show popularity with stu-dents, some features undoubtedly provide far more use than others.

The Google search engine is, by far, the most popular Google-based tool amongst students. According to a survey recording the opinions of 100 ISB students, 92% chose Google search as their first resort when it came to researching for an academic purpose or otherwise. “Google usually provides you with the information you need,” explains Michael Wang (11). “Unlike other search engines, it shows you relevant search results directly if your search terms are popular.”

Students may also prefer the search function due to its ability to allow viewing of old website caches. These caches do not only allow users to view the old version of a webpage, but also allow access to certain web-sites that the Chinese government may not have completely blocked.

In the same survey, Google’s new web browser, Chrome, ranked as the second most popular Google-based utility, with 33% of the sur-veyed students using it regularly. All of the students who preferred Chrome mentioned one thing in common: Chrome’s speed. Sev-

eral browser speed tests have even proven the conjecture1 that Chrome is - currently - the fastest search engine available on the internet.

Yet another major advantage of Chrome is its security. This is evident through the Pwn2Own competition of March 28, 20102. The aim of this competition was to challenge hack-ers everyone to exploit web-browsers, and those successful were awarded up to $15,000 in cash money and prizes. Chrome was the only web-browser tackled that could not be hacked.

Moreover, Chrome is, by far, the most stable web browser in the market. This is because it iso-lates tabs so that when one webpage crashes, other tabs are not impacted.

Chrome also has many other minor tweaks that make it bet-ter than other browsers. For in-stance, its URL bar may also be used as a search engine—it even pro-vides recommended search terms!

However, the best part of Google Chrome is its extension gallery, a col-lection of installable browser software that will increase its functions. The gal-lery is strictly regulated so that, unlike the Firefox extension gallery, there is no malware and so the extensions do not slow down browser speed signifi-cantly. Indeed, it is with reason that the school decided to install Google Chrome onto all of its computers.

Ranking fourth in popularity with students, with 30% of the sup-port, is Google Translator. Unfor-

tunately, its usefulness is limited to only translating individual phras-es. When translating larger para-graphs, this product often provides grammatically incorrect sentences.

Finally, ranking fifth is Google Earth (at a still-strong 23%). Its lack of popularity could be attributed to the fact that, as Kyle Morris (9) says, “Google Earth can be used to locate di-rections, but students rarely need such directions because they do not drive and usually hang out in places they know the directions to. The software’s extensions, such as undersea tours and flight simulator, are only games.” In addition, other products, such as

Google Maps, are much more efficient in finding relative locations than the clunky 3D interface of Google Earth.

Bloomberg once wrote, “Google dominates the Internet World.”1

One only needs to look at the power of its products to see why.1”Chrome Versus Other Browsers” CNet. <http://cnet.com>2“Agenda.” PWN2OWN. <http://cansecwest . com>

Just Google It!

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Standing Columns

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HOW TO: Successfully Break Dress Codeby Pamela Yan, Staff Reporter

DISCLAIMER: This article may be satirical. As the sun’s relentless heat

is just around the corner of Bei-jing’s chilly winter and ISB’s semester exams, so is the reign of summer apparel. But even if your body is as hot as the weath-er, it’s important to remember that wearing revealing summer attire can prompt dire conse-quences. Ms. Wicks, high school vice principal and ISB’s resident dress code enforcer, can spot any infractions from a hallway away. And getting caught means donning articles of never-washed clothing pre-viously sweated in by freshman P.E. students for the remainder of the day.

Of course, there are a few ways to avoid dress code penalties dealt out by Ms. Wicks as well as oth-er staff members, and The Break is pleased to give the lowdown on our three tried and true tips.

The mark of the amateur dress code violator is bent arms in an at-tempt to give the appearance of fin-gertips being above the hemline of shorts. The professional’s fix is to wear knee-length shorts or skirts with the cuffs or hem rolled up. When you get that sinking feeling that Ms. Wicks is watching your every move, immedi-ately drop all those binders you’re car-rying and use a subtle movement of

the arms to unroll your shorts or skirt. It takes practice to make this tactic appear suave, so make sure you re-hearse in front of your mirror at home.

Spaghetti straps and tube tops are other common summer trends that students tend to cover up with a sweater or jacket. Although effective, this method can lead to overheating. A much cooler way of covering up is to wear a backpack, preferably color coordinated with one’s outfit, with straps wide enough to cover up the thinness or lack of straps stylishly. To all those ladies who carry books and binders around in purses, backpacks are clearly the new accessory of choice.

Finally, we are proud to present the ultimate method that will cover any and all infractions of dress code. The ISB High School Parent and Stu-

dent Handbook’s blanket rule for dress code states that “In general, dress and appearance should not detract from the instructional setting.” To adhere to the right side of the law, you simply have to wear attire that adds to the ed-ucational environment. Theoretically, you could get away with midriff-bar-ing t-shirts that read E=mc2 or booty shorts emblazoned with the first 20 digits of pi. Just be sure you don’t wear them out to examinations in order to avoid arousing suspicions of cheating.

So, take advice from Katy Per-ry’s summer smash “California Gurls” and bring out your “Daisy Dukes, bikinis on top.” Now that you know how, start practically ap-plying these foolproof methods. The Break wants to see you out in the hallways proudly strutting your stuff.

Top 5 Ways to Spend a Wednesday Afternoonby Sun Woo Choi & Chan Ah Jung, Staff Reporters

Last year, ISB introduced a new system in which school ends one hour early every Wednesday. Yet now, it seems that students’ anticipation of this early dismissal has disappeared, as shortened Wednesdays have be-come mere routine. Follow these ideas to achieve greater inspiration on how to spice up your extra hour of freedom on Wednesday afternoons!5. Make full use of the outdoor fields

It seems that most of the students do not recognize the usefulness of our school’s vast outdoor facilities. With three athletic fields at their disposal, students are exposed to various out-door activities and sports afterschool. However, if running around, chasing down soccer balls, and getting sweaty just aren’t your things, there are still plenty of options open to you. Why not just stretch yourself out on the grass and enjoy the sky (particularly during those rare days when the sky is actually visible through the haze of pollution)? This can be a great way of both enjoying the natural surround-ings and spending your time with friends. Feel the sun on your face, the breeze on your skin, and relax!4. Explore the school

The vast and sprawling campus of

ISB is some-thing of an unexplored wilderness – even to stu-dents. It’s no surprise that among the school’s 1 3 3 , 5 0 0 square meters, certain locations re-main virtually undiscovered by high school students. While the Outside Learning Environment (OLE), for ex-ample, is well-known by the majority of ISB students, few are aware of the “hidden” playground near the Ad-missions Office, fully equipped with a bouncing ship, miniature houses, and lush trees. It’s your turn to take an adventure around the school with your friends and find something new! 3. Throw an afternoon party

Since a majority of ISB high school classrooms now have Smart Boards and projectors, an hour could easily be well-spent taking advan-tage of the available technology. You could have a movie afternoon in the middle of the week, with the blinds down and all the microwaveable popcorn you can eat. Remember: Students must get permission from

the teachers before using the rooms and leave the room clean afterwards!2. “Study” with your sweetheart

Some students aim to finish chunks of homework throughout the day so that they can relax at home. However, there has been a new trend where couples find a quiet room to themselves. Many lovebirds agree that this is a great way of both study-ing and spending time together. Particularly for juniors and seniors facing a heavy, daunting workload, an hour of studying with your sig-nificant other can be a great way of changing a typical Wednesday into a romantic (and scholarly) oasis.1. Recharge by taking a much-needed nap

Even though this suggestion might be a no-frills way of spending the hour of Wednesday, not many people recognize the benefits of do-ing so. After entering high school and the world of Extended Essays, CAS hours, and oral commentaries, students constantly experience sleep deprivation. Wednesday afternoons can provide precious time to reboot, release stress and boost your body system. Time to slide under your cozy blanket and have a sweet siesta!

No sin in doing math together.

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Standing Columns

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FACEOFF: The Power of Practicalityby Eric Wang, Section Editor

Now we’re in business.

Wall Street. NASA. CERN. Forbes. All of these famous names bring to mind the successes of human innova-tion and civilization, hallmarks of the 21st century. Our developed society is defined by its technological achieve-ments and economic advancement, where high-tech and financial in-dustries are what make the world go ‘round. Naturally, to be successful our-selves, it seems only logical to pursue education in related professional, vo-cational, and technical fields. There’s no doubt that we should study eco-nomics, mathematics, and the natural sciences rather than the liberal arts.

The main difference between the liberal arts and technical studies is that a technical subject can be di-rectly applied to the real world. Eco-nomic theories are reflected by case studies and real-time fluctuations in consumer demands, concerning everything from stocks to stock-ings. Physics can be observed in the workings of the machines we take for granted every day. Computer science can be found in your pocket, pack-aged into your sleek, efficient iPhone.

Liberal arts and humanities, on

the other hand, are not as pertinent in the modern world. History is cen-tered on a fascination for lifestyles and societies that no longer exist. Contemplating why Shakespeare jux-taposed two lines of dialogue in iam-bic pentameter doesn’t bring us closer to self-sustaining energies or interga-lactic travel. Philosophizing about the world and its many problems doesn’t actually solve them, and the pursuit of the meaning of life might even lead to a life that passes without significant meaning. After all, by modern stan-dards, to lead a meaningful life is to contribute somehow to society and the advancement of human beings.

Of course, there is no real doubt that people like Shakespeare and Pi-casso led meaningful lives by contrib-uting to English literature and visual art, respectively. Yet at the same time, are there any real implications behind their work besides becoming inter-national icons of admiration? Can a developing village in Africa find their work beneficial? There is nothing wrong with appreciating culture. In fact, we should all be knowledgeable about the arts and humanities. Yet it seems unnecessary and wasteful to dedicate our lives to an art or study that, at the very most, can only be ap-

preciated for its aes-t h e t i c s , and not for any real use in the world.

T h e technical, p r o f e s -sional, and practical areas of study are what the world needs. Students should take advantage of the fact that many colleges and universities offer direct applications to institu-tions that specialize in such a field . Again, there certainly are aspects of humanities and arts we should re-spect and appreciate, but in the face of the world’s many problems, these are flimsy, ornamental swords and daggers—they are pretty and admi-rable for their face value, but serve no practical purposes. The sciences and practical studies are the real weap-ons that we should wield against the many enemies of mankind, such as famine, disease and climate change. Immerse yourself into the world of rocket science and currency exchang-es. After all, who do you think is re-membered best? The men who build bridges, or the men who graffiti them?

I’m a liberal arts major. You do the math.

Be the Art-chitect of Your Own Futureby Rena Minegishi, Section Editor

When you declare your intention to pursue further studies in areas like history, literature or linguistics, you’re bound to meet the question: “Oh, so you’re going to become a teacher?” And if you happen to answer in the nega-tive, the inevitable follow-up question poses the challenge: “Then what are you going to do with that degree?”

The ubiquitous question seems more than appropriate in the halls of ISB, where many students express an interest in more practical majors like business, international relations and chemistry. With such degrees, the students seem to have successful careers guaranteed: managers, dip-lomats, doctors, and engineers. The list goes on, and it sure looks more di-verse than the lonely bullet-points of “teacher” or “museum curator” on the bleak list of occupations for hopeful liberal arts majors. It seems obvious why most students choose not to study these subjects in college –at first glance it looks fruitless and un-promising with limited career choices. How-ever, human-i t i e s - c e n t e r e d majors are not as meaningless as many people seem to believe.

Contrary to

popular belief, there are many fields where artistic degrees are of great merit. The government is one of the largest employers of foreign language majors, as are tourism firms and film companies. With additional courses in psychology, art majors can graduate to become art therapists, psychother-apists who use art media as the prima-ry mode of communication1, or work in the lucrative field of advertising.

In fact, many CEOs have liberal arts backgrounds. For example, Mi-chael Eisner, former CEO of the Walt Disney Company, did a double ma-jor in English and Theatre without ever taking a business course. In an interview with USA Today, he com-mented that “Literature is unbeliev-ably helpful because no matter what business you are in, you are dealing with interpersonal relationships.”2

On a more personal note, a stu-dent should not feel pressure to sac-rifice his or her passion for a more practical degree. College education, after all, should be about indulging and specializing in your area of inter-est. For people who truly have passion and skill for subjects like literature and art history, deeper exploration in such areas will prove the college years memorable and worthwhile. On the other hand, if one chooses to spend those years studying sub-jects that don’t interest him/her, the experience could be a 50,000 dol-lars per annum period of torture.

Not only can one delight in study-

ing their field of interest, but study-ing artistic majors also allows one to become more enriched as a person. “Studying more ‘artistic subjects’ might give you a different (and even more profound) approach to under-standing the human condition,” com-ments Mr. Farr, who teaches both English and Theory of Knowledge.

Compared to the technical inno-vations of today’s society, the effect of arts or history may not be as visible in everyday life. However, the world is not constructed solely on mechanical facts and theorems. The study of the liberal arts – by encompassing ma-jors in literature, language, history, philosophy and fine arts –reflects in-tangible aspects of the human society and give us indispensable lessons.

If humanities courses interest you more than practical courses, don’t be afraid to major in them. Doing so will allow you to indulge in your passion, make you cultured and well-read, and give you opportunities to work in various fields that range from the artistic to the practical. Academic and intellectual exploration does not limit you; rather, it offers worlds of opportunity where your passion and financial stability can coexist.1“Many Top CEOs Say MBA Not Necessarily Ticket to Success” USA Today. <http:// home.honolulu.hawaii.edu>2“What Is Art Therapy?” British Association of Art Therapists. British Association of Art Therapists. <http://www.baat.org>

A Major Issue

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Standing Columns / Opinions

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NEIGHBORHOOD REVIEW: The Faculty Loungeby Kathleen Ma, Staff Reporter

As students stroll down the cor-ridor directly opposite the Middle School office, most barely acknowl-edge the façade of semi-translucent glass spread across one wall. A door swings open, and a teacher steps briskly out. For a fleeting moment, a glimpse of the elusive staff lounge is caught, only to have the swinging frosted doors hide it away once again.

Due to both its geographical in-convenience and its opaque, non-revealing walls, students are either unaware of the lounge’s existence or oblivious to what lies inside. “The staff lounge seems like a great place for teachers to relax,” says Jaey Lee (9), “But because I’ve never had the chance to go inside, it’s hard to say.”

Behind its doors, teachers and other staff members take a well-de-

served break from grading test papers and keeping their students in check. Creamy black and beige booths with rounded stools rest against one of the lounge’s cheery blue walls. Across from these booths are windowed doors that open to one of the school’s many courtyards, where teachers can eat at tables not unlike the ones located out-side of the high school cafeteria. An area is sectioned off for utilities, which include a freezer, sinks and several microwaves. To the forefront of its vi-cinity, a primly dressed Eurest lunch lady serves behind a single lunch line.

While the pleasant staff lounge fails to compare to the newly revamped student cafeteria in terms of color and verve, it is smaller and certainly more tranquil than its always-lively coun-terpart. “[Going to the faculty lounge] is probably the only time of day where we can see and speak to colleagues in a casual setting,” notes HS math teacher Mr. Armstrong. “Or else,” he continues, motioning to his com-puter, “my only friend is this thing.”

But despite its seemingly positive aspects, many teachers still choose to eat in the cafeteria. “The cafeteria has a much larger selection of sandwiches

and salad,” explains science teacher Mr. McGarigal. “But the lines are al-ways longer and [it is] very crowded there.” “The faculty lounge is a great place,” adds music teacher Ms. Pome-roy. “But oftentimes, when I mean to go to there, I find myself too busy.”

When asked how she felt about teachers eating in the student cafete-ria despite having their own lounge, Emma Monaghan (12) was apathetic. “I don’t really care where they eat, be-cause I don’t become self-conscious when they eat in the cafeteria.” She paused before adding, “But if I [were a teacher], where I sat would depend on whether or not I was a popu-lar one.” Von Lyn Lee (12), on the other hand, is far more positive in her interpretation of teachers pass-ing up a place in the faculty lounge: “I actually feel as though teachers could be trying to learn more about their students in a different envi-ronment. Otherwise,” she shrugs, “I don’t see why they would eat here.”

Whether teachers choose to use it as a getaway from student life or not, the faculty lounge will always serve as a potential respite from the undoubted-ly exhausting task of teaching, well, us.

Wearing Your Heart on Your, Well, Chest Ivy League Apparelby Julie Leong, Managing EditorStanford. Harvard. Oxford. MIT.

Trivia time: what do these four words have in common? They’re all names of top-ranked universi-ties, they’re frequently spoken by anxious parents and students alike in hushed tones of reverence, and they’re seen emblazoned across the chests of hoodie-wearing ISB students on a regular basis.

What precisely makes university sweatshirts so appealing to students? Are they more comfortable than oth-er clothing? Perhaps. Are they worn for their cutting-edge stylishness? Doubtful. Do students believe that wearing them will, somehow, mys-tically help them gain admission to the aforementioned institutions of prestige and higher learning? If so, most are in for a rude awakening.

ISB is notorious for its academic rigor and the competitiveness and ambition of its students, and the per-vasiveness of elite university sweat-shirts in its hallways is a symptom of those qualities. Of course, very few of the sweatshirt wearers will actually be accepted to the universities that adorn their clothing. University ad-missions committees take a number of factors into consideration when deciding on whether or not to accept an applicant – grades, standardized test scores, activities, recommenda-tions, writing ability – but, sadly, not the contents of a student’s wardrobe.

I’ll confess – I, too, own both Yale and Harvard sweatshirts, gifts from my sister, and wearing them used

to give me a secret thrill. Seeing the university’s name blinking back at me in a mirror was, in a way, hyp-notizing; it created an illusory bond between the school and me, and I could imagine, if only for a moment, what it would be like to be a student there. I’ve long since broken out of my pleasant self-delusion and faced the sobering reality: my sweatshirts are just that – mere articles of cloth-ing. Made-in-China merchandise of cotton and wool – not omens foretell-ing my acceptance, not intelligence-boosting armor, and certainly not good-luck charms imbuing my college applications with magical powers.

Despite this awareness, university sweatshirts still seem to single out wearers as targets for derision and scorn. Many appear to believe that wearing Brown or UPenn regalia im-plies the expectation of acceptance, regardless of the wearer’s actual in-tentions. When said universities are elite, Ivy League institutions with ev-er-dropping acceptance rates, such a choice of apparel is often construed as a sign of arrogance, leading to unspo-ken accusations of “pretentiousness.”

Apparently, the several block let-ters across the front of my sweatshirt are now indicators of my presumed intelligence, ambition, and humil-ity (or lack thereof). Goodness, what does my footwear say about my in-tegrity, then? Should I start worry-ing about the color of my shoelaces, in case they also bear some grandi-ose implications on my moral fiber?

There are a number of reasons why students choose to wear uni-versity sweatshirts. Maybe they’re warm (and with Beijing’s glacial winters, that’s a valuable qual-ity). Maybe they were the first thing grabbed from a closet as a student rushed to catch the bus after pull-ing an all-nighter during finals week. Maybe they’re comfortable. What-ever the reason behind their choice of apparel, however, students have a right to wear what they choose with-out being sneered at by classmates.

We have to ask ourselves, would they face the same stigma from pur-chasing a university keychain or shot glass? It’s absurd to think that such a trivial matter as what po-tentially might be a mere souvenir could lead to such hasty judgments about an individual’s character.

It’s fortunate that college ad-missions committees are so careful and thorough in reviewing an ap-plicant’s profile. After all, if they came to conclusions as quickly and rashly as high school students seem to do, we’d all be in trouble.

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Does this sweatshirt make me look smart?

Probably cleaner than the Senior Lounge.