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How to Succeed at IMSAWritten by Mack Lee, DIY & Guides Section Editor

Interested in suc-cess at IMSA? Here are the formulae:

1.) No Procrastination + Time Management

“[One key to success is] being able to balance your workload and your free-time since [misman-aging] time is one of the biggest problems that people have,” says Ted Li ’12.

You will find your-self awake in the morn-ing if you make the effort to be sensible. In-room, lights out, and Internet shutoff certainly do not help a procrastinator. Managing your time is vital to your success at IMSA. Do not spend too much time on any one activity. Prioritize, and make sure you fin-ish what you start. Keep yourself busy and you will avoid homesickness as well.

2.) Realize your purpose.

Many people over-look the primary pur-pose of school – learning.

In addition, however, the school’s second-ary purpose is person-al fulfillment. Personal happiness should be everyone’s goal. “Being successful at IMSA is being happy with what you’re doing…so the key to success is know-ing what you want out of your time and truly working towards that,“ says Eric Ordonez ’12.

3.) Break your bubble and take advantage of your surroundings

“Expose [yourself] to new things that might even replace your career goals.” – Ted Li ’12”

A key to success is “mingling [with oth-ers] because everyone is

unique at IMSA. [So-cializing] helps you grow as a person, and academ-

ically you learn to think in different ways by bouncing ideas off other people.” – Mindy Jian ’13.

Take risks! Do things that you are not used to. IMSA provides many opportunities for you to participate in. Take advantage of the people that live around you and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

4.) Don’t compare your-self to others.

Everyone is differ-ent. Some people are smarter than you; some people aren’t. In reality, your success is not based on your intelligence but your persistence and hard work. Work towards your personal

goals and do not let oth-ers affect your passions.

To sophomores: Not all upperclass-men are proper models. Choose your models carefully and do not be affected by negative be-havior.

5.) Keep yourself healthy

Want to live longer? Sleep, don’t skip meals, avoid Instant Noodles (Maruchan, Shin, etc.) and snacks, and exer-cise! You want to be able to see your toes, so don’t get fat. Good health en-hances your academic performance and emo-tional stability. Health always come first!

Follow these five key steps and you will find yourself happy about yourself. After making the most of your time at IMSA, you will have experienced a fruit-ful three years.

“4.) Don’t compare yourself to others.”

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In a series of four in-tense presidential and vice-presidential de-bates, bothends of the political spectrum showed their rhetori-cal and political colors. Both President Obama and former Massachu-setts governor Mitt Romney were tested on their positions regarding different domestic and foreign policy issues. In an effort to recap what occurred during the past few weeks, below is a quick and – hopefully – easy-to-follow summary of all major statements provided by both presi-dential candidates in the debates.

How will you create more jobs here in America?

ROMNEY: “My plan has five parts: Energy inde-pendence, more trade, training, a balanced bud-get, and championing small businesses.”

OBAMA: “During my first term in office, I have created 5 million jobs here in America … [we need to] invest in educa-tion and training.”

Any plans for Social Secu-rity?

ROMNEY: Supports voucher program for fu-ture retirees to give them

choice between private insurance and Medi-care. Reduce benefits for higher income people.

OBAMA: ”Both Rom-ney and I are similar on Social Security, which is basically sound with mi-nor adjustments. How-ever, on Medicare we are different. Obamacare will save $716 billion by reducing payments to care providers, it helps close the “donut hole,” saving seniors $600 a person on average. It pays for preventative care visits. Romney’s voucher program will cost the average senior $6,000 a person.”

Should Obamacare be re-pealed?

ROMNEY: “Yes. Obamacare added an unnecessary $716 bil-lion in healthcare costs to Medicare. It was pushed through with-out bipartisan support. Three-quarters of small businesses said they would hold back on hir-ing because of the costs. Thirty percent of people will lose their existing insurance because com-panies will find it more cost effective to let them buy it on the exchange. Let the states manage a health care plan. Don’t let an unelected board

decide health care cov-erage. I would create a plan that allows young people to stay on their parents’ plans. It would also allow people to get insurance for pre-exist-ing conditions. It would provide incentives for health care companies to lower costs.”

OBAMA: “I would keep Obamacare because it provides the follow-ing benefits. It provides coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. Health insurance com-panies can’t impose ar-bitrary lifetime limits. They have to pay you back if they spend too

much of your premi-um on administration and advertising. Chil-dren can stay on their parents’ plan until age 26. You can keep your existing coverage. It al-lows you to pay a lower, group health insurance rate if you have to buy your own insurance. It provides a subsidy for those who can’t afford private health insurance.

It pays the states to add more low income fami-lies to Medicaid. It closes the donut hole for those on Medicare. The board simply advises on best practices.”

What is the proper role of our government?

ROMNEY: “Protect life and liberty, and the rights of people to make decisions for them-selves.” He also advo-cated better schools. Provide vouchers for disabled and other chil-dren to allow them to at-tend the school of their choice. Romney agreed with Obama’s programs

to boost education.

OBAMA: “The first priority of our govern-ment must be defense.” Also, he wants to create opportunities for small businesses. Hire more teachers and improve education, such as with Race to the Top. Train-ing programs with the Community Colleges. Lower educational costs

A Quick Summary of the Presidential DebatesWritten by Ryan Chiu, World News Section Editor

ROMNEY: “In eight to ten years, we will get a balanced budget by cutting non-defense spending by 10%, the first step … Get rid of Obamacare.”

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by cutting out the mid-dleman and lend directly to students.

What is your tax plan?

ROMNEY: “Don’t raise taxes on the rich during a slow-growing econo-my … because it hurts small businesses … the National Federation of Independent Business-es said it would destroy 700,000 jobs.” Lower corporate rate by elim-inating some loopholes and deductions. There is no tax break for ship-ping jobs overseas. Tax breaks to oil companies is only $2.8 billion a year, and it’s just an account-ing adjustment, not a real tax break. It mostly goes to drillers and other small businesses.”

OBAMA: Cut $4 bil-lion a year in subsi-dies to oil companies. Lower corporate tax rate by eliminating tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas. Obama and Romney then debated whether Romney’s tax cut plan would reduce government revenue by $5 trillion and whether Romney’s spending plan would add $2 trillion to federal defense spend-ing.

On what level should the United States by involved in Syria? ROMNEY: “I don’t think it’s necessary to

put our military into Syria. [Instead,] we need to help organize the in-

surgents and give them more arms.”

OBAMA: [Agrees with Romney’s stance] ”Re-moving Assad is para-mount. We don’t want to get into a military conflict, so we want to organize the opposition and make sure they have the arms they need.”

How do we fund our efforts in national defense?

ROMNEY: “In eight to ten years, we will get a balanced budget by cut-ting non-defense spend-ing by 10%, the first step … Get rid of Obamacare. I’ve had lots of experi-ence in balancing a bud-get. Our Navy is smaller

now – it needs 313 ships to be effective, but has less than 285. Our Air

Force is smaller than in 1947. We can now only handle one conflict at a time. Obama will cut the military by $1 trillion, al-though this includes the fiscal cliff sequestration.”

OBAMA: “Military spending has gone up every year I’ve been in office. We spend more on the military than the next 10 countries. I’ve asked the Joint Chiefs to plan for what we’ll need in the future — cy-bersecurity and space. It’s driven by strategy. It allows us to reduce our deficit by spending smarter, not more. Rom-ney can’t spend $2 tril-lion more on defense, $5 trillion more on tax

cuts and reduce the defi-cit. We have fewer ships because we have more

aircraft carriers and sub-marines.”

Should we pull out of Af-ghanistan / aid Pakistan?

ROMNEY: “[The Af-ghan government] will be ready. Recognize that Pakistan has a major ef-fect on Afghanistan be-cause they have 100 nu-clear warheads. We will give Pakistan aid only if they meet certain bench-marks.”

OBAMA: “By ending war in Iraq, we could re-focus on Afghanistan. We’ve met many of the objective that got us there in the first place by decimating al-Qaeda’s core leadership. Afghans

Image: The Washington Post

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are now perfectly capa-ble of defending their own country. We’ve got to transition responsi-bly. This allows us to free up resources to put our own people, especially veterans, back to work, build our infrastructure. It’s especially important to help the veterans with PTSD.”

What is America’s role in the world?

ROMNEY: “We have a responsibility to pro-mote principles such as elections, freedom of speech, etc. We want to end conflicts. To do so, we must be strong by strengthening our own economy. I won’t cut $1 trillion from the military budget. We have to be prepared for who knows what. We shouldn’t have pulled our missiles out of Poland. Obama shouldn’t have been si-lent during the Green Revolution in Tehran”. Romney reiterated 5-point plan: Energy in-dependence (including alternative energy), more free trade with a focus on Latin America, train-ing, create a balanced budget, and foster more small business creation.

OBAMA: “America is stronger than four years ago, because we ended the war in Iraq, which allowed us to focus. For example, our alliances are now stronger than

ever. We are rebuilding our economy by retrain-ing workers, strength-ening the auto industry, cutting our oil imports by building alternative energy. Romney’s plan doesn’t cut the deficit.”

A Word with Dr. McLaren

Written by Jo-jo Feng, IMSA News Staff Writer

In 1986, when IMSA first opened, Dr. Eric McLaren began working as a residential counselor. Since then, he moved up the ladder,

eventually becoming the principal of the school. Sadly, he was forced to retire when, in the fall of 2010, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic later-al sclerosis (ALS). In Dr. McLaren’s honor, IMSA hosts many activities in order to support and raise awareness of ALS research and has even partnered with Project ALS, a fund that goes to-ward researching poten-tial treatment for the dis-

ease. IMSA’s continued support for Dr. McLaren has gained recognition in newspapers through-out Illinois.

I had the privilege to get to ask Dr. Mc-Laren about his time at IMSA, what he’s doing at the moment, and his thoughts on everything IMSA’s done through e-mail correspondence. Although it had to be kept brief, it was an in-teresting experience to get to talk to someone who made such an im-pact on IMSA without being recognized by the Class of 2015.

To begin the dis-cussion, I asked Dr. Mc-Laren what his favorite

experience living on campus was, and if there were any specific memo-ries he had while he was an RC or HC. He had lived on campus for four years and created many fond memories with stu-dents and staff members. These stories came up at class reunions, exempli-fying the bond that Dr. McLaren had with his students and coworkers.

In this year alone, many events have been

established at IMSA such as the Sockless Day of Solitude, to honor Dr. McLaren because of his predilection for not utilizing socks. Further-more, the Lap the Lake event raised money and awareness for ALS re-search. Dr. McLaren’s children’s college and the Skyrise Willis Tow-er climb that IMSA students will be partic-ipating in on Sunday, November 4th will raise over $2,000.

In response to all of everything IMSA has done for him, Dr. McLaren expressed his enthusiasm by saying “Spark is wonderful!” He also mentioned the work students have been doing in SIR, studying ALS along with Parkin-son’s and Alzheimer’s in an effort to achieve a tre-mendous goal of helping treat such diseases. “The answer is in the science,” he reiterated from an ar-ticle in the Chicago Bea-con News, showing his adamant belief in scien-tific research.

Next, I asked him how he felt about the publicity he has gotten recently, specifically citing an article in Bea-con News that had been passed around the IMSA student body in the past few weeks.

“The articles were nice, but too much fo-cus on me.” Dr. McLaren said, modestly. ” The real

“It is a noble cause for an important figure who tru-ly made an impact on the school and, consequently, the scientific world.”

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story is about my three friends running the New York City marathon and raising significant funds for Project ALS,” Even in sickness, his thoughts don’t lie on himself, but

on helping other people, which truly goes to show how dedicated he is to promote IMSA’s mission statement to “advance the human condition.:

Dr. McLaren con-tinues to optimistically fight ALS. He strives to push through it and con-tinue his work. Impres-sively, he still holds the title of Vice President of Academic Affairs for IMSA and is currently working on four projects with Dr. McGee.

IMSA continues to create opportunities to support Dr. McLar-en and ALS research through fundraising, awareness, and various events. It is a noble cause for an important figure who truly made an im-

An Article You Are Probably Too Busy To ReadWritten by Kaylee Karumanchi, Opinions Section Editor

Everyone I know is busy. Whether it is pil-ing on the extracurric-ular activities or adding to our numerous com-munity services hours, we’re all busy somehow. These activities not only fill our schedules during the school year or weekdays but also even during our so-called va-cations and weekends. Summer break is no longer devoted to catch-ing up with friends and sleep, but also seeing what internships we can land or what planes we can hop onto to go on a service trip to pad our already well-embellished resumes. Sunday is no longer the day of rest, but another day we can use to add more activi-ties and obligations to our already over extend-ed schedules. It’s almost as if any given minute that we are resting or en-joying ourselves, we are wasting what little time we have to achieve more. This is especially appar-ent in the pressure cook-er we call IMSA.

We’re all so worried about getting an edge on the competition, our peers, that we forget to “stop and smell the ros-es” (forgive the cliché). Our generation of stu-dents applying to college doesn’t leave any ground

for slacking off. As Ste-phen Colbert stated, we’re all up against “an army of overachieving geniuses with an 8.0 GPA, who’ve played the violin since the second trimester, and whose extracurricular activities include flying the chop-per that got Bin Laden.” And he’s right. We’ve set such a high standard; we’re no longer looking to do things we actually enjoy, but rather one-up even our dearest friends so that we can have a leg up on what seems like the most important thing in the world right now: college admissions.

During the school year, I would come home every Friday night, beat-en down by the workload I had during the week, even more tired than my parents. We’re prac-tically children still and though we have fewer responsibilities than our parents, we come home even more tired than the grown-ups. But, what is this all for? We’re only gearing up for the long journey ahead of us. There’s no end to this. A vast majority of us will most likely attend some sort of graduate school and have to fight past another hoard of appli-cants. And then there’s the competition of actu-

ally finding a job after all the years of education. That isn’t the end of it either, though. There’s always room to be big-ger and better. Someone will be sure to set the bar higher. We must out-maneuver, outdo, and outsmart our peers and colleagues so that we can take another step on the ladder to success.

For now, the mag-nitude of your success may be based on getting into certain colleges; however, the journey of finding success never re-ally stops. We only work now to work even harder later. It’s arguable that taking a break now will only impact our future negatively, but giving yourself a chance to re-lax is as important as eat-ing your vegetables. Eat-ing healthily isn’t a vice, so why should giving yourself a break be? It may be time to step back and think about what it is that you are striving for. Are you looking for happiness? More mon-ey than you can count? Whatever it is, by all means keep your nose to the grindstone, but realize that being tire-somely busy is not your preordained fate. It’s something you’ve cho-sen, and there are plenty of average, idler people

pact on the school and, consequently, the scientific world.

Dr. McLaren (Image: The Beacon-News)

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out there who’ll make it even bigger than you will.

Fierce dodge-ball tournaments, delicious snacks, and episodes of a popular TV series – three awesome things Stu-dent Council (StudCo) hosted on Tuesday nights! Two weeks ago, StudCo held the Senior-Sopho-more Lock-In, of-fering an open gym, concession snacks, and showings of The Big Bang The-ory as well as How I Met Your Mother. If you missed out that night, don’t worry; StudCo has several future activities for the student body!

StudCo is planning a Last Lecture soon. For soph-omores, Last Lecture is an event where students nominate a teacher to give a talk as if it were his or her last before re-tirement. Last year, Mr. Gentzler and later Dr. Don delivered a Last Lecture, discussing their lives, sharing anecdotes, and passing on life tips to students. Last Lec-tures are a great way for students to learn about life through the perspec-tive of an experienced IMSA teacher!

Along with future Last Lectures, Student Council has several oth-

er events planned for fist semester such as a Sodexo Appreciation Week and an On-cam-pus SIR Shadow Pro-gram, the latter to allow

sophomores to get a feel for the IMSA’s Student Inquiry and Research program (SIR). Look out for more news on future StudCo-hosted events; there’s much more to come! Like always, Stud-Co works for you!

Our StudCo Presi-dent is Kevin Zhang. He is followed by Nathan Suek as Vice President, Ashley Radee as Sec-retary, Scott Zelman as Treasurer, Ian Wilkin-son as Senior at Large, Anthony Marquez as Junior at Large, Hannah Swerbenski and Sue Kim as Co-Chairs for

Academic Committee, Taylor Imburgia and Emmy Mladenova as Co-Chairs for Communica-tions Committee, Kevin Chong and Bindi Patel

as Co-Chairs for Res-idential Life Com-mittee, and Sunny Shah and Kendell Byrd as Co-Chairs for Reform Commit-tee. The newest ad-ditions to cabinet are the Sophomores-at Large, Vinesh Kan-nan and Ryan Yang. Together as a team, they fulfill various re-sponsibilities, one of which is hosting ac-tivities and events for IMSA students.

Read “Class of 2015’s New Sopho-more-At-Large’s” for more information on the newest members of Student Council, Ryan Yang and Vinesh Kan-nan.

Missed StudCo’s last lock-in? Take a look at “Student Coun-cil: Sophomore-Se-nior-Lock-In and So-dexo Updates!”

StudCo Brings You Campus Events!Written by Corey Hornbeck, IMSA News Staff Writer

“Go Green”: A Red Plot?

Written by Tejas Joshi,Opinions Staff Writer

Warning! You are constantly being inun-dated with environmen-talist propaganda! As-suming, of course (in the words of Dr. Victory), that you are a semi-ratio-nal being, you deserve to scrutinize these claims that incessantly en-croach upon your mind. For this purpose, as ab-surd as the proposition might be, we will assume that global warming, acid rain, Greenland, and the like are not elab-orate hoaxes. Instead, I will demonstrate the inherent hypocrisies and failures of the “Go Green” creed.

Environmentalism directly opposes Amer-ican values and free-doms. The “Go Green” movement creates divi-sions between species in a clear contrast to our democratic system. Those environmental proselytizers discrim-inate between species with terms such as “en-dangered” or “extant”. They are clearly imply-ing that the lives of some creatures are worth more than others. The “Go Green” movement also treats all people as equal, with an equal re-

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sponsibility for the en-vironment, regardless of how hard they work. It also promotes gov-ernment control of the environment under the

guise of national parks and the like. Together, these factors obviously indicate that we are suf-fering from a hold-over from Communist splin-ter cells during the Cold War.

Environmentalism is harmful to all levels of society. The poor can-not afford many “green” technologies such as electric cars or solar panels. The continued development of green products only exacer-bates class differences and builds a dangerous hatred in the minds of the proletariat less for-tunate. The rich also suffer under the restric-tive green ideals. Those who actively espouse environmental issues are put under a great strain of time and resources. For example, online me-dia guru Matt Drudge estimated that “Gore used 439,500 pounds of fuel, or 65,600 gallons, at a cost of more than $131,000 on a 16,000-mile

daytrip, just to deliver a warning. Now that’s commitment.” Even the less committed members of the upper-class suffer from the “Go Green”

movement. Addition-ally, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warns that the Cape Wind project to install 144,000 wind turbines off the coast of Nantuck-et will block the Kenne-dy family’s view of sever-al of their islands.

So, what can you do to help solve this prob-lem? Join me in a protest against these wasteful and denigrating “Go Green” groups in Wash-ington D.C.! However, don’t write a message with wasteful electricity on your computers or with store-bought pa-pers which promote deforestation. Be sure to make a sign with a homemade organic ink of chlorophyll and saf-fron shavings and write a letter on homegrown papyrus. Then, hitch-hike your way to D.C. (with only hybrid cars) and meet me in front of the Capitol building. Together we can make a difference!

“Environmental-ism is harmful to all levels of society.”

Film Review: LooperWritten by Ciara Wardlow, Entertainment Section Editor

Director: Rian John-son

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt

Rating: R

Summary: The year is 2042, and the Unit-ed States economy has collapsed, and the in-vention of time travel is 30 years away. Joe (Gor-don-Levitt), 25, works for a Mafia-like organization unofficially in control of Kansas City, run by a charismatic man known as Abe as a Looper, a specialized assassin who kills targets sent back from the future. When Joe’s new target ends up being his future self (Willis), it sends him on a convoluted cat-and-mouse chase which tan-gles his past and future into the lives of a single mother (Blunt) and her young son.

Makeup does won-ders in the new film Looper

Review: “Do some-thing new,” crime boss and time-traveler Abe complains, with a roll of his eyes.

Now, while he is talking about Joe’s choice in neckwear, the

director, Rian Johnson, is referring to some-thing very different: modern Hollywood. Be-cause, while adaptations of preexisting sources have always have always been a staple in film, never before has orig-inality seemed so en-dangered—something which gives Looper a de-cided edge. By steering away from typical issues of time-travel with the premise of an assassin whose target is his future self, Johnson examines psychological and phil-osophical issues far out-side the sci-fi standard, such as fate, free will, friendship, and morality.

The world of Loop-er manages to be both familiar and unsettling, with futuristic elements (time travel, flying mo-torbikes, etc.) scattered amongst an aged, weary landscape reminiscent of what one would would see on the evening news, dialed up to eleven. The streets are riddled with holes, lined with over-flowing garbage bins. The sidewalks and al-leyways are overflowing with the homeless, living out of beat-up cars and make-shift tarp abodes. Everything is dinged and dirty, crying out for a good wash. It’s not

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post-apocalyptic, but Johnson’s vision of the future is hardly worth looking forward to.

Despite the depth

and intricacies of the world he creates, John-son avoids falling in the trap all too many prom-ising sci-fi films succumb to and keeps the set-ting in the background, where it belongs, instead of weighing down the

story with unnecessary explanations. At the same time, Looper still provides enough of a basis to keep from be-

coming frustratingly am-biguous--something the sci-fi movies also suscep-tible to (see: The Road). The film is not, however, flawless by any means.

The fact that Loop-er is Johnson’s first for-ay into the genre proves

a double-edged sword. His fresh perspective is the film’s greatest strength, but his lack of experience in the genre is also responsible for its greatest weakness—a last-minute plot twist which pushes Looper into the unsettling grey zone between sci-fi and fantasy. Although this flaw does not destroy the merit of the film, it turns what could have been a fantastic, cathartic con-clusion into a ending that is merely “good”.

Nonetheless, with superb performances by both Willis and Gor-don-Levitt and a strong, unique premise, Loop-er has certainly secured a spot on the Modern Sci-Fi wall of fame as the best original release

since 2010’s Inception.

Verdict: 8.5/10

Oscar Buzz: If a guy won Best Make-up and Hairstyling last year for making Meryl Streep look like Marga-ret Thatcher, I’m going to go out on a limb and say the team responsible for making Joseph Gor-don-Levitt a believable young Bruce Willis stand a good chance. That said, the competition this year will be pretty stiff with Cloud Atlas (caucasian Halle Berry? Tribal lead-er Hugh Grant? What?) and bio-pic Lincoln also in the running. [Note: Lincoln and Cloud At-las will both be reviewed in the ACRONYM at a later date.]

IMSA Golf: A Look BackWritten by Anthony Marquez, Sports Section Editor & Assistant Editor-in-Chief

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for people to inadvertently forget about practicing and striving to improve during a vacation. Be-cause of this, those who forget may be unpre-pared and at a disadvan-tage when returning to their competitive rou-tine. This year’s IMSA golf team knows all too well about the initial set-backs that are caused by not practicing over a va-cation. When prompted,

Luke Zhan, a junior on the team, emphasized the fact that the team started off very roughly due to a lack of sufficient prepa-ration before the early matches. Fortunately, those issues proved to be somewhat tempo-rary and, ultimately, the team’s success was not too sorely inhibited. In fact, the team ended up going undefeated in con-ference play and eventu-ally placing third in the conference tournament.

As a result, the Titans are going to enjoy a de-licious banquet courtesy of Sodexo.

In order to progress as the season went on, many members of the team credit their consis-tent utilization of friend-ly competition. While practicing may typically not be enjoyable, the Ti-tans managed to spark up the environment by per-petually igniting a com-petitive fire in one an-other and motivating the

team to work, improve, and compete at a suffi-cient level. Additional-ly, the upperclassmen managed to forge a sense of camaraderie within the team while provid-ing a guiding presence for the sophomores on the team. Often times, members of the team would gather and spend time with each other be-fore and after matches. By being so comfortable with one another, con-structive criticism was

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not seen as threatening, but rather as a truly ben-eficial medium for iden-tifying issues.

Despite the positive outcomes from the sea-son, there were notable areas that require atten-tion and improvement before the next season. Specifically, as a whole, the Titans were mildly inconsistent in the con-text of one match to an-other and, in some cases, one swing to another. Furthermore, while it is

expected that motiva-tion would deteriorate as time goes on, the Titans must sustain an accept-able level of attendance at practice throughout all portions of the sea-son.

In totality, the past season provided an over-all helpful experience, whether it be by improv-ing as the season went on or deeming other areas necessary for im-provement.

Techniques for Sleeping in Class

Written by Mack Lee, DIY & Guides Section EditorAt IMSA, sleep

deprivation will cause the need to sleep in class. This guide pro-vides some tips on how you can sneak a few ex-tra minutes of sleep in class. Don’t waste your time drifting to sleep and closing your eyes every half-second. If you need to sleep, sleep.Disclaimer: If you get caught, Acronym staff is not responsible for your consequences. This arti-cle is for entertainment purposes only. Use at your own discretion/risk. It could be detri-mental to your grade.

Difficulty Levels from 1-4 (From least difficult to most difficult)-Difficulty is measured

by the chance of success-ful executionRisk = Low, Medium, High-Risk is measured by the chance of being caughtNote: For all techniques, to avoid being compro-mised, do not sleeptalk, sleepwalk, or snore. In addition, make sure your neighbor won’t tell on you!

Technique 1 (One-hand-ed Visor)Materials: NoneDifficulty Level: 4Risk: Medium1.) Pick a spot in the class-room in which the teach-er does not move behind you or next to you (the edges work well)2.) Place your hand on your forehead as if you

were frustrated (with your elbow on the table), and tilt it to an angle so that you cannot see the teacher’s eyes.3.) If you can’t see them, they can’t see youMake sure you cannot see their eyes. To do this, test each eye by closing the other.4.) Make sure you have good head supportWhen sleeping, your head will sometimes slip and move around while you sleep. Avoid this by bracing your elbow stur-dily.5.) Sleep tight!

Technique 2 (Two-hand-ed Visor)Materials: Handout and/or notebook, pencilDifficulty Level: 3Risk: Low1.) Repeat step 1 from technique 12.) Place your elbows on the table, interlock your hands, and place them on your forehead with your thumbs on your temples. You’re es-sentially making a visor with both your hands. Make sure you cannot see the teachers’ eyes. Look down at your paper3.) Make sure your el-bows will not slip off the table and use step 4 from Technique 14.) Move your hands to-wards the back of your head while maintaining the lack of eye contact so it does not look obvious.5.) Dream away!

Technique 3 (The Wall)Materials: NoneDifficulty Level: 3Risk: Medium1.) Sit somewhere in the classroom where the teacher only sees you from one side2.) Take one hand and place it vertically on your cheek (the side that the teacher usually sees you from). Move it for-ward until you cannot see the teachers’ eyes. If needed, place the second hand on the other side for a different effect. You are shielding your eyes from the side, similar to the visor in Techniques 1 and 2.3.) Test each eye by clos-ing one and seeing if you can see the teachers’ eyes

Technique 4 (Chillin’)Materials: Dark Sun-glassesDifficulty Level: 1Risk: LowDepending on the teach-er, make sure this teach-er will allow you to wear sunglasses in-class.1.) Sit up straight and look like you are looking at the teacher.

Technique 5 (Laptop Freak)Materials: LaptopDifficulty Level: 2Risk: High1.) Place your laptop open in front of you2.) Make sure the teacher will not see you as he/she walks around the class-

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room3.) Place your chin onto the touchpad or under the keyboard4.) Don’t let your head slip and catch up on sleep!

Technique 6 (Brave Soul)Materials: NoneDifficulty Level: <1Risk: Beyond Imagina-

tion1.) Think about your per-fect world and person-al fantasies and forget about school and sleep in whatever position you choose2.) Don’t get expelled

Technique 7 (Medusa)Materials: NoneDifficulty Level: 2Risk: Medium1.) Pick a spot in the class-room that faces away from the teacher2.) Make sure the teacher will not make a round or walk in front/to the side of you

3.) It is crucial that you have a sturdy head so that it will not tilt side to side/up and down4.) Sleep away!

Technique 8 (Pencil Drop)Materials: PencilDifficulty Level: 3Risk: High1.) Place your pencil on the ground

2.) Act as if you cannot reach the pencil and sleep with your head on the desk facing away from the teacher and your arm hanging down-wards off the table3.) Do not sleep for too long…

Technique 9 (Near-sight-ed)Materials: Book/Hand-outDifficulty Level: 1Risk: Medium1.) As you read the book/handout, lower your head so that it is close to and parallel to the table;

however, make sure it does not come in con-tact with it or you will be compromised. If pos-sible, angle your head so that your chin is closer to your neck, shielding your eyes.2.) Move your eyes up to see if you can see the teachers’ eyes3.) -_-

Technique 10 (Peek-a….Boo?)Materials: NoneDifficulty: 1Risk: High1.) Place your hands over your eyes as if you don’t want someone to see you or take a picture of you2.) Zzzzzzz……Technique 11 (Note-tak-ing SIKE!)Materials: Notebook, PencilDifficulty: 3Risk: High1.) Place your head side-ways on the table facing away from the teacher2.) Have your notebook

Tired IMSA students: a typical scene. (Image: sites.imsa.edu/acronym)

NFL Power Rankings: Week 9

next to you with pencil in hand.3.) Pretend to write (try to write something so that you have a way out)4.) Don’t let your pencil drop and dream well!

Now you have been provided with an arse-nal of skills for you to catch up on sleep. Use this with caution and if

After so much fluctua-tion during the first part of this season, it truly is nice to get a sense of permanence and nor-malcy at the top and bottom. The middle is still chaotic as ever but that’s why we watch the games, right? Anyway,

you are caught, the con-sequences are severe. Please refer to the dis-claimer at the beginning of the article.

Written by Agnel Philip,Sports Staff Writer

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enjoy this week’s edi-tion of the Power Rank-ings! As always, Mason Dearborn wrote for the even ranked teams and I wrote for the odd ranked ones.

M: Mason’s RankA: Agnel’s Rank

1. Falcons (7-0) Last Week: 2 (M: 1, A: 1)That was just a domi-nating performance by all facets of their team. If they get to 10-0, per-fect season talk would be warranted for this team. They have all the pieces.

2. Texans (6-1) Last Week: 1 (M: 2, A: 2)Why did I decide to have the Falcons move to number 1 this week? I was worried about the issues of Matt Ryan starting slow and having games with bad teams be close, but they came out this week against Philly and got up big early and had a great running day.

3. Giants (6-2) Last Week: 3 (M: 3, A: 3)They almost, and in my opinion should have, lost a game in which they went up by 23 points. Eli did not look elite at all in this game and despite the turnovers they created, the defense got carved up by Tony Romo.

4. Bears (6-1) Last Week: 4 (M: 4, A: 5)I really want the Bears

to be second here. They really can be there. Not all opponents will be as forgiving of early-game mistakes as the Panthers and the Bears need to generate an offense that

confidently drives the field.5. 49ers (6-2) Last Week: 5 (M: 5, A: 4)Alex Smith looks more like a legitimate fran-chise quarterback every week. The fact is that they are going to need him to become one in or-der for them to seriously consider themselves Su-per Bowl contenders.

6. Packers (5-3) Last Week: 6 (M: 6, A: 6)The Packers have beaten the Bears and the Tex-ans for their only losses. They are without Nelson

and Jennings, but they get it done and nobody can count them out.

7. Ravens (5-2) Last Week: 7 (M: 7, A: 9)Bye week last week. They

needed that bye week to figure out where they were going to go without Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb.

8. Patriots (5-3) Last Week: 10 (M: 8, A: 8 )They scored on their first five possessions. How funny is it that the New ENGLAND PATRIOTS played in London, En-gland?

9. Steelers (4-3) Last Week: 12 (M: 11, A: 7)They effectively con-tained RGIII mania and showed the Redskins

what it will take for them to become a good team.10. Broncos (4-3) Last Week: 11 (M: 9, A: 10)Peyton Manning is dis-pelling all doubts and Colts fans are cringing at

giving him away.11. Seahawks (4-4) Last Week: 8 (M: 10, A: 11)You have to feel bad for the Seahawks because the Lions were due for a win over a decent team and they just happened to be the next decent team on the schedule.

12. Vikings (5-3) Last Week: 9 (M: 13, A: 12)Everyone was waiting for the Vikings to show that their season so far has been a fluke. Real-ly, I don’t think this loss means as much as others may say. They are a run-

Oct 28, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant (88) makes a catch in the end zone in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants at Cowboys Stadium. Bryant was ruled out of

bounds on the play. (Image: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE)

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ning team that just got countered by a strong run defense and a great game by Doug Martin.

13. Dolphins (4-3) Last Week: 17 (M: 14, A: 13)The Dolphins are gain-ing momentum and could challenge for a wild card spot if they keep up these perfor-mances. The second half of their schedule in-cludes two games against the Patriots, though…

14. Buccaneers (3-4) Last Week: 21 (M: 12, A: 17)After an interesting game against the Saints, the Buccaneers again pleasantly surprised with a win over the Vi-kings. Also, Doug Mar-tin is being compared to Ray Rice, which is defi-nitely a good sign.

15. Cowboys (3-4) Last Week: 16 (M: 15, A: 18)It was a valiant effort but it was too little, too late. Tony Romo needs to limit the turnovers oth-erwise he will lose what-ever support he has left.

16. Eagles (3-4) Last Week: 13 (M: 20, A: 14)If the team has to an-nounce who the starting quarterback is, there is a problem. Do not let the Saints defense this week make them look too good.

17. Cardinals (4-4) Last Week: 14 (M: 19, A: 15)

In a division that prides itself on having good ground games, this team glaringly lacks one. Also, they need to get Larry Fitzgerald involved more otherwise they could le-gitimately end up 4-12 after a 4-0 start.

18. Bengals (3-4) Last Week: 18 (M: 16, A: 22)This team still lost to the Browns before its bye week.

19. Lions (3-4) Last Week: 22 (M: 24, A: 16)As I said, they were due for one win against a decent team and they got it. Now they have to prove themselves against teams that actually have an offense, such as Green Bay in three weeks.

20. Saints (2-5) Last Week: 20 (M: 17, A: 24)The Saints have the worst defense of all time, but Drew Brees means high scoring, entertain-ing losses for the Saints.

21. Chargers (3-4) Last Week: 15 (M: 21, A: 20)Pathetic. That’s the only word that can describe their loss to the Browns. They have some serious issues to work through but not much time to work on them. If they lose to the Chiefs this weekend, their season is officially in jeopardy.

22. Colts (4-3) Last Week: 25 (M: 23, A: 19)

The Indianapolis Colts beat the IMSA Titans! Yes, we played the Colts. Our football team is no longer undefeated.

23. Redskins (3-5) Last Week: 19 (M: 18, A: 25)Did I not say they need-ed a defense? They let Pittsburgh run all over them which is saying something because the Steelers run game hasn’t been able to run over anything thus far. Com-bine that with a sub-par RGIII and you have a recipe for disaster if you are a Redskins’ fan.24. Bills (3-4) Last Week: 27 (M: 25, A: 23)The team in New York is pretty good. The Gi-ants. Not the Jets. The Bills need to work on that defense thing that stops teams from us-ing them as a floor mat and Hall of Fame career stat-booster.

25. Jets (3-5) Last Week: 23 (M: 29, A: 21)As good as they looked at times two weeks ago against the Patriots, they are not a good football team and they know it. However, it may not be all bad. I hear they have a decent backup quar-terback who only knows how to win.

26. Rams (3-5) Last Week: 24 (M: 22, A: 28)Okay, the Patriots are good. The hard times will pass, Rams fans.

27. Titans (3-5) Last Week: 26 (M: 26, A: 26)Good news? Chris John-son appears to be back. Bad news? They are still a pretty bad team.

28. Raiders (3-4) Last Week: 28 (M: 28, A: 27)They might be awful, but they won and stopped Jamaal Charles in the process.

29. Browns (2-6) Last Week: 30 (M: 27, A: 29)I was tempted not to move them up simply be-cause their win against the Chargers was so ugly but hey, somebody has to give this club some love.

30. Panthers (1-6) Last Week: 29 (M: 30, A: 30)The Bears gave the Pan-thers the game and the Panthers still failed to capitalize.

31. Chiefs (1-6) Last Week: 31 (M: 31, A: 32)Matt Cassel or Brady Quinn? Pretty soon the world will realize it does not matter because nei-ther one of them is going to have the job next year.

32. Jaguars (1-6) Last Week: 32 (M: 32, A: 31)They kept it close against the Packers! If Cassel wasn’t back then they could maybe pass the Chiefs. Actually, no, they couldn’t.

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South China Sea Island Dispute: What It Means for the US

Written by Ryan Chiu, World News Section EditorChina, Vietnam,

Malaysia, and the Phil-lipines are all divided by a common land claim to various chains of islands in the South China Sea, particularly the Para-cel and Spratly Islands. This clash of interests and mutual desire for the same land has re-cently caught the eye of international media, and threatens to impact the American economy.

Before exploring the role of the United States in this foreign cri-sis, it is important to un-derstand the context and origins of the issue. In 1968, various hydrocar-bon deposits, including petroleum, were discov-ered underwater around the Spratly and Paracel Islands. In fact, the Min-istry of Geological Re-sources and Mining of the People’s Republic of China estimated that the South China Sea may contain as much as 17.7 billion tons of crude oil, which is even more than Kuwait’s reserve of 13 billion tons. As soon as this discovery was made, sveral surrounding na-tions began staking their own claims to the water around the oil reserves (as shown in the map be-low).

All of these na-tions began formulating seemingly legitimate

excuses for their claims over these small island chains. The People’s Republic of China still claims that the Spratly and Paracel Islands are rightfully theirs because the Chinese military oc-cupied them following the defeat of Japan in World War II. For nearly three decades, Chinese authority over the lands remained undisputed. It was only when crude oil and petroleum were dis-covered, that Vietnam and the Philippines be-gan to voice their com-

plaints.Officials in the Phil-

ippines, namely former

president Ferdinand Marcos, believe that given that the Filipino people were the first in history to explore and chart the Spratly Islands, the land should be theirs for the taking. Both the Filipino and Vietnamese governments have stated their belief that it is un-acceptable and imperial-istic for China to claim nearly three-fourths of the South China Sea, especially when some of its islands are within 50 kilometers of other na-tions, such as the Philip-

pines and Malaysia.But, what does

this whole island deba-cle mean for American politics? Recently, Pres-ident Obama voiced his opinion in the Demo-cratic National Conven-tion that “China should be one of our closest friends.” However, the massive amount of American military sup-port for Vietnamese and Filipino governments might prove otherwise, and may be averse to any Chinese-American dip-lomatic relations.

Moreover, the Unit-ed Nations may choose to take their respective sides on this issue, and are contemplating the possibility of sanction-ing China for its ac-tions. Embargoes may be placed by the two super-powers on one another, which would severely limit the potential for commerce in the Pacific. Even though the South China Sea may seem quite distant in a geo-graphic sense, the affairs and disputes of Asian nations will continue to have a profound impact on the economy and politics of the United States.

China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Phillipines, and even Brunei claim the oil-rich Spratly Islands are their own. (Image: http://3.bp.blogspot.com)

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New IMSA Record: Seven Fire Alarms

in One NightWritten by Steph Wang, IMSA News Section Editor

On October 4th, seven fire alarms sound-ed from five residential halls in one night. Start-ing around 10:30 PM, IMSA students of 1503, 04, 05, 06, and 07 were sent plodding, shivering, and, for those unfortu-nate ones, dripping wet clad only in towels into the brisk fall weather.

Three of the sev-en alarms were 05, 06, and 07’s mandatory fire drills. 1506 and 07 passed theirs successfully. 05 is looking into repeating

its nighttime routine as a few juniors admit that they had been “a little

rowdy.”Although some

were planned, four alarms were caused by petty mindlessness of the halls’ residents. While the IMSA cam-pus recorded an impres-sive number of evacua-tions in one night, this is not the first time that the causes for the alarms set off could been easily avoided. Earlier this year, incidents such as forget-ting to add water to Easy Mac and leaving food in ovens for too long have

set off residential halls’ sensitive fire alarms.

The residents of

1507 experienced three fire alarms. Though they performed satisfactorily for the fire drill, an Easy Mac heated without wa-ter resulted in a second evacuation around mid-night. 07 junior Andrew

Kuznetsov notes that the irony of it all came from the fact that the escape was caused by “getting ready for an all-nighter by making food.” A third alarm sounded at 3AM that night. Whether in-tentional or accidental, the cause is currently unknown and, accord-ing to students living in 07, if found, will most likely remain private.

1504’s residents were seen running toward Yare Yard after an RC accidentally pulled a fire alarm. As a neighboring hall to 1504, several 03 res-idents recount that they had just been poking fun at the boys’ demise when their hall’s alarm also be-

gan to sound. With the sudden announcement to exit the hall, the joke was on 1503. It was dis-covered that a scalding shower left running too long triggered the alarm.

Moral of the story:

1. Do not leave any hot running showers un-attended.

2. Do not leave any food unattended in ov-ens.

3. Always remem-ber to add water to Easy Mac before heating (read food labels).

4. Abstain from un-necessarily touching fire alarms as tempting as it may seem.

For more informa-tion, students’ perspec-tive on the night’s events may be found on Face-book through their sta-tuses and, in some cases, uploaded images.

While no students were harmed, this Easy Mac took a heavy blow. (Image: Jorge Acosta)

“Although some were planned, four alarms were caused by petty mindlessness of the halls’ residents.”

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Film Review: FrankenweenieWritten by Ciara Wardlow, Entertainment Section Editor

Director: Tim Bur-ton

Starring: Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Charlie Tahan, Winona Ryder, and Martin Lan-dau

Rating: PG

Summary: After Victor Frankenstein’s dog, Sparky, is hit by a car, Victor brings Sparky back to life with the pow-er of electricity. Sparky’s reanimation “sparks” a variety of heated re-actions in Victor’s sub-urban, science-phobic hometown of New Hol-land, ranging from joy to jealousy to total ter-ror. In addition to Vic-tor and his loyal canine, the film features Victor’s varied and arguably in-

sane classmates, equally extreme teachers, mel-

ancholy neighbor, and surprisingly normal par-ents.

Some History: Fran-kenweenie isn’t really a new film. Actually, it’s almost thirty years old. Early in his career, Bur-ton made Frankenwee-nie as a 29-minute short to accompany the 1984 theatrical re-release of Pinocchio. It never made the silver screen, how-ever, as Disney claimed that Burton had wasted company resources on a product “too scary” for children, fired him, and shelved the project.

Although Burton claims the year after be-ing fired from Disney

was one of the worst in his life, it worked out in

the end. Burton is now one of the most well-known living filmmak-ers, with several film staples to his name, in-cluding Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and The Night-mare Before Christmas (1994), as well as Alice In Wonderland (2009), the only Burton film to break the billion dollar mark in the box office.

Review: Franken-

weenie marks a return to what makes Burton such a beloved filmmak-er: his original charac-ters, in their first film appearance since 2005’s Corpse Bride. And while it stands on its own, Bur-

ton fans will love the numerous references to

Burton filmography, in-cluding Mars Attacks! (a poster in Victor’s room), Batman (a bat-shaped kite), Corpse Bride (The mayor is a Finis Ever-glott look-alike), and even Burton’s book of poems, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories (Staring Girl comes to life as a creepy classmate).

Verdict: 8/10

Oscar Buzz: Fran-kenweenie is a definite frontrunner for Best An-imated Film.

Burton makes some adjustments on the set of Frankenweenie.

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Image: http://larryfire.files.wordpress.com

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A Letter from the Editors-in-ChiefAs the 2012-2013 school

year, and consequently, our senior year approaches, we are thrilled to be standing at the helm of the Acronym and look to again revolutionize our school’s humble newspaper. Through improving the quality of our content, expanding into new types of media, and increas-ing the ease with which you can access the Acronym, our efforts revolve around bringing you a more personalized, relevant, and interactive news source.

Many of you have seen Ac-ronym blossom over your years at IMSA, and for those of you who are new writers, we hope that you will join us as our paper continuously grows. Of course, over the course of this past year, we have surpassed new milestones and reached higher expectations than ever before. With Andrew Ta and Lucy Fili-pac, the Editors-in-Chief for the 2011-2012 school year, Acronym underwent a tremendous make-over. From a sleek new website to more structured writerforce, these internal changes have res-onated with our readers as evi-denced by record numbers of unique visitors to the website and higher student body and faculty involvement.

Just this past year, IMSA celebrated its 25th anniversa-ry since the day it opened its doors. Among all the festivi-ties and celebrations, we were able to sneak a glimpse of life before us. In fact, the Yearbook staff published archived pho-

tos of classes and baby IMSA. For Acronym, we have been able to compile articles and car-toons published exactly one de-cade ago. As our tribute to the change IMSA has experienced, these documents are now acces-sible on our archived webpage.

This isn’t to say our job is finished, though. In addition to reaching out to new readers like many of you and maintaining interest for returning readers, we also want to take Acronym to the next level. We’ve decided that with a new year, we want to experiment with new themes and a new look for Acronym, create new sections that we be-lieve to be more relevant to the IMSA population, and intro-duce new faces that will now serve you as the staff of the 2012-2013 Acronym.

However, as IMSA’s official student newspaper, we cannot limit our feedback to that from our staff writers and section ed-itors, but rather must reach out and listen to the entire com-munity. We strive to make the Acronym not just our paper, but your paper as well, and with your input coupled with our en-thusiasm, we are confident that we can raise the Acronym to new heights. We envision a day when IMSA students go to the Acronym as their chief source of news, when administration views articles as the students’ voice, and when those outside of the IMSA campus can get a glimpse into life at our unique school. The Acronym has the

Jennifer Ren & Summer Wu

Thanks to the Editors!Sean YamakawaCiara Wardlow

Mack LeeAndrew Kuznetsov

Hania SamborStephanie Wang

Ryan Chiu

Cherish KimKaylee Karumanchi

Anthony MarquezAtene Poskute

Ms. Cain

potential to go beyond inform-ing and entertaining, to per-suading and truly becoming an outlet for change. Accordingly, our ultimate goal as co-Editors-In-Chief is to catalyze this reac-tion.

To infinity and beyond,Jen and Summer

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