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Krispy Kreme donuts, Mar-ket O brownies and cheese balls inZiploc bags: these are some of theproducts sold in bake sales held byclubs and the HSSC food cart. Bakesales are the typical get-rich-quickmethod of fundraising for money atSIS; recently, more clubs have beencollaborating to organize eventslarger than the typical weekly bakesale. Overall, such teamwork andcollaboration between large num-bers of students can bring positivechanges to both the student bodyand the clubs themselves by allow-

ing more fundraising opportunitiesand events.Inter-club cooperation provides

solutions to a lot of the problemsthat accompany individual clubsinitiatives, such as nancial feasi-bility and time availability. Smallerclubs have fewer resources and havea harder time communicating withthe administration. HSSC, a clubunhindered by these problems, isable to host large-scale events suchas Snowball and Prom because itis backed by year-round sales thatconcentrate simply on generatingenough prot to put the events in

place. Since smaller clubs lack theresources to produce such events, itis essential for them to collaboratetogether to reach the same result.

Te larger scale of such collab-

orative efforts also generates great-er prot and encourages studentparticipation for these clubs. Forexample, last years rst HalloweenCarnival, hosted by middle andhigh school Global Issues Network(GIN), Community Service Club(CSC) and National Arts HonorSociety (NAHS) led to a large turn-out of elementary to high schoolstudents. A single club alone couldnot have earned such a high protand level of student participation.Granted, problems, such as mis-communication and disorganizationmay arise when many people work

together. However, these problemscan be easily managed through a re-sponsible and organized leadershipteam, and the cons are outweighedby the benets. By making sure that

there are more resources availablefor such fundraising opportunities,inter-club cooperation shifs the fo-cus to projects students are actuallyinterested in and passionate about.

Cooperation and collaborationbetween clubs provides an oppor-tunity for them to start projects thatare both larger and more unique.Te changes brought about by in-ter-club cooperation will create im-proved events and better fundrais-ing opportunities that lead to a moreactive community, both in the per-spective of the student body and theparticipating club members.

2 OCTOBER 2014VIEWPOINTEditorial

Skewed perception of grades shapes academic environment

By Ariel Lee

Inter-club collaboration generates engagement,fuels greater productivity for student initiatives

SIS requires students to take atleast two years of PE regardless ofathletic ability. As both Physical Ed-ucation 9 and Life Sports are gradu-ate requirements, it is clear that theschool takes these courses serious-ly. Recently, however, students whotake Life Sports have been com-plaining that denite standards inevaluating tness skills are not fairbecause athletic abilities vary amongall students. Contrary to studentopinion, however, the standards arereasonable and benecial.

In the past, students grades

were only evaluated by how muchthey improved throughout the unit.However, according to Tamara Ata-naskovic, PE teacher, students pur-posely underperformed to feignimprovement. If students do not trytheir best, they defeat the purposeof the course, which aims to teachthe importance of an active life-style. Terefore, to ensure that stu-dents learn from PE courses as theywould from academic courses, thedepartments decision to implementa standardized rubric for tness isreasonable.

Students concerns are under-

standable because PE is required forall students despite varying athletic

abilities. However, according to thePE department, the new tness ru-bric is not unreasonable because it isbased on standards for the average11-year-old. For instance, while girlshave to do more than 20 push-ups inorder to achieve full credit, they canstill earn 95 percent by completingonly two. Although the standardsfor receiving full marks may be chal-lenging for some, the rubric ensuresthat those students do not get ex-tremely low grades as most gradesfrom the rubric start above 90 per-cent.

Te change in the rubric is a di-rect result of students unwillingness

to participate in the different phys-ical activities during tness class-es. If they had diligently engagedin tness tests from the beginning,teachers would have adhered to paststandards. However, because stu-dents showed a lack of motivationduring tness units, teachers had nochoice but to create new standardsthat would motivate more partic-ipants and help them in the longrun. Terefore, students should notsolely condemn the new system withbias, but rather embrace it becausethe new rubric will benet both theteachers and the students.

New PE rubric enforces reasonable

fitness standards for studentsBy Sang Ho Lee

Te Tiger Timesexercises the right to report on and ed-itorialize all topics, events or issues, including those un-popular or controversial, insofar as they affect or interestthe school, community, nation and world. We refrainfrom publishing material that advertises illegal productsor services, is obscene, libelous or invades privacy. Werefrain from publishing material that creates a clear andpresent danger or the immediate material and substan-tial physical disruption of the school.

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Protesters frantically usingumbrellas to fend off pepper sprayattacks and police using batons tostrike out at protestersthese arethe images that have been splatter-ing newspaper pages recently. InHong Kong, thousands of citizenshave taken to the streets, protestingthe Chinese governments decisionto block open nominations to their2017 city leadership poll. Protestersmust utilize diplomacy and peacefulprotesting to negotiate with the gov-ernment, and not resort to violencein their demands.

Although they historically havea precarious relationship, Hong

Kong and China have coexisted inrelative stability since 1997 underthe constitutional motto one coun-try, two systemsindicating HongKongs limited democracy and Chi-nas communist government. How-ever, many view Beijings stance onthe 2017 elections as an infringe-ment upon this agreement.

Despite the current violence,

ending protests in Hong Kong wouldnot only be unlikely, but also coun-terproductive. Due to the clashingideologies of capitalist democracy

and communism, peaceful protest-ing remains the most effective wayfor Hong Kong citizens to voicetheir discontent. In 2003, when acontroversial security law was pro-posed, Hong Kong residents public-ly dissented and dropped it from thelegislative agenda. Likewise, protestsremain an effective method for citi-zens to promote their agenda.

However, protesters should notresort to violence, as is the statusquo. Violence only heightens ten-sions, hindering efforts to reach aconsensus. Tough scheduled diplo-matic talks have potential, a reduc-tion of violence would help create

a stable environment for genuinelyeffective talks to be held.Tus, the national government

and the Hong Kong city govern-ment must resolve issues regardingbalance of power through negoti-ation. Hong Kong citizens shouldpush their agenda through demon-strationsnot violently, but usingpeaceful and collected protests.

By Jungho Daniel Choi

Peaceful protests necessaryin China-Hong Kong dispute

Nearly 50 percent of studentsin each grade level received anHonor Roll-Award of Excellence

last year. The average grade pointaverage of the current senior classis 93.62, which is less than a pointlower than an excellent gradeequivalent to an A in previousyears. Although one may say thesenumbers suggest grade inflation,the main concern among studentsis not that average grades are toohigh, but that their grades are com-pressed in a narrow range. Thisseems to be a problem because in-tuitively, it would be more difficultto accurately rank students whentheir grades only differ slightly.

Though students concernsare valid, it is important to notethat minor differences in grades

will not impact them significantly.Considering the inevitably sub-jective nature of grading and thevarying standards among classesat SIS, the school cannot provide acompletely accurate list of studentsbased on their achievement. Whilestudents may find this fact upset-ting, what they often fail to realize

is that grades do not exist just forthe purpose of ranking.

In reality, colleges receive areport of students grades as a per-centile ranking in the class anda school report so that studentsare evaluated in the context of theschool. Furthermore, grades arenot the single most important as-pect that colleges evaluate prospec-tive students on. Cumulative GPAis only one of the multiple parts ofan application, which also includesteacher recommendations, studentessays, activities and standardizedtest scores. In other words, GPAdoes matter in the admissionsprocess, but it is not everything.Besides, the artificial reduction ofgrades would not impact the waystudents are presented to colleges

because it would bring all studentsgrades down, without significantlyaltering class rankings.

Nevertheless, the grading sys-tem has noticeable effects on stu-dents perception of grades at SIS.In the past, the majority of studentsreceived either general or highhonor roll and students who qual-

ified for the Honor Roll-Award ofExcellence barely placed above halfof the class, crowded within lessthan a five percent range of scores.This system was eliminated be-cause it simultaneously decreasedthe perceived value of such honorsand increased the perceived signif-icance of each point in class grades.

Ultimately, the distribution ofgrades at SIS is a reflection of thecompetitive academic environmentat the school. With the rise of hag-wons, tutors and consulting firms,the competitive nature of the schoolis unlikely to change. However,a better understanding of gradescan mitigate unwarranted appre-hension and complaints regardinggrade inflation. It is important thatstudents realize that subjectivity in

grading is inevitable, and that rank-ings are not everything.

Let yourself be heard. If youhave any responses to articlespublished in the Tiger Times

or original contributions,please send them to tiger-

times@gmail.com.

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NEWS BRIEFS

KASA attends first shelter

trip of school year

By Cody Kim

4 OCTOBER 2014NEWS

The Dance Club performedat the Association of Internation-al Schools in Asia Tournament inTiger Gym 1 on Oct. 17. The clubdanced to Im Him by Winnerand Falling in Love by 2NE1,which were choreographed byHeejae Jo (12), Dance Club cap-tain. In preparation for the event,the club practiced during activi-ty period and after school every

Wednesday for a month.It was a great honor to dance

for AISA and cheer for our varsi-ty volleyball team, said Elle Kim(10), Dance Club member. Wewere excited for this performanceand I thought it went smoothly.

Dance Club livens up

half-time breaks

Photo by Kelly Kim

Executing their choreography,

the Dance Club excited the au-

dience at the AISA tournament.

The Korea Animal ServiceAssociation (KASA) organized itsfirst volunteer trip to a new shelterin Anseong on Oct. 25. The clubhad originally visited a differentshelter in Daejeon but switched toAnseong after it lost connectionswith the previous shelters admin-

istrators. The club will continueto visit the shelter every other Sat-urday and help by cleaning andspending time with the animals.

If our experience at Daejeonwas a baby step, then this next stepwould be at a much higher level,said Amy Ryu (12), KASA co-pres-ident. Because this shelter hasmany more animals and is betterestablished, our members will beable to have a more intimate expe-rience with the animals and be ableto better understand what true vol-unteer activity is.

Last year, the HSSC submitteda proposal to open up the patio onthe third floor of the high schoolbuilding to students during officehours and activity period. Thecouncil has recently been workingto put this proposal to action.

We want to open up the pa-tio because we want to provide aspace where students can go to eatand relax during office hours, saidYoon Lee (11), junior class presi-dent. We plan on renovating thepatio so that it looks more like acaf by adding chairs and tables.This will allow students to enjoyfood from Cartnivore while also

enjoying the fresh air.Although the plan may not

be accepted by the administration,it is a long-term project that theHSSC hopes to achieve by the endof this year. The patio may open bythis upcoming spring.

HSSC plans to open

patio to students

To promote stronger criti-cal reasoning skills, College Boardmade modifications to the AP US

History curriculum framework thisyear, modeling the changes afterthose made to AP World Historyin 2012. However, this new frame-work is currently being attacked bya number of conservatives in the US,based on the notion that it main-tains an anti-American view on thecountrys involvement in historicalaffairs.

Conservative history teachersand school boards contend that thenew framework is flawed because itdisregards key figures of Americanpatriotism such as Thomas Jeffer-son and James Madison and givesmore weight to Americas negative

image while downplaying the posi-tive. They have also asserted in pub-lic discussions that this frameworkquestions the countrys values andhinders students true comprehen-sion of American history. Despitethese criticisms, AP US historyteachers at SIS do not view the newcurriculum as inferior.

I think that these criticismscome from the fear that people will

view America with an overly crit-ical perspective, said CourtneyCaldwell, AP US History teacher.History is supposed to be critical.America was never a perfect coun-try, and it is important for studentsto know that. Americas foundersenacted a government in which peo-ple had the power to question; stu-dents should be able to do the samewhen learning.

AP US History teachers such asSteven Smith believe that the criti-cisms raised by conservatives do nottake into account many of the bene-fits that could arise due to the differ-ent approach. Because the exam andguidelines now emphasizes thematiclearning, unlike last years, much ofthe learning process involves evalua-tion and analysis.

Ultimately, these changes will

deepen students understanding ofwhat America did and how it be-came the country that it is today,Mr. Smith said. This will help themwhen they enter college, becauseuniversity and graduate school ed-ucation is about transferring andapplying factual information to oth-er themes or regions, not just aboutmemorizing every single date thatyou may find in a history textbook.

SIS teachers support revised AP US History frameworkBy Angela Yoon

Photo by Kelly Kim

During group discussions in AP US History class, juniors Jason Kim and Jake Kim analyze primary source

documents relating to the Kentucky and Virginia Resolution before presenting their positions to the class.

During election season, HSSCcandidates frequently promise theirpeers to be the voice that bridgesthe gap between the student bodyand administration. Some students,occasionally finding the promiseunfulfilled, criticize the HSSC forbeing unresponsive to student voic-es. In response to such opinions, theStudent Improvement Council (SIC)launched the Open Forum on Oct.14, in hopes of collecting sugges-tions to make improvements.

The HSSC has always lookedfor a more effective means of com-

munication with the students, saidSean Syverson, HSSC adviser. TheOpen Forum is another avenuethrough which students can expressnot only complaints, but also opin-ions, ideas and even celebrations.

The SIC, which consists of vicepresidents from each council, willmonitor the Open Forum survey onMoodle. The survey, which allowsfor anonymous responses, catego-rizes the concern and asks for a de-scription, potential cause and possi-ble solution of the issue, prompting

the student body to take a more con-structive approach toward feedback.

There was never a way to besure that a complaint I said to afriend in HSSC would reach the ad-ministration, Sarah Hahn (11) said.Last year, when Snowball was heldat school, many students were upsetand voiced their frustration, but ourcomplaints made no difference inthe administrations decision. I hopehaving a formal survey will helpbridge the gap.

Responses collected will bereported to the executive council,where the HSSC will discuss furtheraction. Policy-related concerns willbe brought to the administrationsattention during the SICs monthly

meetings with Jarret Lambie, highschool principal.Many of the responses so far

concern sanitation; people are notflushing toilets after they go to thebathroom, said David Moon (11),junior class vice president and SICmember. To address such wide-spread concern, the SIC will defi-nitely work on a campaign to pro-mote sanitation across our campus.Likewise, we hope to continue toshape our future efforts after the de-sires of the student body.

HSSC hopes to gather feedbackfrom students on Open ForumBy Heejin E. Hong

IT office tackles unprecedentedproblems with Wi-Fi connection

Aside from an Internet shut-down due to a power outage in Bok-jeong that occurred last year, poorInternet connection is not often aproblem at SIS. In the past month,however, SIS has experienced In-ternet malfunctioning twice due totechnical difficulties in the IT de-partment. While poor connectiondid not severely disrupt studentlearning, many struggled to adapt tothe poor Internet connection.

The first time the Wi-Fi failed,one of the pieces of hardware inthe Internet line coming directly

from LG malfunctioned, leavingthe school without Internet connec-tion for about an hour. In order tofix this problem, the IT departmentobtained temporary hardware to re-place the dysfunctional piece, andsuccessfully addressed the problem.

According to Paul Kang, ITcoordinator, the second time theInternet failed had more to do withstudent behavior than with tech-nical malfunctioning. Many stu-dents managed to get hold of thepassword for SIS Staff Wi-Fi and

consequently began using the Wi-Finetwork designated for staff mem-

bers. However, because the SIS Staffnetwork only has 500 available IPaddresses that are renewed every 24hours, an excessive number of usersmay easily incapacitate the network.As a result, the Internet shut downafter a three-day weekend fromOct. 3-5 when a flood of studentsand teachers entered the network atonce.

[Students] mainly use the net-work in order to access iCloud andFacebook, said Yoon Lee (11), ju-nior class president. Some of themalso enjoy the exclusive IP address,which allows for faster browsing anddownloads that are not possible on

the SIS Student network. Studentscan be incentivized to use the SISStudent network if it is free of suchrestrictions, and if the Wi-Fi is spedup and kept at five mbps or higher.

Changing the Wi-Fi ProtectedAccess II (WPA2) password may nothelp secure the network, as doing sohas failed before. The IT departmentcontinues to consider possible solu-tions to student usage of the staffnetwork, but does not anticipate anyother major Wi-Fi problems in thefuture.

By Sarah Y. Kim

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NEWS5OCTOBER 2014

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By Jaewon Choi

North Korean leader reappears amid tensions

With the chilly season blowingin, the Community Service Club(CSC) hosted the autumn-themedFall Into Music concert on Nov.5 in the Atrium during activity pe-riod and lunch. The club collabo-rated with the Tri-M Music HonorSociety to present various musicalperformances and passed out drinksand different snacks for the studentsand staff members to enjoy. To raisefunds from the event, tickets for theshow were sold at a price of 5,000won each.

I think the benefit of workingwith other clubs is that we do not[focus the event] only on our club

specifically, said Nick Yeo (10),CSC secretary. CSC members arelimited to only turning on musicand singing. But by [collaboratingwith] clubs like Tri-M, we were defi-nitely able to present more profes-sional music with real instrumentsand well-practiced performances.I think this cooperation with other

clubs can attract a much larger au-dience and raise more awarenessabout CSC.

The primary purpose of the

concert was to raise money for anorganization called Free to Read(FREAD), an organization whichprovides aid and educational oppor-tunities to impoverished childrenaround the world. In previous years,FREAD has helped out in countriessuch as Cambodia, Mongolia andNepal. However, this year, FREAD iscooperating with the Korean Armyto assist residents still devastatedby Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 andto compensate the Philippines forsacrifices this country made duringthe Korean War. To fill the librariesof the 32 new schools in the Philip-pines with books and supplies, CSC

members donated money from theconcert to FREAD.[In Cambodia], I went to an

orphanage and I was able to see thelibrary that was built with FREADssupport, said Erin Hogshead, CSCadviser. It was just amazing to seethis program of young people [whowere] so happy with anything that

they were given. [As for the] volun-teers, they were trying to raise mon-ey to keep the orphanage going andit was very humbling to see people

working so hard to keep the childrensafe.

Through the Fall Into Musicconcert, CSC hopes to raise moreawareness about its specific caus-es and the work that members areinvolved in, such as their trips toAnnas House, a soup kitchen wheremembers allocate food to the home-less, jobless and dyslexic. Accordingto Brian Sungbin Kim (10), CSC vicepresident, members hope to attractmore interest from the student bodyby frequently hosting in-school ac-tivities.

Although the concert turnedout great, we have not yet decided

whether or not we are going to host itevery year, Brian said. The concertwas one of the big events that CSCplanned out and we hope that by di-recting our focus to more schoolre-lated events, people will know aboutwhat we do, which is helping peoplein the community who are actuallyliving really close to us.

ByYeaji Park

CSC hosts Fall into Music concert in November

Forensics members faced dif-ficulties during the two-day speechand debate tournament at Taejon

Christian International School(TCIS) from Oct. 17-18. As a resultof speaking for hours and copingwith the lengthy commute time be-tween TCIS and SIS, participantswere tired after their respectivetournaments. Despite this, SIS tiedfor first overall along with Korea In-ternational School.

Members in the speech portionmissed their Friday fourth periodclasses and part of their third periodclasses to depart for TCIS. However,even after missing nearly half of theschool day, they returned to SIS pastmidnight. Some of the speech par-ticipants were also debaters, mean-

ing they had to arrive at school by6:30 a.m. the following day.Thankfully, there werent many

traffic problems while we were com-muting, said Gina Lee (11), proseand poetry mentor. However, thedistance was still too far, and wedidnt hold the awards ceremonyin the end because people neededtime to get home. Many people didnot want to go to TCIS in the first

place due to the great distance, andthis just made that disinclinationstronger.

According to Gina, the eventswere also disorganized and delayeddue to improperly assigned roomsand coding errors. The extempora-

neous speech finals were canceleddue to lack of time, and the winnerswere determined through prelimi-nary rankings.

I think that TCIS had a lot ofnew teachers hosting the tourna-ment, said Michelle Ganus, par-

liamentary debate coach. Anytimesomeone is hosting something forthe first time, they face problemsand issues. But the good thing is that[other coaches] are all there to help,and I think it was a great learningexperience for TCIS in preparation

of tournaments that they will host inthe future.

Despite such problems, theteam still won various awards. Jun-iors Daniel Choi and Matthew Kangplaced first and second respectivelyin extemporaneous speech while

juniors Angela Yoon and HeejinHong tied for second place in im-promptu speech. In the debate tour-nament, Heejin and Lauren Ahn(11) won first place in parliamen-tary debate, followed by Angela andDaniel, who placed second. Fresh-men Seehyun Park and Diana Leeplaced fourth in the parliamentarysection, while Jiwhan Moon (10)and Nuri Choi (9) placed first inpublic forum debate. SophomoresRachel Kang and Juhyung Parkplaced third and fourth respective-ly in Lincoln-Douglas debate. Cur-rently, members are preparing fortheir next tournament to be held

from Nov. 21-22 at Gyeonggi-Su-won International School.The tournament served as a

great learning experience for meboth as a debater and as a team-mate, Jiwhan said. Now that thetournament is over, I would like tonot only help future public forumdebaters attain good results, but alsotry out as a Lincoln-Douglas partic-ipant in the near future.

Forensics team wins awards despite logistical difficultiesBy Nagyon Kim

Photo courtesy of Angela Jang

Giving a speech about organ donation, Juhyung Park (10), Forensics member, participates in the Lincoln-

Douglas semi finals. As I completed more extensive research, I became increasingly interested in the topic.

Making his first public ap-pearance in more than five weeks,Jong-un Kim, the Supreme Leaderof North Korea, inspected a new-ly constructed residential area forscientists on Oct. 14. According tothe BBC, this visit quelled rumorsof his removal from power. Thespeculation started after it was re-ported that he was not present ata celebration for the anniversary ofthe founding of the Korean Work-ers Party on Oct. 10. Rather, ac-cording to the New York Times, hisuse of a cane in the photographsreleased by state-run Korea Cen-tral News Agency (KCNA) gives

credence to reports of Mr. Kimsphysical discomfort due to leg in-jury or gout.

There is so much speculationabout North Korea because it is somysterious, and off-limits to therest of the world, said ElizabethHuh (12), MUN member. Be-cause people are worried that thecollapse of [Mr. Kims] regime willlead to instability in the region,they are analyzing everything thatthey know to get a better idea ofwhat is actually happening in thecountry.

At the same time, the two Ko-reas exchanged gunfire across thedemilitarized zone (DMZ) for the

first time in four years. Accord-ing to the New York Times, NorthKorean soldiers fired first in re-sponse to South Korean activistssending large balloons filled withanti-North Korea propaganda overthe border. After several bullets

landed in South Korea, its militaryfired back. High-ranking militaryofficials from both countries metat the DMZ on Oct. 15 to dis-cuss these border altercations, butcould not resolve their differences.In fact, the two sides exchangedgunfire again on Oct. 19.

Since the activists are exercis-ing their freedom of speech whenthey release the leaflets into NorthKorea, it is difficult for the SouthKorean government to stop them,said David Ahn (12), Governmentand Politics student. But as longas North Korea reacts to the leaf-lets as if they are provocations, it is

a risk to the safety of citizens livingnear the border. It is sometimeseasy to forget that we are still tech-nically at war.

Despite these increasing ten-sions between the two countries,South Korean authorities haveurged North Korea to stick to theplan to hold the high-level govern-ment talk, previously agreed uponon Oct. 4. However, North Koreanauthorities rejected South Koreasoffer to hold the talks on Oct. 30,according to Reuters.

I do not think that NorthKorean officials want to move for-ward with negotiations as long asthe health of their leader is in ques-

tion, because it puts them in a rela-tively weaker position, said StevenSmith, history teacher. The con-flict could be an excuse to delaytalks until [Mr. Kim] is healthyenough to play a larger role in thediscussions.

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9OCTOBER 2014 LIFESTYLE

K-pop celebrities are not theonly guests that Korean televi-sion viewers cheer on when theywatch some of Koreas most popu-lar entertainment programs. Lastyear, the appearance of foreignersin a number of television showssparked a new trend of shows cen-tered around the assorted experi-ences and lives of non-Koreans.

Real Men, I Live Alone andNon-Summit, are among someof the most popular entertainmentand reality shows that follow thistrend of ethnic diversity. Featuredin Real Men are Sam Hamming-ton from Australia and Henry Laufrom Canada, two foreigners whoare enrolled in Koreas mandato-

ry military service. I Live Alonetakes a different approach, zoom-ing directly into the daily life of aFrench expatriate, Fabien Yoon.Non-Summit, on the other hand,is a conference in which the major-ity of the participants are foreign-ers who discuss a specified topic inKorean and share their individualstories through conversation.

At first, I was not so sure as tohow big of an effect these foreign-

ers would actually have on Koreanentertainment programs, said Yoo-Jeong Lee (11), International Cul-ture Club (ICC) member. Howev-er, I can now say for sure that these

foreigners have expanded the glob-al audience, allowing more peopleto relate to the topics presentedor discussed. Having lived in Ma-laysia for five years, I also experi-enced culture shock after movingto Korea. Watching people like SamHammington and Fabien cope withtheir new Korean homes remindsme a lot of my life as a third-culturekid as well as the changes I wentthrough.

These programs are also enter-taining for newer teachers such asMichael Ganus, band teacher, whocan not only relate to many of theprograms participants as they dealwith the challenges of expat life in

Korea but also reflect on foreign-ers efforts to overcome the lan-guage barrier between Koreans andnon-Koreans.

I have mostly been watchingnormal Korean TV until now, Mr.Ganus said. But now that Ive seenthese entertainment programs thatbring in foreigners, I am being in-troduced to a whole new world. Forone, I feel a lot of jealousy but alsomotivation; watching these expats

speak Korean so fluently makes mewant to learn Korean even more,despite its difficulty. It is also justinteresting to see people like mego through many of the things I

encountered when I first arrived inSeoul.Aside from making person-

al connections to the participantsvaried experiences and challenges,viewers such as Yoojeong believethat these entertainment programsstand out because they show howKorea is gradually developing into amore heterogeneous and globalizedcountry. Through these programs,

viewers can now see how the nationand its citizens are being shaped bynew cultural influences as morepeople with diverse backgroundsarrive.

The introduction of foreign-ers to these programs means more

than just extra entertainment, saidAlix Kim (10), viewer. It meansthat Korea itself is becoming amuch more diverse country. Ko-rea used to be known for its cul-tural and racial uniformity, butthese programs show that this isnot the case anymore. Anywhere Igo, I now see non-Koreans livingand speaking just like we do, andit is this message of diversity that Ithink viewers can perceive.

By Angela Yoon

Foreigners featured in Korean TV share relatable experiences

With over four billion videosviewed a day, and one billion dif-ferent users visiting the site eachmonth, YouTube has secured aprominent spot in the entertain-ment industry. As its viewershipexpands, some of YouTubes top ce-lebrities have broadened their inter-ests into offline f ields. By recordingsingles and publishing books, the

video sites most popular stars arestarting to reach a wider audience.

Of these YouTube stars, Betha-ny Mota has already gained over 7.4million subscribers and consider-able popularity by uploading fash-ion and beauty videos. She won the2014 Teen Choice Award for Choice

Web Star, among numerous otherrecognitions, and even created her

own fashion line for Aeropostale.Bethany made her television debuton Season 19 of Dancing With theStars and launched her singing ca-reer with a single, Need You RightNow, on Oct. 13. Despite her suc-cess, some subscribers have calledher a sell-out for monetizing andexploiting her YouTube popularity.

I personally dont think You-Tube celebrities like Bethany aresell-outs because the quality of her

videos makes it obvious she stillputs YouTube above everythingelse, said Clarice Lee (12), sub-scriber to Motas channel. Theydidnt start with the intention ofmaking money so it is obvious thatthese YouTube stars are truly pas-sionate about what they do becausethey still upload high-quality videos

regularly. The purpose of Bethanysvideos is to help other girls with

beauty and fashion, so I think thatif she enjoys what she does and isgood at it, she deserves her success.

Many other YouTubers havealso launched their own creationsoutside of YouTube. Zoe Sugg, hostof the popular channel Zoella, re-leased her own beauty line on Sept.26, following the footsteps of Mi-chelle Phan, who founded Em Cos-metics and created a record label,Shift Music Group. Other YouTubestars, Alfie Deyes and Grace Hel-big, have released their own books,respectively titled The PointlessBook and Graces Guide: The Artof Pretending to be a Grown Up.

The extension of YouTubeinto the business world is an in-evitable consequence of a digitalage dominated by virtual media,

said Leo Lee (11), YouTube viewer.YouTube is becoming so influen-

tial because it expands the targetaudience of a productin this case,whatever the YouTubers presentto an unprecedented extent. Whileit is too early to judge whether thisphenomenon should be welcomedor observed with skepticism, it isunquestionable that many more in-stances like this will follow.

According to the New YorkTimes, YouTube is a promising me-dium of entertainment because itemphasized that anyone could havea voice without the backing of largecompanies or other intermediaries.However, many successful YouTu-bers, who now earn six to seven fig-ures a year, have diverged from thisnotion by working with Hollywoodtalent agencies, such as United Tal-ent, as well as lawyers, publicists

and managers.There have been similar rev-

olutions in the past, said John Ar-thars, English teacher and formertelevision director and producer.For example, I dont think theProtestants could have become soestablished without the invention ofGutenbergs printing press, whichallowed Bibles to be mass-pro-duced. Because they had the booksavailable to them, the power ofthe priests, the intermediaries, de-clined. But churches became moreestablished and influenced otherindustries, which is similar to You-Tubes situation with Hollywoodagencies. YouTube was like an egali-tarian society, which was why it wasso attractive, but just like in any so-ciety, the corporate people realizedYouTube had economic value andharnessed that power.

By Christine Seo

YouTube celebrities expand careers, interests to offline industries

Personalities onPopular

Ariana

Grande

Tyler

Oakley

Joe

Sugg

Infographic by Yeni Cho Source: Wikipedia

Jenna

Marbles

- Age: 18

- Fan Club Name:

Mota-vators

- Known for haul videos

- Partnered with

JCPenney, Aeropostale,

and Forever 21

- Age: 25

- Advocate for LGBT youth

- A self-proclaimed "pro

fessional fangirl

- Interviewed Michelle

Obama and One Direc

tion for his videos

- Won Teen Choice Awards

for Choice Web Star: Male

- Age: 24/23

- Siblings

- Zoe a.k.a Zoella

- Won Teen Choice Awards

for "Choice Web Star:

Fashion/Beauty"

- Joe a.k.a. ThatcherJoe

- Part of the YouTube

Boyband for Comic Relief

- Age: 28

- 7th most-subscribed

female YouTuber

- Known for humorous

how-to videos

- Names of her Dogs:

Peach, Kermit, Mr. Marbles

- Age: 21

- Signed contract with

Republic Records

- Debut studio album:

Yours Truly (2013)

- Originally a YouTuber

with a personal channel

8/10/2019 Issue 3, Volume 46

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10 OCTOBER 2014SPORTS

Photo by Patricia Song

Hoping to set a new personal record, Jenny Lee (10),varsity girls cross-country athlete, competed in the

Asia Pacific Invitational Competition on Oct. 17.

Photo byEric Song

Defending champions from lastyears Association of InternationalSchools in Asia (AISA) tournament,the varsity boys and girls tennisteams placed first at this years AISAtournament, which was hosted bySenri Osaka International School(SOIS) from Oct. 17-18. The varsitygirls tennis team continued its win-ning streak from the KAIAC con-ference games while the boys wereone game short of being undefeated,losing only to Seoul Foreign School.

Our [tennis] team always has agreat attitude during practices, saidAshley Park (12), varsity girls tennisco-captain. We were able to havesuch a successful season because ofour optimistic approach to every-thing and each players individualefforts in the tennis team. I believethat the constant and cumulative ef-fort during practices made us stron-ger as a team and as an individual.Not only did the great amount ofeffort positively affect our results,but it also boosted our spirit duringmatches.

All members of the varsity girlsand boys tennis teams advanced ei-ther to the finals or the semi-finalsduring the AISA tournament. Forthe girls doubles and boys singlesfinals games, two SIS teams playedagainst each other. In the girls dou-

bles, Sarah Kim (10) and Cinji Lee(9) placed first and in the boys sin-gles, Cody Kim (11), co-captain ofthe varsity boys tennis team, broughthome first place.

Furthermore, in the girls sin-gles final between Ashley and KanaYokoyama from SOIS, Ashley placedfirst, winning the match with a veryslight margin. According to AmyRyu (12), varsity girls tennis co-cap-tain, this game was especially mean-ingful because Ashley and Kana hadcompeted against one another sincesophomore year, but Ashley had al-ways been defeated.

The girls singles finals gamebetween Ashley and Kana was themost incredible game Ive ever seen,Sarah said. Because all our play-ers were cheering their hearts outon the sidelines, the moment when

she finally secured the win was verytouching. [Our team] had neverbeen that unified, as shown by theway in which everyone was genuine-ly happy for each others victories.

According to Brent Chester-man, varsity girls tennis team coach,the players had put in a tremendousamount of effort not only during theseason but also during off-season,with most of the players practicingan average of six days a week for aminimum of two hours per day.

Team effort and spirit have ev-erything to do with our teams suc-cess this season, said Amy Thomp-son, varsity boys tennis team coach.At AISA, we were the only team thatcheered each other on and watchedeach others games. As our seasoncomes to an end, both Coach Ches-terman and I want the players to

stay humble, yet be extremely proudof their fantastic results. I have nodoubt that our team will end up do-ing well in the upcoming KAIACtournament.

Rushing toward the ball, Alex Minki Kim (9), varsity boys tennis first

doubles player, defeated KIS in the finals game with a score of 9-7.

Varsity girls, boys tennis teams bring homechampionship trophies from AISA Tournament

By Grace Lee

Photo by Patricia Song

This October marked the endof another fall season for volleyball,cross-country and tennis athletes.The varsity volleyball teams f inished

with both the varsity boys and girlsteams placing third in the KAIACtournament. The cross-countryteam also showed positive ends withthe varsity boys team placing thirdat the KAIAC tournament. Varsitygirls and boys tennis teams also con-cluded their season on a high note,with both teams once again winningthe Association of InternationalSchools in Asia Championship.

In the beginning, we had prob-lems with focusing on the game andhaving the right mental approach,said Ivan Atanaskovic, varsity boysvolleyball team coach. We had theskills, but we couldnt play to our fullpotential in the first few conference

games.According to Kyle Bae (12), var-

sity boys volleyball player, all teammembers performed better duringthe last several conference gamesand the KAIAC tournament, heldat Asia Pacific International Schoolon Oct. 25, where the boys defeat-ed APIS with a set score of 3-2 and

placed third.I admit we didnt exactly have

the best start, Kyle said. We even-tually recognized the problem was alack of teamwork and unity and sowe worked on improving our com-munication skills. Through this,we were also able to realize what it

meant to play as a team. Even thoughwe didnt have the best performance,we definitely made a lot of progress.

The varsity girls volleyball teamshowed consistent results in theirconference games and finished theseason strongly, placing secondin the conference and third at theKAIAC tournament, which was alsoheld on Oct. 25 at Chadwick Inter-national School.

Our team this year did a real-ly good job of working together asa team, said Cheryl Lambie, varsitygirls volleyball coach. Even whenthey were down in a game, they wereable to support each other and bringeach other back up.

This season, changes imple-mented by the cross-country teamto improve strength and endurancewere reflected in the teams results.Initiated as a result of suggestionsfrom coaches and team captains, theteam started a new training system,which was a combination of cross-fitand other sports such as swimming.

Although the varsity girls team didnot place, the varsity boys teamplaced third in the KAIAC tourna-ment, which was an improvementfrom last years results.

With Coach Iga on thecross-country team, we had system-atic practices in which people could

develop both an endurance for run-ning and foundation for muscles,said Brandon Ra (11), boys varsitycross-country athlete. Throughthese practices, I improved my timeand I think other runners did aswell.

The tennis teams were also ableto end its season strongly. Both theboys and girls teams placed first inthe AISA tournaments, which wereheld in Osaka. Despite the depar-ture of many of the seniors, the teamconcluded the season with the girlsteam being undefeated and the boysvarsity team only losing to SeoulForeign School.

I think we did a great job as a

team, said Amy Thompson, varsityboys tennis coach. With the depar-ture of the seniors last year, we lostmany of our doubles players. How-ever, the new freshmen were able toquickly learn to work together. Wewere just overall very supportive toeach other and I think everythingworked out very well.

Fall sports teams display improved performances

By Cody Kim

8/10/2019 Issue 3, Volume 46

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11OCTOBER 2014

Striving to improve technical-

ities with more advanced stunts,jumps and tumbling, Andrea Go-odrich, varsity cheerleading coach,modified the tryout process. Severalchanges were implemented to devel-op and enhance the dedication of itspotential athletes, blurring the gen-eral perception of the sports associ-ation with a specific gender.

One of the alterations was theaddition of a written applicationpacket that included a basic profileof the athlete and two signed formsof consent, which had to be complet-ed before tryouts. In previous years,tryouts were completed in one day,during which students demonstrat-

ed a cheer, a jump, tumbling skillsand splits. However, this year, thetryout process took place over thecourse of a week, from Oct. 28-31.On the last day, cheerleaders wereput in groups of three to showcase ajump, a cheer, a dance routine whilejudges gave scores based on a rubricfor each category. For bonus points,cheerleaders performed tumbling

skills, splits, original dance or anoriginal cheer.

Last year, the senior captainsled the tryouts since I was new, but Ichanged it this year because I do notthink members of the team should

be picking who is on the team,Coach Goodrich said. In order forus to compete with the teams we sawat KAIAC last year, we have to stepup our game, so naturally, the levelof skill I expect from my cheerlead-

ers is higher.In response to the more rig-

orous tryout process, cheerleaderssuch as Yuni Sohn (12) have been at-tending private gyms. According toYuni, the classes are stress-relieving

opportunities where she can freelyexperiment with different skills.

These classes are different inthat you dont spend time perfectingthe skills you already have, but focuson skills you do not already know,

Yuni said. The teachers there ad-vise me on my posture and place ahuge emphasis on stretching, so [theclasses] help me improve my flex-ibility, which is important for anycheerleader.

In addition to the increaseddedication of the athletes andchanges to tryouts, cheerleading hasattracted the attention of not onlyfemale athletes, but also male ath-letes. According to Mason Min (10),the long history of a girls-only squadhad discouraged male students fromtrying out, before Sabin Macklin(10) joined the team last year.

Cheerleading might seem like

a ladies sports but it actually re-quires a lot of strength, Mason said.I was most concerned about notbeing flexible, but after watching[Sabin] become more flexible, I wasencouraged to try out. Sabin alwaystalks about how practices and teamdinners are really fun, so I wantedan opportunity to be a part of thatenvironment.

Cheerleading coach implements renewed application, tryout processBy Yeena Yoon

Photo by Jasmine OhPreparing to perform a front hurdler, Yuni Sohn (12) and other cheerleaders warm up with high kicks to prac-

tice their form. Tryouts were held on Oct. 31 in Tiger Gym 3 and results were announced the following week.

This column is a short commentary on sports events that are happening around theworld. The commentators, Eva Hong and Patricia Song, express their opinions and con-duct interviews with relevant figures. This episode is about Yeon-jae Son, a South Korean

rhythmic gymnast who recently earned the gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games.

Patricia: Welcome once againto an episode of PE Sports Com-mentary!Eva: Today we are excited tobring to you Gymnastics FairyYeon-jae Son. Welcome to theshow!Son:Thank you for having me.Patricia: First of all, congratula-tions on your gold medal at the2014 Incheon Asian games, witha score of 71.699. I believe itsthe rst gold medal in rhythmicgymnastics that South Korea has

ever received!Son: Yes. Im immensely gratefulfor everyone who helped makethis possible. The honor person-ally means a lot because its myrst individual medal in a majorcompetition.Eva: Your performance receivedthe highest number of viewsfrom the Korean public amongthe Asian Game matches. Howdo you feel about being one ofKoreas most beloved athletes?Son: Rhythmic gymnastics isnta popular sport in Korea, so be-ing able to represent and drawattention to it is an amazing op-portunity for me.Patricia: Im sure preparing for

the competition was very tiring.What troubled you the most?Son: Denitely the pressure.People posted hateful com-ments online, saying that I waspromoted over other athleteswho earned gold medals be-cause of my appearance. Others

were upset that I was busy do-ing non-athletic activities. It wasrough, but bearing the burden ismy job as an athlete.Eva: Speaking of non-athleticactivities, we see you often incommercials, TV programs andmagazine photoshoots. Is there aparticular reason you undertakethese projects?Son: Many people misunder-stand that I take on these offersbecause I value fame over athlet-ics, but thats not the case. I dont

come from an affl

uent family,and training expenses can be de-manding. My mother once hadto make my uniform because Icould not afford one. Withoutcommercials, I could not havefunded my training in Russia.Patricia:There clearly was a mis-understanding about your moti-vations. Well, it is about time towrap up the show. Do you haveany last words about your futureplans?Son: The Asian Games has giv-en me the condence I need toprepare for larger competitions,primarily the 2016 Olympics atRio de Janeiro. As of now, how-ever, I want to focus on resting.

Its been a hard four years and Icould really use some time to re-cover.Patricia, Eva: We cannot wait tosee your progress and wish youthe best of luck! Thank you somuch for spending time with ustoday.

Disclaimer: Although this column is based on facts, the interviews are entirely fictional.

PE SPORTSCOMMENTARY

Nexen Heroes enters Korean Series for first time

With a 3-1 victory over the LGTwins in the playoffs, the Nexen He-roes advanced into the Korean Se-ries for the first time since the teamsfounding. The two teams played atotal of four games in the playoffs,with the Nexen Heroes winning thefirst, third and fourth games 6-3, 6-2and 12-2, respectively.

The Nexen Heroes not only seta record on its first entrance into theKorean Series since establishment,but also set a record for the num-ber of runs batted in (RBI), hits thatare associated with the acquiring ofruns. During the four playoff games,Nexen Heroes third baseman KimMin-sung hit a record number of

RBIs.On Oct. 28, the LG Twins

played its first playoff game againstthe Heroes. Although the Twinswere initially winning 2-1, with BradSnyder, LG Twins outfielder, hitting

a home run, the Twins ultimatelylost 3-6.

As the Nexen Heroes wereranked second in the regular season,the team had guaranteed entranceinto the playoffs. The LG Twins, onthe other hand, as the fourth rank-ing team in the regular season, wasguaranteed entrance only to thesemi-playoffs against the NC Dinos,a team that had qualified for thepost season every single year sinceits founding. After defeating the NCDinos 3-2, the LG Twins qualifiedfor the playoffs for a second con-secutive year, after not doing so forsixteen years.

I was slightly worried abouthow my team, the LG Twins, wouldplay this year, because they havenot been performing well for quitea while, said Bryan Kwak (10).

But I am extremely happy to seethat they did extremely well duringthe regular season and during thepost-season. Even though they lostto the Nexen Heroes this year, theyperformed very well compared to

how they have been performing forthe last couple of years. Im sure thatthey are going to use their loss thisyear to perform even better nextyear.

In the Korean Series, the high-est level of competition in Koreanbaseball, the Nexen Heroes will playthe Samsung Lions, the first placingteam in the regular season for fourconsecutive years. The two teamswill play for the best out of sevenmatches.

The Korean Series begins onNov. 4 at the Daegu stadium, theSamsung Lions home stadium.Tickets for the entire Korean Serieshave already sold out.

I think the energy surroundingthe Korean Series is unique this year,as it is the Nexen Heroes first timein the Korean Series, said Jennifer

Kim (10), long time Samsung Lionsfan. I am excited because I am quitesure that my team, the Samsung Li-ons, is going to extremely well thisseason, as they have been playingwell for the past few years.

By Claire Kim

SPORTS

8/10/2019 Issue 3, Volume 46

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