March 2011

TALON’S POST
March 2011
AES’ OFFICIAL STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER
Can AES Clear the Middle East Hurdles?
By Gautam Kapur
Due to political unrest in Cairo,
the Screaming Eagles Track Invitational
scheduled for March was cancelled. “We
as a school decided to not travel for the
safety of our student athletes,” said Mr.
Hamilton. Large-scale protests led to Cairo
American College (CAC), the host school,
deciding to close. Not only CAC, but also
Cairo Japanese School decided to close.
After all, safety comes first. However this
raised the question: could Middle East
instability affect our entrance into MESAC?
school. Plus, I would think that all this politi- joins MESAC, our athletes will be traveling to
cal tension would stop by next school year.” the Middle East frequently. Nevertheless, it is
unwise to assume that the Middle East will be
“Cairo is scheduled to host track every unstable for a significant period of time. “Six
year in the new MESAC league, so it months ago, nobody would have thought
will be interesting to see how things that Cairo would fall apart,” added Hoover.
unfold,” said track coach Mr. Hoover.
Cancellation of the highly anticipated
MESAC schools currently include the Ameri- track meet disappointed AES athletes. “I
can Community School Abu Dhabi, Ameri- was looking forward to running the hurdle
can School Dubai, Dubai American Acade- event, since we don’t use hurdles in SAISA,”
my, American School Doha, and CAC. As AES said Sebastien Derveeuw, a Sophomore.
AES has won SAISA Track and Field 15 years
in a row, with athletes from elementary
school all the way to high school setting
records and wining events. However, athletes recognized the importance of safety.
“In the end, safety comes first. Thankfully,
we’re hosting SAISA Track and Field this
year, so I’ll still be able to run for AES,”
said Benjamin Blackstone, a Freshman.
Some political analysts view the Egyptian
demonstrations as part of a domino effect
in the Middle East. The clamor for political
reform began in late 2010 with the Tunisian
revolution and spread to Cairo in early 2011.
When asked if the Egyptian political
situation would impact AES’s entrance
into the new MESAC sports league, Mr.
Hamilton replied, “It does not have any
implications. It is a local political issue
that occurred in Cairo.” Rebecca Robbins,
a former student at CAC, stated, “I am not
too concerned that the situation in the
Middle East would affect our entrance
into MESAC. CAC is a very secure and safe
The good news: this year AES will host the
track meet originally intended to be held
in Cairo from April 14th to April 17th, so
AES athletes will still be able to compete.
Who needs the SAT?
By Saumya Gulati
Prior to and after January 22nd, AES hallways were filled with ranting about the
invalidity and needlessness of the SATs.
Although one could simply pass this off
as casual student banter, it raises the
question: is the SAT a fair test, and does
it warrant the importance it holds for US
colleges?
The SAT was initially created in order to
predict how well a student would succeed in college. However, Bates College,
in Maine, has had a standardized testing
optional for over 20 years. In 2004, Bates
conducted a study based on 20 years of
data that showed only a miniscule (0.1%)
difference in graduation rates between
SAT score submitters and non-submitters. Based on the results, Bates decided that
“testing is not necessary for predicting
good performance; the academic ratings
assigned by Bates admissions staff are
highly accurate for both submitters and
non-submitters in predicting GPA.” Submitting SAT scores continues to be optional for
Bates applicants. As other schools replicate
the Bates study, more are choosing to make
score submission optional. Ms. Rosenfield,
AES high school counselor, confirmed this: “More and more schools are jumping on
the SAT-optional list; I think that’s good.”
Although these studies suggest that the
SAT may not be as important as people perceive it to be, many students and teachers
alike still believe that the test should not be
scrapped. A New York Times article stated
that the SAT allows for a standardized comparison of students from all backgrounds. Junior Diksha Gupta agreed: “It’s a good
way to compare students in writing, critical
reading, and math, because it’s standardized.”
Rosenfield supports colleges taking a
well-rounded approach: “I think that the
SAT needs to be read very carefully in the
context of what the student has been
able to do over three or four years of high
school when they’re applying and not
what they do on a Saturday.” Both GPA and
SAT scores may be relevant, but those like
Rosenfield would give more importance
to factors such as the level of the student’s
classes. Another option to the SAT is the ACT,
another standardized test that some
colleges prefer. “The ACT is a more holistic
test because it has more subject areas and
is more content based versus reasoning
ability. Many students who struggle with
the SAT find that they will be more successful with the ACT,” according to Rosenfield.
As much as students would like to believe
that the SAT will go away, it’s unlikely that
that will happen anytime soon. However,
students can hope to see a growing trend
in colleges placing less importance on
standardized tests and more importance
on other aspects of high school achievement.
IN THIS ISSUE
- Genoa MUN
- Minicourse Feedback
- Danger at Gate 2
- 3rd Season Sports
- Scott Beale Visit
NEWS FEED
- Much Ado About Nothing
- New Leaders of CHS
- Holi Party Awareness
- Minicourse Evaluation
MARCH WEATHER:
Temperatures to rise again
maxing around 35 degrees
celsius. Get ready for summer
SCHOOL
NEWS
Shaping the World: Speaker Urges Public Service
By Pooja Sivaraman
Scot Beale, founder of Atlas Corp, spoke
to AES students at lunchtime on February
2nd. He has given over 500 speeches to
young people all over the world, encouraging them to take part in service. “We are in
a revolutionary period,” according to Beale.
Beale emphasized the importance of the
younger generation: “Young people have
the responsibility to change this world,
and I hope that you step up and shape this
revolutionary period.”
Beale began his service activities as a
Georgetown University student government leader. Since that time, he has started
the non-profit organization, Atlas Corp.
Beale offered three major tips to achieve
successful service. First, young people
“should not wait when you see challenges
or want to make a difference”. He discussed
how people, as they grow older, lose perspective of how the world is. He urged students to take action: “Don’t assume there’s
a better time.” His second tip was that
one must “believe in the power you have
to change the world, and get involved.” He explained that changing the world
is a daily event, and most feel unable to
make a difference. “We choose to believe
in this powerlessness.” Finally, he focused
on current developments in Egypt and
Tunisia, citing young people there as clear
examples of the power youth can hold:
“If you say something aloud loud enough,
you start to believe it, and others start to
believe it too.”
Overall, listeners responded positively to
Beale’s speech. Senior Abhinav Tyagarajan
said, “His whole manner was very inspirational, although his ideas were fairly simplistic.” Ms. Garg, head of community service at AES, enjoyed Beale’s speech, but she
felt that “all of his examples were American,
and he could have used more international
examples.” She also felt that “he could have
had more hands-on examples.” In general,
though, Garg found the speech “good for
students,” particularly Beale’s “leap before
you look” focus on changing the world.
Can AES students really make a difference?
Asked if Beale’s suggestions were applicable to AES, Ms. Garg responded positively:
“Only when you do something, will you
know if it works.” The AES service council
includes clubs that have made significant
differences in the community. According
to Garg, “If five clubs work and three clubs
fail, it’s still okay, for it is more important
to focus on the successes rather than the
failures.”
EC Update: Inside the Boardroom
BY SHANNEN Eikerman
Students ask: “What does the Executive
Council actually do? Why is it necessary?”
EC’s most important role is representing
AES students. EC, together with the Student
Life Committee (Senior Fari Sattar and this
author), Environment and Facilities Committee (Senior Abhinav Tyagarajan, Senior
Vikram Kumar, Junior Varun Batta) and the
Board (Junior Rishi Sharma, Sophomore
Adi Mehra), is tasked with producing an
environment where students can flourish. and ASC members, and concerned parents brainstorm what they really want out
of the school, and how to deliver that to
the students. Also, you know that “Student
Satisfaction Survey” that you take each year
that often asks extremely awkward ques-
to discipline you if they see fit? Some may
find that intimidating.
Dr. Hetzel, School Director, member
of the EdSLC/School Director/dedicated
The Education and Student Life Committee (EdSLC)’s role is to recommend changes
in student handbook policies regarding
the school philosophy and mission, health,
safety and security, instructional programs
and students. Momentum for change originates at strategic retreats, where interest
groups give feedback and make recommendations to the director and board.
AES School Board members, faculty, EC
Student stress is an ongoing issue. It
comes up in our Wellness survey, from parents and our own observations. Student
use of tobacco, drugs and alcohol comes
up often whenever its use becomes highly
visible, like the Holi party last spring or kids
smoking in Malcha Marg.
How does the EdSLC board decide
what needs to be put on the agenda?
What is the process?
Besides putting blood, sweat and tears
(mostly Mr. Yeo’s) into Fall Fiesta, the
school’s only fundraiser; creating a new
blueprint for progressive changes in minicourse selections; installing a 42” television in the breezeway that displays daily
announcements and other AES tid-bits;
making the 35-minute lunch period a little
bit sweeter by playing music throughout
the breezeway; allocating funds so each
class council can pay for their sumptuous
VIP rooms; EC members attend School
Board committee meetings.
In this issue, readers get the inside story
behind student-life policy changes: why
the food was changed, surprising off-campus regulations, and other juicy pieces of
information Sattar and this author picked
up while attending the AES School Board
Education and Student Life Committee
meetings.
brought up? What was the condition of
the issue in the past?
In May, the committee will identify its
goals for the coming year. Many of these
come as a result of the ongoing curriculum
review process or from the satisfaction surveys we conduct.
Are there any contentious issues that
were discussed for a long period of time
before they actually changed? What
brought rise to the change?
tions? That also is one of the main ways
they receive feed back from the students
on what to change.
morning-greeter, recently answered some
questions about the Education and Student Life Committee:
In response to all of this feedback, EdSLC
essentially creates many of the AES rules
and regulations directly affecting your
lives: how you may behave off campus,
which foods you can consume, what you
can wear and the overall character of The
American Embassy School. To really see the
results of the EdSLC in action, though, just
crack open the student handbook. You’ll
be surprised. For instance, did you know
that AES holds you accountable for your
behavior, illegal or otherwise, through a
signed contract, and they hold the right
What is the purpose of the EdSLC?
What does it hope to provide for the
school?
Trying to improve the quality of food service at school has been a long-term project
and continues to date. The changes stem
from our satisfaction surveys and gathering input from parents and students. Three
years ago representatives of ASC came to
EdSL with a petition about food in the high
school.
According to you, what is the best
policy change the board has made?
To provide an official liaison between the
Board and the daily life of students, especially curriculum and student well being.
It’s also a place for parents, students, or
faculty to take concerns or ideas.
In my judgment, having student and
faculty serve as honorary Board members
at the meetings and participate on these
committees. It provides an opportunity to
influence the direction of the school.
What are some issues that you think
will impact the high school population the most? Why were these issues
Attending EdSLC and other School Board
committee meetings is just one way that EC
represents the student body. Next month,
look forward to another EC update.
SCHOOL
NEWS
MUN Club Triumphs in Genoa
BY MANALI Banerjee
After a month of intensive preparation,
eleven AES delegates and chaperones Ms.
Guerin and Mr. Kleinhenz left on February
22nd for GEMUN, a Model United Nations
conference in Genoa, Italy. Two flights and
12 hours later, the group reached Genoa
and embraced the fresh, chilly air. AES
would represent Pakistan and China over
the next few days.
to McDonald’s to enjoy juicy beef. Then
came the pre-conference panic. Everyone
worked on resolutions and revised speeches to make sure they were prepared for the
first committee meetings the next day.
At the Opening Ceremony, Mago and
other officers were introduced. AES’s own
Anuraag Bahl delivered an ambassador
speech on behalf of the People’s Republic
of China.
language being a difficulty. Most delegates were not native English speakers. Frequently, speakers were asked to
rephrase their questions. Despite the
language barrier, AES delegates as well
as delegates from schools in Dubai, the
UK, and the USA, were able to maintain
good debate throughout the conference.
AES delegates successfully got several
resolutions passed at the conference.
In the Environment Commission, Bahl’s
resolution was passed. Müller’s resolution
in the Economic and Social Commission
passed unanimously and Manali Banerjee’s
resolution passed with just two opposing
votes. Other AES members co-submitted
resolutions and proposed clauses which
passed as well. Friday night, the AES
team celebrated Guerin’s birthday with
a cake presented to a surprised Guerin,
who answered the door in her pajamas.
AES bagged three official and numerous unofficial, awards at Saturday’s closing ceremony, .Müller won Best Resolution,
Three local students showed the team
around Genoa, pointing out the MUN conference venues, Palazzo Ducale and Palazzo
Rosso, as well as the ship from Pirates of the
Caribbean and the “best chocolate shop
in Europe” (Junior Tom Muller begged to
differ). Senior Tanvi Mago, as a conference
officer, missed the tour to participate in a
mandatory workshop.
After the tour, one group headed to a
local Italian café to enjoy pizza and pasta.
Arun Jain, AES’ youngest delegate and the
only sophomore, said “The pizza was so
good, I’m never going to be able to have
Pizza Hut again.” The rest of the group went
GEMUN involved a high level of “security,” which meant that scores of students
stood ready to prevent anyone wearing a coat, jeans, “too colorful” wear or
above-the-knee skirts from entering the
committee rooms. Mago was told by the
Conference Director that she would have
to cover the “ethnic” henna designs on her
hands by wearing gloves. One young man
on security detail asked Anushka Bhatia
if he could “touch [her] pants” to verify
that they were not jeans. Bhatia refused,
and Ms. Guerin accompanied her on
the next trip to the committee room. Committee meetings went slowly, with
AES Aces SAISA Tennis
BY GAUTAM Kapur
From February 11th to February 13th
AES hosted SAISA Tennis at the Delhi Lawn
Tennis Association (DLTA). By and large,
SAISA Tennis this year was a smash for AES,
with the Boys winning the first place trophy
and the Girls team taking second place. AES
placed first overall as well, doing so for the
second year in a row.
One of the reasons behind hosting SAISA
at the DLTA was that AES tennis surfaces are
inconsistent, offering either hard surface or
clay In fact, this SAISA was fairer than most
other tournaments, with AES not having a
home court advantage. “We were as new
to the DLTA facilities as the visiting athletes
were,” Senior Shompa Choudhury stated.
Nevertheless, AES triumphed at SAISA, and
won a total of 444 points to earn first place,
more than 100 points ahead of second
place.
However, there were some downfalls
to hosting SAISA Tennis at the Delhi Lawn
Tennis Association. “We did not have as
much of a crowd as we would have if we
hosted SAISA at AES,” said Senior Manit
Bharany, AES Tennis Team Captain. Despite
additional courts at the DLTA, “many games
were played back to back, which was really
tough for many of the players,” said Rishabh
Sivakumar, a Junior. “The matches were
shortened from a best of seventeen to a
best of thirteen,” said Bharany. “Sometimes
the schedule didn’t give us enough time to
recuperate from previous matches,” Sivakumar added.
“The experience the boys team had
this year was pivotal to our success,” said
Bharany. “Last year there were only three
returning varsity players, while we had six
this year,” he added.
The victory in an unfamiliar venue was
particularly rewarding. “It felt good when
AES won, because we were all playing at
a different set of courts for the first time,
and we were really nervous since we lacked
the home court advantage,” said [Class?]
Jay Vaidya.
Athletes were sad to say goodbye to
SAISA but look forward to the challenges
and experiences that await them in MESAC.
“MESAC should be great because it will give
us a different level of competition compared to previous years,” said Sivakumar.
As a whole, the move will improve the AES
tennis program significantly, as the JV team
will also travel next year.
runner-up for Best Dressed Delegate in
the Special Conference committee, Mago
was voted Best Chair in the Mediterra-
nean Conference, Müller was named “Mr.
Amendment” after proposing and passing
a total of five amendments, and Banerjee
was named “Next Hitler” after attempting to declare two wars during debate.
Saturday night found MUNers blowing
off steam at the celebratory dance. Jain
said, “The dance party was awesome. I
loved just hanging out and busting a move.”
Overall, some AES delegates complained that conference debate lacked
quality and that too much attention was
paid to other aspects of the conference.
“Dress code was taken much too seriously,”
complained Bhatia. “I was sent back to the
hotel three times before being allowed into
the conference. The problem against my
skirt was understandable, but I was sent
back because my toes were showing. It
was ridiculous.” Committee room security
was also overly strict. Delegates required
an escort to go to the bathrooms. “I was
very annoyed by their meticulous attitude
towards apparel and security,” said Bahl.
while Banerjee and Bahl were both Best
Delegates in their respective committees. Additionally, Stefan Hörtnagl was
After a brief respite following GEMUN,
the AES MUN Club is now preparing for
its very own “DELMUN” next month.
SCHOOL NEWS
Name: David Clegg
Name of Trip: Salang Meadows Trek
Best moment: The view of everything at the
top of the mountain.
Scariest moment: coming down the mountain
because of snow up to waists
Funniest moment: every time that tom spoke,
and boccar coming down the mountain, he
cried (wanted to go home)
Favorite food: pineapple fritters (all food was
amazing)
Name of a new friend/bud: Patrick Mooney,
really funny and cool person
MINICOURSE
Maahika Srinivasan
Name of Trip: Hope Foundatio
Best moment: watching 4-yea
hula and doing itwith them
Scariest moment: when our g
bus left us at thehotel and we
were abandoned
Funniest moment: when a ran
the beach asked for myfriend
we had to pretend we didn’t h
Favorite food: Malabar (fatty)
Name of New Friend: KY
Richard Jan Kaleta
Name of Trip: Hills of Garhwall
Best moment: being at the pinnacle
of the divine mountain(8000 feet)
embracing it upon my soul simply
blissful
Scariest moment: none
Funniest moment: screaming “This is
herpes!”on a boat
Favorite food: none
Name of New Friend: Dong
Worst moment: train ride
Name: Shaurya Rast
Name of Trip: Salang
Best Moment: Reach
end
Scariest Moment: Ev
down at the mounta
have to walk so muc
was on my own and
Funniest Moment: B
Favorite Food: Fried
Name of a New Frien
Vikram Kumar
Name of Trip: Panna and Bandhogarh and Safaris
Best moment: Seeing 3 tigers while sitting on an
elephant
Scariest moment: suddenly seeing a tiger 2 feet away
from us
Funniest moment: Abhinav falling asleep on the safari
and bouncingoff Mr. Toigo’s shoulder
Favorite food: French fries
Name of New Friend: James Reynolds (9th grade)
Name: Tara Venkatesan
Name of Trip: Hope foundation
Jodhpur
Best moment: taking a guide audio
tour of Rajput palace and seeing
the armory with Kulveen
Scariest moment: falling down
the stairs at a hotel after seeing a
spider
Funniest moment: falling down a
sand dune just after proclaiming I
was coordinated
Favorite food: gulab jamuns
Name of a new friend/bud: Quatan
Nehal Joshi
Name: Mahakali River
Expidition
Best Moment: When I
got stung by a scorpion.
Scariest Moment:
Jumping into a rapid.
Funniest Moment:
Seeing Ankita fall off
her raft.
Favorite Food: Chicken
Curry
Name: Peter Mooney
Name of Trip: Hope Foundation: Delhi
Best moment: After helping the
lepers
Scariest moment: When entering
the Tigri School, the basement was
creepy.
Funniest moment: those math
contests. Some people couldn’t do
math in our school.
Favorite food: The food was
disgusting.
Name of a new friend/bud: Rishi
Sharma
Grace Koclar
Delhi and Around (Delhi Hope)
Best Moment: seeing the pure joy
on the kids faces and watching the
orphanage children putting on dance
for us – you could tell that they put so
much effort into it.
Scariest Moment: One girl, Nani,
about 6/7years old yelled at people
when she was telling them they were
doing something wrong. You didn’t
want her to yell at you….no.
Funniest Moment: Watching Shompa
dance with all the school kids.
Favorite Food: Pizza Hut
SCHOOL NEWS
E ANECDOTES
Name: Joomin Kim
Name of Trip: Going to the
Gaon
Best moment: Night safari on
a tractor in the dark with only
torches and countless stars
searching for elephants. We
spotted deer.
Scariest moment: Going to the
bathroom at night without any
electricity and rain.
Favorite food: Papur! Roasted
marshmallows.
Name of a new friend/bud:
Sohyun Kim
on Chennai
ar olds do the
group and the
e though we
ndom guy on
ds number, and
have cell phones
) parantha
togi
g Meadow Trek
hing the bar at the
veryday, looking
ain and knowing I
ch and knowing I
d so far from home
Bocar crying
d pineapples
nd: Carl Lentz
Name: Sophia Foutsitzis
Name of Trip: Saat Tal
Best moment: Sitting by the campfire with the
school children and learning to dance with
them.
Scariest moment: plowing with oxen, I was so
scared one of them would kick me!
Funniest moment: My voices several pitches
because I was sick and everyone made fun of
me.
Favorite food: chicken curry and paneer, and
rhoti.
Name of a new friend/bud: Lydia Phillips, we’ve
known each other for a while and this gave us a
chance to get to connect more
Name: Clarissa Masdar
Trip: Camp Tusker
Best moment: telling dead
baby jokes
Funniest moment: stealing
Maggie’s clothes from the
shower
Favorite food: cookies
Name of new friend:
Mattia
Worst moment: waking up
at 3:45 to take the train
Name: Haewon Jeong
Name of Trip: Hillsof Garwahl
Best moment: On third day, when we
took a break duirng 6 hours trekking.
And when we were rafting (wall)
Scariest moment: When So young
was about to fall down on the
mountain, and Mr. Schmid was trying
to help her, but he also was going fall
down.
Favorite food: chapatti with chilly
chicken
Name of a new friend/bud: AF (Anne
Fleur)
Name: Isabella Rahm
Trip: Going to the Gaon
Best moment: Being on a tractor on a night safari when it was pitch
black and seeing the deers’shimmering eyes in the dark and clear
star constellations
Scariest moment: Having to duck for 15 minutes under a buzzing
bee hive
Funniest moment: Going to the bathroom on the train and seeing
just a hole on the floor leading to the tracks
Favorite food: Roti which we ate everyday and we made some the
last day
New friend: Prerana Kumar, the 23-year-old daughter
Worst Moment: Taking a bucket shower and washing my hair- it
was HARD!
OTHER
NEWS
Teaching Happiness: the Dalai Lama Visits Delhi
BY ANUSHKA Bhatia
The Dalai Lama spoke on “The
Different Levels of Happiness” at Modern
School New Delhi, on the 9th of January,
2011. The occasion was the 30th anniversary of the Tushita Dharma Celebra
tion. A seemingly nonchalant Dalai Lama
urged the audience to embrace selflessness, love, kindness, and compassion.
Speaking to over 3,000 people of all
ages, the Dalai Lama urged people to find
their inner selves and to seek tranquility
and satisfaction, which he claimed were
the secrets to happiness. According to the
Dalai Lama, one transforms tragedy into
strength by developing the inner resolve
to view and deal with physical difficulties,
obstacles, and grief realistically. He said
that grieving for a dear one is not realistic,
as nobody wants you to do that, not even
the person for whom you are grieving.
The Dalai Lama demonstrated the
importance of willpower in the following story: Two hospital patients suffered
from the same disease. The patient who
tried to be positive and concentrated on
his illness healed faster, while the patient
who constantly worried and complained
took far longer to heal. The Dalai Lama’s
point was that overcoming mental pain is
far harder than overcoming physical pain.
Those who are happy and satisfied have
less mental pain and are generally more
successful, regardless of the endeavor.
Also, the Dalai Lama spoke about how
while happiness can be at a physical, short
lived, sensorial level; humans can achieve a
deeper, more genuine sense of satisfaction
via human intelligence. A disturbed mind
with loss of emotional control and anger
could destroy inner peace and intelligence,
thereby hampering clear thought, vision
and happiness. Furthermore, dispersion of
this happiness always brings further happiness and a deeper sense of satisfaction
to the giver. Encouraging warm heartedness, good intentions, and genuine concern for others brings deep contentment.
According to the Dalai Lama, all
religious traditions discourage selfcenteredness and ego in different
fashions. He believes that Buddhism
is distinctive in that it uses “wisdom to
the maximum” in establishing reality. An enthusiastic question and answer
session towards the end of the presentation suggested that the audience was
deeply affected. Finally, the Dalai Lama
encouraged listeners to “accept reality” and achieve inner tranquility, not
just focus on the abstruse concepts of
Egypt’s Mubarak: End of a 30-Year Reign
the Egyptian government shut down the
internet in an attempt to quell the protests.
Police began to control the sea of protestors more aggressively, using tear gas and
have strong personal and professional
connections to Egypt. Before coming to
AES, Junior Rebecca Robbins lived in Cairo
for 4 years (2002 – 2008) and attended
rubber bullets in an attempt to gain control. Confrontations between pro-Mubarak
and anti-Mubarak forces became violent.
On February 1st Mubarak announced
that he would not run for re-election.
This was not enough to satisfy the protesters or the international community.
On February 10th, Mubarak formally
passed Presidential responsibilities to
Vice President Omar Suleiman in an
address to the Egyptian people, and
the announcement of Mubarak’s resignation followed the next day. Until
the September election, the Supreme
Council of Armed Forces will govern.
Some members of the AES community
the Cairo American College (CAC). Friends
attending CAC informed her that, “they
had to shut down for a while,” and “did
schooling online.” Robbins also reported
that “the entire school had no internet,
which prevented the students from doing
any form of school work.” She added that
“a lot of people ended up evacuating.”
According to Robbins, students who had
been evacuated by an embassy were told
that they could not re-enter Cairo for 2
months with a diplomatic passport. If they
wanted to re-enter Cairo they would have
to enter on a non- diplomatic passport.
When asked about the protests,
Robbins stated: “I agree with the free
of expression. The deaths were unfortunate, but the community came
together; people were protecting themselves and protecting their families.”
Colonel Richard Ryder-Burbidge of the
Canadian High Commission (CHC) also lived
in Cairo from 2005-2008 as Colonel of the
Cairo CHC. Ryder-Burbidge was “pleased
to see that an autocratic, almost dictatorial, government has been challenged.” He
stated that Mubarak’s resignation “should
allow tensions to ease and allow demo-
BY ALEX Bulch
Mubarak is no longer at Egypt’s helm, as
of last month. Hosni Mubarak first became
president of Egypt in 1981, after the assassination of Egypt’s third president, Anwar El Sadat. Mubarak comes from a military
background, educated in Egypt’s National
Military Academy and Air Force Academy
and at the Frunze General Staff Academy in
Moscow. While Egypt was under the reign
of El Sadat, Mubarak held numerous positions, including Deputy Minister of War,
until becoming Vice President in 1975.
On January 17t,h, a 50-year-old man
set himself on fire in front of the Cairo
parliament. On January 18th, two more
men set themselves on fire as a protest
against the Egyptian government. These
events resembled the self-immolation that
catalyzed the earlier Tunisian uprising.
On January 24th, the opposition leader
Mohamed El Barade, addressed protesters,
suggesting that the people of Egypt follow
the lead of Tunisia by overthrowing Mubarak.
Protesters in Egypt relied heavily on
modern-day communication tools to organize: the internet and Twitter. In response,
cratic processes to progress. However the
Egyptian army is taking over and needs
to be watched. The Egyptian military is
one of the strongest institutions in Egypt.” Colonel Ryder-Burbidge predicted that
“the Muslim Brotherhood is going to
step in and try to push its agenda. The
Egyptian population is going to think
they can jump in on a regular basis by
having demonstrations and the army
is not used to governing, so Cairo could
be a dangerous place for some time.”
OPINION
Behind Every World Cup There’s an... Octopus??
BY RAGHAV Verma
outright boring. Paul created excitement
for those outside the realm of football
fandom (many, no doubt). “I actually began
to have a greater interest in the games and
actually sat to watch them through, to see
if he [Paul] would be correct,” said Nidhi
Saxena, an AES senior. Supersonic cracks of incessant vuvuzelas, thundering bellows of the crowd
in complete harmony with the 22-men
scrambling for the Jabulani ball, spikes
and crashes of raging adrenaline: this was
the Soccer World Cup 2010 in the rainbow
nation of South Africa. The lack of a similar unifying symbol in
this Cricket World Cup may fail to attract
strangers to the game. “I was already a
football fan, but he [Paul] certainly did
make the game more grabbing, and perhaps I would be more compelled to watch
cricket, as a foreigner to the sport, with the
excitement from a similar predictor,” said
Senior Leon De Boer. But there was something more to
this frenzy of sports. As dreams were fulfilled and crushed and
countries let out patriotic shouts of anguish
and celebration, a modest mollusk made
its way to the stage. He brought with him a
powerful talent: prediction. Paul the Octopus, as he was called, became a worldwide
phenomenon after he correctly “foresaw”
the outcome of seven of the German team’s
matches and the result of the final game.
As India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh host
the 10th Cricket World Cup, one can only
wonder if this subcontinent will find a
magical crustacean/mollusk/annelid of its
own. Paul’s presence in the Soccer World Cup
was not singularly gimmicky, but it had
profound and wide ranging impacts.
Marketing experts predicted that Paul
could have been worth millions of dollars
in endorsements, “If you get it right, and
remember Paul has worldwide success…
you’re talking an earning potential of £2 or
£3 million (up to $4.5 million), maybe more,”
said PR guru Max Clifford in an interview to
CNN on 14 July 2010. Paul also introduced a universalizing
quality to the World Cup. Not everyone
understands football. The game can be
confusing, complicating, and for some -
Paul, despite the limitations of eight sucker-bearing arms, a soft saclike body and no
internal shell, revolutionized the football
industry. Only time will tell if a Bengali Crab
or Bihari Prawn will make its way to the
prophesying front. Until then, no crazed
fans will celebrate shellfish in the streets of
Delhi. Nor will they mourn its demise.
RIP Paul, January 2008 – October 2010.
Segregation: Alive and Well at AES
By Haewon Jeong
Lunch time. The crowd pushes through
the doors to the cafeteria. I stop to look for
an empty table. Where should I sit? In the
far corner, I spot a large group of students
speaking with broad American accents. In
the middle, a table with four fashionable Latino girls whispering in each other’s ears.
Closer to the window, another group speaking rapidly in Korean. If you were in this
situation, where would you choose to sit? Although 35 percent of our 1473 students from nursery to twelfth grade are
Americans, our students represent some 53
nationalities. This melting pot of different
nationalities would suggest that AES follows the policy and “does not discriminate
among its students on the basis of race,
color, national or ethnic origin, religion or
gender.” Certainly emotional enrichment
stems from cultural and linguistic diver-
while one continues adjusting to the new
environment. Belonging to a peer group
reinforces your identity. Junior Aishwarya
Srivastava commented: “It is true that stu-
competitive compared to other nationalities and they are very focused on the IB.”
dents behave differently towards new students depending on their mental image of
a certain nationality.” Srivastava also added,
“For example, when a new Korean student
comes, our immediate assumption is that
the new student will join the Korean group.”
things simpler. Insecurity leads people
to differentiate themselves from others,
so that they feel protected inside the
umbrella of a common language and
culture. Yet, categorizing people prevents
people from seeing each individual for
whom he or she is. If we choose one lunch
table over another based on stereotypes,
we are hampered by our assumptions.
We miss the real person, the friend we
may have made, the world of opportunities we could have have explored at AES.
Categorizing others is a way of making
sity, but the process of integration is somewhat harder, as students initially tend to
separate into their own cultural groups.
The initial reaction is to associate with
other students from one’s own cultural
group to feel understood and accepted,
Ethnic stereotypes are widespread at
AES. Sophomore YounJi Yang, who has been
at AES for 8 years, said, “People from other
nations have a typical image of a Korean:
a great artist who aces math.” She added,
“Although I’m not good at art at all, people
always claim that since I am Korean I must
be good at art.” In addition, Senior Leon
De Boer commented: “When I first meet
the people at AES, I unintentionally generalize that Asians are good at math and
Caucasians are not so academically proficient.” Junior Alex Bulch similarly admitted
to having a “stereotypical image of Indian
students. I think they are much more
How can we combat these stereotypes? As you stand watching the lunch
crowd, think of the stereotype other people
have of your own cultural group. You may
cringe. Do you really want others to see
you in that narrow box? If not, consider
the possibility of rearranging our lunchtime seating plans. In the process, perhaps
some of our stereotypes will dissolve.
SPORTS
AND
ENTERTAINMENT
Artist of the Month: Midival Punditz
BY ASIM Lal
WHEN ONE thinks of Indian music
artists, the word “eclectic” may come to
mind. Artists that one may think of are Ravi
Shankar, Jagjit Singh, A.R. Rahman, and my
personal hero, Jay Sean. Sadly, though,
the electronic genre includes a paucity
of Indian artists. Therefore, the Artist of
the Month in this issue is a unique electronic group: Midival Punditz. This group
recently performed alongside Prodigy at
the Invasion Music Festival in Delhi. “To
be honest, I didn’t go to Invasion for Midival Punditz, but when there I realized how
good they really are,” said Kiera Pettersson,
a Junior. Here is the inside story for Kiera
and other Talon’s Post readers. MIDIVAL PUNDITZ is an Indian fusion
group consisting of two Delhi-based musicians, Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj. The
two realized that Western dance music
did not connect with them on the same
emotional level as India’s own classical and
folk music; therefore, they decided to instigate change. In 1997, after setting up their
own studio in New Delhi, the two launched
Midival Punditz. The duo’s style includes
jungle, electronica and North Indian classical music. Instruments normally used in
their songs are dhol, tumbi, sarod, santoor,
dholak, tabla, and the sitar. Moreover, Raina
and Raj have worked with renowned artists
such as Anoushka Shankar, Kailash Kher, and Karsh Kale.
MIDIVAL PUNDITZ launched Indian electronic music onto the world stage. Their
song “Atomizer” reached such success that
it was featured on the “FIFA World Cup:
South Africa” video game soundtrack. In
2000, they were signed to Karsh Kale’s
record label, Six Degree Records, and
since then they have released three studio
albums, a remix album and a compilation.
INDIAN CLASSICAL music has much to
offer to electronic and dance music, as
shown through songs such as “Eastern
Jam” by Chase & Status, “Shiva’s India” by
1200 Mics, and “Mandala” by Thievery Corporation. Thus, it’s surprising that there are
not many artists like Midival Punditz who
have used these cultural and traditional
sounds in their music. THE SONG “Electric Universe” by Midival
Punditz uses a bansuri flute, a traditional
Indian instrument, throughout the track.
This instrument is the crux of the song and
creates an aura of extravagance. Without
it, the song would be only a drum beat; yet
with it, the song fuses modern music and
traditional roots. In another song, “Raanjhan,” the group uses a spiritual prayer to
create a song as close to spiritual healing
as music can get. The vocals accentuate the
soothing effect. Yet another song, “Ali,” creates a unique sound via classic Hindi vocals.
SIX DEGREES Records says about Midival
Punditz: “Their unique and expansive artistic vision marries the soulful elegance of
South Asia’s extraordinarily rich traditional
and classical music heritage with the exuberance and limitless potential of modern
Western electronic music.” Midival Punditz’s
music combines the soothing effect of classical Indian vocals and samples along with
upbeat drum loops and synth. The listener
can simultaneously obtain absolute inner
peace and be prepared for a rave. Pakistan’s cricket team is one of the best
teams in the world, but sometimes underperforms. Their batting side composes
of Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul
Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, and Younis Khan.
ul-Haq is an in-form batsmen, and has
played a good knock (93 runs with 7 fours
and 1 six) against New Zealand. Razzaq
averages an astounding 82 runs a game.
Akmal has not played for Pakistan in a
long time, but if he hits a ball it will fly out
the field. Pakistan’s bowlers are Shahid
Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, and Umar Gul. Tanvir,
however, is out of the Cricket World Cup
due to a knee injury. Without Tanvir’s
fiery bowling, the team could suffer. Pakistan is at a setback right now since three
of their top players have been banned
and suspended for illegal match fixing.
recently smashed a 105 off Pakistan, and
averages 90 runs a game. Taylor has always
amazed his audience with a range of shots.
New Zealand’s bowling will include Daniel
Vettori, Tim Southee, and Scott Styris. If
New Zealand is going to win any game, Vettori will have to play his top performance.
THE GROUP has released no information
about their next upcoming album, but
for now, you can indulge in their unique
expression of harmony by listening to
“Night”, “Electric Universe”, “Raanjhan”, “Ali”,
and “Kesariya.”
Can India Do It? Cricket World Cup
By Rohan Goel
The Cricket World Cup is happening, and the top 12 teams (Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe,
Canada, Kenya, India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland,
and The Netherlands) are going head
to head, but only one can win the title.
Two groups are vying for the title. Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka,
Zimbabwe, Canada, and Kenya are in
Group A. India, South Africa, England,
West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, and
Netherlands are in Group B. Only the
top 4 teams in the group stages can
advance to the quarterfinals and then the
World Cup becomes a knock out game.
In Group A, Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand,
and Sri Lanka are most likely to proceed due
to their past performances. Also, in Group B,
India, South Africa, England, and West Indies
are likely candidates for advancement.
Australia, the defending champion, is
the top team in the ICC rankings after
winning the World Cup for four consecutive years. They recently proved their
strength against England in a crushing 6-1
match. Their team is stacked with experience and skill. The backbone of their
batting lineup is Micheal Clarke, Mitchell Johnson, Micheal Hussey, Cameron
White, Shane Watson, and David Hussey.
Out of these talented bunch the recent
shining players are White and Watson.
White averages 37 runs a game, and
Hussey is also a very good batsman. Australia’s top bowlers are Doug Bollinger,
Shaun Tait, Brett Lee, and Mitchell Johnson. Brett Lee once took an astounding
5 wickets for a mere 22 runs. Johnson is
a dangerous Ozzie, capable of both batting and bowling flawlessly; he once took
5 wickets for 26 runs. Johnson has not
performed his best in his batting, but if he
gets in the zone… he can be dangerous.
New Zealand has a dangerous top order
consisting of Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder, and Ross Taylor. Ryder has
Sri Lanka also poses a peril if its players play their best. Kumar Sangakkara,
Tilakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Matthews,
and Upul Tharanga will lead the batting.
Dilshan and Matthews will be the two players to watch. Dilshan averages 88 runs a
game, while Matthews averages 84. On
the bowling side, Sri Lanka excels mostly
because of Lasith Malinga’s and Muttiah
Muralidaran’s amazing, unorthodox bowling. Muralidaran once took seven wickets, almost an entire team, for 30 runs.
SPORTS
AND
ENTERTAINMENT
Crosswalk of Doom
By Suruj Pal
Crossing the street in front of AES Gate 2 is
a struggle between traffic threats and the
natural desire to keep one’s limbs. Why are
drivers so angry? Crosswalks are supposed
to be safe, but what if the crosswalk is the
most dangerous of places? Is it fair that the
AES crosswalk strikes fear into the hearts of
young preschoolers?
The AES crosswalk: where drivers launch
themselves into the air and cross whole
sidewalks. Once, right in front of Gate 2,
only way to survive, and I’m going to hook
you up.
First tactic: Put your hands down by your
side and walk straight. As soon as you see
a car edging towards you, raise your palm
in the direction of the car and shout ‘NO!’
The vehicle may or may not stop and you
may be risking your life, but this is your
first step to protesting against crazed
drivers.
Second tactic: Armor plating. ‘You hit me;
I dent your car’ type of concept. You will
Movie Review: How do you know?
I was half way across the sidewalk when I
spotted a car thundering towards me from
about twenty feet away. Fortunately, I managed to dislocate my torso and fling my
body across to safety.
Trying to change the way Delhi natives
drive is unimaginable. If you can’t beat
them, join them. Avoidance tactics are the
be slowed down drastically, but you can
make it. Third tactic: Wear a sign that says “Uninsured” and walk through traffic swinging
a baseball bat. This will make even the
most aggressive drivers think twice.
“It does not matter how slowly
you go so long as you do not stop.” –Confucius.
By Komali Yashki
How Do You Know, starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson and Jack
Nicholson, is an endearing tale about the
not understand how his life became such
a mess. When he discovers the reason, the
audience is relieved to find that lovable
George remains a “good guy.”
Jason Tasharski:
The artemis Fowl of Theatre?
BY Sohel Dhawan
Six feet tall, slim yet sharp, and full of confidence; Jason Tasharski lurks the halls
of the American Embassy School seeking future superstars. This year, Tasharski
embarked on a mission to stage a forty
page play, Oak Leaves, the first draft of
which he wrote in a playwriting camp
during the Summer of 2009.
Apart from Tasharski, five other actors
devoted two or more days per week from
November through February to practice:
Joel Potts, Alice Rossignol, Nina Waldman, Priya Achaibar, and Kanchan Jha.
Although the gender reversal was intriguing, character depth was particularly striking. Senior Vikram Kumar said, “I thought
the play had excellent parallelism,” referring
to Lucius and Quintus versus Marcus and
the slave. Kumar further lauded the play’s
themes, such as the divisions in Ancient
Roman society.
Crisp, entertaining, and intellectually stimulating, Oak Leaves engrossed its audience
and was an AES Blockbuster, leading writerdirector Tasharski regretfully state, “I wish I
had scheduled a second performance of it.”
encounter between two people from different walks of life. Although it may not be
as gripping as a horror thriller, How Do You
Know has touchingly sincere moments.
The main character, Lisa (Witherspoon), is
cut from her softball team and must reevaluate her life. She befriends George (Rudd),
a corporate worker going through a different type of crisis. Witherspoon’s portrayal of
an emotionally distressed athlete trying to
keep up a “tough girl” façade is convincing,
though exhaustive at times.
On the other hand, George’s situation is
annoyingly unclear. George himself does
Jack Nicholson plays George’s father brilliantly. Unfortunately, Owen Wilson as
the stereotypical ‘jock’ lacks dimension;
the character’s sole purpose seems to be
holding back Lisa and George’s budding
friendship.
Episodes of unexpected depth appear.
When George gives Lisa a box of Play-Doh
for her birthday, this author’s eyes teared
up. Such emotional moments, coupled
with Jack Nicholson’s trademark humor
and George’s attempts to drink himself into
cluelessness, make the film memorable. SPORTS
AND
ENTERTAINMENT
Pick Up Lines: Chemistry
Crossword
You’re so hot, you denature my proteins.
Can I be the phasor to your electron and take you to an excited
state?
I’m more attracted to you then Fluorine is attracted to an
electron. You’re hotter than a bunsen burner set to full power.
Sudoku
TALON’S POST STAFF
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Raghav Verma
LAYOUT EDITOR: Manali Banerjee PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR: Malvika Nagpal
OPINIONS EDITOR: Shompa Choudhury
NEWS EDITOR: Gautam Kapur
WRITERS: Anushka Bhatia, Rohan Goel, Sohel Dhawan, Alex Bulch, Haewon
Jeong, Gautam Kapur, Manali Banerjee, Raghav Verma, Shompa Choudhury,
Komali Yashki, Shannen Eikerman Saumya Gulati, Pooja Sivaraman, Suruj Pal,
Asim Lal FACULTY ADVISOR: Ms. Guerin
EMAIL US AT [email protected]