MOMENTS

Page 2: The Prevalence of Facebook,

kakao talk warrants?!
Page 3: Changed policies of 2014-2015
Page 4-5: Beneath the Beautiful
((((Sat Scandal, South Koreas Pressured
Students
Page 6: Also a father
page 7: Luis sUAREZ, HIS TEETH, AND THE
ballon Dor Snub
pAGE 8: sUDDEN DEATH OF THE dISNEY sTAR
zAC eFRON

Photo from Pixabay

Hard news 2
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Hailey Ahn

The Prevalence of Facebook

By Hailey Ahn

Recently, Facebook has become prevalent among clubs and organizations in schools all around the world because of the benefits of communication between executive and club members. Club executives
claimed that Facebook is a necessary tool that allows members to keep
up with the communication stream as well as informing announcements. Although Facebook is blocked for students at SIS, the increase of use in social
media is causing disturbance to students.
I think [a Facebook account] is necessary because a lot of clubs post important
messages, announcements, etc. through Facebook, Judy Moon (9) said. As a
student without an account, it definitely puts me into a disadvantage.
Through the transition from middle to high school, the new freshmen realize
they have two periods of time during the school day where they are given complete freedom: office hours, which is used for meeting with teachers, or activity
period, meeting with club members. Most clubs are run by the executives who
are high school students themselves which allows Facebook to be used without
problems on privacy for further connection on student and teacher relationships outside of school.

the function of creating surveys, simply presenting ideas to group members on

Facebook is an easier process than any other social networking sites.
Every time there was a meeting for basketball, I was the last one to be informed,
Sophia Song (9) said. Facebook is definitely necessary but Im also scared of the
negative effects it could give me that could distract my studies.
In a recent survey conducted for if the use of Facebook is necessary for clubs,
81% of SIS freshmen agreed that Facebook is necessary as a high school student. But on the other hand, it also showed that students find Facebook to be
an addicting site to be on,
ecessary with more than 50% of the
surveyors claiming to stay
at SIS ?! on the website for more
acebook,
6:04 PM
72%
AT&T
Seoul International School
than three to four hours a
Back
i
day, leaving the question if
How many of your clubs use Facebook
easier outweighs the risk
groups to communicate?
of being distracted.
11%-

Active Now

no clubs

38%one club
42%-

two or more clubs

SIS students spend an awful amount of time

online, especially facebook-ing, so using Facebook as
a source of communication is most efficient, said Erin
Ko (12), President of FBLA. Also, because I can see
who viewed my posts, I can know for sure who was able
to receive my message.
Club executives set up the weekly plans and upcoming events for their specified division. For these proposals to take place, executives inform club members
through club meetings once a week, but mostly throughout the week with announcements on their specific Facebook pages only sent to the members. With

Does the afterschool sport you participate

in use Facebook to communicate?

out of
of SIS
sports teams use Facebook
Statistics of SIS students who
think Facebook is necessary

Even though most people

know of the negative consequences caused by making a Facebook account,
students continue to
search the homepage and
fill in their information on
the Sign Up. Its free and
always will be.

Yes

No

Conducted by 74 of SIS high school students.

Showing necessity of Facebook for students
Source: Google Surveys conducted by Hailey Ahn from SIS students.

Send

Designed by Hailey Ahn

Kakao Talk Warrants?!

By Heewon Kim

n a transparency report released on Jan. 23,

Daum Kakao Corporation announced that the
amount of warrants issued by the court for access to user data has more than quadrupled.
The amount of attention on the topic of cyber surveillance increased last year, when multiple news
outlets had reported that the corporation had been
cooperating with the Korean governments orders.

on Jan. 22.

Citizens are noticing the increased amount of cyber

surveillance, and the government will need to find
a set of clear standards or guidelines to manage the
surveillance process, said Judy Moon (9), an avid
user of KakaoTalk.

KakaoTalk users at Seoul International School also

have something to say about this issue. After conducting a survey of 9th grade students at Seoul International School, 63.6 percent wanted their privacy protected, or thought that the cyber surveillance
situation was a problem.

A transparency report released by Daum Kakao on

Jan. 23 stated that the amount of search and seizure
warrants increased from 2,174 in 2012 to 8,636 in
2014. The increase in warrants has also affected Naver. Search and seizure warrants for user information
increased 6.3 times from 1,487 in 2012 to 9,342 in
2014 for Naver, according to the report they released

The increasing amount of warrants means that the

government is trying to step up their game in cyber surveillance, and citizens definitely havent had
a positive reaction to this, said Jeesun Shin, an interior designer who uses KakaoTalk as an essential
communication tool for work.

In order to prevent ourselves from making the

same mistake, we will make privacy our top priority
when there is discord between privacy and law, said
Lee Sirgoo, co-CEO of Daum Kakao, in an article by
Yonhap News.

As a result of the citizens concern for their privacy, Daum Kakao has added privacy features such
as a Secret Chat mode, end-to-end encryption, and
the company has also published a transparency report composed of five sections. The five sections are
Transparency, Recent News and Trends, Philosophy,
and Our Privacy Protection Efforts. A committee
called the Privacy Policy Advisory Committee has
also been implemented to help the company respond
to crucial privacy issues.
According to Korea Joongang Daily, Seongjin Choi,
secretary general of the Korea Internet Corporations
Association said that the main objective of cyber
surveillance is to balance the safety of the public and
individuals privacy.
Although citizens cannot predict what will happen
to cyber surveillance in the future, citizens can wait
for time to pass to see what the government will expect, and how the surveillance process is changed
over time.

Hard News 3

Changed Policies of 2014-2015

By Hailey Ahn

hanges to the new policies created discussion among students in SIS. From the
start of the 2014-2015 school year, students question if the modifications to the
rules of their daily lives took away freedom from what they once had before.

I was upset when I was first informed about the changes to the policy. This meant that a
lot of freedom was taken away, said SooMin Lee (9). The new policy that doesnt allow
students to go outside after school especially angered me because it meant that the little fun
I had with my friends was gone.
With new cafs and restaurants growing in recent years, students rush outside of the school
campus to buy a small drink or snack, using the time to get to their respective transportations. This act not only disrupts the schedules of the buses, but also puts the students in
danger because many dont take safety as their first priority. For several years, this rule was
implemented, but this year became the first to actually enforce it with bigger consequences.

More teachers were informed that students were not

allowed to come back until the buses leave when they leave
school campus, said Dr. Valerio, the middle school and
high school vice principal.
Additionally, many students complained about the new rule: prohibition of flip-flops. The
sudden announcement of restricting them, made by Mr. Lambie, the high school principal,
bewildered students. Girls especially became upset by the sudden change of regulations that
affected their outfit for the first day.
Teachers, on the other hand, decided on this regulation because they worried about the safety
of the students. Injuries can be caused due to flip-flops, especially when students walk up
stairs. Even though the prohibition was reasonable, the sudden change has angered some of
the students.
With more restrictions to the policy, less students buy food off campus, as well as fewer
students wear flip-flops. Despite the students complaints about these changes due to lack of
freedom, it was a necessary step to take, in order for everyones safety.

SIS

All photos. Courtesy of Hailey Ahn

Viewpoint 5

SAT Scandals
By Sarah Kim

During the brief intermissions on SAT day in South

Korea, bathrooms bustle with knowledge as students come and go, so do the answers of difficult
questions. Students walk back into the testing center
shamelessly after their secretive discussions in
the bathroom, confidently (and of course, illegally)
change their answers for already finished sets, and
then continue solving through the supposedly difficult test.
Recently, South Korea has been able to set many
global records, whether it be regarding sports, technology, or music. According to the Educational Testing Service (ETS), last May, the country managed
to set yet another record: it was the first country in
which allegations of cheating on the SAT cancelled
scores for all students nationwide. The cancellation
shed light on cheating academic dishonesty in South
Korea and, gradually, labeled it as a nation of questionable academic integrity.
And yet, despite the numerous investigations conducted to catch possible illicit activities of South Korean academies, to nobodys surprise, another SAT
cheating scandal delayed the test scores of over 1,500
students this October, just last month. Such scandals
have been frequent over the past few years, and since
2007, have led to two cases of mass cancellations of

scores.

while the average Finnish student only studies 5

hours a day. Such research indicates the extraordiThough South Korean SAT scandals first began in narily high value given to education and rigorous
2007, other issues regarding academic integrity have competition in South Korea. This inevitably fuels the
dominated South Korea long before such scandals vicious cycle of academic dishonesty, as the despersurfaced.
ation of South Korean students encourages them to
cheat their way to success.
From lawmaker-elect Yeom Dong-yeol, who plagiarized his doctoral essays in 2004, to Seoul Nation- The problem lies in the governments inability to
al University professor Hwang U-Seok, who faked strongly enforce policies that would minimize emand manipulated research for his published scien- phasis on studying. If the government were to re-entific journals in 2005, violations of academic integ- force the academy curfew of 10 p.m. that was rerity have been prominent among authoritative in- cently cancelled, the pressure put on students to be
dividuals in South Korea long before SAT scandals successful in their studies would decrease, resulting
emerged. Because such wrong behavior has been in a decline in the number of cheating students.
frequent in the past years, this Octobers delay of test
scores has only served to solidify South Koreas im- According to the Korea Times, only about 56% of
age as that of a cheater nation.
academies complied with the curfew when it was enforced, leading to the policys repeal. Had the South
To prevent escalated cheating in the future, it is nec- Korean government been more stringent in regulatessary to decrease the huge value put on competitive ing the policy, the curfew would have been effective
studying in South Korea. Once education becomes in reducing the level of cheating nationwide.
a process and not a competition, students will have
fewer motivations to cheat on standardized tests like So, parents, how about going on a walk tonight with
they do now.
your high school children, discussing ethics rather
than locking them up in their rooms to get them to
According to Cable News Network (CNN), the av- study?
erage South Korean student studies 8 hours a day,

Viewpoint 6
Photo courtesy of Hailey Ahn

South Korea's Pressured

Students
By Hailey Ahn

Jumping out windows, drowning in lakes, hanging

in showers, studies show that for more than a decade, South Korea has been having the highest suicide rate, out of all the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
Despite the well-organized health care and literate
population, no egregious reasons can be shown for
this effect, because Korea is a high ranking country
shown by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Surprisingly, a large proportion of the people who make
suicide decisions are students.
According to the Korean Herald, youth suicides in
South Korea has risen 57% for the past decade.
With only 62 years passed from the war, the main
motive for Koreans have been to work hard and increase their place in the social status, getting rid of
their dirt poor backgrounds. In order for this development, education became essential. The Korean
education is renown enough for President Obama
to praise, but is now more known for its strict pressured system from the society.
Students are pressured in competition every day,

New Jersey is a state that is very advanced with a

counseling system. Including school bullying to academic struggles, each public school consists of one
or two counselors that are always available during
the school day when the students want to come by
and talk about their struggles at home or at school.
Its like a free psychotherapy system for students to
use without any burden or charge, in private, but the
catch is that these should be everywhere. The system
leaves New Jersey as one of the states that have a suicide rate under the U.S. average of 8.2 deaths per
Pressure is inevitable. Students stay up until past 100,000 residents every day, with lower suicide rates
midnight to study for tests and work on homework, especially for the younger population.
much of which comes from academies. It is incredible to see so many students lining up after school We should strive for the same goal. Often, teachers
in hospitals to get shots for more nutrition supple- are the ones who cause a lot of stress for students. Inments. These sites have become included in students stead, teachers should be there for the students. Studaily routines and it seems almost as if it is right for dents lack trust in adults, which leads to keeping the
students to be stressed and depressed all the time.
stress to themselves, trying to bear the pressure and
succeed without complaining. And much of these
South Korea, a developing country, lacks counselling decisions teenagers make seem to be coming from
centers for those who are going through hard times. adults actions.
Public schools lack help from counselors, leaving
students with no place to turn to, giving them a sensation of feeling lost and trapped.
starting from the age of six for those who live in the
metropolis. Parents and teachers force students into
studying until they fall into depression. The daily
routine is mostly expected from education outside of
school: the academies. Hagwons, after school academies, teach all from the basics to advanced school
work as well as specific ways of how to study efficiently. These academies are legally allowed to stay
open until 10 p.m., but unlicensed hagwons often
withstands the law.

Feature 6

Also a Father
By Hailey Ahn

iming is the key to counseling. Knowing

the best point to reach out your hand can
make a change in ones life. Gray Macklin
is the counselor all high school students
at SIS are bound to encounter during their school
career. He is the one who knows when to reach out
his hand, guiding students through their stress,
difficulty with their progress in school, and the
process of sending in college applications.
As the testing and student service, Mr. Macklin
confronts students starting from sixth grade until
their year of graduation. Meeting with more than a
hundred students each year, he realizes the difficulty of listening carefully to his students obstacles.
Consulting is a job that requires approachability
in order to respond to students with abounding
help. Claiming to have an introverted side of him,
Mr. Macklin realizes that this characteristic often
creates complications when speaking with new
students while listening to their dilemmas with
empathy. His introverted character always blocked him from full support
especially because his motifs are so
contrary to many of the views of
students and their parents.
However, as a teacher who understands the pressure and burdens
students face within SISs culture,
he takes pity in the judgements
students make in placing values
on the numbers in Powerschool. Growing up
with western education, apart from
the competitive
and ruthless
nature of Korean education, he
also believes that
numbers do not
symbolize anyones knowledge
but just an approximation. The two
ideas of being able
to think outside of
the box and stepping
back from the obsessiveness of grades fused
to become his philosophy.
During advisory in the 8th
grade, Mr. Macklin taught us
all to have a different perspective think more for ourselves
than what we are socially pressured for, said Alex Kim (9).
SIS culture is like an animal kingdom.
Chaotic, competitive, and full of those
who try to be indefatigable. Mr. Macklin
knows this as an educator at SIS for several years.

But as a father, he yearns to take another stance, implementing his personal views for his son. Believing
that education is a personal responsibility, all for
the benefit of oneself, students should not only follow the exact guidelines for rubrics, but know how
to think outside the box.
Grades are our own creation. Grades do not speak
to any success, knowledge, or understanding, said
Mr. Macklin.
Accentuating on his personal beliefs to his children,
especially Sabin Macklin (10), a sophomore at SIS,
Mr. Macklin developed a fairly close relationship
with his son, enjoying the privileges of getting
a closer insight into the school curriculum than
the rest of the parents. Contrary to his intentions,
however, working as a mentor has brought upon an
unintended effect.
Mr. Macklin realizes that the distance between the
father and son relationship worsened due to working as the school counselor. It reduced the conversations drastically that a regular son and father
might have otherwise.
He treats me like a student at school
and like a son at home, said Sabin, He
remains professional and draws a line between home and school.
Despite the lack of conversations, Sabin
knows exactly what his father wants:
being in a distinct position, different
from others. His freshman year
was a time he got to achieve his
goals. Trying out for cheerleading might have been a
hard choice to make,
especially as a

teenage boy, but Sabin knew that it would give him

a chance to shine above others, no matter what
others thought of him.
I want to give Sabin another perspective, said Mr.
Macklin. Grades shouldnt be his first priority.
Questioning should be.
Ever since a young boy, Mr. Macklin questioned.
He questioned anything he learned in school that
didnt seem to satisfy his beliefs. He questioned if
he didnt understand a concept. During his high
school years, when he learned about The Scarlet
Letter, he questioned as well. Mr. Macklin thought
what his teacher was teaching the class was interpreted contradictorily from what the author wanted
to say. Looking back, he recollects that it was a bit
immature of him to never lose his pride by pushing
his reasoning continuously. However, Mr. Macklin
knows that questioning and doubting the elements
that he was taught was the biggest progress he
made as a student.
Mr. Macklins educational style is manifestly different from what he demands from SIS students and
his son. Quickly picking up what SIS parents ask
for, Mr. Macklin gives students a schedule considering both views of the parents and students. It is
a skill he learned, in order to overcome his introverted personality, away from stringent parents.
What he demands from Sabin is something more
tolerant.
It is hard to believe that Mr. Macklin is an introverted person by what we see of him in our daily
lives. What students and teachers view him as in
the hallways now, has been a result through years
of effort as a teacher and a counselor. All Mr.
Macklin is hoping for is having Sabin understand the tolerance and leniency he gets,
in
order to become a better student and wishing for
an improved

father and
son relationship.
Many students of SIS only know Mr. Macklin as
the counselor that helps students with academic problems. Many encounter him in the
hallways and often exchange greetings but
theres definitely one thing students dont
know. Mr. Macklins role and responsibility
as a father.

Photo courtesy of Hailey Ahn

Mr. Macklin is talking with his middle school
student about preparation for high school.

Luis Suarez, his teeth, and the

Ballon Dor Snub

Sports 7

By Justin Chang

hile playing for Liverpool

FC during the 2013-2014
season (2013-2014), Suarez
was an abso- lute menace.
He was dreaded by the defenders of opponent teams as he drove past the defensive
line put the ball at the back of the net. He
was standing at the top with the two greatest players of this gener- ation, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He was one of
the best.
That is, before his misdemeanor.
It was June 24, 79 minutes into theItaly vs.
Uruguay 2014 World Cup match. In a 0 to
0 deadlock, both teams were in a frenzy to
score. While attempting to receive a cross,
Luis Suarez and Italian defender Giorgio
Chiellini clashed into each other. In the
spur of the moment, Suarez took a bite at
Chiellinis shoulder.
Sure, this was indeed negligent behaviour
by Suarez and he should be punished,
which he was with a 4 month ban in any
football related activ- ity. But what was appalling was that his punishment carried on
to an year-long award like the Ballon Dor
(Golden Ball) and cost him his well-deserved place in the 23 man shortlist.
The Ballon Dor award is the most prestigious of all football awards that can be given
to a player. It is awarded every season to
the foot- baller who has shown the greatest performance in the eyes of the Fdration Internationale de Foot- ball Association (FIFA).
Much shock swept across the foot- ball
community with the exclusion of Suarez
from the Ballon Dor shortlist, many showing great dis- approval of FIFAs verdict.
Was his performance in any way affected
by his biting? Did he magically be- come
incompetent the moment he bit Chiellini?
I dont believe it is fair, if you are judging on football- and thats surely what it

is because it is called the Golden Ball, not

the Golden Ball and Mouth. said Brendan
Rodgers, current manager of Liver- pool
and former coach of Suarez. I dont know
the histories of all the players on the shortlist but Im sure some of them had been
guilty of misdemeanours somewhere along
the way.
FIFAs punishment was severe. The fact
is, Suarez is an extraordinary player, even
with his biting. There can be no denial that
he still is one of the most decorated players
of last season.
Suarez was the top scorer for the Barclays
Premier League last sea- son, scoring
an incredible 31 goals in 33 games.
He received numerous awards including the PFA Player of the year,
Premier League Gold- en Boot
and the Barclays Premier League
Player of the Season Award.
He shared the European
Golden Shoe with Ronaldo and became the
seventh player in Premier League history
to score 30 or more
goals in one season.
But these glittering records were
nullified by just one
incident. The quality
of Suarezs performance
last season, scoring hat
trick away and home, should
be rewarded. From shot after
shot and goal after goal, Suarez proved himself to be one
of the best, that is, until FIFA
kicked him off the Ballon Dor
shortlist.
Give the man the place he deserves: in the top 23.

Photo from Wikipedia

Photo from Pixabay

Life style 8

Sudden Death of the Disney Star,

Zac Efron
By Hailey Ahn

achary D. Efron, age 26, passed away on Sept. 12th, 2014, in Los
Angeles, California, Hollywood, while filming Seventeen Again
2. Due to Efrons drinking addiction and attempting to endure his
pain at the rehab, it lead him to commit the devastating mistake,
suicide. Efron was not able to finish his movie, which left a lot of disappointment to his fans who were waiting to see him in theatres after four years.
Efron was born in October 18th, 1987, in San Luis Obispo, California. Born in
an ordinary middle class family with both parents working in a power station
near his home -- mother as a secretary, and father as an engineer he had an
ordinary childhood. Efron was a good student with straight As. He had once
mentioned his exceeding grades in school, mostly filled with As but never
Bs. With satisfying grades, Efron attended University of Southern California.

as Efrons girlfriend. They remained as good friends even after their break
up and she, as well, expressed her disturbance and poignancy to the public.
I miss him, said Hudgens. I definitely miss him. I dont know what happened...
Most of the members of this movie had earned their fame altogether after the
first part of the series went on theatres. Because of the unique relationships that
all of the actors had, the stars all gathered together and praised him up in heaven.
The funeral is going to be held on Sept. 15th to Sept. 17th, 2014, for
three days in a small church near his home, but is restricted for the public to join because Efrons family had insisted it on being private. Many
celebrities are known to be joining this sad event to pay their respects.

Zac Efron was a traveler. The last trip that he had announced in to the media was to Peru with his father around this time of the year, in 2013.
Efron surprised his fans by opening his life to the public about the fascinating experiences he had been having after leaving the rehab.
He appeared in the Kelly and Ellen DeGeneres Show announcing his love for
traveling and showed pictures of his trip to different places. Many thought
that he had recovered from the addictions because of his leisurely travels around the world; however, his death showed that it was not the case.

I never imagined anything like this to happen,

said David Efron, his father, Its been one year since
our beautiful trip to Peru... Zac never told me he was
going through hard times.
It isnt just his family that is greatly affected by Efrons death. As a main character for the High School Musical movie series for three years, many of the actors had been affected, as well. Vanessa Anne Hudgens, who had a love line
with Efron in the three movies, played the same role outside the movie set

Photo from Wikimedia