Say Not To Racism

United World College have embarked on their latest social mission, this time taking on the widespread issue of students and racism. Although it seems as though racism is only found in countries previously scarred by the topic, the frustrating yet true matter is that racism exists everywhere in the world. Discrimination itself is rare but several students in both local and international are subject to several racist and crude comments, as well as appalling jokes. Due the lengthy period since the international abolishment of racism, the present students have grown ignorant to it’s past effects. It is impossible to change the minds of students no matter how much history can attempt to mold them. But the new mission of the United World College movement is to provide their students with these reminders. The ‘We are One’ campaign, organized by the school’s very own 7th grade BTC (Be the Change) students, is a mission attempting to spread awareness about this topic and increase their peers’ sensitivity towards racism.

Although it is a small project, the group designed a video to show an emotional perspective of how racist insults can affect people. The video featured several students describing some of the insults that had affected them in the past. The video was played in front of United World College’s middle school and was received with a positive reaction. This reaction has proved a unified concern among the students. After the video was played, several sources explained their ‘shock’ and ‘will to change’ to our reporters. A member of the group informed the reporters of their opinion on the topic: ‘We chose racism because we believe that it’s one of the biggest topics we need to irradiate in the world. Although people say it’s not there, racism IS everywhere.’

The group have taken a powerful step towards a more positive learning and social environment, and to reduce all discrimination, especially the cruel effects of racism. The positive reaction was a massive indicator to the students, and an encouragement to building on their efforts in the future; it is a message that has been received by United World College international students with a commitment to care.

Dance Fever

Middle school socials. The music, the food, the dancing and the DRAMA. According to most middle school students, it has become an honorary ritual.

“Someone always leaves crying, or mad at someone else” says a source before adding; “Last time, one of my friends received a prank call saying that if she wasn’t home in half an hour, they would kill all her friends.” Is that really something a middle school student should be hearing? One can only imagine how horrifying it must have been for them to receive such a disgusting so called “prank call” while they were just trying to have a good time with their friends and peers. “Sometimes students think its funny to scare their friends with threats like these” explains a middle school councillor. “What they don’t understand is how much it actually scares the other person, talking about dying is not a joke” she says.

Other stories are mostly about typical teen drama like, “he won’t talk to me” or “she won’t dance with me” etc. Now, this is normal, teens will be teens, and there really isn’t a solution to these problems. Most teens find it hard to talk about these problems with an adult, so they like to confide in their friends and then bury the hatchet. “What they need to understand is that sometimes, talking to an adult is more beneficial than talking to someone the same age as you, simply because adults have more experience with these situations and your friend might just have the same mindset as you.” says a high school student. “As they grow up, they need to understand that sometimes, its better to let something go, than make a mountain out of a molehill.” adds a bystander.

As middle schoolers, adults would expect and trust them to be responsible and to think about what they say before they let words flow out of their mouths. Socials are meant for relaxing, bonding, and making new friends, not for starting rumors and fights between friends or acquaintances.

There are reports that the upcoming socials are going to be even better for the year eights as this is their last year of middle school, before transitioning on to the great big world of high school, and unconfirmed sources tell us that there might even be a semi formal at the end of the academic year. So the only thing left to do, is keep calm and party on!

Lost Phone

“He stormed into the math classroom furious and exasperated in his sweaty PE gear.” Stated Tyler Gan reporting for mentor group 8Mwe “He announced he had lost his green school uniform, phone and wallet and was demanding for it to be returned.”

Wilton Cappel from mentor group 8Mwe reported that he had misplaced his green school uniform in the changing lockers before Physical Education. When he returned his school uniform was not present. Wilton said that his phone and wallet were inside the pockets of his school pants. He could not report the incident to security, as he had to finish the last math period of the day with Mr. Tsang.

Wilton Cappel was excused from math class a few minutes early, so he could report the incident without further complications occurring after school. Aaron Kiss and Tyler Gan accompanied him to security. “Nothing right now can be done. We just have to hope that the person holding the phone will return it” said one of the security guards at the security office.

He asked if Wilton had installed the apple™ Find my I phone app to locate his phone, which Wilton had done. Wilton located his phone through his laptop, and he could see that It was off campus. He sent a message to his phone with contact details. Aaron Kiss also was trying to contact Wiltons phone. It was still turned on but was not being answered.

Wilton re-checked the location of his phone. It was at the main entrance of the school campus! Basil Haider emerged from a red car as Wilton, Aaron and Tyler arrived. Basil handed over his phone, wallet and school uniform back to Wilton. “I heard a vibrating sound coming from my bag.” said Basil Haider. “I took it out and it was Wiltons phone. There was a message on it saying he was still at school, So we turned around and headed back towards UWC to return it. I must have mistakenly taken his clothes after PE.”

“Student from UWC have a high risk of getting their personal devices stolen, including phones and laptops if unattended. The school has about 1,000 people who come through every day. This does not include staff and students from the school.” stated an unidentified security guard from UWC. Students should be responsible with devices like these. They should always know where they are and should put them in their lockers during break, lunch and times when they are not in use to avoid misplacement or the loss of the item. I do not think anyone would want to suffer the wrath of their parents when they tell them they lost their laptop or phone!

Simple Hapiness

The Grade 3,4 and 5’s stood in the 40 degree heat on the American British Academy in Muscat, Oman. They all lined up in front of goal for the Crossbar Challenge. Basil Haider, a grade 4 student, was known for his terrible football skills. He stood up to take the penalty. Sweat dripped off of him as he got ready to take his run up. “he could barely lift the ball off the goring, let alone hit the crossbar” said an anonymous friend of Haider. He took the run up and toe punted the ball towards the goal. The ball curled, dipped and smashed the white bar. Haider and the others present stood in shock, then got up and cheered for him as he just stood there. Then the question arises. Why do the most simple things in life give a person so much happiness.

Farah Zia, mother of Haider, said that “ People don't need much to be happy. Money and material can't give you happiness, but a simple thing can.” According to Haider’s brother Samar, “ Its in human nature. The first humans had nothing complex. They were happy from the very simple things, like food. That has been carried through the generations and thats why simple things can make a person happy.” A lot of the time world famous stars and celebrities are very unhappy people. A quote from an anonymous source said that “Celebrities can be too focused on the money and the glamour and not on the simple things in life, like keeping themselves happy.” Many times, celebrities can live too extravagantly and not do things simply which makes them happy. It is very important to keep yourself happy.

thehappinessshow.com said that “Happiness is so important to us, both as individuals and as a world, primarily because happiness is really all there is.” Happiness can come with big and complicated things. But that won't last. Looking at happiness from the perspective of a 8th grade student, our reporter asked a student who has requested to be anonymous said that “Happiness can be in big, glamorous and money/material related things. But that happiness is only temporary. The happiness of winning a game of Rock Paper Scissors, having a chocolate bar or understanding something in math can last longer. True happiness has to simple, but meaningful.” A lot of times doing something difficult and succeeding can make people more happy than doing something easy over and over again. Zia Haider said “ It is because you feel like you accomplished something.”

In a conclusion, simple things give you happiness because it requires little effort, and if feels the best.

Low Crime Is Not No Crime

“You wouldn’t expect Singapore to have a crime rate at all” Says one bystander “but it doesn’t surprise me that crime-alert signs have been popping up everywhere”

Three weeks ago, august 18th, a family of five where in disquietude when they spotted peculiar dusty hand and shoe prints up the outside of their house, leading up to a shattered window. The first to notice the prints was Mrs.Pham, who was outside at 7:30am to hang-dry laundry. “At first I thought it was dirt, but then I noticed the shape and mass-amount of the prints. I saw the broken window and I called the police immediately” she said. The police arrived on the scene just half an hour later. Thankfully nothing was stolen and there were no unwanted guests in the house. The police, being thorough and professional, dusted the fingerprints and searched the whole premises for evidence as there was no witnesses. The only item that was found was a small child-sized “Dora the Explorer” t-shirt, suggesting either a very small criminal or that the perpetrator had perhaps knocked the clothes off the neighbors washing line.

Pointing out while this was quite a low-key crime and as quoted from the straits times “Singapore has a worldwide reputation for being safe”, the detective in charge, Mr.Low reminded the owners that “low crime doesn’t mean no crime”.

Just how low is the crime in Singapore? According to the Singapore police force statistics there were 175 “housebreakings” in the six months ending June, 2014. It is recommended, (even in Singapore) to have an alarm system. So, in Singapore, as safe as it is- the safety of yourself and your belongings shouldn’t be overlooked.

Staying Healthy

Austin Bennett threw up, again. This time all over the kitchen floor. The remains of his last few few meals splattered across the red tiled floor, in a disgusting arrangement of colours. It was the seventh of september almost three weeks after school had started again for Mr. Bennett, who goes to UWCSEA East. And it’s no coincidence that he was sick at the start of the new school year, right after the summer holidays. During the first few weeks back at school colds, viruses and other bugs spread through the school like wildfire. It gets almost impossible to walk around the school without hearing someone cough, sniff or sneeze. But why is it that so many people get sick during the first few weeks of school compared to the rest of the year?

A source working as a nurse in the UWCSEA East campus helped to clarify why. “At the start of the year there are unequivocally more illnesses that get passed around than the rest of the year. We also find that lots of students get sick at the end of the year because everyone is rundown and exhausted after the busy school year.” She explained, when asked why people would be sick after having a long holiday, she went on to describe that “It’s because over the summer everyone goes to lots of different countries, they eat different foods, meet and interact with lots of new people and go on airplanes and trains, which are all perfect opportunities for bugs and viruses to spread. When all the students come back to school and are around each other for over seven hours a day, everything they may have picked up over the summer is spread to the other students around them.”

According to a health website called www.webmd.com airaplanes, trains and other forms of public transport are one of the most common places that infections and virases are spread. This explains why so many students get sick from traveling lots during their holidays.

Locker Crisis

Over at UWCSEA East Campus, there were some very strong policies that weren’t being followed. The staff were getting very frustrated. It was 2013, the third year of the new campus. There were always some students that disobeyed whatever rules the teachers came up with. It’s not like the rules were very strict or hard to follow, the students were just disobedient. There were a few rules like ‘stay downstairs during break’ and ‘never share homework with friends’ etc. However, there was one particular, vital rule that wasn’t being followed and was starting to affect both students and teachers.

The main policy that was always ignored and forgotten, but were starting to exasperate teachers to remind all the time, was about children using their lockers. All the time, the students would carry their entire bag around the school all day instead of putting it in their lockers. Therefore, it was really irritating the teachers and forced them to make a new policy which everyone then followed; ‘No bags in the classroom’.

To rules like these there are always different perspectives and sides.

“Students should be able to decide what they want to do, they shouldn’t be forced to put their bags in their lockers when they have to walk around school in short transitions” is what Grade 8 student Tyler Gan had stated. It’s quite clear that most students are against the idea of walking up and down the stairs again and again to go to their locker. While the students feel it should be on choice, Grade 8 English teacher, Jabiz Raisdana stated that,

“Classrooms are very packed they don’t have enough space for everyones bag, but I do understand where the students are coming from”. He does strongly suggests that kids use their lockers during class.

However with all of that the main reason that this rule is stressed upon kids is for P.E. During school hours, there are a lot of non-teachers on board that wouldn’t come back for the rest of the year. They had no restriction in taking wallets or laptops out of school bags that weren’t protected. The problem was that since students didn’t want to go all the way back up to their lockers, they often left their bags unguarded either in the changing rooms or just left on a bench next to the canteen. The P.E department was becoming very strict about it and was causing students to have their organisational grade lowered. Just about half the school year had finished and there was a massive incident that had occurred and resulted in the school getting very frustrated.

New Stadium

On the 16th of August 2014, the first football match at the Kallang National stadium was being held. The match was being played between Juventus Football Club vs Singapore Selection. Joel Antony and his father were one of the 28 thousand people that were turning up at the national stadium. Many people came to watch the game just to catch a glimpse of their favourite player and team. There are many famous players in Juventus like Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez, Gianluigi Buffon etc. The players came out for a short practice session just to warm up for a match that will go down in the history books. At about 5:55 pm, the players came out on the pitch on the Kallang stadium dawning their team jerseys. The national anthem of Singapore was played and a loud roar was heard after the national anthem was played.

It was finally time for the match to commence. Juventus started the game off. Both teams got of to a good start but 13 minutes into the match, Juventus got a free kick just outside the penalty area. Andrea Pirlo stepped up to take the free kick and managed to score. It was a gem of a free kick and the crowd went crazy. After that goal, Juventus started controlling the game and were making the Singaporean players run a lot. Whenever a player who majority of the fans liked touched the ball, there would be a loud roar. Singapore had a few chances but Juventus managed to get a penalty at the verge of half time. Andrea Pirlo was in charge of taking the penalty and he managed to cooly slot the ball in the back of the net. The crowd went wild again and it was half time shortly after that. Joel Antony and his father were pretty impressed with the proceedings and were looking forward to the second half.

Two members of UWC East met up during half time. Their names were Joel Antony and Nikhil Shah. On asking Nikhil Shah about what he thought of the first half, he mentioned, “Singapore should have played better as it was the first match at their new stadium and I felt that the two goals scored by Andrea Pirlo were really skilful and only a player like him could have scored those goals.” There were many other interesting activities during half time like Samba performances and people being shown on the big screen.

It was time for the game to resume. Singapore started this time as Juventus started in the first half. Many Juventus players were substituted as they had to be rested for the Italian Premier League. Singapore started strongly but Juventus managed to find the goal thanks to Paul Pogba. Two more goals were scored on the second half and both those goals were scored by substitutes. The final score was 5-0 and it was truly a one sided game. All the players created history that day and Andrea Pirlo was declared the man of the match for his contributions to the game and Juventus got an iconic trophy presented by the sports president of Singapore. All the fans were happy and that match was going to be on people’s mind for a long time. Joel Antony and Nikhil Shah met again and he mentioned

“ It was an amazing game and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Even though I wanted Singapore to win, I am still happy with the result.”

Teatastic

Recently UWCSEA student Nikhil Shah was caught while trying to put sugar in his cup of tea during English class as he complained that the tea was too bitter. He was later stopped by fellow student, Arnav who shouted and alert their english teacher, Jabiz Raisdana. This incident was stopped by him as he said that if the tea was going to be an issue, he would stop allowing students this privilege of having tea in class. This is a very unusual finding but Mr. Rasidana claims that he feels at rest while writing if he has a cup of tea to drink next to him. “I enjoy it a lot and feel my students should have the same perquisite of drinking tea while reading and writing and I also feel that this encourages a sense of responsibility in them” he commented. He did have conditions although that students were not allowed to add anything to their cup, no caffeinated tea and no sugar. Should teachers allow students freedom and privileges like this knowing that students will still take advantage of this. When unconfirmed student sources were asked whether they thought this was helpful or not, they admitted that the tea really did help them to write and they felt more “grown up “ in a way.

Most parents think that this is a bad idea as children tend to develop bad habits like this very quickly and can cause children to start drinking tea at home. According to a parent Neetu, this has already started to have an effect at home as her child demands tea while having a load of homework. “This is not a habit that they should be developing at this age” was her opinion on the matter. They may be right in a way but what parents don’t realize, is that drinking tea might improve the likes of student for english as it might help them relax and focus. “I love the tea and thats my favorite part of English as it helps me focus ” said a student requested name not be used.

Research from ayearofproductivity.com shows that herbal and green tea increase focus of students and boosts brain activity. Can this really be a technique that teachers can use to make students have a better propensity for subjects like english. A survey asked to the students proves that student in Mr. Rasidana’s class are far more rhapsodic about english than other class's students. Can this really be the key to having a subject being liked so much ? Maybe next time it will work for other not much liked subjects such as History.

Being A Teenager

In middle school students begin to care about friends more and their reputation is very important to them, but in high school the relationships with their friends is critical and they often struggle to understand who they are and where they fit in.

Being a teen is rough but exciting at the same time, there are its ups and downs. Teens need a good balance with their studies and their social life. Some teenagers often forget that going to school is for studying and not only to see their friends. But the teenagers that don’t have friends or very little of them feel lonely and excluded which often leads to depression. Teenagers have to face obstacles such as finding the wrong friends or backstabbers before finding their true ones, but some naturally prefer to be alone.

All teenagers are different, some are smart, some are dumb, some are sporty and some are less but they are never alone. Some are none of these and they are the ones that find it the hardest to fit in maybe because they think that they are different or maybe they think that nobody feels the same way. The teens that are the most “different” are the ones that are the most vulnerable and the most likely to be victims of bullying or being teased. The ones that are bullied end up feeling insecure and lose their self-esteem. In the US, at least 160,000 children skip school due to bullying.

An anonymous 8th grader in the Lycee Francais de Singapour liked to wear tight clothes but she was bullied and teased for being chubby. As a result, she started cutting herself but she fortunately found a friend that convinced her to stop. She was asked about how she felt about this and she replied “Girls who made me feel insecure about myself can just continue teasing me but to be honest it would be a waste of their time.” In conclusion, school is rough but with the right attitude everyone makes through it.

Stressed Out

Everyday, people come home from work at around 7:30 - 8:30pm. Students usually come home around 4 but sometimes they come around 7:00pm. But on the 4th of September, a student from United World College was spotted walking into her condo at 10:00pm at night.

The Singapore times exclusively found out that the school had their yearly "Meet the Teacher" night. The school was looking for middle school student volunteers to help out last night. Meet the Teacher night is where all the parents of the students in middle school go and meet the teacher as a class. The teachers would talk about their year and about themselves. The parents would ask questions about what the curriculum would be like this year and whether their child is doing well or not. Many student helpers stayed back after school because they might have sports training or just stayed back because they wanted to.

"I had badminton training until 6 and the whole event starts at 6:15. I had to get ready for the long night" says Vaasanthi, a student helper last night. They spent about 3 - 4 hours after school. The problem with nights like this is that it goes on for a long time and students don't get much sleep. The students get really tired because they need to get on a bus to school by 7:00. "My daughter gets up at 6:00 am to get ready for school" a source says. But how much sleep should a child get?

Well according to WebMD.com, a child aged 12-18 should get 8-9 hours of sleep. But because of peer pressure and a night like this. What peer pressure means is when one of your peers tell you to do something and it stays on your mind for a long time. You are expected to do it and not wimp out. Ms. Revers, a psychiatrist says that many students undergo peer pressure but they should overcome it by doing something relaxing such as meditation or just listening to calm and relaxing music.

"I think that it is really important for students to get sleep because they don't receive so much homework. They usually get distracted while working like going on facebook and skyping their friends" Says Mr. Raisdana , English teacher. And this is a true statement. Many students should really try to get enough sleep and they should be more organized in what they have.

Discrimination: Will it ever end?

Discrimination has a long history,it is believed that the inequality amongst men and women in United States was the basis for gender discrimination.On a lighter note even cartoon characters have not escaped the ambush of discrimination.Archie comics:does it ring a bell?Did you know that a few employees at Archie Comic Productions filed a court case against the male executives.The female executives filed a federal court case about being “subjected to gender discrimination and sexual harassment” at work.

According to the website Dictionary.com discrimination is formally defined as, “To make a distinction in favor of or against a person or thing on thebasis of the group, class, or category to which the person or thing belongs rather than according to actual merit; show partiality.” Discrimination can happen at home,public location,work and schools.An examples of discrimination would be when a male employee has a higher salary than a female employee even though they have the same job status in the company they work for.

In a recent case,Scotland Yard subjected a black female officer to vindictive spiteful insulting, malicious and oppressive treatment and greeted her victory against the force in a discrimination case by trying to smear her name.She was discriminated against because she was a black and a women.

Such cases as above are prevalent across the globe and we need to put an end to it.One of the ways is to educate the generation better.Reported by Sally Hasler, “We need to reframe the way we think about women and working and stop placing limitations on their desires and abilities to pursue ambitious, successful careers.” Another strategy is to change the mindset and emphasise that women are equally capable and shoulder responsibilities equally well as men.If the world leaders talk about women empowerment and women equality in one voice it will help in changing the perception and hopefully reduce discrimination.Diversity and inclusion within work forces can help reduce discrimination with organizations.

Stay Healthy

‘The coughing of humans is like a virus’ says a doctor.

If you travelled in the MRT you will have most definitely noticed those children and elders coughing right on your shoulder, neck and even sometimes your ear.

Most people on the MRT do not cover their mouths when coughing.

‘They do not do this as they are worried that their hands will get dirty’ said a 9th grade student. What they do not realise is that, when they do not cover their mouth, it causes the germs to move and work faster (meaning infecting others).

She also includes that ‘They should honestly at least use a tissue paper to cover their mouth while coughing. And if they use a tissue paper they will not be dirtying their hands!..’

Where as there are a few people who wear masks. Another 9th grader was asked her opinion on this topic..’They are not protecting others, actually they are protecting themselves. Since, they are wearing the mask the germs can not affect them.’According to a doctor ‘The smart ones use a mask in the MRT. They are actually self-aware..’

Why are viruses and fevers spreading so quickly on the MRT? ’Lots of people go to the hospital and take a MRT home. Basically you will not be able to know if the person right next to you has an illness..’ according to an anonymous source. ‘I think it is dangerous if we allow sick people on to the MRT. It kind of risks other peoples health..’ he adds.

So, in conclusion the MRT is quite dangerous for our health and more people should take this into consideration.

The Effects of 9/11

When was 9/11? 9/11 was in 2001 it was a memorable date in the lives of many. Who were directly affected. Also in the minds of the world. It was an act of terrorism which stunned the world. The horror on everyones faces when the building got demolished by the two hijacked planes. Was televised worldwide and the memory of the lives even today 9/11/14. 13 years on!

An unconfirmed source gave a detailed apologue of how she felt when she got the news. Her husband called her at work and said he had just got a phone call from his college from New York and he asked her to watch the news immediately. She was speechless as she watched the pandemonium that was occurring live on the television. The panic, horror and shock of all the people still etched in her mind even today.

The sight of the man in the white shirt jumping out of a very high floor from one of the towers. It was amazing because he chose to take that action to save his life rather than take the staircase with everyone else. What must have been going on in his mind in his last moments Fear, Anger and Emptiness. What sort of Barbaric people would have wanted to cause this? Why did they want to kill themselves to kill many more? Why?

Feminism Is The Future

8_C2 Physical Education class Student Rhea Taneja feels that she is discriminated against and she isn't the only one; many female students feel the same way. (Female) Students feel that they underestimated in their Physical Education class. And this discrimination is not the students but by teacher. The group of 11 to 12 girls feel discriminated against as in sports, while there are several others women out there there discriminated against bigger and more important situations, not that this isn't but there are bigger issues that society needs to change.

Feminist: the person who believes in the social,political, and economic equality of the sexes. Although there has been success all over the world for women empowerment there is still much more work to be done. According to the UN Woman Press Release on July 5th in New York ‘ The social and legal discrimination against woman remains a major obstacle to economic development in emerging and developing countries.’ But there has been change.

According to Society Institution and Gender Index (SIGI) these are some positive scores from 2012. On average, the rate of early marriage has decreased to 17 per cent in 2012 from 21 per cent in 2009. The number of countries with specific legislation to combat domestic violence has more than doubled from 21 in 2009 to 53 in 2012. Many more positive outcomes have come.

Although there have been so many positive outcomes sadly feminism isn't just a problem in developing countries it also affects girls and woman on a large scale in developed countries. The society tells women that they are still powerless,weak and less than a man. ‘We raise girls to see each other as competitors.Not for jobs or for accomplishments.Which I think can be a good thing.But for the attention of men’ words of feminist activist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie during her TED talk in 2009, (it was sampled for the 2013 song ***flawless by american artist Beyonce.)

The is a fine difference between discrimination in developing and developed countries, though the effect is same, it portrays women and weaker being who need someone stronger than them to protect them and guard them. Preferably a man. And though there several women in the world depressed because of this, this has also inspired many woman to make a change and bring themselves equal to a man. Susan B. Anthony, Declaration of Rights for Women (July 1876) "We ask justice, we ask equality, we ask that all the civil and political rights that belong to citizens of the United States, be guaranteed to us and our daughters forever." Even though the declaration of rights for women was back in 1876, it took over 2 centuries for feminism to become accepted widely by all women today.

It took time for women to accept their power and raise to power and take their place, next to men. And now girls all over the world raise to power and question if they are denied it, even in our community. Here are what some female students say about raising to our power.’We need feminism so we can do what we want’. ‘Men think of feminism as a joke but to us its about having the rights we deserve’. ‘Men create discipline women create a generation’ ‘Men have inner beauty while we have it on the outside. Men are tough on the outside, while we have inner warriors in us.’ Feminism is the future.

The Burnmark is a School's Reputation

Has the rumors of one of the biggest events in a school spreaded to other schools already? Has this ruined this school’s reputation? Vedant, an ex-student of Overseas Family School, was asked whether because of this event, how he would view the school, whether it is still a good school or a bad school. He firmly replies, “I think that the school’s reputation has been ruined due to this event that happened at OFS.” Arguably, this event is something that won’t look good in OFS’ reputation.

A few months ago, during a loud lunchtime, an ashy, unbreathable smoke came out of a shower room, just by the large soccer field. An anonymous source says that all the students ran to the field, only to crowd around the flaming room. Teachers made efforts to keep the paparazzi away from the shower room, as they emphasized the boundaries, staying focused on the student’s safety. Videos were quickly posted on to social media, as entertained students watched staff, tame and put out the fire.

Sources from the school say that a certain student made attempts to burn the school, due to hatred towards OFS itself, others say that the student made attempts to burn his failed tests using coal. However, even with all the information brought to the principle upon who might’ve committed such a stupid act, it was later rumoured that the student later brought himself in, snitching 4 other witness’ that didn’t stop him from starting the fire. The suspect was punished with a 4 month suspension from school, as the other witness’ was brought to suspension of 4 days.

The student who committed the act, then expressed his feelings upon his social media page, and this is what he had to say,”I just want to say that whatever I did at school today, I wasn't thinking at all. I was being really stupid (as everyone knows) and I didn't mean any of it.” He then continues upon what he did by saying, “ Once again, to everyone, I'm really, really sorry for this. And I also want to say thanks to all the people that can surprisingly understand that what I did was purely a mistake, nothing more. Even though it was a massive, stupid mistake, I just want to say thanks for somehow understanding. Really sorry guys.” Although he apologized and expressed upon how guilty he felt, students from other schools thought that his punishment wasn’t severe enough. A student from another school comments upon the punishment of the suspended student. He believes that the punishment wasn’t harsh enough, he thought that the suspended student should’ve been expelled as what he did could have endangered the lives of many students. Some thought that if they started that fire, their parents would’ve taken everything away from them forever because of the risk it put other students in, and commented similar things upon the suspended student’s punishment. Others thought differently and thought that he would’ve learnt that what he did was wrong and thought that he would never do it again if he was given that much time to think about what he had done to the school and students.

It was later confirmed by a staff of the science department at OFS, that he would’ve been expelled from OFS. He says, “If it wasn’t for the 10 good years of history of this student’s record at OFS, he would’ve been expelled for sure!” Staff from others schools believe that rather than punishing the student, they would have become his counsellor, helping him understand that what he had done was wrong and would help him correct his mistake to make sure he’d never do it again.
Although it was an entertaining and eventful day for many of the students, watching the fire blaze in the shower room, the day wasn’t good at all for the school, as they are now left with a big burnmark in their history and reputation.