Position Paper: Video Games

There are vast canvases of opportunities for us to distress our minds. But some people would rather resort to their tiny screens where they can crash kill get into ridiculous gunfights, die, and then start over. Violent role playing games would activate the nervous system’s underlying addiction and reward, resulting in the attraction to more violent activity. Evidently, entertainment in the 21st century has been altered, and no doubt will come with consequences.

Some say that role playing games helps teens improve their problem solving skills, relieve stress and provide motivation by providing quick reward for winning. This in only the case if video games are played in moderation. According to an article written by Forbes Studies have shown that video games increase aggression, while others show the opposite. If one is constantly engaged in violent activity, the traitorous games can lead to teens living lives with disrupted routines which eventually impacts their health, makes it harder for them to concentrate and might engrave negative values into their minds.

A source from Vanderbilt University calculated that “an average 13-18 year old games for about 14 hours or more per week.” Playing these violent role playing games frequently would make a teen constantly think of ways to advance within the game, or in other words be addicted to it. This addiction might often lead to stress because of the inability to balance their priorities.

With a disrupted routine comes health consequences. “Students who have played a violent video game had a higher heart rates, reported more dizziness and nausea, and exhibited more aggressive thoughts as to those who played a nonviolent game.” states an article from Vanderbilt university. These gamers would get so engrossed into their game that they would forget the lives that lie outside their screens. Making them neglect their health, and forget their responsibilities.

Most may argue that gamers are allowed to communicate within the game, enabling them to work on their collaboration skills, and to become friends with people. Gamers pick up foul language as well as rough behaviour within the walls of this game. Like the saying when in Rome, you do as the Romans do. Additionally, most gamers lack social skills because their interactions with people face to face are limited to a minimum or to zero.

The distinction between fiction and reality are often challenging to separate for some who spend majority of their daily routine glued to screens. Violent role playing games have detrimental effects on their users. as they engrave fake morals into their minds. Causing destruction and killing are glorified and rewarded. Forbes rightly said “You are what you eat is an adage that applies equally well to the images and experiences we code into our brains”

Many game content might also not be age appropriate and given the lack of control around them are readily available for being download by anyone. In multiple games, women are portrayed as weaker characters or that they are helpless, while some professionals spend all their time talking about gender equality.

However there are games, which while played in moderation can have a positive effect on teens. Scientists have claimed that certain games can help the brain in numerous ways some like boosting intelligence and improving memory. In some games the player manages to learn to manage resources and work on decision making skills. It also trains the players brains to think of creative ways to solve puzzles and other problems.

Therefore, I am not taking a stance on saying that any role playing games are bad or should be avoided. It is pretty much unavoidable because of the presence of technology in this modern environment. The point that I am trying to enforce is that certain violent role playing games promote killing, stabbing and shooting to resolve a conflict. The instant gratification of progress through the game as the gamer kills more enemies encourages kids to become more violent. This cannot be a good thing. Additionally, playing many of these games would make teens addicted to the game causing them to lead a disrupted lifestyle. We should stop our society from imploding and educating teens and making them aware of some of the consequences from gaming for too long, too often.


By Manini 

Literary Essay: Aristotle and Dante, Speak

For most people, conversations about rape and homosexuality are ones that are commonly avoided. Most kids are not educated about these topics and this might lead to them struggling to seek for help. This could be because of a community's belief of it being sinful. This would leave people feeling isolated or like an outcast. This message came clear in the books “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson and “Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe” by Benjamin Alire Saenz. Both authors use inner thinking as a tool to effectively show emotions and to prove that people we frequently interact with would shape a part of who we become.

In “Speak” an outcast called Melinda was introduced. She starts 9th grade alone with no companions by her side. During the summer of the previous year, she was sexually assaulted during a party. This act sealed her lips and turned her into an outcast. Melinda belongs to a busy family. Her family rarely talk, they “communicate with the notes on the kitchen counter. I write when I need school supplies or a ride to the mall. They write what time they’ll be home from work and if I should thaw anything. What else is there to say?” Melinda rarely talks to her parents so she doesn't know how to go up to them and talk about what happened last summer. “I don’t have time for this Melinda” was the response that Melinda got the night after she harmed herself. She was left speechless after this. If her family doesn't care about her, who will? Melinda’s family is a part of the reason that she couldn’t open up to anyone about the event that occured last summer. Melinda’s parents seem to overreact over the smallest things: grades, room decorations, seasons. This could be another reason why she didn’t tell them about what happened because of the fear that they might take drastic measures to ensure their daughter is alright.

The story “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” revolves around the friendship of two boys, Aristotle and Dante. Dante frequently interacted with were his parents and Aristotle. His relationship with his parents is like one with friends. He is aware of the fact that his parents trust and respect him. Even when he is treated this way, he is still afraid to talk to them about his feelings towards Aristotle. He did this because he was afraid of disappointing his parents because of who he was becoming, as he was an only child. Also, the act of kissing another of the same gender in a public space got him into a hospital ICU. This proves that people and rules that are set shape parts of who we become.

Aristotle’s relationship with his parents is one that shapes a big part of who he has become. His relationship with his dad is a shallow one. This changes after the car accident where he jumped in front of a car to protect Dante. Eventually, they found some things in common (Bad dreams, books, driving lessons and his brother). He doesn't talk as openly with his father as he does with his mother. Aristotle wasn’t one who had many companions but, his relationship with his mother was one like close friends. They knew each other pretty well. Even if this is, he is really hesitant to talk about his feelings for Dante and to ask questions about his brother, “Thats what I did with everything. Keep it inside”. Aristotle got into a fist fight once and his parents got very worried because his brother got into prison because he had killed someone with his bare fists. “I’m not my brother” Aristotle said and then promised himself that he wouldn’t turn into his brother. Past events, parental pressure and expectations shape who you become.

Even though people say that everyone is different and it is important to be your own original person, but in most cases, our families and the people we frequently interact with make some sort of mark on us. As Anne Frank said once said, ““Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.” As people, we should be committed to care and listen to anyone who might require assistance of any kind. Even the smallest actions can make large impacts.

By Manini 

Authors Craft Essay: 'Speak' by Laurie Halse Anderson

Most people go through a phase where they feel like they’re voice is unheard. That phase where the words that roll out of their tongue simply vanish into the thin air. Similarly in the story “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, a girl found herself silenced because of a rape incidence earlier in her life. Over time, she finds her voice and the courage to speak her mind. The girl, Melinda, enters high school at the start of the book, she starts alone. She is nervous and retreats into a shell whenever she has to interact with people. Author Laurie Halse Anderson used techniques like symbolism and flashbacks to keep readers predicting, so that they could make an effort to understand why Melinda is so introverted and how her character will evolve through the book.

From the start of the book Melinda was introduced as a shy and introverted 9th grader. With every new page, a bit more was revealed about her. This helped build the readers curiosity and made the reader want to keep reading further to understand more about the character. The author would talk about melinda now and then and then occasionally flip back to the summer and to what happened back then. The author probably did this to build up suspense and gradually develop the cause and effect aspect of Melinda’s present character. The author also revealed more information about Melinda and her friends at a slow pace and probably deliberately to keep the reader anxious to find out more.

The dominant symbol throughout the story are trees. Laurie found an easy way to do this, she engraved her symbol into something that Melinda does at school. Art. At the start of the year, Melinda got to pick a chit of paper with her art assignment on it. Trees. In my opinion, the trees mentioned represent growth of this character. At times, Melinda would not be able to draw trees, this probably symbolized struggle. “I can’t bring it to life” she would say and then give up on drawing fauna. Her trees would be ‘lifeless’ perhaps symbolizing her own inability to speak and interact socially with life around her. The act of giving up could symbolize losing hope after trying to do something over and over again and rarely succeeding. Time spent in the art room is described as tedious and challenging. Maybe this meant that change is a slow and a tiresome process. Finally, at the end of the year Melinda was able to draw trees successfully. This shows relief and strength. The symbol allowed the reader to track Melinda’s character grow as the story progresses?

People might have missed this but, another symbol that has been mentioned repeatedly were Melinda’s lips. Melinda often criticized her lips of being cracked and dry. This could possibly symbolize not taking sufficient care of herself or to symbolize something rarely used. She once said that she didn’t recognize her lips, as though she was talking about not recognizing who she was turning into. It might also show confusion or being unsure of how to manage a situation. Melinda really struggled with speaking up, and she often questions if people would care about what she has to say “would they listen?” or “would they believe me?”. Her lips were the perfect symbol that would help us understand that she hasn’t spoken for a while and wasn’t going to speak up any time soon, which is why it was dry and uncared for. This got me predicting about the end, would she finally speak up? would someone help her to find her voice?

Speaking up isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and we should respect that. Some people just don’t know how to or are not comfortable to express themselves verbally and they might end up using alternatives, just like how Laurie was able to use trees, Melindas lips and flashbacks as tools to speak for Melinda’s feelings. The effects of events in the past have large impacts on our present selves, this has come out well throughout the story. I, myself, am going to commit to listening up, genuinely care, and try and help someone in a similar situation. I am hoping, but who knows, if there are more Melindas amongst us in real life?

By Manini 

Plastics: The Crisis

Putting my cap on, I started picking up some trash. I was really close to the water at one point and saw something swimming in the water. It looked like something a brown and slimy. It had to be an otter! It just lingered around this one spot near the beach for the longest time and eventually started climbing onto my nerves. When no one was looking, I went closer to the murky water. I saw the otter quickly swimming away, freeing itself from a mangled brown plastic bag now suspended by the water. I waded into the cool water and picked it up, absolutely disgusted by what was just seen. This is a story from Beach Clean Up volunteer Khantey Lim.

This is a service called “The Beach Cleanup” that goes out to Changi beach to pick up tossed trash. They spend an hour there and find heaps of plastic on the beach. This service helps to fish out most trash and their chance to get washed into the ocean, clearly making a difference to the marine environment.

Gandhi once said “There is enough in the world for everyone's need, there is not enough in the world for everyone’s greed”. The crisis of overconsumption is that people are blindly using resources for pleasure without awareness of its impact on the Environment.

Plastics cover up most landfilling spaces in numerous places around the world. The problem with plastic is that it is made out of polymers. Polymers are a bunch of long noodle like strands that are woven together and held tightly by chemical bonds. The problem with polymers is that they don’t biodegrade naturally as they are too large for microorganisms to break down. Plastics are also quite expensive to recycle, and they release harmful gasses into the air when they are. This means that plastic is a material created by humans that has been designed to throw away. All plastics that have been created still exists in some shape or form cluttering up our planet and destroying lots of nature. The more we dispose it, the more it harms our home.

Researchers say that 50% of used plastic is landfilled, 30% of it is made into durable goods and the remainder is disregarded. These disregarded plastics eventually find themselves floating into oceans, which causes lots of inconvenience to marine life. Some animals choke to death trying to eat these plastics thinking that they are food while others have consumed so much plastic that they are not able to eat any real food- hence making them starve to death, and even some animals get entangled in it- and they cannot survive the long lasting durability.

Plastics live a very long life. Almost too long, while the plastic is floating in the ocean, the sun can break them down into tinier pieces through a process called photodegradation. These microscopic plastics are found in oceans, beaches, and stranded on land. Micro plastics attract toxic chemicals. These micro plastics are then eaten by marine animals, then these micro plastics are then transferred throughout the rest food chain. Scientists are still trying to find out the effect of this on humans.

UWCSEA is making an effort to reduce plastic consumption. This school has changed our takeaway cutlery and glasses to Cornware. Its a healthier material for the environment. Also, every 2 in 3 students in the Jra classroom say that they are willing to bring in their own lunch box to get food from the canteen. If bringing a lunchbox to school becomes a routine, there will be less plastic and food waste disposal at the school, creating a greener environment. The school shop has also started giving out paper and cloth bags instead of plastic ones.

If we consume less plastic, less plastic would have to be manufactured. Over time, there will be less plastic that would be washed into the ocean and cause inconvenience to marine life. Also, less trees and wildlife habitats would be destroyed to create plastic landfill sites. The best part is that the air we breathe would be a lot less polluted because less plastic would need to be created and incinerated. The wildlife population in the world has almost halved since our existence on earth so these measures should be taken as quickly as possible. Visit this site to find out more about how you could start living a plastic free life.

In conclusion, we should be aware of the plastic problem. We can see through our own eyes that this is a large issue, that will only get worse if the problem is not taken seriously. Whenever you see a piece of plastic loitering around on its own, find a trash can where it could be safely disposed off. Ask if you could get recycling cans and ensure that plastics are recycled or disposed away from wildlife habitats. And always remember that you can reduce, reuse, re-fuse, recycle, and re-design. Get creative with these R’s, up-cycle trash into treasures to raise awareness about the plastic problem. Find alternative solutions to your plastic consumption. Every action counts, make your change now!

The Prioritized Problem

She rubbed her eyes to try to wipe away tiredness. After cross country in the morning, school during the day and badminton training in the afternoon she was exhausted. The rate at which she was working told her that she had solved 2 math problems/hour. “I’ll just do this later” She said and she hit the hay after setting her alarm for 5:30 in the morning. “After school activities take up so much of time, some days the homework is okay, but somedays i’m buried underneath homework” Says Lizzie.

Almost every 3 in 5 teens procrastinate while doing their homework. This contributes to stress and in some cases might affect their health. Not having a stable sleep cycle might cause teens to have a short attention span and might cause depression over time.

Imagine a day as a weighing scale. People should try to make their activities, passions and priorities all equally balanced on this scale. “I would usually go on tumblr, check my mail and text a few people before I get down to doing homework” Says UWC student Aditi Rudra. Having a routine or a timetable of things you are aiming to accomplish will help you to find balance. Listening to music, drinking tea, taking breaks by looking outside are all strategies you could use to help reduce stress, test anxiety and will keep you relaxed.

Sleeping and being relaxed actually has quite a large impact on people. According to http://www.coco-mat.com/?i=coco_fr.en.reasons , Sleeping can help with:

• keeping your heart healthy
• Reducing stress
• helps you concentrate & help you evaluate better
• helps you boost memory
• helps your body replenish and lose weight. 

“My grade 8 goal was to try sleeping earlier, for the first few weeks i could easily aim and shoot for this goal. I felt more energized by following my goal and I also could get more work done. But, at week four I was finding it hard to keep up and i ended up missing my goal most of the time” says UWCSEA student Akanksha Shukla.

She needed 3 consecutive alarms to wake up the next morning. She rubbed her eyes to try to wipe away tiredness. 6:40. she still needed to finish homework. she still needed to take a shower. she still needed to eat her cereal. she still needed to wear her shoes. Finally she was able to catch up with the bus and get to school in time.

Rethinking over your day to balance your weighing scale will help you lead a healthier lifestyle and relief lots of stress. All simply done by being an effective prioritizing procrastinator.

Written by Manini

The Urban Pet Owner

The neighbor had the dog leashed and she pressed the lift button. She then left the leash on the ground and told to obedient dog to ‘stay’ while she tied her shoes. Suddenly there was a ‘ding!’ and the dog ran into the lift because of the desperation of being outdoors. The woman screamed for the dog to come out, and the declined dog obeyed his master.

The woman then got up and entered the lift, expecting her dog to follow her. She gave a relieved breath and she turned to the mirror to fix her hair. It was only on the second floor that she had realized that not her dog, but his leash had been caught between the lift doors.

According to Caroline Golon on petfinder.com you should always be aware and cautious during all activities with your dog, this will go a long way in ensuring a positive living experience in the urban area. She also wrote that every owner should train their dog in a few basic commands like ‘sit’, ‘heel’ or ‘stay’ as this will give you control over your dog to help ensure they are safe.

The lift doors opened and she sunk down on her knees and cried her eyes out. She held the leash, the whole extendable chord had been straightened out. “Oh god, please keep my Milo safe, he is a good dog” She said hopefully. And she took the same claustrophobic lift, with the same mirror, with the same ugly tiles to go upstairs.

The lift doors opened and revealed her the scene of her dog sitting in her husbands lap. The husband claims that he had heard a loud ‘bang!’ outside that caused him to rush outside and check if everything was alright. He continues saying that he found Milo sitting calmly in front of the lift but his leash kept extending quickly. The Man says that he quickly undid the leash form Milo’s neck. “Oh, our hero!” Tears of joy washing away tears from before wrapping her arms around her husband. “YAY! Group hug!” yelled their daughter Ashley.

Looking after a furry friend in the middle of a concrete jungle can be pretty hard - especially where there isn’t much space. You could go to urbanpetmagazine.com to resolve any problems centered around being an urban pet owner. This event is a reminder to us that anything could go wrong at anytime and sometimes there might not be a hero to save us. Another thing to remember is to be optimistic because everything doesn't end badly.

Written by Manini