sCapital News Friday, February 6, 2015
www.kelownacapnews.com A27
Kelowna Secondary School Home of the Owls
Dreams really do come true! By Taylor Black & Kaylie Stathopolus, News writers
Everyone has a dream, but often obstacles prevent us from attaining that dream. Often we allow struggles such as bullying, a poor self-image, or a disability to stand in the way…. But one KSS student has surpassed some of his struggles to see an amazing dream come true. 17-year-old Walid Khalfallah has had his share of obstacles. From the age of 12, golf was a huge part of Walid’s life. Every week he would join his grandfather out at the driving range to hit a few balls. But a few years ago, due to a medical condition, Walid became confined to a wheelchair and golfing became an impossibility; for the time being, Walid had to settle for watching pro golf and following his favourite golfers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on television. Despite the challenges, Walid never lost his deep passion for the sport. On Friday September 6, 2013, Walid received the astounding news that he had been selected by the well-known Make-A-Wish Foundation to make a wish–an incredible honour and privilege. Walid was suddenly faced with a new obstacle: he literally could choose to do almost anything he wanted. After a few days of research and thought Walid finally came to a decision about what to wish for. Khalfallah has chosen to go golfing in Florida with his best friend Jake (also a grade 11 student at KSS). “My heart was set on this… the golfing!!” Walid beamed during an interview with Censor This! The exciting catch was that there was to be a third member to their party: a pro-golfer by the name of Anthony Netto. Anthony Netto became Walid’s golfer of choice because he, too, is a paraplegic who has reinvented himself. On New Years Eve of 1994, Netto was hit by a drunk driver, an accident that put him in a wheel chair. Netto’s career dreams as a pro golfer were shattered in seconds; however, with a great deal of rehabilitation, Netto has managed to return to his professional status, and for obvious reasons he has become a great inspiration to Walid. A program was developed called “Stand Up and Play”, created to give the impaired an opportunity to take part in sports and activities again. This program is possible because Netto himself invented his own wheelchair to help him stand up, making golfing a possibility again. At the end of summer, 2014, Walid’s wish finally came true. He and his family travelled to San Diego to golf again. Anthony Netto, who created the specialized golf cart (the Paragolfer) was waiting for him. When asked how it felt to golf again, Walid grinned, “It felt really good!”. He also said that being in the Paragolfer was a totally worthwhile experience—in fact, the entire experience blew his mind. A week in San Diego was a total blast. “It was super hot there,” he said, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying the golfing. Getting back out on the green brought back memories of golfing with his grandpa—in short, a game of golf was well overdue. Walid described his time in San Diego as second-to-none. He said one of the highlights was being able to stay in an all-inclusive resort with his family, a dream vacation for any student and something he’ll never forget.
Give Us a Voice: Why 16 & 17 year olds Should Have the Right to Vote
By Gillian Smith, Opinion The recent referendum in Scotland prompted many discussions about independence and what it means to be a country, but it also started one more. Should 16 and 17 years olds be granted the right to vote?
It’s no secret that here in Canada we have a problem with voter turnout. The percentages of eligible voters that have cast a ballot in the five federal elections since the new century began have been dismal. It even reached a record low of 58.8% in 2008, thought the most recent election in 2011 managed to be slightly higher at 61.1%. This is particularly bad in people aged 18-20 and 21-24 year olds, with only 22% turnout and 28% turnout respectively. Advocates of a lower voting age have said that allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote could boost these numbers, citing the record setting 84.5% turnout of the Scottish referendum (which gave votes to those 16 and older) as an example. One reason this may be is that 16 and 17 year olds are generally still living in a more stable environment (their homes as opposed to a dorm room), and thus may be more likely to access a voting station. It has also been said that if teenagers are allowed to vote at a younger age they may be more likely to continue voting later in life. One reason used against allowing teens to vote is the idea that they don’t really care, and would thus only vote for who their parents tell them. Doesn’t this sound familiar? This exact excuse was used in the early twentieth century as a reason to not allow women the right to vote. Another popular excuse is that us teens simply “don’t care about politics”. Sure, some teens are disinterested with the subject, but so are some adults! With the increasingly bad turnouts in recent elections, what better way to ensure more voters in the coming years than by allowing us to vote from a young age? Furthermore, if 16 and 17 year olds were allowed to vote it could encourage political literacy, as teens would feel more included in the political process. The decisions our government makes today greatly impact our future, and the consequences of decisions being made mainly by baby boomers will be our problems to deal with. It’s time that teenagers get a say in these decisions, for it’s our future on the line.
Dehumanization in a Digital World By Nicole Johnston “A recent study has shown the number one fear for women dating online is that they are going to meet a serial killer and the number one fear for men: that the woman they meet is going to be fat.” This was the base for the social experiment conducted and filmed by YouTube Channel “Simple Pickup.” In this experiment, they took a young, attractive woman and had her set up an account on the popular dating app “Tinder.” This app is used for people to find local singles with similar interests using information from the user’s Facebook page. Users have the opportunity to chat if they each identify the other as a potential match. In this experiment, the men who showed up were surprised to find that their date was obese (she was really an actress in a fat suit). The reactions were appalling. Most of the men confronted the woman about the difference between her online profile and real appearance, with some going as far as to call her fat or ask if she was pregnant. Men referred to being “agitated” and one expressed his grievances over the gas he wasted to come to meet her. Only one of these men stayed long enough to hear that the whole date was a social experiment. Several of the men told the woman the reason for their cutting the date short, but others claimed to be married or to simply be using the bathroom and took off. Understandably, taking an immediate stance against the men in this video may seem unfair as they are simply “responding to human nature.” They thought they were getting one type of woman and another showed up--anybody would be mad, regardless of gender. For this reason, Simple Pickup reversed the experiment with a male actor now in the fat suit. All of the women stayed for the whole date. At first sight, they seemed cautious of the actor as he did not match his profile, but they stayed long enough to get to know him. Several of them made plans for another date and one woman enjoyed the date enough to end it with a kiss! So what does this teach us? Most men that I have discussed this issue with assumed that I would take the fist-in-the-air-feminist position and criticize men for being a long list of things that are likely not appropriate for this venue. To avoid that image, I will refer to myself as something we can all relate to: human. Somewhere behind all of the screens and technology, we have forgotten the one thing that truly binds us all together—our vulnerability and real humanity. A portrait or selfie on your phone is not simply an image you can judge as attractive or not by the swipe of a thumb, that picture represents a living, breathing human with insecurities, passions, secrets and potential. We dehumanize each other by digitalizing the
experience of social interaction. It’s the same concept that leads to cyber-bullying and online hate. When we all hide behind our screens, we are unable to see each other as real, functioning people. Perhaps a woman appears more over-weight in person than she does in her profile, but did any of these men stop to wonder “why”? Maybe she recently gained the weight. That kind of weight gain is likely the cause of some sort of medical issue (mental or physical) or the use of medication. Do these men think she likes looking the way she does? In a society where the media perpetuates the need to be thin, being overweight and single can be difficult. People are superficial. They judge each other based on looks before giving personalities a second thought. Online dating at least gives people a chance to make emotional connections before forming physical ones. If this situation had been real, this woman would may have felt slighted and insecure, otherwise she would have used more recent photos. With this kind of insecurity already present, comments like “fat” or asking if she is pregnant are going to have a severe negative effect. Even if these men were horribly offended, why did they need to verbally insult her? Comments like these stick with people. Comments like these feed the diet and cosmetic industry. Comments like these feed self-hate and help form eating disorders. Comments like these stem from our generation’s inablity to form a connection between the face on the screen and the beating heart standing in front of them. I am not saying that women are better than men or that men need to behave exactly the way the women did. However, there is something to be learned from being polite and at least trying to get to know somebody. Once the initial idea of the man in the profile was replaced by the real thing, the women were able to connect with the male actor. They were able to form friendships with him, and, in some cases, even romantic bonds. Nobody has to start a committed relationship out of pity, but there is something to be said for viewing each other as humans with potential instead of profile pictures that are only there to be swiped left or right. If you would like to watch the videos for yourself, here are the links: Woman experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2alnVIj1Jf8 Man experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUy3_kBme4M
Community Connection February 2015 The Meaning of “Autistic”
By Sasha Tyner
I am not comfortable in large crowds. The idea of going to school is constantly daunting, and I feel unsafe around a majority of my classmates. And I feel that I have a sound reason to feel this way. I am autistic. That word, “autistic.” A middle school boy’s favourite insult and a parent’s worst nightmare. We’ve all heard of autism, and whether through personal experience or through a man telling you the evil of vaccines, autism is becoming visible in the public eye. But believe it or not, this doesn’t mean autism is accepted or normalized. One could argue the opposite, in fact. On Monday, November 3rd, 2014, a woman by the name of Jillian Meredeth McCabe threw her autistic son, London Grey McCabe, off a bridge. A horrible act, of course, that anyone would be shocked to hear of, it seems. Yet I was not shocked. This is not an isolated incident. It seems a fairly common practice for allistic parents to deem their autistic children too difficult to care for, and end their lives. In Prince Rupert, April of this year, Angie Roberston shot dead her son, Robbie, and then killed herself. In June of 2013, Dorothy Spourdalakis and Jolanta Agatha Skrodzka plotted to murder Spourdalakis’ autistic son with sleeping pills, and later finished the deed with a kitchen knife. So, yes, autistic people are at risk, and often from those they need to trust most, it would seem. But the violence does not start with murder, and several smaller acts can also be seriously harmful to autistic people as a whole. Consider what I mentioned earlier: the word “autistic” as an insult. If you insult someone by calling them autistic, you give the word negative connotations, and contribute to the stigma against autistic people as a whole. You may not be the one wielding the knife, but you are supporting a culture that sees autism as a bad thing, and justifying the actions of the knife-wielder. Another problem is society’s treatment of actual autistic people. Let’s use stimming as an example. When I am in a large crowd or otherwise uncomfortable situation for too long, I become overstimulated. In order to calm myself down, it helps to engage in stimming behaviour such as rocking, hand flapping, or twirling my hands- all that stereotypical autistic stuff. But if it is deemed inappropriate in that situation, gross-looking, or bad by an allistic person, I am often forced to stop at the sacrifice of my mental health. Autism is visible in our society, yes. But one could not truthfully say that it is accepted. Until parents learn that autism is something to be celebrated and not feared, and until middle school students stop constantly putting down autistic people, I will not feel safe, and I doubt other autistic people will either. Look at your own actions, and decide whether or not you care about the wellbeing of autistic people. If the answer is no, change that.
KSS to Launch Student Adventure Magazine Kelowna Secondary School has had a long and illustrious tradition in student journalism dating back to the fifties. While the name of the newspaper has changed several times and the school has replaced the paper-based editions with an interactive online forum, the commitment to reporting the news and making commentary has not. Today, KSS’s Censor This! newspaper is fed by some the best student journalists around (check us out at www.ksscensorthis.com). At the beginning of March, the KSS Journalism class, in collaboration with KLO Middle School, will embark on a new journey into e-zine publication. While Censor This! will carry on as per usual, part of the journalism class will dedicate its time and effort to working with their middle school cohorts to get Art of Adventure Magazine off the ground. Where Censor This! reports on school, community, national and international news, Art of Adventure will be a global student magazine dedicated to publishing quality articles, journals, blogs, photography, video, creative writing and artwork with a distinctly in-the-field flavor. The magazine is intended to draw together life-minded students, teachers and alumni (pretty much ALL of us) from around the world.” Ever wondered what it’s like to trek through the Indian Himalayas? Ever wanted to care for young orangutans in Balikpapan? Want to know who’s ticking off things to do and places to see on their ultimate bucket list? Looking for a meaningful and safe volunteer experience overseas? Art of Adventure Magazine will be your first stop. “The Art of Adventure FaceBook group already has close to 500 members, and we haven’t even launched yet,” said KLO teacher and cofounder of the magazine, Chad Wardman. “Clearly there’s a lot of interest in the idea.” KSS Journalism teacher, Jon Derksen said, “We have a keen group of students who are going to breathe life into Art of Adventure. And the best part is that we’ll be making connections with students, staff and alumni from schools around the world. It’s crazy.” Watch for the launch! We want to see you there. And better yet, start thinking about contributing to what’s sure to be an awesome place to visit: www.artofadventure.ca
No Debate about KSS Debaters
The KSS debate team has been having a banner year so far, thanks in part to a doping of new Grade 10 blood. At the Southern Regional Debate Tournament held just over a week ago, KSS had stellar results:
Juniors - Individuals:
Juniors:
1st Place - Gillian Smith (KSS) 2nd Place - Edmund Nilson (KSS) 3rd Place- Kenna McEwan (KSS)
Juniors - Teams: 1st Place: Kenna McEwan & Gillian Smith (KSS) 2nd Place: Aiden Harrington & Edmund Nilson (KSS) 3rd Place - Miriam Hohl & Jasmine Pathak (KSS)
The following students now qualify for the Law Foundation Cup (Provincials) to be held in Vancouver, February 26-28:
Gillian Smith & Edmund Nilson (KSS)
Seniors: Anne Lu (PSS) Katie Webb (KSS) Sheridan Hawse (KSS) Daniel Liegmann (OKM) “I’m really impressed with the team this
Seniors - Individuals:
year,” the debate team coach, Ms. Joanne
1st Place - Anne Lu (PSS) 2nd Place - Katie Webb (KSS) 3rd Place - Katrina Fricke (PSS)
Taylor, said. While she knows the KSS
Seniors - Teams: 1st Place - Taylor Nicholls & Katie Webb (KSS) 2nd Place - Anne Lu & Stephanie Do (PSS) Tie for 3rd Place: Sophia Russo (KSS) & Daniel Liegmann (OKM) Angel Yu & Sheridan Hawse (KSS)
participants will be up against some tough competition on the coast, she has faith in her crew. She stated this is one of the best groups she’s ever had, and she thinks they are going to shine at Provincials.