Ed. 103 - Sheep

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Published monthly, The Talon strives to be an innovative student magazine that is entertaining, intellectually provocative, and visually engaging. We are conscious of the responsibility of writing and publishing, and we seek to create a dynamic magazine that is worthy of its readers. We show respect for our readers by exposing them to a variety of perspectives.

Ultimately, The Talon seeks to bring Graded to the world and the world to Graded.

The Talon wants to hear from you! We encourage submissions and ideas for articles and themes from all members of the Graded community. We publish in English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length and clarity. The opinions expressed in the articles are those of the writers and not necessarily of The Talon. For this reason, we do not accept anonymous submissions. Send submissions, ideas, and themes to talon@graded.br.

TALON STAFF 2014-2015

About the Cover

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: MC Otani and Paula Schulman LAYOUT: Fernanda Fiszner COLUMNISTS: Bella Shim, Luiz Felipe Vidigal, Mateo Games, Michael Thomas, Pedro Werebe, Rafaela Goldlust NEWS: Julia Lee (Editor), Anoushka Gandhi (Assistant Editor), Luis Wolfrid, Matthew Kim FEATURES: Sylvia Yang (Editor), Faria Nasruddin (Assistant Editor), Fernanda Sayão, Nicholas Householder, Samuel Fertig ENTERTAINMENT: Michael Borger (Editor), Manuel Camilion (Assistant Editor), Catalina Berretta, Thomas Park, Yoji Watanabe BLOGGERS: Julia Marangoni, Lucas Valim PHOTOGRAPHER: Gabriel Civita VIDEOGRAPHER: Carolina von Mutius ▪ ▪ ▪ TEACHER ADVISORS: Josh Berg & Mary Pfeiffer PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE CONSULTANT: Maggie Moraes and Marcello Bulgarelli SPANISH LANGUAGE CONSULTANT: Guillermo Loyola Ruiz ▪ ▪ ▪ E-mail: talon@graded.br

This Talon print edition is on the theme “Sheep.” Sticking to the cultural aspect, we wanted to create a fresh design with a traditional Chinese twist. The theme was reinforced with the 12 zodiac animals while focusing on 2015’s animal, the sheep.

For the front cover, Julia drew a large sheep with Chinese calligraphy on its torso. Yoji added details and designs to the sheep, an intricate design that better reflected Chinese art and traditions. For the back, the remaining 11 of the 12 zodiac animals are pictured on either side of the page in addition to large Chinese calligraphy. Then the foreground texture of wool was added, an obvious reference to the material sheared from sheep, while the background wood texture was chosen due to it being the year of the Green Wooden Sheep, specifically.

—Yoji Watanabe, and Julia Lee

We’re Golden!

Last June, Mr. Berg and Ms. Pfeiffer submitted our website and print edition for evaluation by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), the oldest and best known highschool journalism organization in the United States. The Talon entered the competition in the Hybrid category (print and online magazine), and we earned a score of 893 out of 1000 points, which gave us a Gold Medal. (Full disclosure: There was not just one Gold Medal awarded; some other schools earned one, too.) We also earned an Honorable Mention for the quality of the magazine’s writing. Congratulations, current and former staffs!

Next? Senior Edition.

Look out, Class of 2015. Your chance to take over The Talon is coming: The Senior Edition. If you’d like to contribute as a guest writer, please send an article by March 31 to talon@graded. br. Length is 650-900 words. Keep in mind that submissions should be relevant to the overall Graded community, not just a letter or message to a select group of people. We also would like to publish some of those stellar college essays. This is your last chance to see your work in print at Graded!

A green magazine, seven years and counting! Since August 2007, The Talon has been printed on recycled paper.

editors-in-chief

Dressed in Glitter and Creative Block Karl Lagerfeld’s latest victim: the tweed suit MC Otani

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s expected, Chanel’s Fall 2014 Ready to Wear Collection the names of Chanel, Mügler, Vionnet, and more guarantees was a tweed-fest, in homage to the famous Chanel Suit. successful sales, fashion houses based on deceased designers Of course, this tribute was done at Karl Lagerfeld’s discretion, do not enjoy much creative freedom due to their obligations and thus included lace-up sneakers, oversized silhouettes, to honor such legacies. and tons of glitter. Giant, ballooning tweed coats over leather Recently, the house of Schiaparelli, the eccentric depants, massive woolly jackets studded with ragged holes, and signer of the 30s, was brought back to life by Christian Lacroix knee-high glitter sneakers are just a few of the bizarre, osten- and Diego Della Valle (the owner of Tod’s). All the designs so tatious and “sporty” outfits showcased far reworked Schiaparelli’s silhouettes in Paris Fashion Week. And a few days and themes, but what is the artistic later, when the Internet went crazy value in having an extremely talented over Kim Kardashian, Keira Knightley, designer such as Marco Zanini (the and Kristen Stewart in Karl’s funny current creative director) imitate the jumpsuits, I couldn’t help but frown work of a milliner who lived half a and wonder, “Why can’t he just make century ago? Brands that perpetuate something pretty? Like Coco Chanel’s a dead designer’s work focus on the original stuff?” past, but must also pay close attenBorn in 1883, Gabrielle Chation to the future to avoid boredom nel is arguably the most influential and repetition. Finding this balance is designer of the 20th century. Her indifficult—how much weight should the novative use of jersey fabric created past carry in the creation of new art? casual yet elegant outfits that gave Some would argue that these legacies women the ability to move around only create guidelines, the creative and ride bicycles and trains, freedoms directors today still have plenty of denied by corsets and the designs of creative space. Others say that this the time. Designed in 1920 (nearly 100 model restricts innovation and only years ago, that’s old), the Chanel Suit builds “a better mouse trap.” remains a timeless outfit, the epitome Is it possible to promote artistic inof glamour and sophistication. But due novation and simultaneously honor to its persistence, coming up with a fashion’s founding fathers? From the new, better Chanel-style suit has perspective of branding and sales, become a nearly impossible task. All establishing a house’s reputation is possible colors and prints have already essential in its survival. Throwing the Yannis Vlamos: Indigitalimages.com been experimented with, from Cher sales factor into the question puts the and Dionne’s outfits in Clueless to Mosfashion industry in a similar situation to chino’s Summer 2014 Ready to Wear collections. Putting myself the music industry, where the balance between making money in the shoes of Karl, the creative director of the brand for the and making art must be found. What is the purpose of the art past 31 years, his efforts to experiment with woolly suits while of making clothes, and which business model suits such purpose still alluding to Coco Chanel’s original invention are admirable, most appropriately? Karl’s wool coats may be the spawn of an for what else is there to do with tweed? evil business model and pure ugliness. Or they might be art in Karl’s “problem” is just one example. Today’s brands its highest form. Who knows? are either based on houses that originally sold leather goods (bags and trunks), such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Hermes (which made saddles), or specific designers, dead, such as Sources: independent.co.uk, wikipedia.com, style.com Dior, Chanel, and Givenchy, and living, such as Prada, Dolce and Gabbana and Alexander Wang. While the prestige behind

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editors-in-chief

Holy Sheep Zodiac believers await this dreaded year Paula Schulman

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s the beginning of the Chinese Year of the Sheep approaches, starting on February 19, many Chinese couples who believe strongly in the characteristics of the zodiac choose to have their children born before the fortuitous Year of the Horse comes to a close. While each of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac has their virtues and vices, the reputation of the sheep is particularly negative, as it is believed that to be born during the Year of the Sheep is bad luck. The undisputed favorite out of the zodiac animals is the dragon, followed by the tiger or the horse. According to Chinese sayings, dragons are energetic animals closely linked with success. Even other animals such as rats and snakes are considered lucky, with rats thought of as clever and agile, and snakes seen as “mini-dragons.” On the other hand, according to some interpretations, sheep are seen as having fewer advantageous qualities.

Regarded as meek creatures, sheep are often raised for nothing more than for their slaughter. For this reason, some believe that babies born during the Year of the Sheep will grow up to be followers rather than leaders, destined for bad luck in love, marriage, and business. There is even a popular folk saying stating that only one of of ten people born during this year will find happiness. While some of the characteristics of those born during sheep years may seem positive, such as generous, loyal, passive and kind, these virtues are not considered useful in the real world. “It’s an unfair and outdated superstition, but it’s a convenient way for many to explain an unpredictable world,” said the honorary president of Beijing’s Folk Literature and Art Society, Dong Mengzhi.

As a result of these superstitions, health professionals say that fertility consultations spiked in the summer months of 2014, as the “window for conception closed around the end of May.” Some doctors even expressed their concerns that there may a corresponding jump in abortions as the Year of the Horse comes to an end, since couples may realize that they missed the horse-year cutoff. Many patients also inquired about having an early delivery via Caesarean section to ensure luck for their unborn children, said Li Jianjun, an obstetrician at Beijing’s United Family Hospital. With a heightened sense of pressure

to birth children during a lucky year, some couples had found it difficult to “hurry up and avoid the sheep,” as said by Zhang Xiaolei, a government worker in the Shangdong province. Xiaolei and her husband began trying for a baby after their marriage in 2012, but they still had no luck. “I don’t know what happened,” she said. “Maybe it was all the pressure.” The couple have found consolation in the hope that if Xiaolei does get pregnant in the coming months, the child may be the lucky sheep who does find happiness. Other couples who fear they have completely missed their window have turned to online support groups.

Even so, it is doubted that this craze will have a significant effect on the Chinese birth rate in 2015. Nonetheless, the state-run China News Service issued a report earlier this year debunking the myth of bad luck for those born during the Year of the Sheep. Similarly, an official at China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention said, “We try our best to dissuade couples from Wikimedia Commons believing the sheep superstitions,” adding that the subject is often addressed in classes for expecting couples. Nevertheless, it isn’t an easy argument to sell, as the official noted that even her colleagues at the Center were obsessed with the alleged luck of the horse year.

Demographers have acknowledged the Chinese zodiac’s cultural significance, yet have denied the idea that it affects birthrates on a national scale. While some provinces and hospitals in China have occasionally shown increases in births during lucky animal years and decreases during sheep years, there is still no impact on national demographics according to population expert Duan Chengrong, who published a study on the phenomenon in 2003. “It doesn’t mean it isn’t a factor,” said Chengrong, “but its effects are likely diluted and overshadowed by others.” Among these other factors that have affected the birth rate in recent years is political and economic turmoil and the government’s one-child policy.

Source: washingtonpost.com

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ponto de vista

À la carpinteiro Se dependesse do seu proximo flerte, o corte nobre da noite seria ovelha Rafaela Goldlust

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o metrose ual “normcore”, a tend ncia da moda agora nova onde surge, seja consciente ou inconscientemente. Vio “lumberse ual”, neologia formada pelas palavras mos isso na ascendência das várias derivações dos chamados lumber e se ual. O novo termo, ue engloba um estilo “m s- “alternativos” no âmbito comum: desde a transformação dos culo descalculado” de ser, traduz a se ualidade a uma un o hipsters, com seus óculos redondos, à integração de hippies, de madeira cerrada. proposta de estilo apresenta uma nova e suas fran as, s influ ncias am rficas do “normcore”. gora, apar ncia masculina ue, ao inv s de ser influenciada pela es- a moda hit é parecer retrógrado. tética clean e arrumadinha da voga antecedente, adota como Enquanto tudo ao nosso entorno nos empurra para queridinhos da vez a barba mal feita e um visual esfarrapado frente, novas tecnologias, novos aparelhos, novos conceitos sem muitas frescuras. No entanto, diferente do que aparenta, estéticos, éticos e morais, a moda segue o caminho contrário. são horas de trabalho para manter pple, por e emplo, ingressou o as cabeleiras volumosas, montar um mundo “tech” no circuito “cool” look charmoso, composto por muita e passou a fazer dos dispositivos camisa de flanela, cal a eans e botas eletrônicos aparelhos de desejo, de trabalhador, e ainda assim carregar com seu design hiper futurista e um ar de carpinteiro cool. avant-garde de tal maneira como É essa a descrição do cara que a mega marca de vestuário e evocê vai encontrar sentado no canto uipamentos esportivo didas foi escuro de algum bar “alterna” - como uma percussora da intervenção são chamados os estabelecimentos esportiva no “high fashion”, dando pouco conhecidos da cidade - bebendo espaço aos tecidos tecnológicos e uma cerveja, provavelmente também super avançados. Já, vemos que de alguma marca “alterna”, orgânica, Kreuzschnabel: Wikimedia Commons no outro lado do espectro, a moda o que for, sei lá. Não se choque se você traça uma rota muito distinta, com confundi-lo, num primeiro instante, com um personagem que fases que progridem aos mandamentos da contracultura. acabou de sair da floresta fict cia de Game of Thrones, pois tualmente, essa visa um estilo b sico e despretencioso ue o disfarce é de uma verossimilhança incrível. Também não se remete uma de duas coisas: as propagandas da Calvin Klein dos desespere se a espuma da bebida enfeitar o bigode do lumber- anos 90, ou a esteriotípica imagem de um caçador que volta se ual como uma orla carioca, nem se o cabelo, meticulosa- dos pinhais para rela ar em frente a uma lareira ornamentada mente preso num meio-rabo de cavalo, for motivo de vergonha com uma cabe a de alce ta idermizado. alheia; parecer despreocupado é chave no aperfeiçoamento da Sendo assim, a “lumberse ualidade” pode ser chamada persona como um todo. de um movimento microcósmico cujas raizes se dão no desejo ssim, o homem de ho e em dia est , se ue a moda de viver num presente sustent vel e vi vel, mas sem dei ar tra a o perfil de uma gera o, mais preocupado em e istir no de lado o comfort da modernidade. Ora é a mudança de parameio ambiente, ou seja, no “pseudo ar-livre”, do que em frente digma dos rígidos conformes de escritórios tradicionais, ora ao espelho ou no escritório. Ele carrega todos os apetrechos é a questão de que só agora fomos perceber que é possivel necess rios pra manter o visual, incluindo o novo acboo ir, combinar funcionalidade com estilo. na mesma mochila em que parece carregar um machado e uma Qualquer que seja a razão, a real intensidade e dupanela primitiva, a ser usada caso uma ovelha apareça em meio rabilidade do “lumberse ual” discut vel. n uanto estudos s ruas de ova or , com todo eito de ser a pr ima anta. cient ficos comprovaram, no come o de , o declinio dos o me deparar outro dia com essa imagem minucio- hipsters por conta do aumento do número de homens aderindo samente elaborada, pergunto-me tanto o por que desse movi- à moda das barbas volumosas, tornando-as “mainstream” e famento quanto também se o cool est mesmo na artificialidade zendo do “clean face” a nova ambi o fashion, o lumberse ual do visual descontraido, “carefree” como eu diria, ou se isso ressuscita o lado alternativo de tal feição, e também aquela é só mais uma tenência relâmpago. Não é novidade vermos sensação de déjà vu. os vidos da moda se renderam artificialidade, uando uma

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point of view

An Unjust Reputation How sheep really do contribute to your life Pedro Werebe

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heep are commonly associated with stupidity and air-headedness. However, sheep are not as mentally impaired as we might think. In fact, sheep are able to remember over 50 sheep and humans for a years and can even have best friends. These animals do not deserve to be treated as dumb beings. In fact, they are of e treme importance to us. ere are a few e amples Condoms: Sheep have been involved in the safe se business for a while. Sheepskin has proven to be very effective at preventing STDs and is used to make condoms. Sheepskin condoms are much more e pensive than regular late ones.

They are “artisanal,” so, you know, they’re premium quality.

Chewing Gum: You can thank sheep for that delicious, pink, bubbly stuff. Chewing gum is made from the secretion in sheep’s wool. This oily secretion, known as lanolin, is what keeps your gum nice and soft.

Marshmallows: Ever feel that sense of euphoria and nostalgia when heating a nice marshmallow over a bonfire eah, you can than sheep for that as well. oiled sheep bones are used to create gelatin, one of the main ingredients in marshmallows. So if anyone is thinking about going on a diet and having gelatin for dessert (who would eat gelatin when they’re not on a diet ), they can than sheep for their astounding weight loss.

sacrificed for the anti venom produced. So if you live to tell the story, the first animal you should than is the sheep.

Shaving Cream: If you dread Movember or simply disli e hair, then you can than sheep (yet again) for shaving cream! If you still haven’t had enough of that oily secretion in crayons and bubblegum, you can also rub it on your body.

Sheep deserve some credit for that smooth after-shave sensation their oil is the reason you don’t loo li e igfoot.

Plastic Surgery: If you’re obsessed with nose jobs, breast and buttock implants, or oto , then you should than sheep bones for all those enhancements.

Sheep bones and collagen are used by many plastic surgeons. It has also been proven that the healing process is faster and less painful for surgeries that used sheep bones.

Considering all great things they have brought to us, such as safe se , artistic skills, and nicer bodies, it appals flickr.com me to see the associations of sheep with stupidity and conformity. The word “sheepish” means ashamed, but it shouldn’t. Sheep should be proud of their contributions to humanity. We should recognize the sacrifices they have made in ma ing our lives more fulfilling.

Sources: sheep101.info, ag.amsc.purdue.edu, pbs.org

Crayons: For many of us, sticking tasteless crayons into our mouths is perhaps one of the most vivid memories of our childhoods. Guess what Sheep are responsible for that as well. You know that same oozing secretion you read about above n this case, it is used as oil and processed to become wa . eep that in mind the ne t time you feel tempted to eat some crayons.

Rattlesnake Anti-venom: f you find yourself in ustralia (every deadly creature in the world seems to live there) and get bitten by a rattlesnake, your chances of survival depend on how fast you can get some anti-venom. Sheep happen to be one of the contributors to the process of making this lifesaving serum. They are injected with the poison and are then

flickr.com

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punto de vista

Jorge y la nudista silenciosa Una historia Mateo Games

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n esa buena mañana rutinaria, Jorge se despertó de la misma manera que en todas las otras, con el policía rubiecito y demasiado flaco para su uniforme toc ndolo con el bastón para que se levantara del banco de la plaza. Cuando finalmente despert de sus ebrios sue os de prostitutas y alcohol, se sentó con la espalda encorvada y le sopló la cara al oficial luego de haberse tirado un eructo. n seguida se par y salió caminando lentamente. Se sentía bien. Era una mañana fresca pero agradable, y casi olía un toque de optimismo por el aire. Pasó por la panadería de la esquina a buscar su desayuno que la señora Morales le preparaba con tanta dedicación todas las mañanas, y siguió marchando a buscar un buen lugar para establecerse por el día.

Jorge se sentó en la vereda y se recostó contra la pared del almac n de flores a tomarse su whis y matutino y disfrutar su desayuno calentito. Mientras se comía la segunda media luna, le llamó la atención un tipo en la vereda de en frente que parecía sacar mujeres desnudas de una tienda de ropa. Los rayos del sol traspasaban las ramas y hojas y le daban justo en los ojos, pero él podría jurar que el tipo estaba llenando su camioneta de “minas en bolas.” Cuando se fue el tipo de la camioneta, Jorge avistó inmediatamente una de las nudistas, que estaba sentada directamente frente a él, pero del otro lado de la calle. Se miraron fi amente por ocho minutos enteros prácticamente sin pestañear. Jorge entonces sacó un cigarrillo para calmarse un poco, lo fumó, y cumplió su obligación, como caballero, de ir a saludarla. De lo que se logró entender, Jorge dijo algo como: ola bomboncito. u haces tan solita ac e vas a morir de fr o as . C mo te llam s om , us mi campera as no te enferm s. uer s un pucho En seguida, Jorge la ayudó a levantarse, tras darse cuenta de que ella tenía la pierna lastimada y no podía pararse sin asistencia. Sintió sus manos delicadas, frías y duras, parecían hasta congeladas. Es verdad que dicen que el amor es ciego, pero, ¿será posible que Jorge no se haya dado cuenta en ese momento n fin, la llev al barcito de la es uina y se sentaron a tomar unos tragos. Él hacía todo lo posible para mantener la conversación viva, pero el esfuerzo no era reciprocado. Intentando mejorar el clima que estaba medio incómodo, Jorge pidió un whisky doble del más barato para él y un mojito para la señorita. Después de todo, Jorge estaba cansado de pasar sus noches solitario.

Unos tragos más tarde, Jorge parecía una radio. Le contó a la chica sobre toda su familia, incluyendo a sus cinco

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hermanos, tres tías, diecisiete primos, seis hijos y dos nietos. ambi n le cont sobre uenos ires y c mo era la vida de calle allá en comparación con la de acá, que es “mucho menos hostil.” Y al pasar el tiempo y los vasos, Jorge se fue enamorando más y más, hasta que tuvo los huevos para invitarla a su “casa”. Ella, a su vez, no respondió, pero él la vio asentir con la cabeza. Pobre Jorge, estaba tan preocupado sobre lo que ella pensaría de su banco en el rincón de la plaza San José, que estaba inundado de sudor. Pero ya en el llegar, ella se sentó a su lado y cayó en sus brazos sin decir una palabra. Jorge estaba perdidamente enamorado. asaron unos tres d as y orge viv a e tasiado por una mezcla de alcohol y amor. Nunca había tenido una compañera tan simple y comprensiva como ella. ntonces el domingo de unio orge iba caminado por la calle a las de la tarde cuando se descuidó y un bondi de los nuevos, esos que son bien grandes, pasó a 95 kilómetros por hora por esa callecita y despedaz a la novia de orge en mil pedacitos de fibra de vidrio. El chofer del bondi le gritó: Gordo pelotudo st s loco vos Jorge cayó de rodillas al suelo mientras se le empapaba, con las gotas que caían de su pera, la remera manchada de kétchup y mostaza. Su barba llena de mocos y lágrimas, sus ojos inundados de tristeza y rabia, y su corazón descuartizado igual ue el cuerpo de su e ue se e tend a por unos metros justo en frente a él.

Jorge se levantó, pero sin dignidad. La vida ya se había cansado de él. Dejó de comer. Toda la plata que mangueaba se la gastaba en botellas de whisky que eran de plástico. No soportaba ir al banquito de la plaza San José porque el olor de aquella noche maravillosa lo perseguía. Estaba cada día más y m s flaco. una buena ma ana, orge se par en la es uina de aquella misma callecita donde había fallecido su novia, se quedó todo el día allí parado, mirando hacia adelante, y cuando pas el bondi de las a il metros por hora, orge dio un paso para volver con su amada nudista. l o r el ruido y notar el gran manchón de sangre sobre su parabrisas, Rodolfo Pérez Zapata, el chofer del bondi, frenó y se bajó. Quedó horrorizado, y dicen que hasta hoy no se ha podido recuperar.

Se podría decir que era un loco, pero para mí, era esa locura lo mantenía feliz y lo hacía diferente de todos los otros del rebaño.

point of view

Bode do abuso de poder Como o poder desilude a todos uiz elipe rau o

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uiz perde voo e d voz de pris o a funcion rios da .

Quando li essa manchete achei que era algum tipo de sátira, semelhante às publicadas pelo Jornal Sensacionalista, mas estava errado. Como dizem, tudo é possível. O juiz em uest o o senhor arcelo aldoch e no dia de dezembro de , ele conseguiu virar notícia. Mas não por uma decisão jurídica justa ou se uer plaus vel. aldoch deu voz de prisão a três funcionários da companhia a rea por n o o dei arem embarcar no avi o, com destino a Ribeirão Preto. De acordo com testemunhas, o juiz estava atrasado, e a porta da aeronave já tinha sido fechada, sete minutos antes da sua chegada. O que intrigou - e revoltou - todos sobre o ocorrido foi a ação tomada pelo juiz, ue mandou prender os funcion rios da por seguirem as regras da g ncia acional de via o. Sob hip tese alguma a companhia poderia abrir uma e ce o.

O abuso do poder é uma atitude frequente em nosso país, especialmente por parte de alguns que se veem em um patamar acima dos outros. Seria compreensível observar tal comportamento como normal’ (mesmo n o sendo) em situações nas quais um indivíduo se encontra em uma posição socioecon mica inferior, como numa penitenci ria, por e emplo. istem in meros e emplos de casos de abuso policial em pris es, e os mesmos v o al m do rasil. os stados nidos, o tema est em constante debate. s pr ticas de tortura da C revoltaram muitos – mas nenhuma ação concreta contra esse tipo de comportamento foi tomada. Elas continuam ocorrendo.

No cotidiano também é importante combater o abuso de poder. Recentemente, uma campanha contra a violência contra a mulher vem circulando na internet. O que aparenta ser um mero teste auditivo é, na verdade, um aviso aos internautas ao fato que, segundo a Organização das Nações Unidas (O ), em cada mulheres foram ou ser o violentadas em algum momento na vida. o fundo do teste, ouvem se gritos de uma mulher, teoricamente sendo agredida pelo marido. campanha acaba com o e um pedido “Se voc pode ouvir, voc pode a udar. igue e denuncie.”

E como não lembrar daquele abuso ‘divertidíssimo’ que acontece todo come o de ano stou falando dos trotes ue

atormentam os calouros todo come o de ano. tradi o vem de Portugal, com relatos de vítimas desde o século XIX. Na sua essência, o trote é um brincadeira e nada além disso. Porém, infelizmente, a prática vem se tornando violenta, ameaçando a integridade física e psicológica de muitos alunos. sse ano, por e emplo, nas aculdades damantinenses ntegradas ( ), em S o aulo, veteranos receberam os calouros com ácido. Um jovem perdeu 70% da córnea do olho, e outra sofreu queimaduras de terceiro grau na perna e na barriga. Universidades como a Unicamp que promovem trotes não violentos para assim criar uma atmosfera amigável entre os calouros e os veteranos deveriam Creative Commons servir de e emplo para as demais.

Entretanto, um abuso que pode ser ofuscado, mas que é reconhecido pela maioria dos brasileiros, deveria perturbar. Todo ano, a corrupção desvia bilhões de reais dos cofres públicos enquanto investimentos em educa o, sa de e seguran a s o dei ados de lado. S em , Graça Foster já revelou um rombo de R$ 88,6 bi na Petrobras no mais novo escândalo agora conhecido como Petrolão, conuistando o t o dese ado t tulo de maior esc ndalo do rasil.

Infelizmente, nesse aspecto não temos muito o que fazer, mas indignação já é o primeiro passo. Num país onde um cidadão precisa trabalhar apro imadamente dias para pagar seus impostos, é inaceitável, se não criminoso, que uma empresa roube uma uantia bilion ria de dinheiro, suficiente para a udar muita gente. Os dois maiores esc ndalos do rasil, sozinhos, acumulam um total de apro imadamente bi, ou melhor, 5 copas do mundo.

O abuso do poder pode vir nas mais diversas e inesperadas formas e cabe a cada um de nós combater esse tipo de agressão desde a raiz, mesmo que esta se encontre em nosso pr prio ambiente familiar. Como dizia achado de ssis, “o menino pai do homem”. o podemos ficar uietos frente repressão, especialmente porque, perante a lei, somos todos iguais. Nenhum privilégio pode tirar esse direito.

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point of view

Successful Sheep The pursuit of grades, rather than learning Michael Thomas

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e are brought up to believe the recipe for success is to attend a good school, achieve e cellent mar s, and attend an elite college. ll this for one end product a profitable ob.

This recipe implies that anything else will not amount to a successful life. Our parents are under the common misconception that if our marks are not high enough, no respectable college will take us in, leading to aimlessness and despair.

To be successful in life, we students are, therefore, forced to follow a set pattern of norms. We wake up, go to school, attend our respective classes, return home, complete our homework assignments, and, finally, sleep. ruthless cycle.

We trot in herds, commanded by our leaders (teachers) to be in class on time. We follow what they say, completing tasks at hand. We are designed and manufactured to be successful sheep.

The educational system has gotten to a point where a student’s self worth is determined by G and S scores. he scores we sheep attain in high school have a direct influence, either positive or negative, on the value of our wool: the better our scores, the more our wool is coveted. actories (colleges) may or may not accept our wool. Then the cycle continues, and our self-worth depends on the prestige of the colleges we are admitted to. Our intelligence and value as human beings are measured through acceptance or rejection letters. The better the college, the better our lives will be. We strive to be successful sheep. nd yet, our performance in school is only supposed to represent a small portion of who we are, and it certainly does not determine whether our lives are going to be fulfilling or not.

(It’s good to remember that a number of successful people recounted stories in which they failed in school, including Steve obs and ill Gates.) With this in mind, felt the necessity to reach out to my fellow seniors through this heartfelt letter:

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Dear Class of 2015, Please, by all means, avoid the “successful sheep syndrome.” You are not forced to follow this recipe for success. Be your own chef and create your own recipe. Success is not measurable, so you are entitled to measure your life fulfillments and goals. We should not be following any sort of norms like mindless sheep. We should not succumb to conformity.

Don’t be forced to go to college if you don’t want to. But, to those planning to attend college, do not fret as those college letters come. Take a deep breath. No matter how personal or impersonal the letter is, the result is what it is. If you get it in Miguel Discart: Creative Commons to a school you were hoping for, great! Celebrate, have fun, and enjoy the moment. If you do not get in, don’t beat yourself up about it. There are plenty of other colleges that would be more than happy to have you. A name does not measure the education you are going to receive. Whether you go to Stanford or a community college, be proud. Be proud that an opportunity for education has come your way, and you’re taking it.

I have grown up with the Class of 2015 for 14 years. I know all of your names like the back of my hand, and this class never ceases to amaze me. This is a class that was scorned by some in the past. But we grew up. I have never seen such diversity of talent in a group of people. We have our introverts, extroverts, musicians, communicators, artists, bookworms, mathematicians, scientists, and historians. We have it all.

This is a class I am proud to be in, a family I am never going to forget. This said, I bid you all a successful last semester, and I hope you enjoy our last months of senior year. Instead of being successful sheep, let’s be successful individuals. I know we can do it.

point of view

Playing It By the Script The uncomfortable inevitability of evil ella Shim

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iction often presents us the classical dichotomy between good and evil, the hero and the villain, black and white. Evil, we have been told, is profound immorality or pure wickedness. ut we rarely ever see this sort of malevolence in its elemental state. It’s a fantasy, to say for sure. hen what is “evil ” olitical theorist annah rendt pursues an answer to this very question in her book Eichmann in Jerusalem, and she observes dolf ichmann, the azi concentration camp administrator, at his trial. ware of the full e tent of his despicable actions, she e pected to see the e uivalent of a fire breathing demon, fuming hate. Surprisingly, she was greeted instead by a meek bureaucrat who had centered his actions on measly job promotions. hrough this, rendt developed the concept called the “banality of evil,” which posits that evil deeds are not necessarily carried out by cruel sadists.

Rather, they are perpetrated by average people like Eichmenn, who just accepted the circumstances and believed that his actions were “normal.”

In his testimony, Eichmann refused to consider other perspectives and said he was solely motivated by his unquestioning sense of obligation to authority. rendt essentially contended that one does not need to be cruel or sadistic to be “evil.” To fit the criteria, all one has to do is blindly follow orders. n other words, it’s sheep behavior.

We’ve seen other cases of the banality of evil. There’s the infamous uremberg Defense used during the trials of other Nazi war criminals: “I was just following orders.” round the time of ichmann’s trial, there was another e ample, the ale psychologist Stanley ilgram’s eponymous e periment, in which participants were forced to administer electric shocks on other people (who were accomplices to the e periment). esults indicated that two thirds of the test subects were willing to inflict deadly shoc s through obedience.

So as , how do we save humanity from mindless obedience s it even feasible One would typically assert that we should emphasize “individuality” or foster “conscience,” but honestly, what does that even mean I cue in the devil’s advocate with a snazzy science degree. n his boo Free Will, Sam Harris, a renowned neuroscientist, argues the freedom of choice is merely an illu-

sion. Our choices are controlled by the release of neurotransmitters, which in turn are affected by our genes, upbringing, and environment. So essentially, if were to have replaced dolf Eichmann and have adopted all of his characteristics and life e periences, would still have acted the very same way. han goodness.

It all seems to boil down to luck. The notion that humans do not possess free will is unpalatable to many people; it undoubtedly holds heavy moral, philosophical, and even legal implications. Indeed, it feels so immoral to basically pardon Eichmann and the Nazis due to something as arbitrary as a roll of a die. ut it also begs the uestion who or what ultimately bears the moral responsibility for our actions ut this presents another problem. fter all, the arrangement of my brain chemistry can be e plained by suggesting that it evolved to that state from an earlier state in accordance with the aforementioned physical laws; that state was in turn dictated by a still earlier state; and so on. f this chain is e tended far enough, it seems evident that every Wikimedia Commons course of action I took was predetermined by causes that were in effect long before came into e istence. urther e tend this argument and we can conclude that everything that any occurrences in the history of the universe have been unalterably set in stone from the conception of the universe from the ig ang.

Despite our attempts to understand the meaning of our actions by searching for objective truth, we have the inability to find any. here is no ghost in the machine our decisions are the product of our brain activity and surroundings. It is completely absurd. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be surrendered to blind and passive obedience. rench philosopher lbert Camus endorsed the solution of embracing the absurd. Only by establishing a love-hate relationship with the absurd, by revolting against it while concurrently accepting it as irresistible, could one construct personal meaning in the process. dmittedly so, this reasoning appears a cop out. ut it is this very internal brawl against the banality of evil that makes it tough for one to remain a docile sheep.

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news

The Good and the “Baaaad” of Sheep Recent developments to know about Julia Lee

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ews from different corners of the world tell us that sheep have creative and beneficial usages beyond our counting during sleepless nights. n , the city of Cleveland in Ohio began to ta e action to improve environmental efforts in sectors of the city each year until , addressing issues such as energy, transport and open space. Sheep may play a role in this grand plan towards a greener city. floc of sheep, along with a llama, can be found grazing on a four acre plot of industrial land along a e rie, eeping the patch of land nice and short. his program using sheep as an alternative to a more e pensive landscaping crew was instituted in

by St. Clair Superior, a neighborhood development corporation. he program stemmed from the initiative to not only ta e environmentally friendly action, but also reduce unnecessary spending that could otherwise be directed towards areas of greater need, such as ob creation and city development. n fact, this change has helped reduce maintenance costs from about , to , . n an interview with C , e ecutive director of St. Clair Superior, ichael leming commented, “ here’s a lot of empty land, and not a lot of money to ta e care of it.” he focus of these environmental pro ects has been centered around sustainability and uality of life. owever, corporations are see ing ways to bring in more money while achieving their ob ectives. leming is see ing ways to ma e the sheep pro ect more profitable. e is already receiving money from the landowner for the mowing wor the sheep have done.

Selling sheep wool and lanolin, which is a wa found in s in care products, may also bring in some profit. ccording to leming, local restaurants have also displayed interest in purchasing lamb chops to serve. “ here are all sorts of uses. Some of them involve the untimely departure of the sheep, others do not,” he added.

While Cleveland is using sheep for greener city development, a state-owned business in New Zealand hopes that sheep will bring economic advantages. he mil from sheep may also bring about some changes in ew Zealand’s dairy industry. fter researching the possibility of bringing more sheep mil to commercial mar ets, andcorp arming imited believe that within months this can be put into action. hough small, the sheep mil industry already e ists in ew Zealand. owever, andcorp is loo ing for ways to invest further with the help from the scientists at assey niversity in ew Zealand who are researching what can be done with sheep mil . ccording to C O of andcorp, Steven Carden, sheep mil has several benefits for both consumers and farmers. e says, “ t’s more widely consumed globally than cow mil . t’s got very good nutritional characteristics. t’s high in fats but low in saturated fats, very high mineral and vitamin characteristics and is low in lactose.” n addition, the small size of the sheep means that

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farmers need less space and feed to raise sheep compared to other dairy producing livestoc . ccording to Carden there are also environmental benefits to raising sheep as opposed to cows “ he environmental footprint of sheep mil ing is very favorable relative to cow dairy farming so we’re very positive at this point about the prospects.” andcorp has already ta en some action of its own. t is loo ing to promote sheep mil ing in some of its farms in Southland and others in the central north.

Despite the e perimental ways to benefit from sheep, recent news on a newly discovered potential harm brings caution regarding sheep. During the s, Creutzfeldt a ob Disease (C D), commonly nown as “mad cow disease,” created a health scare and now lambs may be the ne t. fter discovering an infectious brain disease in sheep, scientists have been uestioning the possibility of this disease spreading to humans, following the path of mad cow disease. uch li e C D, this disease, called “scrapie,” can spread through infected meat, and is caused by infectious, deformed prion proteins.

Scientists have discovered evidence that connects the cause of this infection to sporadic C D (sC D), which is another harmful disease whose cause is still mysterious. here is not enough data, according to scientists, to establish that eating a lamb with scrapie will cause sC D in humans. owever, e periments on laboratory mice have shown that it may be possible for scrapie to affect humans by causing sC D. Despite the lac of data, scientists at ational eterinary School of oulouse in rance have e pressed caution about the possibility of human infection from scrapie. heir article in the ournal ature Communications comments, “Our data on their own do not une uivocally establish a causative lin between natural e posure to sheep scrapie and the subse uent appearance of sC D in humans. owever, our studies clearly point out the need to consider this possibility.”

Symptoms of sC D may be the following decrease in intellectual ability, memory loss, personality change, blindness and slurred speech. n , the ational ealth Service in the nited ingdom has documented human deaths from scrapie.

In spite of the fear of a recurrence of another mad-cow disease, the rench scientists say, “ urthermore, it is crucial to bear in mind that sporadic sC D in humans is a rare disease and that scrapie has been circulating in small ruminants populations used for food purposes for centuries. Conse uently, it is our opinion that even if a causative lin was established between sheep scrapie e posure and the occurrence of certain sC D cases, it would be wrong to consider small ruminant (prion) agents as a new ma or threat for public health.”

Whether acting as automatic lawn mowers, supporting the mil industry or posing threats of infections to humans, sheeps are roaming around the world, ma ing the news small and wide.

Sources money.cnn.com, smallviztrends.com, tvnz.co.nz, express.co.uk, huffingtonpost.co.uk

news

When Sheep Fly How the humble ruminant contributed to aeronautical history noush a Gandhi century before the airplane too off, and the Wright brothers ournal, after witnessing the events, he wrote, “We observed became immortal, two other pioneering flight brothers also the balloon lift off in the most ma estic manner. When it made history the ontgolfier brothers reached around feet in altitude, the inand their sheep. trepid voyagers lowered their hats to salute n , the ontgolfier broththe spectators. We could not help feeling ers discovered that cold air was heavier a certain mi ture of awe and admiration.” than light air, and they were able to he progress of flight in heavier than ma e a sil balloon fly meters ust air ob ects continued, and other animals by burning a pile of straw. onths later, were also given the honor of flying in the this discovery was submitted to the hot air balloon. welve cats were sent up in Science cademy of rance. nd a year an air balloon over aris to test hydrogen later, the ontgolfier brothers began fueled balloons. ozier also attempted designing a hot air balloon and prepared flying over the nglish Channel, but died to demonstrate it to the whole of aris. when a small bag of flammable hydrogen mong their audience of , rench in his bag led to the destruction of the citizens were ing ouis and arie balloon. ntoinette, and the entire rench court owever, one must honor sheep and of ersailles. their important contribution to human hishe ontgolfier brothers were tory and transport. hey were among the li ely ecstatic about the fact that such guinea pigs, or rather the sheep, in testa large crowd would watch the flight ing this e citing new mode of transport. of the first air vehicle. owever, there Several news websites try to capture this was one little problem. he brothers moment of pride with ridicule. he imes promised their father that they would headline for the anniversary of the hot air not pilot the hot air balloon. Who could Wikimedia Commons and flickr.com balloon reads, “ Sheep ... in a ot ir be a suitable substitute for flying a hot alloon— o o e” to moc the brave beast, air balloon for the very first time pparently, the answer for and ental loss mentions sheep in hot air balloons as one of the ontgolfier brothers was a few animals. One, a sheep, was the strangest facts concerning hot air balloons. owever, Suncentral to the e periment because the ontgolfier brothers dance alloons rightly caption this, titling their article on this wanted to test how flying affected a land dweller, and bac in e traordinary event, “We owe it all to a sheep ... .” the day, the insides of sheep were considered similar to humans, nd truly, we do owe it to sheep. Who else, if not so it was a perfect match. sheep Which other even toed ungulate would bravely fly for he flight lasted eight minutes and flew a short dis- the advancement of humans he ravel China Guide states tance of . ilometers. nfortunately, since animals cannot that people born in the year of the sheep are ind and compasbe interviewed, they were unavailable for comment. han - sionate, and “ ... have special sensitivity to art and beauty.” fully, several humans on the scene wrote e tensively about Clearly, they embody characteristics from sheep themselves, the spectacular airborne beasts. Simon Schama, a modern day whose coat is e uated with “good things” in the Chinese culcommentator, claims, “ t was udged that they had not suffered ture. he signs have long been telling us that we owe it to but they were, to say the least, much astonished.” sheep for the advances in human flight and science. Without he success of the flight surprised many, and spar ed sheep, one whole se uence of events in aeronautical history innovations to come. fter the success of this flight, ing ouis would have been different. allowed the ontgolfier brothers to send up a person. his So, have a great new year, and let truly reflect time, the ontgolfier brothers chose il tre de ozier, a phys- humanity’s gratitude towards sheep for being such integral ics and chemistry teacher, to fly the balloon without a tether. parts of our lives. e flew si miles from the center of aris to the suburbs in minutes, a wonder for that day and age. his flight received Sources mentalfloss.com, time.com, space.org, sundancebaladmiration from another inventor, en amin ran lin. n his loons.org

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A Brief History of Sheep Breeding The grand Merino, then and now atthew im

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ould it surprise you if the wool from your shirt and the wool from your friend’s shirt came from the same family of sheep any people do not now this but, technically, it’s true. ccording to icholas ntongiavanni, all sheep are descendants of ust four ewes and two rams. t began with si sheep ing Charles of Spain sent to the Dutch government as gifts in . t that time, Spain was a leading country which produced the finest wool shorn from Spanish erino sheep. hese si sheep were protected by the ing, which meant that it was a big deal to receive them as gifts. owever, they could not ad ust to the climate of the etherlands, so they were sent to the Colonel obert acob Gordon, head of the Dutch garrison at the Cape of Good ope in South frica, according to Farmer’s Weekly of South frica. nfortunately, in , Gordon committed suicide. his led his widow to sell the sheep, of which there were now , to ritish military captains in ustralia. n the end, the sheep were sold to ritish army officer, politician, and entrepreneur ohn acarthur. e decided to produce finer uality wool and conducted e periments on how to ma e it, although the uality of wool produced from the Spanish erino was already good. hese sheep in ustralia were selectively bred, which was the beginning of the authentic ustralian erino. s a result, in the case of ustralian erino sheep, the uality is always important because the purpose of these sheep was to produce the finest uality of wool from the beginning. ecently, ames owe, C O of the Co operative esearch Centre for Sheep, e pressed his disappointment when erino sheep breeders ignored a genetic selection tool with the potential to earn thousands of dollars a year. e said many wool focused producers continued to ignore the “free ic ” offered by genetic selection using ustralian Sheep reeding alues, although some erino producers realized the necessity of adopting dual purpose sheep capable of producing high uality meat and wool. n

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the case of lamb, sheepmeat producers used ob ective genetic measurements to breed leaner and faster growing lambs. Dr. owe said, “Since , lamb producers have achieved genetic gains valued at about a ewe per year.” pparently, breeding dual purpose sheep is more comple than only breeding erino sheep focused on fleece, weight, and fibre diameter, but the rewards from enlarging the range of performance traits eventually increase profitability and reduce labor. owe added that a commercial erino breeder with erino ewes could potentially receive an e tra , a year as profits by adopting genomic technologies and sourcing rams from high performing studs “Genomics also provides a new starting point for studs and ram buyers who have relied on visual Wikimedia Commons assessment and have only achieved limited genetic gain for those traits that are easily measured and highly heritable such as wool production and body size.” ccording to erinoSelect pro ect officer u e Stephen, this genetic gain has been proven for all the ey production traits in the pro ect. e said, “ here is always more potential to grow the animals using erinoSelect and there appears to be a lot more positive interest from ram breeders about oining erinoSelect.”

Sources north ueenslandregister.com.au, businessinsider.com, sheepcentral.com

news

Living in Shear Heroes with capes of wool Luis Wolfrid

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heep mindlessly follow each other, one infamous incident in ur ey being so grave that a floc of sheep trailed one another over a cliff, plummeting to their deaths, and the rest saved by the wool of the corpses below them. owever, in one uite different situation, a single brave New Zealand sheep dared to separate himself from the rest, a rebel. his famous merino managed to avoid shearing for si years by hiding in caves. he farmers had always called him Shre , and the name was surely well deserved for a hero, a legend, a divine power. ventually, when he was found, he had enough wool on him to ma e suits for men.

Shre had devised a plan to escape the wretched shaving that he hated more than anything. e managed to escape, undetected for half a dozen years. When people finally saw him, they thought he was a biblical creature, for his coat made him appear three times the normal size. While he didn’t en oy his shave when he was caught, he could finally see past the wool covering his eyes, no longer suffered so much heat stress, could actually move his legs and was a whole lot lighter. ew Zealand, on average, has sheep per person. owever, even though the country has the highest density of sheep per unit area in the entire world, it is not the one that suffers the most criticism in relation to it.

With Scotland’s recent attempts to declare itself independent from the nited ingdom, it is obvious that cultural relations between the nations of the age old alliance have never uite been harmonious. fter e ploring the history of this conflict, it is no surprise that the nglish have come up with certain enophobic nic names for their neighbors. Some of these slurs go as far as, in reference to the Welsh, “sheep shaggers.” lthough the simple fact of the large population of sheep in Wales would have been a fine enough e planation for the demeaning insult, there is a lot more conte t behind it than meets the eye.

Centuries ago, the Welsh would play competitive games centered around beastiality. hese games were played with their sheep, trying to see who could pleasure the creatures the most, and were typically played drun . What began as an atrocious game soon became a tradition. sheep thrill for the farmers.

Soon, wealthy nglish aristocrats floc ed to Wales during the holidays to engage in these abominations. his made the insult rather ironic, seeing as the Welsh weren’t the only ones

abusing sheep. owadays, perhaps conse uently, the nglish vacation period tends to be the time during the year in which sheep are often the most nervous… t any rate, with all this ritish involvement, laws were established where it was considered to be less of a crime to have such relations with a sheep than to steal one from its farmer. ven now, the uarrel lives on. n , a man insulted several people throughout a city with “sheep shaggers” and was charged accordingly. When as ed to defend himself, he said he used it as a term for people who live in the countryside, not ust the Welsh. e didn’t ma e his case much better...

What lin s Shre and sheep shaggers genuine lac of change. One in million iwi sheep actually tried to avoid something that his species continually suffers from. ( f we consider all the sheep in the world, that moves Shre up to pretty much one in a billion.) hose who call for Scotland’s independence, whether it means brea ing up the nations or ust reaching a better consensus, would also see a need for unconventionality and change.

Reuters and Simon Baker ac in the S , ebras a is home to some strange occurrences, but only two months or so ago, a sheep was found with a Christmas sweater. On him was a leash, without a guide. n a traditional red and green fleece, this dashing individual wandered the lonely streets of Omaha in desperation, loo ing for its owner. lthough his ac et was originally made for dogs, he battled on through the small size without any way of ta ing it off. issing his humble abode—a shed with two chic ens—he roamed the streets in solitude. is name was Gage. When he was finally found by the powers of aceboo , his owner came to him and brought him bac home. ollowing all these depressing stories, it may be time to get into something more heartwarming. Shaun of the Sheep is set to be in theaters soon, with the same directors as Wallace and Gromit. t is to be based on the widely popular show with the same name. his spectacular will surely lighten your mood. ust as Gage, the protagonists will be lost in a big city, and trying to get all the way bac home. opefully, they’ll find themselves and won’t need someone else to. s the ear of the Sheep dawns, follow in the hoofsteps of Shre , not Gage. Wool ewe challenge yourself Source telegraph.co.uk

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Like a Flock of Sheep What the research tells us about conformity Sylvia Yang

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e are all sheep. ind of. ust as a floc of sheep moves together, we have all gone along with the opinion of the ma ority and conformed in order to fit in. s social beings, humans are constantly pressured to do so. any times, this influences us to change our beliefs or behaviors in order to fit within a group. n psychology, this social influence is studied.

Despite the negative connotations of conformity, as it clashes with our desire to remain independent, different, and uni ue, it is important to consider is conformity an innately human response, and can we control it esearch shows us that as undesirable as it may be in our lives, conformity is actually a very powerful force related to our need for belonging. n , Solomon sch investigated the effects of social pressure from a ma ority group on conformity.

Out of the male, college student sample, eight participants performed a “line udgment tas ” at a time. hey were shown an image of a single line, and another image of three lines of different lengths; the tas was to say, out loud, which line from the second image was most similar to that shown in the first one. Out of the eight involved in the tas , seven were actually confederates, and one was the naive participant. he confederates had already planned what answer they would give to the line tas , while the other remained ignorant of this fact, thin ing the rest were normal participants. here were trials in total, in which the confederates gave the wrong answer, and a control condition with no confederates. sing this procedure, sch measured the number of times the participants conformed. bout one third ( ) of the participants went along with the ma ority opinion, although it was clearly the incorrect option. Seventy five percent conformed at least once, and of the participants never conformed. n other words, conforming is a behavior seen in the ma ority. n the control group, with no pressure from the confederates, less than gave the wrong answer. here are two main reasons people conform to fit in and because they believe that the group is better informed than they, as individuals, are. What we can clearly see from this study is the pressure of those around the naive participant, which made him go along with the (obviously wrong) answer.

Granted, the line udgment tas is a seemingly harmless test, but even when a tas is immoral, conformity is still an observable phenomenon.

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magine that you are given the role of a prison guard, among other people doing the same, and are given the responsibility of ta ing control of prisoners, even though they haven’t actually committed a crime. Some of the guards start harassing the prisoners, behaving in a sadistic, violent manner, but although this ma es you e tremely uncomfortable, you do nothing to stop it. ou observe the prisoners’ suffering and more guards oining in on the torment soon, you start to feel pressured by them do so as well. ou feel li e the outsider and that you aren’t fulfilling your role as the prison guard. Would you start to do the same thing as the others ost would probably say no. owever, this situation actually too place, and most people, people li e you, did oin in. hilip Zimbardo’s study from used the situation described to demonstrate the power of peer pressure. wenty one male college students were divided into prisoners and guards in a simulated prison environment. Soon, prisoners were insulted, taunted, and dehumanized by these prisoner guards, and as a response, the prisoners became “Lecture-RIT” by Anonymous increasingly submissive, cowering, and dependent. he prison’s situation escalated to the point that a prisoner had to be released because of uncontrollable bursts of screaming, crying, and anger. rom these observed behaviors, they were able to conclude that people will conform to the roles that they are e pected to play. Was this study unethical Completely. here is no way to ustify this scarring e periment. here were a conglomeration of other factors, such as the e pectations of the e perimenters and the personalities of the participants, at play in the sub ects’ actions, but it is fascinating to understand how these pressures can ma e people do things they thought they were incapable of.

So, what does conformity e plain Could it e plain the behavior of Germans in World War Or why, that one time, you said you understood that math uestion, even though you really didn’t Conformity doesn’t mean you aren’t your own special person it ust means that the pressure can be overwhelming enough for you to conform. lthough some bash “conformists” for not stopping to thin or act for themselves, it’s not so easy to do so when the imposing shepherd is pushing the sheep around the pasture.

Source: simplypsychology.org

features

Being Sheepish On being led or leading Faria Nasruddin

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e now sheep as domesticated, ruminant animals, with thic woolly coats and curving horns. Sheep are easily herded, and passive animals in general. Sheep don’t try to innovate and brea free from the herd they are animals meant to be led by their shepherd. One shepherd, many sheep— ust as in the human world a there is usually one leader and many followers. ccording to lieutenant coronel and author Dave Grossman, author of On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society and Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill, a sheep is also a term for a person who is gentle. he ethical dilemmas these human sheep face aren’t complicated they are more minor issues than actual crises. When sheep are faced with any conflict, they generally try to do the right thing, demonstrating pro social behavior. i e sheep, people of this type move about with others who are similar to them. hey are content to subsist in a predictable and routine circle. s they live and graze, they cannot foresee any disruptions in their routine. nd, Grossman states, li e sheep, most people depend on somebody else to protect and ta e care of them. he sheepdog is to sheep, as authority is to people. ivestoc guardian dogs ( GDs) typically live with their floc of animals full time, which allows them to blend in with the herd. GDs are placed in the floc as puppies so that they imprint on the animals they will be ta ing care of. he GDs are strongly bonded to the sheep, and automatically perceive other species as predators, leading them to protect the sheep from potential hostile outsiders. he authority of human sheepdogs lin s to the role of actual sheepdogs. uthority figures live among us, yet people differentiate them from the rest of the group. heir purpose is to protect the perimeter and vigilantly watch for the wrongdoers of society. Grossman describes human sheepdogs as individuals who have the capacity for violence, but possess a moral compass. e also argues that “the business of being a sheep or sheepdog is not a yes no dichotomy,” although would say that it’s rather a continuum. Some people, of course, live at the very end of the spectrum, but in general, people fall somewhere in the middle.

Sheep and sheepdogs are a false dichotomy that self defense advocates try to perpetuate. ither people are vulnerable sheep who follow others, or a person who is a brave sheepdog who guards other sheep from danger. his implies that sheep are forever destined to be that way and cannot climb the hierarchy and evolve.

et sheepdogs aren’t born into their position—as Grossman implies they are—but choose to be in it. eople can mentally and physically train themselves, despite their tendency for sheep ness. n order to become a sheepdog, we have to consciously decide to do so and genuinely wor for it. ut there are a multitude of reasons as to why most people have the tendency to be “sheep.” umans have a natural inclination to be passive, but there are ways to overcome this. ost people respond to crises by freezing. Sometimes by acting as if everything is fine and ignoring problems entirely. he propensity to act li e everything is fine during traumatic events is called “normalcy bias.” Our brain is predisposed to assume that events will be normal and predictable all the time. So, when things aren’t normal, we ta e longer to process this, instead of immediately ta ing drastic action. ormalcy bias is what eeps people from ta ing action. t’s what eeps sheep in their place, since people generally aren’t programed to deal well with crises and are oblivious to their surroundings—though this could be because they also assume someone else will handle the situation. he bystander effect, the term for our flickr.com diminished inclination when we’re in a group to ta e action when there’s a threat, ties into this. veryone thin s that someone else will handle the crisis however, most other people are thin ing the e act same thing. ow, sheep, as well as humans, are very social animals. heir nature ma es them want to belong to a group. Conformity is one of the mechanisms we’ve evolved to ensure we can attach ourselves to a group it’s li e a default mode in which people instinctively hone in on social cues and body language. hey adapt their behavior to mirror the accepted, so that they can be accepted. umans tend to group together and live with the herd mentality. Grossman asserts that people are born sheep and will stay that way. lthough it seems that we are hardwired to be part of the group, there are the very few who rise above the rest and become leaders. eing a leader often seems li e an innate characteristic. ut leadership can be cultivated. very person will not react in the proper way all the time, and everyone is somewhere along the sheepdog sheep spectrum. t’s more a matter of finding a place on the spectrum, rather than a specific place in the dichotomy.

Sources mwkworks.com, rmmagazine.com, cnn.com, icouzin. princeton.edu

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The Sheepy Truth Why sheep are the coolest animals icholas ouseholder

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elcome to , the year of the sheep. his animal, at hoofed, snouted, and horned animals, nown as bovids, started first glance, may seem li e a rather normal, dull beast popping up in frica and urasia in the early days of the ice there’s nothing too e citing or particularly fascinating about age. hese bovids loo ed similar to the modern day deer and it. owever, what you may not now is that the sheep is, as a giraffes. here was far less diversity, in regards to appearance, matter of fact, a member of one of the most e otic, outstand- at that time. owever, when the ice age rolled in, reptiles and ing, and interesting genetic families in all of biology. less resilient mammals started to die off in the cold, which he sheep is a member of the family Bovidae and the allowed the sheep’s ancestors to flourish. subfamily Caprinae. he members Spreading into northern sia, of these families can be characsouthern sia, and urope, the terized by their awe inspiring, bovids started to diversify and cool loo ing horns. Some have evolve, leading to the creation dagger li e horns that spiral bac of over 60 new genera and variali e sharp icicles, while others tions of the species. heir height, have rigid horns that curve into horns, mass, and size all began loops li e ominous roller coasters. to change according to where Some brandish massive horns that in the world they settled. So, as roll up and bac in a wide hoo , other species were struggling in li e the infamous horns of the the sheer cold, the entire sheep Christian Devil. he li es of these subfamily was seemingly laughing horns you may not have ever seen from its throne. Since the ice age, before, but can assure you you’ll the Caprinae subfamily has only be amused by their elaborate continued to diversify. Due to the shapes. wide range of adaptations, memaybe at this point you’re thin ing, bers of this subfamily can be found on every “So what if these poser sheep relatives loo continent in the world aside from ntarctica. cool hey can’t possibly be as tough as they On top of the interesting history and endurloo .” Well, thin again. he members of the ance of the Bovidae family and Caprinae sheep goat antelope subfamily, Caprinae, hapsubfamily, these bovids also act very . . . pen to be some of toughest ids on the bloc , fascinatingly, if you will. he most common or the world, for that matter. he us o , one mating ritual of the animals in this family is of the larger sheep cousins, has adapted to nown as “rutting season.” During this period, the e treme cold of the arctic tundra, ma ing male goats, antelopes, bison, etc. all vigorAll photos from Wikimedia ously brawl with one another over the females. itself homes in Greenland, Siberia, and las a. mpressive, right hey fight in the most violent, barbaric of ways, he urial, on the other hand, has adapted to the harsh lining up around meters from one another, duc ing their conditions presented by the middle eastern deserts of ran head, raising their shoulders, and charging at each other li e and ra , which it calls home. urthermore, the ta in, a large, battle raged warriors. hese cousins mean business. iewing odd loo ing relative of the sheep, lives on the icy cliffs of the the incident is so awe inspiring and breathta ing that many imalayan ountains they prosper in the very pea s that hu- cultures around the world hold goat fighting festivals, in which mans train their whole lives ust to attempt to con uer. hese two male goats are placed in an arena filled with thousands of cousins of the sheep all survive in locations where humans dare people gathered to watch them fight. his event is actually far not inhabit. he fortitude of these species ma es humans seem more intense to view than one would initially e pect. f you li e spoiled, whimpering babies. he same humans who need get the chance, highly suggest you search “goat fights” on scarves and winter ac ets when the temperature gets below ou ube. ou don’t want to mess with these guys.

C in S o aulo. f, for some reason, you’re still not convinced by the Source wikipedia.com boldness of these animals, ta e a loo at their history. Cloven

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Feeling Sheepish A true story of outdoor adventure Samuel ertig

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ts fur protects it from the elements, its peripheral vision affords it a view of predators, and, as weird as it sounds, its intimate relationships with others of its ind give it the chance to have a best friend (purely latonic). es, our woolly friend the sheep is very impressive. ut for me it’s more than that. very time hear a toddler saying “baaaaa,” a shudder runs down my spine. ven a photo of a sheep can remind me how each and every one of us will eventually die, how life is sacred, and how the little beasts can easily give us heart attac s. his is the entirely true story of how learned a bit of caution, changed my stance on ruminants, and lost my sense of shame. t was the summer of . y family and were off to a vacation in reland, as we have roots there and normally en oy e pansive scenes of nature. he plane landed in Shannon irport, close to the city of imeric , where we rented a car and drove several hours down to the hamlet of illarney. thin can spea for us all when say that long drives across the country while listening to music are some of the most underrated e periences in life. t’s a time to reflect, con ure, and en oy being in the moment. Driving in Ireland was no different. I fell in love with the lush, verdant landscape (it’s called “ merald sle” for a reason), while the road swooped up and down gracefully. nd, of course, all throughout the car ride saw sheep. ig sheep, little sheep, female, male, whatever. Some were even painted, which later learned is a way to claim them if you’re a rancher. We arrived in illarney and got settled in the hotel. he ne t few days were to be spent horsebac riding through the erry ountains and along the tlantic Coast. he following morning we wo e up early, ate a good brea fast, and too a truc out to where the horses and guides lived (separately, presume). hey set us up with the horses, gave us all a shot of whis ey (yes, at o’cloc in the morning) and we set off. or eight hours we rode on trails, through pastures, over roc y cliffs, and even through huge mud piles. t was awesome, and was e cited to do it the ne t day. he second day, however, we would not be going through the mountains, but would be riding on the beach instead. We trotted to the coast, galloped along the shore, and then stopped for lunch. ittle did now that on this lunch brea , what consider the most traumatizing e perience of my life would happen. may have failed to mention that rish food is somewhat constipating, what with the potatoes, the meat, the scones, and the puddings. s a result, had not relieved myself properly in

the foregoing days apparently this lunch brea was the time to do so. he problem was that we were alone in the middle of a long, abandoned beach, and the only things in sight were the sand, the truc , the ocean, and a hill in the distance. had to act fast, because if didn’t, would be stuc (literally and figuratively) in a saddle for another four hours. s loo ed more closely toward the hill, realized it was covered in very, very, very tall blades of grass the perfect place to do my business. grabbed some toilet paper from the truc , said my goodbyes ( would later be than ful for this) and ventured off into the un nown. s hi ed the hill into the concealing brush, had an uneasy feeling that someone, or something, was watching me. o time to dally, though, and continued on. found a nice enough spot, and, as anyone who has had to poop outside nows, s uatting li e this puts you in a very compromising position. couldn’t move. s went to wor , heard a rustling in the grass in front of me, but couldn’t see anything. hen again to my left, then to my right, and then behind me. wanted to ta e action, but couldn’t move.

Slowly but surely, four hooves made their way into my area, then four more, flickr.com and then four more. couldn’t loo behind me, but new, ust new, that more of those evil even toed ungulates were staring me down. loo ed into the leader’s eyes ( could tell it was the leader—it had a mean aura about it) and it loo ed into mine. We stayed li e that for what seemed li e an eternity, and then it stopped. or a second, was relieved (so to spea ). ut then realized it was loo ing directly into my soul. hat sheep, for some supernatural purpose, connected with my very being, and too all of my fears, oys, worries, and memories into itself. felt empty and vulnerable. begged for it to be over. begged for death. ut the sheep would not stop.

Soon its demonic little friends oined in and began suc ing the life essence out of me, and left me there, a hollow hus . had been emotionally violated by sheep. hey scampered off into the grass, leaving nothing but pain behind. was ready to give up, to ust lie down and die, but couldn’t. had people (and a blessedly odd toed ungulate) to get bac to. Some force too hold of me and pulled my pants up, steadied my feet, and wal ed me bac to the truc , where my family—those innocents—were still en oying their tuna sandwiches. am not a hero. am a man. am a survivor.

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Talonscope Your guide to the stars C Otani and ernanda Say o

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you might realize that flaws aren’t so harmful in fact, they might even lead you to an e traordinary finding.

ACADEMICS

Libra (September 23 - October 22) he diplomatic side within you, ibra, may be tipped off balance by the increased laziness brought upon you by the arrangement of enus in relation to the sun.

hat are your prospects for the future Do not let an iety and uncertainty worry you any further, The Talon’s got you covered Combine your Chinese and Gree Zodiac horoscopes for insights on your future academic and social lives. i e S , but much cooler.

Aries (March 21 - April 19) Since is also the year of the sheep, you are headed for some luc . ow is the time to follow your gut when it tells you the definition of “smorgasbord” is in option during the arch S .

Taurus (April 20 - May 20) our academic partnerships should be successful this year, aurus. Do not be afraid to ta e charge of the (summative) group pro ects to come.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20) our habit of procrastination will finally catch up with you. e prepared for when it does.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22) Some teachers will disagree with your literary and historical interpretations and see them as a lac of depth and understanding. ut do not be discouraged. wo roads diverged in a yellow wood, yo. ollow your heart, the e aminers will be impressed.

Leo (July 23 - August 22) will be a year of ad ustment. ear not, the new grading system will not fail you this time. a e sure to clear lots of core value stic er space on your ac case.

Virgo (August 23 - September 22) Don’t be so hard on yourself this year, irgo. et your hair down and uit loo ing for little imperfections here and there. ey,

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Scorpio (October 23 - November 21) eware of forgetfulness, Scorpio. ou will forget the ne t S test date, your , your candidate number, and that it’s a C day.

Sagittarius (November 22 December 21) upiter indicates that is the perfect year to open your mind and accept new challenges and ideas. oin the cheerleading team, learn Swahili, give r. eterson a hug, write a novel. ow is the time.

Capricorn (December 22 January 19) a e heed, Capricorn the flickr.com things you learn this year will come bac to you later. Do not erase that mathematical formula or the repercussions of that historical event after the test. What goes around comes around. iterally, though.

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) Stubbornness will get in the way of your search for wisdom, uarius. ou can’t have everything your way, and no, you are not always right. econsider the relevance of the issues you debate in the classroom.

Pisces (February 19 - March 20) he alignment of the stars indicates a strong correlation between your G and the current oil prices. ( eep swimming, the current is blowing in your favor.)

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SOCIAL LIFE Monkey (1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004) here’s a German proverb that says, “ he higher the mon ey climbs, the more he shows his behind.” eep that in mind.

Rooster (1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005) Despite your tendency of being fiercely punctual to parties and events, do not e pect others to do the same. a e this time to e ercise patience and refine your Candy Crush s ills.

Dog (1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006) a e a brea from learning and concentrate on li ing yourself the way you are. n doing so, you will attract people your way.

Stay pawsitive.

Snake (1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013) pect turbulent friendships this year. ow is the time to re indle your relationship with your dog—he’ll most li ely be your best friend in .

Horse (1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014) f you’re still waiting for your rince Charming or your Cinderella, this may be your luc y year. rue love is ust a couple steps away. a e a move—what are you waiting for Sheep (1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015) eep an eye out for to ic relationships. urge your friend list(s).

Sometimes, it is best to protect yourself.

Sources zodiac-signs-astrology.com, chinesefortunecalendar. com

Pig (1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007) his year, you will discover that sometimes, friendship can be bought. Don’t be lazy. a e some time to invest in coo ing.

Rat (1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008) his year, rely more on your intuition, regardless of what your friends, teachers, and uzzfeed tell you.

Ox (1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009) Spea with confidence. lip your hair. Don’t slip off to the side. Strut down the center of the hallway because the world is your catwal .

Tiger (1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010) pect wor to e haust your engines however, don’t let that interfere with your social life. ou have a life waiting to be lived. og out of aceboo . uit scrolling down nstagram.

Stop refreshing your Snapchat. efrain from ta ing selfies every minute of the day. Carpe diem.

Wikipedia Commons

Rabbit (1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011) our nstagram followers will double this year. On the other hand, that will be as satisfying as your social life will get.

Dragon (1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012) pect your arrogance to get on people’s nerves. orget other people’s two cents if it ain’t going toward the bill.

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Sheepy Facts 30 things that I bet you didn’t know ernanda Say o

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n the spirit of welcoming baack you fellow sheep, why not learn some fun facts about these wooly creatures Sheep have been herded around since ancient times, and have been integrated into many cultures. t seems only fair to direct the spotlight at them for a change. ead, and be surprised 1.

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Contrary to popular belief, sheep are very intelligent. hey have a similar level of cattle and are almost as clever as pigs.

Sheep have very good memories they can remember people for two years, using a similar neural process that humans use.

Sheep display many emotions, which can be studied by observing the position of their ears, their vocalizations, and facial e pressions. oughly eight percent of male sheep see se e clusively with other male sheep.

Sheep are nown to treat their illnesses by eating medicinal plants when ill.

Sheep production dates bac to iblical times.

Sheep are born independent and li e to be in a floc .

Sheep are ruminants, meaning that they chew their food and then regurgitate their cud, which they chew on some more and re swallow.

Sheep have four stomach chambers.

When sheep sense danger, they wal bac wards. he sheep represents Christ (“the lamb of God”), a metaphor for gentleness. n the past, Spain valued its sheep to the e tent that e porting sheep was a transgression worthy of death.

George Washington raised sheep on ount ernon.

Wool is fiber made from the fleece of the sheep. t is ideal to ma e sweaters, coats, rugs, blan ets and such because it is durable, insulating, wrin le resistant, fire resistant, and moisture absorbing. emale sheep are called ewes. wes are very caring mothers and form deep bonds with their lambs. n fact, mother sheep can recognize the bleats of their lambs when they roam too far away. n , a sheep in inland called Dolly was the first mammal to be cloned from a somatic cell. Dolly was named after the singer Dolly Patron.

Wild sheep use their horns to defend themselves from predators.

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mummified when they died, ust li e humans.

19. Sheep fat is used to ma e soap and candles. . Sheep are one of the animals in the Chinese zodiac, representing righteousness, sincerity, gentleness, and compassion. (See aula Schulman’s article for more interesting information about this.) . here are more than breeds of sheep, more than any other livestoc species. . Sheep can be mil ed ust li e cows. Sheep mil is used to ma e gourmet cheese, and it contains higher levels of calcium, vitamins , , and , along with other nutritional elements. . here are billion sheep in the world. . Sheep have e cellent peripheral vision. hey can even see behind themselves without turning their heads . Sheep are very social creatures, and even have best friends. . any sheep have their tails shortened after birth to avoid having their tails soiled with manure. his decreases the chance of their suffering infections and the disease fly stri e. . Sheep and shepherds are mentioned times in the ible. . During the th century, ngland’s ing George banned the e port of sheep to its merican colonies and outlawed wool trading in the colonies in an attempt to protect ngland’s wool industry. his, among other oppressive acts, paved the way for the merican evolution. . Sheep don’t have teeth on their upper aw. nstead, they have a strong palate that helps grind their food. . Sheep ma e the sound “baa,” while goats ma e the sound “maa.”

Sources onekind.org, prbs.org

redorbit.com and Wikimedia Commons

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The Shepherd has Led his Flock Astray GamerGate and ethics in video-game journalism ucas alim

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istory is filled with e amples of protests and revolts that would be immediately censored. nstead of owning up to their lost their purpose. We don’t even have to loo too far bac mista es, games media outlets decided to ta e the criticism to find a prime e ample of this misguidedness. n the second many were throwing towards uinn and use them as a shield. half of last year, we had the GamerGate controversy, the mass arious sources, including the aforementioned ota u and consumer revolt that stormed the video game community. What others li e olygon and rs echnica, labelled GamerGate as started as tirade against the current condition of video game an oppressive movement against women in videogames. he ournalism soon became an all out culture war about female revolt didn’t lose its focus due to a clash of interests within oppression and male privilege in video game culture. ow its members. nstead the corrupt system, the very target of could such a radical shift in focus occur ow could a uest for this campaign, villainized the revolt by labeling it as se ist uality and honesty in ournalism and oppressive. he media sites’ suddenly turn into a massive outcampaign against a movement they rage towards gender ine uality claimed was “anti feminist” and o answer this uestion one must “misogynistic” then proceeded to understand the core purpose of gain the support of thousands of video game ournalism. people. video game ournals if leading the lambs astray ist is, in a way, a shepherd. weren’t enough, this false shepe leads his floc through the herd also tried to feed them to the safest paths available into the wolves. Supporters of GamerGate greenest pasture possible, actwere seen as se ists wanting to ing as a mediator and protector. suppress women in video game video game ournalist should culture, when in reality, their actual Ben Cumming: Creative Commons purpose was completely different. provide an honest opinion, doing his best to be s eptical of what s a matter of fact, the “gaming loo s dodgy while avoiding overhyping what doesn’t deserve to minorities” that the anti GamerGate movement professed to be promoted. his re uires a substantial amount of effort that protect claimed they never felt oppressed, refusing to act as some professionals simply refuse to ta e. any would rather shields to hide the corruption in games ournalism. ll the while, act in self interest, ta ing bribes, and censoring and alienating mass censorship left few outlets for supporters of GamerGate audiences that dare to disagree with them. to defend themselves. his lead the mainstream media to folhese deplorable conditions first came to the public low only the corrupted side’s arguments, and in some cases, eye during the “ uinnspiracy,” which involved the independent believe the narrative constructed by video game ournalists. game developer Zoe uinn. er first game, Depression Quest, While the situation has died down, it’s ludicrous to became widely nown after it was released on the digital dis- thin it was ever acceptable. o cover up their vile infringetribution software Steam in ugust of . he game received ments on basic morality, video game ournalists blamed it all rave reviews. owever uinn’s e boyfriend soon came forward on the people they are supposed to care about the most. wo claiming uinn had pursued various se ual affairs with vari- wrongs do not ma e a right—they ust ma e an even bigger ous video game ournalists and udges from the ndependent mess.

Games estival to promote a better reception of her game. ou might be thin ing to yourself, why should care he evidence piled up when it was discovered that many of ow does this affect me Some might see video games as a these writers, most of which belonged to the games media site mere pastime. owever, there’s a tight nit community built ota u, had been financially supporting uinn through atreon. around it. Could you stand idly by while people are wrongfully aturally, gamers sought to e press their opinion on accused of being “misogynistic bigots” while having the right to the matter, as ing for a higher level of transparency from defend themselves ta en away t isn’t only a matter of being games media. s they floc ed to forums li e eddit and chan, a video game fan, it’s a matter of preserving and protecting they soon found out that any discussion concerning the matter basic principles.

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How To: Sheep A step-by-step guide on sheep eatures eam Sylvia—Embrace your Chinese Zodiac 1.

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dentify whether your birth date and year fall under the classification for the Chinese Zodiac sheep. f you were born in , , , and so on, with year intervals in between, there’s a good chance you’re in luc . Don’t forget, though, that the year of each Zodiac begins at the “Start of Spring,” till the day before the “Start of Spring” of the ne t year. strongly suggest you chec the dates before you mista enly go around claiming to be the wrong animal. nderstand the characteristics of the sheep. any believe that the Zodiac is representative of a person’s personality. Sheep are gentle, elegant, smart, assertive, creative, determined, and compassionate. t times, they may be indecisive, pessimistic, shy, or even moody. ct according to these characteristics. emember, they are an important part of the Zodiac.

When ma ing friends, loo for those that have a Zodiac of horse, pig, or rabbit. ou’re most compatible with them Steer clear from people that are dogs, o , or rats. ccording to their personality traits, you guys probably wouldn’t go well together. mbody your new Chinese Zodiac identity ecause, obviously, all sheep are the same right

Faria—You are the sheep!

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icture a sheep. ny sheep, really. blac sheep, white sheep, sheared sheep, young sheep; anything. Now, hold this image in your mind and animate it. ot li e movie animate or something elaborate, but ma e this sheep real. our sheep should represent you. t should be almost human, but still a sheep, of course. ow, with this sheep in your head, you really need to ma e a sheep, but not ust a made up image of a sheep. ’m not saying to physically draw it out or describe it with words, because only us humans can ma e sense of that nonsense. our sheep should ma e noise. t should “baah” not “maah.” ( hat’s what goats do ) ou need to totally immerse yourself in the image of the sheep. ou need to be the sheep. aybe, you should find a uiet place, li e a pasture of grass or an old red barnhouse. t would help with the species change process from human to sheep. icture yourself as the sheep. he sheep should be you

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and you should be the sheep. nstead of two entities, you should now be one with the sheep.

Congratulations ou are now the sheep.

Nick—The Sheepivik Revolution 1.

ac ground conte t ou are a sheep in the age of industry. our fellow sheep wor li e slaves for the corrupt bourgeois of man ind, growing precious cotton ust to be shaved down na ed li e a criminal. our goal is to fulfill the prophecy of Sheep ar and liberate the sheep letariat from the evil human bourgeoisie. . Spread the word. se your comple dialect of “baas” and “baaahhhzzz” to educate your fellow sheep on the prophecy of lord ar . plain to them that sheep hold the real power the cotton. Without our cotton, humans are powerless . stablish a sheep vanguard, among your most intelligent sheep, to lead the revolt. . lly yourself with the goat mercenaries, who will be the footsoldiers of the revolution.

5. se your vanguard and your army of sheep and goats to rise up against the humans.

6. Overthrow the bourgeois humans and establish a single party communist regime, he Sheepivi s.

7. Declare war on all countries that do not liberate their sheep. . Once the sheeps are liberated, start the immediate e termination of humans via goat death s uad.

9. Crush all human resistance and counter revolutions through the use of he ed Sheepivi rmy.

10. Once the human species has gone e tinct, abolish the system of currencies and social classes, and initiate full out ar ist sheep communism.

11. n oy yourself you are the sheep dictator of a utopian society of sheep communism.

Sam—Sheep Polymorphism 1.

Decide what ind of sheep you want to be. a. ou could be a erino sheep, a Suffol sheep, or even a Shetland sheep. he possibilities are endless ou need to chose though, because you can’t be sheep… duh. b. Once you’ve decided your breed, you need to

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identify with a personality. Will you be a nice sheep funny sheep goat hating, pre udiced sheep Find a wizard. a. his is the most important step. here’s no way you can become a sheep without the help of a wizard, so find a wizard Sometimes they can be hard to find try loo ing between couch cushions, or in a different time period set in a parallel universe. his is the ey step, so don’t screw it up s the wizard to help you. a. s everyone nows, wizards won’t ust turn anyone into a sheep you need to prove yourself ry uggling four oranges at once, or dying and coming bac to life. . . things li e that. f you can show that you have great de terity or that you have the power to reincarnate yourself, then the wizard will definitely turn you into a sheep.

Prepare yourself. a. t’s important to be in good physical condition when being turned into a sheep. ry running miles before the polymorph it helps eep the transformation stable. ental condition is also important. his is a big life decision, and you don’t want to regret it. efore be coming a sheep, ma e sure that you are ready to go through with it. ry as ing some of your sheep friends how they li e their life, and if the transformation was worth it. et the wizard do his thing. a. ep. retty self e planatory. ust get turned into a sheep.

Congratulations a. ay ou are now a sheep emember, lots of respon sibility comes with this power. t’s also fun though, so en oy

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5.

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cups of powdered sugar teaspoons of vanilla arshmallow cream ini marshmallows blac gumdrops Decorator candy eyes icorice pieces oF. eat up the oven to lace paper ba ing cups into muffin pan cups and set them aside while you prepare the cupca e batter. dd your ca e mi , cup of mil , softened butter, and eggs to a bowl and beat on low speed.

Spoon batter into the muffin cups. a e minutes.

While you allow the cupca es to cool, prepare the frosting. dd powdered sugar, vanilla, and the remaining cups of softened butter to a bowl and beat on medium speed.

Once the mi ture is creamy, add marshmallow cream, and continue beating until well mi ed. eave the frosting aside, and begin creating sheep faces. sing the palm of your hand, flatten gumdrops. or the nostrils, po e holes on the gumdrops. se the frosting to attach the candy eyes. o e the licorice pieces into the gumdrops for ears.

Once you are finished ma ing sheep faces, add generous amounts of frosting to your cupca es. lace the sheep faces on the cupca es and press the mini marshmallows into the layer of frosting. ttach a small piece of licorice for the tail. oil

Fern—Welcome Baack Cupcakes s the second semester of the school year ic s in, what better way to fuel the engines than with sheep cupca es 1. efore you begin, ma e sure you are stoc ed with the list of ingredients pac age of ca e mi , whatever flavor floats your boat cup of mil cups of softened butter eggs

wikihow.com

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entertainment

Excellent Sheep We’re great at grazing and regurgitating Michael Borger

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or many Graded students, the big-name universities, like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford, are dream schools.

Many would love to attend one of them in the future. Unfortunately, admissions-committee evaluations don’t always coincide with student hopes.

But, as some claim, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Not attending one of these universities may actually be beneficial, as William Deresiewicz argues in his latest book Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life.

A former Yale professor and graduate of Columbia niversity, William Deresiewicz has been a critic of the Ivy League. Those schools offer excellent facilities, receive enormous endowments from their alumni, consistently soar in rankings, produce successful leaders in most fields, and, of course, elicit awe from their prestige. Besides these, there are other universities considered on par, and by some, even better than the Ivies, including Stanford, UChicago, MIT, Berkeley, and CalTech. All these universities generally admit students who achieve astonishing GPA’s, earn high scores on the SAT, and boast more e tracurriculars than they have fingers on which to count. But, is attending of these schools in a student’s best interest?

Excellent Sheep: the Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life argues that students at these universities generally are “smart and talented and driven.” However, they are also “anxious, timid, and lost, with little intellectual curiosity and a stunted sense of purpose.” He argues further that they are “trapped in a bubble of privilege, heading meekly in the same direction, great at what they’re doing but with no idea why they’re doing it.” These students become sheep in the larger pasture, the university. They roam on campus and graze on extracurriculars for resumé fodder.

They are extolled for their minimal efforts in thinking. Their responses are geared towards a professor’s expectations, or what they believe are those expectations, instead of innovative or creative thinking.

Deresiewicz suggests that students who produce work with banal and borrowed ideas often receive high scores because students are indoctrinated to follow the line of thinking a teacher establishes. Deviations are met with lower scores, so grades act as signals or, better yet, rewards and punishments.

When a student receives an for analyzing an overdone topic, they will continue doing that; when they receive a C, they will avoid repeating their actions at all costs.

To get into a prestigious college, students must have mastered this concept. But this is where Deresiewicz and I

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disagree. I believe that students at these institutions can think independently, but have simply mastered the art of intellectual regurgitation because they cleverly recognize its benefits.

They’re playing the system, not blindly adhering to it.

But as Deresiewicz says, some eventually embrace this theology and “by the time they finish high school after years of learning how to please their teachers and coaches—not to mention schmoozing with their parents’ friends—elite students have become accomplished adult-wranglers.” He argues they lose their creativity and individual reasoning.

Moreover, Deresiewicz’s work has faced criticism, being described as cynical, exaggerated, and false. Some of the negative responses focus on how he occasionally uses a generalization or hearsay, and these criticisms have merit. I too disagree that prestigious universities merely cultivate students who are incapable of independent thinking. However, Free Press as contentious as it may be, the gist of his book has some truth.

As Deresiewicz writes, students aren’t always completing work to learn, nor are they always applying their own thinking. Frequently, they rely on unoriginal streams of thought, expediently generating poor copies of prior scholarly work. The sad reality is that often writing something that uses another person’s thinking, especially that of the professor, will almost certainly result in a higher grade than incorporating original thinking. The student will have less to prove as the professor may unconsciously fills in their arguments’ gaps and doesn’t question logical faults because they happen to agree with it.

In sum, to repeat a question that a student asks Deresiewicz in the book, ‘“Are you saying that we’re all just, like, really excellent sheep?”’ I respond: No, I don’t think we’re “excellent sheep,” and I don’t fully agree with his reasoning.

But it’s hard to call a human in sheep’s skin fully human.

You can’t have a conversation with these “excellent sheep” (a term that does not apply to all or even most Ivy League students), as opposed to a drawn-out dialogue with the philosophers and writers they’re prone to quoting, but you also can’t shear their wool. If I had to call them anything, I’d call them walking balloons. Great at accumulating air and are fun to celebrate with, but after the novelty wears off, there’s nothing left.

Sources: US News & College Reports, nytimes.com, Goodreads, Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life

entertainment

Killer of Sheep It stinks, but in a good way Manuel Camilion

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hy do we watch movies? Some say for the fun of seeing CGI explosions in space and hearing hilarious jokes. Other people might prefer watching for artistic purposes, wanting to see the way the filmma er creates images and how images portray certain messages. Occasionally, we are blessed with a film that is both artistically pleasing and entertaining. his is not one of those times. I would like to get one thing straight: this is not a recommendation. I am not held accountable for any damage or suffering incurred if you disregard this article and choose to watch the movie.

Set in Los Angeles, Charles Burnett’s 1978 film Killer of Sheep is about Stan, a black man who works at a slaughterhouse and struggles to provide for his family. The film follows a style nown as neo-realism, meaning that the film is almost documentary li e, using non-professional actors, following quotidian events in the people’s lives, and using a filming style that is very blunt and personal. he film was made around years ago in a time when “ la ploitation Cinema” was still very dominant in the United States.

Popular during the 1970’s, Blaxploitation Cinema is the name given to a type of movie that predominantly focuses on the black community.There were a couple of key characteristic qualities of these movies, such as the use of funk and “soul jazz.” Blaxploittation Cinema introduced a new concept of “fighting the power,” an empowering catchphrase and movement for black people at the time. Certain stereotypical images came from that era, like the “groovy” tall woman with an eccentric afro, seen in movies you may know such as Austin Powers in GoldMember with the character Foxy Cleopatra.

These tropes became popular within the black community because, finally, they were represented as powerful. owever, to some, it seemed that the genre was perpetuating common white negative stereotypes about the black community. Either way, Killer of Sheep is a movie that opposed these portrayals of the black community, working hard to show everything as raw as it could possibly be.

We search for movies that are entertaining. Our fa-

vorite movies usually tend to stun us with beautiful imagery, getting those nice moments replaying in our heads over and over again. Movies where we look at the screen in wonder and amazement, completely immersed in what’s going on in front of us, and not wanting to look away for a second out of fear that we might miss something. Killer of Sheep is not one of those movies. It’s slow, it’s long, and it’s monotonous, trapped within itself, much like how the main character gets trapped in his own community.

The artistic world has a very deep love for this movie. Rotten omatoes ( the Word of God) gave this movie a “Certified Fresh” Rating. Although, to be perfectly, honest, the folks there really like love to kiss up to this kind of movie. They’re the same guys that gave The Tree of Life, the bane of my existence, an 84% on the Tomatometer. Unfortunately, Rotten Tomatoes is not incredibly reliable for meaningful, Wordpress.com rather than entertaining, movies.

But it wasn’t just them, as IMDB also gave Killer Sheep decent reviews: a 7.4 (good for its standards). This is just the kind of movie that art critics really love: slow, boring, and black and white in a world where color exists.

As I mentioned prior, this is not a recommendation.

Most of you may get bored with the movie, as I certainly did.

This article is simply an homage to what it is that this movie represented: the truth behind the hardwork that some people do to provide for their families. It was a movie that portrayed the world around us, working to show viewers how the black community lived. la ploitation films would portray them as rebels, giving an unrealistic view of what black communities were li e. his film showed humility and honesty, managing to allow me to welcome the characters into my heart.

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entertainment

Talon Tunez Mainstreamed MC Otani

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any people complain about the quality of contemporary popular music. But while lots of pop songs might contribute to the genre’s reputation as shallow and repetitive, just because a song is in “the mainstream” doesn’t mean it is necessarily bad. Here are a few examples from Graded’s students, teachers and alumni:

This is the perfect song to make me feel relaxed; I keep it in my chill playlist on Spotify.

Laura Schivartche (12th grade): “American Boy” by Estelle ft. Kanye West I like this song because it makes me nostalgic and I never fail to get in a good mood when I listen to it.

Mendel Schwarz, Class of 2014: “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns & Roses Everytime I listen to this song I think I am going to barf because I have listened to it way too many times; but I never barf, so I just keep listening to it again and again.

Pedro Salles Leite (11th grade): “Latch Something” by DJ Drybones I enjoy this song because DJ Drybones did an excellent job in combining both Sam Smith and Great ig World’s style.

Thomas Park (10th grade): “Blitzkrieg Bop” by The Ramones It’s so good and so famous.

Ms. Pfeiffer: “Velha Infância”

by Tribalistas Besides being absolutely beautiful and having a great groove, I love this song because it was one of the first I learned in Portuguese.

Kauê Santos: “Submarine” by Bjork Escutei a música no “repeat” enquanto pedalei Easter Island inteira. Muito boa, vocal impressionante!

Julia Pontes (12th grade): “R U Mine” by Arctic Monkeys This catchy song has extremely relatable lyrics. I love it.

Luis Wolfrid (10th grade): “Moanin’” by Charles Mingus If you want to listen to some good jazz, start here.

Thiago Lima (12th grade): “Here it Goes Again” by OK Go A really great pump-up song with an incredible music video.

MC Otani (12th grade): “The Rain Song” by Led Zeppelin I don’t care about what you have to say. “The Rain Song” is flawless.

Jun Shinagawa (9th grade): “Paris Nights/New York Mornings”

by Corinne Bailey Rae

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Nick Reinhart (12th grade): “Riptide” by Vance Joy This song’s got a great melody and serious relaxing powers.

Lucile Simon (12th grade): “Mr.Brightside” by the Killers What love about this song is its alternative side: the voice of the singer is different and caught my attention the first time I heard it. I don’t really Heinrich Klaffs: Creative Commons listen to the lyrics as much as the actual music, which is why I like the song so much. It’s upbeat and makes me want to dance.

I would totally make it the song that plays in the background as I stroll around places.

Maggie Moraes: “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor pesar da melodia chiclete, ela fala sobre o fim da ditadura da magreza e, confesso, dá vontade de sair dançando.

Fernanda Sayão (10th grade): “Latch” by Disclosure ft. Sam Smith (although, Sam Smith’s acoustic version is even better) This song has the incredible ability to set the mood for the happiest and saddest of moments.

Bella Shim (12th grade): “Shake it off” by Taylor Swift It’s downright catchy and it leaves people with a constructive message: don’t heed the judgment of others, but go burn some calories.

entertainment

Shorn Identity The many faces of black sheep Catalina Berretta

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or some, the beginning of a new year means a new chance, The worst part is that the negative connotation of a another “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to change their black sheep is instilled on us from childhood through lullabies. lives around and become better people. They are the type who Specifically Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. A classic childhood song actually become the change they wish to see in the world, not that’s stuck around since 1744, it opens with a young boy just the type who posts the quote on Facebook and credits it claiming to have three bags of wool, one for his master and to Gandhi. (Yes, it’s true, there is no documented evidence he one for his dame (presumably, he was a lower-class peasant) ever said that. Sorry, interest aficionados.) ere’s something and one for the little boy who lives down the lane. n a he did say: “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in print, Mother Goose’s Melody, the last line was changed to: the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, “But none for the little boy who cries in the lane.” The reason? so does the attitude of the world change towards him . . . We Many historians have attempted to uncover its origins but to need not wait to see what others no avail. Alas, I fear we will never do.” However, that is a little long to really know why the boy managed write on a motivational poster, so I to lose his wool subsidy. It shall see why it was condensed. forever remain one of humanity’s For most, the new year is greatest mysteries. the best thing that could happen Beyond its historical backto them, for it gives them a doground, the idiom has become over, and the hope that their lives synonymous with outliers; it’s even will go from mediocre to exciting the name of a social condition to impossibly exhilarating, along called The Black Sheep Effect. In a with gym subscriptions that will 1988 experiment, Mrques, Yzerbyt be cancelled by April. But for the and Leyens discovered that group Chinese calendar, this is the year members judge fellow members of the sheep. Truthfully, I’ve never more harshly for offensive behavJesus Solana: Wikipedia Commons found sheep to be that exciting. In iour than an outsider who commits fact, , as the ear of the Sheep, the same transgressions. Group doesn’t instill much confidence in me especially when articles members are motivated to maintain a positive social identity, about the year of the sheep are titled, “Chinese couples rush holding in-group members in higher esteem, which consequently to get pregnant before dreaded Year of the Sheep.” reinforces the positive image of their group. On that note, this Apparently, sheep, as meek animals raised mostly for image is more threatened by group members who deviate from slaughter, do not appeal to new parents, nor does the follow- the norm rather than outsiders who do the same. mentality accompanying sheep and shepherds. I don’t blame The negative connotation behind black sheep is based them. Therefore, in search of shedding a different light on on unfortunate circumstances. Parents should not dread giving sheep, I turned to the outlier, the non-follower: the black sheep. birth this year, but rather embrace the unique opportunity.

Its origin can be explained with a brief biology lesson. See, They must remember the Year of the Sheep also includes black white fleece results from a dominant gene while blac fleece sheep, the subset that is way cooler and pluckier. Do white is recessive. If a white ram and a white ewe are heterozygous sheep have a cool lullaby written after them that’s been around (put simply: one dominant and one recessive trait), the chances for decades? I think not. And as far as the black sheep’s origin, they’ll produce a blac lamb is . hese odds are actually it’s just a matter of perspective. Rather than being a negative rarer, since few breeds of white sheep are heterozygous. The thing, blac fleece should be prized because it can be made term black sheep became iconic due to a proverb: there’s a into black clothing without dye. The Year of the Sheep is the blac sheep in every floc . t the time the e pression was year for the outliers, the deviants, the non-conformists to be coined, the blac fleece was undesirable because it could not born. Well, at least of them. be dyed. Sheep were also seen as devilish by some during the 18th and 19th centuries. In modern times, the term is most Sources: wikipedia.org; psychology-lexicon.com, nytimes.com commonly used when referring to that one member of the family who’s a bad seed or just embarrassing.

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entertainment

Wake up, Sheeple A lampoon of a conspiracist’s probing o i Watanabe

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onspicuously, freemasonry is merely a secret society for those looking to run the world through an even more secret sect of the Illuminati. But what other things has society in general failed to notice? Exactly what chemicals are the world’s governments making us breathe through chemtrails? Did we really land on the moon? How can we prevent the United ations from reading our minds he answer to the first uestion is Agent Orange; the second, no, it was all anti-communist propaganda; and the third, tinfoil hats.

However, this is all common knowledge. It does not take a genius to find enough evidence that the government is behind international superstar Marilyn Monroe’s death. Her ties to the Kennedy family put the Americans’ secret Communist agenda at risk, and ultimately, the secret service had to hire Marilyn’s private physician to overmedicate the young actress. Anyway, the purpose of this article is not to revisit old material, but to inform the masses of the secretive organization APATE that I have noticed operating in the dark corners of the Defence of Advance Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) budget.

Wait, what is D Simply, D is the S Department of Defense’s answer to the Soviet Sputni , the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth. Afraid of falling behind its Communist counterpart and being taken by surprise by new technology, the US initiated its own evolutionary discoveries.

DARPA, thus far, has disclosed information concerning its involvement in developing technology such as the Internet and Shakey, a conscious and logical robot. But what exactly goes on behind closed doors? The answer: APATE. APATE is a top-secret sub-agency of DARPA looking to take over the world. Much of my latest research, a cat-andmouse chase after this mysterious government agency, has led me into the deepest corners of the dark web. From looking at a series of intricately placed Morse Code/Caesar Ciphers, I have discovered the meaning behind this intimidating name.

After spending hours decoding the message, I met a dead end, a blan webpage with no further lin s or codes or so thought.

It was then that I noticed a small rectangle in the top right of the screen. Using professional CSI technology, I zoomed in and enhanced the picture 100 times its original size, revealing a shocking discovery. I could not believe what was on my screen.

It was a Comic Sans acrostic poem spelling out: A ndroid P rototypes A rmed T hroughout E arth Could it be Was this the hidden agenda that conspiracy theorists have been working so hard to unveil? I had to dig deeper.

I cannot list the exact steps of my research for I fear for my life. Sleeper agents are plentiful, and myself? Not so much. There are only so many basements I can harbor in before

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they find me. nyway, here is what found 1. has artificial intelligence cyborgs.

The clues are in the books. Shakey the Robot? He was DARPA’s first attempt at a sentient being. he nternet he best way for the robot to have unlimited access to academic and personal information. Disaster response robots? Research into creating invincible, Terminator-esque cyborgs. APATE simply had to piece together DARPA’s technology, and they did. My research suggests that the APATE mark I cyborg was completed in 1961. His name?

Barack Hussein Obama. No better place to experiment than in your own backyard, and APATE knows this. .

World leaders are being replaced with ar cyborgs.

I know this is hard to digest, but I assure you that “ignorance is not bliss.” After the (arguably) successful test run of the APATE Mark I in the US, APATE began to expand its program.

Have you ever wondered why the US government is so adamant about a “democratic” world? The reason behind it is not to create better governmental bodies that will better serve their people, but rather fulfill their secret agenda. What better way to control the world’s economy and development than to have their own leaders in power? For example, using the internet, DARPA can remotely access Angela Merkel’s control system to from distant locations.

3. The US will weaponize APATE Mark II cyborgs.

When the S first created drones, they were used for reconnaissance, but eventually, Predator drones were created, which led to a military revolution. Unmanned weapons became the future. Would it not ma e sense for to militarize their cyborgs? It is impossible to tell a cyborg from a human without ripping it open. This is the perfect plan to create a standing army of millions and have them stationed around the world without suspicion. Their sentient minds make these machines seem human, hiding their true potential to be able to kill normal humans at a speed of 66.6 per minute.

So far, this is all I have been able to uncover. There is little doubt in my mind that the conspiracy runs deeper. Perhaps teachers are also APATE cyborgs trained to melt the students’ minds? HEY, DARPA, leave us kids alone. Do not fall prey to the US secret agenda. Inform your peers of the imminent US global take-over. This Blade Runner-like scenario cannot be continued.

By exposing the government, they will be forced to shut down the program. he only way to fight them is by tal ing about them. Do not let them infestate your mind with their propaganda. Stand up for your rights. Put your tinfoil hats on, accessorize with the strongest magnet bracelets, and wake up, sheeple.

entertainment

Category is: Goats Taking a break from sheep Entertainment Team

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ditor’s Comment: For this Category Is, we decided to write about goats, which were largely overlooked in favor of their less horny brethren for this edition and the Chinese Calendar.

The entertainment writers were meant to write about goats, yet one writer had to be a the black sheep and write partially about sheep. Why? No one will ever know.

Michael: Scapegoating We often accuse others it’s convenient. lthough we forsa e our morals when blaming others for our incompetencies or slip-ups, it’s nice to avoid chastisement. We can breathe freely. owever, it’s terrifying to think that we ourselves will become the scapegoats of someone else’s failures and mistakes. To scapegoat others, we many times cover our own tails by fabricating ill-conceived alibis. “I got an on the lab report o, that was definitely person and person ’s fault,” when it clearly was ours. Let’s not lie to ourselves: we know when we’re scapegoating, others know it, and the scapegoat nows it. Why do many of us do it anyway?

years of existence, I was pretty sure the only cool thing about goats was that they are nifty climbers. nd they can ump five feet. hat’s pretty gnarly if you as me and yes, in case you’re wondering, will eep using Surfer Dude vocabulary. n sum, I wasn’t all that fascinated by this particular animal.

Interestingly enough, the Internet disagrees with me. Upon the search of more goat knowledge, I discovered that Googling “goat facts” will give me the following site titles: “Amazing Facts about Goats,” “Fun Facts on Goats” (many variants of this) and my personal favourite, “ acts bout Goats.” n this wild journey, I’ve learned that they can climb trees, have excellent night vision, have great balance and most fascinatingly, have a dark Scottish past. “In Scotland feral goats are descendants of livestock which were abandoned during the highland clearances. They therefore act as a reminder of a turbulent past.” Just when you think life can’t surprise you.

Yoji: Pink Floyd’s Animals Pink Floyd’s Animals was released in a tense time for the band. Sandwiched between albums Wish ou Were ere Manny: Goatee and he Wall, it was a release dediMiami University Library: Public Domain his is an homage nay, a panegyric to cated to you guessed it animals. he something we all had stolen from us. fourth track, Sheep, clocks in at ten Earlier this year, Mr. Berg’s goatee departed from our world minutes, making it the second longest track on the album, only and joined the realm of myth. Many students were grieved to behind Dogs (17 minutes). This gives the entire band plenty of hear the sad news, and many thousands arrived at the funeral. time to show what makes them the greatest psychedelic group There, US Vice President Joe Biden gave a speech recollecting ever. rom ichard Wright’s entrancing synthesizer crescendos all the ways the goatee touched us. s the whis er filled cas- and decrescendos to David Gilmour’s modulated and ample ket was lowered into the ground, the soldiers in place began guitar sounds, the song does not leave much to be desired. their gun salute. he following school day made it hard for Waters’ lyrics foreshadow his he Wall brea down and show his many to accept the truth; those who sought Ms. Pfeiffer found frustration with “the system.” e is filled with anger against her loc ed away in the Writing Center, uietly sobbing while the government and religion and thus, addresses the need for listening to Celine Dion’s “All by Myself” and eating her own a revolution. Sheep is a great listen for lovers of classic psychehomemade chocolate-chip cookies. Many who had class with delic rock, and although there are better tracks to introduce Mr. Berg had to leave his room, unable to contain their sorrow one to Pink Floyd’s genius, your ears will not complain. after seeing the blank patch under his lower-lip. Indeed, many of us can quite honestly say that we were touched in one way Thomas: Goat-throwing or another by Mr. Berg’s goatee. It is safe to say that it now The marvel it must have been: In Manganeses de la Polvorosa, a rests comfortably amongst other Graded legends. On behalf of Spanish town with fewer than a thousand people, a goat would the entire Graded community, I would like to say thank you. be thrown off the top of a church. Was it part of their mythology or some sort of common celebration Well, ’m not sure. t ust Catu: Goat Facts pains me that they can only throw a plush toy goat because of Having no experience with goats other than writing a paper some very intrusive animal rights group. Don’t worry, they’d about goat tethering for math in ninth grade, I felt it was my catch the goat on the bottom. I just wish it were a real goat. responsibility to educate myself. Up to this point of my 17 Baahhhhh to you too.

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entertainment

Sheep Sacrifice Its history in the Chinese and Muslim worlds Julia Marangoni

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heep are sacrificed in some countries under the rituals of power over animals and gave his permission to eat meat, but religion. ccording to the Chinese calendar, the year only if they pronounced His name as a reminder of the solemn is the year of the sheep, and some in China sacrifice sheep to act of ta ing a sacred life. he meat sacrificed during id honor the supreme god Shangdi. Sheep are also sacrificed in al-Adha is given to immediate family, friends, and the less accordance to Islam on Eid al-Adha, the last day of the Hajj, fortunate; this act symbolizes the willingness to give up things as a way of giving to others. that are of great value in order to follow Allah’s commands, In China, Shangdi was the main reason for animal sac- strengthen friendships, and help those in need. As a result, rifice during the rise of the Shang dynasty, in Second Century Muslims recognize that all blessings come from Allah, and that C . he main sacrificial animals were sheep and lambs, be- they should open their hearts and share with others. cause the Chinese recognize them as representing truthfulness, t is important to understand that these sacrifices beauty, eternity, and righteousness. have nothing to do with atoning There is no mention of why humans for sins. The meaning behind these offered this sacrifice however, one practices is derived from the willtheory is that humans sacrificed ingness to ma e sacrifices in their sheep to honor their ancestors, spirlives to remain on the straight path. its and, of course, Shangdi; through A faithful Muslim is someone who these offerings, the people humbled completely submits him or herself themselves in hopes of gaining holito Allah, always willing to obediness or winning favors. ently follow Allah’s commands. On It is believed that Shangdi the first morning of id al dha, was the admired creator of the Muslims worldwide attend their loChinese race, the sky deity, and the cal mosques for morning prayers.

Powerhouse Museum: Public Domain The prayers are accompanied by people humbled themselves under his command. When there was an gatherings with family and friends, excess of sins, the god would block the path between Earth and exchanges of greetings and gifts. Afterwards, families visit and eaven, forcing people to sacrifice animals in order to local farms or make arrangements to slaughter an animal. The display their humility. he most notable sacrifice in the Shang meat is then distributed during the days of the feast. state was Emperor Tang, who disguised himself as a lamb and oday, the use of ritual sacrifice has become nearly offered himself for his people’s’ sins, so that Shangdi would obsolete. However, the Chinese and Muslims still follow religious send rain to help the land prosper. traditions, and sheep play an essential part in them. n slam, sheep are sacrificed as an act of faith in Abraham. The event, known as the Eid al-Adha, occurs annually Sources: amazingbibletimeline.com, about.com and the feast lasts for three days. n , the sheep year, it will be on September , performed after the a , the annual pilgrimage of Mecca. The Hajj takes place in memory of the trials and triumphs of the Prophet Abraham. One of Abraham’s main trials was to obey the command of Allah and kill his only son. s braham was about to carry out the sacrifice, llah revealed to him that the “sacrifice” had already been completed Abraham had shown his indisputable devotion to his Lord by submitting to kill his only son, someone dear to him.

During Eid al-Adha, Muslims commemorate the memory of Abraham’s trial by slaughtering animals such as sheep, cows, goats, or camels. According to their belief, Allah gave Muslims

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viva voce

Ten Years Gone A short story Thomas Park

I

t was a late winter night and the man was awake, a mess of coins in his pocket. Lights were dimmer and the band across the road took banjo cases and spare change to a Ford a few feet from the man’s seat. Rain poured as days were cooler and the air thinner and breathing strained to exhaustion. Celebrations had dwindled to an end. A boy held his girl on the same road with an arm around the waist and the other below. Their footsteps would linger through echoes. No one would bother a man in the cold and the cold would bother no man. He reached for a bag and opened a bottle with his fingertips.

What charming and tall boy I was, the man thought.

Not too bright between the ears but I knew how to lure a great woman. Not these women. Their shoes, too clean and their haircuts, too short.

The boy and the girl had gone down the road and the road was long and far and the rain had halted for a moment before the bottle emptied. A bearded man with a scarred lip started the Ford’s engine and the Ford drove upwards, opposite to the way the man gazed.

The moon is nice today, he thought. It’s a full one and it is beautiful like Ursula Andress.

A night without a moon is no good afternoon’s end. It would’ve been a shame to have waited for long hours. But must we wait such long hours? Do we need a moon to show us which socks match when bills are too costly We have fire and fire is good.

It does what it must and no more. But all that’s too good, for a world like this burns when too close. I feel not too well in a full moon. It’s cruel and it doesn’t give back a sense of worth and treats all indifferently in indifferent ways, and still, it is alluring and e ually selfish.

I miss being young, the man thought. When you’re in your twenties, you always think you’re above maggots and men because you’re in your twenties. ....

woman because he loved her so. He did not regret quitting his job; it was humiliating, and he hated cleaning and waxing the sheep plaque. It wasn’t rotten wood as the man had thought. t was a rich colored dar wood made of fine mahogany and branded oils and hours of disciplined work that had left scars after splinters stopped bleeding. Its chains were rust on iron and what weak iron it is, the man thought. He couldn’t see the sheep but only the wood and chains. The man could see a younger man, too.

It’s nothing really all that special, the younger man thought. He sat on a chair and felt in place with lighter clothes and bare feet. The sheep was of little importance to him. The blonde woman sat beside him and ordered a glass of water. She felt the leather strap of his watch.

A tall black man came past and tossed folded car accident tickets and baseball scores in rubber bands on street corners—he was tired from a long night of gambling. The sun’s dusk shined an orange halo above the market.

Citizens, especially lonely houseflickr.com wives, would shop for basic necessities and in these necessities, they sometimes forgot the pleasure of simply looking out a window shining with an orange halo. The light posts had been put out moments ago and moments soon after the younger man felt slight pressure in his left calf that should’ve been treated a wee following his accident. t would blister and inflame vividly in the upcoming days should he not seek treatment. He gave the woman a nameless boo with its first page inscribed with ink.

The man saw across the road and noticed a wooden plaque of sheep above an entryway. It was an old carving that began to grow moss on its rounded edges since the bellboy who’d clean it on Tuesdays left for Spain. He married a kind

Both were happy and both content. The younger man had forgotten the sheep and the man with his sixth bottle didn’t. He now saw with lifted glasses and wrinkles.

Thoughts of the past soothed him greatly.

I have little in here And out there nothing To paint because paints are a luxury and I am no painter.

Yours truly

the talon

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31

clawsure

Quiz: What Type of Sheep Are You? Take The Talon’s insightful personality test MC Otani and Paula Schulman Who inspires you the most? a) Edward Snowden b) Alex from Target c) Queen Bey d) Mahatma Gandhi e) Katniss Everdeen Graded’s fish is… a) Never had it. b) Oh, that stuff is fish c) Amazing. d) OK, I guess… e) Ew. What is your favourite TV Show? a) Ancient Aliens b) Survivor c) Adventure Time d) Friends e) Breaking Bad How often do you wear socks? a) Do fishnets count b) Rarely. I usually prefer to wear gloves on my feet instead. c) I don’t. d) I’m wearing socks right now. e) Only to sleep. But they sometimes come off at night.

It’s a struggle.

Who’s your favourite Founding Father? a) I sided with the Brits. b) Abraham Lincoln c) Thomas Jefferson d) George Washington e) Ben Franklin What is the meaning of Stonehenge? a) The little rock tables? I could do that. b) Stone-what? c) It’s killing me that no one knows. Like, seriously. d) A conglomeration of boulders build by Druids in 3000 BC that align with the winter and summer solstices. e) Aliens. Def.

32 • the talon

Pick a type of chocolate. a) I hate chocolate. I hate sweet things. I hate you. I hate life. b) White c) Dark d) Milk e) All of them.

How would you spend your typical Friday night? a) Dodging bullets from the KGB in some dark alley. b) You know, just munching on some hay. c) I bake cookies for all of my friends and family. d) spend four hours completing piece igsaw puzzles. e) Jamming out to Guitar Hero.

• • • • • If you got mostly A’s, you’re a Black Sheep. You prefer to stand out rather than follow the crowd, and that has made you a hateful animal that everyone only pretends to admire.

Although some may appreciate your alternative music taste, everyone can tell how hard you’re trying.

If you got mostly B’s, you’re a Goat. ou often find yourself in situations you don’t belong in. It might be because you’re special. Or you’re just really confused.

If you got mostly C’s, you’re Mutton. Whether medium rare or raw, everyone loves you with a side of gravy. Stay awesome, buddy.

If you got mostly D’s, you’re just your typical, bleating mammal. Your friends think you’re a bore and your parents often wonder what went wrong. It’s not your bad breath; what drives people away is your non-existent sense of humor and one size fits all personality.

If you got mostly E’s, you’re a Conformist. Congratulations on being a normal person. You share opinions with millions of other people like you. You belong to a stable group of friends and will most likely graduate college, work in a well-paying job, get married and have lots of grandkids.