THE STAG EASTBOURNE COLLEGE NEWSPAPER
Eastbourne College’s new pupil magazine thestag@eastbourne-college.co.uk
Issue One: Michaelmas Term 1 2020
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CONTENTS Features: Ten Things We’ve Missed about School
Page 4
Sport: Eastbourne Aquathlon 2020
Page 5
Politics: A Guide to the US Elections
Page 6-7
Features: Old Uniform vs. New Uniform
Page 8-9
Environment: The environmental impact of
Page 10
COVID-19
Creatives: Getting artsy never looked so good
Page 11
Fashion: How to Accessorise - 7 Ways in 7 Days
Page 12-13
Agony Aunt: Answering your questions about
Page 14
relationships in school
Horoscope: Read your horoscope this month!
Page 15
International: Going back in time with Goethe
Page 16-17
Spot the Stag. Where in Eastbourne College is this Stag?
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Welcome to your new school magazine. What would you like to see in it? We want to hear your suggestions. Get involved. Join the team. thestag@eastbourne-college.co.uk Meeting on Wednesday 14th October, start of S6, Room 6, English.
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Ten Things We’ve Missed about School
FEATURES
W
hat with lockdown, and then the summer, we were away from Eastbourne College for what seems like forever. So long, in fact, that we really missed being here. But it turns out, there are some things we really didn’t miss… We have done a survey to find the top ten things you did not really miss about school during lockdown.
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10. The bus journeys. For those of us to trek in and out of school on the bus every day, we really didn’t miss the cold, early starts to the day, and repetitive journeys back and forth, back and forth… 9. Wearing a uniform. We want our trackie bottoms back! We miss online lessons on Teams whilst wearing our pyjamas! 8. Having to do exams. For those of us in Year 11 and Year 13, this term was a double shock as we were hit with a week of exams. We really didn’t miss those.
7. Long assemblies. Soooo long. If only we could wear trackie bottoms to have assemblies.
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6. Rainy walks. It tur ns out the cold and r ainy walks to and from the sports pitches were not something we yearned for wistfully during lockdown. 5. Waking up early. Before 9am? And soon it’ll be so early it will still be dark! 4. Long days. It turns out a day in the life of an Eastbournian is really long! Not only do you have to get up ridiculously early, but there are all those things you have to do waaay into the evening, EVERY DAY!
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3. Roll call. Just… roll call. 2. Getting told what to do. Tuck your shirt in. Where’s your iPad? Why isn’t it charged? Where’s your pen? Why are you late? Ugh. I miss lockdown… 1. Canteen food. The queues for the food… Not enough chips... Or too many?!… At least there’s pudding!
What have you missed about school? 4
SPORT
Eastbourne Aquathlon 2020 Competitor Rosie Clifford gives us the lowdown on this year’s Aquathlon
I
t was an early morning start for Eastbourne College’s 2020 Aquathlon, where over 40 students from the college took part in the Aquabourne event. The race consisted of a 500m sea swim followed by a 3km run along Eastbourne’s beautiful seafront. We arrived at 7:30 am gathering on the Western Lawns, having received a race pack with our numbers, timing chip, swim hat and a medal which everyone received for braving the event. We set off at 8:45am sharp, diving into the sea for the first leg. At first I was unsure whether to wear a wetsuit but with so much adrenalin I never once got cold! We all dived in at once, desperately fighting to get ahead and follow those at the front of the pack. The sea was fairly wavy that day so going against the current at some stages made it even harder to conserve my energy. Transition time is key and having never done an event like this before it was hard to know how I should prepare for the run. Not putting on socks surprisingly made the transition much quicker and may have given me valuable seconds off my overall time! As I left the transition station, sparing a few moments to hydrate, I began the run with only one intention in mind: to keep up my position and to not let the swim affect my pace too
much. Having done some running over the lockdown period, I felt I had built up some fitness to sustain me on the run yet a 500m swim before had really tested my strength! The last 2km, however, is where I built up my speed as I knew I was ever closer to the finishing line. The competitive atmosphere urged me to keep going and I managed to secure First Place for the Senior Girls with a time of 23.49. Everyone who took part should be extremely happy with themselves and the strong team spirit we had that day made it an event to remember. ROSIE CLIFFORD, YEAR 13, BLACKWATER HOUSE
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The Only Guide You’ll POLITICS Need to the US Elections
G
OP? Caucuses? Electoral College? No, me neither. But seeing as the Leader of the Free World, a.k.a. Trump, is running a second time, we may be in for another four years of staggering drama, so I decided it was time to catch up on what the USA elections are all about. As we all know, the fight is on between the Republican (GOP) Party’s candidate, Donald Trump (known as the incumbent as he is currently the president), and the Democratic Party’s candidate is Joe Biden, who was the Vice President during Obama’s presidency. Both men are in their Seventies. Donald Trump will be 74 years if he gets a second term in office, while Joe Biden will be the oldest first-term President in history at 78. America has fixed-term elections which take place every four years. A presidential candidate must meet the constitutional requirements; they must be a natural-born American citizen, at least 35 years old and must have been a resident in the US for at least 14 years. If you are a US citizen and over 18 years old, you should be eligible to vote in the US elections. However, many states have passed laws requiring voters to show identification documents to prove who they are before they can vote. These are often initiated by Republicans under the excuse of guarding against voter fraud, yet Democrats accuse them of using this as a form of voter suppression as it is often poorer, minority voters who are unable to provide ID like a driving licence.
The presidential candidates are elected through a series of primaries and caucuses which will take place in each state. A primary is just an election used to choose a party’s candidate for the presidency, whereas a caucus is much less common; it is more like a meeting where parties will try to persuade the electorate to vote for them
How the amount of votes in each state is allocated
or their party. States that use caucuses are usually those which are geographically large but thinly populated. Once the candidates have been chosen for each party, both candidates must compete for Electoral College votes. The Electoral College is made up of a number of representatives from each state, which is partly decided based on the state’s population. There are a total of 538 seats up for grabs, so the winner is the candidate that wins 270 or more. The use of the Electoral College means that voters must vote for state-level representatives, meaning that it is possible for a 6
candidate to win the most individual votes nationally, but still lose in the Electoral College. This happened in 2016, when Hillary Clinton won almost 3 million more votes than Trump nationally, but his support was more concentrated within each state, meaning he won the most Electoral College votes. Most states have a winner-takesall system, meaning that whichever candidate wins the most votes within that state is given all of that state’s electoral college votes. A lot of states are also known for strongly leaning towards one party or another, so the focus is usually on a dozen or so states where either of them could win. These states are known as the battleground states. Complicated? Yes. But hopefully this guide has made the US election system slightly clearer for you as you watch the oncoming political dramas unfold.
Top Ten playground insults quotes from the Presidential Debate 10. “You graduated either the lowest or almost the lowest in your class”
9. “You could’ve never done the job we did “ 8. “Everybody knows he’s a liar”
7. “Under this president, we’ve become weaker, sicker, poorer, more divided and more violent”
6. “A lot of people died and a lot more are going to die unless he gets a lot smarter, a lot quicker “
5. “You were a disaster “ 4. “Do you have any idea what this clown is doing?” 3. “I’ve done more in 47 months than you’ve done in 47 years “
2. “I hate to raise my voice but why shouldn’t I be
ELSA AUER, YEAR 13, WATT HOUSE
different than the two of you? “
1. “Will you shut up, man? “ KATRINA EVERSHED, YEAR 13, SCHOOL HOUSE
L-R: Donald Trump, Republican candidate; Chris Wallace, Moderator; Joe Biden, Democratic candidate
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FEATURES
Debate: Old Uniform vs. New Uniform It was the talk of the school last year. Now it’s finally here. We interviewed you to find out the verdict on the new school uniform. Unsure about the school A surprise uniform “It’s far more distinctive, which is probably what the school is going for. However, the colour combination isn’t great, and it just doesn’t look as good as the old one. I don’t mind our uniform, but I’d rather wear the old one. I have heard students in Year 11 calling it ugly and illfitting but a boy in Year 9 liked it as it is comfortable and warm for the winter months.”
“When I first heard about the new uniform, I was rather sceptical. School uniform rarely looks nice and I am normally not looking forward to putting it on in the morning. However, I was surprised when we were shown the design for the first time. It does not resemble at all the old uniform and is quite modern. The design is a great choice and l love its simplicity. The only negative thing is that many boys easily get their uniforms dirty because of the light colours and I am not sure how suitable it is for the winter months.”
Year 13, Reeves
Year 11, School House
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Paris fashion week at Eastbourne College
A bit ‘country club’
“The new school uniform is a bold fashion statement! I know that the uniform is supposed to resemble Yves Saint Laurent’s style and I am happy with the choice of fabric made by our school and the sophisticated design. Paris fashion week has finally arrived at Eastbourne College! I think that the new uniform is very elegant in particular because of its use of more neutral colours which is much better than the awful check pattern we used to have. Overall, it is really a great choice and I feel much more confident when wearing the new uniform.”
“I think the new uniform looks really good. I like the brown shoes. I don’t think black shoes would look so good with the whole uniform because they wouldn’t suit the colour scheme. The ties are bit weird though. They go really fluffy at the edges and are a rectangle shape; I prefer the more traditional tie shape. I know people think the new uniform looks quite posh. My friends think it looks a bit country club. I think it looks much more interesting than the old uniform. So I’m pleased I didn’t have to wear the old one.”
Year 11, School House
Year 9, Gonville
It seems the jury may still be out, but the new uniform is definitely here to stay.
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M
asks. Now essential for daily life, we carry one almost everywhere- and while they are vital in curbing the spread of COVID19, they are enormously destructive to our wildlife. There are now more disposable masks in the ocean than jellyfish according to a recent report in The Guardian, a shocking fact considering that the widespread use of masks has only become common globally for a few months - most of which were spent indoors under lockdown restrictions. The appalling contribution to the ever-
ENVIRONMENT expense of our planet. The mark of the coronavirus will scar our planet long after a vaccine has been found and our lives return to normal: disposable masks take 450 years to decompose. Yet it is not only nature that is impacted by discarded masks: they can carry coronavirus for up to 7 days, endangering anyone who touches them. There is a simple solution to this extensive and prevalent situation: reusable masks. These are equally effective as plastic-based surgical masks and are much cheaper in the long run. Plus, they can come in all colours, patterns and designs to tailor to your preference. In addition,
BEHIND THE MASK: THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 growing mass of litter polluting the ocean affects marine life across the planet. Turtles are choking to death on swallowed gloves, fish struggle to swim intertwined with mask elastic, seabirds must be rescued to remove masks wrapped around their bodies: we are saving ourselves at the
gloves are largely unnecessary: consistent handwashing is far more effective in fighting the virus as well as being far more environmentally friendly. KATRINA EVERSHED YEAR 13
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CREATIVES
By Sasha Marlow
Well done to Sophie Bullock and Clem Clapp on entering the Royal Opera House Challenge
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2.
FASHION
BRACELETS
MELIS--ROSE OZCAN
We are allowed only one wrist accessory, so choose wisely. Whether you opt for a cute little friendship bracelet or a chunky Pandora, something simple and elegant can always do the trick, although I would advise to never accessorise your writing hand. It’s simply annoying to try and write an essay with a charm
YEAR 13
digging in your skin.
BAGS Probably the biggest question: what’s big enough to fit your chemistry folder, your maths folders, your pencil case, as well as your sports kit and whatever else you lug around school on the daily: To that, I say don’t bother. Stick it in a Tesco carrier, or if you’re feeling really fancy stretch the bank to a 10p Waitrose shopper and pick up on the latest trend of the tiniest bags known to man to hold your real necessities: your lipstick and your phone. Yes, this one goes for you too. Boys.
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4. As shown from left to Right::Olivia burton T-bar bracelet £50, Kate Spade Set in stone enamel hinged bracelet £45, Jaquemus micro bag in white £228,Olivia burton black celestial mother of pearl watch £165, ASOS black padded velvet headband £6.00, Accessorize pearl hair clips 2 for £8, Casio vintage digital watch Urban Outfitters £38, PLT black basic scrunchie £2, ASOS chunky green enamel necklace £18, Mejuri honey bee pendant necklace $65, Accessorize, healing stones aventurine huggie hoop earrings £15, and animal shaped studs 3 for £10 or £5 each, mixed pack of 20 Primark studs £3
HAIR PIECES
RINGS Diamonds to gemstones, to engravings, to solid bands, take your pick and dress up your hands.
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Ponytails and blowouts look great but if you feel tired of your style try adding some accessories to bring your hair back up to date. Scrunchies, headbands and clips are back on trend from the 90s and will get your style back on point.
NECKLACES Whether you’re a fan of the classic chain, a simple pendant, or something a little more extravagant, necklaces can place emphasis your neck and compliment your chest when your top button fails to remain fastened. Don’t be afraid to rock a simple look to layering on the chains. Work to your own aesthetic.
WATCHES Telling the time is always a good skill to have, and whether you're detached from your phone for some ghastly rea son or don’t even own one (shock!), knowing that you only have 15 minutes left of a lesson is always a great feeling, so you may as well look stylish doing it.
HOW TO ACCESSORISE 7 WAYS IN 7 DAYS
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EARRINGS
1.
7.
Naked ears can feel weird when you actually have piercings (it sounds weird I know), so adapting to the one piercing rule can be hard to accept. However, you don’t need all your earrings to feel complete again; instead, it leaves room for experiment. Unfortunately, middle school are only allowed studs but that doesn’t mean boring, upper six can stretch to hoops, so here are some ideas of how to embrace your ideas under strict enforcements.
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Q&A
Do relationships last at school?
A
bsolutely. At the college it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day which makes meet up times quite hard. But being able to balance extra-curriculars, school work and social life is such a useful skill when mastered. Finding ‘meetup spots’ can be awkward during the talking period, not everyone is prepared for the unwanted attention that comes with a dinner or Tim’s date (ahem, rowdy boys cheering across the dining hall). If you’re looking for something inconspicuous, the bench by science, the Dell and the benches outside All Saints near Powell courts and Craig are a go-to. If you’ve been talking a while, you could consider LRC dates or the benches by cloisters (be prepared though, you might be making a statement about your status. Cloisters are still a very much public spot). When initiating the ‘talking stage’ it’s important to ask yourself: Does this person make me happy?
This seems broad but if there are sometimes misunderstandings which often become arguments, maybe reconsider? You don’t have time or energy to spend on over complicating things. Can you talk to this person honestly? Banter and good chat are vital, but what about being able to carry a deep conversation? Is that something you rate?) Will this ruin a friendship? If you’re friends with the person before how do you see your relationship evolving, does this risk your relationship afterwards? Do you have time for this right now? Although someone can make us happy short term, does it just cause extra stress? The main piece of advice I would offer is to remember friends come first. Make sure you balance a new interest within your social life. The last thing you want is for them to lose interest in you and realise your friends aren’t there to support you after you’ve prioritised someone else for the past few months. 14
What does this month have in store for you?
HOROSCOPES
Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
March 21– April 20
April 21– May 21
May 22-June 21
June 22– July 22
Your path is full of obstacles, but if you watch where you’re going, you’ll probably be fine
Never, EVER wear orange on a Tuesday
Make sure to dress up warm, it’s forecast to rain this week
*don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry*
Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio
July 22-Aug 22
August 23– September 22 The rising of the moon means you need to spend less time on Depop… stop spending money you don’t have.
Sept 23– Oct 22
Oct 23– Nov 21
As an air sign, it might be time for you to try out paragliding.
The moon is switched on in your truth chart: it’s time to come clean… do you REALLY HONESTLY only watch Twilight “ironically”?
Please, please, just try to do something productive
Sagittarius
Capricorn
Aquarius
Pisces
Nov 22-Dec 21
Dec 22-Jan 20
Jan 21– Feb 19
Feb 20-March 20
Go hug your mum… even if you don’t want to
Lighten up, darling. The sun Time for some self-care. Do a will rise on you soon. facemask, go for a run, drop out of school if you need. Live in a forest and practice witchcraft… you do you! Words by KATRINA EVERSHED, YEAR 13 Images by MISSY RICHARDSON, YEAR 10
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Mercury is in retrograde: beware.
INTERNATIONAL
GOETHE’S VISIT Eines Tages reiste Johann Wolfgang von Goethe nach England, um das Eastbourne College zu besuchen. Jedoch musste er schockiert feststellen, dass niemand von ihm gehört hatte. Stattdessen sprachen alle von einem Mann namens Shakespeare, der von der Bevölkerung vergöttert wurde. Statt über den „Pudels Kern“ zu sprechen, hörte man überall nur die Frage „to be or not to be“. Am ersten Tag in England stellte Goethe erschrocken fest, dass die Essgewohnheiten dieses Volkes ganz anders waren, als die der Deutschen. So gab es zum Beispiel zum Frühstück anstelle von Brot nur fettige Würstchen und einen Schleim, den die Engländer „Porridge“ nannten. Am schlimmsten war jedoch der Essig, den sie über ihre Mahlzeiten gossen. Kaum hatte Goethe den Speisesaal nach dem Frühstück verlassen, erblickte er zu seinem Entsetzen viele kleine
unschuldige Kinder, die in einer Uniform gezwängt vor ihm standen. Man konnte keinen Unterschied zwischen den einzelnen Schülern erkennen. „Habe nun, ach! Philosophie, Juristerei und Medizin und leider auch Theologie studiert, aber so was habe ich noch nie gesehen!“, rief Goethe voller Besorgnis. Anstatt über die Schönheit der Literatur zu sprechen , wurden die armen Schüler wie beim Militär behandelt. Ihre Identität konnte man auf einer Karte erblicken, die sie stets um den Hals trugen. Diese Karte besaß besondere Zauberkräfte, da sie Türen wie durch ein Wunder öffneten. Goethe entschloss sich, nach diesem Schock einen Spaziergang zu machen, um „mehr Licht“ zu bekommen. Kaum war er jedoch im Außenbereich des Colleges angekommen, wurde er von einem Rudel Hunde, das den Lehrern der Schule gehörte,
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attackiert. Goethe versuchte ver zweifelt, die Hunde loszuwerden und starb fast vor Angst. Doch die umherstehenden Engländer, dieses seltsame Volk, waren von dem Anblick ihrer Hunde entzückt und statt Goethe zu retten, liebkosten sie ihre vierbeinigen Freunde. Goethe konnte dies alles nun nicht länger ertragen und wollte so schnell es ging dieses seltsame Land wieder verlassen. Er war gekommen, um die Engländer zu verstehen und mit ihnen zu leben, aber am Ende konnte er nur noch sagen: „Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor! Und bin so klug als wie zuvor!“
READ ON TO FIND THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION
One day Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe travelled to England to visit Eastbourne College. However he was shocked that nobody had ever heard of him. Instead everybody was talking about a man called Shakespeare who was idolized by the population. Instead of talking about “the poodle’s real core”, here you only really heard
the ques-
tion “to be or not to be” everywhere. During his first day in England Goethe realised that the eating habits of this nation were very different from the German
ones. Instead of bread there were only
greasy sausages and a slime which the English people called ‘porridge’
for breakfast. However the worst thing was the vinegar which the English poured over their food. As soon as Goethe left the dining hall he saw many little innocent children who were standing in front of him in uniforms. You could not identify any difference between the individual
students.
“I
have
studied
Philosophy
and
Jurisprudence,
Medicine and alas even Theology but I have never seen anything like that!” Goethe cried, full of pity. Instead of talking about the beauty of literature the poor children were treated like being part of the armed
forces.
You
could
see
their
identity
on
a
card
which
they
constantly wore around their neck. The card possessed special magical tricks as it could open doors miraculously. Goethe decided to go out for a walk to get “more light” after this shock. But scarcely had he reached the outside area of the College when he was attacked by a pack of dogs which belonged to the teachers of the College. Goethe desperately tried to get rid of the dogs and almost died of fear. But the English who were standing around were delighted when looking at their
dogs
and
instead
of
rescuing
Goethe
they
hugged
them.Goethe
could not stand this any longer. He had come here to understand
the English and to live with them but in the end he could only say: “And here, poor fool! With all my lore I stand, no wiser than before!”
SANDRA FUHRMANN YEAR 13
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