Imua Iolania voice for students

since

1923

February 13, 2009 Vol. 84, Issue 6 Honolulu, HawaII

‘

By AmeliA linsky

A high-winds warning issued by the National Weather Service prompted most schools, includ-ing ‘Iolani, to cancel school on Friday, Jan. 16.

Although NWS forecast the possibility of winds up to 60 mph, winds peaked at only 50 mph and the anticipated storm caused only a few minor incidents, such as limited power outages and downed trees.

The English, science, and make-up exams scheduled for Jan.16 were rescheduled to Fri-day, Jan. 23. Seventh and eighth graders attended classes as usual. High schoolers took exams moni-tored by a modifed lineup of proc-toring teachers, enabling some to

continue teaching their middle school classes. The due date for teachers’ quarterly grades and comments was moved to Tues-day, Jan. 27 instead of Tuesday, Jan. 20.

‘Iolani used an automated call system from Connect-Ed®, a program provided by Washing-ton, D.C.-based Blackboard Con-nect, Inc., to alert students and

parents. It allows ‘Iolani to send out telephone, email, and/or text messages to all phone numbers and emails uploaded into the ser-vice.  When finished,  the  system shows which numbers it could or couldn’t reach, reasons why—such as a bad number or a busy line—and resend calls.

Headmaster Dr. Val Iwashita made the final decision to cancel school based on print and online news reports, the advice issued by the Hawaii Association of In-dependent Schools, and because most other schools on Oahu were closed.

“Generally speaking, every-body knew it’s out of our hands, so we have to make the best of it,” said Mr. Tate Brown, Dean of Students.

Inside:At the Inauguration - 4-5Perspectives on Racism - 29th grader at Sony Open - 6Horoscope - 7

IndexEditorials--2Sports--6A&E--3Lower School--8Inauguration--4-5Lighter Side--7

Keables Fortnight: Saccio’s words flow

trippinglyAmeliA linsky

Professor Peter Saccio drives a car bookended with the vanity license plate, “VERB.”

“I used to have ‘IMOGEN’ (my favorite character from Cymbeline) but unfortunately

they changed the rules so you have to have fewer letters. Now it’s ‘VERB.’” The 2009 holder of the Keables Chair, author, editor, public speaker, actor and theatri-cal director, grins and shrugs.

“I’m an English teacher and the car is my transitive part.”

In addition to teaching at Dart-mouth College, Wesleyan Uni-versity, and University College in London, Professor Saccio authored Shakespeare’s English Kings and edited Thomas Middleton’s comedy A Mad World, My Masters for the Oxford Complete Works of Thomas Middleton. He is currently working on a “small book about Hamlet: five chapters, two in good shape and the other three in a shambles—but it’s my shambles even if it is a sham-bles. The sort of thing a gentleman of my sort, who has spent his career the way I have, would do with his retirement.”

“To sit down and edit a play, examine it word by word—and write the notes, not on Shake-speare, which has been done over and over again—but where it hasn’t been done properly...It’s the nitty-gritty scholarship that underlies everything we say about Shakespeare. You have to

get the text right to understand what the words mean. It’s the hard, dry work of scholarship.”

But the reward was not dry. Professor Saccio saw the full professional treatment of his ver-sion of the text performed at the replica of Shakespeare’s Globe in

London.Despite Professor Sac-

cio’s love of the stage, he praises Shakespeare films for making Shakespeare “accessible to students no matter where they live…It’s a wonderful thing, the change that has happened, because up until 1989 there were only a few Shakespeare movies.”

While at ‘Iolani, Pro-fessor Saccio taught classes in Shakespeare, Theater, Women in Literature, English 9, English 10, and AP English. He held teacher workshops on The Tempest for eighth grade English and present-ed a public lecture and book sign-ing on Wednesday, Feb. 4, “Go-ing to War in Shakespeare.”

He offers advice for seniors on facing college: “The real problem is choice. You don’t know the result when you’re making it. It takes courage to commit to this. You can review your choices and change them. You ought to com-mit. But it’s not like marriage in a country where there’s no divorce permitted. The dynamic of choice and courage and their reviewing what it is you’ve done—it is an essential triangle of the college experience.”

Professor Saccio looked be-mused and mildly offended to be asked what his favorite play is. “Whichever one I happen to be working on at the moment. Even if you’ve read and seen them as many times as I have, you forget how great they are.”

Professor Saccio’s efforts have ensured that ‘Iolani School won’t forget—come what come may.

Cordelia Xie | Imua ‘IolaniPredicted high winds led to the closure of Oahu’s private and public schools and government offices on Jan. 16.

Wind blows finals schedule off course

English, science exams postponed a week for storm that never came

“Generally speaking, everybody

knew it’s out of our hands”

Up close with change - p. 4-5

Page 2 Editorials Imua ‘Iolani

By Emily ShimkuS

The election of President Barack Obama celebrates a great leap forward for the future of race relations across the continental United States. So why does racial discrimination keep Hawaii stuck in the past?

Racial prejudice, which occurs whenever any individual is sin-gled out, discriminated against, or negatively stereotyped because of his or her race or ethnicity, con-tinues to pervade our society now just as much as it did before Ha-waii helped to elect our nation’s first black president.

True, we are not harboring a malevolently large number of KKK members on our little is-land, erupting into race riots on the streets of Waikiki, or denying people admission to our tropical island home.

What we’re actually doing could be considered even more dangerous. We’re doing nothing to confront an enormous prob-lem that has haunted Hawaii for decades.

Hiding behind a friendly yet transparent mask of “aloha” and proudly boasting of the generic “cultural melting pot” we call home, we delude ourselves into

ignoring the subtle racial dis-criminations that constitute a se-rious part of our daily lives.

We fail to confront the small, offensive comments and atti-tudes to end up with hate crime muggings in certain parts of the island and ignorant students per-

forming in blackface at school functions.

Stupid, cruel racial jokes our friends all laugh at and ethnic stereotypes to which we contin-ue to give credence fuel the fires of prejudice without us even knowing it.

We are treated differently compared to everyone else at a store or restaurant just because we look different from the other customers there, and we are told to do or know something be-cause of our ethnicities.

Hearing others say things like “He’s Chinese, so he must be cheap,” or “She’s a white girl who can’t use chopsticks,” all

contribute to our individual at-titudes towards people of differ-ent cultural backgrounds.

What has Hawaii done re-cently to correct this problem? Many politicians and legisla-tors still think Hawaii is a model state for racial tolerance and re-

fuse to accept the negative local undercurrent to this controver-sial issue.

‘Iolani history teacher Mr. Russell Motter believes that while these ideas are uncomfort-able for people to talk about, it’s still necessary to confront them. “We still have baggage,” Mr. Motter said.

Our biggest problem locally is the general lack of awareness about the weight of what we say, think, and how we treat the other people around us.

Oftentimes it’s the indirect forms of discrimination that sow the seeds for more blatant and destructive incidences of racial

prejudice. Hate crimes and eth-nic exclusion are not occurrenc-es that pop up overnight.

All said and done, I haven’t even begun to scratch the sur-face of the issues surrounding race and prejudice.

Many people older and wiser than I am have struggled to un-derstand the nature and manifes-tations of these misleading and harmful notions as the line be-tween racism and racial bigotry continues to blur.

Without a solid dialogue, these issues will continue to be misunderstood by the people not only in Hawaii, but throughout the world as well.

The historic election of Presi-dent Barack Obama shows that the rest of the United States is ready to move past issues of race and ethnicity.

If Hawaii wants to truly be an island of “aloha,” we need to quit pretending we live in a social paradise, accept that we have problems with racial in-tolerance and discrimination, and start sincerely practicing the welcoming attitude we’ve been preaching to tourists since they started traveling here.

We can change. Hawaii just needs to take the initiative.

“He’s Chinese, so he must be cheap...She’s a white girl who

can’t use chopsticks.”

By AyEShA CoorAy

Do we make stereotypes or do stereotypes make us?

Football players are all brawn and no brain. Indian people are good at math and science. Eng-lish majors can’t play sports. ‘Iolani students are middle-class Asians who only care about maintaining a high GPA, scor-ing above a 2100 on the SAT, and making sure their clothing is fashionable.

Stereotypes have pervaded the social scene. There are forms social consensus and means of collective categorization.

In this respect, stereotypes are social weapons. Ironically by grouping individuals, stereo-types minimize similarities and magnify differences between different groups.

Categorization is inevitable. The ability to simplify, predict, and organize our world essential to functioning. As a result, we do subconsciously stereotype peo-

ple, mostly by appearance. But by constantly sorting peo-

ple into tidy categories, we over-look individual complexities.

Ever since I can remember, people have always asked me if

I am Indian when in fact I am Sri Lankan. This can be attributed to an honest mistake. But when

they ask me whether I can fig-ure out their cell phones or help them with their math homework, they stereotype me.

The automatic assumption that I excel at math and science,

would like to become either a doctor, a lawyer, or an en-gineer, or that I am Harvard or MIT-bound has created a whole other dimension to my high school experi-ence. The assumption that my parents, by virtue of their immigrant status, ex-pect perfect grades and a demure demeanor under-mines their efforts to be fair and understanding.

I have no desire become a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer. I do not excel at math and science. And my parents, though stern, do not beat me over the head

with a bamboo switch every time my GPA drops.

But the real danger of the ste-reotype is that we all have the

innate tendency to fulfill expec-tations. Once a stereotype is en-trenched, we feel the need to live the stereotype.

In the pathetic days of my youth, I believed that I had to constantly put forth my best ef-fort to get “good” grades and thus prepare myself from eventual ac-ceptance into a “good” college. I felt the need to be that Iolani student, you know the one.

Before I knew it, I was be-ginning to shape my thoughts and mold my perspective, sub-consciously, to what I thought was expected. I began engaging in the kind of system-justifying thinking that I thought was only possible in totalitarian dictator-ships in the 1930s.

I discovered firsthand that once a negative stereotype is imposed, the victims of such a stereotype display self-fulfill-ing prophecy behavior, in which they assume that the stereotype imposed represents norms to emulate.

Do we make stereotypes or do they make us?

It’s a salad bowl, not a melting pot

Making the most of your next college small talkBy AnniE riAn

It can either be an interest-ing conversation starter or the most annoying thing for your date to talk about at Winterball. Whether you’re stuck alone with someone you have nothing in common with or just plain inter-ested, you’ve experienced it: the obligatory college application

conversation. Yes, it’s an interesting topic,

and one that is definitely worth discussing. College is an excit-ing time (one in which we’ve all been told we will “blossom into adulthood”), and I’m more than happy to talk about it with people who are genuinely interested.

But when it becomes the de-fault conversation to fill awk-

ward silences. . . “So, how’s the college ap-

plication process going for you? What colleges are you thinking about?”

“Oh, actually, I’m not going to college. Women are naturally inferior and should learn their place in the home. So I’m going to become a trophy wife in Saudi Arabia instead, mooching off my

60-year-old drug-trafficking bil-lionaire husband while I cougar on the prepubescent Puerto Rican pool boy.”

. . .Bad things happen.So yes, college is great. I’m

beyond excited-to-death to get there.

But please.Don’t make me kick you

where it really counts.

Illustration by Jackelyn McMillan

Imua ‘Iolani is published by the students of Iolani School, 563 Kamoku St., Honolulu, HI 96826. Established 1923, printed at Hawai’i Hochi. Imua ‘Iolani accepts advertising on a space available basis. Rates are $100 for 1/2 page, $60 for 1/4 page, and $35 for 1/8 page ads. Please e-mail iolaniimua@gmail.com for more information. Include “advertising” in the subject line. Deadline for the next issue is Feb. 28.

Editor-in-Chief:Katrina Karl

Design Editor:Marissa Sakoda

Copy Editors:Lianne Chung

Annie RianPhoto Editor:Courtney Ochi

Features Editors:Amelia Linsky

Emily SakaOpinion Editors:

Tiana BohnerEmily ShimkusSports Editors:Kelia Cowan

Bianca BystromArts & Entertainment Editors:

Akari HatanakaKaela Shiigi

Lighter Side Editor:Stephen Stack

Lower School Editors:Kyle Kim

Andrew ZhouOnline Editor:

Brandon KumabeOnline Staff:

Katherine LangcaonKatherine LumCole Stevens

Writers:Ayesha Cooray

Iris KuoCristin Lim

Photographers:Yasmin Kheradpey

Katherine LumStaff Illustrator:

Cordelia XieJackie McMillan

Adviser:Mrs. Karin Swanson

Imua ‘Iolani is distributed free of charge to students of Iolani School. Mail subscriptions are $15 per year. The opinions herein expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the administration, faculty, staff of ‘Iolani School or Imua ‘Iolani.

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February 13, 2009 Arts & EntErtAinmEnt Page 3

Orchestra takes a bite of Big AppleBy RichaRd chang

From the hustle and bustle of Times Square to the serenity of Central Park, from the breathtaking Statue of Liberty to the bleak scene of Ground Zero, such attractions are landmarks of America’s most populous city, the Big Apple.

This winter, for a week and a half, students from Orchestra 5 had the opportunity to experience the thrills and excitement – and the freezing cold – of New York firsthand.

“It will be the experience of your life,” Mrs. Kath-arine Hafner, the orchestra conductor, had promised. “You won’t forget it.” And she was right. Despite the cost of the trip, the young performers enjoyed every moment of it.

“Being with friends was the greatest part of it all,” Hao Chen ’11, a trumpet player, said.

The orchestra went shopping at Times Square, ice skating at Rockefeller Plaza, went on a tour of Carn-egie Hall, and even got to shop at Macy’s Herald Square, the world’s largest department store.

And of course, they performed. The beautiful melodies from West Side Story, Carmen, as well as the pieces “Rodeo,” “Fantasia,” and “Ulili E,” a hula, resonated throughout the ornate churches of St. Paul

the Apostle and St. Bartholomew as Orchestra 5 pre-sented its gift of music to the people of New York.

“There was a clarity, a purity and directness of sound and emotion that came through that filled a sa-cred space, not only in the church, but in the people present,” one listener later said in an e-mail. “Thank you for sharing your gifts with us at this beautiful sea-son and helping bring us light through music.”

Later, the orchestra relaxed and laughed through a Broadway performance of Spamalot, the musical ren-dition of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

“It was interesting to see Clay Aiken,” Teresa Ou ’11 said. “Spamalot was very funny, witty, and well put-together.”

Ice skating at Central Park was also a memorable event. “I ate it like three times,” Blaise Tesoro ’13 laughed. “But it was super fun.”

Perhaps the best part for many of the students was the chance to see snow – some for the very first time. Even in the freezing 13 degree Fahrenheit weather, the sight of snow warmed many of their hearts.

Matt Amore ’10 remembers the trip with great enthusiasm.

“It was awesome bonding with other members of the orchestra. It was sheer awesomeness. This trip was pretty insane and I definitely won’t forget it.”

By Jana dagdagan

‘Iolani School will soon be presenting its first event celebrating jazz. ‘Iolani’s Jazz Intercession will include various works of art in the forms of creative writing, photography, artwork, dance, and music. The emphasis of this event the combination of different types of art in an

interdisciplinary study of jazz and more specifically, a type of music called bebop. Bebop, a musical genre defined by its fast tempos and unique impro-visation, reached its peak in the mid-1940s with jazz per-formers like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie “Bird” Parker. Musicians from the Bebop Era have laid the foundation for jazz enthusiasts and students of today, forever influencing music with the innovative bebop flare.

Stage Band 3, led by Mr. Curtis Abe, will be a main feature in the Jazz Festival, performing hits from the Bebop Era. In addition, Gabe

Balthazar, a living legend, will be a guest performer at this event, performing in a quintet as well. Gabe Baltazar is a well-known, local born, alto-saxophonist whose music best represents the big band, bebop styles that the Jazz Festival aims to portray. He is one of the few remaining alumni of the renowned Stan Kenton Orchestra.

Other features of the Jazz Festival include art, dance, creative writing, and photog-raphy. In certain art classes, students are given the oppor-tunity to listen to bebop music and translate their interpreta-tion to artistic masterpieces, which will be featured in this premier event. Aside from performing arts electives, the Jazz Intercession also incor-porates writing pieces on the Bebop Era, its history, African American cultures, and much more.

Everyone is welcome to at-tend this free event on Febru-ary 15 at 4 p.m. in Seto Hall.

Bebop at ‘Iolani

IDP in NYC: an actor’s accountBy RoBeRt MoRan

On Christmas night, 19 `Io-lani students and a few parents departed Honolulu on a red-eye flight bound for New York City.

Our arrival was delayed on Friday, so we skipped a harbor cruise in favor of spending more time shopping at South Street Seaport.

We soon took a bus over to our residence for the next seven days; the Sheraton New York.

Saturday, Sunday, and Mon-day involved fabulous amounts of shopping during the day, while Broadway shows filled our evenings.

We frequented the busy stores on 5th Avenue as well as the small town Ma-and-Pa venues in Little Italy. Macy’s brought back mem-ories of the parade that happened only a month ago, and the archi-tecture of Grand Central Station was just as amazing as the variety of stores inside.

At night, we enjoyed Broad-way classics such as Spamalot, but were also enthralled by new, edgy, and sometimes just plain

weird productions such as Billy Elliot, All My Sons, and Shrek: The Musical.

Some of us went ice skating at Rockefeller Center and still others went to the “Top of the Rock,” where they were greeted with a spectacular view of the en-tire city.

We were not with the Orches-tra group for the entire trip, but when we were, it was enjoyable. We watched them perform at Saint Bartholomew’s Church on Monday and spent all of Tuesday visiting the Tenement Museum and going on a bus tour with them.

The Tenement Museum was a stark contrast to the joyous, shopaholic atmosphere at SoHo and 5th Avenue, but it was defi-nitely an enriching and eye-open-ing experience regarding the ter-rible conditions immigrants faced in the 1900s. The bus tour took us throughout the city, and even stopped for us to get a better view of Ground Zero, which is under reconstruction.

New Years Eve was very fes-tive; since it was the first day

many of us ever experienced snow! I recall unfurling my scarf in order to collect falling snow while we walked to the Metro-politan Museum of Art.

As we ate lunch, we saw squirrels running around in the snow-covered fields of Central Park, and spent our afternoon chasing them, taking pictures, and throwing large snowballs at each other.

In order to avoid the large crowds at Times Square, we saw the Big Apple Circus, something very different from the dramas and musicals we had seen previ-ously. It brought a lighthearted feeling to that special night.

We ended our trip with a viewing of the Broadway revival of South Pacific. I’m sure this brought back memories for those who participated in our very own production of the show a few years ago.

It was definitely one of the best shows on the trip. After a sleep-less night, we boarded a plane and journeyed back to paradise. A paradise that just barely beats our snowy, winter wonderland.

Photo courtesy of Robert Tamai ‘09 Orchestra V members wait in line at the Rockefeller skating rink in New York City. They witnessed three marriage propos-als in two hours.

Photo Courtesy of Robert Tamai ‘09 Students await freshly made gyros at one of the many food vendors in New York City.

Jana Dagdagan | Imua IolaniSaxophonist Gabe Balthazar will play at Jazz Intercession this Sunday.

February 13, 2009Features Page 5Imua ‘IolaniPage 4 Features

Witnessing change

‘Iolani at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration

“My favorite part of the trip was going to the National Geographic Headquarters with all the seniors (Taylor Dono-van got us a tour). We ran from there all the way down Pennsylvania Ave through crowds of protesters to the Capitol and ended up being late for our tour (sorry Milks!)”

- Marie Calvet ‘09

By Sean yancey

The remaking of America begins. There was a bit of the Shakespear-ean in Obama’s inaugural address and certainly reverberations from the Bible and previous presidents. His high level of oratorical flair cer-tainly demarcates a central theme of the address, one that highlights his break from the policies of the Bush administration.

Obama delivered his address with all the fullness, seriousness, and so-briety required of a time in which the country faces grave problems both abroad and at home. Obama warned that Americans would have to rec-ognize “that we have duties to our-

selves, our nation, and the world.” In calling for an “era of responsibility” Obama called for an end to the plu-tocracy that many people believed the Bush tax cuts and favoritism rep-resented. Looking for inspiration in the unknown Americans “obscure in their labor”, who fought and worked “till their hands were raw” he came close to class rhetoric but in my mind, closer to the ideal that America is a land of opportunity.

At the same time he acknowl-edged doubts of his ability, he tried to reconcile and reduce partisanship. “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at

a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.”

He also weighed optimism with reality, as it’s likely to get worse before it gets better. People will un-questionably scrutinize the next hun-dred days as a benchmark. Yet, if the American people can truly act, using our resources to solve social, eco-nomic, and political problems and re-store intellectualism and expertise to decision making, our tribulations are half solved.

I am truly grateful Obama pointed out a balance between the promise of collective action and individual responsibility and that it was unnec-essary to choose between security and liberty. It is clear from Obama’s

superbly delivered address that prag-matism rules the White House. Work-ing programs sought after, failing ones axed, and soft power over uni-lateralism with a “new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect”.

Whether or not Obama’s address will make the history books is left to the fullness of time. However, in these times of need we may be wit-ness to a new political era. The road to peace abroad and at home is fraught with perils, but Obama has certainly inspired millions of Americans (and foreigners) by appealing to American optimism and to us, a promising new generation.

Change we can believe in:President Obama’s inaugural

“I will never forget the feeling that I got from being in that crowd of people---so many different individuals from all over the country came together in unity to be a part of something bigger. Although it was absolutely freezing cold, the feeling of the crowd was one of hope and admiration.”

- Tarah Sullivan ‘09

Students share their experiences from the historic event

“My favorite part of the trip was getting to watch the Sen-ate. We got to see many famous people such as John Kerry, Senators Akaka and Inouye, and even Vice President Joe Biden. While there, a new senator was also sworn in.”

- Solomon Wechsler ‘11

“The Close Up program that we were with really emphasized being an active citizen, after visiting all the places where laws get passed, and seeing all these strong political people, I have really been motivated to be more active in my community and to speak out and fight for what I want in my country.”

- Jenna Arnold ‘09

“I feel much more informed about the way our government works and the issues we face today. I can say that I’ve actually witnessed the government at work! People are putting a lot of hope in Obama. I hope to see mainly economical and environ-mental change. Right now, we’re in both an economic crisis and a global environmental crisis, and we must change our policy if we are to survive as a nation.”

- Kirsten Peterson ‘12

Tarah Sullivan | Imua ‘IolaniNot all spectators were there to support Obama, like the one who made the sign above.

Megan Jackson | Imua ‘IolaniSeniors Megan Jackson, Marie Calvet, Steven Wall, and Taylor Donovan at the WWII memorial.

Solomon Wechsler | Imua ‘IolaniThe Capitol building on January 20, 2009, decorated for the morning’s inaguration festivities.

Joshua Kagami | Imua ‘Iolani

The students got the opportunity to visit other historic sites, such as the Korean War Memorial.

Tarah Sullivan | Imua ‘IolaniTarah Sullivan ‘09 and Kaylen Okada ‘12 braved the winter weather to tour around D.C.

Page 6 SportS Imua ‘Iolani

Sports editorial: Athletes demand equalityBy Katherine Lum

Before every game, the football players are released from school at midday for a game at 3:30 p.m.. I, too, would like to have a chapel service and a free lunch

before a game. Other athletes do not get out of class that early to prepare for a game or meet. They are released maybe twenty to thirty minutes before boarding a bus to go to a game or meet that starts at the exact same time as the football game.

When participating in any sport, there is always a chance of experience injury: all sports must take precautions.

“No other sport has the safety concerns the football program must address,” said Mr. Carl Schroers, the director of athletics. “The potential for injury, especially catastrophic injury, is extremely high in football.”

Still, many athletes from other sports do not receive a free lunch or attend a chapel

service before a game or meet. Who is to say whether the football players or the track runners deserve free food, whether it is some lavish lunch or a bowl of rice and a piece of chicken?

Other sports need just as much time to prepare for their games or meets. For soccer, the athletes need to put on their shin guards, uniforms and shoes and get their water bottles filled and soccer balls in their bags. Some struggle to get their equipment together and to be one-hundred percent prepared in time for warm-ups before the game.

The football players’ lunch is also free. It may only be a scoop of rice and a chicken or piece of meat, but merely the idea that the football players get a free lunch and other sports do not is unfair.

Cross-country runners have a fairly inex-pensive sport: granted, the school provides the jerseys, the occasional pack of ice for in-juries and a bus to the meets every Saturday, but we buy our own team shirts, shorts and running shoes. For weekday meets, once we

get out of school, we board the bus to the meet. It may not be the most dangerous sport, but we should still be able to be treated with the same respect as the foot-ball players. We are still student athletes nonetheless.

All student athletes should get the same opportunity to get their free lunch, time with the trainer before a game or meet, and chapel service. All should get the same chances.

As for my fellow student athletes, I commend you for juggling your athletic life along with your academic one. Still, we need to treat the sports with equal consideration.

Athletes who compete in soccer, base-ball, track, swimming and any other sport should be allowed to get out at the same time as the football players. All athletes need to prepare themselves for the cry of battle on the field, in the pool, on the course, or on the track.

Bianca Bystrom | Imua IolaniThis young cheerleader is one of the many who love football.

Lorens Chan qualifies for Sony OpenBy aLexis Chang

Photos courtesy of Richard and Linda Chan | Imua IolaniFreshman Lorens Chan poses with Sony Open winner Zach Johnson.

The Sony Open was contested for four days at Waialae Country Club in Kahala on Jan. 15 through 18. Partici-pating in the tournament was Hawaii’s professional golfers John Lynch, Dean Wilson, Tadd Fuijkawa, Parker Ma-cLachlin, and ‘Iolani’s own amateur

freshman Lorens Chan.Among the professionals, ninth

grader Lorens Chan was able to com-pete against the pros at an amazingly high level for his very young age. He qualified for the tournament after win-ning the Governor’s Amateur Cup. Lo-rens played well in the first round with a score of 72 only 2 over par.

Lorens was cut on Friday after finish-ing the second round with a 75. He end-ed the second day without regrets and a positive mindset. He said although they hit the ball farther and had more experi-ence he wasn’t intimidated, and learned how to be more consistent and accurate. When asked if he was thinking about playing professionally, he replied, “I’m not thinking about that yet; golf is going to get me into college first.” Hopefully we are going to see much more of this talented young player in the future.

Thousands attended the Open, includ-ing myself to watch their favorite PGA pros such as Adam Scott and Ernie Els. Adam Scott is currently ranked number 14 in the world, and finished T18 in the Mercedes Benz Championship and T2 in the Sony Open. Scott’s companion,

Kate Hud-son, came to watch him finish with a 66 on Friday. Els ranked number 12 in the world finished four under. The pros played with impres-sive fluidity, consistency, and accu-racy. The winner, Zach J o h n s o n who won the

2006 Masters, shot a 65 on the last day and finished fifteen un-der, to win the $972,000 dollars and the title as the 2009 Sony Open Champion.

Hawaii native 18-year-old profes-sional Tadd Fujikawa drew the biggest crowds. The locals strongly supported Tadd in his second appearance at the Sony O p e n . S a d l y T a d d d r o p p e d from 8 under and within the lead after the third day to 6 under, and f i n i s h e d T32 in the tour-n a m e n t . D e a n W i l s o n , P a r k e r McLach-lin, and Dean Wil-son were

a l l cut after the second round.

The Sony Open is one of two PGA golf tournaments here in Hawaii. The tournaments are a good way to have fun, and watch the best golfers from many different parts of the world.

February 13, 2009 The LighTer Side Page 7

Single male with an affinity with mosquitoes and slight dental problems looking for love. Must ap-preciate the mer-its of body glitter.

Bitter, unsuc-cessful middle aged loser wal-lowing in self-pity and loneli-ness looking for healthy woman with no visible scars and all limbs intact.

Village look-ing for its idiot. If found, please return.

Abominable snow-man wanting his very own bunny rabbit to call “George.” Will hug him and pet him and squeeze him … etc.

VALENTINE’S DAY PERSONAL ADSBy Victoria Kim

By annie rian

Aries (3/21-4/19): As the moons of Jupiter and Saturn collide in an eclectic celebra-tion of the Sun God’s virility, your love life will literally catch on fire around the 21st. Keep an eye out for Steve the one-legged hostess and his pet tarantula, Raskolnikov, from The Sassy Soviet Bar n’ Grill.

Taurus (4/20-5/20): Love is definitely in the air this month: that perfume from Aunt Bertha, “Octogenerian Midday Musk,” will come in handy on the evening of the 2nd. Be sure to bring ample pesticides, cat food, and protein supplements.

Gemini (5/21-6/21): You’ve been working hard these past few weeks, and it’s about to pay off: whether it’s a free side of toast from Bojangle’s Diner, a family cruise to Idaho, or a surprise visit from Uncle Sarah’s traveling band of sequin-bedazzled voles, a well-earned treat awaits.

Cancer (6/22-7/22): Yes, your own mother despises you. But don’t let that get you down: a nascent Serbian mime cult, Silent but Sassy, will host a spectacular ball in your honor on the 30th. Bring batteries and an ant farm if you value your life.

Leo (7/23-8/22): Give cats a chance.

Virgo (8/23-9/22): After your tabby Fifi’s passing, you’ve become emotionally numb. It’s hard to trust again. But that was then: this is now. Give in to the inevitable flow of the Sands of Time and do what you’ve always knows was right but never had the cour-age to do: adopt Bob Saget.

Libra (9/23-10/22): As Mars moves into the marginally lavish penthouse apartment of Mercury, bees will suddenly become an important part of your current relationship with your significant other(s). Stock up on beehives.

Scorpio (10/23-11/21): You’ve always been a little apprehensive of change, but this month it’s time to step out of your comfort zone and get a taste for the unknown. Here’s a hint: remember what post-cosmetic surgery Mickey Rourke told you about what wom-en really want.

Sagittarius (11/22-12/21): Like my grandma Ethel used to say: “If you ain’t livin’ life on the edge, you takin’ up too much space.” Something to ponder as time marches onward.

Capricorn (12/22-1/18): Assess the validity of the following statement: “JFK Jr. was a mind-blowingly attractive young buck.”

Aquarius (1/20-2/18): In 1998 alone, 34.5% of all dictionary editors reported feel-ings of self-loathing related to dissatisfaction with neo-classical pseudo-existentialism compared with a mere 34.4% in 1940, revealing a disturbing shift in the demographics of vigilantism.

Pisces (2/19-3/20): Physical attractiveness is all that matters in life.

Your Horoscope

Comic by Stephen Stack

Illustrations by Eunice Chang and Jackelyn Mcmillan

Photo licensed under Flickr Creative Commons

Page 8 Lower and MiddLe Imua ‘Iolani

IntervIews by bIanca bystrom and andrew Zhou

Madison Kusumoto ‘20:

I think Valentines day is good. I get a LOT of letters!

Christina Au ‘21:

I don’t want to do ANYTHING for a boy on Valentine’s day. Actually, maybe my brother and my dad. I like the fun projects we do.

Aidan Swope ‘16:

I think I’ll go see a movie with my family. I don’t know what’s showing now though.

Iris Kuo | Imua Iolani Dr. David Wei demonstrates the operation of the Da Vinci Surgical System at Queen’s Hospital.

Roboraiders witness new surgery technology

Continued from page 1 “Keables Fortnight”

IntervIew by amelIa lInsky

Q. Do you have a favorite character?

A. Hamlet among the tragic heroes. Falstaff is the greatest comic character. Prince Hal, whose grow-ing up and becoming king stretches over three plays. Rosalind, Beatrice, Imogen of Cymbeline, are strong comic heroines.

Q. On Shakespeare’s characters:

A. Shakespeare can make many of us identify with all sorts of different characters. I don’t just identify with the middle-aged white males.

I identify with young women like Rosalind, old women like the Countess in All’s Well, lads and kings—that’s why we keep reading Shakespeare. We find ourselves in all sorts of people.

Q. What Shakespearean character does Presi-dent Barack Obama most resemble?

A. I hope that he ends up as Henry V, but then I have to qualify that carefully—I hope he won’t con-quer France.

But he’s extremely thoughtful and careful about preparation; observant of the talents of other men, able to learn. He’s a thoughtful politician.

Q. What other plays do you enjoy besides Shakespeare?

A. I like all sorts of modern British drama—Os-car Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, right up to the lat-

est good thing on the London stage—like Alan Ben-nett’s The History Boys, Pinter, Stoppard, et cetera.

Q. What are you reading now?

A. My light reading is a volume of short stories by John Updike: something straightforward to read on the beach or in my hotel room. My serious read-ing is The Secular Age by Charles Taylor.

Q. What is your favorite childhood book?

A. Treasure Island is the literal truth. And The Lord of the Rings, except I only read that in grad school. It got me through grad school, a rough and discouraging time of life.

Q. Did you read Twilight?

A. No. I don’t know what it is.

Q. Last movie you saw?

A. Milk.

Q. When and why did you get rid of your beard?

A. I wore the beard for the taping of the lec-tures; the camera tends to flatten the face, and the beard gave a sharper definition. It depends on act-ing, fashions, and a choice about my professional appearance.

Also, I thought Hawaii would be too hot to wear an uncomfortable beard. I’ve only seen one man here (Dr. Webb) who is not clean-shaven.

Saccio speaks: an interview with the Keables Chair

What are you doing on Valentine’s Day?

by IrIs kuo

On the Friday of finals, the

LEGORaiders RED, LEGORaid-ers BLACK, Roboraiders Red, and Roboraiders Black went to Queen’s Hospital to watch a demonstration of the latest tech-nology in medicine, the Da Vinci Surgical System.

The Roboraiders Red and Black both recently won the Champion Award and First Run-ner Up respectively at the First Lego League championships. Oncologist Dr. David (father of Max ‘15 & Winston ‘18) and Dr. Whitney Limm, (father of Drew ‘09) both helped to coordinate this learning experience for the teams.

After a brief informative Pow-erPoint presentation, Dr. Wei an-swered a few questions, and then proceeded to demonstrate exactly how the Da Vinci System works.

The Da Vinci Surgical System is a three-part operating machine that was first launched in 1999. It is the only robot capable of assisting surgery on the market right now.

The surgeon sits at one of the machines where he or she oper-ates the robot, viewing a 3D im-age of the surgery field. The sur-geon controls it by putting their thumb and pointer into the con-trols. The system translates the surgeon’s movements to the ma-chinery inside the patient. The second machine in the system is

the patient side cart. It has three to four arms: two

or three instrument arms and one camera. The instrument arms are EndoWrist instruments, meaning that they have seven degrees of motion that mimic the surgeon’s movements. The last machine is the computer mainframe.

Over 1000 of these amaz-ing surgery machines have been installed worldwide, and this year, more than 60 percent of prostate cancer surgeries in the United States were performed by robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy.

Robotic surgery is so popu-lar because there are a few small incisions involved as opposed to one large one, there is very little damage to the tissues in the body, and there is less risk of infection. Blood loss and need for transfu-sions are also reduced. Robotic surgery also causes patients less pain and discomfort, a shortens their hospital stays and recovery time, and lessens scarring. The only disadvantage is the cost.

The machines themselves cost $1.5 million, and each robotic arm, which can only be used 10 times, costs $1,500 to replace. There are currently two Da Vinci Surgical Systems in Hawaii and both are at Queen’s Hospital.

Are robots really taking doc-tors’ places? Not quite: the ma-chines still require surgeons to operate them, but perhaps in the future we will have machines sin-gle-handedly operating on us.