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THE CHACE CHRONICLE Chace Community School’s Student Magazine 5th Edition feb/march

celebrating LGBTQ+ history month and women’s history month

SHEDDING LIGHT ON

MENTAL HEALTH The blood countess a chilling tale by Dorcas Mayazi-Vubu

During this COVID-19 pandemic, tal health problem or disorder, many of us have been affected such as depression, can lead you mentally in a negative way which to act distantly from friends and has taken a toll on our education. family. This can have a knock-on Mental health is a prominent effect in the effort you put into aspect in our lives as it affects homework and essays, which our emotional and social wellbe- could lead to bad grades in ing. Lockdown has made every school, as well as changes in your interaction digital and devoid of appearance (for example not human contact, something that trying to look presentable when THE SECRETS OF ELON has greatly affected our social going out to public places). MUSK’S MINDSET lives and has caused a huge rip- Lockdown has shed light on ple effect on our mental health. many things, mental health being During the process of writing this one. The influx of suicide repost- article, I have contacted peers ings has exposed the realities of from our school about how they stigmatised issues such as feel about this lockdown. From depression, symptoms of which colloquial evidence, many of my include feelings of unhappiness peers have expressed an increase and decreased enjoyment of life. in loneliness, lack of motivation If you think you have experienced and a loss of passion. You are any of these symptoms, please not alone in experiencing these feel open and comfortable to feelings – they affect people contact the school and helplines close to the edge around you and those who care listed on the next page. ‘a triumph in the truest sense’ about you. Suffering from a men- As a community at Chace, Samaritans: 116 123 we value mental health Childline: 0800 1111 and are committed to be- Papyrus: 0800 068 4141 ing open about any Calm: 0800 585858 problems you may have.

Don’t forget to look out for one another and always ask if someone is okay more than once.

If you need someone to talk to – GROUNDBREAKING LGBTQ+ FIGURES YOU WHAT WAS THE STONEWALL UPRISING?

The Stonewall Uprising (also known as the Stone- In the early hours of the 28th June 1969, police SHOULD KNOW ABOUT wall riots) was a series of spontaneous demonstra- entered the inn and raided the premises, arresting tions by the LGBTQ+ community sparked by police 13 people (both employees dispensing bootlegged by Theodora Thomas raids at the (a gay club) in Greenwich alcohol and people who were violating New York’s village, on June 28, 1969. When law against cross-dressing – the state had a criminal Storme DeLarverie (1920-2014) police became violent, patrons of the club fought statute meaning that anyone not wearing at least back. three pieces of gender-appropriate clothing could be arrested). Patrons of the Stonewall and surround- A groundbreaking drag performer and gay rights and civil rights At the time, solicitation of same-sex relations was ing neighbours formed a group outside the bar in activist, widely believed to be the woman who started the fight illegal in New York and the state liquor authority response to the police harassment and aggression, back against the police during the Stonewall raid of 1969, an shut down established that served alcohol to refusing to back down when the police manhandled event that helped define a change in LGBT+ rights activism. She LGBTQ+ individuals until 1966, forcing members of patrons. A riot began shortly after and police barri- yelled to the crowd ‘Why don’t you do something?’, calling to the community to congregate in places like Stone- caded themselves within the bar (which was set on action the other patrons, including Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia wall. However, the state authorised raids of gay fire at one point) until eventually the crowd of about Rivera, to resist. bars by police officers, who forced patrons to show four hundred people was dispersed. identification and subjected cross-dressers to body searchers under the threat of arrest. The uprising continued for five days, driven by a revolt against the social discrimination faced by the The Stonewall Inn was bought by the Genovese LGBTQ+ community for decades. The event was a crime family (who were part of the mafia) in 1966 as catalyst for the gay rights movement, leading to the Marsha P Johnson (1945-1992) they saw the potential for profit. Police were bribed creation of the Front (GLF), the Gay by the family to ignore what was happening in the Activists Alliance (GAA), GLAAD (formerly Gay and club and as a result, conditions for patrons were be- Alliance against Defamation) and Human yond subpar, with no running water to wash glasses Rights Campaign. A gay liberation activist and an African-American or even a flushing toilet. Despite this, the Inn was woman who was a prominent figure in Stonewall uprising. a hub for New Yorkers in the LGBTQ+ community In June 2019, James P. O’Neill, New York City’s Johnson co-founded the gay and transvestite advocacy or- who felt rejected by other institutions – it was a police commissioner, apologised on behalf of the ganization S.T.A.R. (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), space where they could freely express themselves police department 50 years after the Stonewall alongside close friend Sylvia Rivera. Her body was discovered and dance together (something that remained Uprising, stating that ‘the actions taken by the in the Hudson River after the 1992 pride parade. Police initially illegal). NYPD were wrong – plain and simple’. ruled her death suicide however it is widely believed she was the victim of a transphobic attack, and in 2012 it was ruled ‘undetermined’.

Sylvia Rivera (1951-2002) ‘I’m not missing a minute of this. It’s the revolution!’ A Latina American gay liberation and transgender rights Sylvia Rivera activist who identified as a . Rivera began living on the streets at the age of 11 after disapproval from her family and worked as a child prostitute. She was taken in by the local com- munity of drag queens, who gave her the name Sylvia. Rivera was the founding member of both the and the . ookRivera also co-founded the STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), a group The Stonewall Inn today dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens, LGBTQ+ youth and trans women, with her close friend Marsha P Johnson. Alan Turing (1912-1954) Barbara Gittings (1932-2007)

A mathematician who played a pivotal role in cracking coded messages that ena- Gittings is regarded widely as the mother of the LGBTQ+ bled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in WW2. civil rights movement. Before Stonewall, she the organiser Turing was convicted of ‘gross indecency’ for having a relationship with 19 year of Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian civil and political old Arnold Murray in 1952, and as punishment underwent chemical castration. rights organisation in the United States. In the 1970s, she He took his own life at the age of 41 after using cyanide to poison an apple. Tu- was a prominent member of the American Psychiatric ring was eventually pardoned in 2013, which led to new legislation pardoning all Association’s fight to get homosexuality removed from the under historical gross indecency laws. list of psychiatric disorders. In 2006, The APA recognised her work by awarding her its first annual civil rights award. (1921-1987) Audre Lorde (1934-1992) A close friend and advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. and the organiser of the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin’s vital role in the civil rights A self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet’ – movement went unrecognised as he was an Lorde was an African-American poet and essayist whose openly gay man. work confronted issues of racism, classism, sexism and homophobia. She greatly influenced conversations Rustin was forced to work behind the scenes to surrounding intersectional feminism, as she provided an prevent controversy and lies spread by the me- alternative perspective to her straight, white, dia about the nature of the relationship between middle-class peers, and was central to Black cultural the two men. Despite this, Rustin still remained movements and the fight for LGBTQ+ equality. a political and gay activist, working to bring the AIDS crisis to the NAACP’s attention.

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (1825-1895)

Ruth Ellis (1899-2000) A German lawyer, jurist, journalist, and writer who is regarded as a pioneer of the modern gay rights movement. He argued that same-sex attraction An African-American woman widely known as the oldest surviving open lesbian was innate, and that those who experienced it should be treated the same and LGBT rights activist at the age of 101. She came out 1915, at a time when as anyone else. In August 29, 1867, Ulrichs spoke in Munich at the Congress were expected to hide their sexuality, and married her partner Ceciline of Jurists to demand legal equal rights for all sexualities. Franklin soon after. Ellis was an LGBTQ+ activist throughout her lifetime and welcomed African-American LGBTQ+ people into the home providing shelter and support. The Ruth Ellis Centre was opened in Detroit in 1999 to provide support to homeless and at-risk LGBTQ+ children and teenagers. (1924-1987)

An American novelist, playwright, Gilbert Baker (1951-2017) essayist, poet and activist who explored themes of race, sexuality ‘Love him and let him love and class. you. Do you think anything An American artist, gay rights activist who designed the else under heaven really rainbow flag, a symbol widely associated with LGBT+ In his novel Giovanni’s Room, matters?’ rights, which debuted in 1978. Baker did not trademark Baldwin’s ultimate message is that the flag as he said it was a symbol for everyone. love is a force that transcends sex James Baldwin and gender – what matters is that two people love each other.

6 7 Josephine Baker (1921-1987) John-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988)

Josephine Baker was a well-known entertainer of the Jazz Age and identified as bisexual. She was one of the most successful Afri- American neo-expressionist artist of Haitian and Puerto Rican can-American performers in French history and used her platform descent who had relations with both men and women. His as an entertainer to advocate for desegregation, refusing to per- art explores culture, history, mythology, marginalisation and form in segregated venues and even speaking at the 1963 March self-identity, themes symbolised by human heads and figures. on Washington. Baker also served as a spy for the French during In 1988, he died of a heroin overdose at his art studio at the World War II, passing along secrets she heard while performing age of 27. At a Sotheby’s auction in 2017, Untitled sold for $110.5 million, becoming one of the most expensive paintings ever purchased (the purchase also set a new record high for an American artist at auction). Ifti Nasim (1946-2011)

David Hockney (1937-) Ifti Nasim was a gay muslim poet from Pakistan who moved to the Unit- ed States in 1969 to avoid persecution for his sexuality. His collection of poems, Narman is though to be the first gay-themed book of poetry One of the most influential artists of the 20th written and published in Urdu. He also founded SANGAT/Chicago, an Century. Many of Hockney’s works feature gay organization which supported the South Asian LGBTQ community. imagery and themes, particularly ‘Domestic Scene, Los Angeles’ which depicts the intimate act of washing between two men.

Lili Elbe (1882-1931)

A pioneering Danish transgender woman who was one of the first recipients of gender reassignment surgery. Elbe began a relationship with French art deal- er Claude Lejeune, whom she wanted to marry and with whom she wanted to Alfred Kinsey (1894-1956) have children. She was looking forward to her final surgery involving a uterus transplant. A bisexual researcher in the field of biology and sexology. He was the creator of The Kinsey Scale, which measures sexuality on a scale of 0 (exclusively hetero- However, her immune system rejected the transplanted uterus, however, and sexual) to 6 (exclusively homosexual). she developed an infection. She died in 1931, three months after the surgery, of cardiac arrest brought on by the infection at the age of 48. Reflecting on her Kinsey’s groundbreaking research suggested sexuality is not binary, but instead life after her first surgery, Elbe wrote to her family that ‘It may be said that 14 is a spectrum and can change over time. The category of “x” was later added months is not much, but they seem to me like a whole and happy human life.’ to the scale to represent asexuality, and others who may not experience sexual attraction.

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC)

‘The heterosexuality or King of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. The ruler’s most controver- homosexuality of many sial relationship was with a young Persian man named Bagoas, who Alexander individuals is not an all-or- kissed publicly at a festival of athletics and arts. none proposition’ Alfred Kinsey

8 9 INSPIRING WOMEN Celebrating the impact of women in your lives this Women’s History Month

No one person should ever be put on a pedestal as we are all flawed and no person Marie Curie. She Noor Inayat Khan however great is without mistakes and controversy. revolutionalised science, Lots of people have educated and helped me, there My friend Madison in won two Nobels while doing was once an old lady on a train platform who chatted to school. I vibe with her so so and discovered elements me. It may have been just a conversation she forgot, but that much and I usually have Polonium and Radium. She also day I was feeling really stressed and unhappy and that chat trust issues but she’s really died as a result of her work, meant to world to me. Also the friend who told me off when I positive and always looks showing true commitment to was being mean, I hated her at the time for not supporting me out for everyone. She’s science! Marie Curie but she was right. My Mum stood up for someone she hardly knew against her very good friend which takes courage to face that lev- super motivating el of awkwardness. There are lots of women who have had their - David Buck brave contribution to history wiped out because they were women/ mixed race, for example Noor Inayat Khan, a British spy who saved British airman and carried on sending messages in the heart of Lorna occupied France even though she knew she would be killed if caught. But you don’t have to do great acts of daring or die My Mum has been a constant McHale to play your part. My Nan was a WAAF like Noor and most- Literally every woman I inspiration to be as she has always Mum - Mr Holloway ly spent the war mopping the floor and going to dances know. Like feminist sociologist managed to combine not just being a but she volunteered and showed up and we can all Fran Ansley said, ‘women are the Mother, but also my best friend, she is al- do that. Speak up ! Show up! takers of s**t’. Every woman has ways the first person I can turn to no matter suffered from the patriarchy at the problem. She has successfully managed - Ms Cox different degrees whether she knows it or not. We are strong to overcome a very difficult childhood and Laura Jane not let it overshadow her life. She has faced because as hell and continue to be. All Grace women inspire me. many challenges, the latest of which is being she wanted equality as a full time carer for my Dad. She is always My mother, who has on she didn’t give up her the first to laugh and offer a loving word numerous occasions beaten seat for a white man. or smile. the odds and overcome an illness that many doctors warned - Ms Martin Ms Tanya Douglas A woman who has she wouldn’t. She is a truly inspires me because she is inspiring example of how it is inspired me is Billie Eilish fearless, fair and kind and she possibly to overcome because she is not afraid to is leading the way for Black seemingly insurmountable be different and does not care female teachers. She is a role odds. Rosa Parks what others think. I believe this is model to staff and students and inspirational because it shows us is an ethical, proactive and A woman who inspires that you can achieve lots and inspiring leader. me is a author called Holly be liked by millions by just Mother Teresa - Her Jackson. She wrote my favour- being yourself. sacrifices to help people ite books (A Good Girl’s Guide to with their health as well as Murder and Good Girl, Bad Blood). taking the time to truly see the I love her style of writing and the effects of reality in society & she imaginative and interesting story My mum Kayleigh McEnany. She simply exuded kindness & light plot. She has achieved so much inspires me to do defends her beliefs for people who needed that which makes me believe I can the best I can and staunchly despite more than anything. do the same. stay strong. negative environmental pressures.

Mother Teresa Billie Eilish As mentioned before, Elizabeth’s countess’s diary was never found; family was very powerful and a maid had claimed to have seen THE MACABRE TALE OF THE influential that they obtained the number six hundred and fifty large amounts of land, wealth written within it, assuming that and even King Matthias II was it was the number of Elizabeth’s BLOOD COUNTESS indebted to them (this was prob- unfortunate victims. Elizabeth was ably the reason Elizabeth did found guilty and as punishment By MAJA VARGA not have a public trail to prevent confined within the dark walls of further dishonour to fall upon the Čachtice Castle where she was Have you ever heard scratching from within your wardrobe or the walls of your home? Well, it may be Báthory family in exchange for walled into a brick cage with no the vengeful spirit of the Blood Countess... the debt to be forgotten). During windows, with only food, drink the two trails, an overwhelming and air able to leave and enter. Erzsébet Báthory, born 7th Aug amount of accounts and witness- For the last four years of her life, 1560 and died 21st Aug 1614 es accumulated, and Elizabeth’s she was buried alive, forgotten, bloody reign was dragged into and left in Čachtice’s darkness. It may have been due to her the light from the dark dungeons Even after her death she was family’s power and influence that of Čachtice Castle. Bodies were denied from re-entering society Elizabeth was able to continue examined and proven to have as the local villagers refused to let her bloodthirsty ways – it took endured torture, while other her be buried in their cemetery. many years after the complaint of pieces of evidence such as the a minister for the court with the authorisation of King Matthias II to cease the rampage of this tyrannous monster. Suddenly, everyone, every class within the Čachtice Castle were under inves- tigation, which was once Eliza- beth’s home and would soon also become her prison. The victims that emerged during the investi- gation were poor and vulnerable, mostly between the ages of ten and fourteen who were lured in by Countess herself with the promise that they would become wealthy maids. Women were Elizabeth Báthory, the horrifying nightmare in the shape of human vanishing, not only those of the murderess wrapped in fabrica- created? Read on if you dare. lower classes which the world had The coat of arms of the tions and events far too horrible turned a blind eye to, but soon Báthory Family to imagine, was a Hungarian Sinister tales surrounded Bátho- noble, wealthy women were also noblewoman born in 1560 ry’s entire family from the very beginning to disappear and die suspected of murdering and beginning – they were rumoured in Čachtice Castle and this was torturing six hundred and fifty to be witches and Satanists or followed by a deluge of witnesses young women. You may have merciless torturers that left even along with a torrent of atrocities heard several remedies to main- Elizabeth’s most innocent years to that make many people believe tain one’s youth such as the be tainted by violence. And this that Elizabeth may have been anti-aging creams advertised on bloody trail does not end with her the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s television or Cleopatra bathing ancestors – there were rumours novel “Dracula”. in milk to keep her skin beauti- that after her marriage to the ful. Well, Elizabeth believed that Count Ferenc Nádasdy she had a in order to maintain her beauty child with a lower-class man who she must bathe in the blood of was later castrated and then torn innocent, young girls from her to pieces by vicious hounds. A statue of Erzsébet Báthory Čachtice in the north-west- own country. But how was this ern part of Slovakia 12 13 elon musk’s philosophy What is a step by step guide to using this philosophy? What is thinking from Step 1: first principles? Identify what your current beliefs and bias are on the prob- thinking from first principles lem. by CHRIS KOSEDA It is the philosophy of breaking “What do I currently believe is true?” down complicated problems into basic elements and then Step 2: Breakdown the problem into its fundamental principles What does Elon Musk do? reassembling them from the ground up to solve through extensive research. In January 2021, Elon Musk became the wealthiest person problems. “What is the actual truth?” to ever exist with a net worth of $197 billion. “Why is that the truth?” His entrepreneurial career began when he dropped out of college and founded the company Zip2 and later co-found- Step 3: ed PayPal in 2000 which later sold to Ebay for $1.5 billion. Create new solutions from scratch using the new informa- Elon went on to purchase Tesla motors and found many tion. more companies such as SpaceX and The Boring Company. “What if?” In January 2021, Elon Musk overtook the founder of Ama- zon, Jeff Bezos, as the richestperson in the world. However, as of March 2021 he ranks 3rd with a net worth of £150 billion, after Tesla stocks fell 21%. An example of Elon Musk using this guide to create the Lithium Ion battery pack:

Step 1: Elon recognised his limiting beliefs and biases on the problem. Why was Elon Musk able to become successful? Elon Musk “Battery packs are really expensive and that’s just the way they will always be. Elon Musk was able to achieve his success due to many factors. One important Historically, it has cost $600 per kilowatt hour. It’s not going to be much better factor was that he was able to study and eventually become a citizen of the United than that in the future.” States, of the most prosperous countries in the world. This is significant because it allowed him to harness his potential through a dynamic, capitalist, free economy Step 2: which promotes innovation. As a result, Elon contributed back to society through Elon broke down the problem and completed extensive research to find out revolutionary technologies, such as the electric car and complex space technolo- the truth. gies. However, the most consequential reason why Elon Musk was able to achieve his “What are the material constituents of the batteries? What is the stock market success is due to his own personal philosophy, derived from the revolutionary Why is this philosophy so value of the material constituents?” Greek philosopher Aristotle, called “thinking from first principles”. important? ‘‘It’s got cobalt, nickel, aluminum, carbon, some polymers for separation and a seal can.’’ It is evidently one of the best ways to learn to think for yourself, unlock your Step 3: Elon used the information he researched and formulated new solutions to the potential, and achieve fantastic results, problem. and is used by many innovators and successful people. Hence to conclude “What If we bought that on the London Metal Exchange what would each of “your mind is your greatest tool” so those things cost?” why not use it to generate wealth and lead a successful life? It is “It’s like $80 per kilowatt hour” your choice. “So clearly you just need to think of clever ways to take those materials and combine them into the shape of a battery cell and you can have batteries that are much, much cheaper than anyone realises.” Aristotle, 384 BC – 322 BC

14 15 In a genre defining 38 minutes, Yes explores the boundaries of musi- ALBUM REVIEW cianship and song structure as far By Warren Delacruz as accessible rock music goes. For all its experimentation, melody and musical sweetness remains their CLOSE TO THE EDGE (1972) utmost priority, always subverting, and always on the cusp, but never YES crossing the boundary. There’s not a lot more to say about it – acces- Genres: Symphonic Prog, Progressive sible, versatile, triumphant – Yes’s Close to the Edge remains one of Rock rock music’s greatest feats, a gate- way for those looking for challeng- ing but satisfying music, and a fine A triumph in the truest sense, Yes a 4 part, 18 minute suite. Serene moments, finally ending on one entry into its most iconic genres. masters the art of world building bird sounds and electronics is of its most triumphant, all in the through sound, in a fleeting but followed by Steve Howe’s agged, space of one album side. grand fashion. writhing guitar, laying out the first landscape of the album, The second track ‘And you and ‘Yes’s music doesn’t just create landscapes, it creates Formed in 1969 in London, Yes transitioning into a soaring guitar I’ starts with layered acoustic wasn’t one of the first progressive melody, moving from the jungle guitars, before traditional rock entire realms, with you the listener, obliged to explore rock bands, but was seminal in into the sky within the first 4 min- instrumentation finally seeps every aspect of it’ the creation of progressive mu- utes. A seamless, fluid jam session in. While coming in at ‘only’ 10 sic’s most immersive and most follows, tight knit groove provid- minutes, the 2nd track explores enveloping sub genre. Their ed by bassist Chris Squire, and the soundscape differently to the brand of progressive music takes drummer Bill Bruford, sketching fluctuating title track, with inter- inspiration from the baroque and the outline for vocalist Jon Ander- changing moments of flashy rock classical periods of music, similar son to colour in with his harmonic music and serene acoustic folk, to ‘symphonic prog’ bands like vocal lines and trademark mystic ascending and descending rather Emerson Lake & Palmer, Genesis lyricism. than expanding, it offers a simpler, and Camel, combining complex different flavour to the title track, instrumentation, lush keyboards ‘The appeal of while maintaining Yes’s maximalist and lyrics depicting fantasy this album comes approach to their music, recapitu- literature and sci-fi. lating the initial acoustic passage down to the before moving onto the third and By 1972 with their 4th album uniqueness of the final track ‘Siberian Khatru’ which ‘Fragile’, Yes had already estab- feels like a rather anticlimac- lished themselves in the canon of experience, not a tic conclusion to the epics that progressive rock folklore, donning consensus.’ preceded it. Initiating the 8 min- capes on live performances and ute long finale is a discofied blues Roger Dean’s striking, fantastical guitar lick, into a heavy groove, artwork present in many of Yes’s I love the way Anderson foreshad- the final track more based on the covers. With the magnitude of ows lyrics later in the track, which pop side of Yes’s palate, bringing musical talent, an ear for experi- serves to heighten the impact the music back down to earth mentation and melody, Yes’s mu- when that particular moment and back home, more end credits sic doesn’t just create landscapes, finally arrives. My favourite rather than the epic conclusion it creates entire realms, with you moment on this album and my promised by the previous tracks. the listener, obliged to explore personal experience listening to every aspect of it. Their 5th album music, is on the third part ‘I Get was released in the same year, Up, I Get Down’, a refrain with expanding what was on previous beach boys style harmonising releases. and lush piano crescendoing into a majestic, monumental church YES in concert, 1977 The first venture into the expan- organ, culminating into one of sive world of Close to the Edge is rock’s most ethereal and spiritual 16 17 IMPORTANT NOTICES:

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