The Memorable Journey of the Class of 2016
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Amptelike kwartaalblad van die leerders van Paul Roos Gimnasium Official quarterly of the pupils of Paul Roos Gymnasium Volume 66 Founded • 1962 • Gestig SEMPEROktober 2016 Gratis • Free Seite 3 Murray ends VLUG! fourth p. 8 & 9 p. 7 STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM NOW WE’RE HERE The Memorable Francois van Zyl How do we measure five years in the life of a Paul Rooser? Do we measure these according to the amount of games we played, the times we sang our hearts out to help the first team score that one final life-or-death try, or Journey of the joyful Jolla Bollas we did after great victories? Or do we measure them by the small things: the music that plays from the SC-Room during a lazy Friday break; the times you have to stand quad because you forgot to cut your hair before assembly; walking through the hallowed hallways of our school and hearing the laughter that echoes from Mr. Pieterse’s or Mr. Gillion’s classrooms? In the end it doesn’t matter how you measure them, the Class because they all amount to the same: an unforgettable journey. It’s been a long, exhilarating ride for the Matrics of 2016 since they first stepped onto this revered terrain in 2012. As they walked into this school, no boy could have ever imagined that they would walk out five years later of 2016 as young men, maroon blood pumping through their bodies courtesy of a heart that belongs to this school. Friendships were forged into a brotherhood that will stay with these men for the rest of their lives. Every time a Matrics class leaves this school, they warn us that we should cherish every moment we breathe (vervolg op bladsy 3) 2 | Semper Oktober 2016 Aktueel • Current Affairs The Cowardly Caliphate Trump versus Clinton Calvin Durr clearly see when the conservative Barrack Obama inspired a Gross The 57th presidential elections are Domestic Product of 1.2% - the right around the corner and it is still lowest ever in American history. He very unclear as to whom President also created Obama Care, which was Obama will be handing the baton widely controversial. to. The two candid ates in contest Should Clinton be are multimillionaire Donald Trump elected into power and former Secretary of State Hillary we will most probably Clinton. observe an expansion For many people, these elections on Obama Care are the typical example of having to choose between the worst of two evils. This notion, to my mind, however, should not be entertained. and Yes, both candidates have flaws, but another four years so does everyone on the planet. of an alarming What makes these elections low GDP. particularly exciting is the fact that Trump Clinton is the obvious safe ball and promises Johan Schoeman enforces their authority through the recruiting new members from across Trump the loose cannon ... to “make implementation of Sharia Law. This the world. Propagandist videos are often The problem with Clinton is that the America Daesh, Da'esh, Da'ish, IS, ISIL, Islamic proclamation was widely rejected and released showing the graphic but very real State. At the very heart of all this criticized by the Muslim Community and execution of prisoners safe option is not always what is great again”, synonymy lies an evil we have come to the world as a whole. There is some good news though. best when it comes to a promise he know over the past few years. An evil The group originated as Jama'at al- Recently, ISIS has announced a state of running a country. copied from Ronald Regan in the that has spread though our society like Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999, and pledged emergency after the continuous bombing Sometimes there is 1980 election. He has no experience a malignant tumor, leaving nothing but their allegiance to Al-Qaeda. It is as a of their leaders and strongholds. need of a little bit of in politics, other than the time he death and pain in its wake. This evil is part of this allegiance that newly-formed All in all, ISIS is comprised of scared fire, as we could sought, and failed, to win his party’s formally known as the Islamic State in group participated in the Iraqi insurgency little men who hide behind their banners nomination in the year 2000. This Iraq and Syria, or ISIS for short. following the March 2003 invasion of Iraq and balaclavas and have absolutely no coupled with his celebrity status ISIS is a jihadist militant group that by Western forces. ISIS and Al-Qaeda respect for the value and beauty of life. and semi-extreme ideas are what follows and enforces a fundamentalist worked with smaller insurgent groups in ISIS is at the root of many of the world’s doctrine of Sunni Islam. This doctrine is the formation of an Islamic State in Iraq biggest problems. They have taken a makes him such a nerve-wracking known as Wahhabi. The group controls a in 2006 and in Syria in 2011. A great feud gentle and loving religion and have used candidate. When you vote Trump, vast landlocked area that includes parts of arose between the two groups’ leadership it as a mechanism of violence. ISIS isn’t you are voting for suspense. Syria and Iraq. In 2014 the militant group structures when Isis declared Islamic a Muslim problem, or a Middle Eastern He could bring about enormous proclaimed itself a caliphate and named state in Syria and in Iraq in 2014, and the problem. ISIS is a human problem and economic growth, but he could also Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as their leader or groups have been at odds ever since. threatens the well-being of every single start World War III if he doesn’t calm caliph. What sets ISIS apart from other person on earth. It is therefore high time down on his foreign policy. A caliphate has authority over all extremist organisations is that ISIS is that we eradicate these cowards in black Muslims Worldwide. The caliph very good at promoting themselves and to make the world a better place. one-dimensional characters flail and of the chariot wheels to carve up simply appears as an anticlimax. flounder around the screen amidst your opponents. And what happens In my opinion, the biggest Ben Hur their digital counterparts, wielding this time? How about those knives? tragedy is rather the way in which Christo Langenhoven it bore an aura of perfection. Real sword and knives and shields, while Well, it’s entirely in line with the film’s Bekmambetov managed to completely human beings, as opposed to the roaring like the iconic MGM lion toothless dullness that this gadget obliterate every single characteristic This dull, clunking return to one of latest version’s digital ones, were used itself. goes missing along with much else. for which the 1959 version stood for: cinema’s great warhorses lacks all the as extras, which also contributed to Ben-Hur has moved and stirred After this, Christ’s crucifixion – the passion, pride, perfection and true subtlety, passion and grandeur of its the movie’s ‘realistic experience’. audiences because of its bold parallels greatest tragedy in the entire movie – cinematic greatness. more illustrious predecessors. But this one, the latest, is a and literal narrative intertwining with The Roman epic with all its legions greenscreen Ben Hur and the passion the story of Jesus. For all its brashness, of extras was once a genre that is gone, together with the grandeur William Wyler’s 1959 movie handled belonged to the big screen, but CGI of scale. Jesus’s dramatic presence in the story has it shrunk to laptop size and this Bekmambetov’s direction offers relatively obliquely. new version of Ben Hur has somehow nothing in the way of nuance or even This is very much not the case here taken the diminution further still. of ordinary human light-and-shade: with Bekmambetov’s adaptation of a The 1959 version used movie the action-heavy template for a cinematic classic. audiences all around the globe, as videogame springs to mind as The Wyler classic was famous for the terrifying blades that came out Oktober 2016 Semper | 3 Aktueel • Current Affairs Hallo aus Deutschland! Francois van Zyl landmarks are scarred with the scorch to Johannesburg, where the boys stayed trip. All-in-all, the costs concerning International friendships were marks of the flames that tore through for three days in order to prepare for the course amounted to more than forged in the long-extinguished fires Two pupils from the Grade 11 the city streets. their German adventure, travelling R100 000 per person, all from the of the beautiful city of Dresden, and German class had the privilege of The Goethe-Institut, the great expenses for the journey to Germany generous pocket of the Goethe-Institut three weeks have led to relationships attending an international study course benefactor of our German department and back, and the three weeks’ stay in and the German government. Although which will last for years to come. Paul in Germany during the June holidays. at Paul Roos Gymnasium, once again Germany at a youth hostel. the main focus of the Pasch-Project, Roos is incredibly grateful for all the The course was held in the historic city showed its incredible generosity by Trips to museums, other cities and the initiative which enabled our boys contributions the Goethe-Institut has of Dresden, a city which was almost awarding James Roux and Francois landmarks around Germany were also to attend the course, is improving made to our school in order to create completely destroyed after World War van Zyl full bursaries for attending the taken care of by the Goethe-Institut.