ZENITHQUARANTINE EDITION ZENITH i 2 From the editors 4 A word from the presidents 22 Hebrouve - Joohee Lee 8 No one can clinch the presidency just 28 Stories from a biscuit - Tobias Poffley yet. Here’s why. - Mehar Singh 10 Politics: The good, the bad, and Trends during Covid - Jennifer Abraham the scandalous - Sarang Rim 30 34 Top 5 underrated artists - Santoshi Battula 14 How did Methuselah live for 969 years? - Caleb Lee 36 Agartha - Ashika Herald Covid in Hong Kong - Abby Tsao 18 38 Question time with Tobs 20 Interview with Mr Twigger - Joshua Laemmle ZENITH42 Titan - Isaac Allan iii Obama is a muslim. Pluto doesn’t exist. English is a dead Plan of Action language. This year, we have built an editorial team consisting of If an idea or a discussion lacks information, relevance, Heads for different sections, to ease organizational mat- and truth, is it valid? Is it fully developed? When we, as ters, and to create a space for you, the student body, teach- the Zenith committee, applied for the Zenith editorial po- ers, and alumni, to participate and submit pieces to these sition, all of us shared a common vision: to develop the delegated heads: views and voices of our community. We hope that the Ze- nith magazine will mirror the views of the students while POLITICS - SaRang Rim also being a source of insight and learning. In doing so, DEBATE - Daniel Harri & Jeongin Choi we believe that the Hebron body will grow into an under- INTERVIEW- Bethany Ronalds ART - Joohee Lee standing and informed community. SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES- Jeongin Choi HISTORY/CULTURE - Tobias Poffley Obama was the best president ever. Pluto should not be ENTERTAINMENT - Santoshi Batula considered a planet. English is not a sustainable language. SPORTS - Pranav Bellan Once fully informed, we should use our awareness to de- STORIES - Isaac Allan velop valid opinions: opinions that are not based solely ADVICE COLUMN - Tobias Poffley on emotion but also on rational thinking. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be any different from a robot mindlessly storing Hebron has always prided itself on its accomplished information. Opinions are what make humans… humans! Zenith writers. William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, In fact, we encourage you to be a human. Be it pointless and Leonardo da Vinci can only dream of writing for arguments over hotdogs being a sandwich or not, or out- this prestigious publication. Alas! We can only accept cries at the world’s injustices, your voice matters. We hope the best writers: writers who are audacious, brazen, that through the Zenith, the Hebron community will be and most importantly, respectful. able to express their thoughts and opinions coherently. So if you are a thinker, a storyteller, or an artist, reach Obama destroyed America. Pluto should be considered out to us. Contact us, the editors, or the section heads a planet. English should be the language of communica- through social media. tion everywhere. Please please please please please write for the Zenith. Humans are snowflakes: no two people alike, no two [If you feel the urge to]. minds alike. You don’t have to agree with all the opinions But we would appreciate it. you hear, but you do have to respect them. That said, the best way to reconcile, engage, and understand opposing We hope to give your voices a platform! perspectives is to expand our one dimensional opinions. We hope that Zenith will help you take into account mul- Regards, tiple positions before coming to a resolution. Knowledge is power, and when paired with understanding and re- spect, it breeds well-informed responses that are not just decorative but necessary in our world today. So all you, snowflakes, we encourage you to approach the diverse expressions in Zenith with an open mind and respectful manner. ZENITH 3 Dear fellow Hebronites, 2020 may be etched onto the stone tablets of history. While the Coronavirus crept into our unsuspecting lives, world- wide calls for racial equality caught the limelight. Wildfires ravaged the geography of California and Australia as real life heroes- Kobe Bryant, Chadwick Boseman, and RBG to name a few- passed away. Devastated economies and destructive riots have added to the tumultuous state of affairs. All the while, Hebron classes have been moved online, depriving students of Mr. Dominic’s renowned cheese toasts and repu- table Kerala fish. 2020 truly has been a momentous year. Many, if not all, of us will long for social interaction with our second family. The Hebron community is a unique one. Multiple nations have jumped into the Hebron melting pot to mold a population of Hebronites where 3 minute showers have become second nature. It is essential that through these times, we support one another to overcome feelings of loneli- ness, demotivation, and discouragement. Our role as the SC is to try and bring the Hebron communi- ty together. If we were in school, we would have completed our first SC event. However, we have adjusted to the current circumstances. After many discussions with staff and the SC team, we have decided to launch our first project under the ‘class of 2021’ era with this online Zenith edition. We hope that this brings a sense of normality in a very abnormal time. We are also making efforts to connect with all of you through social media: we hope that we can bring regular up- dates through this medium. Feel free to contact us or anyone in our team for any suggestions or feedback! Please take care of yourself and your loved ones. We can endure this time of uncertainty together! Thank you, Your presidents, Aryan Pinto Do Rosario & Joy Lee Wooin Song Selborne Rep Caleb Lee Zenith Isaac Allan Zenith Serene Varghese Zenith Minjae Lee (Enock) Lounge Matthew Devaraj Lounge Samuel Shanthosh Canteen Neena Swaminathan Canteen Joy Lee President Eunha Kim Canteen Abhishek Paul Treasurer Dhakshayene Tamilvanan Treasurer Abraham Lee Events Aryan Pinto Do Rosario President Joohee Lee Events Arathi Mukkudakattil Fundraiser Zenith Designer, Santoshi Battula Fundraiser William Pandian Fundraiser Mikhail Ram Media Chayut Naowaphongrat Secretary Ashika Herald Secretary Student Council Class of 2021 OPINION! Biden during her run for president during the for. Consequently, political commentators have 2020 race before dropping out in December experienced a bump in their following and have 2019- even calling Biden a racist at one point. the power to massively influence the American But as soon as she was announced as his run- election. ning mate, she belittled her derogatory com- Right-wing media like Fox news constantly ments. Her public image may have taken a hit praise Trump while leftist media such as the No one can clinch by this, but I’m not sure how far this will push Washington Post are almost always critical of “no opinions” voters to vote for Trump. Trump’s the president. Popular American news channels victory in 2016 was dependent on the ‘no opin- and commentators end up on the cliffs of the “ ion’ voters, but considering that Trump won’t political wings and usually promote propaganda the presidency just have Cambridge Analytica (https://www.you- rather than news. Personally, I disapprove of tube.com/watch?v=mrnXv-g4yKU) aiding him this system. News channels shouldn’t promote this year as it did in the 2016 elections, I highly their political agenda. Yet they do because public doubt that the Trump administration can influ- broadcasters in America receive funding from ence ‘no opinion’ voters in this election. influential individuals with their agendas. Most yet. Here’s why. news outlets inevitably advertise a biased view, The current economic situation, worsened by the glorifying whoever the funder wants them to pandemic, can also cause a change in votes. One glorify. of Biden’s most attractive policies to the majority As a result, the USA becomes increasingly For the past few months, the spotlight has voters, the changes in the economy, and the of the population is that he will not raise taxes polarized as voters are pushed into a particular remained on the 2020 American elections. media’s influence over voters. for those earning less than 400,000 USD a year- mindset. Usually, by this time in the race, political analysts 70 percent of Americans earn less than 50,000 a come up with a precise prediction of who is most The voter turnout in America is exceptionally year. This policy is appealing to both democrats From the Coronavirus and the BLM protests, likely to win the presidential race. However, this low. While the country has approximately 245.5 and republicans ravaged by the Coronavirus and 2020 has already proven to be momentous. This election, many analysts have released vague million eligible voters, in the 2016 election, only may be the key to flip republican voters to Biden. year’s presidential election will be equally sig- statements that indicate Biden’s victory but with 56 percent of them cast a vote: Asian and Latin During a pre-covid economy, Trump has added nificant. No one can be certain of who is going no certainty. American voter turnouts were especially low. approximately 6.7 million jobs during his presi- to the presidency, but whoever it is, we can be Amidst the novel corona, four factors will This is a problem for the democrats because dency; the African American and the Hispanic sure that the candidates won’t win with rhetoric influence the presidential elections and pos- their policies and beliefs favor such commu- American unemployment rate hit a record low alone. sibly overturn Biden’s predicted victory: the nities. According to the Gallup Poll conducted 5.5% and 3.9% respectively in September 2019 American voter turnout, between August 31st and September 13th, Trump according to the US Labor Department which the appeal was viewed favorably by 41% of adults, while started collecting these statistics in the 1970s.