Goodbye Editors, Hello Committee

If you’ve read the Editors’ Message in May, you may know that we have recently decided to form a committee. This means that starting in June and continuing on next year, The Word will be run and completed with a project leader, a main editor, our student writers, and several core teams of people, including Promotion, Distribution, Community, Website, Layout Design, Article Hunting, and Media Coverage. If you are ever interested in working for The Word, you only need to e-mail us! A brief summary of the teams’ duties are as follows:

Jenn and Chitha’s Top Ten Highlights of the Year

There is no order because they were equally great… well… most of them.

 - Arguing with each other and blaming each other for mistakes. See “Jenn and Chitha’s Top Ten Editing Screw Ups”

- The first time we ever really “Spread The Word” in a train-like fashion, we spanned the entire length of the cafeteria. And oh, seeing the look on people’s faces.

- One time, this guy came up to me (Chitha) and he said, “OMG! You have recipes now!? I’m going to read The Word all the time now!” That was December.

- Getting better at making it look good… as in… layout design. It was hard cramming everything using the fewest amount of paper possible…

To Whom it May Concern:

We are competing in the BC Green Games. It’s an opportunity for the Windermere Organic Garden to get funding and we could win $1000 for just having the most votes out of all the competing schools. That’s why we are asking you, our amazing, fabulous, supportive friends of the garden, to go to www.bcgreengames.ca/ and register as a supporter and then vote for our project at http://bcgreengames.ca/component/project/?id=116.

Thank you so much for your support. If you would like to further support our cause, you can spread the word to your friends and family as well!

Every vote counts and with an extra $1000, the garden would be able to provide more food for the cafeteria to use. So get voting!

Sincerely,

Neelam Khare & Chitha Manoranjan
- The Organic Garden

The Future of Ethical Science

by Jenn Lin
 
Stem-cells have the potential to literally become any type of cell within the body; the very nature of cloning is derivative of these types of cells and can be found in multi-cellular organisms. Scientists have strived to further stem-cell research because it could also lead to “treatments for diabetes, heart disease, cancer, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s” (Payne, 2009), as well as spinal cord injuries by replacing those damaged or lost brain cells, vital organs, nerve tissue, etc.; the remedies for the aforementioned are all highly sought after. Yet the pursuit of stem-cell research is only one example of how scientific advancement at the disregard for ethics could potentially lead to the most frightening realities of tomorrow; when the preservation of one thing at the destruction of another is at stake, there’s no telling what the repercussions could be – Frankenstein, anyone?

 

Warrior of the Month

The March Warrior of the Month is Neelam Khare, who was nominated for being an outstanding leader in the school and community. She greets everyone with a smile and is usually singing some tune at the most random of moments. Neelam is and has been extremely involved in the school since grade eight. Some of her interests include sustainability issues and social justice. And of course, she takes enjoys spending time with her friends and family.

Q: How do you feel about being nominated for Warrior of the Month? And winning!
Well can’t say I’m surprised… Just kidding! It feels good and I’m honestly surprised because there are a lot of other people who are doing a lot in Windermere who deserve to be recognized as well… like you!

Editor Vs. Editor – Immorality vs. Neutrality

BBC (UK equivalent to CBC) recently refused to provide the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which oversees 13 aid organizations, with free airtime for the international humanitarian Gaza charity appeal. The DEC hoped that BBC would follow through on their 1963 agreement to provide such service for relief agencies. Yet their decision was to reject the appeal on the grounds of impartiality and also the uncertainty concerning how they would deliver aid in such “volatile situations” (BBC release).

For argument purposes, Chitha and Jenn have intentionally taken up a side to explore the controversy regarding this topic.

Immorality vs. Neutrality

Jenn: Chitha, have you read the new January 23rd Media Alert on MediaLens.org?

Chitha: Yes, I have.

Jenn: And? What’s your take on it? Is BBC justified in rejecting the appeal or not?

Questionaire

by Cassandra Ly

Purple snow or orange snow?

Lina Phan – Grade 10
-Purple snow

Chitha Manoranjan – Grade 12
-Purple Snow. Orange snow looks too much like something else. – _ -

Bitter Sweet

Originally published in the December ‘07 Issue of the Windermere Word – By: Chitha Manoranjan

The sickening truth behind the sugary face of chocolate

“Chemically speaking, chocolate really is the world’s perfect food.”
~Michael Levine

Remember those days, back when you loved chocolate and chased people just so you could have it? Eating it to an such an extent that you felt you like you were going throw up? Many habits do change, but the fact is, that most people still do love chocolate. However, little do we know that the chocolate we eat may not just be bad for our own health, but, extremely harmful for the health of others as well.

 

Cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, is produced in Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Brazil, Cameroon, and the Ivory Coast. Cocoa production has impressive effects on the economy of these countries. The largest amount of cocoa is produced in these six countries, but the Ivory Coast accounts for 43% of the world’s cocoa, making it the world’s largest cocoa producer. But, what little elves do all this work to get the cocoa out? A report released in the USA concluded that in recent years, approximately 15,000 children ages 9 to 12 have been sold into forced labour on cotton, coffee and cocoa plantations. Since then, many more reports have shown that child traficking has also increased. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (ITTA) added to the previously released reports and looked into cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon. Approximately 284,000 children work on cocoa farms in dangerous conditions. Machetes, pesticides, and insecticides are all daily parts of life for these young children who have no other choice but to work to feed their families. Most of these young workers work daily from 6:00 in the morning and sometimes work until 6:30 at night – more than twelve hours a day! The ironic part of this whole situation is that most of these children have not even had the chance to eat chocolate and taste the fruits of their labour.

The largest reason these children do not have the proper childhood that most other children grow up with is because of money. The income for cocoa producers is not enough for families to meet their needs. Some villages where these children work from have dirty water sources which make people sick everyday. The money they get from the cocoa industry is not enough to help. The reason for this is because of the low and unstable prices of cocoa. Companies who buy the cocoa from the producers refuse to take any action to help out. Even though prices are now slowly rising, it is still not enough for the workers to survive. It’s a continuous trap of poverty. There is no chance that children can go to school unless their family has a way to feed themselves and pay for school. Since the profit of producing cocoa is so low, families get their children to work too. Therefore, the children don’t go to school, have a lower literacy rate, have no chance of getting a good job, and keep continuing in the cycle of poverty.

The effects of the cocoa industry does not stop at child labour. Another downside to it’s production is the devastating impact it has on the environment. Cocoa production results in the deforestation of some eight million hectares of tropical forests. Most of these areas that have been cleared off hold many of the world’s most incredible biological wonders. An average cocoa plantation remains productive for only twenty-five to thirty years, after that, more forests are cut down to clear more room for a new plantation. Deforestation also occurs in the name of the cocoa industry when prices are unstable. An increase in prices would mean more farmers plant more trees to increase profit. Lower prices would mean that farmers plant more trees to make an equivalent profit as previous years.

Many of the problems behind chocolate is that the cocoa that it’s made from destroys hundreds of hectares of land and destroys the lives of many millions of children. As painful as this information is, there are still many companies in the world who buy cocoa by paying people what they deserve and buy cocoa that does not harm the environment. After increased pressure on the chocolate industry, there have been plans towards eliminating the worst forms of child labour. However, this plan does not guarantee that prices will remain stable and prices will be sufficient. Without this, there is still a chance of child labour and deforestation.

To our good fortune, there is a way to fix this imbalance. Fair Trade chocolate is the healthier alternative for those who are equally disgusted by the sickening truth behind the sugary face of chocolate. Chocolate of this variety is marked with the “Fair Trade Certified” and Fair Trade Federation labels. All chocolate that is bought is guaranteed to be bought using fair payments, is guaranteed to not have come in contact with child labour, and has guaranteed environmental sustainability. The price for each gram of cocoa produced is much better than what is paid normally to the farmers. This way, families are able to survive, and the never-ending cycle of poverty can be broken. Some common Fair Trade chocolate brands are Rapunzel, Dagoba, La Siembra Group, and Grenada Chocolate Company. These brands may be a few dollars more, but it’s all worthit when you’re saving a life.