Taylor Mali’s guttural monk chants and wisdom echoed through St. Alban’s Chapel Thursday as he skated on the boundaries of ‘Iolani’s Episcopalian beliefs with his chapel speech.

He melded wisdom and an unapologetic sense of humor fresh to the campus, tying in his jokes to religious theme.

Alerted by a stream of camera clicks to the presence of yearbook staffer taking his picture, he struck a comic pose and implored the yearbook staffer, “Take it already!”, taking his audience in stride as only true masters of performance can.

Irreverent of routine but imparting the serious message that in faith, “It’s the intention that counts,” and “Miracles don’t always come in the form you expect,” he added a wild and freer spirit of hilarity to the usual routine of chapel.

Taylor Mali will be holding a free poetry reading, “Bringing Poetry to the Boxing Room,” from 7p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 31st in Seto Hall. More information can be found here.

MC: What were some of your main points in your essay?

BC: First, the importance of balancing sustainable development with the growth of the world economy. As the global economy continues to grow, the world’s natural resources are slowly exhausted. Sustainable development is the concept of maintaining growth in order to meet the needs of the present “without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Second, the potential that Hawaii has in developing sustainable technologies. Looking at the statistics, Hawaii is the most oil-dependent state in the United States. However, our location over a hotspot allows us to also harness geothermal energy sources, which has massive potential. Wave power and biofuel growth are also potential energy sources. We just need to invest in these technologies to wean our islands off of the oil.

Third, the moral responsibility we have as people. Sustainability is not merely about preserving the environment. It is also about protecting the human legacy for future generations. We cannot sit around idle anymore, hoping that others will take the stand for us.

MC:  What did you receive as being a winner of the contest?

BC: The main attraction was the chance to attend the CEO Summit at the Waikiki Sheraton. The other essay contest winners and I had the opportunity to hear from President Hu Jintao of China, President Barack Obama, and we were also invited to attend lectures by the President of Vietnam and the Prime Minister of Malaysia at the East-West Center. Of course, there was the 64 GB iPad2.

MC:  Of all the world leaders at APEC which one do you want to meet the most? Why?

BC: This might be a surprise, but probably Hu Jintao. As President of China, he is the leader of all Chinese people, and it would be an honor to meet the leader of my people.

MC: If you had the opportunity, what would be some questions you would like to ask the world leaders?

BC: There is probably only one question I would have liked to ask – others exist, but they are often asked and no doubt often answered by world leaders.

I do not know if you know about this, but a couple weeks ago, a toddler, a little girl, was killed in two successive hit-and-run attacks in China. People passed by and did not help. It took ten minutes before one lady saw the injustice and moved to help the little toddler. This led to a massive public outcry about what people saw as a “loss of morality.”

To President Hu Jintao – “What will you do about the ‘loss of morality’ in the Chinese people? As China continues to grow economically, becoming one of the largest economies in the world, will we forget about what it means to live in a community, to be human?”

MC:  What can Iolani students do to help support and promote sustainability?

BC: We have to start somewhere and all of us know the little things that we can do in the house to help out. Recycle. Change out incandescent for CFL’s. Encourage our family members to do so. Encourage our neighbors. Little things done by many people make a huge difference.

It’s important to remember that that the issues in our world, from global climate change to the world economy, from human trafficking to genocide, do not belong to any one person. Nor do they belong to any one nation. These are human issues and they belong to every person, every nation. These are the problems that our generation will be facing.

MC: What were some highlights at APEC?

BC: The main highlight would certainly be the opportunity to witness a supposedly historic event not only for the world, but for Hawaii.

It was also very cool to have my question on the South China Sea answered by the President of Vietnam.

At one point, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Najib Razak, declared that China was a “threat,” and then moved on to compare China to a “six hundred pound gorilla.” To me, that was not only hilarious, but also very shocking. Of course, Prime Minister Razak continued, stating that if all the people of China bought one kilogram of palm oil, then Malaysia could sell over one billion kilograms of palm oil to China – making a reference to the need for economic cooperation between the two nations. He finished by saying that “if you pet the gorilla and you give it a banana, I’m sure it will turn out to be a very friendly gorilla.” By this time, I was ready to fall off of my chair from laughing.
MC: Were you able to participate in anything or only observe?

BC: I was allowed to observe parts of the CEO Summit. Though it would have been very awesome if the other winners and I were allowed to participate, that would have been expecting too much. Regardless, it was an honor to be seated in the White House section of the audience during President Obama’s speech (we were considered members of the White House and US delegation). According to a White House aide, seats at the CEO Summit were worth up to and even over $3,000. And we were in for free. Well, besides the essay….

It was a very good experience – I definitely learned a lot. The fun part was wearing a suit and walking around Waikiki during APEC week. People, particularly tourists, would turn to watch us as the other essay winners and I passed by in our fancy suits. We must have either looked like delegates or even better, Secret Service. It was very amusing to see the reactions of tourists when I placed my hand on my ear as if I was listening to a transmission.

                 Mr. Laanui spoke strongly about how not only in this digital age, but throughout human history, we have branded people, for their actions, social status, and many other reasons.  This individual “brand”, that each of us owns and has power over, is how our peers, teachers, colleges, and potential employers are viewing us and will view us in the future.  However, as our generation come to terms with both the beneficial and detrimental effects of the Internet, and social media in particular, we will find that our “brand” has become not only highly accessible, but permanent.   This is one of the reasons Mr. Laanui advocates for students to “think twice before they click twice”. 

                Mr. Laanui also stressed that the Facebook, Twitter, and Tumbler posts you create in high school could come back to haunt you when you’re applying for college or a job.  Over 2 billion people access the Internet every day, making it the most highly accessible public forum in the world.  Therefore, even if you delete something  from  the Internet,  you will never know if it is permanently erased, since one of those 2 billion users could have saved it on their computer.  Even a simple picture which could be viewed as a joke could have devastating consequences.  As an example, Mr. Laanui told a story of how a student was accepted into Stanford University and how she rejected all her other college acceptances so she could attend Stanford.  However, Stanford found a picture of her pretending to drink out of a beer bottle.  Even though she never drank from the bottle and was just posing as a joke, it led to her being rejected from Stanford, with no other remaining college options.  So, you may think, “Well a college will never research me!”, when in fact they most likely will.  Colleges hire “open source data miners” to scour the Internet for free, publicly accessible data to do background checks on applicants. 

                However, if you’re regretting your last Facebook status, all is not lost!  Mr. Laanui offered some helpful tips and hints to avoid becoming involved in sticky situations like the girl who was rejected from Stanford.  Mr. Laanui said that although you can never totally remove past content from the internet, you can hide it!  Most people who do a Google search normally do not look past the first or second page.  So, if you have some bad things showing up on the first and second page of a Google search of your name, become involved in activities and competitions.   He said that if you become a track champion or a debate champion the Google result pages will fill up with information on those activities, and the content you wish you had never posted will be moved back to page three, four, or five of Google where no one ever looks.  So, become involved in more activities, especially Imua ‘Iolani!  Mr. Laanui also encouraged parents to more closely monitor their child’s internet usage, an idea that is probably not too appealing to the average ‘Iolani student.  Mr. Laanui acknowledged this fact and said it is a necessary step though, to ensure that students have a good “brand” when they go to apply for colleges or jobs.

                Mr. Laanui used his years of experience in the FBI to create an insightful, thought- provoking presentation with many helpful tips and advice to promote safe Internet usage.  I greatly enjoyed the speech and look forward to the next installment of the ‘Iolani ‘Ohana Speaker Series.

During the seeding rounds, team 2438A, with drive crew of Tim Ho (Driver) ’12, Logan Davis (Coach) ’13, and Kyle Flores (Backup Driver) ’13, started strong, winning seeding matches (of which the objective is to win the points, yet ranking is based on opponents’ points) to the point of scoring points for the other team to boost their ranking.  Unfortunately, after a couple rounds, technical disaster struck.  The motors overheated, and there were a couple quick fixes to be made.  The end result was the robot ending up slowed down, unresponsive, and in general inoperable.

Team 2438B, with an identical bot, fared about the same during seeding rounds as well.  With drive crew of Erin Main (Driver) ’12, Courtney Otani (Coach) ’14, and Ha’aheo Hanohano (Backup Driver) ’15, they ended up facing the same bugs as 2438A.

According to the coaches, the team entered with a “Great robot, but did not get enough testing time”.  In other words they entered the competition with two prototypes, and did not have time to work out the kinks.  Although motor overheating is unavoidable, the team gained valuable knowledge on further improving a great design.  “When our robot worked, it was the best; when it didn’t, it wasn’t” remarked Logan Davis.

Ultimately, though the winning alliance was Waiakea High School Robotics (1056A), Honoka’a High and Intermediate School (2455), and Kohala High (2460A).

Despite the loss, the ‘Iolani VEX team wasn’t dismayed at all!  Rather, they invented a new killer strategy as well as coming up with design improvement ideas from the bugs encountered.  All in all, this was a valuable learning experience that ensures ‘Iolani is ready to take back their title at the next VEX Tournament, held right on ‘Iolani School, on Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day!

Jobs’s death on Wednesday after a long, public battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 56 sent shockwaves throughout the world, eliciting condolences from the likes of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steven Spielberg, and President Obama.

“Steve was among the greatest of American innovators,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House. “Brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.”

As pictured, Apple’s homepage has been converted in tribute to its co-founder and foremost visionary, featuring a grayscale photo of Jobs as well as the years marking his lifespan. The following is Apple’s obituary for Steve Jobs as found on their website:

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

Across the country, from Cupertino to New York, mourners have expressed their grief. At the only 24-hour Apple Store in the nation, on Fifth Avenue in New York, people have left flowers and candles outside the glass doors. At Jobs’s home in California, people have written messages on the pavement fronting his house.

Despite his position as a corporate CEO, Jobs clearly was able to personally touch the lives of those he worked with and those whose lives he helped to improve. Whether people consider themselves “Macs” or “PCs,” the innovations credited to Jobs and Apple are likely to have changed and even revolutionized the way they live their daily lives.

Through simple, clean, and intuitive design, Jobs turned the once-formidable computer into a user-friendly, easy-to-use machine for the average consumer. To say the least, Jobs truly made the computer personal.

Even recent updates to Microsoft’s operating system (OS), Windows, have reflected a tendency to follow Apple’s lead with its OS, Macintosh. Through the releases of Windows Vista, and eventually Windows 7, Microsoft has worked to create that same, clean feel Macs seem to exude.

With the advent and rise of the cell phone came the need for greater functionality. So Jobs put the power of a phone, the internet, a camera, a personal organizer, and a gaming console into the hands of the consumer when Apple released the iPhone. Sports scores, news stories—and later—status updates and tweets could be found at a moment’s notice, while on the go.

And likely the most far reaching of all, Jobs completely changed the way we listen to music. In a world dominated by cassette tapes and CDs, Jobs introduced the iPod and turned the music industry in a completely new direction. Suddenly, thousands of songs could be held your back pocket and could be played at the push of a button.

Jobs’s personal charm and charisma wowed audiences and won hearts in a way that few big-business CEOs and top executive ever could.

Jobs did all his presentations, which he called keynotes, in a conversational, casual fashion, with the intent to inform, explain, and show off in simpler terms. He did all his keynote presentations in his trademark black-turtleneck-and-jeans combo and let off such great enthusiasm and warmth that it was hard not to absorb everything he said. His commitment to Apple and to you, the consumer, made each product seem to be made customized with you in mind.

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me,” Jobs once said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 1993. “Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me.”

Through his innovations and breakthroughs, Steve Jobs has changed our ways of thinking, our modes of communication, and awareness of each other. May he rest in peace knowing he has indeed done something wonderful.

It was a time of bonding and fun for everyone, with only 10 ninth graders missing (out of 200 plus students). Co-chairs: Quincy Brown, Lindsey Combs, Sunshine Saucedo, Bailey Sylvester, Erin Kushimaejo along with the class officers have been working hard to make this event a success.  “Everything was super fun!” Sherry Suehiro, a 9th grader said.  “I stayed up all night and had to take an eight hour nap when I got home.”  Needless to say, they succeeded.

 After a dinner of mochiko chicken, spaghetti and meat sauce, salad and more, students could decide what things they wanted to do.  I participated in dodge ball.  An all out war in the wrestling room where students could dive for balls, leap from equipment, or nail someone from one side of the field to the other.

 Other students went swimming, a first for Frosh sleepover.  They threw around water polo balls and overall had a good time.  Another first was a dance in the dance room.  There, people wearing glow in the dark necklaces danced to the rhythm of dozens of songs crossing over many genres.  The dance  ended at 11:30.

 After all the activities were exhausted and the refreshments were consumed, the students headed to the gym to listen to ghost stories.  The stories lasted well past one o’ clock, with lights out at 2:30.  An early breakfast at 6:30 consisted of bakery goods such as blueberry muffins.  After breakfast, students were free to head home, after 12 hrs at school. 

 Frosh sleepover was a great time for everyone.  When asked about what she thought of Frosh that year, 9^th grade class advisor Mrs. G Schroers said, “A huge success.  The co-chairs organized some great events and everyone seemed to have fun.” 

 A big mahalo goes out to Mr. Uejio, Mr. Duval, and Mrs. Ao, who along with Mrs. G Schroers served as chaperones the entire sleepover. 

The two sides involved in the labor dispute are the NFL and team owners of the thirty-two franchises against the National Football League Players Association.

Established in 1956, The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) served as a labor union for NFL players. The Players’ Association operated as any other labor union did; its sole purpose was to represent the players on issues such as safety, contracts, and insurance.

In 1993, the NFL and the union agreed on a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). According to NFLLockout.com, collective bargaining is defined as a “process of negotiating between a labor union and management. Negotiations generally consist of working conditions, wages, hours and grievance procedures. Negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA also included free-agency terms, revenue distribution and former player benefits.”

The 1993 CBA expired on March 12, 2011. Although negotiations for a new CBA between the players’ union and the NFL have been going on for almost a year, the two sides have not yet settled on a mutual agreement. As a result, the NFL immediately announced a lockout.

In a lockout, every NFL player is no longer welcome at their respective teams’ facilities and will not be receiving pay. Unless a new CBA is agreed upon, the 2011 NFL season will not exist.

In response to the NFL lockout, the NFLPA immediately decertified, thereby ceasing to exist. In doing so, individual players (most notably Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning) became eligible to file antitrust lawsuits. If they succeed in winning the suit, the NFL might be forced by federal law to continue its operations.

Arguably the most important and publicized issue in negotiations was the division of the $9 billion in revenue the NFL makes annually. According to ESPN.com, owners automatically take $1 billion of revenue for team expenses. Under the old CBA, the players would get 59.6% of the remaining revenue. However, owners felt that they were entitled to take another $1 billion from the mix, which did not bode well with the union.

The NFL labor impasse has not gone unnoticed at ‘Iolani.

“The NFL doesn’t have the right to the $1 billion,” said Trey Takara ’13, a Chicago Bears fan. “But it doesn’t matter because [the players] have no union. Maybe it’ll take one year without a season to get everyone to realize the job that the union does.”

“I don’t think it’s right what the NFL is doing,” Takara said. “The league is a big economic booster for the country and they are risking going a year without it over–if you really look at it–an amount which is relatively small.”

“I am greatly disappointed as I feel that it is in the best interest of the NFL’s owners and players to have settled this issue by now,” said Reece Matsumoto ‘13, a Green Bay Packers fan. “They are losing millions in revenue and fans nationwide.

“It’s disappointing from a fan’s perspective to see such a mess,” Matsumoto said. “[The NFL players and owners] have pretty much neglected the millions of NFL fans who are entirely responsible for making the league so exorbitantly wealthy.”

Every Sunday, 60,000-pluscapacity stadiums are filled and television ratings for games are higher than ever before. At the end of the day, millionaires are feuding with billionaires over money that many of us will not even come close to earning.