The Unfair Four

Posted on January 8, 2016 by admin

There seem to be certain issues that get pushed aside by the media and most of the world because they are deemed to be not as important as everything we do see on the news, however, they are very important to me. This is all in regards to the unjust treatment of non-humans. While I have chosen only four items to speak about, it is important to keep in mind that there are so many more which need attention as well.

Firstly, there is the issue of shark fin soup. Shark fin soup is a delicacy in China and a few other Asian countries, made by using the fins of sharks. An estimated 100 million sharks are killed per year for shark fin soup, and, in reality, the fins actually don’t add any flavour to the soup, but considering that a bowl costs upwards of $100, it is a huge money making industry that has no plan in stopping anytime soon. Unfortunately, for the longest time sharks were the face of beasts and killers, which makes it harder to get people to agree to save them. But considering the ratio of 100 million sharks we kill vs. the less than one human that they kill per year, I’d say it’s time for their image to change.

Secondly, there is the issue of palm oil. Big producers of palm oil destroy rainforests and the natural habitats of animals like elephants, orangutans, tigers, and rhinos. Not only does it destroy their homes but it can also seriously injure them since one of the methods used to gather palm oil is by burning the trees. In fact, one of the top producers of modified palm oil is the brand Nutella. However, palm oil isn’t only found in food but also in products like creams, soaps, shampoo, and many others. So, in the future, check the list of ingredients of a product and if you read “Modified Palm Oil”, take a moment to consider whether it’s really worth it.

Thirdly, I’m sure that nearly everybody has been to a zoo before, and maybe even got the chance to pet a lion or a tiger, either an adult or perhaps a cub. However, most people aren’t aware that those poor animals were actually drugged. Sometimes to make them fully unconscious, but most of the time just to make them a little bit calmer than they should be, because to the zoo workers the only well-being that matters is that of the people who are paying. Also, most zoos really don’t care about their animals since an animal like a polar bear, that should be living in the snow at negative temperatures, is currently living in San Diego, baking in the sun.

Finally, I think that most people have heard of the controversy at SeaWorld. Recently, ex-SeaWorld trainers began speaking out about what really happens within the walls once the spectators leave. Orcas are actually very similar to humans in the way that their brains function and that their bodies and health need to be maintained. Long story short, the whales were being kept in dirty, small enclosures, which damaged their bodies and even drove some to the point of insanity where they would try, and sometimes succeed, to commit suicide by ramming themselves into the metal walls. Females are forced to breed, only to have their babies taken away from them right after birth and moved to another park thousands of miles away. In the wild, Orcas usually live until about 50 or 60 years old, when they usually die of old age. In captivity, orcas very rarely make it past their teens, and none have ever died of old age. This past week, an 18 year old female orca named Unna died at SeaWorld San Antonio after “contracting a harmful strain of fungus”, which was due to poor living conditions. Campaigns like #emptythetanks and #thanksbutnotanks have been popping up all over the place, and you can do your part by taking part in the movement, and also by informing yourself more by watching BlackFish, which was the first push made by ex-trainers when they began speaking out, and it is really an amazing film. Also, try to inform others and make sure that they don’t buy a ticket.

There are a few people or small organizations that inspired me the most to make changes in my everyday life to help these beings. The one that influenced me the most is Keiko Conservation. Their main goal is to spread awareness, and they are so inspiring to me because they are three young girls from different places in the world who are actually making a huge difference and shining light on so many things most people don’t even know are happening. Black Jaguar White Tiger is a sanctuary in Mexico where they take in felines from zoos and circuses that have been mistreated. Third is Shark Addicts, from Jupiter Florida, and they go down into the ocean everyday to take hooks out of the mouths of sharks that people tried to fish. I love what they do because they have really helped changed the image of sharks to a species that desperately needs our protection.

On top of the ones that I mentioned, there is so much more that occurs everyday regarding beings other than humans that we could try to help end. Sadly, it would be nearly impossible for a small group of people who care to stop the Japanese dolphin slaughter or save rhinos from poachers, but we can all start with small things, like throwing your trash out so that it doesn’t end up in the ocean, or simply by cutting down your meat intake. Another great thing to do is to check out change.org, where you can subscribe to them to get updates not only about animals but about plenty of occurrences around the world that aren’t featured in the media, and that with your signature you can help end.

Thanks for reading! I hope that I have brought awareness to these important issues and that you can help me and the thousands of other people in speaking for those without a voice. – Alyssa Obrand ’16

Design and Innovation: Demo Day Outing

Posted on December 10, 2015 by admin

Last week, on Wednesday, December 2, three of us had the opportunity to attend the InnoCité MTL and Founder’s Fuel Demo Day event at the beautiful Olympia Theatre on Ste. Catherine Street.There we watched a dozen or so pitches from local start-ups who were either working toward making Montreal a more “intelligent” city or strengthening the community. The products being presented ranged from ground-breaking earthquake sensors and an app to help you find parking to easy-to-use portals for citizens to communicate with their local governments and a 21st century tutoring over text service. The projects were all fascinating and extremely creative, yet also very well thought-out and thoroughly developed!

Now, you might be wondering what on earth three LCC students could possible gain from an experience such as this! We are all participating in LCC’s Design and Innovation Challenge, which is a co-curricular that students can apply to be part of in the fall. Then, over the course of the school year, the students have to invent something, and design it, build it, develop it–whatever it–to present to a panel at the end of May. This invention could be anything: a product, a service, an app, a proof of concept… the possibilities are endless! The point of the project is to learn about the process of designing something from start to finish, including keeping decent documentation, collaborating with mentors, and working in facilities such as LCC’s new Fab Lab, as well as self-growth and independent learning. To give you an idea, some inventions between the five of us in the group include a mirror that compliments like a human would, an app to take you to the nearest safe location no matter where you are, an interactive 3D surface and a hairbrush that removes static. Quite the variety!

Back to the Demo Day, the three of us got a chance to witness genuine start-ups who had to start from scratch, like we were doing, in order to build a product that would interest the general public. We learned about the kind of risks involved with starting start-ups, as well as some challenges when trying to get your feet off the ground as an organization with extremely limited funding. It takes true passion, dedication and grit to do so, but judging by the excitement in each of the presenters’ voices, it was all well worth it!

For those who are interested, here are the start-ups that participated:
Innocité MTL:
DASBOX – dasbox.io
prkng – prk.ng
Sensequake – sensequake.com
UBIOS – ubios.co
Digitalstate – digitalstate.ca

FounderFuel
OneSet – oneset.co
GradeSlam – gradeslam.org
zora – zora.io
PACTA – pacta.io
SpherePlay – sphereplay.com
periodic – periodic.is
WARDEN – delvelabs.ca

Ultimately, we learned a lot from our experience and were inspired by what the start-ups had to offer. We can’t wait to apply it to our projects in the months to come. Stay tuned!

– Adam Vandenbussche ’17, Abby Shine ’17 and Amy Qin ’16

COP21

Posted on November 27, 2015 by admin

I was driving along highway 401 on the recent mid-term weekend. At Ingleside, Ontario we passed a large solar panel farm on the south side of the road. It’s an impressive facility that is situated on previously underused land, close to the Ontario Hydro power grid. It opened last spring and covers 100 acres. Forty-three thousand solar panels cover the land and provide enough electricity to power 1,800 homes (16.8 gigawats/hour). The private company is now looking for other similar opportunities in Ontario.

I was impressed by this facility. A quick look online also revealed that much larger solar parks are becoming quite prevalent across the world, especially in sunnier climates.

The largest are in California’s deserts. Whereas the solar farm I saw near the 401 had 43,000 panels on 100 acres of land, the largest solar farms in California are mammoth – with 1.7 million solar panels over 13 square kilometers. Impressively, a single such facility powers close to 150-thousand homes. Other parks use large mirrors that generate heat – another innovation that channels abundant natural energy available from the sun.

Solar parks of this size are also now emerging in India, Pakistan, China, along with smaller but significant projects across Europe.

So on the eve of the global UN environment conference in Paris – COP 21 – I think we should all investigate the growing application of renewable energy – solar, wind and other natural initiatives such as wave power. They are now becoming significant elements of countries’ national energy infrastructures and priorities. Let’s hope that innovation will continue to present new alternatives and help us to meaningfully diminish our dependence on fossil fuels. – Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Après Paris – Part 2

Posted on November 27, 2015 by admin

In the week following the terrorist attacks in Paris, it was important to learn that every single attacker was born in Europe. Not one was from Syria, Iraq, or elsewhere in Middle East. The implications are quite significant. It says a great deal about the frustration of marginalized youth in Europe. Notably, not one of the terrorists involved was an observant Muslim, so the seeds of radicalism are less about being part of a marginal religious sect as they are about failed integration of immigrant communities into life in western cities.

It turns out that the Paris attackers all hailed from a few struggling neighbourhoods – mostly from a place on the outskirts of Brussels called Molenbeek. The leader and the four others from Molenbeek had common elements: all European, they experienced issues at school, drug abuse, and petty criminal activity.

Globe & Mail journalist Doug Saunders wrote a powerful piece in last weekend’s edition that shifts the dialogue away from ISIS and religious Jihadists to immigrants & failed integration (see: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/saunders-avert-extremism-before-it-start-by-building-betterneighbourhoods/article27403775/ ).

Canada, the USA, and European nations really need immigrants to secure our economic futures (Canada admits about 300,000 people a year). So, a key question is how can Canada and other nations do a better job of building better and more welcoming communities, especially for those dominated by newcomers?

Experts tell us there are good examples of how best to welcome immigrants, educate immigrant children for success, create positive social dynamics, and provide meaningful economic opportunities for creative and motivated newcomers.

Mr. Saunders has been part of a major study for the World Bank on a shift on development thinking related to migration. The researchers kept arriving at one major conclusion: immigration works best when “cities and countries prepare the ground in advance by making small investments and institutional changes that give new immigrants precious footholds, rather than waiting for failures to occur and trying to correct them with big, expensive interventions.”

I hope that in coming days Canadians will welcome newcomers in ways that will truly allow them to build strong and lasting footholds. – Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Humility First

Posted on November 4, 2015 by admin

The past week has been a very good one for LCC Athletics. Congratulations to the Juvenile Girls Soccer and Bantam Boys Soccer teams who won the championships in their respective GMAA soccer leagues. My congratulations as well to all other teams during our fall athletics season – and to all coaches for their significant support and guidance of our scholar athletes. Some of the most memorable experiences in athletics this fall may have come from students who were not on championship teams; there was surely a lot learned in a wide array of experiences – in living them and reflecting on them.

This brings me to sport at the international level and lessons learned from a titanic match played last Saturday in the final of the World Cup of Rugby that occurs only once every 4 years. For those who are not big rugby fans, it is worth noting that rugby has a wide global audience in both the northern and southern hemispheres. In fact, the World Championship tournament, hosted this year in the UK, is the world’s third largest sporting event after the World Cup of Soccer and the summer Olympics. It runs for weeks, culminating this past weekend with a TV audience of more than 120 million.

On Saturday, New Zealand and Australia met in the World Cup final match for the first time, despite their excellent reputations and deep rugby traditions. New Zealand was the defending champion from four years ago, so the team was also vying to be the first country to win back-to-back world championships – a very tall order indeed.

Going into the game, both teams were undefeated with spotless records in the tournament. So with millions of fans watching, a lot was on the line – and a lot of pressure was on the shoulders of those professional athletes and their coaches.

The match itself did not disappoint. Played at Twickenham stadium in London in front of 85,000 fans, it was a very impressive display of skill and competition at the highest level. The New Zealand All-Blacks emerged triumphant after a very memorable hard-fought game played by what were clearly the two best teams in the world today.

Interestingly, I believe there is something special to be learned from this tournament and the New Zealand All-Blacks in particular. It has to do with something fundamental that I believe has been lost among many professional athletes in Canada, the United States, Europe and South America. That something is humility with a strong focus on sportsmanship and genuine respect for one’s opponent.

In our culture of athletic trash talk and media denunciation of peers by some professional athletes, it’s often unfortunate that certain players are role models – and too often the behavior and attitude drops down to youth sport, which in my view, is a true disappointment and at times a travesty.

New Zealand has always embraced rugby as its national game and a great way to build friendships and community. Most children in that small country of only 4.5 million people play the sport, starting with organized touch leagues for 4-year- olds and they progress from there. At every level there is a strong emphasis on sportsmanship, and it’s only been about 25 years since the men on the national team have been paid professionals. Until then, farmers, mechanics, teachers, office workers and others would rise to the national level and would have to take holiday time from their full-time jobs to experience the distinct honour of representing their country at the international level. But once an All-Black, always an all-Black, and men would take that mark of distinction to their graves. Whole communities were proud to have an All-Black in their midst, even under a gravestone.

So after more than two decades of professional rugby, where even the All Blacks played their sport full time as professionals, in came coach Steve Hansen in 2012. He took issue with the verbal snipes and jibes that our media culture helps to make the norm in professional sport and he set out to change it. And change it he has done, embracing what can only be called “old-school values.”

Despite the strength and dominance of the All-Blacks, Hansen emphasizes respect for the effort and contribution of all players in a match to do their best – on both teams. So Hansen decided to do something radical in professional sport: At the end of every international match the All-Blacks invite their opponent into their dressing room as a sign of respect and camaraderie. That’s exactly what happened at the World Cup matches in the UK and the effect has been notable and positive.

Team results remain hugely important, but Hansen didn’t want them to be the sole mechanism by which his team is judged. Nearly as important is the manner in which his players conduct themselves on and off the field.

Hansen has ben quoted as saying “we acknowledge we have played another group of men who have tried to do what we have done. So we say, ‘would you guys like to come into our changing room?’ They are all ordinary guys and they make lifelong friendships.”

Players from Namibia and Georgia were blown away to be invited into the All Blacks’ changing room after their matches in the World Cup. Their players queued for the opportunity to be pictured with the All-Black veteran star players and didn’t want to leave. They arrived with jerseys to hopefully swap and cell phones poised for personal keepsake photos. They expected ferocity on the field and had no idea they would encounter such warmth and camaraderie off of it. It was a massive gesture by the All Blacks – as few champion teams would extend that sort of invitation and engage for so long and readily with any opponent

In our hyper competitive culture of athletics and media presence, there is much we can learn from that small nation in the pacific. What’s the core learning? In essence, humility, respect and community always trump greed, arrogance and trash talk.

I have asked our high school students to give this some thought as they begin their next athletic season, in their dealings with friends, debating opponents or colleagues at Model UN’s or other activities. Competition is healthy, but respect and collaboration trumps undermining one’s opponents. We all need to think about that in practice! – Christopher Shannon, Headmaster