The Bolt (September 2015)

The September 2015 lightningboltonline.com

BOLT

20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657 www.issuu.com/shsbolt @theboltonline

Volume 16, Issue 2 www.facebook.com/sagehillschool

Konnie Krislock

Universal message. Chris Disimile’s United States History class including (front row) Christina Acevedo, Henry Ficcadenti, Jafeth Orozco, (middle row) Bren O’Hill, Connor Jones, Abby McGuire, (back row) Paige Okey, Brett Jordan, Jack Dickinson, and Emma Ruck displays posters that reflect on the universal messages of Dreams in a Time of War.

A Dreamy Presentation Noted Author to Present at All-School Assembly Tomorrow By Kristin Saroyan

16saroyank.publications@gmail.com History students on campus know the story of Ngugi Wa Thiong’o well from their required reading and extensive class discussions, but every member of our community will come to know Thiong’o and his inspirational message during the assembly tomorrow which starts at 10:50 a.m. in the Peter V. Ueberroth Gymnasium. “I think it is always better to see an individual live to be able to interact on a more personal level with his or her ideas,” history teacher Frank Gonzales said. “Individuals can potentially give more well-rounded responses to questions you might not have until you’re actually

standing face to face with them and able to think of some interesting perspectives that do not necessarily come up just looking at a piece of paper.” A distinguished novelist and playwright, Thiong’o has taught at Yale University, New York University, Amherst College and currently holds a position as a Distinguished Professor of the Departments of Comparative Literature and English at the University of California, Irvine. He wrote the Sage Hill School Book in Common, Dreams in a Time of War, a memoir about his childhood in Kenya and the independence movement of the 1950s and 1960s. “I think it’s important to read Thiong’o’s story because his life is so different from our life here,” senior Natalie

Moshayedi said. “He offers a new mindset toward approaching life and studies despite living in a difficult time of war in his country.” “I think it’s important for students to read Dreams in a Time of War because Kenya is a poorly understood part of the world,” Gonzales said. “The more students know about a lot of different regions in Africa, the better they will be able to understand some of the challenges that the continent faces. You have to understand a problem before you can hope to do anything to help.“ Dreams in a Time of War emphasizes the values of storytelling, keeping your family close and taking advantage of your access to education. “I think it is possible to be very

disheartened by a lot of news. Now the refugee crisis is going on throughout the Middle East and Europe at this point. It is easy to focus on all the negative that is happening, but I think one of the great things about Dreams is that it also focuses on a lot of positive,” Gonzales said. “It is about hope as much as it is about the problems that were going on in Kenya in the past and the present. It is very important for people to look at not just everything that’s going bad but also what’s going right.” “I am really excited for Thiong’o’s presentation,” Moshayedi said. “I want to hear more about his perceptions and mindsets during his childhood that aren’t explained in the novel.”