Taipei American School | 800 Zhongshan N. Rd., Section 6, Taipei, Taiwan | blueandgoldonline.org | VOLUME XXXI, ISS. 01 | December 12, 2024 NEWS
A Dance of Dreams and Sacrifice: The Little Mermaid Production PAGE 3
OPINIONS
VERDICT
PAGE 10
PAGE 15
Impact of AI Usage on TAS Students
“Chromakopia” Review
A week in Philly: the fall journalism convention By Eric Fang (‘28)
ILLUSTRATION BY ALIANA T. (‘25)
Taipei American School (TAS) students and staff members from the Honors Journalism: Yearbook and the Honors Journalism: The Blue & Gold classes embarked on an unforgettable journey to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this November, joining more than 4,000 other students across eight countries for the Fall 2024 JEA/NSPA High School Journalism Convention. Delegates learned about the media, reporting and writing over the span of four days. The convention, which was held from Nov. 7-10, began with a morning of convention-led media tours. Students and advisors visited local landmarks such as the National Constitution Center, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and had the opportunity to listen in on an editorial board meeting of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The opening ceremony in the evening focused on keynote speaker Matthew O. Henderson, a film director specializing in documentaries and storytelling. The convention offered a number of hour-long workshops led by advisors from different schools and professionals from various journalistic fields. “Visual Storytelling,” “Turning Strong Writing into Strong Journalism,” and “Mastering Social Media for Yearbooks” were just some of the 200-plus courses offered at the convention. “I learned a lot about how to construct a compelling story, hook the audience, and write a satisfying conclusion,” Anden C. (‘27) said, a yearbook staff member and attendee of the convention. The trip also gave students the opportunity to explore the city and its rich history. During their downtime, students visited the Liberty Bell, the Franklin Institute of Science and tasted local delicacies such as cheesesteaks and soft pretzels, making the experience just as educational and memorable even outside of the convention halls. “It wasn’t just the convention itself,” Visual Arts teacher and Yearbook advisor, Ms. Michelle Kao said. “It was being in a city like Philadelphia, knowing that there’s great museums to experience that Taiwan doesn’t have.” The group’s return to Taipei on Nov. 12 marked the end of a weeklong experience packed with learning and exploring. “The Philadelphia Journalism Convention taught me a lot,” said Aslan K. (‘26), co-editor in chief of the yearbook publication. “It gave me new perspectives on this industry and showed me what it takes to adapt and stay relevant in today’s media world.”
Typhoon Krathon: second biggest typhoon in Taiwan’s history By Austin Wang (‘28) Zackary M. (‘28) was walking near school on a Friday afternoon. From the school gates, he saw a row of massive plant pots fallen to the ground like dominoes, and just a few hundred meters away from him, a fallen tree. This is Typhoon Krathon. Typhoon Krathon was the second biggest typhoon to ever impact Taiwan, packing maximum sustained winds of 126 miles per hour (MPH) or 162 kilometers per hour (KPH) and gusts of 209 MPH or 336 KPH winds. Typhoons typically impact the
mountainous east coasts of Taiwan, but Typhoon Krathon hit the west coast of Taiwan this year, which led to social media referring to it as a “weird” Typhoon. Despite having been weakened after coming on land, this typhoon was certainly one to be reckoned with, causing at least two deaths and 667 injuries in total. Schools and government offices throughout Taiwan were declared closed on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3. “Winds were constantly banging against my window and rain was pouring for nearly the entire day,” said Zackary. The damages were severe, with 11,362 people evacuated and 40,000 soldiers
mobilized for rescue efforts in Taiwan. At least 250 international flights and all domestic flights were canceled during the typhoon. The damages led to 436,634 houses losing electricity and 404,673 houses losing access to water. Taiwan lost 498.6 million New Taiwan Dollars (NTD) in agricultural damages and caused record breaking rainfalls in areas such as Lijialin and Dananshan. Areas that suffered the highest amounts of agricultural damage include Kaohsiung City at 238.6 million NTD and Pingtung country at 88.9 million NTD. Taiwan has made a recovery from Typhoon
Krathon, with daily operations returning to normal on Oct. 4. Flight operations have resumed at major ports and local authorities are assessing damage to infrastructure and providing assistance to areas with major flooding. The president of Taiwan, Lai Chingte, stated in a Facebook post on Oct. 3: “I express my gratitude to the military personnel for their hard work and dedication. Together, we will quickly restore our homes.” Taiwan has made a full recovery from the Typhoon Krathon since then. And like Zackary, may we all hope that we don’t see another disaster like this strike Taiwan again.