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A Convenient Misremembrance: Hong Kong’s Colonial Legacy
By Mandy Hui
A Convenient Misremembrance: Hong Kong’s Colonial Legacy
Editor’s Note: This paper was completed as a part of the History Research Fellowship, a one-semester course available to sixth form students.
Is Hong Kong a part of China? The answer to that question depends upon whom you ask.
In 1842, Britain occupied the small island of Hong Kong. The colonial empire maintained political control for a century and a half, eventually returning the city to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1997. During the transfer of power, the PRC declared Hong Kong a special administrative region. This unique status permitted the city to operate separate legal and economic systems from those in mainland China, a principle embodied in the slogan “one country, two systems.” The Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping developed this idea during the 1980s in anticipation of Hong Kong’s reunification with China. The concept not only preserved Hong Kong’s capitalist system, it also granted the city a high-degree of autonomy until 2047. The agreement promised Hong Kong residents freedoms of speech, press, and assembly, all of which are not guaranteed in the mainland.
In recent years, many Hong Kong residents have prided themselves on their city’s civil liberties, in distinction from the more strict rule on the mainland. However, China began gradually limiting Hong Kong’s freedoms in many different ways, such as abducting Hong Kongers who sold books criticizing the PRC in the early 2010s. China’s repeated threats to strip Hong Kong of its autonomy have been met with mass demonstrations; thousands of pro-democracy residents rallied in the streets of Hong Kong, protesting the PRC’s infringement on the “one country, two systems” policy it had promised to retain for 50 years.
Growing up in Hong Kong, I witnessed protestors block familiar roads and businesses to force China’s authoritarian government to concede in its attempts to end Hong Kong’s democratic system. I have seen thousands symbolically use umbrellas and black clothing as a cry for freedom and democracy. For most of my life, my friends and I were too young to formulate our own informed opinions regarding these protests, but the events of 2019 and 2020 changed my perspective on what was unfolding before me.
In the midst of the 2019 protests, I had a conversation over lunch with one of my close friends about Hong Kong’s political crisis. I was conscious of my friend’s impassioned beliefs on the matter. Due to the topic’s sensitive nature, we decided to eat at a “yellow restaurant,” a title given to restaurants owned by pro-democracy supporters. I asked her about her thoughts. She described tension among her family members about China’s restrictions. She wanted to take part in the pro-democracy protests, however, her parents threatened to disown her if she associated herself with the demonstrators. At the end of her soliloquy, she let out a sigh and muttered, “I wish Hong Kong was a British colony again.”
This wasn’t the first time I’d heard pro-democracy supporters reminisce about the city’s colonial era. The week before, thousands of demonstrators gathered to sing the British national anthem, “God Save the Queen,” and hundreds waved Union Jacks as a sign of resistance against the PRC. I was confused. Why do many Hong Kong citizens look favorably on British colonial rule but bravely resist PRC’s control? How can the British Union Jack, the flag of Hong Kong’s former colonizer, be used as a symbol of democracy?
(more…)Landmark Redistricting Cases in the Supreme Court and their Influence on U.S. Electoral Equality
By Steven Yang
Landmark Redistricting Cases in the Supreme Court and their Influence on U.S. Electoral Equality
Editor’s Note: This paper was completed as a part of the History Research Fellowship, a one-semester course available to sixth form students.
Student-Submitted Note: This paper was completed as part of the VI Form History Fellowship class, and focuses on the history of the Supreme Court’s involvement in redistricting, the process by which areas are broken up into political districts for each representative to serve. It starts with a summary of the parts of the Constitution pertinent to understand the topic, then chronologically understands the history of redistricting in the context of Supreme Court cases.
The Constitution of the United States begins with “We the People,” a famous phrase expressing the democratic principles of equality and power derived from the people; yet, there lies a dissonance between these principles and contemporary American politics, particularly within elections. Electoral laws can greatly influence results; controversial practices like strict voter ID laws and eliminating the ability to vote early or use mail-in ballots can lower voter turnout and heavily sway elections. One of the most egregious examples of these democratic principles, however, is called gerrymandering. Because state legislatures are tasked by the Constitution to draw districts elected officials represent, politicians can “entrench” themselves in office by drawing maps favorable to them. The process of drawing these districts on a decennial basis is known as redistricting, and redistricting that is aimed to benefit a certain group of people is called gerrymandering. While the most common form of modern gerrymandering is partisan gerrymandering, where politicians draw maps to benefit their party, other types of gerrymandering like racial gerrymandering have occurred in the past.3 At its worst, gerrymandering can be the equivalent of rigging elections. An antithesis to the core democratic principles the United States was built upon, gerrymandering is a flagrant violation of democracy so widespread that it has become synonymous with American life.
Legal challenges to unfair redistricting began in the 1940s, and redistricting has been a routine issue for the court to address up to the modern day. Many cases escalated to the Supreme Court, whose rulings on redistricting can have momentous effects. Early cases through the 1960s largely focused on malapportionment, a form of unfair redistricting where some voter’s voices are diluted because they live in political districts that were much larger in population than others. The court was generally willing to impose more requirements of redistricted maps to ensure equality, like mandating political districts must be roughly the same population. The 1980s to 2000s saw the court rule on other types of unfair redistricting, notably racial and partisan gerrymandering. However, when encountering questions of partisan gerrymandering, partisan bias of the court became increasingly evident. Combined with increased political polarization, the makeup of the consistently conservative courts during at the turn of the 21st century quickly became overwhelmingly partisan, favoring the Republicans who appointed justices in their roles. This represented a drastic departure from precedent and from democratic values as a whole. The court’s decisions are monumental, and by essentially deregulating partisan gerrymandering in recent cases, gerrymandering has become even more widespread than before.
This paper explores the history of redistricting and gerrymandering chronologically, starting with clauses and amendments within the U.S. Constitution that are vital to understanding the abundant litigation that occurred later. Next, it examines the United States’ approach to solving the issue of apportionment; a closely related issue to redistricting that determines how many Congressional representatives each state receives. Finally, the history of apportionment is contrasted with redistricting, answering the question: why can’t a similar solution be found for redistricting?
(more…)Joseph Stalin’s Purge of the Soviet Military and Its Subsequent Consequences
By Ewan Leslie, VI Form
Joseph Stalin’s Purge of the Soviet Military and Its Subsequent Consequences
In November, 1935, the five Marshals of the Soviet Union, the highest military rank in the Red Army, posed for a photograph.2 These marshals made up a diverse group of military leadership. On the far left, 42 year old Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevksy was a young, innovative officer who was proposing groundbreaking military tactics.3 Next to him, Marshals Semyon Budyonny and Kliment Voroshilov were steady, veteran leaders who served in the Russian Civil War almost two decades earlier. On the far right, Marshals Vasily Blyukher and Alexander Yegorov served important positions within the Red Army hierarchy, mainly concerning the running of the Red Army apparatus and its various military fronts.4 With these five Marshals anchoring the Red Army leadership, the future of the Red Army and the Soviet Union seemed promising. However, Joseph Stalin, the dictatorial General Secretary of the Soviet Union, would disrupt this situation by instituting a series of purges that led to the executions of Marshals Tukhachevsky, Blyukher, and Yegorov, damaging the Red Army’s capabilities for years to come.
In February 1937, Stalin spoke to key government and military officials in a plenum of the Central Committee.5In his speech, Stalin addressed the impending danger to the Soviet Union posed by numerous counter-revolutionary groups who had supposedly infiltrated the Red Army. The rise of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in Europe had led to Soviet fears of fascists in the Red Army. Domestically, Stalin warned of the rise of a new and dangerous “fifth column,” a group made up of anyone who dared to oppose Stalin’s iron grip on power.6 Specifically, Stalin feared that his historic rival, Leon Trotsky, had gained substantial influence amongst both Soviet politicians and Red Army officers, and that now he threatened Stalin’s power. To combat this perceived threat (and to assuage his growing paranoia), Stalin advocated for and implemented a series of purges against various sectors of Soviet society, including the Red Army, trying to eliminate any potential threats to his regime. These purges are known collectively as the “Great Purge” and the “Great Terror,” and they led to the disgracement of over 25,000 Red Army officers, many of whom were executed or sent to the infamous Soviet Gulag work camps.7 The Great Purge also claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Soviet civilians who were deemed “counterrevolutionary”.
(more…)Ely Speech by Yunxuan (Coco) Chen, IV Form, Eli Prize Winner (20-21 School Year)
The Ely Prize is presented to the student who gave the best speech in the III Form Global Seminar Public Speaking Competition each spring.
Weaving My Past to Grow My Present: VI Form Lion Term Letter to V Formers
By Thomas Scaringella, VI Form
Weaving My Past to Grow My Present: VI Form Lion Term Letter to V Formers
Dear Fifth Form Peers,
First, congratulations on your newly earned title as, Rising 6thFormers! It is a huge accomplishment with many prospects. 
Seek out all the opportunities you can. Although unrecognizable now, from this day until the end of next year, every experience is going to culminate together and lead you down paths to be explored. Lion Term was one example of this for me.
Since I was little, a fascination of formulas and numbers consumed my inner self. Immersed in the sports section of the Boston Globe invoked motivation, aspiration, and infatuation. The stats were the most intriguing. Someday, I imagined, I would be like Tom Brady or Big Papi. Or not. There were no unexpected wins for me generating global crazes. However, my love of statistics and teamwork did drive me to the role of an athletic team manager multiple times since 7thgrade. Fast forward, ironically, I had a similar encounter with real estate; the area of focus for my Lion Term project.
Over a year ago, our family was inquiring about real estate in Southern Florida. Initially, the thought was dull. My head was into college visits, a summer job, and seeking out summer activities in the north. Driving around with my family to visit new, humid terrain was not ideal until I sucked it up and forced myself to get engaged. Quickly, I began performing my own research and evaluating stats. Grabbing real estate booklets, snatching the Sunday real estate section of the New York Times, and studying online searches became a pastime. Reviewing home days on market (DOM), analyzing price per square foot, identifying % of increase or decrease in previous selling price, comparing tax assessments and homeowners association fees among various communities, and grasping how much time realtors put into a sale (and at what cost) were among some of my interests. As such, selecting an assignment for Lion Term was a “cushy number.” Fortunately, I established a good relationship with the Florida agents, and they took note of my analysis and enthusiasm. After acquainting the Sister Listers Delray Beach Lang Realty team of Lion Term, they graciously extended an offer to work with Nolan Moore and me. (more…)
American Sign Language to “Youth” by Troye Sivan
By Sarah Bechard, III Form
American Sign Language to “Youth” by Troye Sivan
Editor’s Note: In the St. Mark’s Saturdays’ course “American Sign Language,” the students found resources and learned the signs to perform one whole song in ASL. The goals of the assignment were to learn ASL vocabulary, understand how to sign songs, understand ASL word order, and practice sign fluency. The subtitles reflect ASL word choice and grammar, rather than spoken English grammar.
PLEASE CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW VIDEO
Burgeoning Singer-Songwriter with Two Original Songs
By Caitlin Lochhead, VI Form
Burgeoning Singer-Songwriter with Two Original Songs
Utilizing the Class of ’68 Fifth Form Fellowship, over the summer Cait took songwriting lessons at Encore Music Academy in Millis, MA and recorded two original songs at Encore in Franklin. She wrote both songs: “Now We’re Done” unassisted and “Young” with the help of Brian Dollaway, a former guitar teacher of hers with whom she took songwriting lessons.
Click on the songs to listen!
Casual Bike Rental Volume Prediction via Artificial Neural Network
By Jenny Shan, VI Form
Casual Bike Rental Volume Prediction via Artificial Neural Network
Abstract
Click Here To View Poster
Aim: This study aimed to build a predictive model for casual bike rental volume using artificial neural network and compare its performance with traditional regression method, linear regression.
Method: The data set under study is related to 2-year usage log of a bike sharing system namely Capital Bike Sharing (CBS) at Washington, D.C., USA. There were some external sources that corresponding historical environmental values such as weather conditions, weekday and holidays are extractable. All the records were randomly assigned into 2 groups: training sample (50%) and testing sample (50%). Two models were built using training sample: artificial neural network and linear regression. For artificial neural network, the input layer has 11 inputs, the two hidden layers have 3 and 2 neurons and the output layer has a single output. Mean squared errors (MSE) were calculated and compared between both models. A cross-validation was conducted using a loop for the neural network and the cv.glm() function in the boot package for the linear model. A package called “neuralnet” in R was used to conduct neural network analysis.
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