Category: Uncategorized

“You Don’t Understand”: Reflections on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooti

On February 14th, 2018 in Parkland, Florida Nikolas Cruz brought an AR-15 assault rifle to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and killed seventeen people. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who has accepted $3.3 million dollars in donations from the National Rifle Association (NRA), offered his constituents “thoughts and prayers” in wake of the shooting.

As an American student, this copy-paste response to tragedy struck me as insensitive, because our representatives truly do not understand.

None of our representatives know what it’s like to be in first grade in Orlando: You’re turning in your homework packets you did while watching Arthur on TV and you hear the announcement: “Lockdown in effect”. Your teacher stays composed as she tells you to shuffle into the corners and away from the windows – under the desks where they can’t see you. She closes the curtains, locks the doors, and turns off the lights. You’re still a little afraid of the dark. Sometimes, at home, when the hallways are dark and the light switch is far away, you call out to your mom until you reach it; a periodic reassurance that you’re safe, you’re safe, you’re safe. With your younger sibling, who can only count to seventeen: you do it in your head while they speak aloud. You shush them – it’ll be fine. But mom is forty five minutes away working. So when the custodian comes to check whether the door is locked or not and shakes the handle so hard you can hear the door hit the metal frame, you struggle to keep quiet. You’re an obedient child; you love to follow rules. You like pleasing the teacher and your peers and your parents. Now, when you have to pretend not to exist as the looming figure’s shadow covers the curtain on the door window, you can’t count to seventeen until it’s over, you can’t call your mom. You can’t make a sound. They will find you.

In first grade you’re scared. In fifth grade you’re a little scared too, because last summer your school had a little break-in. Nothing to worry about, they tell you. But suddenly you become more aware of the metal detectors at the entrance and the teachers standing by the front door making rapid eye contact and greeting you good morning as you come in, checking if you belong here; if you’re armed, if we’re safe. You remember, in third grade, when you of all people – who would rather do reading corner than play during recess, who spent free time drafting a first novel (it was awful) – went to the principal’s office for having your fingers shaped like guns and pointing them at the lunch table. “Were you serious?,” they ask, “Did you want to hurt people?” No, of course not. The teacher who found you – she never knew, let alone taught you – would struggle to make eye contact for a long time. You always felt uncomfortable around the principal. Did she still think about it? How hard did I have to work to prove that I was not a school shooter?

You remember wanting to bring your cool Swiss Army knife to school. You and your neighbors used it when you made arrows and bows and wands that summer when trying to film a Lord of the Rings knock off. You were the only girl, so you played all of the girl roles in your ruffled skirt and magenta blouse set – the coolest outfit in your closet after your fuzzy purple hoodie. Your dad says you shouldn’t take it. He hesitates when he says, “Maybe this won’t be the most appropriate thing for show-and-tell.” It is an entire toolkit smaller than your palm. Without him making the link you realize – it is also a weapon. You’re brown already, you can’t be dangerous on top of that. You can’t remember what you brought to show-and-tell.

It’s scary in ninth grade, when after three years of being away from the States you forget what the sound of a door hitting the metal frame sounds like. It’s just Kevin. It’s just Kevin. He and Mr. Cross were joking together yesterday at lunch. It might be Kevin. You can’t see through the frosted glass. It’s over soon enough.

You remember Sandy Hook, almost two years ago. You weren’t home – in America – for it but you remember Obama crying, and kids your baby cousin’s age, being murdered. You’ve grown up in a post-Columbine world, where it feels like there is a shooting every month – if not more. We’ve had eight this year. It’s not scary in tenth grade or eleventh grade nor in senior year.

By the time you’re nineteen and in college a continent away, you’ve heard about more shootings than you can count or remember off the top of your head. You’re eating breakfast and drinking coffee in your monkey-patterned pajamas while listening to National Public Radio on your phone. You’re giving unfair commentary to Steve Inskeep when he relays that the insensitive “thoughts and prayers” is being spewed at survivors by politicians instead of the promise of change and solutions. And then they talk about how old the shooter was and how old the victims were and you think for the first time since Sandy Hook: a man has killed children; babies. This is the first time since Sandy Hook that you remember so distinctly being older than these victims.

You snap back into frustration soon enough – they play a sound clip where the President talks about mental health and fortifying mental health services to prevent these tragedies. Suddenly you’re mad. NPR, being the best, ends their segment with the fact that those with mental health issues are far more likely to be the victims rather than perpetrators of violence. This is why you and so many like you were afraid to reach out when you really needed it. Would they see you as unhinged? Or, even worse, threatening? A depressed brown girl is always more concerning than a precocious student. You cannot go back to being that little kid in the principal’s office. You have it together.

Though, now you’re an ocean away and safe and not judged, all you can think of is what that kid told Rubio. You want to shake your phone and scream it at Congress. You don’t understand.

You don’t understand that I grew up in a world where gun violence is an ever-present reality. Where we always thought, ”this could be us- this could have been us.” I don’t, and hope I never will, understand what it is like to survive a shooting. However, unlike Senator Rubio, I have grown up terrified of them.

This was my status quo: fear. Not the unfounded fear of monsters under my bed. No, the fear of being shot and killed in some fatalistic gamble.

These kids and adults were killed before they could before they could do any of the things they wanted to – lead the lives they were entitled to. And they were killed by guns. Guns are killing people. Mental illness is not the weapon – guns are. You are helping neither those suffering with mental illness nor gun violence by blaming it on this false and unfounded cause.

You are killing children by absolving guns.

This is how I grew up. This was an indelible part of my childhood – and I refuse to let my children live in fear.

Maya and her brother on the way to school

Maya Shenoy as a child

Maya Shenoy is a first year student in the Sciences Po and Columbia University dual degree based in Le Havre. She was born in Florida and raised in Delaware.

Edited by Paxia Ksatryo and Alex Kloß

The Main Hall, Where East Meets West: “Formes” by Yiming Min

Photo by Nolwenn Voléon

“Formes” the sculpture by Chinese artist Mr. Yiming Min may combine the artistic heritages of East and West, however, it profoundly divides student opinion.

Mr. Yiming Min – the Chinese visual artist behind the sculpture that was installed in the main hall on February 8th, “Formes” – has displayed some of his artwork in London and Paris, and has also worked on an architectural project in Germany. In 2004 however, he shifted towards more contemporary art, seeking to deconstruct shapes and predefined perceptions, to allow us to interpret his work more freely. Formes first arrived in France in 2014 and was exhibited in Paris. It is heavily inspired by the Louvre’s Hellenistic sculpture of Nike, “The Winged Victory of Samothrace” this time, with an Oriental twist: pagoda roof-looking tiles fused with the feathers, on which porcelain doves give a military salute. After the inauguration of the sculpture, musical performance by students Mark Ma and Ziyu Deng took place to honor our prestigious guests. Then, in the presence of Dean Florent Bonaventure, representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Paris, and the Mayor of Le Havre, Mr. Yinming Min gave a talk to the student body in Mandarin, being translated live by student Meixi Zhang. The essence of his talk was his development of a comparison between Oriental and Occidental Art.

According to Mr Min, art in the Eastern world is more figurative, less realistic, and less scientific than it is in the West. Seeking to use Western techniques, he took what he called an impressionist approach to his work. This crux of his talk came down to the following sentence: Western art emphasizes on objective perception and accurate representation, while Eastern art concerns of the “whole picture”: the atmosphere, the imagery. The artist further showcased his transition from statues to his works in landscape and architecture. Mr. Min told us how happy he was about the increase in cultural exchanges between China and the West, as he believes these dialogues are as crucial as economic exchanges. We, as students on the Euro-Asian campus also have a role to play in these increasing cultural relations, and this was reflected in the way Mr. Min addressed the student body by saying, as a conclusion to his first speech, “The world is yours and the future is yours.”

Meixi Zhang:

“I believe that as much as our campus is honored to have Mr Min’s work showcased here, the work itself is quite crude. I do not appreciate how he considers Formes as the embodiment of the convergence and proof of similarities between Eastern and Western art. The simple reference to The Winged Victory of Samothrace representing the West, and changing the wings to resemble the traditional Chinese eaves does not, in my perspective, have much value and artistry in reflecting the ideas it claims to represent. During the Q&A session, someone asked why birds were included in Formes, why there were so many, and why they were posed as if it were saluting; Mr Min let out a crisp laugh and answered that he thought it would be fun.

There was another question raised by a Chinese student from a nearby University in Le Havre. She asked in genuine concern, what direction is the Chinese art world heading towards? She continues, saying that society has become to an extent, materialistic and superficial. How can art and artists stay true to themselves? This question pins directly to the heart of Chinese art turmoil. How can art, as a form of expression, survive in its true forms in a world that has no place for personal diverging expressions? Mr. Min was optimistic and vague, responding “I think it is heading to a very positive direction.”

Nolwenn Voléon:

“I walked into the hallway last Thursday and found myself having to stop. Something did not feel right. The usually open, bright corridor that I liked so much now seemed like it had been cut in two. Standing in my way was a brown statue with saluting birds, elevated on a pedestal and looming way above everything else to appear friendly. Other people stopped and we all shared our curiosity, doubts and observations concerning the cumbersome newcomer. Although confused as to what the artist’s intention was, I decided to give the statue a chance and wait for the explanation scheduled to take place in the afternoon.

I think that the whole reason of how the statue got to our campus remains rather mysterious. Why is this statue standing in our hallway, when it was given to the city of Le Havre? How long is it going to stay here for? While I believe we need more art to be displayed around campus, I also think the priority should be given to our students. We are gifted with a talented batch of students practicing their art in a variety of domains, yet visual artists don’t have the occasion to showcase their work as often. By doing so, we miss out on the artistic prowess of our fellow students who enjoy photography, writing, or other forms of visual arts; students who are not necessarily performers but have stories to tell, and images to share. During the BDA campaign, plenty of candidates expressed their will to provide a platform for students to share their personal artwork. While LDD has begun to display our artists’ work, it should also be a recurring presence on campus. I believe through whatever means possible, individual artists should have the opportunity to publicize their work to allow us to have the chance to get to know them and their artwork.”

But not all students have such a harsh opinion of the installation.

Alice Morisseau:

“I took some time to reflect on the meaning of this statue and ended up liking it. It is a singular and pedagogical embodiment of European and Asian cultural exchange. The “Winged Victory of Samothrace” is a direct representation of European culture: like the Joconde or the “Venus de Milo,” it has been celebrated as a masterpiece of ancient Greece sculpture since its discovery in 1863.

Mr. Min’s “Winged Victory of Samothrace” comes with a twist, namely bamboo-shaped tiles in its feathers, which are not really noticeable at first and come as a symbol of Europe’s subtle links with Asia. On top of the statue, little porcelain doves come to reinforce the idea. The artist seems to have put the emphasis on both culture’s art traditions: classical Greek sculpture for the West and porcelain for the East. As for the military salute of the birds, which the artist said to have put it “for fun”, I still like to see a link between the idea of victory and triumph that the “Winged Victory of Samothrace” embodies with the idea of military triumph for the birds.

I think that as our campus really embodies the link of Europe with Asia, the choice to put the sculpture in our lobby is logical. The fact that a famous and recognized artist would accept to have his production in our little campus rather than anywhere else in Le Havre is pretty impressive and shows that the spirit of the piece is in line with the one of our campus. What I like with this sculpture is that it conveys a message that is not totally blurry to us. Through some observation, it is easy to come up with subjective interpretations.”

Visibly, the sculpture has been a divisive topic on campus. Its location is less than ideal. Indeed, between cheerleading and Bollywood practice, the main hall of our campus has a functional use that is now being impaired. Indeed, students fear accidentally toppling the installation. Furthermore, the color of the clay sculpture, placed in direct sunlight since the hall has a glass roof, already seems to be fading. It is an honor for our campus to receive such a gift from the city of Le Havre, and the idea behind it truly does reflect the philosophy or our campus: intercultural dialogue, particularly between Europe and Asia. We will simply have to wait and see if students get used to its presence.

Nolwenn Voléon is a first year French student at Sciences Po Paris, Campus du Havre.

Alice Morisseau is a second year French student at Sciences Po Paris, Campus du Havre.

Meixi Zhang is a second year Singaporean student at Sciences Po Paris, Campus du Havre, and was the Mandarin – English translator for Mr. Yiming Min’s conference on Thursday, February 8, 2018.

Edited by Emma Dailey and Paxia Ksatryo.

(Not) in the Mood for Love?

Valentine’s Day: a taste of “la vie en rose” for some, a day full of cringe for others.

This Feb 14th – whether you’re ridin’ solo or cuffed – Le Dragon Déchaîné has you covered! Here are two playlists – one sweet and the other not-so-sweet – for both the lovestruck and those who bemoan your unnecessary PDA. Treat yourself (and perhaps your partner) to some holiday-appropriate jams. Hope you get up to some rom-antics!

01. valentine

For the unapologetic romantic, we present a collection of love-themed tracks. Ranging from the dreamy ballad to the heavy love confession, this playlist has got you covered – or not!

Open on spotify here

Cover by Marcus Cheah

02. enitnelav

Whether from its cliché or from an emotional sting, Feb 14 isn’t everyone’s box of chocolates. These songs will get you in the (anti-)mood: of heartbreak, apathy, or cautious optimism.

Open on Spotify here

Cover by Yilan Ling

Srivatsan Anand, Leesa Ko, and Maya Shenoy make up the music section of Le Dragon Déchaîné. Listen to their latest playlist on our music tab here

Maximizing Utility: The BDA Elections

The election frenzy continues at the Le Havre campus as the artistic bureau takes its turn in the spotlight.

(click on image to view full photo)

The twelve candidates have spent the week relentlessly campaigning, communicating their ideas and demonstrating their various talents. As past Minicrit results have shown, the arts are the heart and soul of our campus. The Bureau des Arts (BDA) is instrumental in bringing our campus together. To help students better evaluate which candidate is most capable of promoting campus unity, the incumbent BDA has posed the question, “What will you do to tear down cultural barriers, and how can the BDA best promote artistic and cultural life in and out of campus, given budgetary, academic, and logistical limits?”

As so aptly stated by Emma Durand, “The BDA has a duty on this campus, beyond coordinating clubs and organising events, to create an atmosphere of acceptance, of kindness and of openness, in order for everyone to be more inclined to let go of their initial fear, and show their vulnerability and their passion.” This atmosphere epitomizes events held by the BDA; from Diwali to Chinese New Year, and Christmas to BDA night. Ayano Goto elaborates on the “sense of bonding that came from the respect and kindness that I believe each one of us have on campus.” Amber Dave says with conviction, “To tear down cultural barriers I would work towards making people of (different) cultures feel included because there are some minorities that are indeed under-represented and so the BDA could organize events on days of festivals of these communities that require no to minimal funding.”

But a majority of candidates have also expressed a desire to hold more small-scale events. Indeed, Jane Chan, Emma Durand, and Evgenia Ivanchuk present the idea of having presentations of the diverse variety of cultures on campus to fuel intercultural dialogue. Sarah Maaz promotes the idea of “small cultural festivals where people of different nationalities could show us more about their countries.” Nolwenn Voléon states that “some students are very good at writing, drawing or taking pictures and I want to provide a platform for them to be able to display their work more freely if they wish to do so; (and to) be able to host their own workshop to share some talent or technique they’re passionate about (e.g. origami, watercolor, calligraphy).” Furthermore, Camille Geneau elaborates: “differences should not be barriers but opportunities to share our tradition, to learn from one another and to open our minds.” Evgenia Ivanchuk suggests more LDD involvement, publishing more culture-oriented articles, whereas Pailey Wang proposes “intimate evening musical performances after class” to unwind after a long day. Monthly displays of visual art suggested by candidates including Cassandre Rohart, and Camille Geneau. Vinzent Wesselmann and Nolwenn Voléon stress on how more emphasis should be placed on the “non-performers”: the authors, poets, and visual artists. The latter suggests having an anonymous gallery to provide a space for the shyest among us. These exhibits would not only be a way to get to know our diverse artistic community but also allow us to further communicate with local university students. Getting other universities involved, much like getting more students involved, would require active promotion.

According to Fiona Beraud, “Promoting culture can be easy. You can make flyers, Facebook posts, posters…” Pailey Wang remains pragmatic and states, “I have a lot of practical skills in sound systems, video editing and photo editing which would be very useful for running and promoting our campus events. I am very concerned with ensuring that the diverse artistic output of our campus is shared and promoted on campus.” Furthermore, creating more videos and making them more easily accessible would prolong this feeling, and conserve the memory of each event. Vinzent comments, “I want us to be able to remember our performances in all of their glory. The first step for this is to implement a backup camera for all performances in order to ensure that no recordings are lost as they were last semester. Then, I’d like to work with the photography and film-making club to create short after movies for each large BDA event that capture the ambiance of the night through little interviews and behind-the-scenes shots that we can fondly remember in years to come.”

Interestingly, three candidates, Amber Dave, Sarah Maaz, and Cassandre Rohart, suggested cultural diplomacy through food. Amber Dave would encourages intercultural interaction through food served at BDA events. He elaborates and says, “All these are varied and diverse ideas to break down cultural barriers on campus and one or multiple of them can be used and show promise of being effective.” Sarah Maaz complements this notion by stating, “I would like to organize (and encourage other students to organize) cultural and cross-cultural dinners. To me, the conviviality of a dinner is the best way to open the dialogue and discuss.” Cassandre Rohart would “make daily cohesion and contacts better. Organizing a weekly-shared meal between 2 or 3 people, from different countries (on a totally voluntary basis) would make them share original recipes, ingredients, and memories together.” To promote French culture, Sarah Maaz would implement “more French cultural visits: we do have the artistic side (MuMA, the port, Le Havre’s architecture…), but in order to provide the “French cultural experience” to international students, I would love to take them to wine and cheese caves, visiting farms (Normandy is a region that is mainly agricultural and has a fascinating cultural patrimony!) or even medieval villages.”

In addition to appealing to the stomach, candidates have other ideas to appeal to college students. Camille Geneau stresses the importance of a clearer schedule for the rehearsal spaces, to make it easier to plan around our busy schedules. She would also set up a book exchange program, to make access to a wider variety of books more easily available. Fiona Beraud would set up a more material reward system, an “art membership card”: “Just like when you go to Wok-Up, you would get a BDA stamp on your membership card if you can provide proof you went to the museum, the theatre etc. Anyone who finishes their card could get a reward (free tickets to shows? free piece of art? Credits (!!)? Who knows ! Let’s get creative!)”

Overall, it is comforting to see that students standing for election are generally on the same page. This includes frequent, small-scale events centered around promoting multiculturalism, student-led workshops, intimate concerts, and temporary expositions. Furthermore, there are a plethora of interesting new ideas that could energize our increasingly diverse campus. Tomorrow, students cast their votes, and we hope that they vote with their ideal bureau in mind.

Emma Dailey is a French-American second year student at Sciences Po Paris, Campus du Havre.

Edited by Paxia Ksatryo

Time Away

Find the full playlist on spotify or listen to it on our website here to follow along aurally.

As much as I have been enjoying my life in Le Havre, some time away was in order.

Since college life hasn’t permitted me much time for introspective contemplation, I decided to travel alone for fall break. In fact I went 3 days without a conversation. To fill this silence and thereby prevent my absolute dissociation from the world, I listened to a handful of songs on repeat which I will include here so as to immerse you in my state of mind.

Day 1

“Don’t Come Home Today” by Good Morning

After barely making my train, most of my first day of travel was spent reading Murakami and trying to figure out what the hell I’d be doing for the next 4 days. Arriving in Brussels, I realised that this was my first time truly alone, a feeling that was just as much empowering as it was nerve-racking.

Exhausted from a day in transit, I only briefly walked around the city to get my bearings for the next day.

Day 2

“Hiding Tonight” by Alex Turner

This morning set my week-long habit of getting breakfast at quiet, cozy cafes and taking an hour or two to savor my coffee over a book, a real juxtaposition to my usual routine of scarfing down my morning oatmeal before 8 a.m. French.

After, I headed to the Musée Old Masters, and spent a while wandering through its ornate galleries before sitting down to gape at the Wes Anderson-esque grandeur of the building itself.

Then after sitting in a park to contemplate life’s questions over a cigarette, as one should, and visiting the Musical Instrument Museum, I ended up in a tearoom for my final moments in Brussels before getting on a train to Amsterdam.

“It’s Alright” by Horsebeach

Perhaps to assuage my anxiety over the fact that I was on my train without a ticket (damn you, non-mobile tickets), I listened to the song above in an attempt to convince myself that “it’s alright, you won’t get kicked off the train into the darkness of the Belgian countryside”. Thankfully, I made it to Amsterdam in one piece, tracked down my beloved falafel for dinner, and passed out on my hostel bed.

Day 3

“Lights Out, Words Gone” by Bombay Bicycle Club

On this day I was blessed by a free sinfonietta concert featuring works by Debussy and Satie at the Concertgebouw, followed by an incredible visit to the Stedelijk Museum of modern and contemporary art, just across the road. Though it was my first time in Amsterdam, I couldn’t help but feel at home strolling through the art museum, as I had often spent my weekends doing the same when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area.

After an arts-filled morning, the rest of the day was spent getting lost in Amsterdam’s iconic canals, indulging in street food and paying visits to the city’s euphemistically-named “coffeeshops”.

Day 4

“The Noose of Jah City” by King Krule

Greeted by a foggy and slightly chilly morning, I made my way to Hortus Botanicus, one of the world’s oldest botanical gardens dating back to 1638. Though still in the city center, I felt refreshed being surrounded by such lush greenery, something that our beloved Le Havre could do with a bit more for my liking.

After a filling lunch over several chapters of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, I spent my final hours in Amsterdam going to, you guessed it, another museum. On this afternoon I went to Foam, a museum dedicated to photography, and after, grabbed a pint with someone from my hostel before my lovely 7 hour overnight bus ride back to Paris.

Back in Le Havre

“Home at Last” by Homeshake

In retrospect, my days away were just what I needed. Besides serving as a break from a hectic first semester of university, it was a time of reflection and self-examination, something I think we can all reap the benefits of in this developmental and ever-changing period of our young lives.

With that, I leave you with two reasons why you should solo-travel:

  1. it’s truly an experience of self-discovery and acknowledgement
  2. you are completely independent as you make every decision. In other words, I got to eat stroopwafel three times in one day without hearing anyone complain.

“Checkin’ Out” by Sales

L.K.

Find the full playlist on spotify or listen to it on our website here.

Leesa Ko is a first year American student enrolled in the Sciences Po Paris, Campus du Havre and Columbia dual degree.

Edited by Paxia Ksatryo and Pailey Wang.