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A U G2 0 0 9

The student newsletter ofINTI College Subang Jaya

InsiderN T I

n e w s l e t t e r I s s u e

inside this issue >> how to spend your holidays >> events, events, events.... >> INTIBALL ‘09 : event of the year? >> beau bristow; up close and personal >> the 34th have landed

EDITORIAL Editor-in-chief Naomi Ong Managing Editors Nahjan Binti Amer Nordin, Qisti Parr B. ZahairiWRITERS & CONTRIBUTORS Alya Amirah Azman, Careen Wong, Hau Han Sen, Jerusha Sanjeevi, Nahjan Amer Nordin DESIGN Creative Director & Layout Artist Inoue Taki

PHOTOGRAPHY Pok Wern Hsiang, Ahmad Aslam, Meidy Huang OPERATIONS Operations Directors Jared Wong, Sam Wei QuanEMAIL editorial.icsj@gmail.com

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Dear readers,This month, we draw a close to 2009’s May Semester. What a semester it has been! It was a certi fi ed 100% INTI experience fi lled with concerts, Mysti cal Balls, and laughs and fun. This 11th issue, I2 chronicles the various exciti ng events that had recently occurred in INTI Subang Jaya. Fans of Beau Bistrow, an American Indie arti ste who recently held a concert in our college grounds, will be delighted to know that we managed to sit the man down for a chat, detailed in our exclusive interview “A Chat with Beau Bistrow”. Furthermore, we have a new student council in the neighbourhood! Do read the write-up on the recent INTIMA 34th council installati on in the next following pages. At a loss on how to spend your semester break? Let Careen fi ll you in on Backpacking and the best prices for cheap backpacker-friendly hostels around.

Happy hols!

Editor-In-ChiefNaomi Ong

The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. It was the fashion in Renaissance Florence to shave

them off

The fi rst product to have a bar code was Wrigleys’

gum

The sun is 330,330 ti mes larger than the earth

Every ti me you lick a stamp, you’re consuming

1/10 of a calorie

Fingernails grow nearly 4 ti mes faster than toenails

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Spend Your Holidays: Backpacking Pack your bags,

grab your camera! It’s Backpacking Time!

Throw away your history books! Burn your calculus books because the

holidays are finally here! So what are your plans? Here’s a way to spend your hols: backpacking! Here are 3 of the many backpacking destinations that would leave you exhilarated yet at the same time not cutting a hole in your wallet!

CambodiaIts exoticism will leave you breathless as you delve into a memorable adventure. Just rent a motorbike and off you go, setting your eyes on the wondrous and mystical ancient temple city of Angkor Wat. You would be astounded by the magnificent beauty of it all especially by the famous giant freshwater Tonle Sap lake which is the very heart of Cambodia. The vibrant colors of this dusty city along with its unique sense of taste, smell, touch as sight will satisfy you to its fullest and the best thing is that it is also cheap!

Hostels in Phnom Penh include Rorys Pub & Guesthouse at only RM 27.30 per night, Hotel California Phnom Penh @ RM37.55 and Sakura Hotel @ RM 27.30.

LaosThe Mekong River – need I say more? Beautiful, gentle Laos will greet you with open arms as you get to step back in time and enter a wondrous world of stunning mountains and village sceneries. With its booming economies, the eco-tourism of the country will further enhance the adventurous activities that will leave you craving for more. Hostels in Vientiane include Lakeo Guesthouse at only RM 35.30 per night, Viengthong Guesthouse and Saylom Yen Guesthouse both @ RM 10.80.

NepalYes, a poor country but it is definitely rich in its splendors of Mother Nature. It goes along the line of the heavily snow-coated Himalayas and offers one of the greatest hiking experiences that you can have. A place that seems to have only existed in your fantasy dreams of Western countries has finally come to life the moment you step foot on its land. Brace yourself for an immense appreciation for the unique natural and cultural complexity. Prepare yourself with your most comfortable walking boots and definitely a pair of strong legs!

Hostels in Kathmandu include Millenium Inn at RM 25.20 per night, Annapurna Guesthouse @ RM 12.60 and Tibet Cottage @ RM 34.30.

However, remember this; a backpacking trip is not something luxurious. Do not expect to live in a perfectly comfortable place or eat luxurious meals. It can get rough and you are always on a tight budget with the constant reminder to be thrifty. Backpacking is definitely tough, but the challenge is what makes backpacking so great!

Visit Backpackers Planet at http://www.backpackers-planet.com/index.php for more detailed information and tips.

BY CAREEN WONG

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Charity is enjoyable. Charity Drive ’09

is the proof.In order to raise funds for the Spastic Children’s Association of Selangor & Federal Territory, our very own Student Action (STACT) Club of ICSJ held a charity drive from the 30th of June, Tuesday until the 3rd of July, Friday. With ‘We Are Family’ as the theme, the STACT club organized many activities during the Charity Drive Week. The Charity Drive activities included a basketball tournament, a car wash fest, and a food and games fair.

On the 3rd of July, Friday, the Charity Night was held as the closing ceremony of the charity drive. Mainly sponsored by Focus Point, the schedule of the night was packed with many programmes from 8 pm until 11 pm.

After speeches from key figures and a presentation of souvenirs to guests of honour, the night’s celebration began. There were a variety of performances ranging from an exciting dance move by a newly formed dance crew to singing sessions by a number of talented people. Besides giving prizes to winners of the games, the audience also had the chance to participate in a LIVE food competition.

The main highlight of the evening was the Lucky Draw session. The RM2 lucky draw ticket came with two supposedly lucky numbers. The prizes were lavished and many a person that night very openly coveted the grand prize, which was a home-stereo system. In the end of the day, the event and the charity drive were altogether successful. The crowd enjoyed the whole night. Witnessing the closing ceremony, this writer confesses that she felt the spirit that bound we INTIans as a one big family.

A NIGHT TO BE REMEMBERED

BY ALYA AMIRAH AZMAN

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INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL NIGHT

Personal accounts of the International Cultural Night“The night was ok but it could have been bett er.”

William Kum Wai Leng, BMAUH

“It was an enlightening night. I had the chance to see other cultures.”

Mr. Liew Fon Sam, Lecturer

“The night was good. It gave exposure to foreign dances and culture. Lots of foreign students were involved. The night had strengthened the bonds between clubs.”

Chua Zjen Thak, AUP

“The night was awesome!!! There were dances, singing, traditi onal cuisine and traditi onal costumes. I also have the chance to know people from other countries. They had awesome prizes for lucky draw winners. Besides, the emcee of the day was cool.”

Fion See, AUP

“The night would be interesti ng if they had korean costumes. The night was ok but it would be bett er if the crowd was involved as well through games and acti viti es.”

Song Seul Gi, AUP

“Overall, the night was good and nice. Diversity can be seen as people got to learn about other cultures. There were many types of dances on that night. But the best of all is everyone was having fun.”

Izzat bin Shahrul, BFIUH

“I had enjoyed the night. It was a colourful night with many well-organized performances. Many cultures were displayed throughout the night. I think the night was good, but it would be bett er if they started it earlier.

Ms. Prescilla Premila, Lecturer

Note: All accounts are strictly the opinion of the people interviewed. Opinions are not to be misconstrued as the view of I2 personnel.

BY ALYA AMIRAH AZMAN

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Blink one eye and the first half of 2009 has already swept pass us all! NAHJAN takes a look back at 4 memorable INTI

events.

INTI Events toRemember

BY NAHJAN AMER NORDIN

Events, events, events… what is college without the various forms of fun and games to make it a lively

experience?

In the first half of 2009, English Language Society (ELS) had successfully organized two English Day events- both had attracted huge crowd with their highlights of the day. In the first one, which took place on 13th March, ELS managed to pull in some friends of theirs to dress up as drag queens for a chance to win the Drag Queen Competition! Needless to say, this drove the crowd wild with zest! For the second English Day, AUP’s Music Appreciation Class (MUS105) entertained the crowd with drama and singing. Ironically, it felt as if drag queens were still the attraction as most dramas featured gender-bender heroines. English Day has

thus, become an event that brings INTI-ians together for a jolly good time!On June 24th, 2009, International Cultural Night took place. Organized by International Student Society (ISS), the night had been a showcase of the cultures of the international students present in ICSJ. For instance, the cultures of Indonesia and Botswana had been displayed in the form of their respective traditional dances and costumes. For Wiliiam Kuan, “it was enlightening to learn about other cultures.” I’m sure you’re not the only one who thinks so! Some had also enjoyed the lucky draw as valuable prices were given away. All in all, kudos to ISS and may another colorful night light up ICSJ once again next year!

Another event that had taken place was Trazzle. That is, a treasure hunts

game organized by School of Science and Math (SOSAM). Although it was a somewhat low-key event, it had still succeeded in pulling 3-4 teams of 6 people in each. True to the nature of the game, the players were to carry out tasks before they could obtain their next clue. One particular task had been to eat ‘interesting’ food such as raw onions and garlic! No doubt they probably stank of bad breath throughout the rest of the game! Despite that, it was worth it- at least, to the winning team it did as they won cold, hard cash of RM90. Congratulations to them!

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7The last highlight of 2009 had been the serenading of Beau Bristow. This special appearance had been made possible by INTI Christian Fellowship (ICF) and opening acts included a salsa dance from KBU and singing by our very own alumni, Jonathan. Originated from McCalla, Alabama, Beau Bristow identifies himself as a singer-songwriter who’s constantly trying to “keep it real”, thus disengaging himself from the typical artistry ways. After having performed in several churches and other locations, he finally arrived in ICSJ- his last stop in Malaysia before heading to Brazil- and serenaded the crowd with songs from his latest album, Standing.Still. His tracks included “Look at The Stars”, “Sign Me Up” and “I Can Walk Through The Rain.” As for “Don’t Get Too Close To Me,” Bristow admitted that this song was written for his wife. Before the night drew to an end, Bristow captured the audience with a special song.

In a nutshell, so far, 2009 has proven to be a promising year- let’s keep the fun rolling, y’all!

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Was it a success? Was it a flop? Hau Han Sen critiques the event billed ‘ICSJ ‘s Event of the Year’.

INTIBALL ’09 Post-Mortem

BY HAU HAN SEN

The most prominent event of the night was definitely the photography

sessions that took place from table to table. In fact, all everyone cared about was snapping photographs of each other before the wax on their hair runs off. But then again, that does not detract from the fact that there were a few things about the ball which caught everyone’s attention. Both the good… And the bad…

First things first: the food. Who wouldn’t want to comment on the food that was served on the table? And to everyone’s delight, it was surprisingly good. I personally wasn’t present at last year’s prom night but from what I’ve heard from fellow gourmet kings and queens, it was definitely better. The idea of

having a buffet was splendid, despite the fact that it was hilarious to see people in tuxedos and gowns queuing up with a single plate on their hands for food. In addition, having a buffet meant mobility. That night, people were able to move to other tables and chat with friends (and snap photographs too) instead of being stuck at the same table, seeing the same faces for 4 hours.

Next: the performances. Everyone can agree that the first performance – the salsa- got its desired attention. And for a good reason too, it was that good. The dancers’ expressions were priceless and their moves were intimidating. Who wouldn’t appreciate jelly feet? Although the dance routine was not

completed due to a small setback, it was a fantastic performance. Anyone could tell that a lot of effort has been put into it and that was all that was needed for a thunderous roar of applause. The other events that followed

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it were, unfortunately, lacking and repetitive. They were good, no doubt. But audiences that hail from different schools of INTI College would perhaps feel a tad left out because most of the performers were from the American University Program. So naturally, only good friends would learn to appreciate those said performances.

Moving on, the atmosphere. Kudos to the people who decorated the entire hall for that night. It may not seem much to everyone else, but if you saw the amount of time, and energy, and resources spent on planning the entire night, you would definitely shout praises to the unsung heroes of the night. Thankfully, these people were duly rewarded and acknowledged. The setting was great and the most enjoyable scene of the night was people smiling and complimenting one another. Comments like “Your dress looks gorgeous!” and “I’ve never seen my lecturer in a gown before!” filled the entire hall. Figures, this is the only time we can actually dress to the nines without being asked “What’s the occasion?”.

One final thing: the emcee. The one thing that we had high hopes for was a flop. In all honesty, people were asking one another how much was he actually paid for speaking that night. Perhaps he could pull a few magic tricks here and there but the guests who were sitting on the left side of the hall could see every single mistake he was making. Where did the money come from? It flew out from his left sleeve… What should have been done by a student was taken over by a complete stranger who could not appeal very much to the audience mostly because nobody knows him! On that note, none of us could relate to the jokes or stories he conjured because he does not speak “INTI”. Everyone was having chills that night and we wondered why… The air conditioning was hardly 18oC. To the future organizers of INTI Ball, the students are pleading to pick a suitable emcee amongst themselves. They would rather have a friend on stage than an unknown man behind a mask who speaks so highly of himself.

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A CHAT WITH BEAU BRISTOW.

BY HAU HAN SEN

It was night filled with screams, screams and more ‘We love Beau Bristow!’ screams on that fateful Thursday. But just who is this guy hailing from the South (USA)? HAU HAN SEN finds out the history behind the man ‘Beau

Bristow’.

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He’s from the South. He was given the name ‘Beau’ by his Grandfather. He had his first

taste of music listening to his mom. He enjoys reading, especially philosophy. He is Beau Bristow.

Yeah, we know all that. So what sets Beau Bristow apart from other up-and-coming stars? The answer is relatively simple:

It is his music, his style and above all, his mellow voice.

All of these qualities have definitely drawn the line to distinguish Beau from the label “just another singer”. We were fortunate enough to have him perform for us live at the basketball court of INTI College (for free!). Below would be a snippet of a 10-minute interview with the rising performer before the performance.

HS: Could you tell me more about yourself?

BB: I am now 28 years old and I grew up in the state of Alabama. I went to college [Belmont University, Nashville] in the state of Tennessee to study music and finished college 5 years ago. Ever since then, I have been pursuing a career as a singer and songwriter. Up until this point I’ve been giving guitar lessons and done some other things on the side but now I’m full time with touring. Mostly what I do is perform at colleges in the U.S and during the summer break, I would tour other countries.

HS: Was music your passion since young?

BB: Yes, I’ve always been interested in music. My mother plays the piano really well and she’s the first person that really introduced me to music and got me interested in music. As I grew older, one of my primary interests in music is the opportunity to say things, to communicate things with songs. Hopefully, good things. There are so many things in culture that are very negative and just wrong and untrue and I hope to change it through my music.

HS: I heard it was your grandfather who gave you the name ‘Beau’. Where did he get it from?

BB: It came from a book called ‘Beau Geste’ [an adventure novel by P.C. Wren]. It’s a book that he read and Beau Geste means ‘beautiful gesture’. Anyway when I was born, my grandfather thought I was a beautiful baby so he gave me the name ‘Beau’.

HS: Was that why you decided to drop your name initially?

BB: Oh yes. Actually, my real name is Donald Bruce Bristow and I was named after my father. In second grade, I decided I didn’t like the name Beau because it sounded like ’beautiful’ and it sounded too girly to me and I wanted to change it. So, I started to use the name Donald then. But my friends in high school, started to call me ‘Beau’ again and I decided “Well, I kinda do like the name Beau” and went with it from then on.

HS: The lyrics to your songs are truly meaningful and it isn’t difficult for anyone to relate it to their own experiences. How do you do it?

BB: I think the key thing is to be honest when I’m writing a song. I find that, for me to write a song that really expresses my emotions, I have to write that song several weeks after I’ve experienced that emotion. If I’m writing it when I feel a certain way, I’m unable to gain enough perspective as to how I feel that way.

HS: Which particular song from the album do you find most meaningful to you?

BB: That’s a tough question… Well, most people like the song ‘Don’t Get Too Close to Me’ which I really love. I think that’s one of my favourite songs but I think the one in the album I like the most is the last song. It’s called ‘Stand’ and it’s a very slow song but the song is almost a reminder to myself: As I live my life, I have to be active and not to be passive and resign from life.

HS: Is this your first album?

BB: No, this is my third album actually. For the first two albums [‘Coffee Not Included’, 2006; ‘From The Front Seat’, 2005] I actually record, produce and mixed all of the songs. But for the third album, I wrote all the songs and had a producer who helped me with all the recording, mixing and editing.

HS: You said you’ve been touring lately. How’s that going for you?

BB: Things have been well. I travel, probably, 60% of the year so I’ve visited many places. I’ve been in Malaysia for almost 5 weeks now and Malaysia has been a lot of fun.

HS: So, have you been adapting well to the Malaysian weather and everything? The food especially?

BB: The food’s been great! I’m a pretty flexible eater so I try a lot of different things.

HS: One final question and this is for the fans. What do you like doing during your spare time?

BB: When I have spare time, I really enjoy doing something outdoors that is active and physical so I enjoy hiking, mountain biking, backpacking and camping. I also enjoy reading. Sometimes I would just go to a café and just have a cup of coffee and read. Speaking of which, I’ve spent a lot of my time for the past few years reading on philosophy to have a more accurate picture of understanding the reality of the world.

For more information, log on to:www.beaubristow.com Albums are unavailable in Malaysia but can be purchased online.

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Happening:Campus Events

34th INTIMA COUNCIL INSTALLATION CEREMONY

The New Student Council is in the neighbourhood! JERUSHA SANJEEVI reports the recently held 34th INTIMA council installation ceremony.BY JERUSHA SANJEEVI

The Independent Electi on Commission (IEC) organized the installati on ceremony for the 34th INTIMA council on the 24th

of July 2009. The ceremony took place to offi cially pass over the responsibiliti es of the student body council from the 33rd council to the 34th council. Those in att endance included ICSJ principal, Mrs. Joyce Yuen, Mr. Lambert, Dr. Ng Lai Ling, Ms. Rachel, Ms. Jesslyn Fong, deans, Heads of Program, council members, and guests. The event was intended to mark the transiti on between the old and new excos.

The ceremony began with a speech from the IEC president, Sie Hui Voon. She related her experience working on the IEC and fi nding a new committ ee. Next, Joshan Kyrashq, the former INTIMA president, gave a speech

wishing the new committ ee good luck. Finally, Mrs. Joyce Yuen gave a speech, in which she menti oned her gratefulness for the 33rd INTIMA committ ee and her hopes that the new one would step up to the same level. This was followed by an awards presentati on ceremony where Mrs. Yuen gave the 33rd INTIMA awards for their achievements and dedicati on.

The offi cial installati on took place next, with the symbolic handing over of work portf olios from the old council to the new council. Each new committ ee member received a portf olio from the old committ ee member with the corresponding post.

The new excos then engaged in the oath taking ceremony, in which they swore their dedicati on and commitment to INTIMA. The emcee, Qisti Zahairi, also

gave a speech thanking the 33rd council and wishing the 34th the best of luck. Finally, the new president of INTIMA, Hariharan Kanan, presented a speech on the introducti on of INTIMA.

This was followed by a photography session with the 33rd council, 34th council, and Mrs. Joyce Yuen, aft er which they had a cake-cutti ng ceremony.

The event was closed with a touching video tribute by the IEC to the 33rd INTIMA council. In the video, previous INTIMA committ ee members gave advice to the new council and recalled the experiences and memories that they shared with the excos, staff , and other students.

The ceremony ended with the serving of light refreshments.

34th INTIMA EXCOsHariharan s/o Kanan PresidentChristine Ong Yoong Ching Vice President (Admin)Ho Tse Huan (Darren) Vice President (Activities)Ushallinni Pugunisparam SecretaryYukesan Muthaliar TreasurerAugustine Lee Ken Leng AuditorVivian Lee Assistant AuditorKoh Poh King PROMarcus Lee PRO

34Christine Ong Yoong Ching Vice President (Admin)

Yukesan Muthaliar TreasurerAugustine Lee Ken Leng AuditorVivian Lee Assistant Auditor