THE TAUPIC - Issue 1 May 2013 - Accueil Lycée Janson de Sailly

FREE
ISSUE N°1
THE TAUPIC
LYCEE JANSON DE SAILLY, PARIS, FRANCE / CPGE CLASSES / SPRING 2013 / ISSUE N°1
Janson’s History
By Guénolée Colas des Francs (Sup 6) and Adrien Tardieu (Sup 2)
Once upon a @me there was Alexandre Emmanuel François Janson de Sailly, the son of a rich Parisian trader. He studied law and married Marie Berryer in 1809, but aEer he discovered she had extramarital relaGons, he decided to disinherit her and give all of his fortune (more than 2,600,000 gold francs) upon his death to the state with the request to build a boys-­‐only school. He also wanted a quota of foreign students in this school. In 1881 a 33,000 square-­‐meter building land was bought on “rue de la Pompe”, chosen for its countryside air. The building was designed by Charles Laisné and some famous poliGcians such as Victor Hugo or Jules Ferry came for the foundaGon stone ceremony. AEer its opening in 1884, the number of students grew rapidly -­‐ along with its reputaGon -­‐ to more than 2,000 fiEeen years later. “Vast, airy, light and wholesome school a[ended by elegant, dashing, hard-­‐
working young people who are successful in their studies and in sports”, Janson a[racts “students not only from the 16th arrondissement of Paris, but also from all corners of Paris, the provinces, all of Europe, the three Americas, much of Asia and Africa, Oceania and elsewhere” (Jules Moog).
During WW1 Janson was running over capacity because many teachers were called to do their military service. From 1915 on, it was transformed into a hospital. Many Jansonians died for France during this conflict as reflects 3,300 students but how many red peppers?
By Guénolée Colas des Francs (Sup 6) and Adrien Tardieu (Sup 2)
Since September at Janson…
3,300 students
More than 20 fire alarms
92 classes
Record number of fire alarms in 605 employees
one day: 8 in a row
265 teachers (118 of whom hold the agréga4on)
3.3 hectares
200 colleurs
36,500 square meters of built 48 technicians
area
17 laboratory assistants
166 classrooms
6 boarding school supervisors
28,323 books in the school 1 Tanguy
library
to be continued on p2
169 beds for students
the long list of the 764 names of the war memorial in the main yard, the “cour d’honneur”.
During WW2, Janson was like a spy nest. Indeed, some of the first Resistant fighters as well as collaborators were among the students. For example, some of them went to the Arch of Triumph on November 11, 1940, to celebrate the victory of France over Germany during WW1. Obviously, the Germans were not quite happy with it. At the LiberaGon in 1944, hundreds of students joined the FFL and set up an elite unit called the “Janson de Sailly Ba[alion” which became the 2nd “Shock Ba[alion”. Some of them died during the reconquest of our beloved country in Alsace, the Ardennes… A war memorial is also dedicated to all of these brave and remarkable men in the most magnificent yard of Janson. And then it was you…
A History of French «Classes Préparatoires»
By Ludivine Duroyon & Thomas Le Dévéhat, Sup4
Prépa statistics
Origins of the classes préparatoires system
17th 38,000
Number of students who join
a prépa class every year.
The classes prépas appeared at the end of the century when Vauban (General Commissary for the forGficaGons) created compeGGve exams for admission to military engineering, marine engineering and arGllery. The aspirants had to take an oral entrance examinaGon given by a member of the Science Academy. On the eve of the RevoluGon some of these examiners were very famous, such as Bussot for military engineering, Monge for the Navy, and Laplace for ArGllery.
28,000
Number of students who gain
As all these exams needed to be prepared, thus the admission to a grande école
“classes préparatoires” were born.
every year.
Classes prépas in the 18th century
7,200
Number of prépa students
who go to a higher education
institution (university, ‘IUT’,
etc.)
51%
Percentage of prépa students
whose parents are senior
managers (= cadres
supérieurs) or members of a
profession (= professions
libérales) (against 31% for
university students).
In the 18th century the most famous engineering school was the Ecole du Génie de Mézières, which was founded in 1749.
The entrance examinaGon was an oral interrogaGon about the book wri[en by the examiner. For example, Napoleon, who studied in the Collège de Brienne in order to prepare for the entrance exam in the ArGllery, was tested by Laplace on his book in 1785.
(3,300 students... continued from p1)
2,885,077 photocopies
100,000 sheets of paper
arrive every week
320,000 meals
€2.20 price of a meal
19,350 hard-boiled eggs
5.510 tons of french
fries
1.314 tons of beef steak
3.275 tons of chicken
5.330 tons of turkey
12,065g of cheese (over
12 tons)
14,160 donuts
11,151 cream puffs
(choux à la crème)
13,824 chocolate éclairs
10,368 waffles (gaufres)
28.980 tons of fresh fruit
1 red pepper
Since the French RevoluGon, this system of recruitment based on merit has become more widespread and more accessible for each ciGzen, whereas unGl 1789 the authorizaGon to take the exam was granted if the Remember:
candidate proved that he possessed four degrees of nobility. Therefore, when the Ecole Polytechnique was Fr.: 1,2 -> Eng.: 1.2
founded in 1794, its admission was opened to every Fr.: 1.200 -> Eng.: 1,200
ciGzen.
The 19th and 20th centuries and the rise of the classes prépas
80,000
Approximate total number of
prépa students.
Of those, 50,000 study in a
science section;
20,000 in an economics
section;
10,000 in a literary section
With the crea*on of the French lycées in 1802, classes of mathema*cs were established in each of these lycées. These classes were called classes of “mathéma4ques transcendentes” (transcendental mathema*cs), later called classes of “mathéma4ques spéciales”. In the middle of the nineteenth century about fiDy lycées had a class of “mathéma4ques spéciales”. 43%
Percentage of girls studying
in a prépa class (mostly in
literary and economics
sections)
The number of classes prépas rose during the Third Republic. Louis-­‐le-­‐Grand and Saint Louis were the two leading lycées, and those who followed were located in the West of Paris, such as Janson-­‐de-­‐Sailly, Condorcet or Carnot.
Source: Wikipedia
In 1840 wriFen exams were set up for admission to schools such as the Ecole Polytechnique, the Ecole des Mines (founded in 1783) or the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées (created in 1716)…
At the beginning of the 19th century, the three main lycées that prepared the exams were Saint-­‐Louis, Louis-­‐le-­‐Grand and Charlemagne.
At the end of the 19th century, classes of mathéma4ques spéciales had a total of ten thousand students.
Professors of the classes of mathéma4ques spéciales formed a sort of “aristocracy” inside the lycées and dis*nguished themselves from the other professors of the other classes.
At the end of the 19th century, literary classes called Khâgnes were created and specially prepared students for admission to the Ecoles Normales Supérieures. Since the 1970’s another kind of classes prépa has emerged, which prepares for admission to business schools such as HEC or ESSEC. 2
Janson and... what next?
By Antoine Driancourt and Jean-­‐Bap@ste Caron, Sup6
Antoine and Jean-­‐Bap4ste help you decide which schools to join aIer your « prépa » years.
RESULTS AT JANSON
Every science student at one point in his or her schooling has dreamed of joining a “grande école” and whatever they say, they are doing their “classe prépa” to achieve this aim. We will try in this arGcle to demysGfy these famous schools and to give you a larger overview of which school you could hope to join if you are studying science here at Janson de Sailly. We will analyze more specifically two schools, one at the top of the ranking (Centrale Paris) and one in the middle (SupOpGque) and then we are going to focus on what you could hope to do aEer gejng your degree depending on the school you’ve been admi[ed to aEer your “classe prépa”.
We have to point out that Janson is quite good in terms of results. We could qualify as a good “prépa”. Nearly 20 percent of Janson’s students joined the most famous engineering schools. Janson’s
success
rate
National
average
19.2 %
16.1 %
PC / PC*
24.0 %
12.2 %
PSI / PSI*
22.8 %
14.4 %
Sections
MP / MP*
National
ranking
21 (out of
116)
14 (out of
108)
17 (out of
116)
With these results Janson is approximately at the 20th place of the ranking out of 120 “prépa” classes.
-­‐Centrale Paris: Three criteria, which make the excellence of the school, are essenGal to understanding the reputaGon of this famous school.
-­‐First of all, and maybe it’s the most important aspect: the field of research, which is a proof of scienGfic excellence in this school. There are more than forty hundred people in the center for research of Centrale Paris. A lot of researchers, professors, doctors, engineers are working and especially teaching in these schools. Seven laboratories were bought, in Centrale. Research is so fundamental that three laboratories are part of the CNRS. Physics, computer science, mathemaGcs, economics and management are parGcularly studied. The areas of acGvity which come from these research fields are energy, informaGon, health and communicaGon.
-­‐The second aspect which has to be taken into consideraGon is the parGcular relaGonship between Centrale and different companies. Indeed, HR managers are really sensiGve to the qualificaGon given by Centrale. As examples, we can quote great French managers like Francis Bouygues, Germond (PMU), and Tavares (Renault). These presGgious schools give you the possibility of joining a dual program (engineering-­‐economics, engineering-­‐law) which is again highly valued by companies. For a few years, Centrale, has been more and more well known by foreign companies and they have for example a lot of partnerships with famous BriGsh and American universiGes like Cambridge, Oxford, Berkeley, Harvard, etc.
-­‐Sup Op@que: We will focus now on the opGcs insGtute of Palaiseau, another engineering school, and compare this school with Centrale Paris. At first sight, this school isn’t really different from Centrale. Indeed, they have a research laboratory, deliver an engineer’s degree, and have a privileged relaGonship with companies. So how can we explain that one of them is famous all over the country and the other one doesn’t have the same reputaGon? We will try here to give you some answers to these quesGons.
First of all, a few words about the course. There is actually a huge difference between these two schools: Centrale Paris offers general training whereas SupOpGque is more specific. Graduates of Centrale Paris will probably be able to work in a lot of different scienGfic domains but also in the economic sector for example, and the degree allows you to leave the engineering field. This specificity could be first considered as a disadvantage but also a posiGve aspect, because this school is really a valuable reference in opGcs in France. It depends of course on the goal everybody wants to achieve. Conclusion
The school you join aEer your “class prépa” will determine your future professional life in the sense that you will have more job possibiliGes with a General Training course. You can work for example in science of course, but also in many other domains like business or poliGcs. The whole quesGon is whether you want to stay in a specific domain (mechanics, opGcs…) or leave the field of pure science…
3
~ JANSON STORIES (1) ~
A Glimpse of Hell
By Ghid Karam, Sup1
•••
In this autobiographical story, Ghid recounts the ordeal of her first “kholle” at Janson.
It was half past six.
b e c a u s e o f t h e t r a i n w e r e resolve the problem we were prevented from taking their exams! dealing with.
At polytechnique, if you come at Or was I only dealing with that 8:01 you miss your exam!”
quesGon, and the numbers were just happy being intricate?
That escalated quickly.
He said: “So…what should I ask you We were outside, enjoying the to demonstrate?”
gloomy sky of France, expecGng rain. A beauGful way to start the I heard: “You can choose your death.”
weekend! Oh wait… there was sGll an hour I gave him the most I-­‐am-­‐a-­‐good-­‐
p e r s o n -­‐ w h o -­‐ s t u d i e d -­‐ h a r d -­‐
between us and the weekend.
imploring-­‐your-­‐mercy smile I could On Friday, at 6.30 PM, we entered manage.
the dark L028 room walking unsteadily towards our first … He didn’t bother looking at us while giving his instrucGons.
kholle.
All week long, we had sought from I was looking at the chalkboard. our “spé’s” details and Gps in order The chalkboard was looking at me.
to handle this epic hour and spare Miraculously, it was warmer. ourselves epic fails.
Or was it simply our neurons They looked at us, and smiled.
overheaGng?
Yesterday, a “spé” student asked While we were working, thinking, me who my “colleur” was.
sinking in a fresh ocean of symbols When he heard the name, he burst and figures, the teacher got bored.
into laughter. …Very reassuring.
He started to open conversaGons So I entered the classroom. The with us.
teacher took our sacred carnets de “So, young man, where are you colle to put a future blessing /curse from?”
on them.
The young man was actually So … a quarter past seven… we were going to miss dinner. Dinner -­‐ the only compensaGon for a failed colle.
Or had the teacher decided that we were not worthy of the sacred food (yeah, food) of the fabulous presGgious school of Janson?
And then … oh joy! The goddess of math piGed me and gave rise to an inspiraGonal mathemaGcal algebraic tsunami.
Whoever you were, thank you!
T h e t e a c h e r l o o k e d a t m y beauGfully tangled equaGons and said:
“I like the way you think.” TranslaGon: well, Darwin was right…we do evolve…mentally.
The third student came in.
And this is how the heavenly gates of the weekend opened up, leading us to the colle aEermath, where all your suffering and struggling was summarized by a blasé:”uhm well struggling with a differenGal at first, it seemed hard and very equaGon, but was aware of the difficult , but, you know once you importance of the respect due to get the idea, it’s a pushover*….”
our colleur. So he replied.
Magic of the kholle!
The teacher said: “Oh and why did What doesn’t kill you makes you you come here? “
stronger.
Was he trying to be nice or simply slyly trying to steal Gme from a poor creature encountering silent yet flagrantly challenging numbers?
“Excuse me sir, the bus got late”
Tick tock
Like stars sucked in by a black hole, we were placed against a not-­‐so -­‐
friendly blank black chalkboard.
The teacher was impressive. Black suit, black Ge, pale shirt, pale skin. SadisGc smirk.
He greeted us… if we can take “where is the third student…he’s in trouble” as a greeGng.
“You shouldn’t leave school when On the clock
you have a kholle! You should stay Time was running out, and our and work and prepare yourself!”
energies and mental capaciGes were too.
Then:
***
“When I took my agréga4on exam, I w a s l o o k i n g a t t h e I took my own car! The people who numbers….numbers were looking * a pushover = something very easy took the train and were late at me…. Shortly, we would engage to accomplish
in a friendly conversaGon and 4
~ JANSON STORIES (2) ~
The Dream Week
When I discovered that I was stupid
By Emma Didier, Sup2
By Lorraine Bastien, Sup 2
The typical week of a Taupin. What would have seemed at the b e g i n n i n g o f t h e y e a r a s impossible to get through has become a habit to almost everybody. Yet from Gme to Gme miracles do happen, and on those days you know for sure that s o m e b o d y u p t h e r e d i d something in your favor.
And last Monday was one of those days. Our group was told that the math kholle was not only cancelled on that day, but not even postponed to another day. Later on, the 2 hour Maple session was unfortunately to be cancelled since the teacher was sick (don’t even ask me how it could happen, since by definiGon the teacher in prépa is, due to his divine essence, indestrucGble. They must at least have sent the clue or the cholera on to destroy him). Since we, by a quirk of fate I can’t quite explain, didn’t have any test, we were leE in a state of shock with only a kholle of English or German for the whole week …
End of September. I was alive! But not for long…
I arrived in Physics. I saw the topic: optics. I thought: I haven’t done my
exercise. But I knew it was not very difficult (We studied it a bit last
year ).I saw the teacher. She looked at me. She looked at the board. I
understood it was the end. She asked me a question. I wrote
something. She said to me it was wrong and explained something. I
understood nothing. I saw the smile on the other student’s face.
I understood I was stupid.
The beginning of my holiday.
What I thought I would do during the holiday: Do nothing, go out with
friends, don’t think about Janson, forget what a Khôlle was, explain
why prépa is just for the best students…
But it was before an event changed the course of my holiday.
I arrived in my bedroom, I put my bag down and I was silly enough to
open my diary and then I saw the reality: columns of exercises, lessons
to learn and a very rare occurrence: an S.I. home assignment (DM).
And I thought again of my teacher: “In prépa you must work during the
holidays, you can’t take two weeks doing nothing.” NOOOO
Friday since the 2nd semester. The week seemed completely empty, and we were very suspicious of what was coming!
How did we manage to adapt to this sudden change? Well, to say the least, our week went along pre[y well, and we tasted again the sweetness of sleeping for a full 8 hours, and didn’t miss at all the usual Mount Everest of work. The next Monday was quite not the same! Moreover it was apparently the week when my math teacher d i s c o v e r e d I n d u l g e n c e a n d Generosity and did not try to give us an extra class on Friday aEernoon, which he had had no Did you know that dogs couldn’t reluctance to do almost every see colors? Well, aEer this week I felt as a dog who had just seen a rainbow. It felt incredibly unique; somehow you get out for a brief moment of the prépa system and look around you. You don’t understand at first how lucky you are to be experiencing it for it won’t happen again, and you don’t know how you could possibly explain the experience to others. But sGll you’ll remember it forever as one of the best weeks of your life in prépa ( one must not exaggerate).
Ge^ng Down to Brass Tacks
By Ghid Karam, Sup1
Moon is shining. Birds are singing. And I am walking. My teeth are grinding.
It is Wednesday morning. Yes morning although the sun doesn’t seem to want to get up. Guess the air of Paris makes you lazy. And crazy
So. It was Wednesday morning, the moon was shining the wind was breezy the sky was cloudy and we were all waiGng at the door, excited and thrilled
Because we were going to be part of the legend
The legend of the taupins that are brought up short by a well put-­‐together entertaining hazardous mathemaGcs DS….did you say you love the Rubik’s cube? How cute.
Get in the room. Get in your chair. Get the table. Get the papers. Get started. Get done. Get ahead.
Lots of get up and go!
Open the paper. Let’s get down to the subject….
Go[a get away.
Roses are red, violets are blue, here’s the subject I don’t have a clue about.
5
~ JANSON STORIES (3) ~ The Prépa Original Soundtracks
By Ghid Karam (Sup1) and Emma Didier (Sup2)
•••
Emma and Ghid wrote about their experience in the ‘prépa’ system through loosely adapted lyrics from famous songs. Will you recognize the original songs?
(Bonus track (if you know what I mean (it’s a game in fact)))
(WHAT A WONDERFUL PREPA)
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really thinking I will outgrade you I hear spé showing off; I watch them as their fears grow
They’ve learned much more than I‘ll ever know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
(Intro music: Raven croaking, garbage ( S E E M S L I K E T H E T E A C H E R ’ S truck engine running)
ARRIVING)
With the lights on, he looks much less (MORNING)
dangerous Pigeons crawling on the sidewalk… Here we are now, illuminate us
you know how I feel
I feel stupid and contagious
Moon is s*ll in the sky….you know Here we are now mesmerize us
how I feel
Hello hello hello oh no *3
It’s a new dawn it’s a new day it’s a new life for me…..and I’m feeling…..
(I WANT TO BE KHOLLE FREE)
Good?
It’s strange but it’s true
I will not get over the way you kholle me like you do (IMAGINE THE CLASS)
But I have to be sure when I walk out Imagine there’s no heaven
that door
It’s easy if you try!
Oh I want to be free, math prodigy
No hell in algebra
Imagine all the people, living fearless (PROFESSOR’S OPINION ON MY for today …
ZOMBIE HEAD)
What‘s in your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie
(F*** YOU, SADISTIC VERY WELL PAID AND EDUCATED SIR (my reply to his opinion))
Look inside, Look inside your *ny mind
Now look a bit harder, Cause we are so uninspired so sick and *red of all the hatred you harbor
F*** you, F*** you very much cause we hate what you do and your whole crew So please don’t stay in touch
(AND WHEN WE FINALLY SAW THE W E E K E N D C O M I N G W E S A I D OVERJOYED)
I heard there was a secret chord (as in a magical math formula)
That *** played and it pleased the Lord (kolleur)
But you don’t really care about math do you?
Well it goes like this
The fourth the fiDh The minor fall and the major liD (op*mis*c view)
The baffled student crying Hallelujah! …..
(HOPING TO SAY ONE DAY)
We are the champions my friend And we’ll keep on figh*ng *ll the end (=conseil de classe) We are the champions of …
THE FIRST DAY OF MY LIFE IN PRÉPA By Emma Didier, Sup2
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a student on his first day at school is terrified and however hard he or she tries to hide it, this soon becomes a fact for the whole world to see.
I, on the other hand, was completely confident walking through the gate of Janson, and not at all worried! SGll at first as any student you go register and for the first Gme in a decade or so you are completely, u[erly, and tragically alone on your first day back at school in those giganGc hallways. Oh what a beauGful day!
Having no problem whatsoever with architecture and old buildings, I easily found my way through the hundred rooms, the different stairs, the new ABC you have to learn: P001 L012 I001 and the mulGtude of students almost as lost as I was. I honestly do not know who drew the school plans but OrganizaGon and Logic were certainly not his mo[o!
Then you discover your class, this is for sure an important moment. What should I say? Should I even say something? It is just as if you were back in primary school. “The newborn taupin is not very friendly at first. Being in this selecGve and stressful school, does indeed limit social interacGon. It takes Gme to happen but the first connecGons are eventually made.” Wait, what am I saying! We are not the result of some ARTE sociological experiment, or a documentary, for God’s sake! Well, then, who would be the lion and who would be the gazelle?
I was sGll lost in my thoughts about making a documentary on the prépa system, when I met for very first Gme my new physics teacher. I think I know now who the predator is. 6
~ FOOD ~
When I’m Fed Up With the Cafeteria
By Audrey Thomas and Charlode Bonny, Sup2
Janson’s cafeteria:
120 Cafe: 120 rue de la Pompe
⊕ Main course: every day you can get fish and vegetables. Fresh fruit as dessert every day with the purpose of having a healthy meal. Salads are always available. Between 13 and 17 €
Θ There isn’t always a knife or spoons available and there Opening Gme: 10 am to 5 pm
might be a long waiGng Gme to get into the cafeteria.
Mac Donald’s : 131 avenue Victor Hugo
Bagels, hamburger, salads…
Budget: between 6 and 10 €
⊕ Many different meal suggesGons
Food: Junk food, hamburgers, fries…
Nooi : 34 rue des Belles Feuilles
Sushi restaurant Pasta, gnocchi and ravioli
Not expensive: You can easily get a reducGon with flyers given at Janson’s main entrance door, and there is fast service
Yushi 16 : 70 rue de Longchamp
Budget: between 10 and 20 euros
Θ Too small to eat inside, so take-­‐
Example: 6 pieces of salmon rolls, 3 salmon sashimi, 3 salmon sushi for 11€
away is recommended
Subway :103 Rue de la Tour
Take-­‐away available between 11am to 3pm
Take-­‐away available Opening Gme: 12am to 2pm
Budget : about 10€
⊕ Not so expensive, there are balanced sandwiches
Italian Pronto Italia: 14 rue Gustave Courbet
Coffee Parisien : 7 rue Gustave Courbet budget : pizza from 12 to 16 €
⊕ Young atmosphere Drinks are not so expensive Mostly homemade burgers between 12 and 20 €
Θ Gme can be short to eat there during the week if you just have 1 hour ⊕ Comfortable atmosphere, good on weekends
Θ It’s not a “fast” food place
7
~ JANSON STUDENTS ~
We’re All Someone Else’s Fool
By Tancrède de Foucauld and Valère Hodelart, Sup6
The goal of this arLcle is to compare what a student from one CPGE secLon thinks of a student from another secLon and vice versa. In order to achieve this, we asked several students three quesLons : 1) Can you describe a student from this other secLon? 2) How do students from your secLon feel about this other secLon? 3) How would you describe a student from your own secLon? ECS vs BCPST
ECS
BCPST
1) “I think they are a
bunch of
environmentalists
that like horses,
but in general we
don’t actually see
them, they master
the art of how to
blend in the
open”.
1) “An ECS is a
show-off who
owns a Canada
Goose. They
believe they are
the future of the
economy sector.
They can be
compared to
Uncle Scrooge
(Picsou), because
they love money
so much. The girls
laugh like
hyenas.”
2) “They are
surgeons that
usually cut wide
open every living
being that comes
their way. They
are said to live,
sleep and eat in
their labs.
Furthermore, I do
believe that they
grow weed and
cook space cakes
for science’s
sake”.
3) When she is a
woman, “a
sophisticated girl –
next-door”. When
he is a man, “the
archetype of the
gentleman, well
educated,
particularly at ease
with languages,
generous and
mostly humble”.
MP vs AL
MP
AL
1) “Always with big
1) “They have
glasses, they look
glasses even when
like teenagers.
they don’t need
Always stressed,
them, they always
they are covered in
have their heads in
spots. When they
the clouds and
have some
wear carnival
literature work to
clothes”
do, they always
complain, saying
2) “Actually, they are
it’s useless. Sadly,
weird. I never had
it’s just because
the chance of
they don’t know
knowing any AL
how to use words,
student. In fact, I
and because
imagine some
grammar is an
extraterrestrial
unknown world to
mutants. In
them.”
addition, we think
that they are
2) “They can’t look at
always “riding” a
anything else than
their calculators.
book, high on
Please take a book,
drugs and living in
try to look at
another world”
something else
than Maths and we
promise you that
3) “With advanced
life is much more
mathematics, we
interesting. Their
understand and
girl quota is not
have access to the
high at all… this is
the reason why
world that you
they are called
poor mortals
“Taupins à la
cannot imagine in
savonette”.”
all your foulest
3) “We, great AL’s,
Greek or Latin
are the best. Our
books.”
course options are
much more open
and intellectual.
But don’t worry, if
you come to us,
you will be
welcome.”
2) “They are fans of
the US. They have
an outsized ego
and believe they
are the kings of
the world, even
though they are
carpet sellers.”
3) “We are openminded and
friendly. We have
the best-looking
girls in Janson.
And finally we
know what
dipalmitoylphosph
atidylcholine is.”
(Continued on p 9)
8
(Continued from p8 - We’re All Someone’s Else’s Fool)
BL vs PC
ECE vs PSI
BL
PC
1) “A typical PC
student has
pimples, plays on
his calculators and
is a man because
there aren’t any
real girls.”
1) “A BL student is
either a woman or
a gay. They are
ghosts; we never
see them because
they are always
studying.”
2) “They have no
culture, they never
watch arthouse
films because they
only watch “C’est
pas sorcier”.
2) “BL students are
dealing with an
identity crisis.
They don’t really
choose an option,
but do a bit of
every subject.
They are part of a
hybrid stream and
therefore they
don’t have any
openings, so we
wish them luck.”
3) “A BL student is
first of all humble.
He is able to stay
proud without
going to the toilet
for six hours. He
is indecisive and
proud to be a
communist.”
ECE
PSI
1) “A PSI student is
1) ”An ECE student
elegantly,
isn’t capable of
academically
handing in his
learning how to
work in time, he
become a
always promises
mechanic, plumber,
lots of things but
electrician, and
never keeps his
how to master
promise. He
these high
changes his mind
qualifications
like a girl changes
which require
clothes. He wears
specific skills.
fashionable clothes
Their jokes are
with a view to
consequently very
being recognized
“oily”.”
as a “celeb”.”
2) “They dress like
mechanics and
adulate the Mario
Bros game (what
better way is there
in fact to become a
great plumber?).
The only beauty
they have heard of
is the beautiful
sound of an engine
roar.”
3) “We are the
perfect mix of a
scientific and a
practical
intelligence. We
also are skilled
strategists,
because we
choose the best
options to achieve
our goal without
exhausting
ourselves with
abstract Maths.”
2) “Their thought is
always limited by
so-called economic
conceptions which
are only utopias.
They always stay
in close groups
although they
maintain the
opposite. The girls
are THE prototype
of fake human
beings.”
3) “We are unfairly
judged as arrogant, 3) “A PSI student is ignorant, stupid
Cartesian and does people. The truth is
not live in a that everybody
utopian world. Our envies us because
world is ruled by they know that, one
stable laws. We day, they will be
working in our own
have access to companies. We
knowledge that believe in people
you, ECE students, like Steve Jobs.
are selling Money talks in this
carelessly without world, and here we
understanding its are preparing to be
the future major
real value.”
shareholders of this
life.”
9
~ FOREIGN STUDENTS AT JANSON (1) ~ A STUDENT FROM THE ISLANDS
By Rodolphe Mar@, Sup3
investments, and the
level is not as high as in
•••
Rodolphe interviewed Majorcan-­‐born France”.
Miguel Cano, who arrived this year at Janson.
Miguel Cano was born
on July 31st, 1994; he grew up
on the sunny island of Palma de
Majorca. He did his whole
schooling at the Lycée Français
in Palma. So naturally he
speaks good French. As a
young boy, he already wanted to
work with mathematics, be like a
kind of teacher-researcher.
Before he studied for the ‘Bac’,
Miguel went on APB and chose
Janson de Sailly for his future. A
good choice? He will see that in
two years. In any case, it was
easy for him to pass his
baccalaureate. And he finally
decided to come to France for
his studies, because, for him,
the Spanish university system is
not good at all, and he was not
sure to have a good and
pleasant job after his studies in
Spain. “I chose France because
in Spain higher education is not
really the best thing, because
there are not a lot of public
When he arrived
at Janson for the first
time, he thought that it
was like a big cold
factory of students “Too
industrial, like a
students’ factory”, but it
was just a first
impression and now he
thinks that it is a nice
place for studying and
he likes to be in Sup4. For him
the prépa system is a little
exhausting because he was not
used to eating at seven o’clock
for dinner - in Spain, people eat
dinner around 9 or 10 pm, but
he discovered French bread and
really likes it. And being in
France is exhausting for him too,
because the climate is harder
than in Palma, a sunny
Mediterranean island. He says
that he works a lot but he does
not work every single day of the
week (which makes sense,
otherwise he would go crazy),
and on weekends, he goes for a
stroll in the city and visits some
places in Paris, his favorite is la
Rue de la Huchette, because
there are all the things he likes
“My favorite Parisian place is the
Rue de la Huchette. There is a
“theater of the absurd”, there are
many creperies, and the
legendary “caveau de la
Huchette”, everything I like at
the same place”. As we can see,
Miguel is a literary boy (and a
scientific boy too). And, for a
foreigner, he has no difficulties
speaking and writing French
because, having done his whole
schooling in a French lycée, he
is bilingual. “I learned French
being a child”.
A CATALAN PROVERB
A proverb from his country is “Gira el mon I torna al born”, which means that you (can)
go around the world and finally you come back to your house in the “Born” (a street of Palma).
So whatever you do in your life, you will always finally return home. We can see that this
language is not Spanish but it is Catalan. Catalan is the regional language spoken almost all
along the Eastern coast of Mediterranean Spain and in the Balearic islands. So with that
regional language and English, Miguel speaks about 4 languages, and for him, speaking more
than one language is something quite good, because he can speak with more people than if he
just speaks one language and he can open his mind to new cultures, so for him, it is something
very interesting. And finally, he used to practice tennis in his youth, but now he is mostly
focused on his studies. Does he practice any sport now? “Not really. But I used to practice
tennis. I was certainly a great champion, just like Rafa Nadal. By the way, I took lessons at the
same club where he started to play tennis, The Mallorca Tennis Club.” R. Marti.
10
~ FOREIGN STUDENTS AT JANSON (2) ~
From Taipei to Taupin
By Guénolée Colas des Francs (Sup6) and Adrien Tardieu (Sup2)
the lessons you want, have your own 4me to do sport, to join a club, to party every night... That was really what I thought! It’s not the school I was •••
expec4ng because in every Taiwanese This is an interview of Taiwanese student school we have a lawn, a stadium, and Chao En Hung.
many sports facili4es like basketball courts. So I thought first that it would be >>Let’s talk a bit about who you are and a licle more boring here than in Taiwan.
where you come from!
My name is Chao En Hung, I come from >>First impressions of France?
It’s cold and it rains a lot! I’m Taiwan, Republic of China. I’m in MPSI.
from a tropical country, normally it’s hot, >>How did you get here?
at least 30 degrees in the morning. E v e r y y e a r , t h e r e i s a One anecdote on arriving, we mathema4cs exam in Taiwan for had no way to contact the staff at our students who want to study in France arrival. It gave me the first chance to (classes prépa); there are at most 10 speak French… with a police officer. people who can seize this opportunity. Eventually, we found them wai4ng for us When I read about it in the newspaper, I at the wrong gate.
thought I could try it because I was not bad in Maths. I had also wanted to study >>How was your first day at school?
abroad since I was licle, so I registered I was late! I arrived at 10 past 8 for this exam and I passed. This project and the teacher was a bit angry at me. I was giving me the opportunity to fulfill was surprised I could almost understand my dream and it would not cost too what the teacher was talking about. Concerning the difficulty, it was not too much. hard for me at first because it was things >>Could you speak French at the @me?
I had already seen in Taiwan. No, I didn’t know how to speak French. At the beginning of last year, I >>Your worst/best mark in Maths…?
started to study French at the French Best: 17, but it was a minor exam.
Ins4tute in Taipei. For six months, we Worst: 9.9
had 24 class hours a week, in total we had 500 hours before coming to France. >>What do you think of France now?
I think French people are not so >>What did you think about France roman4c but they work hard in their before coming?
daily lives. My classmates for example I t h i n k w e h a v e s o m e study harder and more than the stereotypes, there are posi4ve ones. Taiwanese and the Chinese. Their spirit is French people are roman4c and self-­‐ respecpul. Most students in Taiwan, confident. Of Paris I knew the Eiffel once at university, don’t study hard and tower. When I came to Paris, I couldn’t don’t face any difficul4es any more. But wait to see it and when I eventually in France you have the ‘concours’, it stood right beneath it, it was beau4ful. reminds you of the value of hard work. And also the traffic in Paris is France is also famous for its food. When we speak about French horrible, everyone drives fast, not restaurants, it means great food, everyone abides by the traffic laws. But expensive things, elegance, something in France, like in my country, the people that costs a lot, gives you a good in the street and at school are always environment to enjoy your food in, have happy to help me when I have some a good 4me with your girlfriend… but problems, ques4ons...
now I have my meals at the school cafeteria. I’m not really sure whether it’s >>The weirdest thing you no@ced in French food! There is something that I France?
People don’t wash their hands especially like in the school cafeteria, it’s pasta with spinach. This is what I ate last aIer going to the toilet and they shake night and I like it a lot!
hands with you aIerward.
>>What did you expect the school to be >>Your favorite place in Paris?
Definitely it’s the Louvre, like?
I thought it would be like a because it’s a beau4ful building and normal university where you can go to there are a lot of pictures, statues… In 11
my country, we don’t have any museums like this, we mostly have modern museums with few ancient pieces.
>>Your favorite French expression?
“À tes souhaits” because I think it improves interpersonal rela4ons. You bless someone because it is the only thing you can do for him, it represents your concern for him.
>>A proverb from your country?
“Heaven keeps an eye on what we do”. It means that if you do something bad, there is always someone who knows about it.
>>What do you want to study or work on aoer your prépa ?
I don’t have a clear idea yet, but I think I would like to go to another country during my studies in a ‘grande école’. I want to experience more things, now that I have the chance; I want to make the most of it.
~ BRITAIN ~ Interview With David Cameron
council but no single market council? The problem is that the European Union is in services By Margot Anastasescu and incomplete and the consequence Paul Cussac, Sup6
is that the EU is half •••
as successful as it H a v e y o u h e a r d a b o u t t h e could be.
probable next referendum in June in Great Britain which was proposed by David Cameron, the The Taupic: And this Prime Minister? is exactly why the UK When the Conserva4ves said Yes to Europe: Margaret We have imagined an interview should stay in Europe. Thatcher, with William Whitelaw and Peter Kirk, at a with David Cameron:
And as you always referendum conference in June 1975
say: “The main reason The Taupic: Hello, Mr. Cameron. for the presence of French people don’t understand the UK in the EU is our why the UK acts like that with the parGcipaGon in the single market” of thousands of jobs: because EU. You have just joined Europe The single market of EU represents foreign companies and investors and you already want to leave? more than 50 % of the BriGsh will not trust the strength of the The UK has always been marginal overseas trade: 43% of BriGsh BriGsh economy anymore; and and an independent part, an island, exports and 47% of BriGsh imports. then… they will leave.
but is this any reason to destroy D.C.: Certainly, but it is s4ll up to D.C.: Yes, it’s probably true, but we can also see that the UK spending the whole European project? the Bri4sh to choose.
Because we all know that if a We need flexibility. I accept, of for the EU, for example the support country leaves Europe, it will show course, that for the single market tax for the other countries, how weak the links between the to func4on we need the same rules. represents about 6 or 7 billion euro different partners are, and other But we also need to be able to be per year. And the Bri4sh must know countries could follow. on the same level on developments it! D.C.: Perhaps, but Europe is in a and trends. Because now we must crisis situa4on and the economic be as compe44ve as Asian and expecta4ons of GB aren’t sa4sfied, North American countries. They are The Taupic: Apart from the so I propose some changes driving our economy and to be a economic side, the UK could lose especially for the Euro zone. part of the decision-­‐making its influence in relaGon to the USA, For example, Europe’s share of process, we mustn’t be rigid as a which uses the UK as a gateway to world produc4on is projected to fall bloc but be a flexible network. I’m the EU. And this is significant.
by almost a third in the next two saying that because I don’t want D.C.: The world’s priori4es have changed and Europe has to adapt decades.
Europe to fail.
itself. Now the most important So let me set out my vision for a thing for Europe is not to win peace new European Union: First of all: Compe44veness The Taupic: But the EU is the but to secure prosperity.
with the single market is very conGnent of social progress and it I’m sorry I have to leave, I have an important in our capitalis4c system. shouldn’t have to bow before the important mee4ng with the When the compe44veness of the other countries just to have more German chancellor.
Single Market is so important, why flexibility. Workers must be The Taupic: Goodbye and thank is there an environment council, a protected. transport council, an educa4on And what about the risk of the loss you very much.
WHY DOES THE UK WANT TO LEAVE THE EU?
On April 13th, 2013, there was a meeting between
David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela
Merkel. It was to renegotiate Britain’s relationship.
They agreed on the urgent need to make Europe
more competitive and flexible and talked about ways
to achieve this. And they discussed how we can work
together in the run-up to the May and June European
councils to make further progress.
David Cameron looks on as the German chancellor, Angela
Merkel, signs the guestbook at Schloss Meseberg.
12
Sources for the interview: mainly from BBC News, The
Daily Telegraph, and The Times.
~ USA ~
Guns Bless America?
By Juliede Meyer and Léa Baron
Sup2
•••
“A well regulated mili4a being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” (Bill of Rights, Second Amendment to the US Cons4tu4on)
Since 1982 there have been 70 mass shooGngs in the US, where 543 people and children died. With 7 mass shooGngs resulGng in 68 deaths, the year 2012 is one of the most murderous years in the history of the country. 45 per cent of the shooGngs’ vicGms in the USA in the past 30 years have been killed since 2007. Every Gme there is a mass shooGng in America, it creates the same debate about gun control. In December 2012, a man killed his mother and shot 20 children in the Sandy Hook E l e m e n t a r y i n N e w t o w n , ConnecGcut, which fuelled another row over guns. Is the USA really a dangerous country?
Every Gme we hear about guns, the first country which pops up into our mind is America. Detroit is the most dangerous city in the US with 1,220 violent crimes in a year for 100,000 inhabitants and the third most dangerous city in the world aEer Cape Town, South Africa and Karachi, Pakistan, a n d m o r e d a n g e r o u s t h a n Baghdad. Also, in Louisiana there are 10 to 16 firearm murders per 100,000 inhabitants. And yet, even though the US is a dangerous country, other c o u n t r i e s a r e e v e n m o r e dangerous. For example, there are 7 5 h o m i c i d e s p e r 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 inhabitants each year in South Africa, 36 in Colombia and only 5.7 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . B u t t h e difference lies in the rate of firearm homicides. When South Africa has a rate of firearm murders of 35%, the US has 65% and this rate climbs to 80.7% in Colombia.
In the past 15 years, the USA has suffered a wave of murderous shooGngs: for instance, in 1999, two teenagers killed 15 people at Columbine High School, and in 2007 the massacre of Virginia Tech caused 33 deaths. But the same events are happening in o t h e r c o u n t r i e s . T h e m a s s shooGngs in Toulouse in 2012 or in Norway in 2011 by Anders Behring Breivik launched a new debate about guns in Europe.
Andrew Cuomo signed on January 1 5 t h t h e N e w Y o r k S e c u r e A m m u n i G o n a n d F i r e a r m s Enforcement Act of 2013 (NY SAFE Act). The law is presented by Cuomo as the “toughest gun control law” in the country. However the NY Safe Act is disputed, even by people who lost a relaGve by murder. David Corr, who lost his son in 2006, is now standing against the NY Safe Act, arguing it would not have saved his Gun control in the US
son’s life. For him, it’s just a waste of Gme and money and he only The Second Amendment to wishes his son’s friends, who carry the US ConsGtuGon was adopted guns, had been near him on that on December 15, 1791, and day to defend him.
guarantees the right to “keep and bear arms”. The right to possess an In fact, the whole gun arm plays an important part in the control policy is quesGoned by a American culture and history.
large number of Americans, In 1993 President Bill including of course the NRA’s Clinton signed the Brady Handgun members. Some even compare Violence PrevenGon Act, which Obama’s policy to the Nazis’ imposed federal psychiatric and totalitarian regime which forbad judicial background checks for guns just before WWII, or to the every person who wants to ProhibiGon in the USA in the purchase a firearm. This law can 1920’s. What the ProhibiGon vary from one state to another. For taught us about guns is that the example, minors can’t buy guns in soluGon is not in the complete ban some states, and in others the of firearms.
purchasers have to take a wri[en exam. In some states, carrying a More recently, Obama weapon in public is even banned. proposed a law presented as a And yet, the restricGons for compromise to expand background possessing a gun were considerably checks to guns shows and online relaxed in 2010 by the US Supreme sales, even though they are Court, which was a great victory for currently not always respected. The the NaGonal Rifle AssociaGon Senate opened debate on April 16, (NRA), a powerful American lobby 2013, and rejected the bill even if that promotes the right of ciGzens 86% of Americans supported it. to bear arms. AEer the vote, Obama criGcized the But the horrific elementary NRA’s members and the senators school massacre in Newtown in who threw out this bill, and December, 2012, revived the accused them of basing their debate on the right to carry decisions on money and not on weapons. On January 16, 2013, Americans’ wishes. President Obama laid out 23 p r o p o s a l s f o r r e d u c i n g g u n It seems that the gun violence. For example, he called for control problem in the US is far a restricGon of large caliber from being solved. If even aEer the weapons and a reinforcement of tragic deaths of 20 children, the gun traceability. "If there's even law is not slightly improved, what one life that can be saved, then will it take to change the situaGon?
we've got an obliga4on to try," Obama said. At the same Gme, in the state of New York, Governor 13
GUNS IN FIGURES
416,625
Years lost by firearm
~ HEALTH ~
Adop@ng Healthy Ea@ng Habits
murders in 2010 in the
US (years of life that
people killed could
have lived)
117,551
Years lost by firearm
murders in 2013 (until
April)
40%
Percentage of
households with guns
in the US
283 million
Guns in circulation in
the US, which
represents 90 weapons
for 100 people
WHAT DOES A ‘BALANCED’ DIET MEAN?
2 million
Guns legally in
circulation in France
(plus 12 to 20 million
illegally)
11,101
Victims of gun
homicides in the US in
2010
27
Victims of gun
homicides in the UK in
By Audrey Thomas and Charlotte Bonny, Sup2
A balanced diet is based on eating a
great variety of food; there is no
prohibited product as well as no miracle
product.
You don’t build a balanced diet in just
one meal but throughout the week. That
is why a few lapses in your diet are
occasionally allowed.
The aim of the game is to limit fat,
sugar and salt.
Weapons produced
each year in the US
You can get a snack, but at least 2
hours before the meal. A snack can be
composed of a maximum of
2
products, namely: a fruit, a cerealbased product (bread, biscuit …).
Juliece Meyer & Léa Baron, Also read article on p7: Eating At or Around
Janson.
2010
32 million
Sup2
Source: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu
14
PROVERBS
& SAYINGS
An apple a day
keeps the doctor
away
(chaque jour une pomme
conserve son homme)
Too many cooks
spoil the broth
(trop de cuisiniers gâtent
la sauce: si trop de
personnes font la même
chose, c’est l’échec)
Half a loaf is
better than no
bread
(La moitié d’une miche
vaut mieux que pas de
pain: faute de grives, on
mange des merles; un
tiens vaut mieux que deux
tu l’auras)
~ SPORTS ~ Football and Poli@cs -­‐ A Long History
By Ryan Azzaz (Sup6) and Tanguy Rouffignac (Sup2)
Next year, in 2014, Brazil will host the next Football World Cup. Ryan and Tanguy decided to analyze the interac4on between football and poli4cs.
• • •
T h e f a m o u s E n g l i s h football player Gary Lineker once said: “Football is a simple game: 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win.” But History shows that some*mes football is much more than a simple game. On some occasions, it’s not only a ques*on of fun and goals but much more. Indeed, this sport is the most popular in the world and so for a lot of people it was a way to spread ideas or to protest against them. In this ar*cle we are going to take a few examples of matches which made history for poli*cal reasons. ADer reading “Terrain miné” (Minefield) by Chérif Ghemmour, we decided to present to you four poli*cal events through football: the putsch by Pinochet in Chile, the fight for independence in Algeria, the Falklands war and more recently the debt crisis!
Chile-­‐USSR: 21 November, 1973
in the World Cup in the FRG (Federal Republic of Germany). The first match in Moscow was organized two weeks aDer the putsch by Pinochet and most of the Chilean players were afraid for their families. Despite this, the match ended with a 0-­‐0 score. So everything was possible before the match in Chile. The FIFA sent a delega*on before this match to make a report about the city and the atmosphere there; they considered that the condi*ons w e r e g o o d a n d t h a t t h e popula*on was happy! They probably forgot to explain that the stadium where the match was going to take place was a prison for a lot of people who were considered by Pinochet as poli*cal opponents. The match took place but the Russian players refused to par*cipate. They could just quit before the match but they preferred to protest in another way: they came on the field but they didn’t play. They just looked at the Chileans, who were wai*ng for them. The Chilean players scored aDer 28 s e c o n d s a n d n o t h i n g e l s e happened un*l the end of the match! Chile qualified in this really strange atmosphere and a D e r t h e m a t c h , P i n o c h e t received the Chilean players. One of them refused to shake his hand: “You know there are some problems with the trade unions, problems with the prisoners.”
A football game was scheduled for November 21st, 1973, at the “Estadio Nacional” in San*ago de Chile. This second Pinochet didn’t answer this player encounter between Chile and the but these words illustrate the fact USSR was the play-­‐off for a place that the Chilean players didn’t 15
agree with Pinochet’s poli*cs. They just wanted to con*nue to do their job and to play football despite the condi*ons. Romania-­‐Algeria FLN: 28 May, 1959
E v e r y t h i n g s t a r t e d a t t h e beginning of the year 1958, when Mr Boumezrag, one member of the FLN, came to the French-­‐
Algerian player Abdelaziz Ben Tifour to offer him to par*cipate in a student tournament in Moscow. Ben Tifour answered him: “I’m a professional. Why would I go there? You should create a team with the best players playing in France.”
The FLN team was founded on Sunday 13th April, 1958. Nine players leD France to meet the temporary government in Tunis. The best-­‐known players, Rachid Mekhloufi and Mustapha Zitouni, were going to par*cipate in the world Cup with the French na*onal team in Sweden but they decided to leave for their homeland. The FLN organized then a lot of matches in the countries that accepted to w e l c o m e t h e m ( t h e E a s t European socialist democracies, the other countries of the Maghreb…). (con4nued on p16)
(con4nued from p15) But the problem was that the FIFA forbade these countries to receive the FLN team. This team then didn’t officially play against Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria but against regional teams of these countries… But in fact this team really played against great teams and it was really considered as a great team by its opponents. They were highly mo*vated because they were playing for their country. Against Romania, on May 28th 1959, the team won 1-­‐0. This game is representa*ve of this adventure where the mo*va*on of these players allowed them to represent their country and thus to fight for freedom.
Argen@na-­‐England: 22 June, 1986
The Falklands war is a conflict -­‐ although there wasn’t a state of war between the belligerents -­‐ over the control of the eponymous islands in the S o u t h e r n A t l a n * c . T h i s archipelago is claimed by both Argen*na and the UK. On April 1982, Argen*na invaded the Falklands and some other Bri*sh overseas territories and didn’t meet serious resistance as the UK was taken by surprise. Following the invasion, the Bri*sh sent a t a s k f o r c e t h a t u l * m a t e l y recaptured all the estates and a D e r 7 4 d a y s , A r g e n * n a surrendered.
Rarely did a player have to get as involved in a poli*cal event as Maradona did. But “El pibe de oro” (The Golden Boy) really wanted to. During the na*onal anthem of England, “God save the Queen”, he was looking at the English players right in the eyes. One could feel pure hatred in his eyes. Maradona made of this match a personal case and he wanted to fight against one na*on, not only against a football team, as he said himself in an autobiography published in 2001: “ We knew they’d shot a lot of young Argen*neans during the Falklands war. That’s why this match was a revenge.”
2 0 1 2 E u r o p e a n F o o t b a l l championship against the team of Germany. Angela Merkel is considered by a lot of Greeks as a devil wan*ng the death of the country and she aFended the match. Germany won 4-­‐2 and “kicked Greece out of the Euro”. Angela could be happy. Her “Na*onalmannschaD “ (na4onal team) won this game against a valiant team. But it was really different from the other matches we presented before. Here there was no problem between the players. The match was played in regular sports surroundings. The media in Greece created a lot of problems about this match but on t h e g r o u n d n o t h i n g b a d happened: no anger from the Greek players, no superiority complex from the German players: here the players were passive in the face of the poli*cal issues around this match!
The match started and at the end, Argen*na qualified for the semi final of the World Cup. What about Maradona? He scored twice; both of his goals made football history for two really different reasons: the first one was the famous “Hand of God”. This goal was scored with M a r a d o n a ’ s l e D h a n d . H e considered himself during the press conference that God had helped him to score and to beat England. A liFle bit preten*ous, you think? Not for him. The second one is famous for another reason: he dribbled all the English team star*ng from the middle of the ground and scored the qualifying goal. Too easy for him, This is not specific to football but he was figh*ng for his country!
can also be seen in other sports a lot of *mes, for example Jesse Germany-­‐Greece: 22 June, 2012 Owens, the black athlete who won a medal in the 1936 Berlin A D e r t h e w o r l d w i d e Olympics or the South African economic crisis in 2007, a lot of victory during the 1995 Rugby c o u n t r i e s e n t e r e d i n t o a World Cup that helped to reunite r e c e s s i o n . T h i s c r e a t e d a the country aDer apartheid. As sovereign debt crisis as some the Romans said “panem et countries were not able to pay circensem”, “bread and games”. back the loans they had taken. Sports are thus one of the things Greece’s situa*on is probably the that can easily influence people worst as in April 2010, it was and keep them happy or, on the downgraded by the Standard and contrary, make them really angry!
Poors credit ra*ng agency to a specula*ve grade, which means it would possibly not be able to fulfill its financial commitments. *** This created a lot of turmoil in the Euro-­‐zone as other European c o u n t r i e s , a m o n g s t t h e m Germany, were reluctant to pay to help the Greeks. There was some tension and there was some talk of Greece’s exit from the European Union. It was in this context that the Greek football team played a quarterfinal of the 16
~ GEOPOLITICS ~
The Civil War in Syria -­‐ A Westerner’s View
by Antoine Malod
hate the American government. nego*a*ons with the Jihadists, Thanks be to God, we consider maybe Europe can try, but some Sup2
this a medal of honour.”2 of their speeches seem to show •••
T h e d a n g e r i s r e a l , a hatred of everything coming T h e A r a b S p r i n g because it must be pointed out from Western civiliza*on. m o v e m e n t s u c c e e d e d i n that the Syrian regime has Finally, there remain the last libera*ng oppressed people access to the biggest stock of two alterna*ves.
f r o m t h e t y r a n n y o f chemical and bacterial weapons For the *me being, the dictatorships, but despite the in the Middle East. The danger Western countries think the enormous worldwide hope it of seeing this equipment fall in best alterna*ve is a victory of triggered, some events which the hands of terrorist groups the rebellion. On the other occurred in some countries should not be underes*mated. h a n d , t h e a d v a n t a g e o f following the Arab Spring may In Libya, Ghaddafi owned more maintaining the regime in power legi*mately raise a number of than 20,000 portable surface-­‐to-­‐ would be to prevent the q u e s * o n s t o t h e o u t s i d e air missiles (SAMs), which are possibility of widespread chaos. o b s e r v e r , e s p e c i a l l y t o a par*cularly efficient to shoot One must also bear in mind that Westerner. down a military or civilian plane B a c h a r A l -­‐ A s s a d , l i k e a l l Since the 15th of March, flying as high as 11,000 feet. But dictators, has a lot of blood on 2011, Syria has been facing a since the regime was defeated, his hands. murderous war between the a large part of them vanished Whatever decision the opponents of Bachar Al-­‐Assad into thin air. Thus, in late 2011, Western countries make, the der Spiegel revealed 3 that main thing is to remember that and his loyal forces.
according to the chairman of the Most of the rebels are figh*ng NATO military commiFee, more the lives of tens of thousands of against the dictatorship and for than 10,000 were missing. He innocent people are at stake. Democracy but it is not the case spoke about a “serious threat to Surely this is no game of of all the fighters.
poker.
civilian airplanes”.
Jabhat Al-­‐Nusra, founded on the To avoid a new disaster, 24th of January, 2012, is actually four ways
of dealing with the considered by observers as one of the large groups of Syrian conflict are possible for Western rebellion. Indeed, according to countries: send troops to occupy ***
the moderate wing of the Free the country like in Afghanistan Syrian Army, Jabhat Al Nusra or conduct an asymmetric reportedly counts between w a r f a r e ( d r o n e s , S p e c i a l 6,000 and 10,000 fighters. And Forces…); nego*ate with the its personnel represented 9 extreme fac*ons; support the Notes:
percent, in growth, of all the “moderate” rebellion or at least nego*ate with the regime in rebels early December.1 1Washington Post “Al-­‐Qaeda affiliate power. But some interviews of The first alterna*ve is playing larger role in Syria rebellion” the leaders are however a bit 30.12.2012 worrying, like this example of a impossible: nobody wants (and chief of the Al-­‐Nusra Front. To has enough money) for a new 2BBC news “ Syria: Islamist Nusra Front t h e q u e s * o n “ A r e y o u Afghanistan or Iraq scenario in gives BBC exclusive interview” terrorists?” his answer was: Syria. It is not a long-­‐term 17.01.2013
“When the US placed us on their solu*on either: It does not help list of terrorists, it did us no to rebuild a country on the brink 3Der Spiegel “Kriegschaos in Libyen: h a r m , i t e l e v a t e d o u r of chaos with smart missiles. N a t o f ü r c h t e t A n s c h l ä g e m i t reputa*on. The Syrian people C o n c e r n i n g p o s s i b l e verschwundenen Raketen” 02.10.2011 17
~ CULTURE ~
Like Music to My Ears
By Thibaut Kulak (Sup4) and Delphine Cunin (Sup6)
EDWARD
HOPPER: AN
UNEXPECTED SUCCESS
From 10th October 2012 to
3 rd February 2013, 164
works of art by the American
painter Edward Hopper were
on display at The Grand
Palais, attracting more than
785,000 visitors. It was the
second most visited
exhibition after Monet (more
than 900,000) and just
before Picasso.
Two parts: one with the
works of art produced during
his training years, drawing a
parallel with some
contemporary works of arts
which were discovered in
Paris and could have
inspired him in his work. A
second one devoted to his
famous paintings and his
singular style.
Why this success?
The paintings by Hopper
convey an image of silence,
loneliness or frustration. By
representing the United
States at the beginning of
the 20th century, he stirs up a
f e e l i n g o f a n x i e t y. H i s
painting is collective and
social, therefore it deeply
affects visitors. I n d e e d , E d w a r d H o p p e r disapproves of surrealism and abstrac*on; he just transposes reality and makes his own feelings appear through his art, and so succeeds in touching the public.
TK & DC.
Thibaut and Delphine look at the effects of music on the human body (below), and write about the success of the Edward Hopper exhibi4on this year at the Grand Palais (leD).
‘designer music’ whose aim is to create some specific effects on the listener and to change his or her mood. ADer having ques*oned some students from each sec*on about “how do you succeed in relaxing with art?” we came to the following conclusions: Students succeed in relaxing with art in different ways, such as reading, watching a movie or listening to music. However, as far as music is considered, a great majority of the students ques*oned answered that this is an important part of their hobbies: they almost all declared they listen to music at least once a day. They admit it influences their state of mind, and that they could not do without it.
An experiment has tested the effects of 4 different kinds of music on a representaGve sampling frame of the populaGon (144 parGcipants, 15 minutes listening).
It reveals that classical music decreases blood pressure and aggressiveness. It can be observed that the effects are more beneficial f o r a d u l t s : i t h e l p s t h e m b y decreasing feelings of Gredness and sadness. It is the opposite for the majority of teenagers. However, this kind of music undermines strength and clarity for both of them. Along with new age music.
Let us now turn to the effects of a very different style of music: grunge r o c k . T h a t m u s i c m a d e t h e parGcipants feel aggressive, Gred, and sad.
At work, to erase the background sounds, music can help you concentrate, provided it is well chosen. But when it is well known by the listener, he just focuses on the melody and the lyrics instead of his ac*vity. If the music helps the listener relax, then it is easier for him or her to concentrate. Actually, some scien*sts have proved that music has some effects on feelings, state of mind and performance.
Let us focus par*cularly on its effects on the human body. We may observe that music influences blood circula*on, breathing pace and heart rate, as well as the immune defense system. Moreover, some studies have shown music could help reduce pain (up to 21 percent). That is why music is some*mes used during surgical opera*ons (under anesthe*c, for example).
For instance, the tempo of the music influences the rhythm of the heart beats: a slow song makes your heart slow down, and also relaxes you. In fact, it s*mulates the produc*on of an*-­‐hypertensive hormones, and simultaneously reduces the level of stress-­‐
inducing hormones.
Music might have all these results, that is why a new sort is born:
18
As can be expected, designer music is the only one which has very convincing results: it leads to increasing levels of empathy, relaxaGon, clarity and strength. Whatever your favorite music style, listening to it will always give you posiGve effects.
To draw a parallel, in 1966 a scienGst conducted an experiment and noGced that plants exposed to music grew be[er, faster, stronger than plants without music. They noGced that Mozart’s music has a posiGve effect on growth instead of a chaoGc growth with hard rock music. It shows that plants are sensiGve to m u s i c t o o . T h o s e s c i e n G fi c c o n c l u s i o n s i n fl u e n c e d s o m e i n s G t u G o n s . F o r i n s t a n c e t h e Beethoven’s Babies’ Law in Florida requires daycare centers to get kids to listen to classical music. It is supposed to foster early childhood brain development.
Examples of ‘Spotted’
messages
"To the bloke eating the
travel pack of shreddies
on the 3rd floor...
Brief moment of panic
when your difficulty in
opening the noisy packet
sounded like two geese
cavorting on a bed of rice
krispies, but I am grateful
to you for the initiative to
then eat them off a piece
of lined paper. Good last
minute save."
Au mec qui mangeait le
paquet de gaufrettes au
3ème étage
Petit moment de panique
en voyant ta difficulté à
ouvrir le bruyant paquet, qui
grondait tel des oies
s’ébattant sur un lit de
krispies de riz, mais je te
suis reconnaissante de les
avoir ensuite mangés sur
un bout de papier rayé. Au
final tu t’es bien rattrapé.
By Spotted: Newcastle
Robinson Library
"Girl in Blue 2 in the Led
Zeppelin t-shirt. I hope
you actually know/ like
the band and it is not just
'a cool tee I got from
COW'. If you are a fan I
would very much like to
ramble on up your
stairway to heaven with
my moby dick, leaving
you dazed and
confused...
consensually."
A la fille en Bleu aussi qui
portait un t-shirt de Led
Zeppelin. En fait j’espère
que tu connais et que tu
aimes le groupe, et que ce
n’est pas “un t-shirt un peu
trop “swagg” de chez
COW“. Si tu es une fan
j’aimerais bien grimper ton
escalier menant au paradis
avec mon cachalot blanc,
pour te laisser étourdie et
confuse… en toute
consensualité.
By Spotted: University of
Manchester Library
to the hottie on fourth:
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I can't rhyme well
have sex with me"
A la bombe du quatrième
Les roses sont bordeaux,
Les violettes sont mauves,
Bien rimer, c’est costaud,
Veux-tu coucher avec un
fauve. (cont. next page)
~ SOCIAL NETWORKING ~
‘Spoded’: this year’s phenomenon?
By Ambroise Schalchli and Miguel A. Cano Sampol, Sup4 Last December, a new facebook page appeared, with the aim of adding a new dimension to the social life of Janson de Sailly: “Spo[ed”. This page is nothing but t h e a r r i v a l o f a n I n t e r n e t phenomenon at our dear Janson school. Actually, these kinds of pages have existed for some Gme now.
Let us describe this phenomenon. Imagine that you are just walking in the hallways of your school or university, and suddenly you spot a raving beauty. You naturally would like to unleash your passion, and start an ardent and romanGc relaGonship. But, alas! You are in “prépa”, and you absolutely have to return to your classroom to listen to a long and boring lesson, during which you won’t stop thinking about what could have been, but will never be. And this may be the reason why most of the Spo[ed users choose to declare their love by means of a poem. However, let’s clarify something: these poems don’t aspire to be like The Heart Asks Pleasure First by Dickinson, or Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day by Shakespeare! They are just mere instruments for the users to say several things about the people they are fond of, and about themselves, so they can recognize each other, with a view to a possible meeGng. We are far from a capGvaGng abstract descripGon of the hollow fuGlity and hazardous nature of what a love feeling could inspire in a This is how it’s always been; it’s the lovestruck person.
kind of happening we are sadly used to. But, what would happen if, Anyway, the fact is that these sites started to appear somehow, we could arrange the in the last year and, even if now they are declining, situaGon to get more news from they were quite popular for a while. The source of that person we once spo[ed? That inspiraGon of the first sites was a secGon from many is the premise of Spo[ed: and even metro magazines, “Kiss and Ride”, whose principle if the person about whom we are was quite similar to the Spo[ed one: it consisted in a speaking doesn’t read our message compilaGon of the best poems wri[en by passengers – which is the most likely possibility who noGced a[racGve people on board. These –, we have at least expressed our pioneering sites belonged to BriGsh and North feelings, and made them clear, American libraries and universiGes. Then, as they became more successful, the sites mulGplied, and the which is something already.
rest is known to all.
Thanks to Spo[ed, the students can confess their crush on someone And, one day, a Spo[ed page appeared in Janson. It they may have spo[ed at the grew very quickly, if we consider the evoluGon of the “cafète” (cafeteria), at the library, or number of “likes”. In less than a week there were in the hallways or the schoolyard, more than five hundred likes, which means more hoping that the other person will than five hundred users looking at the page. Did it read their message (or not). To that have any effect on the students’ producGvity? Did it end, they have to visit the Spo[ed bring new relaGonships? Was it good or was it bad? page, on facebook, and send a We have no answers to these quesGons, although we message to its administrator, who would like to menGon the fact that some people uploads it to the site anonymously, would maybe not like to be spo[ed by someone else: in such a way that everybody can indeed, should these romanGc approaches be in the read it. And of course, it’s forbidden public eye? And what about the gossip they arouse? to menGon the name of the person In any case, apart from these quesGons, the Spo[ed that capGvates us! If we want the phenomenon remains an interesGng anecdote about other person to know that we are how to establish contact with others. speaking about them, it will have to be in an indirect way.
19
(cont. from previous page)
« Ses yeux sont verts
comme un crapaud frais
du matin,
Ses cheveux noirs
comme un corbeau, il est
divin,
C’est mon héros et c’est
mon roi
Je voudrais tant qu’il soit
à moi,
Celui qui a combattu et
qui a vaincu
Le seigneur des ténèbres
à main nue.
His eyes are green like a
fresh toad in the morning,
His hair is as black as a
raven, he is divine;
He’s my hero and he’s my
king,
I would like him so much to
be mine,
He who fought and
vanquished
The Dark Lord with his bare
hands.
Pour tes beaux yeux
bleus
Azurites précieuses,
Je volerais
Jusque dans les monts
enneigés !
Irrésistibles sourires
Ne songes-tu pas à
m’aimer ?
En allemand je te dirais
ces mots :
Ich liebe dich
For your beautiful blue eyes
Precious azurites,
I would fly
Up to the snowy mountains!
Irresistible smiles,
Don’t you think of loving
me?
In German I would tell you
these words:
Ich liebe dich.
Entre Abibacs et euros
Ça devient chaud
Les mariages intersections
Il paraît que ça a du bon.
Between students in Abibac
and Euro sections,
The heat is on,
Inter-section marriages
Are said to be a good thing.
By Spotted: Janson de
Sailly, Paris
Collected and translated by
A. Schalchli & M. Cano
Sampol
~ SCIENCE ~
Why Do We Sleep?
By Maxime Badufle, Sup4
This is an unanswerable question which has tormented
the nights of many researchers and yet, we spend
about a third of our lives asleep. Nevertheless,
scientists have developed several theories in order to
help us begin to understand.
Restorative Theories
First of all, an explanation for why we sleep is based
on the belief that sleep in some way serves to
"restore" what is lost in the body while we are awake
and it’s called the restorative theory. Animals deprived
entirely of sleep lose all immune function and die. The
restorative function like muscle growth, tissue repair,
protein synthesis, and growth hormone release occur
mostly, or in some cases only, during sleep.
Indeed, during sleep, the body secretes a hormone
which plays a decisive role for the bones’ growth,
articulations, muscles and brain: somatropin. The
body synthesizes most proteins: it repairs the muscle
fibers and makes them grow.
Moreover, sleep allows us to reinforce leucocytes
(WBC), which are really the pillar of our immune
system. Therefore, sleep-deprived people are much
more likely to catch any disease.
Energy Conservation Theory
The energy conservation theory suggests that the
primary function of sleep is to reduce an individual’s
energy demand and consumption during part of the
day or night, especially at times when he or she is
least efficient to search for food. But each person has
specific needs. Some people can spend a really good
day with only 6 hours of sleep, whereas other people
with 9 hours are still tired.
However, research has shown that energy metabolism
is significantly reduced during sleep. For example,
both body temperature and calorie demand decrease
during sleep, as compared to wakefulness. Such
evidence supports the proposition that one of the
primary functions of sleep is to help organisms
conserve their energy resources. All body systems
take advantage of the night, to clean, recover, rebuild
forces, to repair or grow.
Brain Plasticity Theory
One of the most recent and compelling explanations
for why we sleep is based on findings that sleep is
correlated to changes in the structure and organization
of the brain. This phenomenon, known as brain
plasticity, is not entirely understood, but its connection
to sleep has several critical implications. When we
sleep, the brain has the opportunity to strengthen
neuronal circuits and to produce new ones. Then, it is
becoming clear, for example, that sleep plays a critical
role in brain development in infants and young
children. Infants spend about 13 to 14 hours per day
sleeping. A link between sleep and brain plasticity is
becoming clear in adults as well. This is seen in the
effect that sleep and sleep deprivation have on
people’s ability to learn and perform a variety of tasks.
20
WHAT ABOUT SLEEP IN PRÉPA?
For two or three years, the pace of work is quite intense. You are soon overwhelmed. However, you s*ll want to do all your work. One op*on is to shorten your nights. Yet, it’s a big mistake! The next day, you are less careful, you don’t understand the lessons very well, you need more *me to understand, so you go to bed even later, and so on… This is really a vicious circle.
It’s essen*al to have a good night’s sleep, p a r * c u l a r l y d u r i n g these “prépa” years. Moreover, the brain benefits from sor*ng t h r o u g h a l l t h e informa*on and data received during the day. Sleep therefore allows you to memorize all the i n f o r m a * o n m o r e easily. It’s a necessary condi*on, but not a s u ffi c i e n t o n e , t o succeed. M. Badufle
~ INFORMATION GRAPHICS ~
Data Visualiza@on and Art
By Benjamin Veillon (Sup6) c o m p u t e r s . W e c a n n o t GENEVA’S ACTIVITY
and E@enne Madinier (Sup2) u n d e r r a t e i t s i n t e r e s t :
•••
Have you ever
wondered how to clearly
present a billion data
(données) in one picture?
How to handle the huge everincreasing quantity of
information generated by our
society? Even if we get the
most powerful digital memory
system we still can’t save all
the data* we produce. And
even worse, we can’t make
the most out of them because
of the difficulties to make them
understandable. That is why
people have tried since the
last century to express these
data through graphic means:
Datavisualization.
journalists can present
information in different ways, it
gives a new lease of life (un
nouveau souffle) to
journalism, and scientists are
given a global point of view;
therefore they can check the
data faster.
How to produce data
Just to sum things up, we can visualization - the standard
m e n t i o n I n f o g r a f i k a ( a process :
Russian newspaper), which
made
a
g r a p h i c 1. Choose the subject of the
study
representation of people’s
Everyone
who chooses to
lives in Brazil, Germany,
China, Russia, and so on: age resort to data visualization,
they began going to school, from the sociologist who
working, first time they had studies the spread of the
information on twitter, to the
sex, birth of kids…
scientist who studies the
Let us take an example: if you distribution of pi’s decimals,
U.S. GUN MURDERS IN want to represent the whole does so with a purpose - he or
2010
activity of Geneva - how much she wants to show, or at least
of a “Living City” Geneva is - study, something. So before
it will be hard to collect all of a n y t h i n g , t h e f i r s t a n d
the data, and to make them unavoidable step is to choose
a subject.
pleasant.
(orange): 9,595 people killed
(gray) 410,919 stolen years
Above the line: children
Below the line: adults
Datavisualization is a
way of representing things
that are around us. It must
be presented in schematic
form, easy to understand,
beautiful to watch and
creative. It concerns a lot of
topics, from politics to health,
including ecology. It began
developing during the second
part of the twentieth century,
with the development of
You will at most make a chart,
with the data in it. The
creators of Data visualization
created a picture with the
data. They picked up the
traces of the phone calls and
t h e a n t e n n a s ’ a c t i v i t y.
Swisscom, a Swiss company,
passed the information on to
Data visualization and they
started from there. They
generated this using different
models, like in the organic
world, but all of these models
come from living forms, just to
make the final picture living/
real, with fluid lines. It is
created on a computer, and
made of a map of Geneva,
rather in dark color, and with
pale lines on it.
21
2. Collect Data
The importance of this step
cannot be ignored, it is really
important to get enough data
to be able to analyze them
and to choose the right criteria
and sources. This data
collection can be done by
sensors and is converted into
databases (for example
meteorological data), thanks
to a software program (for
example in the case of a
study about the internet), or is
supplied by research
institutes.
(continued on p 22)
(Continued from p21- Data Visualization and Art)
3. C h o o s e t h e b e s t think, with collected facts,
representation
trends, and numbers which
they shape into a work of
Once you have all the data art.
you wanted, you have to
decide how you will visualize
For example, an artist
them. There are several m a d e a m a p o f C h i n a
ways to represent what you composed of the keywords
collected, and the decision and websites that are the
depends on your objective. If most often censored by the
y o u w a n t t o s h o w government.
connections you will not
choose the same
representation as if you want
to show a distribution.
4. Get it done
So now that you have
chosen the way you want to
represent the data you
collected about the subject
that is of interest to you, you
will have to finish the final
product. Some companies
are specialized in this kind of
work. It can be computer
graphic designers,
companies such as scientific
companies, or press
agencies. But you can also
do it yourself with data
visualization software that is
beginning to become more
widespread.
Data Art
If data visualization
has first and foremost a
research purpose to study a
subject, some graphic artists
have understood the
strength of this discipline. So
they have started to make
their own visualization, yet
often with fewer data, but
paying even more attention
to the esthetic aspect. These
artists want to make a social
statement, denounce
something or make people
To conclude, if you want
something big, check out
this website: http://internetmap.net/ It is the map of the
internet network: the biggest
circles are the most visited
websites. The distance on
the map is proportional to
the exchanges and the links
between them.
***
*data is a plural word (singular:
datum) but may be used either
as a singular or a plural. We
chose to use it as a plural
throughout.
Sources : flowingdata.com,
datavisualization.ch,
guns.periscopic.com,
informationisbeautiful.net
Another artist
wondered, after Pope
Benedict XVI’s resignation,
what the next pope would
look like and made a
c o m p o s i t e o f t h e 11 6
cardinals who could have
been chosen to be the next
pope. The result is an
average face which looks
like every cardinal but
cannot be strictly identified
to anyone in particular.
22
Janson’s Zany Zodiacs
Because every newspaper has its own
horoscope, we thought it might be fun
for taupins to have their own CPGEthemed horoscope. So we decided to
write one horoscope per section...The
9 sections are: MP, PC, PSI, BCPST, AL,
BL, ECS, ECEI.
By Maxime Gaud and Jean-­‐
Eudes Royal
Sup6
•••
MP:
Love: Dear Algebra, stop trying to find your X, she has moved on!
Health: You can’t neglect sleep for Math. Success: If life was the square root of (4b²) the real ques*on would be 2b or not 2b.
PSI:
Love: It’s not the bodywork that maFers. All you need is love.
Health: Beware! Machinery is ge|ng rusty, find *me to exercise.
Success: Your life is a Mario game! Go and get the star to the next level!
PC:
Love: You must be an electron, because you’ll soon access the next level as your soul mate is going to speak with you.
Health: Ascorbic acid is your best friend this year. Use it!
Success: Balance your work; you’ll improve your output.
BCPST :
Love: If you think you know everything there is to know about anatomy, it’s *me to move on to prac*cal work.
Health: You shouldn’t have skipped over the immune system this year.
Success: Mother Nature is with you this year, you will get 5/2.
ECS:
Love: Money is not the most important thing in the world. Love is. Fortunately, you love money.
Health: Your obsession for money is making you sick.
Success: Do not speculate on the stock market…it will be bad.
23
ECE: Love: Money can buy you sex, b u t n o t l o v e . B e l e s s materialis*c.
Health: Studying is good for your health; use it limitlessly.
Success: Money can’t buy happiness, but it helps.
BL:
Love: This year will be “Les Misérables” as far as your love life is concerned.
Health: Watch what you’re drinking to spare yourself the ending of “L’Assommoir”.
Success: Don’t race for wealth and success. We all know what happened to Julien Sorel.
AL:
Love: Beware of “Dangerous Liaisons”. Gentlemen, you are going to generate “The Ladies’ Delight” (“Au Bonheur des Dames”).
Health: in prépa, you have to be happy. It’s good for your health . So says Voltaire.
S u c c e s s : “ S u c c e s s i s a consequence, not a goal”… work on that, and thank Flaubert.
CROSSWORD
By Tancrède de Foucauld and Valère HoFelart, Sup6 1. Janson’s history / Janson in
numbers
2. A History of French Classes
préparatoires
3. Janson and... What next?
4. Janson’s stories (1)
5. Janson’s stories (2)
6. Janson’s stories (3)
7. Eating at or around Janson
8-9. Janson students
10. Foreign students at Janson
(1)
11. Foreign students at Janson
(2)
12. Britain: interview with D.
Cameron
13. USA: Guns bless America?
14. Health: Eating habits
15-16. Sports: Football and
politics, a long history
17. Geopolitics: Syria
18. Culture: Music / Art
19. Social networking: Spotted
20. Science: Why so we sleep?
DOWN 1-17
1. Time is...
2. Traditional breakfast
3. Title
4. Not written
5. Makes your nose bigger /
Made in a cup
6. Got to pay them
8. Legal forces / Norway’s
capital
10. Irish beer / Picture
11. Winter sport
12. Calm water / Caffeine with
alcohol
14. Now / Sunday meal
15. Moral
16. Tea biscuits
17. Occasionally
ACROSS A-P
A. Transparent and thick / In
combed hair
B. Cardinal point
C. Deliverance / Have a
break, have a...
D. Extraterrestrial
CONTRIBUTORS 2012-2013
Sup1: Ghid Karam
Sup2: Léa Baron, Lorraine Bastien,
Charlotte Bonny, Emma Didier, Etienne
Madinier, Antoine Malod, Juliette Meyer,
Tanguy Rouffignac, Adrien Tardieu,
Audrey Thomas.
Sup3: Rodolphe Marti.
E. Cost / Could be American
F. Our father /
Confederation / Rainbow
candy
G. Show respect
H. Typical fast food
I. To pursue something for
food or for sport
J. Activity for amusement
Sup4: Maxime Badufle, Miguel Cano
Sampol, Ludivine Duroyon, Thibaut
Kulak, Thomas Le Dehevat, Ambroise
Schalchli.
Sup6: Margot Anastasescu, Ryan Azzaz,
Jean-Baptiste Caron, Guénolée Colas
des Francs, Delphine Cunin, Paul
Cussac, Antoine Driancourt, Tancrède
De Foucauld, Maxime Gaud, Valère
Hottelart, Jean-Eudes Royal, Benjamin
Veillon.
24
21-22. Data visualization and
art
23. Horoscope
24. Crossword
ACKNOWLEDGEMEN
TS
Working on this first iss
ue of The Taupic
has been an exciting exp
erience for both
students and teacher.
I would like to personally
congratulate all
the students who have
been
wholeheartedly involv
ed in this project.
Special thanks go to Mrs
Forestier for
giving us the initial goahead, and the
ASEJ (Association So
cio-éducative de
Janson) for subsidizin
g the newspaper.
J. Quintana
THE TAUPIC
ISSUE N° 1
SPRING 2013
quintana06@orange.fr
Lycée Janson de Sailly
116, rue de la Pompe
75116 Paris