TABLE OF CONTENTS...

A WORD FROM OUR STAFF
GIRLS CHEATED IN MATH CLASS?
VISIONS OF THE FUTURE (PART 2)
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION (PART 3 of 3)
NATURE? WHAT'S NATURE? (JOKE)
WEB SITE REVIEWS

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A   W O R D   F R O M   O U R   S T A F F
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Dear LAYA! readers,
We are looking forward to our first anniversary this November! If you
design a birthday card (in the form of html page, text e-mail, or
graphic), we will post it on the LAYA! web site under a special birthday
section (as soon as the November issue is on its way)! Additionally,
our website has been undergoing some major changes in its design
http://www.laya.com. Please e-mail Robert@laya.com with your comments.
LAYA's designer, Daniel Cheng, has been busy designing LAYA's
new, slick, and improved layout. Please send us any comments and suggestions
at info@laya.com for this new layout! We hope you enjoy this spectacular
issue!

The LAYA! Staff info@laya.com

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G I R L S   C H E A T E D   I N   M A T H   C L A S S ?
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"A test track for bulldozers goes down 0.5 unit for each unit across.
What is its slope?"

"Mel adds 2 baseball cards to his collection each week. If he has 1406
now, how many cards will he have in n weeks from now?"
-"Algebra" by Scott, Foresman

Math is a favorite subject of many students, both boys and girls, but it
seems that overall, boys are better in math. The American Association
of University of Women (AAUW) funds and performs many studies on sexism
in schools. In one analysis, it was discovered that 81 percent of
elementary-school girls and 84 percent of boys claim to enjoy math
class. By high school, a whopping 20 percent of girls lose interest in
mathematics, while 72 percent of boys till delight in the subject. It is
evident in the above examples that many math books contain problems that
most girls wouldn't be interested in. When girls are used in questions,
they are participating in "girlish" activities, such as sewing.
Honestly, how many girls enjoy sewing little frilly dresses? Math books
should use problems that involve girls in sports and activities that
they actually enjoy nowadays. Many boys and girls have the same
hobbies; plus girls can be better than boys in sports. A while back, a
talking Barbie doll was released, and incidentally, she was carelessly
programmed to recite, "Math class is tough."
Also, in some schools across the country, boys are helped and called on
more during class. The AAUW discovered some teachers call on boys two
to three times more often than they call on girls. This obviously
causes girls to lose interest quickly. There have been reports about
math teachers who always help boys, even if they are in less need than
the girls. The attitude some teachers have towards girls is, "Oh, that
problem's too hard for you. Try an easier one." On the other hand,
boys receive the reply, "That problem shouldn't be hard for a smart boy
like you. Try it again." Therefore, girls are led to believe that they are
inferior in math, and thus don't try as hard (if they do try at all).
Occasionally, girls are even held back in lower math classes. But
strangely enough, a recent study by the Educational Testing Service
(ETS) discovered that thirteen year-old girls and boys perform at about
the same level of mathematical proficiency. At Blach and Egan, two
junior high schools located in California, gender discrimination hasn't
been much of a problem. All of Blach's math teachers are female, and
three out of five of Egan's are female. The math books are generally
non-partisan, but in today's politically correct world, even the
baseball on the cover of the Algebra 8 book (which, according to a Blach
math teacher, "does not have [gender] equity as a goal") could be
considered sexist.

By: Serena Chang
serena@laya.com

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V I S I O N S   O F   T H E   F U T U R E
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PART 2

The future: tomorrow. Next Month. Next Year. Next Century. This
continuing article will paint images of the future, what is to happen by
the year 2015, in terms of technology and innovation. Every few months
your viewpoint will change, as you, the main character, become someone
else. So read on...the future lays ahead.

The first person on your interview list lives fairly close, in the city
of Chicago (you live in New York). You get there fairly quickly,
traveling the 400 some miles in a little over fifteen minutes (you do
the math!). You and your partner walk towards large oval doors.
Concurrently, a tall, large man walks through the automatic
double-doorway (the integrated sensors have detected your arrival,
sensed your intentions, and automatically triggered the doorbell).
He seems very friendly, asking you to come in for a cup of
afternoon tea. As you follow the man in, you notice he walks with
a slight limp. His hair also seems to be in disarray, he also wears
a single earring in his ear. As you watch the earring, you
notice that it is a 'Saturn Levitator,' an earring belonging to an
out-of-date fad that took place somewhere around 2005. The earrings use
magnets to levitate a small, spinning ring, kind of like a donut on a
stick, except much more elegant (and made of 24k gold).

"I've been waiting your arrival"-his voice was sweet but raspy-"Jason
told me they'd come and find me after awhile. I just didn't expect you
so soon. So...I...I...I expect you're wondering about the suicide?"
You're quick to answer, "Suicide? We've come to talk about a murder!"
You think, this could get interesting. You quickly take out your
recorder, which starts to write down and highlight the entire
conversation. "Murder?!! It was no murder! He was a friend to everyone,
but...had some financial troubles...his friends wouldn't lend him any
money because...they knew he could never pay any of them back. He was so
civilized, and he was forced into selling his home. He was never the
type that could be homeless, so he killed himself. I'm sorry, that's all
there is to know. He told me himself; he was unhappy with his life and
all the things that were going to happen. I tried to convince him out
of it, but he wouldn't listen. I've lost a great friend." You thank him for
the tea and interview before quickly departing, stunned. Your partner
asks you, "So, you believe him?"
To which you are quick to answer, "If only I could tell. He seems to be
telling the truth, but he seemed to be-" Your partner cuts in "-hiding
something. I got the same impression. I think it's time to interview
the next person." You get into your HoverCar, turn on your GPS(Global
Positioning Satellite) system and head towards San Francisco. Arriving
in San Francisco, you stop by the first McDonald's you see, and pick up a
Big Mac. You step up to the machine, press the 'Big Mac' button, hold
up your credit-card sized InfoComp (it stores money, and all other
information), and a receipt shows up on your screen. You press the
'accept' button and the amount is quickly and electronically deducted
from your account. You hop into your HoverCar again and you quickly
arrive at your next witness's home.

To be continued...

By: Robert Chin
robert@laya.com

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A F F I R M A T I V E   A C T I O N
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PART 3: My opinion on Affirmative Action.

This is part 3 of the series "Affirmative Action: Fairness or
Discrimination." For back issues, visit http://www.laya.com. In this
last section, I'll be talking about what I think about affirmative action.

As you may have guessed, I'm Asian. I'm assuming that your immediate
response is, "Hey, he's Asian! He must be against affirmative action.
After all, he's going to have a harder time getting into college,
getting a job, etc." Well, if you thought so, you're right. Sort of.
I'm against affirmative action, but I do not believe in eliminating it
without some solution to the lack of certain minorities' populations in
colleges and workplaces. I believe that the best way to go is to slowly
eliminate affirmative action, while at the same time increasing
education funding in lower class communities. The main reason the
country need affirmative action is that lower income minorities are
getting less of an education in their junior high and high schools.
If the state improves funding for education, then affirmative action
would not be needed. In general, the less funded a school is, the
less "bright" students it will produce. If the state increases funding
especially for low income communities, those schools will start to
turn out students capable of attending top of the line universities.
Affirmative action is not a way to solve the problems in today's
world. Increased funding for elementary, junior high, and high
schools will help minorities get the education they want, and the
jobs they deserve.

By: Chris Lin
chris@laya.com

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N A T U R E?   W H A T ' S   N A T U R E ?
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ACTUAL comments received in 1996 from the Bridger Wilderness Bridger-
Teton National Forest) registration sheets and comment cards:

- Trails need to be wider so people can walk while holding hands.
- Trail needs to be reconstructed. Please avoid building trails that
go uphill.
- Too many bugs and leeches and spiders and spider webs. Please spray
the wilderness to rid the area of these pests.
- Please pave the trails so they can be plowed of snow during the
winter.
- Chairlifts need to be in some places so that we can get to wonderful
views without having to hike to them.
- The coyotes made too much noise last night and kept me awake.
Please eradicate these annoying animals.
- A small deer came into my camp and stole my jar of pickles. Is
there a way I can get reimbursed? Please call ___ ___ ____.
- A McDonalds would be nice at the trailhead.
- The places where trails do not exist are not well-marked.
- Too many rocks in the mountains.

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W E B   S I T E   R E V I E W S
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The Reel
Waiter.com

Waiter.com is another one of these websites that allows you purchase
stuff off the Internet. If you chose to order food, the website will
"beam" your order to the chosen restaurant and it will be prepared in
twenty minutes or less. A lot of major fine dining restraunts support
this service, including such big ones as Armadillo Willy's,
Florentine's, and much more.

By: Charles Hua
charles@laya.com

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========================================================

LAYA's STAFF...
Compiled, edited, designed, and approved by:

Robert Chin
President
robert@laya.com

Daniel Cheng
Layout & Design
daniel@laya.com

Chris Lin
Director of New Happenings and Weekly Content
chris@laya.com

Serena Chang
Editor/Lead Writer
serena@laya.com

Charles Hua
Internet Assistant
charles@laya.com

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