By Kenneth Shu
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​March 14th, 2018, was a dark day for the scientific world. On Pi day, the world witnessed the tragic passing of one of its most brilliant of minds: Stephen Hawking.
 
The British physicist, Stephen Hawking, was born through the chaos of WWII on January 8th 1942 in Oxford, UK. Through his early years, Hawking would develop study and achieve mastery in the fields of theoretical physics and cosmology at Oxford and Cambridge, marry his college sweet heart, and begin his graduate work at Trinity Hall. Yet it was also at this time that Hawking would be diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a neurodegenerative disease that would gradually sever its victim’s neurological connections and render them into a painful state of paralysis. Having gone through multiple medical procedures and check ups, doctors were all convinced that he would pass away in the next two years, but they were wrong.
 
Armed with the desire to live the fullest of his life, Hawking would continue his academic pursuits in theoretical physics. He would go on to discover Hawking Radiation, formulate the Gibbson-Hawking effect, and many other groundbreaking theorems that defined modern day physics. He would also write his renowned book A Brief History of Time, give innumerable counts of academic lectures, and raise three children whilst under the painful state of paralysis. He would redefine our understandings of physics and perseverance, whilst his mind roamed the vastness of the universe itself.
 
For a paralyzed man whom outlived his diagnosis by 53 years, Stephen Hawking was a truly brilliant genius that shattered our expectations of perseverance, and expanded the boundaries of human limitation. He was truly a once in a millennium genius, and a role model for the many aspiring generations to come.
 
He will be missed.

By Grace Deng
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The premium chocolate muffin is the very definition of heaven in your mouth. The moniker is well deserved: the premium chocolate muffin is perhaps the only premium quality food Chartwells has ever offered. The first bite of the muffin tastes like fluffy chocolate clouds, but it is forgotten as soon as you reach your second bite: the gooey chocolate center.

Those who do not understand why I’m waxing lyrical about a chocolate muffin have never tried it before, and now they apparently never will. Recently, the premium chocolate muffin has disappeared from all three Chartwells installations at Shanghai American School Pudong’s high school: the kiosk by the gym, the Juno Cafe, and the high school cafeteria.

Students are rightly upset by the changes. “I miss all that chocolate,” says Kristen Fu, a junior. “I’m extremely sad.”

Even students who didn’t eat it regularly are sad about the missing muffin. Jasmine Liu, a sophomore, gave me a pouty face and told me she was sad because she just liked having it as an option. “What if I want to indulge?” Jasmine complained, noting the main attraction of the muffin: indulging in chocolatey goodness.

However, some students are finding small silver linings in the loss of the premium chocolate muffin. “It enables me to have better food habits,” says Brent Cheung of junior year, a student who bought the muffin regularly as a snack. “I’m still sad, but it does help me improve my health and economic standings.”

Jacob, our cafeteria manager, assured Pudong Press that the premium chocolate muffin would be coming back. Apparently, the premium chocolate muffin is produced by a Chinese factory that is on break for Chinese New Year.

Jacob encouraged us to tell students to email him at [email protected] because student support will help bring the premium chocolate muffin back even faster.

With the mystery solved, students will surely appreciate its return.