“You should be so grateful for such an opportunity, you get to attend a UWC school!”
“UWC will be two years of awesomeness and self-discovery.”
“Think of it, no parents or family, in a strange country…girl..you’re going to vibe and have fun.”
A month later, no one told me I would feel like this….no one told me about the UWC SYNDROME!

We feel love, hate, and enumerated types of emotions, we are surrounded by people but what when we feel distant on a room full of noise and hearts?

Whether you admit it or not, we’ve all felt (and feel) dumb the moment we walked out of our first class in UWC. And the reason you signed up for all those conferences knowing fully well you have no time is because you want to feel not dumb.

Well so do I, nice to meet you. Do say hi when you see me.

“UWC uses education to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.”

“A world of responsibility hangs on the shoulders of the youth, the ‘changemakers’, while to old say ‘well, we’ve done our part’”

“One of you always goes first, but it’s hard being left behind.”

Summer of 2014. A younger version of myself who possessed a burning passion towards cricket. A fundamental element of culture, bringing international recognition and national pride to Bangladesh. The people that brought us this recognition were worshipped. Cricketers were idolised.

In Mexico, around 10 women are killed per day (INEGI, 2021). Protests and marches around the country happen multiple times a year. But, just when we think the government is going to take action and that people are more aware about the issue, another femicide happens, taking us back to where we started.

After noticing an unsettling trend on social media, I have come to the realization that the harmful unrealistic standards imposed on women’s bodies have not disappeared, but rather evolved.

This article arose from self-reflection upon the challenges that I have gone through in my time here. Now that I have moved past said challenges, I have realized that they were needless —and some even unacceptable coming from a UWC community. Thus, I decided to speak up and share some of the conclusions of my reflection. Before you continue reading, I want to state that this article is not intended to create controversy or resentment, but to be taken as an opener for an honest discussion. I know that we all can reflect and act to do better here, and in future communities where we will engage.

As of October of 2020, the government of Bangladesh approved an amendment that allows rapists to be charged with the death penalty. This sparked protests all over the country, renowned activists saying it was a hasty solution to a complex and deep-rooted problem, calling for a nationwide discussion on rape culture and gender-based violence. These discussions brought me to think about the time I found out what my childhood crush had been up these last couple years.

This year and this term have been difficult for me, and for many of my friends and classmates, as we navigate the storm that is the UWC experience, especially at the beginning of our second year. Join me for a short reflection on how we can get through to the other side in one piece, if somewhat different.

What we define as a massacre of human rights is the conflict escalating between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

An interview with a UWC Mostar alumna Valeria Kluitko who, after graduating from the University of Florida, came back to home country, Belarus, and is now living in Minsk. The city became an epicenter of the current political uprising against the “reelection” of Alexander Lukashenko, a Belorussian president who has not managed to let go of his undoubtedly much cherished position in 26 years.

It seems like the real danger of peer-pressure is failing to understand its definition, or more importantly, not contextualizing it in our community. If we do not recognize the multiple layers of peer-pressure at UWCM, we could completely miss its burning – and even overwhelming, presence on our campus.

Not Just a Hashtag is an article discussing the #ENDSARS movement; what it’s about, a young Nigerian’s thoughts about it, and what it means to the greater youth of Nigeria.

OTBxTFD is a collaboration between @overthrowbabylon and TFD that provides a platform for oppressed voices to speak on overlooked race issues within the UWC movement. This piece is about how racist encounters are handled by authorities. More often than not the victims take all the blame along with the trauma caused by the incident. What a heavy load to carry.