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.

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. Through this piece, Hayley systematically breaks down the frustrations universal to the black experience at both UWCs and the world at large.

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. In this poem, Laure and Hayley walk us through their own frustration with a system the both ignores and heavily critiques black women like themselves.

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. Jason and Joel explore and reflect upon their minority experience through a uniquely East Asian perspective on familial and personal expectations about merit.

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. Sofi takes us on a journey of self discovery and understanding of her place in the discussion of race and colour in Latin America.

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. In Edict of a Black Queen, Victoria exercises a power she expects to grow into and gives us her unabashed feelings on the BLM movement.

“It is much better than how it sounds”. Bengi feels lucky for being locked in UWC Mostar with friends, in a bigger building than her house. “Here, I’m empowered to organize things both in-person and online. I am trying to be proactive and inclusive and this place is still showing me new ways to do so.”

A very special goodbye to the DP2s that have held our hands through our first year, and a wish of luck on their journeys to come.

Juan Antonio Nelson is a Jamaican graduate of UWC SouthEast Asia and is currently studying at Luther College in Iowa, USA. He believes that it’s important for members of the UWC movement to show their support to movements like #blacklivesmatter as much they do on other global issues.

Estella is an 18 year old Norwegian/Tanzanian first year student at UWC Maastricht, and an illustrator in the Flying Dutchman. She believes the current #blacklivesmatter movement is succeeding in tackling the issue of police brutality, but wants to see more people having open discussions on the topic and actively taking action.

Studying in an empty room facing a vast horizon filled with apartment buildings, a UWC South East Asia student tells me about her life in Singapore. With around 70 or 80 students still on campus, life has become an interesting dynamic to reflect upon.

Looking back at her fondest memories of UWC Maastricht, Feyi Apampa reflects on how UWC helped her grow into the person she is today.