the literati fall final issue: global links

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13 UWCS, 13 DIFFERENT LIFESTYLES

Everybody knows that the UWC movement is the same throughout al l the thirteen UWC campuses. All the schools serve the same mission, simply at different locations in the world: UWC makes education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. H o w e ve r, t h o u g h t h e s e campuses serve the same purpose, there are a great number of differences that can be picked out between them, namely in the systems they choose to run their school by.

There are different languages available at Ab Initio level in the different schools. For example, in UWC-USA, the Ab Ini t io languages available are French and Spani sh . Spani sh i s the popularly chosen language to learn because of the big Latin community in New Mexico, where the college is located. In Norway, they too offer Spanish as well as Mandarin Chinese a n d N o r we g i a n . A g a i n , Norwegian is offered for s t u d e n t s t o h a v e t h e

opportunity to get around the local community easier. In UWCSEA, the languages of fered at Ab Initio are S p a n i s h a n d M a n d a r i n Chinese. Mandarin is offered as Chinese makes up most of the Singaporean population and so the language stands at great importance there.

Apart from languages, the campuses also differ in day-to-day practices. For example, in UWC-USA, students are expected to be in their bedrooms every night by 9.30pm to have their presence on campus taken note of. After which students are allowed to wander around campus as they wish until 12 midnight, on weekdays, where they have to be back in their rooms for curfew until the next day begins. On weekend nights, students at UWC-USA have no curfew. In UWC Adriatic, however, students have curfew at 11pm on weekdays and at 1am on weekends. In Atlantic c o l l e g e , t h e c u r f e w o n weekdays is 10.15pm and (continued on page 7)

THIS WEEK

PAGE 3OUR CAMPUSFolks, instead of reading about campus news this week, check out the “our campus” section of this final issue to find out about some of the ongoing issues in Montezuma, like the wealth gap at the school. Also check out an interesting student biography and some new information about Armand Hammer!

PAGE 7UWC AND THE WORLDCurious about the global UWC movement? The 411 on new campuses, alumni initiatives, and more is on page 7.

PAGE 13OPINIONFinish up this final semester issue with an interesting take on cross-cultural campus couples! And, just turn to the back to read theFLIPside’s limited edition discussing the most infamous party of the year!

UWC-USA DECEMBER 2012

Alexandra Hemmer (Singapore ’14)

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A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITORSDear Readers,

I once asked a parent who was visiting her son at UWC for this first time what she thought of this place. She told me that she wouldn’t know how to describe it, but the best she could probably do is say that it’s “magical.” As prospective students, we couldn’t help but think of Hogwarts upon hearing the we could go to school in a castle. As students now, with the new and impending Yule Ball, it might appear like magical might be an accurate word to describe our New Mexican hideout. Often times students vaguely reference going home for winter break or summer holidays as “returning to reality.” Though what might be most impressive about the supposed magic that is inherent to this campus is its time warping ability. Do you remember ghost ranch, meeting your roommate for

the first time, and telling classmates countless times a day, “Hi, I’m _______, from _______” ? Friends, that was just a little less than 4 months ago. But at the same time, many detail a level of intimacy students create with their classmates that they have never before experienced. And you supposedly met your roommate yesterday. Your experience here rolls time out into a thin wispy layer and subsequently compacts it into a tight ball. And now, either your first or third semester is gone. I hope you’ve made the best of it. To first years, I hope you don’t lose your enthusiasm and energy, and to second years, I hope you come out of your room more.

Until Next Time,

Patrick on behalf of the Literati Editors


LITERATI STAFFEDITORS

Patrick Drown Lara NorgaardUSA-MA ’13 USA-CO ’13

WRITERS

Abraham Amador Bieke Bekker Alexandra HemmerMexico ’13 The Netherlands ’14 Singapore ’14

Edgar Jaramillo Adrian Jennings Shobhit KumarUSA-CA ’14 South Africa ’14 USA-MD ’14

Arissa Moreno Carlin RIng Emily VenturiRuiz USA-IA ’14 Italy ’14 Peru ’14

Valentin Herrgesell FACULTY SPONSOR: PARRIS BUSHONG

Austria ’13

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“Always fly because even if you do not catch the sky, you are still higher than the ground.” She decided not to wear her school uniform that day because of this simple philosophy, an ideal her teacher had always encouraged her to aspire to. Defying imminent dangers and her mother’s worries, she stepped out into the streets of Kabul, fourteen years of age, fighting with her friends and peers. The voice of Afghan women thundered through the dusty streets of the capital, demanding better rights for all genders. Fatima Jafari’s voice (Afghanistan ’14) was already present, but is now destined to definitely grow stronger.

As I listened to her story, shivers raced down my spine as I realized the quest she had started that day, in 2008, standing up to the Taliban Government’s new law against female freedom. Back then, her voice was a small part of the collective protest, but her bold presence is now constantly maturing thanks to her education and the life-changing opportunity she has embraced this year. Thanks to the Clinton Global Initiative Project, Fatima in September started a new journey at UWC-USA, hoping to learn new skills and ideas in order to continue her fight back home.

In 2011, the Clinton Global Foundation (founded by former US President Bill Clinton) launched a new initiative in collaboration with the Uni ted World Col lege movement , committing to fund eight UWC scholarships each year for rising women leaders in conflict

countries. Fatima is the first Clinton Global Scholar at UWC-USA and started her New Mexican journey this September. While she admits that bringing a large impact through a single person’s activism is extremely tough, working together and learning as much as possible about different cultures is an essential tool in order to promote social change around the world, even in Afghanistan.

A permanent impact is achieved when one has the power to affect important decisions and new legislations. For this reason, Fatima aspires to undertake a career in the field of politics, because as of today, the percentage of women involved in the Afghan Parliament is still extremely low. By having the ability to influence new policies and decisions, better hope for a long-term change is a tangible possibility. In order to empower women, a better education is one of the foremost priorities and today most Afghan girls can attend school in the main big cities: “Even though it’s still not a great


OUR CAMPUSEMPOWERING

AFGHAN WOMENEmily Venturi (Italy ’13)

www.uwc.org

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education, we can go to school, and that’s an important start.” Fifty-five students graduated from Fatima’s high school last year, twenty of them were girls. Changes are gradually taking place, but as Fatima points out, even America was not built in a day. Education is one of the key starting points leading to strength and conscious determination, and the Clinton Global Foundation with the United World Colleges are providing the tools to make it happen.

We do not know Afghanistan’s future, but Fatima believes in a bright destiny for her country, because in her opinion instead of hating the present darkness, we can all start by lighting a candle. Bringing the UWC mission to Afghanistan is Fatima’s main hope, because it is the Afghan youth’s responsibility to build a country their children will be fearlessly proud of, and education is their first step in this direction.

Wealth disparity at UWC can seem like a problem. Some people are paying full fees to be at any one of the UWC colleges, whilst others are there on full scholarship with little to no background of private education. However, though this issue is often raised at UWC’s during discussion about wealth, on-campus life, etc., another prominent example of the wealth issue within UWC’s is the concentration of campuses in the Northern Hemisphere, with only one school located in the Southern Hemisphere: in Swaziland, Africa.

On-campus, at UWC-USA at least, wealth disparity can surface quite often. Some people have high-tech laptops, tablets, the latest smartphone, expensive clothing, etc., all of which are things that can easily be in common use: in class, in public, etc. Even just going to Walmart can demonstrate the wealth disparity: some people buy lots of food and drink every week, while others rarely go to Walmart, getting only a few things when they do, or don’t go at all. UWC students are hand-picked to be accepting, open and engaging people who can live on a single campus that contains a startling spectrum of characters, situations, backgrounds, stories, nationalities, cultures, perspectives, etc. However, wealth is a particularly tender topic, particularly considering that at UWC we are technically left to ‘fend for ourselves,’ for many of us for the first time in our lives. Money can form a large part of how we ‘fend for ourselves,’ if we choose it to be, and can thus be highlighted by the UWC lifestyle.

On the part of Northern-to-Southern Hemisphere schools, this situation again highlights wealth disparity in the UWC movement. The UWC movement runs on donations; be they private donations, donations from large organisations, fund-raising, or governmental assistance. Thus, UWC’s tend to pop up wherever a generous benefactor, an interested corporation, or an eager government (rarely the sole draw-factor, more commonly an aid to another donation) is found or wants to build a campus. Our own UWC-USA came about largely due to the generosity of Armand Hammer ; the Rober t Bosch S t i f tung Corporation, in honour of Robert Bosch’s 150th birthday, is heavily funding the upcoming UWC in Freiburg, with help from the City of Freiburg. Finding these large contributors in the generally poorer Southern Hemisphere can be more difficult, but this isn’t only a problem isolated to countries south of the equator. The plan for an


UWC AND THE ISSUE OF WEALTH

Adrian Jennings (South Africa ’14)

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UWC in Spain was scrapped this year due to the country’s ailing economic situation.

UWC’s depend heavily on the countries that they are in, even if students on the campuses can feel isolated on a whole from the country they find themselves in. A certain level of suitability is necessary to establish an UWC, especially since the campuses are run almost entirely on donations and don’t have any real power to support and defend themselves in every situation. The recent closing of the Símon Bolívar UWC of Agriculture in Venezuela, as it fell under government control and was converted into a governmental polytechnic university, demonstrates the relative powerlessness of the UWC campuses in their respective countries. A certain level of stability is thus required to open and maintain an UWC, and this includes economic stability. Wealth disparity may be a sensitive issue, but it’s an integral issue to UWC, as in the rest of the world.

Phi lanthropi s t , o i l en t repreneur, communist (?). Those are things we know about Armand Hammer. He was as eccentric as any millionaire could be but he made UWC-USA possible. We could come out with the classic list of things he did to UWC-USA and the world. We already know the common history about him. So like any other respectable newspaper we should publish an article with all the eccentricities and pleasures (he was quite normal compared to other millionaires) of Armand Hammer.

First of all it should be mentioned that he

was not born rich as most of the eccentric millionaires but he became rich as many of the Soviet millionaires. His family migrated from Odessa (USSR not Texas) born in Manhattan New York. His father ran 5 drugstores and a medical business giving them a good life and the American dream. Like his father, Hammer wanted to become a medical doctor but he could not finish for unknown reasons (dropped out). But he still tried to gain some money so he started to commercialize medicines from USA to the Soviet Union. These relations made him met Lenin and had a good relationship with him. Afterwards he stopped selling medicines because this American wealth mixed with (apparent) communist ideas (acceptance of them) made him the mediator between USSR and USA with oil trade. His wealth became what is known today with the Cold War. Being the only person flexible enough to stand Stalin (and not be executed) and wealthy enough to not be jailed in the USA with the witch hunting, his mediation of trade became really important. However, this place did not make USA realize that he was actually a spy of USSR infiltrated, however being a spy for the USSR was extremely easy in those times. He just said what he heard when Stalin asked him something, for USA this was spying. So, for example, it is the birthday of the daughter of an American General this information for Staling was really important (and for USA was a betrayal of the worst kind). However rich people don't go to jail.

Something else to mention is his friendship with Lenin, the horses he received, the oil he sold, his fame, his plane, his travels. Everything was related to Lenin and after his death to Stalin. This person was not communist, but he was flexible. Capitalist enough to be in USA but communist enough to receive all he had from the Soviet government. He was a capitalist in a communist skin. That's why he was so


ARMAND HAMMER

Abraham Amador (Mexico ’13)

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accepted among others. His autobiography became a best seller not because everyone loved him. Everyone thought he was a Soviet spy. In fact he bought several copies of it. Every year students of UWC-USA keep one of those books in their rooms and after more than a decade there are copies around (there was even a special room in the auditorium to keep the copies of his books, however due the space this books are not wandering around the school). It is fairly easy to find one of those because literally the school has a nearly unlimited stock of Armand Hammer biographies.

It is not known that also he was one of the big friends of the Soviet Elite. More than most of the millionaires who are hanging around with Mitt Romney, Armand Hammer was hanging around doing what the rich do (who knows?!) with Molotov, Mao Zedong, Lenin, Stalin (kind of) and others, for him the Kremlin was like wall street for the americans and literally his autobiography is a group of pictures of himself h a n g i n g a ro u n d w i t h t h e c o m mu n i s t

governments of several countries. He was not a communist due to his wealth, but he did not want to feel like one because of his origins. This personality made him create more philanthropic projects than needed to evade taxes (really he could evade them with only half UWC), like cancer research and more than one UWC-like school.

Source: Weinberg, Steve. Armand Hammer: The Untold Story. Boston: Little, Brown, 1989.


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(continued from page 1) 11.15pm on weeknights. Talk about differences.

Finally, the differences that students love talking about is the food offered. In UWCSEA, the food served is generally of Asian cuisine, if not specifically Singaporean. I spoke to Rachel Tan, a student at UWCSEA (Singapore, ’13) and she said “We typically get Asian food which sometimes can be Singaporean but is otherwise all kinds of Asian food. We tend to get sandwiches, salad and pasta… Typical western food, I suppose. We always have a vegetarian option though.” In UWC-USA, the food served is of a wide variety. Mondays are known as “Meatless Monday” where no meat is served and pasta is usually served at lunch. Tuesdays, meant to compensate for the lack of meat on Mondays, are known as “Burger Tuesdays” where a variety

of meat is served from breakfast and where burgers are typically served at lunch. The rest of the week’s menu at UWC-USA is pretty much a surprise, where the cuisines range from Spanish to Asian.

All the different schools may all be UWC schools, but as it turns out, a student’s life really does differ in the different colleges, mainly in terms of the food he/she eats, the hours he/she gets to socialize in a day and in the subjects he/she gets to take. These make up the basic differences that can be considered to be quite significant differences between the colleges. But at the end of the day, no matter how different the rules and regulations may be at the different campuses, we are all still living the one-of-a-kind cultural UWC experience that we cannot experience in the same way anywhere else.


UWC AND THE WORLD

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What does it mean to be open-minded? According to the Oxford Dictionary of English it is to be “willing to consider new ideas; unprejudiced.” And of course in order to try follow our so often quoted mission statement: “UWC makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future” UWC students are supposedly all open-minded.I say supposedly not because I believe that there are people here that are not open-minded, but rather because people generally think that one is either open-minded or not, that to be open-minded is a natural characteristic of a person. I totally disagree with this idea. I think that in the same way some people are born with a natural tendency to learn music; some people are born with a natural tendency to become open-minded.

In order to learn how to play a musical instrument well, one has to keep practicing again and again, developing one’s skill. To be open-minded is much like knowing how to play a musical instrument; it is a skill that one can learn, not a natural characteristic that some are born with. And in order to learn that skill one has to practice again and again, and as with every learner one can and will commit some mistakes, but that should never be accepted as a reason to stop trying.

Going back to the definition of open-minded: to be “willing to consider new ideas”. When one is willing to consider new ideas, it is understood that one had old ideas, and is ready to listen and consider new ideas that are different from one’s previous ideas. That seems very simple; almost easy to do, and in fact I think that here in the college we all can do that, up to a

certain point.The cartoon above shows only one of many examples that might happen in an environment like ours, where people that come from so many different backgrounds, have so many different and sometimes contrasting ideas. My point here is it might be easy to listen, consider and accept ideas that are simply different from ours, but when it comes to ideas that go against our values and beliefs it is really hard to simply listen to them, let alone accept that someone you consider your friend thinks that way.

For instance, I think someone must be really brave to admit publicly that he or she is against gay rights here in the college. That person would probably be dragged to be burned in the piazza. And it is a real pity that things are like that here. We should try to understand why they are against gay rights.

We live in an international society and many delicate issues, with many different ideologies and points of view, exist among us. A couple of times, I have heard of people that while engaged in a discussion of one of those delicate issues ends up losing a friend, because it is really hard to accept that a friend’s beliefs and thoughts are so different and contrasting from our own.But I have heard of things like this only a couple of times at the college because they do not happen very often, I believe. People here in the college try to avoid delicate topics, in order to avoid conflict. And it is here that we fall into the UWC fallacy: when people in the college who come from so many different backgrounds, sometimes from countries that have been enemies for generations, sit together to eat in Mensa, or dance together in one of the shows, this is all very beautiful, but it is not real international understanding and it is not real peace.


THE UWC FALLACYAnonymous Concerned UWC Student From UWC Adriatic

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Peace is not simply the absence of conflict, and here in the college we do advocate for the absence of conflict, but we do not advocate for real peace. To avoid conflict, means not trying to solve it, but if we cannot have a reasonable discussion of international issues with our friends, going above any ideology or beliefs we might have and trying to find a solution to them, I cannot expect our leaders to do so. I cannot expect that our leaders, that might even hate each other, whose minds are probably closed, can do things that we as friends cannot do.

The UWC as a movement and the UWCAD as our school, put us physically in the presence of people from a great variety of cultures and backgrounds, and creates a space where we can share our cultures and traditions, and this is already a big step towards international understanding, but it is not enough. We have here a great opportunity to share, discuss, argue and try to find solutions to issues of our world, but we do not. Here we have a better opportunity to achieve true international understanding than our diplomats and the UN will ever hope for, and yet we cannot do it. Why is that? What stops us from opening our minds a bit more so it will allow us to try to understand why others’ feelings are so different from our own on the same issues? What keeps us from having these discussions that could be so fruitful, to the point they might help us to renew our own ideas and values? Why are we not open to discussions that might challenge our own ideas and beliefs? We as a college, as part of the UWC movement, should be trying to work these issues out.

When some of us began our attendance at UWC, we had an idea of what we wanted to do after graduation. I planned on a double major in studio art and business management at the college or university that was the best fit and the best price for me and an art career after that. Some of us had no clue what we wanted the rest of our lives to be like. Many of us still aren’t sure. What most people who’ve come into contact with the movement can agree on, however, is that being involved with UWC is transformative. It changes people, and begins journeys that last a lifetime. Nearly 40,000 students have graduated from UWC since 1962, and our alumni are involved in every field of study, proving that UWC isn’t a ‘one stop shop’ for education. There is diversity in everything, country, race, religion, finance, and interest. Although business and non-profits make up the largest chunks of alumni careers, the arts, media, and education are up there as well.

UWC alumni have shown time after time that when they finish school, and even while they are still in attendance, they have missions. They have things they want to share with the world, and time after time, they succeed in doing it. From Mudit Tyagi and Amy Karon’s Equal Acces to Opportunity program that is meant to help children in impoverished areas of India reach non subsistence jobs, to Brijlal Chaudhari’s cooking stove initiative in Nepal, aimed at decreasing the reliance on firewood and therefore reducing the deforestation problems, the non-profit alumni projects are numerous and varied.

That isn’t all, though. In the arts, UWC has produced such names as Liz Tan, First Assistant Director in film and television, Uberto


Alumni InitiativesCarlin Ring (USA-IA ’14)

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Pasolini and Michael Sugar, a film director and producer, Mark Jenkins, a writer, and Gjergji Gaqi, a concert pianist. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are business people such as Ian Chisholm, a specialist for the Gemini Project, Vivinia Berla, an investment banker, and Emma Howard Boyd, the Head of SRI and governance, as well as the Director of Jupiter.

We are many and varied and little by little we are changing the world. Everyone makes a difference, be it good or bad, and the alumni network at UWC is working constantly to provide those good changes that will make our world a better place for the future. It is worth it to keep in mind that most students do not know what they want to go into. They do not know how they want to change the world, but we figure it out. During our time here at UWC we start a journey that will last our entire lives, and I don’t know if my plans will change, but if they do, I know that I have 40,000 others who can change right along with me.

When UWC started 50 years ago, the idea was “To prevent a third world war,” as many people say. Still, a lot has changed since 1952. World wars are not on our priority list of things to be scared of anymore. Yet, I consider UWC and comparable initiatives are more important than ever.

The main reason for saying so is globalization. Globalization has changed the world a lot, especially in the past couple of decades. Internet has played a huge role in this, as well as the improved access to cheap flying for many people. We can go to and communicate with virtually every corner of the earth. Lots of people use these facts in their advantage, but is everyone prepared for the confrontation with ideas, cultures and religions that are radically different from their own? Probably not.

After many years of fight, xenophobia and racism are still there, some even say it is growing. The American fear for terrorism for example shows how much people still distrust others simply because of their nationality, descent or religion. In Europe it’s the same story with more and more xenophobic political parties gaining power. Africa still struggles with ethnic violence and indigenous people are not considered equal in many a South American country.

So, people have more and more opportunity to communicate with other cultures but meanwhile, they are also afraid of other cultures. That sounds like something that could potentially cause a lot of friction between people. Frictions between people usually tend to lead to...


Photo Credit: The New York Times

THE ORIGINS OF “PEACE AND A SUSTAINABLE

FUTURE”

Biekke Bekker (The Netherlands ’14)

PROFILE OF ALUMNI CAREERS

www.uwc.org

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yes, war. There we go again, a third world war is always looming over us. Yes, that is a worst case scenario, but that is no reason to not take it seriously. We might not be sure what will be the results exactly, but we do know that it will cause a certain division among humankind. The point is, we can not afford to let that happen now, especially with the threat of global warming. The only way to fight such a thing is united.

This is where UWC comes in the story. Our mission statement says it all: “UWC makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future”. Young people from all over the world, all together in one of the schools all over the world. We spend two years of our life learning about the rest of the world, then we go back and pass on our newly gained knowledge. What is a better way of uniting people and avoiding xenophobia? Just one thing: more UWC’s and similar initiatives! At the moment, a few thousand students graduate every year. That is not that much compared to our world population of 7 billion. It is a good start, but with the problems the world is facing now, we will have to extend our reach and give as many people as possible an opportunity to learn if we really want to make a change. Our programs are more important than ever and growth definitely is a necessity.

Let the world change us and we can change the world. Education is something that changes people. Education is something that inspires people. Education is something as important as the destabilization of economy and

modern environmental issues. Transforming and innovating are the keys to a better future. Education is not about preparing young people to compete to go to college or get a prestigious job. It is extremely transcendental to grow human capacity: we need to develop models with c o l l a b o r a t i o n , p r o b l e m s o l v i n g a n d communication skills. And of course, this is a huge challenge and not an easy task. It takes more than desires to change the world, planting ideas and growing takes years, or even ages. All over the world, governments are spending more on education of the elite than on the education of the poor; and there is a strong link between your social class and your ability to attend school. Many of us have personal projects and the desire to change the world, the UWC movement provides us the tools to achieve our mission as individuals. Believing in the force of education sounds like a utopia, but we have been witnesses of the power and enhancement of education around the world. The most important thing is not to build more UWC schools around the world; our preeminent ambition must be to expand the UWC educational model into other existent schools: changing education in order to change the world!

In the last few years, we have sadly seen how some UWC schools have been closed. But, we also have seen the openings and projections of new ones. Opening a new United Word College requires planning and combining a lot of factors. The initiatives come from common people, people with dreams of changing the world. The different UWC schools around the globe share the objective of creating more schools and spreading the word, so more students can have the same opportunities like us and can benefit from UWC education. Students, staff, volunteers, all of us have the aim of increasing our impact.

Simón Bolivar UWC was created in 1986 in Venezuela, but turned into a UWC College in


Arissa Moreno Ruiz (Peru ’14)

UWC CHALLENGE: CLOSING WINDOWS,

OPENING DOORS

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1988. It consisted in the only vocational college that offered an amazing opportunity to learn about agricultural and rural development. The students were “learning by doing” to read their reality, the educational process was practical in terms of experiencing animal and vegetable production and implementing skills in farm administration. Most of the students came from Venezuela and more than 50 countries. The students had an amazing educational experience by having the opportunity to volunteer in the surrounding communities. After the three years that they spent there, they not only acquired knowledge in technical topics, but also were incredibly motivated and interested in changing the situation of rural environments. This school was part of the thirteen UWC schools that promote peace, solidarity and intercultural understanding. It was officially expropriated and closed by the Venezuelan government. Millions of students (the ones that were studying and the possible future generations) stopped having the opportunity of an education for personal and social evolutions.

This event did not discourage us. More and more projects of new schools from individuals and organizations are appearing. The closer one is the German UWC, the Robert Bosch College that is going to open in 2014. The college will be funded by the State of Baden-Württemberg, the Robert Bosch Foundation, and the city of Freiburg. 100 students will have the opportunity to study in this completely sustainable campus with full scholarships each year. A new college means new initiatives, new projects of change, new dreams, more impact and more challenges. Other proposals have been made: Israel, Japan, China and Middle East and North Africa. Exploring new opportunities that spread the word. personal projects that end being huge realities…We have a long way to go in, step by step we will arrive far. UWC, 13 schools, more

than 40,000 graduates, more than 170 countries around the world. Soon we will be more!


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To commemorate this special Literati issue connecting UWCs across the world, today’s article will examine a cross-cultural relationship on campus. I f you are looking for a contemplation of cultural norms and how they function when they mix, read on.

I had the chance to sit down with Nadia Esham (Malaysia ’14) and Edan Canning (Israel ’14) who are in a relationship to get some insight on their daily life. Before we dive into their story, let’s examine their countries. Malaysia, in Southeast Asia, is a highly diversified country with an official language of Malay and a majority religion of Islam. Israel, in the Middle East, is the world’s only Jewish-majority state with the official languages of Hebrew and Arabic.

Nadia thoroughly enjoys the relationship and categorizes it as exciting because an adrenaline rush accompanies the romance. Malaysia is very anti-Zionist and therefore, she would have to go behind her government’s back in order to visit Edan in Israel. After asking about the view in Malaysia of dating Jewish people, Nadia told me that they would be very judgmental of it and she would feel condemned. When she first told her mother, she was very indifferent. “It’s fine,” she said, “You’ll find some other people along the way.” Now, she’s very comfortable with Edan and promotes the relationship. Their culture is different, yes, but what matters to her is that there is a spark between the two and she feels happy.

When he first told his friends, their reaction was “she’s Muslim?!?” Edan comes from a very liberal background, which prompted his 97 year old aunt to congratulate him after he

told her about his unique relationship. The biggest problem for him was dealing with Nadia’s family. “It was kind of awkward for us and I was nervous of how she would react.” After a few Skype calls with Mrs. Esham, however, Edan is confident that she likes him more than Nadia and he feels comfortable.

Through observing their interactions, we see an interesting blend of both Malaysian and Israeli culture. Nadia and Edan feel like they have learned more about the other’s background and have defied the stereotypes and misconceptions set back home. In this place we call UWC, they are able to defy the expectations of “normal” and pursue something idiosyncratic and fit for our needs. What brought these two together was attraction, what hindered them was culture, was helped them was awareness.

It is remarkable how two cultures can come together so seamlessly and create a new culture in itself - a relationship culture. Many cross-cultural relationships exist and survive in our school and we should take note of them. Although backgrounds are able to influence how relationships are conducted, they are not able to alter the bond between two people and we should all be aware of that.


OPINIONRELATIONSHIPS ACROSS

CULTURESShobhit Kumar (USA-MD ’14)

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As we’ve been constantly reminded this year, UWC has hit 50. Yes, half a century ago a school inspired by the Hitler Youth opened with the goal of promoting world peace through activity and education. Since then, the movement has grown to a dozen schools in as many countries with thousands of alumni influencing all areas of society. Over this time, the movement has sparked other schools with similar motives. Most recently, our own Johannes Fischer has sent us a link to Avenues, an international school situated in New York.

However, this somewhat recent burst of pseudo-UWC’s posed the question, what makes u s d i f f e r e n t ? I m e a n s u r e w e w e r e groundbreakers in many ways, the IB, the international school, etc. But being the first at something doesn’t count for much anymore. With newer schools with shinier facilities and perhaps even more resources, these young-guns are rapidly outstripping UWC.

Though it is a bit humbling to accept, UWC is no longer the undisputed leader in alternative education. I feel that’s the best thing that could have happened to the movement.

Like a boxer who’s held the belt too long, being the leader has made us lose our drive. In the word’s of Bane from The Dark Knight Rises, “Peace has cost you your strength! Victory has defeated you!” What this movement needs is a major overhauling, an acceptance that we may not be “America’s coolest school” after all. In fact, when this issue was brought up during the 30/50 discussions with the board, it was the first

I had heard from ANYONE about UWC not being the best at pretty much everything.

The school has changed a lot in 50 years. The movement has grown and ventured into ideas Kurt Hahn could never have imagined. 50 years ago there was one, boy’s only school that hung it’s hat on search and rescue trips in the rough waters of the coast of Wales. We’ve come a long way, but the journey is far from over.

Questions are being raised about the programs accessibility to less wealthy students, potential biases and unfair practices in selection committees, and what UWC wants one of their ideal students to look like 5,10, or 30 years after graduating.


LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE

Edgar Jaramillo (USA-CA ’14)

http://www.uwc-usa.org/images/30th_logo.png



JUST READ IT. 15

the SIDEUWC-USA DECEMBER 2012

FLIPBY THE INFAMOUS AND CLASSY VALENTIN HERRGESELL

Now it's official. This semester is over. Today were the last final exams and today is also the last edition of theFLIPSIDE. For this year. That's why I worked hard this week and made this one as fun and exciting as the Chum Walk-In! Which indeed was very creatively executed, was shy in perfection, definitely had a lot of potential and... uhm... yeah, I'm running out of euphemisms. But let's talk Blackout: I planning on using my

newly acquired night vision camera to observe what was going on in the dark. However that investment turned out to be unnecessary since it wasn't really dark - Johannes' trigger finger at the lighting board was a

little itchy that night (maybe because he wasn't busy "entertaining" any men?????) Anyway some note for the "gurls" there is a "How to say no to unwanted sexual attention" pamphlet outside of Susie's office. Speaking of Susie: accompanied by our beloved Sharonz - silent "z" at the end - she tried to join the party and get down on the dance floor with some cool moves. Their attempt to dance ended up being emotionless and feelingless reminding me of my grandfather. He is also feelingless because he had a very difficult childhood and is paralyzed. Merry Christmas, Grandpa.

As for hookups at Blackout- I asked Etirsa what she had heard. All she had to say was, "What? There were students up past 10:15? Impossible!" As for the hookups, we're all grown adult, meaning if you need to fulfill that special need you can just go to the Naughty "Samaritan" House in town. I hear they're having a fundraiser....

One more thing - imagine me saying that wearing my black turtleneck sweater: before you all drip away, start packing and start crying - I'm not gonna see your for three weeks. Buhuuuu - I want to end this edition by saying some nice things: After twelve Issues I want to say thank you. Thanks to all of you who keep providing me with material. Thanks to all of you who week after week give me the inspiration and motivation to continue my work. But most importantly thanks to you, my dear reader. Thank you for enjoying whatever I write here and thank you for not taking it too personally. And now in the voice of Ravi: Sweeties, have a wonderful holiday.

Sincerely,

Limited Special Platinum Collectors Extended Edition

!

hype /hīp/ Noun

1. Extravagant or intensive publicity or promotion.

2. A hypodermic needle or injection. 3. Blackout

!the FLIPSIDE at blackout

the literati fall final issue: global links

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