Blah blah to Y and X

Beba cubralic (Australia / Bosnia, UWCM 10-12)

There are some values people are willing to die for; whether that in itself is a positive of negative thing is debatable, but most admire that degree of passion. When it comes to the topic of intersex people in sport, there are not enough people standing up and speaking out in support of them. Activists such as Cheryl Chase, as inspiring as they are, need more voices behind them to make the message louder and have greater impact.  This present silence has been devastating at best, with the failure to end gender verification testing; this silence has been calamitous at worst, propagating discrimination and exclusivity in both sport and society. Whilst all forms of discrimination are condemnable, the failure to recognise the plight of intersex people is horrifying. Understanding both the biological and social side to the issue will, hopefully, lead to a more welcoming culture.

“I was suddenly exposed to 60 odd kinds of different views of life and lifestyles at once.”

Winifred Mok (Hong-Kong, LPC 2001-2003)

For narration’s sake, my ready listener, I shall begin as thus. The light is bright outside, a rare occurrence for this country, yet typically nice weather for the examination period. She sits on her bed, at her desk, notes sprawled out on the bed and over the table on Literature of the nineteenth and twentieth century: Ford Madox Ford, Henry James, T.S. Eliot, and Virginia Woolf, which constitute the last 1/6th of her revision. A flatmate’s borrowed blue teapot sits to the left of her hand, patiently watching, breathing smoke from its spout, accompanied by a short glass almost empty of apple, cinnamon and raisin tea. She smells the faintest hint of sandalwood incense, and, mentally tired and physically drained, smiles at -the phone rings. (Sorry for the interruption, real life sometimes just has to barge its way into narrative fiction. Or non-fiction. Or whatever dimension this is.) It’s her mother calling from home, the other world.

It is strange to be a part of many worlds.

Stereotypes

Divya Jalan (Canada, AC 10′-12′)

Stereotyping is an infection, an inflammation, an itch that you don’t really think about, but one that is irritating at inconvenient times and just won’t go away. A disease that decreases potential and performance as Emily Chan (former AC student) said in her workshop during the Peace & Conflict Conference. Her workshop was about stereotypes and how to deal with their negative implications.

ACMUN 2011 Opening Speech – “We are proud that the resolution to create Statebook was passed unanimously by the Security Council”

Paul Lau and Laura Breen (UWCAC, 2010-12)

Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We the Chairs of the Security Council want to take this chance to bring to you a press-release from the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki Moon.

January 21, 2011,
For Immediate Release

The Secretary General is pleased to announce, or rather confirm since Wikileaks has already revealed, that the United Nations has launched and endorsed our very own Chinese-made Facebook duplicate, creatively titled ‘Statebook’.

Launched in 2008, Statebook is one part of the UN’s attempt to stimulate the world economy in the wake of the financial collapse. We are proud that the resolution to create Statebook was passed unanimously by the Security Council, although rather disappointed in the fact that it was the only resolution that wasn’t vetoed by either the US, Russia or China.

Since its launch, Statebook has been a resounding success, fulfilling its role in increasing interconnectivity between Head’s of States and speeding up communication between different parties. Here are just some of the many updates that have been found in the Newsfeed:

ACMUN 2011 Opening Speech – “You have been negotiating my whole life – don’t tell me you need more time.”

Nabeel Al-Hassan (Bahrain, UWCAC 10-12)

I’m going to start this off with a bit of a story, Delegates I’m sure you’re aware of the recent climate change conference in Cancun. Well at last year’s conference, among all the politicians, debaters and media – Christina Ora, a seventeen-year old girl from the Solomon Islands wore a t-shirt saying:  “You have been negotiating my whole life – don’t tell me you need more time.” Words that I remember to this day – filled with passion but at the same time covered in denouncement. And she wasn’t the only one. Only two months ago at COP 16 that single act by Christina was enough to a year later inspire 1000 youths to do the same. The message people our age have sent to the people in power is very simple and direct. Act. Deliver. To match words by actually doing something about them. This where the theme of ACMUN 2011: ‘Inspiration for Action’ is influenced from.

On Words

Elaine Fung (Hong Kong, UWCAC, 2010-2012)

‘-Words are all around, but words are only sounds-’

 Traffic in the Sky, Jack Johnson

When I think back on that very day- 21st August 2010- roughly five months ago, I remember this: a sea of smiles, handshakes and faces of those I now know so well as dear friends. Five hours in London Heathrow Airport waiting for the school bus, spent amidst our trolleys of suitcases and the ever-changing flight-information boards, repeated ‘Hi I’m Elaine from Hong Kong’ numerous times, struck up small talks about our home towns, past lives and future dreams- we began this journey with words.

The Armenian Genocide?

Anonymous

The Armenian Genocide? “Turks killed the Armenians! They destroyed their villages, they raped the women, they buried all the babies alive, and they took the young boys and made them fight for themselves. It was an obvious genocide! All the countries must agree with that.” Said a friend while I was relaxing in the dayroom. I was shocked; I even could not remember how we ended up talking about my country.

A UWC experience in Atlantic College

Valerie Christine Cleland (US, UWCAC 09′-11′)

The year starts with painting faces, banging pots and pans, blowing the conch, and shyly greeting the next year group. What is to be said in an introduction? Eventually we tire of “Hello, my name is ___ and I am from __”. The question morphs into “What house are you in?” followed by “What service are you doing?” It is already a year of questions, and while the small talk gets stale we all know it is the roots of something special. The only thing we have in common is a renewed sense of optimism in the form of Moroccan sweets, Latino hugs, and the singing of the World Cup song.

Oh Maastricht, My Lionheart

Beba Cibralic (Australia, Bosnia, UWCM 2010-2012)

The way I would describe my experiences at United World College Maastricht insofar is by comparing them to trying to breathe in a car when the window is rolled down and you are travelling at a hundred kilometres per hour. It is frightening as there is this internal panic as you feel that not enough oxygen is entering your desperate lungs; it is exhilarating because there is no other feeling in the world that gives you quite the same endorphin-inducing head-rush as this.

Some people are gay. Get over it!

Jonathan Hadad (Israel, AC 09’-11’)

Platform 6 is the Gender and Sexuality activity at Atlantic College. Last year I felt that a Gender and Sexuality group at my school was missing and could repair the negative attitudes towards these subjects. I also remembered how supportive gay youth groups back home were for me not long ago, when I decide to come out of the closet. So with the help of friends, we restarted Platform 6.

The first Cultural Week in Maastricht UWC

Hannes Decat (Belgium, UWCM 2010-2012)

United World College Maastricht is a fresh new little branch of the big UWC tree. The students and staff are pioneers and pioneers tend to face challenges. One of those challenges was organising the first culture week ever at UWC Maastricht. As West-European and North-American (WENA) citizens, we were the chosen ones to write a part of UWC Maastricht’s history. Culture weeks are the epitome of UWC’s tradition of sharing. It is an amazing feeling to know that we are setting this tradition for our coming years. A woman told us after the opening show: ‘The WENA culture week has put a high standard for the coming ones and it will be their challenge to try to improve this.’ This was the most beautiful comment she could give us because we wanted to challenge the coming culture week committees in making each of their weeks the ‘best culture week’.

“The space to be confused” in the new Maastricht College

Eilam Lavy (Israel, UWC Maastricht 10′-12′)

In ten days I will be home, I keep saying this sentence like a mantra for a month now, every day that goes by I get 24 hours closer to home, and closer to leave my other home.

For The Ladies

Ailish Caroll-Brentall (Wales, Atlantic College 09′-11′)

Once a year, Atlantic College is graced with the spectacle that is Cinderfella, a beauty pageant in which men dress up like women. Past years have never failed to spark controversy, and this year was no exception. Don’t get me wrong. It was funny (in bits when I wasn’t dying of vicarious mortification), and it was for a good cause (a phrase that could get you off the hook for a multitude of sins), but I found it hard to deny the undertones. The aim was to be a woman for the night, and we got overtly sexualised dance routines, hugely vacuous answers to questions and a pregnant chick the size of a whale in fishnets. The only minimalist thing about the night was the outfits.

Thoughts about the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Damir Borovac (Bosnia and Herzegovina, UWCiM 09′-11′)

In most of the countries general elections are bringing a ray of hope, a possibility for a needed change and generally injecting a new source of confidence into the society. The case in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) is much alike, but the post-election forming of government usually takes too long, so in the end citizens forget that they have recently voted. Even worse is the realisation that nothing has changed!

“It turns out that there are a lot of things that they never knew before…”

Nadia Pramudita (Indonesia, AC 10-12)

Every time I watch the news, I am always paranoid about hearing the word “Indonesia”. Indonesia has been in such a hard time lately. If I were to list every single thing, this page won’t be enough. When we thought the worst is over, something else happened.