By: Natalie Obedos
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Interview with Sarah Sharif
Interview by Kate Anderson-Song Kate Anderson-Song (KAS): Hello! So, first if you’d just introduce yourself and give a little background. Sarah Sharif (SS): My name is Sarah Sharif, and I’m the founder of Experimental Civics and the founder of Capsule. For the last six years, our work has been at the intersection of communities, innovation, and technology. So basically, our three-part model is supporting people, whether that is workforce development, design-thinking workshops, or other things like that, to hosting hackathon events, which is all about elevating ideas, which is the second part of our model, and how do you ideate, how do you problem-scope and really understand problems…
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Breaking the stereotype: being a plus size cheerleader
By: Vanessa Sison I was a competitive cheerleader for 13 years. Before I go into anything else, a competitive cheerleader is a person (male or female) who joins a team to compete against other cheerleading teams. They perform in cheerleading competitions and divide teams into categories by age group, sex and level. A cheerleader can start from as early as 3 years old and upwards, have all girl teams or co-ed teams (mixed male and female participants) and have a set of rules to govern safely and how difficult a routine can be. They (usually) perform on a sprung floor and to win first place, get scored by sections based…
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Why I Unfollowed My Favorite Instagram Influencers
By: Toslima Khatun **In this article I focus on the South Asian community because it is the one that I belong to, and the one that has affected my decisions. I fully recognise that the issues I write about are more universal but at this moment I do not feel informed enough to speak on behalf or even about anything beyond the immediate sphere I inhabit. Having said due to the content of this particular piece I am going to proceed to unblock everyone given that I feel that it is only fair.** I wrote an article a little while ago about how the #metoo article was instrumental in making…
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The Dark Side of the Climate
By: Suranthi Fernando Recently the citizens and residents of Singapore, as well as the Strait of Malacca in Malaysia, have been waking up to hazy skies. At first, some may have thought that their eyes were still affected by sleep, or that their glasses had gone foggy, but nope, the skies are no longer as crisp and blue as they were at the start of the year. The lower air quality doesn’t only affect visibility, but also poses the problem of triggering health issues such as asthma, and can even make breathing uncomfortable on days where the smog is particularly heavy. You may be asking why there’s a haze that’s…
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Hidden Trash
By: Srilekha Cherukuvada Whenever I visit India, which is every two to three years, there is one thing that I always notice and absolutely despise about the beautiful serene villages. The trash. It flies along the side of the road, settling into the gutters and the man-made sewers. It stinks up the village side, even more so than the cow dung. It multiplies by the second. Obviously, as I only come to India to visit, it never felt like a huge issue to me. It was just something I’d have to see and deal with every two years. However, as I began learning more about the environment and how…
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Book Review: You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins
Mitali Perkins’ You Bring the Distant Near By: Anishi Patel “Theater, my Star?” Baba asks. I listen carefully, but there’s no disappointment in his tone, only surprise. “Yes, Baba,” I say. “It’s been an interest of mine. And I think I might be good at it. But Ma—” Baba takes my hand in both of his. “My grandmother used to organize natok in the village for the children—she loved to act. There’s nothing wrong with telling a story onstage. It’s beautiful work; it brings people together. Rabindranath Tagore wrote plays, didn’t he? I’ll handle your mother—don’t worry about that.” ~ Mitali Perkins, You Bring the Distant Near Author Mitali…
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The Face of Asia
The Face of Asia By: Anishi Patel “Please indicate your ethnicity.” For Asians, the list of possible options generally looks as follows: Asian Asian Indian Pacific Islander Limiting options, for the world’s most ethnically and culturally diverse continent. As someone whose family hails from India, the box I check is obvious, but this list always makes me wonder: what exactly is the face and identity one associates with the “Asian” box? I’m Asian. People from the Philippines, Nepal, and Pakistan, just to name a few, are also Asian. But the face I, much of western society, and most ethnicity-based forms such as the one above generally associate with “Asian”…
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Thoughts on Gilmore Girls
By: Sam Nakahira
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Poetry Review
This issue, we feature a poem by A.A Saba Europe by A.A. Saba We came seeking refuge in your streets because you destroyed and violated the homes of our ancestors we came with memories of our loved ones in our souls and with two empty hands trying to keep our children safe We are the dreamers who wandered through your hypocritical borders and you dare to call us savages after the madness you made us walk through I came as I was I came as I am finding scattered fragments of my soul on your streets still remember how your pulse tickled my heart and the colors of your…