Lucas Salaberry, Grade 12
UWCRBC
While I'm in the zone with nothing but tunnel vision listening to the Albanian song “Aver” my Kosovar friend recommended it suddenly pauses, unfortunately not for the effect nor the drama. Detox Tuesdays were the only culprit. It seemed as though every week passed by and I, like clockwork, forgot about this highly contested trial run from the administration. While some wanted to continue scrolling or crunching numbers all I lost was the beat drop of my new favorite song. I was devastated, but really only until that next morning when I blasted the song in the shower for the whole campus to hear.
Soon enough, the next student meeting rolled by and the first thing on the agenda was, of course, banning Tuesday Detox and taking back our “right” of having internet all day every day. We discussed and uncovered some situations where students needed, not wanted, the internet to contact sick family members or to submit a final college application deadline in time. This led us to communicate our opinions to the staff in charge which ultimately led to further discussions and a somewhat common consensus on the use and purpose of no internet with some exceptions granted. But with that said, what makes this scenario make UWC stand out? Surely countless other boarding schools have a detox night and have those discussions surrounding it.
It's not the people nor the arguments which made that change, but it's the approach and willingness to accommodate differences of opinion and situations on different levels. Initially, within the student body, people listened, and while there was initially a strong sentiment of frustration, it wasn’t voiced to the point that crowded out people who might’ve appreciated the need for a technology break to voice their own thoughts. We aren’t allowed to react when others speak even when we want to express support because although in doing so, may uplift one opinion it pushes down someone who may have a conflicting thought. The result of only now exceptions being made may have been identical to that of a non-UWC school’s decisions, but the impact that these practices promote is night and day. It creates the foundation for more deeply rooted and difficult issues like war, drugs, and gender to be talked about among the community freely and openly.
Any school can have diversity on paper and any school can make decisions or simply talk about issues, but rarely can one attempt to create spaces conducive to not only change but mutual understanding and respect. UWC is not meant to create a peaceful nor perfect “bubble” the real change and impact happen afterward when one realizes the need for these spaces. So, while I listen to “Aver” from now on I think of my friend and the time we spent together, but as soon as the track hits minute 1: second 24, I playback what UWC truly was for me: a real community.
Soon enough, the next student meeting rolled by and the first thing on the agenda was, of course, banning Tuesday Detox and taking back our “right” of having internet all day every day. We discussed and uncovered some situations where students needed, not wanted, the internet to contact sick family members or to submit a final college application deadline in time. This led us to communicate our opinions to the staff in charge which ultimately led to further discussions and a somewhat common consensus on the use and purpose of no internet with some exceptions granted. But with that said, what makes this scenario make UWC stand out? Surely countless other boarding schools have a detox night and have those discussions surrounding it.
It's not the people nor the arguments which made that change, but it's the approach and willingness to accommodate differences of opinion and situations on different levels. Initially, within the student body, people listened, and while there was initially a strong sentiment of frustration, it wasn’t voiced to the point that crowded out people who might’ve appreciated the need for a technology break to voice their own thoughts. We aren’t allowed to react when others speak even when we want to express support because although in doing so, may uplift one opinion it pushes down someone who may have a conflicting thought. The result of only now exceptions being made may have been identical to that of a non-UWC school’s decisions, but the impact that these practices promote is night and day. It creates the foundation for more deeply rooted and difficult issues like war, drugs, and gender to be talked about among the community freely and openly.
Any school can have diversity on paper and any school can make decisions or simply talk about issues, but rarely can one attempt to create spaces conducive to not only change but mutual understanding and respect. UWC is not meant to create a peaceful nor perfect “bubble” the real change and impact happen afterward when one realizes the need for these spaces. So, while I listen to “Aver” from now on I think of my friend and the time we spent together, but as soon as the track hits minute 1: second 24, I playback what UWC truly was for me: a real community.
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