Global politics applies to everyone, every single person in the Dana and global community.  The ongoing Syrian War, the global attitude toward Russia and Crimea, Mandela’s legacy, the American Constitution, the Cold War, the French Revolution, the dispute over Diaoyu Island in the Pacific Ocean — you may think events like these are far away, in space or time, but no; they all directly or indirectly, more or less, in the past, right now, or in the future, had or are going to have an impact on you.

Diversity is something we uphold and appreciate at Dana; it allows you to explore boundlessly and gather information from just the people you are sitting next to, go to Starbucks with, or share the same classes with. Look over your shoulder, check your chat history — the person you just talked to might come from a country where a civil war is taking place, a revolution is happening, or a newly revised law is affecting her. Events are influencing your life.

Stay informed. Join the Mini-MUN discussions held by the Model United Nations team. Come up with a few ideas and get involved in the discussions, speak for yourself and listen to others’ interpretation. Or turn to the group blog I started last year, Listening and Speaking to the World, which gives Dana Hall students insight into corners in the world that we might otherwise neglect. It should provide you with another unfamiliar perspective; it should help you listen to different voices; hopefully, it will inspire you to think, to get involved, and to contribute to a creation of a beneficial policy, an abolition of an unequal treaty, a modification of an outdated law, and so on.

Easily accessible information and collision of opinions together make critical and independent thinking possible. In order to contribute to societal progress and become the leaders of the future, we must become aware of and informed about the outside world. History really matters, and so does the involvement in our current writing of history. We are so young that we possess so many possibilities and opportunities. We could alter impossibilities if we wish. We could make right, insightful, and far-sighted decisions for our communities and countries, regardless of where we come from. So take your part in this work.

We are in 2014. Let’s make some changes.