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I believe I came up with this activity while scrolling through Instagram and instantly fell in love. The entirety of the experience was so amazing I wanted to do it again. From writing the position paper, giving my first policy statement, debating about the issue, but most importantly making great connections along the way. As much of a cliche it is, this experience really opened my eyes to world issue, and how the whole world is truly interconnected. Moreover, it felt really good to feel like a diplomat, which not only made me seek out similar activities in the future, but also to peruce International Relations in the future, and change the world.

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Here is my Position Paper. It was re-written in a café with blood, sweat and tears.

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As my first CAS activity I chose something close to my heart - fashion. I was inspired by current trends ( like the scarlet colour that most mannequins have, frills or the off-the-shoulder tops) and other autumnal clothes

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By Kami Dubno

Graphic by Zoja Wasilewska

Our society has always had a strange fixation on the lives of the rich and famous - from exorbitant paintings to the yearly MET Gala. Recently, our fascination for exuberance and glamour has peeked; as a way of escaping our financially and politically imbalanced society we turn to this world of excess. Whether we idolize our favorite public figures' affluent lifestyles, or their representations in fictional works, it is important to note that past the prestige that first meets the eye there is a darker underbelly. The relatively recent film genre, coined as 'Eat The Rich', has recently seen a new addition - the film 'Saltburn'.

The genre is usually satirical in nature, overemphasizing and exaggerating the inequality between the rich and poor to show us how strangely unequal our world is, despite us claiming it to not be so. It is usually done through a protagonist who we can relate to. This character is often of working or middle class background, unknowing of the glamor that comes with wealth. As they get introduced to wealth, so do we as the viewers. At first, the riches seem like they can solve any problem, while looking gorgeous at the same time; however, later we learn that that money is empty, meaningless and a burden to those who have it, especially those who inherit it.

Emerald Fennel's ' Saltburn ' follows Oliver, a working-class student at Oxford University, who seemingly by accident meets Felix Catton, a rich and popular student. Through a favor, they become close friends, and afterwhich Felix takes Oliver to his family estate - Saltburn, where Oliver meets Felix's family. Oliver's growing obsession with Felix leads to mishaps and death, ending with Oliver inheriting Saltburn. The film ends with Oliver dancing to Sophie Ellis Bextor's "Murder on the Dance Floor". The movie displays many of the genre's ideas of wealth and how it is actually damaging to the person that possesses it.

A big part of this idea is the notion of wealth being empty, and emotionally stunting the person having it. Through money, many lose touch with emotions and sympathy as a result of isolation from everyday struggles and perceived entitlement. A person who lived with exorbitant amounts of money all their life did not have to struggle, often bringing emotional distance. In many cases this can also lead to a reliance on gossip as entertainment, since the person does not have to work or make an effort otherwise.

A prime example of this could be Eslpeth, Felix's mother, played by Rosamund Pike. She is a crushingly careless mother, emotionally detached, dry and somewhat living in her own world. Without having to struggle with work or worries, Elspeth is blissfully unaware of the world around her, often throwing parties or gossiping. Her emotional distance can be seen after Pamela's (a family friend) 'suicide', with her saying ''She'd do anything for attention". This continues after her son's death, with her continuing breakfast as usual, despite the other family members breaking down. Elspeth's emotional detachment can be attributed to her spending her entire life isolated from problems, thanks to her money.

The thrill she gets from gossip is also what brought about her death. After Oliver was paid off to leave Saltburn, Elspeth meets him in a coffee-shop some time later. Her gossiping and oblivious nature caused her to ask Oliver to come back to Saltburn, after which she signs over Saltburn to him and dies of a disease, presumably caused by Oliver.

Furthermore, the idea of wealth being alienating is continued through the idea that, as you amass wealth, you lose the ability to trust people around you, since you either pay them to be around you or they might want to steal your wealth for themselves. While often baseless, this paranoia further alienates the rich and famous to the point where they lose even more of their humanity. In Saltburn, this can primarily be seen through the cast being extremely isolated, both physically, as they are in a castle in the British countryside, but also in the characters there. The cast is mostly made up of the Catton family, with Oliver being the second non-family member to be staying at Saltburn. Furthermore, Oliver feeds into the paranoia of Elspeth by placing blame onto Farleigh for Felix's "overdose".

The genre often flips the power dynamics of the wealthy being at the top, controlling the poor. This is not only done through the poorer characters' inheriting the wealth, but also the wealthy falling under the protagonist's control. This narrative shift shows us how our society looks like, with one side subtling controlling the other, which we usually do not see. In our world, the wealthy are hugely influential, from fashion to politics. In Saltburn, at first Oliver is scared of the estate and people, which is visually portrayed through his fashion - sticking out like a sore thumb. However, with time, as Oliver begins to manipulate the family, change his style and become a part of the family, the power dynamics change. The Catton family no longer holds power over him, and it is him who decides everything that will happen, from death to inheritance.

However, at the end, after the poor become the rich and inherit the riches, we continue to learn that the money is empty. As previously said, the wealth these characters have usually strips them of emotion and causes them to live unfulfilled lives, where the material possessions and class that come with being rich do not bring happiness and do not satisfy the emptiness that resides in them. In the movie, this can be seen after Oliver inherits Saltburn. At face value, he might have the thing he wanted to have all throughout the movie - money and social standing. However, looking deeper, not only is he alone in his mansion, but also he does not have the person he wanted with him - Felix, which can be seen clearly during graveyard scene, where Oliver cries and feels the grave of his beloved Felix. Furthermore, according to the British class system, Oliver could never achieve the status of the Cattons', since he was not born into wealth.

In conclusion, the "Eat The Rich" genre satirizes our society's elite, showing them as emotionally detached and thrilled by gossip. As the rich grow their wealth, they become alienated from the rest of society, fueling their emotional distance and paranoia. The genre flips who has power, giving it to the poorer characters; however, they too learn of the emptiness of wealth and all its vices. This idea is clearly shown through the characters of Emerald Fennel's 'Saltburn ', portraying them as naive and living in their own world. Does this mean the rich are evil? No, but it does make us look more critically at our world, and makes us realize that, despite us thinking money could solve our problems, it can also create more of them.

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By Kami Dubno Graphic by Zoja Wasilewska Our society has always had a strange fixation on the lives of the rich and famous - from exorbitant paintings to the yearly MET Gala. Recently, our fascination for exuberance and glamour has peeked; as a way of escaping our financially and politically imbalanced society we turn to...

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By Camille Dubno

Graphic by Rita Pasiewicz

As children, most of us have probably heard as our family spoke in their native language, which later became our own. We think in it, speak it, and generally use it to communicate with people around us. However, language is much more than what we speak, but is a big representation of the culture we grew up in, which is why its loss is not only puzzling, but also extremely sad.

"How can one actually lose their native tongue?" You might think, since you have used this language all your life. Well, the loss of a mother tongue - academically known as ' language attrition ' - is caused by two main factors: isolation from speakers and the learning of a secondary language. Usually, the interference of the second language stops the comprehensive learning of the first, which limits the ability of the speaker to use their primary language. Despite most bilingual individuals experiencing this to an extent, it is most evident in speakers whose second language gains a prominent role in their life.

How come the first language becomes lost, if they still have their community of natives to speak to? Undeniably, school and the internet are to blame. With our world becoming more and more interconnected each day, the learning of foreign languages has become integral to school, with some schools even teaching almost exclusively in, for instance, English. While this does bring 'internationality' and 'prestige' (since international programmes and people from different countries can be present), it does also bring language attrition, as the main language in a student's life is no longer their native language.

Nonetheless, non-international schools are not safe either. The internet has become a crucial part of teens' lives, so to communicate more widely a universal language (English, our current lingua franca) has been adopted. Coincidentally, for the better or for the worse, this is where loan words come from.

You might believe that this is an inevitable process, and, as such, one we should not bother about. Undoubtedly, we should care, since language is a crucial part of culture and communication. Language is not merely a tool used to tell others about something, but a living representation of the beliefs, customs and attitudes of a given community. For example (and perhaps a more extreme one), a community not having a word for ' sorry ' might imply that apologising should not just be a word, but an action. Moreover, knowing a past language had a word for farming or a loom can tell us that those people were farmers or weavers, which might seem mundane, but it is actually incredibly fascinating that language - something we use everyday- might tell us so much about our ancestors.

Furthermore, language is a part of a country's heritage. In occupied countries, native languages where often prohibited, as it represents nationality. (Not to sound like an old person, but a losing a mother tongue destroys the years our ancestors fought for our right to be here.) However, this is not a thing of the past. Many Native American languages are endangered, due to the years of forceful assimilation of these people, creating generations which can no longer connect with their heritage due to the language-barrier. Forceful language attrition is defiantly not limited to native Americans, but it clearly shows how influential language is in preserving culture and the negative impact of colonialism and imperialism on it.

To end on a more personal note, I myself struggle with language attrition quite a lot. Despite being a Pole, I use much more English than Polish, and even struggle while using the latter, which is quite a shame since it is a key part of who I am. Despite this, I try to somehow reintegrate Polish into my daily life, as I see my mother tongue as a duty to my culture. However, it does not also mean that other, secondary languages should not be used; quite the contrary, communication is key (as the cliché goes), but that does not mean you should forget your roots. You are your native language!

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The Loss of the First Language, and Why You Should Care

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By Camille Dubno Graphic by Rita Pasiewicz As children, most of us have probably heard as our family spoke in their native language, which later became our own. We think in it, speak it, and generally use it to communicate with people around us. However, language is much more than what we speak, but is...

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By Kami Dubno

Graphic by Rita Pasiewicz

"At some point in our lives we have all experienced mathematics in some way", is what many corny maths teachers say to encourage learning the subject. The statement is true, but paradoxically, the number of people who claim to be bad at math is strangely big. So what is at the core of the 'Math is hard' idea, that pushes so many to fail at this universal subject.

A persistent motif in this discussion is the people who provide the knowledge in the first place - teachers. How often have you heard your teacher say that you will fail, because "math is hard"? This phenomenon is called Math Anxiety and refers to the feeling of stress that occurs during the solving of a mathematical problem. Usually, this anxiety inhibits a person's short-term memory, creating difficulty in doing mathematical operations. Why does it happen? While no conclusive evidence was found, many have pointed to the misconception of 'maths being hard' as creating expectations, which make someone feel anxious. Furthermore, the pressure of solving an equation quickly and in front of the class may exacerbate the stress.

Math anxiety could also be seen as a generational problem. If teachers and parents with math anxiety, will tell their children all the time that "math is hard", no wonder that the child is crying while having to divide fractions. Moreover, making a simple switch up or mistake is highly probable, even for experts, which might perpetuate someone's belief of their inability to do math.

If the odds are stacked against us in mathematics, how may we combat them? Math anxiety is no different from any other anxiety, so techniques used to treat the non-mathematical kind will work. Anything from breathing to exercise is helpful; however, there are some math-specific techniques. Firstly, virtually all mathematical problems at school are solvable, so knowing them allows our brain to look relaxed since there is some way of solving them. Secondly, many have pointed out that writing down allows us to dissect our preconceived notions of exercises, making them easier to take apart. Furthermore, knowing that anxiety does not define ability makes it easier to cope. Finally, a good teacher or tutor who inspires you to study math may break the curse of math anxiety.

However, math anxiety is not the only thing holding you back in mathematics. Current culture perceives the perfect math student as a male human-computer, where both can be debated. Looking deeper into the subject, numbers (and letters) are not the main idea, but rather 'the art of problem-solving'. Math is as varied as any other field, having so many branches that there is at least one you are good at. Similarly, there can be areas that you do not get, but this does not make you immediately bad at the entirety of mathematics. Knowing this shows that the statement 'I'm bad at Math' is at best misguided and at worst damaging.

Many also see mathematics as strictly an analytical subject, but it is more creative than it may be believed. As previously mentioned, one thing tying all of mathematics together is the art of problem-solving. This means, that even if someone is bad at calculations, there is still room for being good at math. Many schools have already implemented a strategy where students receive points for showing data and working, while not having the correct answer. Furthermore, technology has also made it easier to see the creative, problem-solving side of math, since it allows us to focus on the method applied and interpretation of data. Finally, looking back at the most mathematical brains of all time, we see how creative math can get. How do you think Pythagoras discovered his famous theorem?

In summary, the idea of 'Being Bad at Math' is a statement with many flaws, since it perpetuates math actually being hard, placing great expectations on students, and allowing math anxiety to run rampant. Moreover, mathematics is so vast that the phrase loses meaning, especially because math is not just numbers and calculations, but rather creatively approaching 'the art of problem-solving'.

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Your Math is Better Than You Think - This is Why

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By Kami Dubno Graphic by Rita Pasiewicz "At some point in our lives we have all experienced mathematics in some way", is what many corny maths teachers say to encourage learning the subject. The statement is true, but paradoxically, the number of people who claim to be bad at math is strangely big.