“Privacy is not something that I’m merely entitled to, it’s an absolute prerequisite.” – Marlon Brando A while back I’d intended to write something about the suicide of Amanda Todd, but for whatever reasons, the article never got written. But last night, an article on Google’s list of the most-searched online persons for 2012 caught my eye. And though Amanda wasn’t at the top of the list, she was within the top ten. And we could all learn quite a few things from Amanda Todd. Firstly, she was a victim…
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World AIDS Day
“The hearing that is only in the ears is one thing. The hearing of the understanding is another. But the hearing of the spirit is not limited to any one faculty, to the ear, or to the mind.” – Chuang Tzu Last Sunday, as part of the activities to mark World AIDS Day (December 1) there was an AIDS awareness march and painting of a mural. The Queen’s College Interact Club joined the march, to show our solidarity and to do our part as students to raise awareness about AIDS.…
Read MoreChange
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts Last week, we the students of Queen’s College spent the week over at Richard Ishmael’s. The experience, for me, was an eye-opener in more ways than one. But the thing that struck me the most was by Friday, we’d all settled in, and everything started feeling like routine school again. But it probably shouldn’t surprise me, after all, we’re young and supposed to be able to…
Read MoreKnocking each other off?
“Car c’est en famille, ce n’est pas en public, qu’un lave son linge sale. But it is at home and not in public that one should wash ones dirty linen.” Napoleon – On his return from Elba. Speech to the Legislative Assembly. I don’t usually follow politics. Being still in school, I tend to be caught up with things that directly affect me. More ‘exciting’ things like complex numbers and Quantum theory (whoop! whoop! Right.) But there was absolutely no avoiding the ‘Partial Gag’ issue splashed across the front pages…
Read MoreA noble profession
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” – Albert Einstein On Wednesday, two other students and I were asked to represent Queen’s College at the Consultation on the Teacher’s Council at the Convention Centre. And throughout the entire presentation I was forced to think about why my fellow students and I had absolutely no inclination to take up teaching as a profession. We’ll be churning out lots of doctors and lawyers and engineers and computer geeks, but no teachers. And it’s…
Read MoreNational Road Safety Month in Guyana
Road sense is the offspring of courtesy and the parent of safety. “National Road Safety Month” was launched on November 1 – coincidentally, the day before my 17th birthday. I was invited to deliver the Hindu prayer at the event. Since I’ll be hitting the roads soon (right Dad?), I think I listened quite a bit more attentively than I normally do at the goings on. (There was the nagging paranoia: Could the authorities be aware of my imminent foray into our highways and byways and were taking pre-emptive action?…
Read MoreThe Festival of Chariots
Simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom This year, was the first time I’ve ever attended a Ratha Yathra. I had seen the parade a couple of times, but I’d never been directly a part of it. So this year, I only had a general idea of what to expect. And after it was over, I was still in awe from it all because it was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. I’ve been to Mandir,…
Read MoreDrama, Drama, Drama!
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being” – Oscar Wilde The Greeks, originator of the western tradition of theatre, used the public staging of plays to provoke discussion on and the transmission of, cultural values, as far back as 500BC. We can still benefit from the readings of say, Euripides, Sophocles and Aeschylus. A week ago, I attended one of the performances…
Read MoreStranded!
“Character matters; leadership descends from character” – Rush Limbaugh On October 12, I was among the hordes of people stranded at the Stabroek Market Stelling, hoping to get onto a speedboat to get home before nightfall. For me, it was a novel experience in many ways. Usually, my journey home isn’t usually way laid by protests, burning tyres, wailing sirens and burning vehicles. This was the first time I’ve ever travelled on a Demerara River speedboat without a parent – and the second time ever. And this was definitely the…
Read MoreA grounded career
“Any human anywhere will blossom in a hundred unexpected talents and capacities simply by being given the opportunity to do so” – Doris Lessing Well, this month is ‘Agriculture Month’ and my thoughts inevitably wandered to the five years of Agricultural Science I’d persevered through high school. People might look at me or any of my peers and think, ‘What could a bunch of kids possibly know about agriculture?’ If the truth be told, we know more than a thing or two. You’d be surprised at the excruciatingly detailed agricultural…
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