SPOTLIGHT
Topics that are being globally spotlighted tend to appear here. Contrary to the Agenda of the Month section, content of the Spotlight section does not have to be limited to the current month.
MAYDAY MAYDAY: We Are Starving
Duygu BAYRAM
03.05.2021
You wake up, put on your clothes, your shoes, you walk out of your house and walk along your clean street to take the bus to school with your breakfast in your hand. In this simple routine alone, you benefit from hundreds of workers’ hard work. The house you live in, the clothes on your back, the shoes on and the pavement under your feet, the cleanliness of your environment, the bus that drives to your doorstep, the food in your hand, all brought to you by workers.
The Pope’s Prominent Involvement in World Politics Even Today
Duygu Bayram
05.04.2021
Religion is held in high regard and is a touchy topic in the eyes of many people. Over the course of history, many wars have been waged in its name, many empires built, and many destroyed. While religion is a personal and individual experience for some people, religion in history has not been that way for a long time.
Celebrating the Past, Planning the Future: International Women’s Day
Didem ÖZÇAKIR
08.03.2021
Every year 8th of March is celebrated as International Women’s day. What this day represents is a call for action for women’s rights and gender equality besides a celebration of the social and political rights achievements of women. This day is a perfect opportunity for us to remember and think about all the issues that women still face globally.
A Commemoration of the Disenfranchised: The Significance of Black History Month
Boran GÖHER
01.02.2021
If you have paid some attention to North American politics in recent times, you might have noticed some talk of Black History Month. This usually confuses the uninformed reader, as it might seem kind of “overkill” to dedicate the entire month of February to a seemingly small subset of society’s nigh-infinite problems. Additionally, people freshly encountering Black History Month have a great tendency to ask some version of “Well then, why don’t we have History Months for all our minorities? Are African-Americans somehow special?”.
Humanity vs Capitalism Part 2: Crises Growth in Developing Countries
Hülya AFAT
04.01.2021
The first Humanity vs Capitalism article was published in May 2020, during the early stages of the lockdown. As the article suggested, the long duration of the lockdown and the still-not-fully-implemented vaccines damaged the world both socially and economically. More than 83 million people have been affected and more than 1.8 million people have died from COVID-19 since then.
Politics of Lives: Natural Disasters
Kaan ERTAN
07.12.2020
A natural disaster is a terrifying event for everybody. The chaos during and afterward an earthquake, the sadness of the atmosphere, and the instant primitivization of the people are unforgettable scenes. However, the ability to move on and to adapt to new situations are two strengths of humans.
The Nobel Prize 2020: A Brief Look at This Year’s Winners
Duygu BAYRAM
02.11.2020
In 1895, Alfred Nobel decided to leave his fortune of SEK 31 million (1,702 million in today’s value) to pioneering scientists in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology/Medicine, Literature, and Peace. His will stated that he wanted his income to be “distributed annually in the form of prizes to those who during the preceding year have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind.” In 1968, Sweden’s central bank established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
Trump’s 4 Years in The White House: Promises vs. Disasters
Hülya AFAT & Kaan ERTAN
02.11.2020
We are only a day away from the 2020 US Elections, so we assumed that it would be an ideal opportunity to look back to the last four years of US politics and the effects of the Trump presidency on the country. We divided the article into nine main titles in order to mention the significant events efficiently, since you are probably aware like the rest of the world, the days in Trump presidency were full to the brim.
Climate Change’s Effects on Us and Our Effect on It
Kaan ERTAN & Alp Ünal AYHAN
05.10.2020
The year 2020 clearly has a very bad reputation among the people. It started with the Australian Bush Fires, and now continues with wildfires all around the globe. Although wildfires are a natural phenomenon, the 2020 wildfires attracted scientists’ attention for their intensity. For instance, the California Wildfires, which started in August 2020, is already the biggest wildfire in the state’s history.
The Disease That Does Not Seem to End: Health Effects of COVID-19
Duygu BAYRAM & Alp Ünal AYHAN
07.09.2020
It is safe to say that most of us had different plans for 2020 when the clock turned midnight on January 1st, even those of us who did not have any plans. Perhaps some of us heard a thing or two about the new virus in China but certainly, none of us expected our whole year to be spent holed up in our apartments or going to work full of anxiety.
Tourism and COVID: Finally the Light at the End of the Tunnel?
Alp Ünal AYHAN
03.08.2020
As COVID-19 ravaged world economies, governments around the world are urgently in need of rejuvenating theirs by reopening businesses after the lockdown period. Turkey, earning 34.5 billion USD from tourism in 2019, according to TurkStat, is especially desperate to reopen its tourism industry.
The Killing of George Floyd and What It Sparked
Ece HASGÜL
06.07.2020
On May 25, George Floyd, a 46 years old African American man, was killed by the police officer Derek Chauvin because of the use of excessive force on Floyd’s neck during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The next day, a 10-minute recording by a bystander and the security camera footage has gained attention from the public and were shared widely on social media.
Proud and Present: Happy Pride Month!
Hülya AFAT & Alp Ünal AYHAN
01.06.2020
As old as human civilization gets we can see Queer footprints in art, literature, and history. “Gayness” was not invented when Hitler started marking gay people with pink triangles, it existed throughout human history, so did oppression.
Worker's Day: The Struggle Goes On, Even During a Pandemic
Alp Ünal AYHAN
04.05.2020
The first day of may marks International Workers’ Day, as a celebration of labor, those who produce labor, their ever-continuing struggle, and the strides made along the way with organized labor.
US Presidential Primary Elections 2020: Where Candidates and Generations Stand
Alp Ünal AYHAN
06.04.2020
As the United States navigates through a long and rather daunting primary process to determine the candidates that will face off in the general elections in November perhaps it is best to focus on one party whose primaries are getting very heated: the Democratic Party.