Students take to the streets in Pakistan to fight for student unions and better education facilities
Pakistani students, activists and supporters of the Student Action Committee (SAC) took to the streets of Lahore and other cities in Pakistan on Friday, Nov. 29 as part of the Student Solidarity March. The demonstrators’ list of demands called for the restoration of student unions and the improvement of educational facilities.
Iraqi Prime Minister resigns after facing mass citizen protests
Following months of citizen protest, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi announced his plans for resignation on Friday, Nov. 29. Protesters — made up largely of the country’s young and poor — have criticized the country’s political party system and failing infrastructure. These demands came just months after the initiation of a new Iraqi government in May which followed the eradication of ISIS in the region.
UMass hosts "Criminalizing Dissent" resistance panel
Asian Student Association celebrates 20 years of VariAsians
Bolivia’s president resigns after anti-corruption protests
France proposes new immigration sanctions
Controversial Pakistani art exhibit is forced to close
An installation by Pakistani artist Adeela Suleman, “The Killing Fields of Karachi,” was put on display in a park outside Frere Hall as a part of Karachi’s Biennale art show on Oct. 27. According to The New York Times, “the exhibit comprised of 444 concrete tombstones that symbolized the alleged extra-judicial killings by an ex-policeman.” Shortly after its opening, the city’s authorities immediately closed it down due to its controversial nature.
Germany’s Far Right advances in political control of government
Sophie Soloway ’23 writes about the political stronghold of far-right parties in Germany after a regional election. The country’s socialist party, Die Linke, won, and the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), came in second place. Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party (CDU) placed third.
French students explore US, Mount Holyoke
A personal perspective on same-sex marriage, abortion in Northern Ireland
Four months into my semester and amidst major political turbulence over the ever-looming Brexit deadline, journalist Lyra McKee was killed by paramilitary gunfire in the city of Derry. McKee, a young, gay, female reporter, wrote extensively about the country’s restrictive laws regarding abortion and same-sex marriage. Citizens on either side of the conflict erupted into debate, eventually culminating in the British Parliament’s July decision to legalize both same-sex marriage and abortion.
Nepali Student Association celebrates Himalayan Night
Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party wins Canadian election
Protestors in Chile, Ecuador, Haiti and Lebanon demand economic equality and government accountability
Popular chain ViVi Bubble Tea opens in Amherst
US withdraws troops from Syria, leaving Kurdish territory vulnerable to attacks from regional enemies
Trudeau embroiled in ongoing blackface scandal
After a 2001 picture of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in brownface makeup was released last week, two other similarly controversial pictures have also caught widespread media attention. With just under a month until the Canadian election in which Trudeau is seeking reelection, this scandal demonstrates the country’s often hidden politics and tensions.