Be the voice that echoes
Welcome to Echo’s very first chapter of Real Talk. In this series, we’re going to uncover, and tap into topics that are (you guessed it!), hard to talk about. With research, diverse perspectives and an open mind, we hope to equip you with a better understanding of certain ‘taboo’ topics and provide you with proper representation through this series. Today’s topic is very relevant this month just as it is every month. Sexual Health Awareness!
Mathematics has been known as the mother of all sciences as its applications are endless. Despite its importance in solving daily problems, Mathematics has not been appreciated by most students as it is a robust and challenging subject. With the goal of bringing Mathematics to the community and ignite the interest of Mathematics among young minds, Sunway’s School of Mathematical Sciences (SMS) hosted a One-Day Fun Mathematics Camp on the 8th of March for participants from age 11 to 15. However, having to consider the COVID-19 pandemic, the camp had to be postponed. Hence, the camp turned into a two-months camp where the Dean of SMS, Professor Ho Chee Kit, organized daily classes with his participants to prepare them for the grand final of the camp on the 9th of August.
“Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!” The echoes of our forefathers, who were vocally opposed to the treacherous prospects of a Malayan Union. The 31st of August serves as a reminder that we are no longer subjects of the British. To this day (certainly before 2020), Malaysians gather in places such as the Putra Square and their respective living rooms to commemorate national sovereignty.
It’s so easy to get lost in the same loop of our thoughts, truly believing that what we think is our own true perception of life. But how certain can we be that these are fundamentally our own thoughts? Are they not merely an amalgamation of other people’s opinions that we subconsciously decided to piece together to make it solely our own? They might even be fragments and echoes of other people that we found ourselves admiring and yearned to be. It leads us to beg the question: how do we truly know if our thoughts are our own?
On Wednesday, July 22nd, the Malaysian National News Agency (BERNAMA) organised a webinar titled “COVID-19: New Norm for Journalists – A Regional Perspective”. Moderated by BERNAMA TV producer Tehmina Kaoosji, the session brought together media practitioners from across the region to address the risks and challenges faced by the communication industry in disseminating facts about COVID-19.
Imagine a world where unity is preserved. A driving force for a harmonious land of unending peace, where acceptance of our differences overrules tolerance, and the peoples’ love and understanding for one another lends respect to every human being. Will racism always be a one of the barriers and the reality that we face, leaving a place like this to only exist within the realms of the paracosm that is built in our minds?
Dedicated to all the lives lost to injustice. You will not be forgotten.
We are the change we yearn,
With trembling hands we fear,
Our minds will be unable to turn,
From the unchanging ideals we silently discern,
With wavering voices that yield to silence,
As we blindly spectate acts of violence.
Of all the whimsical, hilarious and heartwarming lines in Wes Anderson’s ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, the one that kept my attention long after hearing it is this: “You can’t arrest him just because he’s a bloody immigrant, he hasn’t done anything wrong!”. This is said by M. Gustave, the high-class concierge of the hotel defending his son-like figure, Zero, who happens to be an immigrant in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka. Later on, frustrated that Zero hasn’t procured certain items, M. Gustave questions why Zero ever even left his country if he weren’t going to work his hardest to which Zero responds, “The war”. Immediately Gustave’s attitude flips, he softens, we soften with him.
Autumn 2050, the 14th Dalai Lama was finally returning back to his home country. He had lived all these years to see his country free again and now at 115 years old, he had come back. The frail old man could be seen on TV everywhere, as people all around the world witnessed this historical moment. Tibet was now a free country and this was a day to be remembered for many years to come.
The year is 2020 and we find ourselves grappling with two pandemics: COVID-19 and Racism. However, we’ve been dealing with the latter for a far longer time. Racism is a psychological phenomenon that we’ve co-existed with for centuries. It isn’t something we’re inherently born with, rather a system we’ve been inculcated with to the point where we almost constantly turn a blind eye to it in our daily lives.
If racism is learned, then we, as a society have the capability and responsibility to unlearn it.