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World War I Primary Sources Collection at the Library

By Marion Donovan, Assistant Librarian

World War I Primary Sources Collection at the Library

As a librarian at St. Mark’s this fall, I have begun to “weed” through our history collection and have taken a deep dive into time travel. In the past, I was a history teacher myself, so the primary sources that bring the past to life call out to me. A particular section in the library especially rich in those sources covers World War I. Both of my grandfathers fought in WWI on the Allied side, one as a doctor and the other as an engineer, so I grew up with stories and artifacts of “The Great War,” as it was first known. When I applied to graduate school for history at the University of Chicago, I discovered that La Verne Noyes, an American inventor and manufacturer of agricultural equipment, book holders, and windmills, had left the bulk of his fortune to scholarships for Allied veterans of WWI and their direct descendants. These scholarships have now expanded to include 48 colleges. April 6, 2017 will be the one-hundredth anniversary of the United States’ entry into WWI. The European side of the war began in 1914, so many newspaper and magazine articles have already examined new and old perspectives on those events. More will be coming with April 6 in view. We at St. Mark’s are lucky to have an extensive collection of first-hand material (diaries, letters, memoirs, news reports, propaganda, art, photographs) from marshals and generals to privates and civilians on wide-ranging aspects of this war. (more…)

Namaste from Karanjo

By Yusra Syed, V Form

Namaste from Karanjo

My trip to India this past summer was the best decision I have ever made in my teenage years. As a youth ambassador to several charities and organizations that are actively working in India, I heard about Ekal Vidyalaya and the wonderful work that they were doing in the rural tribal areas of India. Last summer, I visited urban areas of India with other organizations and traveled with my family; however, I had never seen remote areas of India and was curious about the work Ekal does for the people living there. Their presence in the the less targeted areas of India sparked my interest, as I understood some of the challenges that India faced as a country.

Some of the challenges that India faces include:  screen-shot-2017-01-07-at-2-11-02-pm

  • Lack of Education
  • Urbanization
  • Limited access to Healthcare
  • Gender Roles
  • Lack of Sanitation
  • Water Scarcity
  • Financial Transparency

(more…)

I Go Back to Limón Because of Love

By Sam Lauten, VI Form

I Go Back to Limón Because of Love

unnamed-2“Reading is just not a part of the culture here.” I blinked at the man standing before me, not quite sure how to respond. Five years, thousands of dollars, and dozens of hours on planes, buses, and on foot had been poured into building the “Learning Center” we now stood in. I had spent days drafting and rewriting my application to multiple grants, citing so many hopes and plans of how we were going to change so many lives bringing books and computers to the underprivileged children of Limón, Costa Rica. Now, there I was, standing in the embodiment of all of those dreams, being told that everything I had done was in vain. (more…)

Global Connections of Media and Skin

By June Seong, IV Form

Global Connections of Media and Skin

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Amidst the chaos that is my life – including the future I must decide upon, the necessity to be “special,” and my attempt to make this post somewhat grammatically correct – I am struck by my simultaneous privilege and ignorance. This privilege and ignorance is exhibited through myriad ways at this very moment: 1) this dull MacBook Air that I am communicating through and that was probably configured by an underpaid or unpaid laborer; 2) the whizzing air conditioning that is breathing on my neck so that I might not die from heatstroke whilst the world scales up a few sweltering Centigrades; 3) the immensity of the world that is within computer click’s reach via Facebook. (more…)

Working Together to Launch the Model UN Club

By Isabelle Kim, Jovin Ho, & Rachel Wang, IV Form and Matt Walsh, Stephanie Moon, & Alan Gao, III Form

Working Together to Launch the Model UN Club

To understand what the “Model United Nations Club” is, it is essential to know the concept of the “Model United Nations” or “MUN”. Model United Nations acts as a simulation of United Nations conferences, in which participants act as delegates. Delegates represent various countries and their ideals, and engage in formal debates over global issues as well as international affairs, through which a resolution is achieved that is, ideally, satisfactory for all parties involved. A couple of weeks prior to the conference, the delegates are assigned respective countries, councils, and issues that will be debated upon, thus allowing delegates ample time to research the topic at hand and formulate their arguments. A big part of MUN is the delegates recognizing that they are not representing themselves, but are a part of a larger picture, having to uphold their country’s beliefs.  (more…)

Modern Day Martins

By Jenny Deveaux, V Form

Modern Day Martins

Much like hip hop music, modern day United States culture is based upon movements for change and the spread of continental ideas.

Hip hop was born in the seventies, and first originated in New York City. The genre was developed largely by African-Americans, but evolved to incorporate nuances from other minority groups such as Latin-Americans. Today, hip hop is a multi-billion dollar franchise that has become a symbol of United States culture because it exemplifies a diverse and influential community that seeks to spread tendentious ideas. Artists like Common, Nelly, Macklemore, and LL Cool J use their prominence in the hip hop genre to address today’s issues. Macklemore did this recently in his song “Same Love,” advocating for marriage equality while producing a track that made the top charts in America. (more…)

The World Behind the Curtain

By Yusra Syed, IV Form

The World Behind the Curtain

Over the summer, I was fortunate enough to travel to different parts of India and visit schools, universities, and orphanages for a ten-day service trip with three other girls from the United States. My favorite part of the trip was our first stop, Hyderabad, India, where we visited Challenger Girls Orphanage. (more…)

2015 Sri Lanka Summer Trip Scrapbook

By Gabe Brower, V Form, Daphne Huang, VI Form, Abby Moses, VI Form, and Emily Tanner, VI Form

2015 Sri Lanka Summer Trip Scrapbook

The Sri Lanka summer trip (click here for scrapbook!) was offered as one of the St. Mark’s global citizenship travel opportunities5wZ1S3slQG9wAzJt9SB0IWx68N7oF4t1L2a-92SJbu4 supported by Envoys, a liaison program that seeks to educate students about the world through exposure and hands-on experiences in different countries and cultures. The St. Markers who participated in the trip applied through the St. Mark’s global citizenship program. Our days in Sri Lanka were unique in many senses. Not only were we given a wonderful travel and learning opportunity to engage in the culture and environment of Sri Lanka, but we also got the chance to partner with an educational non-profit organization called Educate Lanka. Educate Lanka provides students in Sri Lanka with scholarships by matching each student with a sponsor. By the end of the trip, we were able (more…)