All articles filed in IS Reflects

Author: Kelly Musyoka Women’s bodies are not inherently sexual, but from a young age they are sexualised. In primary school, we are told to cover up because bare skin is distracting to boys. We are told to carry pepper spray. We are told to stay friendly when being assaulted because raising your voice might provoke…

Author: Kelly Musyoka Hair plays a significant role in society because it is an identity marker. Unfortunately, in Western society non-Western ethnic groups are disproportionately marginalised for their appearance. There has been a globalisation of beauty standards with a European hegemony over them. Especially in terms of hair texture and skin complexion, people of African…

Throughout studying politics and watching political tensions increase and shift over the past few years, I continue to be reminded of this one quote in Episode 3 of the Star Wars saga. “So this is how liberty dies…with thunderous applause.” I find that the sentiments expressed in a galaxy far far away scarily resemble very…

Last semester I followed a minor in law, and since then I’ve started to appreciate the concept of democracy a bit more. I learned about the Dutch law system and the Japanese system—among other things. What I came to realize, is that a lot of countries have very different interpretations of democracy because of their…

Hong Kong’s autonomy has been the subject of heated debate for years and has inspired multiple protest movements, the most recent flaring up in late 2019. Last July, BAISmag interviewed Gina van Ling in order to gain a better understanding of the ongoing situation in Hong Kong (read the full 2020 interview here). Half a…

A few weeks ago BAISmag asked the student body if they had any questions about the current situation in the United States for the interviewee Sara Polak. This is the resulting interview. What is the scale of the current Black Lives Matter movement, in comparison to other previous equality movements? That’s a difficult question to…

Due to the developing events in Hong Kong, BAISmag reached out to interview Gina van Ling, to gain a better understanding of the developing situation.  1. The Hong Kong protests originally started in 2019 due to the proposition of an extradition bill. Now, in 2020, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has passed a new…

by Dr. Jeffrey Fynn-Paul I am very aware that COVID has caused half a million deaths at the time of writing.  The following piece does not in any way belittle that. But any good policy must start by separating the personal from the general. My purpose in writing this piece is to help us create…

By Tom Hughes When people think of Russia, the usual imagery that comes to mind includes freezing scenery, military power, and Vladimir Putin’s “muscled” body on a photoshopped image of a bear. However, the growing reality is far from this image of health – Russia is in the midst of an HIV epidemic. As of…

By Ričards Alans Miezītis / Photos by Elsa Court This April will mark the fourth year of hostilities in the eastern regions of Ukraine. February and March of 2014 saw the conclusion of the Ukrainian revolution and the beginning of unrest in the predominantly Russian-speaking areas of the country. What have been the recent territorial…