Next Generation Diplomacy

By: Griffin Hon Hostage diplomacy is the practice of making diplomatic negotiations over human lives taken captive by the involved parties. This barbaric custom traces back to the ancient world, where it was an essential part of guaranteeing armistice or goodwill between foreign relationships after conflicts.1 In ancient China, hostage diplomacy was used to ensure mutual trust between vassal states and the centralized monarchy. The Romans used it to increase the loyalty of conquered nations, and more recently, it was used by the British during their occupation of India.  However, in today's increasingly technologically advanced and interconnected world, it is absurd that such a barbaric practice is still put to use at even the most prominent stages of diplomacy. Foreigners are typically arrested by a government and held on trumped-up charges, which is usually in response to or results in a similar abduction by an opposing nation.  In 1979, the US Embassy in Tehran, comprising ...

Black Fungus and 2nd Spread of Covid in India Written By: Amritpreet Kaur Thousands of India’s citizens have been impacted by COVID’s second wave, which began in March of this year. After a first wave starting in February of last year, the resurgence of COVID-19 cases has become especially frightening. To add to their troubles, many of those who had been affected with COVID-19 have grown increasingly susceptible to another rare infection known as the black fungus. India had over 26 million cases of COVID-19, close to the US. Hospitals were being filled. The “Black Fungus,” scientifically known as Mucormycosis, surged through India’s progress after ending the second wave. Hospitals are being loaded, and patients are dying without their treatment. The reason why this seemingly rare disease of black fungus has started to increase seems to be an outcome of lack of treatment, leaving many patients by themselves on hospital floors. Mucormycosis, the scientific name of black fungus, is a ve...

Damanpreet Kaur Director Of Governance Since August of 2020, farmers in Punjab, Haryana, and all of India have been protesting against India’s novel agricultural laws. These farmers, called the Kisaans have been protesting changes to India’s Agricultural laws because these new laws would trap farmers into contract farming systems with larger corporate businesses and consumers. Through almost a year of violence, India’s government has still refused to take steps to alleviate the issue, instead choosing to alienate peaceful protesters with tear gas and violence. On January 26, 2021, as India’s Republic Day, a national holiday where the country celebrates enacting its constitution, a peaceful rally a couple of miles away suddenly regressed into a violent riot. Police raided protest sites, used tear gas, and took the liberty of hitting protesters with batons. Nearly a million farmers rode their tractors to India’s capital, knocking down police barricades. Till this day, July 21, 2021, ...