Focus Week
The most important focus week for me is the environment one, as it is the focus week that connects to an issue that I pursue outside of school. I feel that the issues that we focused on were too narrowly defined, on how we as a community can affect our impact on the environment. I feel that what UWC has been teaching us in the past (and what I feel we should be focusing on) is more on a wide scale of what UWC can do to help the overall state of the environment on a global scale. While doing Veggie Wednesday is a good way make people feel good about themselves, saving water isn’t the biggest issue facing the environment: the fact that the critically endangered animals are facing a constant threat is something that I feel should be prioritised over whether or not we can save some gallons of water by not eating meat. The death of the last northern white rhino was completely passed over by the PSP program, in favour of continuing to attempt to persuade students of the effect of a initiative that continues to disenfranchise students to this day.
I feel that the environment week was a step in the right direction, as it was concerning an issue that affects all of us. But attempting to save the environment is an all-encompassing goal, that has no clear markers of success. I feel that if we can get the UWC community to fixate upon certain markers of success, and continue to work towards them, we would be a lot more inclined to help the environment that having to learn about statistics of Veggie Wednesday, for which we can only experience negative outcomes. I feel that if we can get the community to interact with what they plan to save, then it will be a lot more effective than simply teaching them about abstract concepts. What got me interested in the preservation of the environment was the national geographic articles that I used to read when I was younger. This lead me to have an interest in photography, which exposed me to the wide range of people who are attempting to save these animals. When I take a picture like the one below, I see an opportunity to not only have other people enjoy what I’m doing, but a chance to ensure that others an also get the chance to understand what motivates me to take my photos.