IS Groningen: The Blue Compass Nov 2019

We are proud to present the first issue of The Blue Compass of the academic year 2019/2020. This is the first issue officially published under the complete supervision of us. With this new leadership, you will notice a somewhat different style with the magazine.

This year, the Blue Compass is aiming to deliver content not just for the ISG community, but for anyone who is interested. Therefore, our articles now not only discuss school topics but topics which can be of interest to anyone.

In this issue you can find astounding articles concerning a broad range of topics. These range from light-hearted articles, about TV shows, books and pop culture, to more serious ones regarding global affairs and stress. Our magazine is trying to spread opinions and open discussions. Therefore, we hope you enjoy this issue of The Blue Compass and look forward to bringing you more content in the future.

Co-Editors In Chief,

Joris and Emily

One Scrunchie At a Time: An Epidemic Who Are VSCO Girls & What Do They Want?

Ishika Joshi

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SCO is a photo editing app with over 2 million paying subscribers, 50% of which are under 25. The app used by photography enthusiasts was founded in 2011 has given birth to a new trend which has taken over the past four months- VSCO Girls. Urban Dictionary denotes them the “Tumblr Girls of 2019”. Real life and Social media have amalgamated so that you can easily recognise a VSCO Girl in the wild at a shopping centre: wearing an oversized t-shirt, a puka/cowrie shell necklace, handmade friendship bracelets and a scrunchie on her wrist and wearing Crocs or Birkenstocks. She drinks from a hydroflask covered in stickers from RedBubble which she keeps in her Fjällräven backpack. You can smell her signature scent from a mile away- any Mario Badescu product or Victoria’s Secret Bombshell perfume/body spray.

Earlier this summer, partakers in the trend made videos in which the viewer played a passive role of a new student who had made the mistake to sit next to a VSCO Girl. She would suddenly start telling you about her ‘hydroflasksksk’ and how she’s saving the turtles by using her metal straw. She would aggressively loan you scrunchies and quote slang borrowed from black, LGBTQ and stan culture – “and I oop” and “sksksk”.

The style is not something brand new. It has evolved from the 90’s. The major difference is that teens today know how to do their makeup better.

They are popularly depicted on TikTok as being obsessed with turtles through the “Save The Turtles” meme. The meme is derived from a heart-breaking video of a plastic straw being extracted out of a turtle’s nose which was the last straw for companies like Starbucks; as a result, they have begun banning single-use plastic straws in as many branches of their stores as possible. An important possession for a VSCO girl is her metal straw which she keeps in a case and uses it whenever she orders a drink.

VSCO is not only an app or trend, but a lifestyle for many that in some ways is good for the environment. Like Hipster, Emo or Basic, the term has insulting connotations; despite that, the trend seems to have grown a supporting community. Although the app hasn’t seen a huge uptick in users, the CEO Joel Flory is happy that the trend is selling the apps mission – a place where kids can post photos and videos without worrying what their friends will think about them. VSCO Girls are not the first high school stereotype to infect our social media feeds – e-boys and soft-girls have had their days in the sun, but VSCO Girls have been the ones to achieve virality faster.

If you spot a VSCO girl in the wild, I recommend hiding out in a turtle shell until this trend passes over. In my opinion, branding is what buys impressionable young minds and this trend is too expensive for what it is, much like Apple products

Turning Back Time:

What happened in the 20 0’s?

Joris Jansen

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t is 2019 and the end of a decade is approaching sooner than many of us might anticipate. To me, it still feels as if 2010 was just a couple of years back. Even though that was more than half my lifetime ago. There has never been a better time to wonder what happened in the 2010’s and more importantly, what this decade, and our generation in general, will be remembered for.

A lot has happened over the last 10 years.

Someone that has been in a coma since 2010 would look at the state of our world in sheer astonishment and feel terribly out of place. Pop culture, global politics and our general mindset have all changed drastically within this past decade.

Pop culture always changes over time and is one of the most distinct ways people remember a decade. The 90’s had grunge and sitcoms such as Friends, while the 60’s

are characterized by the Beatles and Rolling Stones. The 2010’s were no different. The 2010’s saw the blossoming of the most successful movie franchise of all time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel’s brilliant concept of a shared universe for its movie franchise was an immediate hit and saw competitors such as Warner Bros (the DC extended universe) scrambling to replicate their success. The MCU changed the scope of the film industry and the shared universe is here to stay.

This decade also saw Latin/Hispanic music, creep up the hit charts, with the reggaetón hit Despacito becoming YouTube’s most viewed video of all time. Most notably this decade saw the rise of streaming services, which changed the path of popular culture for years to come. With services such as Netflix, Spotify and YouTube rising in popularity, we find our expectations of entertainment changing.

Having an enormous amount of readily available content on any device has now become the current norm. This also started the idea of binge watching, watching an (unhealthy) amount of a TV show in one sitting. Streaming has made life considerably more convenient yet also created new issues. As of late, we have started to become more aware of digital addictions and the potential harm of digital devices. Our attention span seems to become shorter and we have a stronger desire to show people the great things that are happening in our lives, causing depression and insecurities in others.

Politically, the 2010’s were a decade of rising tensions. We have seen the divide between left-wing and right-wing political parties increase. This in part is caused by heated debates and disagreements over Climate Change and Immigration. Civil wars in Africa and the Middle East, Russian annexation of Crimea and Terrorism all put a dark shadow over the last decade.

However, we have also made a lot of progress in these years. With the increasing

amount of awareness for sexual harassment, gender and race related issues, these issues are slowly starting to be properly dealt with, creating more social equality worldwide.

“Reflecting on our past is crucial in forming an image for the future.”

Problems will always need to be solved.

Yet, with time there will be new problems which can and will be caused by our new solutions. Reflecting on our past is therefore crucial in forming an image for the future. The 2010’s have given us many things to be proud of and that we have enjoyed tremendously, but it also gave us new problems to worry about. Whenever issues arrive it is important to not only reflect on our past, but also look at the future: How will future generations look at our time?

The Social Impact of the TV Show Euphoria Emily Berube-Palsboll

What is ‘Euphoria’?

To put it in simple terms, Euphoria has been the talk of the summer, at least online. Teenagers all over the globe have become rendered speechless with the piece of art that is Euphoria.

Therefore, it definitely seemed worth a mentioned in our first issue of the academic year. Euphoria is an HBO series, created by Sam Levinson and is executively produced by Drake. The show came out on the 16th of June this year and gained massive recognition online. With its star, Zendaya, many teens were drawn to the show as it showed beautiful visuals in combination with a familiar face, although her face is the only familiar one. The show has brought far more new stars into the limelight, such as Alexa Demie, Angus Cloud, Sydney Sweeny, Barbie Ferreria, Hunter Schafer and more.

Why did the show gained so much attention in such a short amount of time? You may ask, well this could be for a multitude of reasons. Not only is the production team a large factor, but this show also brings some extreme topics to

light which are somewhat common, yet not spoken of much amongst teens. These include topics such as addiction, sex and not making the right decisions, which is something everyone can relate to. In the show, not only are we seeing topics that are rarely approached, but we also see them being tackled in a way that is far more realistic than anything that has been seen on mainstream television before.

Why has it had such an impact?

As previously touched upon, a large aspect of Euphoria’s impact comes from how it has chosen to attach difficult problems. The show has chosen the more realistic reaction towards these situations which a 17-year-old would have. The characters think very emotionally, which is of course not every 17 years old, but it provides a more interesting as well as relatable situation rather than always making the correct and rational choice. However, this aspect of Euphoria is one of many which has made it such a dynamic and intriguing show. The show has impacted another aspect of life such as the expression of identity and expanded what can

be seen as ‘everyday’ as well as how to open teenagers can and should be with how they express themselves.

Euphoria, at least from my personal perspective, has changed my idea of my identity and its definition. I have always been a person not too scared to be a little different, but I am almost never really out of the box. After watching Euphoria, I have been trying to experiment and implement more elements which are outside of my comfort zone in through the way I express myself.

What did it impact?

So, I have been going on and on about Euphoria’s social impact, but you're probably a little more curious as to what I have been alluding to.

Expression of identity In the show Euphoria, they have redefined what the word style implies. You will see these 17year-old characters layering fairy-like clothing and having their eyes look like clouds. In contrast, the character ‘Kat’ develops a dominatrix style, while another character Maddy, wears quite scandalous attire, rhinestones towering on her eyes as if she was dipped in diamonds, yet somehow, she does not look in any way out of place on an average day in American public school. The, seemingly, running theme throughout the costume design in Euphoria is to embrace uniqueness, and to go the whole mile if it is what the character best resonates with. This has caught the attention of many teens all over the world. It is now not too strange to see someone with rhinestones on their eyes or platforms boots as tall as at least 3 IB textbooks. Therefore, the costume and makeup artist have tried to, and I believed almost succeeded, normalize anything and everything. With their combinations of what we deem as average or normal with relative

extrema, and making it normal, it will make it normal for the audience. Hopefully in the future, maybe with the help of this, how what is perceived as ‘normal’ or ‘unique’ will become synonymous, as everyone will feel comfortable in expressing themselves in whatever way they see fit.

Taboo topics Taboo topics are something that is not new or foreign to TV, as over the past few years, TV shows and movies have been pushing the boundaries of our societal preconceived notions of what is socially acceptable to discuss and what isn't.

Sex This show is not shy when it comes to depicting sex and nudity. In that sense, Euphoria does fall in line with a theme in HBO shows. However, this could be seen as positive. By not romanticizing sex but showing it as an aspect of life which young adults discover and explore, it approaches topics such as consent and also finding your identity within it. On the other hand, we the audience are given an insight too into the fear of expectation aspect that comes with discovering sex as teens. For the character ‘Kat’ played by Barbie Ferreria, we see her character struggle with feeling out of place and behind for not having had sex. This therefore leads her to put herself in uncomfortable situations to feel more accepted or at least as experienced as her friends. Yet, due to the unhealthy nature in which Kat is driven to have sex, there are overwhelming consequences due to this peer pressure which are explored in the show. However, this is a very controversial topic not only with it taboo-ness in certain cultures, but also with how it is sometimes in the show portrayed in a very vulgar manner, being uncomfortable to some viewers.

On the other hand, it is important to recognize the significance of education in this particular field, and not over-romanticizing it.

The social impact of depiction of sex in Euphoria could be seen as giving a look into the more unspoken aspects, which TV tends to steer away from, as it can make people uncomfortable, as the topic often does, especially amongst teens.

Violating the law If the subject of sexual assault makes you uncomfortable feel free to skip this section. In Euphoria topics such as ‘statutory rape’ along with ‘assault’, ‘money laundering’ as well as ‘drug dealing’ are presented. Although these topics have often been touched upon in television and film, Euphoria adds a different angle. In Euphoria, the writers have attacked these matters from the stand-point of emotionally driven confused teenagers. In most cases, the show decides to portray what is not the recommended course of action, showing possible outcomes and why they may not be the best idea. Although not saying why some decisions are not the best, it shows why they are bad. The show can let the viewer decide, and with this in mind, the viewer feels more involved with each character's situation and story.

Addiction The main character, ‘Rue Bennett’ is a 17year-old recovering drug addict. We are slowly and carefully walked through Rue's journey and learn why she used and uses drugs to cope. In addition, with the depiction of her mental illness, bipolar disorder, we are shown, not necessarily directly, how Rue became drug dependent and sympathize with her drug use.

The show takes an interesting perspective at one point with literally using the line

“drugs are kinda cool” (Stuntin’ Like My Daddy (Episode 2), Euphoria). Yet they completely counteract this statement by showing the immense and devastating downside to drugs continuously throughout the show. Euphoria does not show the story of addiction, but the struggles of being people and one of them being an addict, still define her.

Should you watch Euphoria?

If you are 16 or older and curious to see the artistic approach to such raw topics in a raw matter, go ahead. Watch with caution. From what I have written you could take much away but from my perspective; Euphoria is a piece of art. It made me laugh and made me cry. It was a touching series with serious topics combined with fun fashion and makeup. It includes beautiful visuals and interesting writing and if worth a watch.

I, for one, am looking forward to season 2.

The Story Behind the Monster Zildji Sabina ith October and Halloween’s departure, many might find it to be the perfect time to pick up a new spooky read from their shelves.

And when in search for a core-chilling, goose bumps inducing, horrifying tale to haunt you in your sleep, the horror classic Frankenstein is one that definitely comes to mind. There are only a few who have not heard of the tale of doomed scientist Victor Frankenstein, who gives life to a hideous unnamed creature of medical creation. With so many on-screen adaptations, both small and large, it may come as a surprise to some that the story of our beloved monster dates back to the early 19th century, from the book Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus written by Mary Shelley.

She is the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft (renowned feminist of the time who wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman) and political philosopher William Godwin, and therefore grew up receiving more access to an education and books than most girls at the time.

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It was on a gloomy day in 1816, when Mary Shelley, her future husband and famous poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, poet Lord Byron and his physician John Polidori found themselves in a contest to see who could write the best ghost story. This group of creative writers were on vacation in Lake Geneva, Switzerland during one of the gloomiest summer’s Europe had witnessed in decades. Confined within the boundaries of the villa they were staying at, the company amused themselves by reading ghost stories which prompted the contest to begin. For days, the young Mary tossed and turned unable to think of a fitting storyline. That is until a nightmare occurred to her after hearing an earlier conversation about the possibilities of reanimating the dead. One which inspired her to write the story that would become well-known for decades to come.

Following the encouragement of Percy Shelley,

the book was published anonymously in 1818 with the title Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The identity of Mary Shelley was kept under wraps, as the editors of the book feared that no-one would buy it if they discovered it was written by a female author.

The novel was an instant-hit and was considered as such a masculine novel that many speculated it to be written by her husband (who wrote the Preface for the book). Following the successful run of several adaptations and multiple-part editions, the first one-volume edition of Frankenstein was published in 1831.

This version was heavily edited by Shelley as she was severely pressured to make it much less violent, however, this is the most commonly read version of this book to-date.

Shelley’s life was littered with tragedy upon tragedy, faced with the death of her first two children and the suicide of her half-sister at an early age. This raises speculation that her desire to bring back her loved ones inspired many themes in Frankenstein. The novel features a number of psychological aspects in addition the horror elements that makes it even more intriguing. Readers will notice that the novel reflects Mary Shelley’s turbulent life and the time period in which she lived in. The complexity of the protagonists in the novel further solidifies Frankenstein’s position in our list of horror cult-classics that will remain memorable for generations to come.

Impressionism: Defying the rules Nicole Scatton

“White Water Lilies”, Claude Monet, 1899

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mpressionism is an art movement originated in the 1870’s in France. It is extremely important because the artists of that time rejected the rigid rules of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, a Paris-based organization that held annual salons, and showcased a new way to observe and depict the world in their work.

In fact, the Académie des Beaux-Arts was the preserver of traditional French painting standards of content and style: historical subjects, religious themes, and portraits were highly valued and accepted, while landscape and still life were not visually seen as interesting enough to be portrayed in a painting.

However, the common disagreement about what was fascinating to paint brought the biggest influencers of Impressionism together, in the early 1860s, four young painters: Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and Fédéric Bazille met while studying and discovered that they shared an interest in painting landscape and contemporary life rather than historical or mythological scenes.

They often met to paint in the open air (en plein air), a practice that had become increasingly popular by mid-century; they would venture into the countryside together to paint, but not for the purpose of making sketches that would later be developed into carefully finished works in the studio, as was the usual custom, but to develop a lighter and brighter manner of painting outside.

“Impression soleil levant”, Claude Monet, 1874

Their main goal was to reproduce the visual sensations and perceptions that the landscape communicated to them at different times of the day, “For me,” Monet said, “a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life—the light and the air which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value.”

The paintings are mostly characterised by relatively thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasizing on an accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities, ordinary subject matter, and unusual visual angles. They used to focus on simple things like the sky, the atmosphere and the water, but they painted portraits outdoors too, and in both they would not capture their image with detail, but with bold colors.

The artists who influenced this period are still very famous nowadays, as a matter of fact, everyone recognizes the names of Claude Monet, Pierre-August Renoir, Edward Manet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne and Camille Pissaro. Manet influenced the development of impressionism. He painted everyday objects.

Pissaro and Sisley painted the French countryside and river scenes. Degas enjoyed painting ballet dancers and horse races.

Morisot painted women doing everyday things. Renoir loved to show the effect of sunlight on flowers and figures. Monet was interested in subtle changes in the atmosphere, and for this he is considered the “father” of impressionism, indeed even the name of this art movement itself derives from the title of one of his works called “Impression, soleil levant”, which literally translates to “Impression, Sunrise”.

While the term Impressionist covers much of the art of this time, there were smaller movements within it, such as Pointillism, Art Nouveau and Fauvism.

During the 1880s several artists began to develop different precepts for the use of colour, pattern, form, and line, derived from the Impressionist, for example: Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauiguin and Georges Seurat.

These artists were slightly younger than the Impressionists, and their work is known as post-Impressionism.

“The Ballet Class”, Edgar Degas, 1874

Do we decide to be racist?

Zainab Ouali

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ecisions, decisions, decisions. Hardly a minute goes by in our lives when we do not make them. Decisions can be as small as our word choice, what to wear or more significant such as deciding to treat someone different because of their skin colour. We jealously guard our right to choose as we believe it is central to our individuality: the very definition of free will.

We might think that we make these simple decisions by ourselves, but in reality, we do not.

Let me tell you why.

How far are we willing to go?

Earlier this week I read an article about the famous Stanley Milgram experiment. In the experiment there were three people involved: a “learner”, a ''teacher'' and a “researcher.” The learner was taken into a room and had electrodes attached to his arms. The teacher (volunteer) and the researcher went into a room next door that contained an electric shock generator and a row of switches marked from 15 volts all the way up to 450 volts. When the teacher is placed in the room next to the learner, he is told by the researcher to ask the learner questions. If the learner gives a wrong answer, the teacher needs to give him a shock with the electric shock generator. By every wrong answer the teacher must give a shock with a higher number of volts.

As a rule, I am not a fan of psychology articles at all, but surprisingly this one had me hooked.

The article was about how obedience is ingrained in all of us from the way we are brought up and how people tend to make specific decisions if they recognize their authority as morally right, even if it involves hurting other people.

I admit, at first the article did not spark my interest. However, after reading it and also watching the experiment, I found the results to be fascinating. Especially how far people went into obeying orders. This inspired me to investigate to what extent we as humans are in control of our own decisions. Such as deciding to treat someone different because of their skin colour.

During my investigation I came across a cognitive neuroscientist and scientific writer in the Washington D.C area, Bobby Zarian, on the web. He explained that the choices we make, for example judging a situation or having prejudice towards a group of people, are actually made by a strong electrical response within our brains. As such, he asserts: “It has shown that people who display an implicit bias have a stronger electrical response to black or other-races in an

area of the brain known as the amygdala.” The amygdala is a part of the brain that is responsible for recognising fear and preparing us for emergency events. An exaggerated amygdala response is part of what creates the sudden innate or “gut feeling” of being scared. In other words, the human fight or flight response is triggered. Extreme judgements, such as racial bias, are usually rooted in fear. The fear of anything that appears different. Since people of other cultures or ethnicities could be considered “different” than what people are used to, the amygdala is triggered resulting in prejudice. Quite logical right?

The racist brain If we look at our innate behaviour, for instance our primitive times, this fear response was very important as it was the reason people knew to run away from certain animals instead of standing still. Anyone who lacked this response would not be able to survive. An interesting perspective on this is from Renee Carr, a psychologist who claims: “When someone unconsciously feels fear in response to a different race group, they will create exaggerated and negative judgement about the other race to secure their own safety and survival.” Carr’s perspective is in line with that of Zarian and further emphasizes the evolutionary need for racial bias, in the past.

Fortunately, humans do not completely rely on the amygdala as Zarian continued to explain: “In people with healthy functioning brains, the fast amygdala response activates a region of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex, which is slower and plays a regulatory role. When the fear system is triggered, prefrontal areas work to fix the situation rationally, and calm the pesky automatic system.” In other words, if people have a healthy functioning brain, they do not have any excuse to be racially biased as the brain cognitively controls itself to induce rational thinking instead of fearful biased thinking.

Unfortunately, even when the brain is healthy during the majority of our lives, as people get older their brain degenerates, especially the frontal lobes which control inhibitions. When the frontal lobes are less effective, old people fall back on their instincts to make judgments resulting in extreme bias towards other races. Hence, this could explain why older people tend to show more racist behaviours.

Healthy racist Nonetheless, even though our racial judgments can be explained by our evolutionary instincts, this does not justify our remarkable racially biased behaviours. In the past, people had never seen someone with a different skin colour than theirs and therefore they processed it as being ‘different’. However, nowadays people with other ethnicities or cultures should not be considered as ‘different’ or ‘unknown’ since we have all encountered them once in our lives.

Blaming your brain for being racist is simply justifying your inappropriate and ridiculous behaviour that is rooted in a survival tactic you needed thousands of years ago. Anyone with a healthy brain should be aware of the fact that people with a different skin colour are not ‘different’ or ‘dangerous’. Therefore, you should not even ignite a slight feeling of fear.

To wrap it up, the choices you make are actually made by a strong electrical response within your brain. Therefore, you are, as a matter of fact, wrong for thinking you have full control over your decisions. So, for the next time, think twice before you decide to say something. First ask yourself, is this the right choice to make or is it just your prefrontal cortex that is not working effectively?

Learn more about CAS What is Creativity, Activity and Service?

Silvia Ortega

I am sure you have heard about Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) through your teachers and older classmates. In this article I am going to explain more about it and how it can benefit society and you as an individual.

What is CAS? CAS is a mandatory aspect of the IB diploma program, and it is all about experience and volunteering.

How can CAS be profitable for us as IB students?

CAS is a unique opportunity to learn and grow as a person while helping others. A favourable component about it is that you can choose your own experiences freely. In this sense, it can encourage you to do things you always thought about doing but never dared to do. The IB program values initiative and a risk-taking attitude; however, your CAS experiences should be safe, as well as enjoyable. Not every school program has this part of self-development activities. Therefore, when you work on CAS, it is recommendable to take advantage of it

and climb the highest mountain to be able to achieve your goal and make yourself a better person.

There are CAS experiences and CAS projects. At least one CAS project is needed in order to pass the Diploma Program. What is the difference between these two? A CAS project is one that falls under these three criteria: Creativity: This is a section where you can benefit from a passion or hobby you have and work with it, e.g., making a film.

Action: Any physical activity like sports or taking a sport class you never dared to, e.g., running a marathon, playing your favourite sport.

Service: It is based on helping others and achieving the common welfare, e.g., cleaning a coast from garbage and pollution.

However, a CAS experience refers to only one or two of these aspects. Accomplishing CAS experiences is not too difficult; they do not have to be that time consuming and can be really simple and fun; the point is to challenge yourself and do things out of your comfort zone.

However, CAS projects are a bit more complicated; in order to complete the three aspects, there must be some thought into it, as well as initiative.

One other key element in CAS projects are the fundraising activities; these are activities made by the students organizing a project to help raise to fund whatever they have initiated, if so necessary. Why would money be necessary? In some plans, the outcome might not be possible without a cost, for example, say you are making a magazine as your project, you are going to need to organize financial planning to pay for expenses, such as printing. This can be valuable in the Action element. Some fundraising activities done this year by the students are: A Sponsored Run, an Easter Egg Hunt, selling tulips, an old phone collection, talking at parents’ evenings and selling food (bake sales).

Finally, after you have managed to complete all this, it is crucial to document it all in the CAS reflections. This will prove what you have done and show your personal development throughout the process.

To conclude, CAS can be a somewhat independent process, but also a place to develop your collaborative skills where the point is to gain experience and values. I hope this cleared a bit your confusion and perspective on CAS in the IB program and motivated you to start planning some experiences and projects!

Do you want to study medicine in the Netherlands?

Here are some things you need to know.

Emma Lipper

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Maastricht University: the International Track in Medicine.

If you want to study medicine in the Netherlands, there are eight options for you.

To get into the ‘Geneeskunde’ study, you will need to participate in the decentralized selection, which means that every school will have a different selection procedure. In this article, I will try to inform you about the different selection procedures. If you want to study Medicine, this might help you see what you should invest time in, in order to enhance your chances to get through the selection.

fter the university fair for MYP 5, DP 1 and DP 2 and when most of you are visiting open days and considering what you want to study, it is the perfect time to talk about one of your options: studying Medicine.

The universities who offer Medicine are: x -Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG) x -Universiteit Maastricht (UM) x -Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam x -Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen x -Universiteit Leiden x -Universiteit van Amsterdam (UVA) x -Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) Almost all of these require fluent Dutch, since every test will be taken in the Dutch language.

Most of the literature is in English, though, so your time at the ISG will come in handy there.

If you don’t speak Dutch fluently, there are still two options to study medicine in the Netherlands. The RUG offers two of their four learning communities within their Medicine Bachelor completely in English: Global Health and Molecular Medicine. The other option to do an English-spoken Bachelor in Medicine is

Most of the universities have chosen a balance of these three things in their selection: CV and motivation, grades and university-specific tests.

The selection of the RUG firstly involves letting their Admissions Office assess whether your diploma will fulfil their conditions, since all ISG students will start their selection with a ‘foreign diploma’. Then, you will get the study material for cognitive test 1 and you’ll have a month to study. Apart from cognitive test 1, there is also a cognitive test 2 and noncognitive tests 1 and 2. Only cognitive test 1 will require you to study, but for some of the other tests you will need to interview people in your community that are sick, and establish your motivation. The cognitive and noncognitive test 1 will be their first priority, so it is important that you do well on these. After

eliminating those who did badly on these tests, they use the following things in determining your ranking: 20% for each test and 20% for your ‘portfolio’, which includes your CV and grades that you passed the previous year with.

They have 410 places available for first-years.

At Universiteit Maastricht, your selection will start with a homework assignment and a portfolio (the portfolio doesn’t seem to be very important for this university). The best of this round will be invited to the selection day and do assignments that measure whether you have the ‘core abilities’. Although this sounds very vague, the rumour is that Maastricht is one of the better options if your CV and grades are not great, since they rely mostly on these assignments to decide who is suitable for their program. They have 316 places available for first-years.

At Erasmus University Rotterdam, they are looking for people with a strong CV and good grades. If you’ve got 39 points at the end of DP 1, they’ll select you directly, except if you’ve done really horrible on the motivation part of their application form. For everyone who doesn’t have those grades, there is a strict selection. Everyone with a ‘foreign diploma’ will follow route B, which means that your grades don’t count at all and your ranking is determined by your CV and motivation, and several tests. Erasmus University is really strict on the CV, which means that activities only count if they’ve been done for a year or more, for four hours a week at the least and they’ve been completed while you were participating in full-time education. The tests are similar to those in Groningen and you’ll have about a month to study for your test.

They have 410 places for first-year students.

The Radboud Universiteit in Nijmegen says that their selection procedure will test student’s motivation, knowledge of chemistry, biology and physics on VWO 6 level and whether they are fit to be a doctor. They test these qualities by a homework assignment and a test on the previously mentioned subjects.

They have 330 places available for first-years.

At the Universiteit Leiden, they use a completely different method of selection than any of the other universities. The most important thing to be selected for their university is their variation on the BMAT, the

medical admissions test for top universities in the UK. They say their BMAT tests student’s problem-solving abilities, their knowledge and their analytical skills. Before you can participate in their selection, you need to send in an admission request, this is again because you have an international diploma. If you’ve passed the BMAT round you’ll need to hand in a personal statement and if you’ve passed that round, you’re in! Leiden offers 315 places for first-year students.

For the Universiteit van Amsterdam, you’ll need to take three tests, that all test different abilities. The first assesses study skills and motivation, because it asks about the study material that they’ve supplied earlier in the application process. The second tests the ability to apply the learnt natural sciences in a bio-medical context, the university says it shows whether students can think analytically and whether they follow current events in the medical world. The third and last test assesses whether students can think and communicate effectively and analytically about medical dilemma’s. The last test requires no preparation. The UvA has 350 places for new students each year.

For the Vrije Universiteit van Amsterdam, you’ll need to complete a CV form in the first round. This form asks for grades in the last three years and experiences in the medical field and a range of other fields and asks you to provide evidence of your experiences.

You’ll follow Track B, since you have a ‘foreign diploma’. If you’ve passed this first round, you’ll follow some lectures in Amsterdam and take tests on the learnt material after about two weeks. The best of this test are admitted to the university. The VU offers 350 places for new students of which 70% are for those in Track A and 30% for those in Track B. Hopefully some of you can use this information to increase your chances of being accepted into Medicine. If you’re interested in more information, I’d advice looking on the websites of the individual universities and to check out the forum on www.decentralegeneeskunde.nl and also have a look at their “ervaringen en tips” page for the university that you’re interested in. Good luck!

Stress relievers: What to do if school or private situations are stressing you out?

Esmee Matthijs

A

s a DP2 student coming from TTO I have experienced quite a lot of stress. From friends and classmates that have come from MYP, I know that they have experienced this stress as well.

The program that we are all part of can be fun sometimes, but most of all it’s pretty intense and requires hard work and motivation. For DP2, the Internal Assessment season is in full motion and the Extended Essay is right around the corner, due on the 29th of October. For DP1, you are probably freaked out by the DP in general and seeing the DP2s being stressed out isn’t necessarily that motivating (I know how you feel). For MYP4/5, you guys are forced to make some pretty important decisions pretty soon, which might drive you crazy already. To all of you I want to say, don’t panic, no need to stress, keep your head cool and all of you will manage!

I know that this is easier said than done, but it’s actually not that difficult. In this article I have listed some tips and trick on what to do when you are feeling stressed which could be because of school or other situations that you face in your life. I hope it helps :)

reliever should be able to be performed anywhere, take very little practise to master, should be free and provide immediate relief.

Here are some examples: •

Short-term stress relief strategies that can be done anywhere

•

These are some strategies for short-term stress that can help you in situations of sudden stress.

For example, these might be useful right before an important test or when you have to tell your parents you failed your Chemistry test. The examples given below might not work for everyone, you might have your own way to get rid of short-term stress, however a good stress

•

Guided Imagery: Take a minute or two to relax and take short vacation in your mind. Think back to a moment you enjoyed or something you have always wanted to do maybe picturing yourself sitting on a beach, listening to the waves, smelling the ocean, and feeling the warm sand underneath you.

Meditation: There are lot of different types of meditation. Overall, they allow you to be focused on the here-and-now, you can’t stress about something that has already happened and you can’t worry about something in the future.

Focus on breathing: Just focusing on your breath or changing the way you breathe can make a big difference to your overall level of stress. Breathing techniques can calm your body and

•

your brain in just a few minutes. The best news is, no one around you will even know you're doing them.

Go for a run/walk: Exercise is a fantastic stress reliever that can work within minutes. Taking a walk allows you to enjoy a change of scenery, which can get you into a different frame of mind and brings the benefits of exercise as well.

Fast-acting stress relief strategies that work well at home Have you ever had that moment where you are at home and look at ManageBac and it’s completely filled with a lot of assignments that you still need to do? It might freak you out completely, but these easy and fast-acting stress relievers might make you see some light in all the darkness. These relievers could be: • Get a hug from someone you love: Physical touch can do a lot to relieve your stress, especially hugging a loved one. When hugging someone you love, oxytocin is released, which causes the reduction in blood pressure, reduces the stress hormone norepinephrine and can produce a sense of relaxation. So just ask someone you love for a hug!

• Enjoy aromatherapy: It can help you to feel energized, more relaxed, or more present in the moment. Emerging research suggests certain scents can alter brain wave activity and decrease stress hormones in the body. So just light a candle, utilize a diffuser or use scented body products.

• Do something creative: Trying to use your creativity is always a good way to set your mind at ease when stressed. If you aren’t into drawing or painting, maybe consider a colouring book.

Long-term stress relief strategies for your overall health and wellness Certain habits can promote resilience to stress, as well as increase your overall wellness. So, it’s important to create a lifestyle that will help you ward of stress and deal with challenging in a healthy way.

• Eat a balanced diet: A poor diet can bring greater reactivity towards stress.

Emotional eating (high-fat and highsugar foods) provide temporary sense of relief but adds to longer term stress.

Refined carbs (cookies, ships, etc.) may cause a peak in blood sugar, which might make you experience more stress and anxiety when it drops.

• Give yourself time for fun: Leisure activities can be a wonderful way to relieve stress. Giving yourself time for fun could be key to help you feel better and when you feel better, you’ll perform better. This means that free time may make your work time more efficient.

• Positive self-talk habit: The way you talk to yourself really matters.

Constantly thinking that you don’t have time for something or can’t do something will stress you out. Positive self-talk and self-perception can help you develop a healthier outlook.

Overall, an optimistic and compassionate conversation with yourself can help you manage your emotions and take positive steps towards a more optimistic mindset.

• Prioritize exercise: Physical activity is key to managing stress but also improve your physical and mental health. And the best news is, there are many different types of activities you can get involved in, so there’s always something that fits you.

These were just a few examples of ways that you can get rid of stress that is caused by school or other important factors in your life. I hope they will help to get you through the school years you still have ahead of you

Stoicism: The ancient philosophy that is still applicable today

Arseniy Pavlov

H

appiness and inner peace can only be achieved by living in the moment and pursuing virtue while avoiding the unnecessary. Although it is far more complex, this is the core principle of the ancient philosophy of stoicism. This ideology was created by Zeno of Citium, in the early 3rd century BC, presumably in Athens. Unlike many other philosophical theories, stoic principles act more as a daily reminder and a rule to live by (in a way, just like religion), instead of asking too many questions and plunging its followers into endless mental debate. Here I want to cover some of its main principles and how they can be applied in the world.

To begin with, the main goal of following this philosophy was the achievement of eudaimonia, which in the most accurate translation, means “welfare”, or “happiness”. This happiness can only be achieved by following the “virtues”: wisdom, courage, justice and selfdiscipline. Stoics understood that humans are “reasonable beings”, and the ability to reason is what differentiates us from other animals. Thus they proposed that you should always act with reason: without needing a reward for your actions, doing what’s right. In their opinion, a virtue is in itself a reward. This brings us to one of the core principles, where you only live in compliance with nature: doing what is

right and instead of searching benefit in these actions, realizing that completing these is that benefit that will bring you closer to eudaimonia.

However, there is a catch to this. If the only way to have a good life is to follow the virtues, we must exclude all the other factors that we may think are important but in reality, are not. These were referred to by the stoics as the “indifferent” things.

So, common things that people might find important to have (wealth, reputation, health, intelligence) are actually meaningless, and don’t matter. The concept of indifference was thus believed to facilitate our existence on this planet.

By ignoring things that don’t matter, we will be able to fully enjoy our life. We would always choose a pleasant existence over one that puts us out of our comfort zones, but that should not matter: happiness can be achieved regardless of these factors, as they only portray a false image of being important. Of course, good health, a lot of money and fame are the “preferred” indifferents, but in the end, everyone can achieve eudaimonia regardless of their situation Another practice of the stoic mindset is the accent put on mindfulness and selfawareness. For them, a loss of perspective is what caused us to take the wrong actions. We have to understand that a lot of events in our life are “ephemeral”, or have very little importance in the big picture. For this reason, it is important to distinguish between emotions and find which ones are important. For example, for every emotion or memory, we decide whether it is important to keep that

memory or that we can throw it away. If it is a memory of a sad event of the past, that memory can be thrown away, as dwelling on something bad will not change the fact that it happened. However, if said memory was a misjudgment or a bad decision, that memory can be saved, and you can reflect to not make that same mistake. Thus, the principle states that we must think of emotion and memories and as plain learning opportunities, and any memory that does not benefit us or that we can’t learn from we have to discard, as it just clouds the mind and prevents us from going forward with life to achieve the eternal happiness.

I only scratched the surface of stoicism, as it is far more complex than a few set principles. Nevertheless, some of this knowledge can still be applied to everyday life. Of course, you don’t have to “convert” fully to being a stoic, but take the best parts and the ones that might benefit you. But you might be asking, does all of this work? What if this is another Greek myth, just a piece of history? This has been proved wrong, as many activities and practices of stoicism such as ignoring emotions and memories result in overall better productivity (to read more, research the concept of flow). Chasing the “virtuous” emotions has also been associated with increased long-term wellbeing. The list goes on and on. In conclusion, if you feel like your life isn't going the way you want it to, or you just want to improve as a person, consider stoicism, as that may help, if not solve your problems.

Depression in the 2

st

century.

Fathan Arfie

A

fter topic like depression, much like mental health as a whole, has become more accepted in the 21st century due to the slow removal of the social stigma surrounding it. Nowadays there are establishments that help with such disorders whereas in the past, it was believed that, especially for young men, that it was the issue of being cowardly or not manly enough. The reason why there is the need to clarify the issue in a more pressing matter is the fact that it has become so apparent within people aged 12-17. Though there are many topics resulting in this increase, it is no question that it is a crucial period in everyone’s lives as teenagers are expected to act as independent adults within society and keep up with the demanding school expectations used to weed out the less competitive people. The issue at hand concerns how to identify the stigmas resulting in this mental illness and understanding how it leads to more extreme cases such as suicide.

other people especially the elderly. It often starts in childhood or the earlier moments of one’s life, therefore it reveals itself to be gradual as opposed to sudden. It can start naturally within people that are diagnosed to have it or it can come through due to life events that can impact a person’s psychology negatively.

How does it start?

As shown by this recent statistic, depression, much like many other mental issues, manifests itself within teenagers the most. The reasons cannot be outlined feasibly as it depends entirely on their social and cultural background. It can be stated simply that an adolescent living in London doesn’t have to worry about being bombed as opposed to a child living in Syria. However, the main reasons in societies like ours stems form academic expectations, independency expectations and various other social issues.

Despite this wide range of potential stigmas, it can be stated as common knowledge that without the right support, minute issues that can be simply dismissed by others can be seen as mentally wrecking for others.

Figure 1 By CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What is depression?

In broad terms, it is the chemical imbalance of one’s brain that results in feeling emotions of extreme sadness for days or even weeks. These feelings can include being hopeless, worthless and unloved. There are many theories on how it manifests in people and is not reserved entirely for teenagers and can affect many

What are the reasons for the increase in teenage depression?

As I said before, it starts in childhood and develops over time due to traumatic and emotionally draining events that occur over

time. These events then remain as a memory that replays itself over time feeding to one self’s insecurities and beliefs. This can link to stress as stressful events that are recorded can leech into everlasting memories that serve the purpose of reminding a person of their inabilities and worthlessness. As a result, we can take into account school and how a bad grade can negatively impact a person’s mental wellbeing that furthers the issue. Moreover, this problem can be solved by reaching out to the right people. Though such solutions can be difficult to acquire, as the pressure to do well academically can be seen more in Asian cultures. Here, instead of consoling the child, it is more common to compare them to their peers and make them feel worthless. In a more conservative way of thinking, it is seen as a way to entice a feeling of determination which works in some cases, leading to the stereotypical hard-working Asian, however in other scenarios it is flawed resulting in high suicide rates in countries like Japan.

This also leads onto my last point which is that teenagers refuse to seek help due to many reasons. One of which is the fear of opening up to the people closest to them or the idea that nothing will be done to help their situation.

This stigma is arguably due to the fact that teenagers are not raised in an understanding household or chose to enrich themselves within a toxic social environment. Due to the inability to open themselves up, there is no way for others to help their situation and this leads to people suffering in silence. It can have lasting long term effects as it becomes adherently difficult to trust anyone.

How does depression lead to suicide?

The feeling culminates over time, meaning that not many younger people are driven to the extreme. However, as their struggle continue receiving little to no support, people begin to attempt suicide. Perhaps due to one event pushing them over the limit or the culmination of events resulting in the final push. As shown by this graph, people that commit suicide are aged more within their middle ages.

Figure 2 By CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Another reason for this sudden increase can come from the various social issues that originated in this day and age. It is frequent that people often pin the blame on technology, despite the truthfulness of this idea, it is mostly popularized by the older generation of people that are arguably scared of technology and the irrelevancy of old lifestyle practices that come from a dying generation. The blame can also be partly pinned on the way children are brought up. Some parents may believe that children are too free and unrestricted which leads to horrible social practices such as bullying, which in of itself counts as an experience that leads to long term depression.

As a whole, it is also important for the parents of this generation to teach valuable life lessons and value and enrich their children in a loving and understanding household.

Figure 3 By CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

To conclude, it is important to understand the situation leading up to this moment as many lives could be saved if people understood what to do and how to help. To summarize my points, there is no need to pin the blame on one specific issue but to understand the symptoms early on so a treatment can be resolved much like a disease and a vaccine.

Armenian Women in the Armenian Genocide Tyra Dreise

T

he Armenian genocide refers to the deportation and mass killings of Armenians within the Ottoman Empire by the Young Turk government prominently during the First World War, but more accurately during the period between 1915 and 1923. Approximately one and a half million Armenians were killed during this period, and many others were Islamised or exiled to expatriate territories. Armenian men suffered many forms of execution and torture, and the horrors women and girls faced during this genocide were, amongst others, extreme forms of robbery, rape, abduction, torture, extortion and murder, and Armenian children were also victims to horrendous acts of violence. The Turkish

government to this day refuses to recognize the atrocities committed against the Armenians in their country as a genocide, and they use means as distortion of historical evidence, propaganda and lobbying to deny the clear and plentiful evidence of the Armenian genocide.

Because of that, the suffering that so many Armenians had to go through goes unacknowledged because people simple do not talk about the Armenian genocide.

Additionally, the recent Turkish invasion of Northern Syria brings back many memories to this. So, in this article the unnoticed suffering of Armenian women during the Armenian genocide will be explored.

Violence against women was a major characteristic of the Armenian genocide.

The inhumane deportations mostly affected women, since the Armenian man of military age were executed systematically. Hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and diseases ran rampant during the deportation, but women and girls also had to deal with rape, kidnapping, sexual slavery, and forced re-marriage with Muslim men. Female relatives of the Armenian leadership and of Armenian protesters were often physically and sexually abused as well as a means to discourage resistance and intimidate the Armenians into compliance.

The only ways for an woman or a girl to escape the horrors of the deportation were to either commit suicide or enter a forced marriage with a Muslim man. When entering such a marriage, conversion to the Islam was compulsory and the women had to completely let go of their Armenian cultural and national identity in order to completely assimilate. The Armenian wives of Muslims would be tattooed on their faces to show that they had undergone a transition and would now start a new life. Most of these marriages were not chosen but forced despite unwillingness, and many of the kidnapped women also ended up in these forced Muslim marriages. The women that did choose for them only did so because they were not likely to survive if they did not, and if they did survive then the traumas of the abuse experienced during the deportations would be worse than a terrible life controlled by a Muslim husband.

Marie Bisninyan, 20 years old, Nubarian library collection, Paris. An Armenian wife of a Muslim, which can be seen by her tattoos.

The Armenian Genocide is a very controversial topic, which is why the stories of the Armenian women often go untold.

That is an utmost disgrace; the horrors that these women have faced are unspeakable and must not go ignored. The preparators ought to be held accountable for their crimes and more light ought to be shed on the gender-based violence and sexual abuse women face in every dark page of history. Women’s suffering ought to be as researched as men’s in order for their suffering to not continue repeating itself

A Global Uprising Zuzanna Kardzis

Uproar and demonstrations have taken the

other protestors, as the abolition of the

world by storm. The sight of people chanting, and placards held high in massive crowds of people have become common, as protest movements have been taking place worldwide. From Chile to Lebanon, citizens have been taking to the streets to voice their concerns about distinct issues within their society in order to stimulate action to be taken by their

subsidies led to a sharp rise in petrol prices, upsetting the general public. Not too far away, on the 7th of October, secondary school students in Chile began evading metro fares as a response to an increase in transport costs. This too escalated and soon became a mass protest, calling out President Pinera for failing to acknowledge economic inequality. Both

respective governments.

Movements began on a small scale, all with different goals and methods which then the quickly escalated and paralyzed cities across Chile, Ecuador, Lebanon, Bolivia and other countries. The wave of protests has touched many, due to connecting themes and inspiration on how to promote their

protests began over an increase in prices of either petrol or transport. However, they grew quickly as protestors found an opportunity to become vocal and perhaps have an influence, on other issues that are affecting the country. These issues were a boiling point that led to mass protests. “This is an outpouring for years of

goals. The issue has been boiled down to one question: Is there a global uprising?

oppression, that have hit mainly the poorest� said a student who took part in the movement in Ecuador.

In June, protests in Hong Kong kicked off with peaceful rallies and marches against a very unpopular bill. The people were hit by rounds of tear gas and quickly the movement became violent and called for political reforms. On the other side of the world, on the 3rd of October; taxi, bus and truck drivers took to the streets of Ecuador to protest against the abolition of fuel subsidies. They were rapidly joined by

Demonstrators in Santiago, Chile Similarly, in Lebanon, protests called for the government to resign and elections to be held. Its political system has failed to find a solution for the country’s high youth unemployment and high living costs.

According to the UNDP, 1.5 million Lebanese citizens live in poverty. This equates to 30% of the country’s

Demonstrators in Beirut, Lebanon

population.

Protestors believe the government to be corrupt and hold fake promises. One of the protesters said:

“Change

the

Changing

politicians

system. is

not the issue”.

Tensions have also risen in Bolivia, were protests have become violent as they accuse leader Evo Morales of election fraud. Crowds chanted: “Yes to democracy. We are not afraid”. Leader Evo Morales once advocated to help the poor, but over the years has become more concentrated on gaining individual power.

Protestors have set fire to electoral offices and demonstrations have become very violent.

Demonstrator in Bolivia The world has awoken. The list of countries who have held antiestablishment protests this year alone should be both alarming and awaking.

There is an uprising of people who choose to voice their concerns about corruption, inequality, economic problems and political freedom. One might call the movement a domino effect, similar to the mass number of protests that took place 30 years ago. However, the current movement is much more chaotic, and the outcome is unsure. It is difficult to predict where this road will take us and what it will mean for our future. Yet, one thing is sure: A definite change must occur.

Meet the new Blue Compass Team!

While trying to survive DP2, Joris is co-leading a new and exciting Blue Compass team. While his true passion lies in film, he believes writing to be a great way to stay informed, and most importantly express himself. Through writing another year of articles, he hopes to spread his passion for Pop Culture, Puzzles and Philosophy and is excited to see what this year will bring!

Arseniy is an aspiring rocket engineer from Moscow, Russia. His main interests include physics and astronomy, as well as politics and philosophy. He joined the Blue Compass because he enjoys teaching people about new and inspiring concepts, and in the meantime perfecting his skills as an insightful writer. He enjoys thoughtful and ardent discussion but will never refuse an opportunity to have a good laugh.

Whenever she isn’t trying to work on DP2 assignments or art, Emily is a motivated coleader for the Blue Compass. Taking a leadership role alongside Joris is something new to Emily, however, she has enjoyed all she has learned and is looking forward to what is to come. In the Blue Compass, Emily hopes to combine her love of art, media and non-fiction writing into a medium people can enjoy.

Half-Dutch half-Balinese, Alexander spends his time being perennially unnerved about the fact that he is conscious. As pastimes, Alexander schemes and produces social experiments; chastises others for their use of grammar; writes cringe-worthy text, as can be seen; and composes music in his head. His other passions range from writing his own music to diving through shipwrecks in Indonesia. Oh how he misses the warm weather. Too bad.

Nonetheless, Alexander is very excited to be a part of the Blue Compass team, and hopes to share many a thought provoking ideas through his articles and writing.

Emma hopes to combine DP2 with participating in the Blue Compass. She is looking forward to using her Blue Compass articles to explore and share her many interests, such as politics, sports and philosophy.

Esmee is a DP2 student and Dutch for the full hundred percent. She has lived in Canada for eight months and this is also where her decision to go to the ISG came from. She has a clear goal of what she wants to study, namely criminology in Leiden, and is motivated to reach that goal.

She joined The Blue Compass last year, a bit shy and not knowing what she wanted to write about. This has changed now, and she looks forward to continuing writing about topics that will help you, the readers of the magazine.

Thoughtful. Passionate. Resilient. Those three words are a sum of the product that is 'Fareda'.

In addition to the information stated above, Fareda is a book enthusiast. Fareda' s enthusiasm for books started when she was young and has since remained constant. Fareda uses writing to organise her thoughts and express her ideas. During her time at the Blue Compass, Fareda hopes to practice and improve her writing skills because one of Fareda's infinite ambitions is to write a book.

Fathan writes articles concerning topics that inform readers about issues that plague the 21st century, he hopes that by gaining more awareness for such topics will help people understand a better meaning for the world we live in. His articles are backed by evidence and sources, so they stay relevant for the coming years.

Ishika Joshi is making her way through MYP 5 armed with creativity and a passion for writing in all shapes and forms. Joining the Blue Compass team for a second year has allowed her to explore various forms of article writing.

In between homework, Ishika likes to watch movies and read books.

Jelle is a writer for the Blue Compass. Apart from sitting on the bench during his team’s basketball games, he likes to watch the NBA and sometimes even some Dutch Basketball League. Besides all that intensive workout, he is currently in DP2. Between his schoolwork, basketball and speedy pizza delivery, Jelle will continue writing sports-related articles for the Blue Compass. Though if things get really serious, he might write about even more important topics. Overall, he is excited for a new year in the Blue Compass.

Nicole has currently started DP1 and she has recently joined the Blue Compass to challenge herself throughout this school year. Her main interests involve art, fashion and news, so these are the topics she will be covering in her articles in the next few months.

Sanne joined the Blue Compass last year to further her passion for writing. Through article writing she hopes to keep improving as a writer and a creative thinker, whilst also speaking of her interest in music, art, history and nature.

She hopes to broaden her horizon whilst also spreading new knowledge!

Silvia is a student from DP2, she is part of many CAS projects. However, she finds the Blue Compass a perfect opportunity to express her interests in Global Events such as political debates, IB experiences and projects and other important issues. Her articles so far have been about the Extended Essay, a project called ‘Buy a tulip, help a girl’, and CAS in general. For the next Blue Compass Edition she will focus on the political prisoners in Catalonia. She is excited and compromised to continue working for this project and see the results of it.

Tyra is a sixteen-year-old history freak, she wants to study it at Oxford. She loves all historic time periods and their aspects, but especially women’s history and Russian history. She wants to become a modern history professor in England or work at a museum as a curator. She has a passion for ancient goddesses, Ancient Greek, reading and writing.

Her favorite thing to do is visiting museums and palaces, in which she can easily spend whole days. Her favorite movies are by Tim Burton and she cannot choose a single favorite book, but her favorite author is probably Leigh Bardugo, and her favorite artist is Lana Del Rey. If you ever need help with history, she’ll gladly help!

Zainab has joined the fantastic blue compass team because she has a passion for writing. She aims to raise awareness about important matters that she believes do not get enough attention, such as global issues and well-being. Through her articles she hopes to broaden the world view of the students and help them to understand the discussed topics better. By contributing to the school magazine, she hopes to enhance her collaboration, thinking and communication skills. In her free time, she loves to read and write and do sports. Furthermore, Zainab is an open-minded, cheerful and passionate person.

As her first (and last) spontaneous decision of the year, Zildji decided to join the Blue Compass to venture outside of her comfort bubble and write about things she wouldn’t otherwise write about. She is excited to work collaboratively with others and share her love of fantasy novels, crime podcasts, classical music, and all things Coldplay. Participating in the Blue Compass has given her the opportunity to spend her time doing things more useful than completing BuzzFeed quizzes.

Zuzanna will be covering Global Politics and is enthusiastic about contributing to the newspaper. She enjoys writing and learning more about the world around her. Hopefully her articles will be able to inform readers about current events. All in all, she is looking forward to being part of the Blue Compass team again.

Out now…

“A twisting story of love, loss and redemption”

One summer changed everything for sixteen-yearold clean freak Aaron. His father’s debt has forced him to work for an unforgiving gang. During one of his assignments, Aaron sees something he wasn’t meant to see. Accompanied by his best friend Eli, they are determined to escape the colourless city of Ashbourne leaving behind his deadbeat father. No matter how far Aaron goes, his conscience never trails far behind. Aaron’s only wish is to live a normal life, but the odds are stacked against him settling down

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