Ebrahim Raisi: Iran's Newest President

After securing 62% of the Iranian vote, “ultra-conservative” Ebrahim Raisi has won the Iranian presidential election. According to Statistica, out of the 59.31 million eligible voters in Iran, only 28.93 million of these voters opted into casting their vote in this most recent election. In the past, Iran has relied on a high voter turnout to support the notion that Iranian elections are legitimate and fair (even if the Guardian Council virtually handpicks candidates). Recently, however, “#nowayIvote” was trending heavily on Persian social medias in the time leading up to the election. BBC credits this lack of voter enthusiasm with a growing sense of Iranian dissatisfaction with their government. Extreme reactions to political protests, general crackdowns and an economic crisis have resulted in an Iranian population that seemingly distrusts the legitimacy of their government. This corruption and economic crises served as the foundation for the 60-year-old Raisi campaign. Despite his campaign and his election, many question Ebrahim’s ability to act on his promises. Recently, activists have pointed out that Raisi allegedly played an integral role in the mass killing of political prisoners. It is safe to assume that his supposed role in these killings will be a topic of continued conversation in Iran, as there has been a large amount of upset surrounding the killing of political prisoners since the 2017 election.

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Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

I spent the past week in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, a small surf town in the Puntarenas Province. There are no stop signs or street lights on the unpaved streets of the town, but during the 3:30 rush hour, you hear a cacophony of laughter as opposed to honking. This small town- with a resident population of under 3000- seems to rely on communal joy as a source of fuel. Because the town is so isolated from any main city like San Jose, there is a lack of variety in job opportunities, resulting in what seems to be a lack of wealth disparity amongst the population. These somewhat limited jobs revolve mainly around tourism and fishing, two fairly job industries. In the absence of tourism due to COVID, Santa Teresa’s population relied heavily on fishing as a means to maintain a steady income. Armando, our hotel manager and a lifetime resident of Santa Teresa, let me know that COVID weighed heavily on the town, not because of case numbers, but because of the lack of fish on the coast of the su

Capstone Project Reflection

On Thursday, May 12, Jackie Sabbag and I presented our capstone project with our other GS cohort members. In attendance were a handful of budding global scholars- it was inspiring to see the continued interest in the program. Jackie and I outlined the specificities of our early relationship with I Am A Girl, and the grant proposal process that followed. The presentation marked a very special culminating moment for our time with the GIP. We presented a similar set of slides to our audience today to the slides that we presented to the grant donors. We wanted the audience today to fully understand why we chose to work with I Am a Girl, why the work we wanted to do through our project was important, and what the money would allow for within the Ugandan Mbale community and beyond. In addition to the grant proposal information we also shared our take-aways from the project. We spoke about the importance of really being able to fulfill our theme of empathy into action.

Global Scholars Reflection

Looking back on my experience as a Poly K-12 student, the Global Scholars Program stands out. Frequently in our community, we talk about a Poly or a Pasadena “bubble,” a sphere of separation between us and the greater LA, USA, and international communities. The Global Scholars Program allowed me the opportunity to pop that bubble and truly learn about the world around me. As a result of the varied sources we were exposed to- international experts, news, personal stories and even history- I gained a surprisingly well rounded perspective on what it means to be a global citizen. Especially after nearly two years of isolation from my peers and from the rest of the international community, the empathy and connections that were built individually and within our cohort continue to be of paramount importance. For me, my identity as a Global Scholar began to really take hold after I was able to facilitate the discussion portion of our International Women's Day Celebration event. It wa

International Musings

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