By an anonymous year 12 student
Students should not have to question Ecolint’s statements for Ecolint to have a response to the current situation. Ecolint should be direct and clear to all students – it has no tolerance for discrimination, no matter where you’re from.
All of us are exposed to the news; it is without a doubt that we have opinions. Silencing Ecolint students does not expose them to the real world, the one we need to face every day. Ecolint as a whole doesn’t need to stand on a side, they need to acknowledge that students want to learn and be aware of what is happening around them. By silencing students, Ecolint keeps us isolated and confused. Values are our strong points, what we stand for is peace. Ecolint has gone through worldwide conflict before. One Alumni, Erike Thorbecke, wrote about his time at Ecolint during the Second World War in an article in 2016:
“In an era dominated by the Second World War and worldwide conflicts, they were true believers in international cooperation and tolerance for different cultures and religions. They imbued the students with the need to respect all human beings and preached the desirability of a strong League of Nations.”
It is hard to imbue students to respect all human beings when we can’t speak about a present world conflict. We need to be aligned with Ecolint’s values by being reminded that we stand for diplomacy and respect for all human beings. As students, we need to raise awareness and discuss the conflict. To become a global citizen, a certain understanding of the world is needed.
