By Jake Cohen ’14, Commentary Editor

How many Newark Academy students were able to answer Mr. Parlin’s “quiz” during his recent presentation? How many students were aware of the situation in the DPRK as described by global speaker Matt Reichel ’05? More importantly, who was n0t aware of the events occurring in the world around us today? Here at the ‘Global Academy,’ we pride ourselves on being engaged and informed students, but it seems that all too often we can get caught up in our community bubble, and forget to look outside. Presentations like these remind us of the importance of staying informed about what is going on in the world—and they remind us of just how easy it is to fall behind.

Syria. Even mentioning this small middle-eastern country demands a certain delicacy of approach. For the past two and a half years, Syria has been engaged in a bloody civil war that has taken over 100,000 lives. Although it is incredibly difficult to pinpoint the complicated factions that make up each ‘side’ of the conflict, it boils down to those loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad, and the opposition or ‘rebels’ attempting to overthrow his regime. To put this war in perspective, Osama Bin Laden was alive at its outset. It has been one of the most important events occurring in our lifetimes, yet it seems that our attention to the war (as with media coverage)has been spotty at best. In the words of Anu Sharma ’15 “there was little buzz about [Syria, and] it is only recently that people have started taking an interest in the issue because Bashar al-Assad actually [used] chemical weapons against his own people.” Indeed, Syria is a perfect example of a current event that seemed not to have traction within the school community.

Recently, reports were released stating that President Assad had used Sarin gas (chemical weapons) to poison and kill over 1,000 of his own people. It was these events that sparked a spike in attention from the media, UN, and President of the United States. In the weeks following (the first few weeks of school), there was a frenzy of media coverage, yet the school did not seem to echo the world’s excitement. It seemed that for the first time, the US was going to get involved with the Civil War and militarily intervene. Yet, as described by Shivani Pandiri ‘14, “I was surprised at the low number of students talking about the important developments in Syria—it is an important topic that is certainly worth the discussion.” So why is Syria no longer front-page news? President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have announced that they have proposed a plan that requires President Assad to hand over all chemical weapons. The Syrian leader has agreed, and it seems that the matter is closed.

At Newark Academy, we try to promote higher understanding of the world around us, but oftentimes there tends to be a ‘bubble’ that forms around our tight-knit community. Classes are covering bundles of information in limited amounts of time, while sports, clubs, and arts clutter students’ already busy work schedules. It is often very difficult to find time to care about what is going on in the world. Mr. Bitler (a science teacher who leads a June Term course on international affairs) believes that we “have a duty to inform [ourselves]…many things in the world are affecting you right now.” In the spirit of Mr. Bitler, we should focus on staying “wise and informed in order to make good choices and decisions.” If students can spend even fifteen or twenty minutes a day, and look through the headlines in the news—emulating the examples of Mr. Parlin and Matt Reichel—we can all benefit. Having a greater understanding of the world around us is crucial to our ability to grow as students, learners, and citizens of the world, and the events transpiring in Syria present another opportunity to get involved.