Welcome to the February issue of Nexus! As the year gets more eventful, we have many things to look forward to. One of these is the YAA, which has been renamed to Youth Activists and Advocacies this year. The theme for the school’s biggest convention on social sciences and activism is Conflict and Compromise, and it will be held in March. Nexus’s theme this time, too, corresponds to the relationship between these two ideas.

What comes to mind when we think of a compromise? It’s an agreement, where two opposing viewpoints make concessions that help them to coexist more harmoniously. It is a way to resolve or ameliorate conflict. Not only does history offer many instances of compromise, but we can also see how it abounds all around us even today -- in global politics, in technology, in economics, and so on.

Our writers contemplated on February’s theme and created a variety of deeply insightful and riveting articles on topics ranging from the Cold War to Buddhism. We hope you enjoy these articles as much as we did, and we’ll see you at YAA!

Aarushi Kaushik, Editor-in-Chief

Niyanthri Arun, Managing Editor

Articles

Meet February's Writer of the Month: Uhinee!

The Writer of the month is chosen based on the following criteria:

i) frequency of active participation in monthly issues

ii) attendance in meetings (or letting us know of your absence beforehand)

iii) timely sharing of article ideas (or asking questions if you need help)

iv) timely submissions of the first draft, proper resolution of edits

v) overall writing style/quality 

It gives us great pleasure to announce that our Writer of the Month for February is Uhinee Bhattacharya, a junior! Some Q&A:

What are your areas of interest?

I love to read, the sadder and more depressing the better. I love to paint and sketch -- I have an instagram account dedicated to it, actually. I love to cook for my friends and family. And I love being creative and doing things spontaneously. Most of my work has come from spontaneous bursts of creativity, and I allow them to create something in the form of writing or visual art.

What are your favourite subjects in school?

In middle school, I absolutely loved Art and English. I still love English but because of the limited number of classes with IB I had to give up art. English has always been a favourite subject because of my mother who was always reading and I was jealous of the thick books she read, so I started reading out of spite. I absolutely adore analysis of work, thus my love for reading grows just like my “to be read” pile.

Why did you choose to write your article The Problematic Academia Aesthetic for this month’s theme?

My friends always said that I give off a dark academia aesthetic just by existing. So, I wanted to see the various kinds of academia and express the benefits and the disadvantages of these aesthetic idealistic behaviours. I am also a fan of fashion, so I liked to explore those areas as well as the literature and activities that come with each type of academia.

What do you like about Nexus?

I love the people the most and how creative they are. Some topics blew my mind like AI Art, Beneficial or Sacrilegious? In the September issue or Dark Energy: Exploring Reality Beyond Imagination in the January Issue. I just love reading about such niche topics and I, personally, have a soft spot for exploring the various ways to approach a theme or topic. These are the reasons why I’ve been writing for Nexus from when it first started; I love the challenge and the opportunity to grow outside my comfort zone.

What’s a fun fact about you?

I had a lost pug for two months, and I fed him and played with him everyday, but then we found his owner and had to return him. I sobbed uncontrollably during that time. Nevertheless, that experience helped me to write about tough topics.