Maybe it is just nostalgia. Maybe I am just trying to revive a feeling by evoking a state of mind. But that hold no importance, I am and will always be committed to the advancement home for 2 beautiful years.
First let me congratulate the first year on the most
amazing 2 years of their lives that they have ahead of them: Congratulation and
welcome. Second I salute and warmly hug all my cherished friends who have now
maturated into the notoriety of Secondissimi.
Then let us dwell on the substances’ policy, by which I mean policy
regarding mainly drinking and smoking.
An educational instruction has no easy way of
establishing and then implementing a policy regarding them and UWC does not
stray from that. I mean by that, my dear strugglers for world peace, that I do
not claim an all reaching complete “perfect policy”. Rather I wish to expose a
part of the “other” opinion. That of the subjects of such policy: the students.
There is no real outlet for UWCadiatcers for example to dwell and amend such
policies. I am also an alumnus so take my word not, as a manifesto urging any
power struggle. Far from that, I would rather transcend the student/teacher
rift when it comes to substances and maybe push towards the shaping of a
general opinion. I have lived and studied in 3 radically different scholastic
environments and I do not personally adhere to the use of any substance and
thus my opinion is not motivated by desires or lack of experience with
different models.
What I have noticed in my second year is that the
implementation of the smoke-free policy did indeed alter the smoking behavior.
The objective, I suppose, was to decrease the number of smokers and the time
spent on the activity. The outcome unfortunately was radically different. The
policy achieved all too well, a transformation of smoking from an accompaniment
to social undertakings to the core of social intercourse. This is demonstrated
by the formation of a very distinct and clear “smokers group”. The smokers
group chose times and location according to the pressure exhibited by the
policy and not according to an original activity they were undertaking. This is
a very significant shift as more and more impressionable people were compelled
or tempted to smoke in order to belong and participate in the group. I have
seen an astonishing number of non-smokers have their first puff in UWCad. What
does that say about the policy? Well, it surely didn’t accomplish its original
aims.
But let us consider the premises upon which this
policy is founded as well: The inherent belief that a virtue (according to the
College, not smoking) can be achieved through an obligation (the smoking
policy). Here I would appeal to my personal ideological convictions. I do not
think that obligation and regulation can produce any virtue, nobleness or good
whatsoever! All an obligation can do is producing perpetual duties. The fact of
the matter is, when applying the policy; the students have a duty to comply,
the teachers a duty to report and the administration the duty to punish. A
necessary duty chain if you wish to call it for the rule/obligation to be a
rule/obligation in the first place.
An exemplary
instance where this vicious duty procreating cycle is the “hosting 3rd
years affair”. Two years in UWC are socially intense and to reinforce the
feeling of belonging many feel that alumni should be allowed to visit stay in
for a certain period a year. Many in my generation thought it should be okay to
host a friend for a 3rd year reunion per say .But “honoring” the
rules about curfew, drinking and so on, was waived as the ultimate reason hosting
an alumnus was impossible. I hope the reader sees what I mean here, rules are
de facto fertile and to adopt one always has intrinsic restrictions that can
interfere with an aspect the rule didn’t even seek limiting…
But In UWC, we constantly blame lack of time for shortcomings
on our part as an institution vowing to advance education for peace: Why then
are we so interested to add to our busy days and our large responsibilities the
burden of creating new duties. The question is even more pressing when we
consider that even after this burden is added neither smoking nor drinking are
actually decreased.
Oh reader, do
not be fooled into thinking I am advancing the cause for drinking and smoking!
Far from that, all I am saying is that we have to stop making them cooler than
what they actually are. One might say: well if we follow your logic, then we
should allow hardcore drugs and so forth in Duino. The answer is very simple: Italian
law. Italy has provided shelter and support for us so let us have faith in
the wisdom of its laws. Let us trust Italian laws, leave individual rights law making
to the Italian parliament.
Instead, we
should only focus on the mission and the sheer reason UWC was created for.More
than 200 dedicated young men and women from around the globe is a precious
asset. This asset should be utilized and surely can be utilized, for the benefit
of the students and the general public supporting them (either directly by host
country Italy or by the loss inflicted on their countries by their departure).
This utilization is indeed a great responsibility in a
world where hundreds are perishing daily in violent freedom struggles in
countries like Syria. Upon supporting these struggles and other righteous noble
causes we should shed our efforts my friends.
Let there be choice, let there be good decisions, let
there be education for peace...
Mohamed Firas Arfaoui. Philadoxi.
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