Student Connections

In late August, the University of Central Florida’s Global Perspectives and International Initiatives and University of Central Florida’s Arts and Humanities hosted the event “Dances and Discussion: An Evening with the Ukrainian National Ballet.” Dancers from the Ukrainian National Ballet came to UCF to perform brief exhibitions of their show and provide the audience with […]

Desertification is the process by which fertile becomes desert. This land degradation is typically a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate human activities and agriculture. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions are the most vulnerable places in the world to climate change, specifically desertification. Desertification plays a considerable toll on water scarcity, which […]

It is said that Rostam, among the greatest of Persian mythical heroes, was once challenged to complete seven dangerous tasks.  This effort can best be described as herculean since the similarities between the stories of Rostam and Hercules are unlikely to be mere literary coincidence; ultimately, Rostam’s adventures inspired the Persian adage “the seven labors […]

With the recent rise of far-right groups in Europe, specifically in France, it leaves immigrants and ethnic minority groups worried about their safety. To protect themselves from far-right groups and terrorist attacks, these minority groups vote in political elections for a candidate that vows to protect them. (Pascoët et al. 2022). It is important to […]

Kosovo and Serbia are two countries in the Balkan region of Europe. They have had ethnic conflict since the Middle Ages when Serbia first lost Kosovo to the Ottoman Turks. (Chadwick 2019). In the 19th century, Serbia won its independence from the Ottoman Empire. Serbia then recaptured Kosovo in 1912, only to lose it again […]

The U.S. military is scheduled to take part on a joint military exercise with India near its disputed border with China in the Tibetan region in October[i]. This event only tops the list of increased tensions between both powers for control over the region. In 2020, a clash between soldiers from both nations in the […]

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, many have evacuated from their homes. According to the United Nations, as of March 18th, more than 3 million people have been forced to flee Ukraine, and there are over 1.9 million people internally displaced (United Nations Ukraine). UNICEF has estimated that more than 1.5 […]

Since January of this year, rising tensions between the Russian state and NATO allies have surged regarding Ukraine. In 2014, a Russian invasion of Crimea demonstrated that President Vladimir Putin was willing to take a military intervention, if necessary, to diminish the expansion of NATO interest in Eastern Europe (Ignatius 2022). As stated by President […]

Explosions rocked the city of Abu Dhabi on January 17, 2022, as the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was struck by a missile and drone attack. Launched in the early morning, the attack targeted Abu Dhabi’s oil and aviation infrastructure, killing three civilians and injuring six1. Soon after, Yahya Sare’e, a spokesman for […]

The 2022 Winter Olympics were recently held in Beijing, China, which caused some countries to refuse to send diplomatic delegates to the games, including the United States. This conflict stems from the current human rights violations China are potentially engaging in. The focus of these violations includes the detainment of over one million Uyghurs and […]