Picture this: Hollywood's biggest stars trading their scripts for protest signs as the WGA & SAG-AFTRA strike turns Tinseltown into a real-life drama-comedy fusion – lights, camera, action...on the picket lines!
313
1.01.2024
Güneş Tuğcu
WhatsNew
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In the game of Bioshock, an important question is asked: Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? “‘No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone.’” And then, Andrew Ryan continues: “I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well.” From this point, you can say “Wow, Rapture seems good, there is no bound that applies to the creators!”, but the issue is that, when you enter the Rapture, it’s totally demolished. It is genuinely relevant when you understand that the dream of Andrew Ryan, the Rapture, occurred from the controversial philosophy of Ayn Rand; Objectivism.
274
28.12.2023
Kaan Akkaş
NoComment
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On 11.05.2023, The Classical Music Choir of Boğaziçi University’s Music Club, BÜMK, took the stage in Albert Long Hall for an unforgettable night of music. With the talent and passion of our fellow peers, the night was indistinguishable from any ‘’famous’’ acts that we see in the media. Their dedication, professionalism, and hard work were the key to this successful concert, and we felt the utmost privilege to experience this night with them.
355
12.12.2023
Gizem Akdoğan
BogaziciAgenda
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We all share a memory apart from our individual recollections of the past. The kind of memory I am referring to cannot exist alone. It needs to be communicated since it is the product of historical, sociological, psychological, and political processes. Remember how your grandparents talked about past events?
222
16.05.2023
Zeynep Ezgi Batmaz
Opinion
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Attending a jazz concert can be an unforgettable experience for any music lover and I recently had the chance to attend a jazz choir concert performed by our music club, BÜMK. The performance of the choir has left me in awe and each song had a unique impact on me and evoked different emotions and feelings. The choir sang seven pieces without instruments and each piece had a unique flavour that made the concert an extraordinary experience.
211
13.05.2023
Meyra Soylu
BogaziciAgenda
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Among the many fruitful and near-miraculous reforms of the Turkish Revolution enacted by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, none perhaps is as unjustly denounced as the alphabet reform. Many other countries too either planned to go through similar reforms(such as China and Kazakhstan) and some other countries(such as Korea and Azerbaijan) actually did. One such country that successfully changed its way of writing is ignored by most people, this country of course is Germany
233
11.05.2023
Oğuz Kaan Kömürcü
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After the Night presents the current political issues of Anatolia and surrounding peoples in a style full of stories for us, we start with a pigeon to the stories on the wall. Then we are accompanied by waves on this journey. In the last section, we feel the warmth of a strong fire from our seats.
Bir duvar, bir çocuk. Duvarda hikayeler: güvercin, deniz ve ateş. Hikayeleri izleyen çocuk uzanıyor duvara. “Bak” diyor, “Neler anlatacağım sana.” Ve dünyada boy veriyor, büyümek isteyen ne varsa!
218
5.05.2023
Meyra Soylu
BogaziciAgenda
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Have you ever thought about being immortal? Having endless life in a universe that offers endless information sounds thrilling. Even if it sounds like a magical trait that can only be achieved in stories, it might be the technology of a different era.
194
18.04.2023
Bora Benli
Opinion
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The past decade in the world of chess has been defined by the domination of Magnus Carlsen, the current World Chess Champion. Since his coronation as the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion in history in 2013, Carlsen has maintained a level of play that has kept him at the top of the chess world.
229
18.04.2023
Burak Halil İbrahim Kılıç
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In this event organized by BÜMK, Boğaziçi University guested world renowned Acapella group The Yale Alley Cats with the opening of Popapella, dear pop acapella group of Boğaziçi University. Popapella performed various songs from the pop world. From Michael Jackson to Kenan Dogulu, from Lady Gaga to Selena Gomez.
189
21.03.2023
Hanne Akkiraz
BogaziciAgenda
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When you enter the North gate, Haydut is the first to greet you. You cannot reach the Northern pyramid without saying hi to Çiroz. The situation is not much different when going down the South slope. Every time, you get escorted to the South Square by Nala or Zeytin. Dogs and cats on our campuses will never leave you alone, even for a second. BUPAWS, responsible for the care of our friends, is facing a difficult situation.
221
16.03.2023
Öykü Efendi
BogaziciAgenda
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The Metaverse has been a hot topic of conversation recently, with Facebook and Microsoft both scrambling to take part. However, do we know what the Metaverse is? Are we ready for this massive change in our lives? There is no specific answer to these questions, but there are so many different hypotheses about how this process will be like for sure.
220
11.12.2022
Lara Tali
Opinion
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Politics or any kind of decision-making position in a government body needs an upper age limit. Voting already has a worldwide age restriction, the most common legal age for voting is 18 around the world. Only nine countries around the world have 16 as the legal age for voting, whereas, only six countries have 17 as the voting age.
193
28.06.2022
Hülya Afat
Opinion
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In the year 2022 of the common era, there are certain expectations that any act of storytelling is “supposed” to fulfill. When I say storytelling, I mean both stories passed down through oral tradition and those that were first created on paper. Common to both these forms of stories is the fact that they are surely affected by what’s come before them. As people told more and more stories with time, humanity cultivated thousands upon thousands of years of collective storytelling experience. With this experience came knowledge of what makes a story work, common errors and pitfalls in storytelling, how parts of a story come together to create a greater whole, etc... Thus, our expectations of stories created today help refine those stories beyond their predecessors, or at least we would expect them to do so.
246
23.05.2022
Boran Göher
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Popular culture is the set of practices, beliefs, and objects that are prevalent in a society. In our age, we live in a society where popular culture constantly and very quickly changes. Out of this constant change, microtrends emerge. People collectively decide on what the "next thing” is, and what is not cool anymore.
213
16.05.2022
Zeynep Ezgi Batmaz
Opinion
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Adapted from the 2012 novel by David Mitchell, directed by the Wachowski sisters and Tom Tykwer, Cloud Atlas consists of 6 independent but intertwined stories based on themes such as entanglement principle, uncertainty, relativity theory, and reincarnation. Although it has strong cinematography with creative imagery, metaphor, use of colour palette, and ingenious camera tricks, in this article, I would like to talk about the plot and structure of this movie that makes the audience question life and existence in almost every scene.
225
28.04.2022
Serhat Taha Korkmaz
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In the year 2018, Elon Musk’s The Boring Company released a merchandise item called “Notaflamethrower”. This product was hyped online as a flamethrower by many and sold for $500 per piece. The product’s name indeed did its credit, as it was not a flamethrower, but a roofing torch dressed and marketed
212
17.04.2022
Oğuz Kaan Kömürcü
Opinion
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We cannot deny the impact of religious beliefs in shaping the modern description of marriage, however, the foundation of the institution goes way back before any of the religions with current believers. In fact, the earliest evidence of a man and a woman uniting is nearly 4500 years old. (1) Of course, defining the concept of marriage as “uniting a man and a woman” is fairly inadequate in the year 2022.
195
11.04.2022
Hülya Afat
Opinion
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My dog had been dying for the past year. It is a fact now. It is just what it is. His last months had a certain rhythm. Two times a day to his vet; painkillers in the morning, cortisone in the evening. We have always hoped that the treatment would work and he would be cured. He did get better at one point. If you are not familiar with the death process, that point is your call. This is the last time he reaches for help and the last gasp for air. You know, deep down, you are heading towards the end. Moreover, you are the only one who could make this decision. But how do you abandon a pet who has already been abandoned once and still loved you?
227
5.04.2022
Öykü Efendi
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Self-driving car technology is a new technology considering the age of traditional car technology. Many companies are working on self-driving. But Tesla Motors company has apparent domination on the market. Recently Tesla Motors company was criticized as they called thousands of cars back to repair a malfunction of the self-driving feature.
212
28.03.2022
Recep Eren Durgut
Opinion
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On a daily basis, we encounter the word inflation in the news, on the internet, and in newspapers. So do we know its definition? What does inflation mean? Inflation is the decline of the purchasing power of a given currency over time. Alright, but how does it work? Simply, if you feel like your currency doesn’t go quite as far as it used to, the reason behind this is inflation. Inflation occurs when prices rise and causes a decrease in the purchasing power of your currency. Also, it is highly incorrect to think of inflation in terms of higher prices for only one or two items or services. Usually, it affects the whole industry or sector like automotive or energy business; however, if necessary measures are not taken immediately to prevent the mass destruction of the country’s economy, the end is inevitable.
211
21.03.2022
Lara Tali
NoComment
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Mythology is a whole another world that feels both so close to and so far from reality. The human-like characteristics of the actors in mythology, specifically Greek mythology, help us understand them better. However, the situations they find themselves in are not what we would go through in our boring lives. Medusa’s story is one of these many stories.
212
14.03.2022
Zeynep Ezgi Batmaz
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The 94th edition of the academy awards will be held on March 27 in its traditional home, Dolby Theater. Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes will host the show. Producer Will Parker said, "This year's show is all about uniting movie lovers. It's apropos that we've lined up three of the most dynamic, hilarious women with very different comedic styles". Despite the positive attitude and enthusiasm of Will Parker and other academy members, people on Twitter are furious. Yes, they do have a point.
318
7.03.2022
Öykü Efendi
Opinion
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Figure skating events started normally in the Beijing Olympics, and then hell broke loose right after. After the team event in which athletes from all figure skating disciplines, ice dance, pairs, men's single, and women's single, competed to gather points, there seemed to be no medal ceremony held. As it raised questions, there were rumors about finding a substance in someone on the podium's doping tests. It wasn't until a day later that the officials announced the athlete in question was the 15-year-old prodigy Kamila Valieva, who came first in both of the events she competed in and rose the Russian Olympic Committee team to the gold medal. Her doping test was positive, and the medal ceremony was temporarily canceled until a decision was made regarding Kamila.
197
28.02.2022
Ece Hasgül
NoComment
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Taylor Alison Swift was born in Pennsylvania on December 13, 1989. She is a country and pop singer-songwriter who sings tales of heartbreak, love, and relationships that are often inspired by her personal life. Swift relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 14 to pursue a career in country music. She signed deals with two big companies, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Big Machine records. In 2006, Swift released her first album called Taylor Swift, and it peaked at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200, where it spent 157 weeks, the most prolonged stay on the chart by any release in the U.S. in the 2000s. While Swift was 17, she had managed to climb the Billboard chart like a bandit. This achievement was a sign that in the future, she would be facing some problems with the companies she signed deals with because, at first, the authorities had doubted that she would be successful in the industry.
209
31.01.2022
Lara Tali
Light
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Feminist movements continued to grow in the 1980s. Second-wave feminism in the 80s drew attention to sexuality, family, domesticity, the workplace, reproductive rights, and official legal inequalities. As women raised their voices against the patriarchal system, they started to get portrayed as crazy women who hated men. Even women were hesitant to join these movements because they were scared of people's reactions. In this political environment, a tragic event took place in Montreal. A young man named Marc Lepine killed 14 women and injured 13 others in the halls of the Ecole Polytechnique.
228
24.01.2022
Zeynep Ezgi Batmaz
NoComment
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Whenever we hear of protests in a non-Western nation, our brains are hard-wired to think that they will end inconclusively, or worse, with only civilian casualties. The developments in Kyrgyzstan in the year 2020, however, have, at least partially, subverted our expectations. If you do not have a special interest in the topic, you have probably heard at some point that there were protests in Kyrgyzstan, and then maybe heard that the prime minister had resigned. Yet, chances are, you do not have a complete understanding of the situation. While it would be overreaching for this article to consider the complex historical and contemporary situations that led to the protests, it is necessary that we give the required amount of context for the following news to make any sense.
187
23.01.2022
Boran Göher
NoComment
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Concerns about the influence of financial matters on football have been a mainstream debate topic at least since the formation of the English Premier League back in 1992. The Premier League brought about a new system in which the top clubs in English football were more isolated from the rest of the football pyramid and did not have to share their profits as much as before.
209
3.01.2022
Boran Göher
Opinion
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Although cinema is seen chiefly as a tool of the entertainment industry, it has gained an artistic identity over time. Bergman is one of the dominant factors in the artistic institutionalization of cinema. Ingmar Bergman has added innovations to the classical cinema concept both with the themes he conveys and the way he handles them and showed how far the artistic value of cinema could go. Even though it is not thought that the subjects that literature, novel, and philosophy deal with will be handled by cinema, Bergman's films cover these philosophical and literary elements in-depth and strikingly, which plays a prominent role in the constitution of diverse branches in this sector. He became a pioneer in cinema, not only with the themes he conveyed but also with his usage of camera and light techniques, images, and metaphors.
224
27.12.2021
Serhat Taha Korkmaz
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“This Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails, expand access to clean drinking water, ensure every American has access to high-speed internet, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in communities that have too often been left behind.”
-The White House Press Release
204
13.12.2021
Hülya Afat
WhatsNew
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Being the worst atrocity Europe had seen since World War II, Srebrenica remains as a wound not only in Bosniak's hearts but also as a scar in many who had witnessed this horror even from their screens.
224
7.12.2021
İdil Çakmut
WhatsNew
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Freezing cold, lack of sleep, hunger and thirst. These are the difficult conditions from which the migrants at the Poland-Belarus border are suffering. From summer 2021 onwards, thousands of people, mostly from the Middle East with an overwhelming majority of men, are waiting at the border between Belarus and Poland in order to arrive in the European Union in which they hope to seek asylum. In recent years, the world faced different migration crises but this crisis has different aspects from the previous ones.
180
6.12.2021
Sena Balban
WhatsNew
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It seems that ever since the covid pandemic, video streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu have entered their glory age. With the shutdown of cinemas and cancellation of most cultural events, most of us shifted our focus to video-streaming platforms. But have we ever stopped for once and thought about the impact binge-watching might have on our planet?
252
29.11.2021
Aybüke Caner
Opinion
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As the world goes through many changes, the world of comedy transforms as well. Abandoning the jokes made about vulnerabilities at other people’s expenses has led to a new sense of comedy. Last year’s Emmy Award Record Breaker Schitt’s Creek is the prime example of the fresh perspective of television.
201
22.11.2021
Hülya Afat
Light
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Ever since they were re-popularized around the beginning of the 19th century, Tarot divination has been a popular concept both in public life and popular media. You yourself have probably seen a Tarot divination scene in a TV show or a Tarot deck in a store. If that is your only exposure to Tarot cards, you might think that they seem kind of confusing. This appears to be a general phenomenon where people believe Tarot cards are more complex than they actually are. However, they are not difficult to grasp once you get to know the basics. Once you get the hang of it, you can start using your knowledge in order to attune your way of living to your spiritual energy and begin turning a new page in your life, or you could also use it to impress potential partners or whatever.
234
15.11.2021
Boran Göher
Light
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Have you ever thought about titles of internet articles? Do you believe that sometimes they do not exactly refer to what they say they do? It seems you are not wrong and alone at all. Just like the title of this article, as readers, we encounter clickbait very frequently. But why are such titles chosen? Actually what is clickbait, why do authors and editors prefer to put it, and most importantly; is it ethical? Does it not manipulate us? Let’s try to give an answer.
185
25.10.2021
Mert Cengiz
Opinion
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Have you heard about Bollywood (yes, not Hollywood)? You have presumably heard Hollywood, the most significant film industry in the USA; however, Bollywood may seem relatively unfamiliar. Bollywood is a part of the Indian cinema industry and followed by many people worldwide like Hollywood despite its unpopularity. Since masses follow these two cinema industries, an important question should be asked: “Can Bollywood be an alternative for Hollywood?” A brief insight into them might help to answer this question.
237
12.07.2021
Mert Cengiz
Light
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Friends is an American TV series that aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004. These ten years of journey of 6 friends, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, Joey, and Ross, spread over the world and became legendary. It would be fair to state that it is the most famous sitcom series globally and inspired many others in the following years. Even though the show ended 17 years ago, its fame did not fade away even a little, and many fans still watch it worldwide. It was released that across all the platforms, the show was watched 100 billion times officially. Whether six friends would ever come together one day was a long-asked question and finally got its answer this year. Friends: The Reunion (also known as "The One Where They Get Back Together") was released on May 27th, 2021 on HBO and made a tremendous impact worldwide, revealing so many things about those ten years.
234
12.07.2021
Gizem Akdoğan
Light
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Aren't you enthusiastic when you buy a new mobile phone, computer, or simply a new technological device anymore? Do you feel “strange” after having fun with your best friends? Or do you think that you are not happy despite doing your most favorite activities? If your answers are “yes,” you are not alone. You are presumably suffering from lacking inner peace. At first, it might seem horrible; however, achieving inner peace is not as complicated as initially thought to be.
207
12.07.2021
Mert Cengiz
Light
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The 2020 Olympic Games are scheduled to be held between 23 July to 8 August in Tokyo, Japan. The Games were intended to be held in 2020, as their name suggests, but were delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight years in the IOC’s (International Olympic Committee) 2013 session in Buenos Aires, Turkey, Japan, and Spain fought to host the event. However, Istanbul lost to Tokyo in the last round of voting.
222
12.07.2021
Alp Ünal AYHAN
Opinion
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We have gathered some questions about university life and Boğaziçi University that you have submitted through our Instagram Stories (@bogazicimun). Do not forget to follow and turn on the notifications to catch up on our following Q&A during the University Selecting Period to ask more of your questions! Let’s move on to the answers to your questions!
194
12.07.2021
Hülya Afat
Opinion
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It is true and well-known that the big names of philosophy, whether ancient or modern, consist primarily of men. When we think of the word “philosopher,” the names that come to mind are usually Aristotle, Plato, Rousseau, Kant, Freud, etc. However ground-breaking their theories were, and although their arguments paved the way for advancing science, medicine, psychology, and many other fields, most people were misogynists.
195
12.07.2021
Elif Nazlıcan
Opinion
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"It is mandatory to wear a mask inside. There will be no face-to-face education until 2021, and we should get used to online learning. We cannot turn back to the pre-pandemic version of life unless the majority of the people in the world are vaccinated.’’ We are all accustomed to hearing these sentences due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
199
12.07.2021
Sena Balban
Opinion
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It's June this month, which means we're officially celebrating Pride around the world in the face of phobia, bias, prejudice, persecution and prosecution. Every year during Pride we tend to focus on the dire situation of LGBTI+ people around the world and the work that is ahead of us to achieve full and unconditional equality for Queer people around the world.
208
7.06.2021
Boran Göher
Opinion
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We, as students, have been getting our education under extraordinary circumstances for over a year now because of the pandemic. When we say it is a different experience from what we are used to, and it is hard to adapt to what is necessary when it comes to online school, it can be applicable to students of all ages, from kindergarten to university. Everyone knows we should keep on studying, as we still do not know how long this pandemic will last, and we cannot press pause on life altogether. However, this does not mean that this progress is easy to adapt to. It is time we finally talk about not all, but some of our teachers’ and professors’ lack of empathy at this time, which comes with mental and psychological difficulties on the students’ side.
208
7.06.2021
Elif Nazlıcan
Opinion
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Raccoons are animals native to the North American forests. They are very intelligent and skilled, which makes them a versatile species. They are famous for their beautiful furs and masked faces, which gave them the reputation of being thieves. Still, this reputation is not wrong at all. Thanks to their intelligence and speed, they can often be found sneaking food from people or houses. Although they have adapted to urban life, they remain as wild animals which can carry many diseases, including rabies.
202
7.06.2021
Kaan Ertan
Opinion
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US President Joe Biden has made many promises during his campaign run in the days leading up to his election in November last year. Although he has not yet accomplished everything he said he would accomplish, he moved fast since his inauguration in January and still issued more executive orders than his three predecessors during his first 100 days.
231
7.06.2021
Şebnem Yaren
Opinion
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Each year on June 5th; governments, businesses, and citizens all around the globe celebrate the World Environment Day. The tradition started in 1974 to draw attention to urgent environmental issues
236
7.06.2021
Hülya Afat
WhatsNew
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‘’Let the Eurovision Song Contest begin!’’
It had been two years since the world heard this sentence until 18 May 2021. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual song contest of Europe, the Eurovision Song Contest, was canceled for the first time since it debuted in 1956. Previous Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest Jon Ola Sand announced the cancellation on 18 March 2020 and told the contest would come back next year ‘’stronger than ever.’’ The 65th Eurovision Song Contest took place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on 18-20-22 May 2021, thanks to the victory of Dutch singer Duncan Laurence with the song ‘’Arcade’’ in the 2019 contest.
230
7.06.2021
Gizem Akdoğan
Light
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Hip-hop is a music genre combining creative beats and influential lyrics. Therefore, it is considered to be the most powerful music genre by its addicts. Colored artists lead this genre, so they rap about life struggles as a person of color in their music. Gunfights in the back streets, challenges in their career, poverty, and racism are some of the themes of their songs. The genre has many sub-genres and one of them is trap which is the relatively happy side of hip-hop. Trap music harmonizes high and changing beats with lyrics that generally only make sense to those who have written it. But why do people listen to trap, if the lyrics are meaningless when they come together?
212
7.06.2021
Pelin Çoban
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This is a naked and shadowy gay love story from the beautiful and talented eyes of the Chinese auteur Kar-Wai Wong, Happy Together. This aggressive and chunky film observes the relationship of two queer men Lai Yiu-Fai (Tony Leung) and Ho Po-wing (Leslie Chung), who flee from Hong Kong to Argentina, where their relationship faces many troubles.
194
7.06.2021
Şebnem Yaren
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Happy May 4th to all the PRESENT readers! No matter if you watched “A New Hope” in 1977 in a movie theatre or watched it on your tv, you are a part of the huge Star Wars fan community, which sprawls from generations to generations. The words “Star Wars” still stirs the blood of millions of people, no matter what age they are. And with the new movies and tv series episodes, it is getting only deeper and better day by day. And as the Star Wars universe expands more and more, we get to have a very detailed and expanded view of the events and characters it holds. From 70s to today, Star Wars has had a massive impact on the modern popular culture. But as well as affecting the modern world, it has been affected by it greatly. The battles, dramas, politics and relationships in Star Wars; may actually be depicting a much bigger and much more familiar reality.
208
4.05.2021
Ümit Altar Binici & Kaan Ertan
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You wake up, put on your clothes, your shoes, you walk out of your house and walk along your clean street to take the bus to school with your breakfast in your hand. In this simple routine alone, you benefit from hundreds of workers’ hard work. The house you live in, the clothes on your back, the shoes on and the pavement under your feet, the cleanliness of your environment, the bus that drives to your doorstep, the food in your hand, all brought to you by workers.
224
3.05.2021
Duygu Bayram
Opinion
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It seems like politics is the only topic we can have a conversation on these days because of how salient the political agenda is and how infiltrative and effective it is to an average person’s life. However, the question is, how do we have a conversation about politics? If you are just simply commenting on an objective change in your life resulting from some political action, does that qualify as being political? Do we have to be activists to call ourselves political?
206
3.05.2021
Şebnem Yaren
Opinion
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"Enough." So were the words of one queer person who responded to my question on what they thought of cishet white men. They were, in fact, the only person to respond to my question, which was not surprising considering I spent a grand total of 45 seconds looking for queer people to answer my question. Despite the apparent lack of depth of my study group, I believe I have produced a good approximation of the opinions of most queer people.
208
3.05.2021
Boran Göher
Opinion
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The Suez Canal is a sea-level waterway that connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It is located between mainland Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, separating the African continent from Asia. It provides the shortest maritime route between Europe and the lands lying around the Indian and western Pacific oceans. As of today, it is one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes.
221
3.05.2021
Kaan Ertan & Mert Cengiz
Opinion
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When we distribute 7 billion people into 195 countries and put them all on a geoid-shaped planet, we are left with a world that never sleeps. While one hemisphere gets ready for bed, the other half is already done with breakfast. Naturally, this system of ours forms a never-ending event cycle that never spoils itself with a break. When scientists are done developing a vaccine in Europe, a businesswoman in South America initiates a new company, while in the Middle East, politicians ratify new treaties. As a matter of fact, we individuals cannot follow all these events one-by-one, so as a result, humankind established a sector named press.
223
3.05.2021
İdil Çakmut
WhatsNew
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On the 9th of April 2021, the world was shocked by the news of Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh's death. Even though he was quite old, he had been such a big part of the Royal Family for so long that people did not expect this day to come one day. Prince Philip had been the husband of Queen Elizabeth II for 74 years, and he had an unarguably significant impact on the Royal Family history and in the world. He was "the longest-serving consort of a reigning British monarch and the longest-lived male member of the British royal family," and he had four children with Queen Elizabeth. Prince Philip had been a controversial person throughout all these years: The Prince has been loved by so many, but also, he had been the center of criticism and allegations. He had a remarkable life that was lived in front of the whole world; however, still, he had a disguised personality that made many people have dubious thoughts about him.
210
3.05.2021
Gizem Akdoğan
Light
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Netflix has become almost an indispensable part of our lives for watching movies, documentaries, and series with various topics. The platform also offers original shows that are produced by different countries. Biohackers is one of these original shows from Germany. The series consists of 6 episodes for now, but the second season will be available on Netflix soon. The story of this series is based on biomedicine and some possible ethical problems that can occur during biomedical studies.
219
3.05.2021
Sena Balban
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Women have always existed in literature, although not in the foreground each time, writing for themselves or others, on napkins or in journals. The oppression and limitation on their existence, as well as the feeling of incompetence in a male-dominated society, resulted in women being outnumbered in certain areas, including literature. What helped their outburst in nineteenth-century America was mainly the Sentimentalist movement in literature, also known as “Domestic Fiction.”
217
3.05.2021
Elif Nazlıcan
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The human mind has been a focal point of research for many scientists throughout history. It always intrigued so many questions: How does it function? Does it have any limits? Do our dreams send messages about our future? Is déjavu a sign of past life?... Well, as humankind, we still cannot fully define and explain our conscious and subconscious minds and their concepts, but we managed to collect some useful data that might help us through our journey of interpreting the human mind.
310
3.05.2021
İdil Çakmut
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23rd of April is a special day known by every single people living in Turkey. It is a day to commemorate the establishment of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) in Ankara on the 23rd of April 1920, which also marked the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. However, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal - later to be given the surname Atatürk, which means "father of Turks," wanted this day to be dedicated to the children. As a result, from that point onwards, the 23rd of April has been celebrated as Children's Day.
197
5.04.2021
Ümit Altar Binici & Kaan Ertan
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For those of our readers who are not familiar with the term pluralist and absolute democracy; pluralist democracy is a political system where organized groups compete with each other to influence the policy instead of one single group dominating the politics(1) , whereas absolute democracy is a hypothetical form of government where the needs and wants of the majority are prioritized, and the minorities are neglected(2) . As the protests continue in Boğaziçi University as well as in other parts of Turkey, we witness the lack of plurality in Turkish democracy.
221
5.04.2021
Gülin Kirman
Opinion
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Unlike fairytales, 21st-century lives are unfortunately not that simple nor amusing. Besides our individual problems, there are so many external issues that occupy our minds all day long: Economy, politics, never-ending wars, violence, chaotic debates… As we are living in an age of the Internet and super technology, it is nearly impossible to stay away from the harsh realities completely; however, within the development of our modern world, have we totally lost our exit to a free space where we can clear our minds and calm ourselves?
208
5.04.2021
İdil Çakmut
Opinion
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Every year 8th of March is celebrated as International Women’s day. What this day represents is a call for action for women’s rights and gender equality besides a celebration of the social and political rights achievements of women. This day is a perfect opportunity for us to remember and think about all the issues that women still face globally.
189
8.03.2021
Didem Özçakır
Opinion
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Thomas Hobbes is one of the most renowned philosophers of all time. He is especially known for the concept of social contract theory which he developed in his book the Leviathan. In its simplest terms, Hobbes’ version of social contract theory states that individuals were in a state of war before the establishment of states. In this “natural state”, there were no rules governing who owned what, so fighting and killing each other was the only option left for people to survive and get what they want.
191
8.03.2021
Didem Özçakır
Opinion
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Cultures, traditions, moral values… Varying from society to society, being shaped by totally distinct concepts, however sharing an exact same core: Religion. Throughout history, religion has always been at the center of human life, no matter which part of the world you dwell in. States had established laws based on common notions, people judged each other whether their lifestyles fitted the holy sayings or not…
215
8.03.2021
İdil Çakmut
Opinion
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22nd of March is a special day: Global Water Day. On that day, the importance of water will be taught to kids by singing songs, drawing paintings at schools, while water resources are being poisoned. Special clothes for water will be bought, while cotton wastes water a lot. Considering these facts, today, a celebration of that day is not more than a birthday celebration
251
8.03.2021
Mert Cengiz
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The People’s Republic of China is more than enthusiastic about hosting the Winter Olympics of 2022 in its capital city Beijing. However, many others are not so enthusiastic about this event. The opposers claim that China is not a suitable host for this event, citing various human rights abuses -including concentration camps, forced sterilization, suppression of religious rights- an overall totalitarian and corrupt regime, and an aggressive foreign policy. The question is, what is being done?
268
12.02.2021
Oğuz Kaan Kömürcü
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“I wish I was born in one of the Nordic countries, everything would be much easier.”, “Is this even a ‘life’ when compared to the lives of the Nordic people?”, “They do not have any problems up in the North, they live in an amazingly comfortable environment.”. These are just some example sentences that most of us hear in our lives.
198
1.02.2021
İdil Çakmut
Opinion
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The term generation X comes from the novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland. Generation X refers to the generation born between the early-to-mid 1960s and early 1980s and is also called the ‘latchkey’ generation because gen X was left in the house by their working parents.
178
1.02.2021
Beyza Karakoç
Opinion
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Brexit, which is a portmanteau of “British” and “exit” is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) and European Atomic Energy Community on 31 December 2020 with the power from Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This withdrawal is the first case in the European Union’s history. Apart from the EU’s history, the United Kingdom is the first country that leaves an economic union willingly.
195
1.02.2021
Recep Eren Durgut
Opinion
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COVID-19 vaccines that have been waited worldwide are just ready. Five main vaccines’ tests are just finished or currently undergoing the last phase. Now, everyone asks the same two questions: “Will the vaccines protect us from this disease?”, and “Will our country get vaccines as soon as possible?”. It can be seen as complicated as too much information circulates on the news and the Internet. Nevertheless, the answers are quite simple. Let us see what the answers are.
192
1.02.2021
Mert Cengiz
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The first Humanity vs Capitalism article was published in May 2020, during the early stages of the lockdown. As the article suggested, the long duration of the lockdown and the still-not-fully-implemented vaccines damaged the world both socially and economically. More than 83 million people have been affected and more than 1.8 million people have died from COVID-19 since then.
202
4.01.2021
Hülya Afat
Opinion
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Economics may seem all about calculations and money, however, forecasting the global economic climate and using those calculations to foresee the possible crises form the majority of economics. The methods and models are used in this process, and to develop these methods and models, data from the past economic activities are used.
189
4.01.2021
Hülya Afat
Opinion
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The reason why economic contractions happen has been one of the most important and fundamental questions of macroeconomics. There have been several different approaches to explaining these phenomena.
202
4.01.2021
Didem Özçakır
Opinion
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Unlike anti-vaxxers, anti-mask protests have emerged only during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the public health regulations put into place globally. While neither of these trends shares a common cause, both of them became a thing thanks to misinformation and fallacies.
193
4.01.2021
Ümit Altar Binici
Opinion
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Voting to elect the leaders who will govern us for an established time is one of the greatest and longest steps we ever took as a species. This mindset took an incredibly long time to settle and it took an even longer time for us to realize this process was only ethical if we allowed anyone older than 18 to participate in it.
218
7.12.2020
Ege Gazitepe
Opinion
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Activism is defined as the practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or other kinds of goals. The said vigorous acts can take many forms such as protests, demonstrations, public speech; in shorter words, they can be any act that is done with the intention to make a change. Even though the intentions of the acts are usually positive, sometimes the imperfections of the act may cause trouble. While raising awareness for a cause, putting down other cause(s), or making it seem like that your cause is the only thing that matters is just one aspect of imperfect activism. This sentence brings us to the “WhatAboutism” issue within the many flawed acts.
191
7.12.2020
Hülya Afat
Opinion
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Even though Turkey managed to reduce its COVID-19 cases throughout the last summer, as of September 2020, the number of cases began rising again. While the number of cases is tied back to the early-May statistics, and as the published cases not being all patients, perhaps there are hundreds or thousands more COVID-19 patients around. Amid these events and the relentlessly escalating number of COVID-19 cases all over the country, the Turkish Minister of Education lighted the spots over the reopening of the schools.
228
2.11.2020
Ümit Altar Binici & Kaan Ertan
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Since the dawn of time humanity's ability to tame animals had been one of its core abilities. We domesticated animals to eat them, ride them, and to put them on to work. The domestication of our canine and feline friends was a different story though what started as just a mutually benefiting relationship turned wolves and wildcats into our fluffy friends over the years. Although this seems like a really positive outcome there are still some questions we need to ask ourselves.
190
2.11.2020
Ege Gazitepe
Opinion
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Can we separate someone’s profession from their personality and life views, especially when they work in education? If those opinions are about denying someone else’s basic human or educational rights, such as homophobia, racism, sexism, transphobia, ableism; and these opinions cause discrimination during education, those opinions cannot be categorized as a personal view. After all, people mark their contributions to the fields with their names as we see when we talk about Newton physics or Aristotelian logic.
236
2.11.2020
Begüm Güven
Opinion
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In the current state of our world, one can only consider one disease when talking about health problems: the novel coronavirus. In the span of half a year, COVID-19 has pushed away all the old discourse about health and healthcare to the side and recreated it from the scratch. Nowadays, experts seem to only talk about respiratory failures, social distancing norms, the virus spread curves and ICUs. Although with a disaster of this magnitude no one can truly be blamed for forgetting other threats still exist, this still does not absolve the world of its traditional duties and responsibilities.
389
5.10.2020
Beyza Ovalıoğlu & Boran Göher
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It goes without saying that the current state we are living in is an unusual time for all of us. Although we all hoped that this pandemic would be over by now, it is still going strong and infecting more people as we speak, even six months after its outbreak. If there is one thing we can be sure of in these uncertain times, it is that this summer was and still is different to any other we have experienced before.
198
7.09.2020
Şebnem Yaren
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Lebanon has always had a unique place in the Middle East, for being the most religiously diverse country in the region. It has 18 recognised religious groups. Roughly 60% of its population is Muslim, 33% is Christian and 5% is Druze. To sustain peace and provide representation in the country, Lebanon has a sectarian rule.
198
7.09.2020
Ümit Altar Binici & Kaan Ertan
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The times we are going through are anything but normal. Many people lost their loved ones, their health, their jobs, their freedom, and their overall well-being to the COVID-19. Everyone has a common wish to return to normalcy. In some successful -or as some may suggest lucky- countries, the normalization process is undergoing. Despite being welcomed by most people, the normalization process carries a huge risk of causing a second wave.
190
6.07.2020
Ümit Altar Binici & Kaan Ertan
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The Coronavirus crisis is probably the only crisis that has affected every single person on the planet in a long time. This means that all 7.3 Billion people are going through the same thing at the same time. However, we cannot possibly expect everyone to deal with it in the exact same way. How can we expect to have the same routine with everyone when we do not even share fingerprints with anyone else? People will try new things with this long-lost time they found and they will post about their progress if that makes them happy. But, this does not mean that you are obliged to do such tasks!
193
1.06.2020
Şebnem Yaren
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Political economy is the study of the interaction of politics and economics, which asks the question “How can optimal policies be achieved given the existing political constraints?”. Calculating what is best to do is in the field of economics, and implementing those calculations according to the political landscape in the most efficient way is the political economy’s work.
181
4.05.2020
Hülya Afat
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