Wandering through the lunch lines each day, I hear snippets of hundreds of conversations. Small talk, shared worries, and gossip flowing through the space: “How’d your math test go? Are you finished with the English paper? Did you hear what she said?”
Immersed in the ever busy life here, it’s easy to get caught up in what’s right in front of you. After all, there are tests to study for, friends to catch up with, and dozens of emails to check.
In such a busy environment, it’s alarmingly easy to forget
the world outside. However, while we excitedly talk about the big Hotchkiss event, international tensions continue to rise. ICE deportations across the United States continue to threaten our communities, our purchases support unethical labor practices across the world, and conflicts in Iran and other areas in the Middle East escalate.
This is the danger of the Hotchkiss bubble, where students’ thoughts and realities become confined to the narrow scope of the school. This state of disconnect arises for various reasons.
The conflict in the Middle East impacts every person in our school.
Academic pressure, busy schedules, and simply living in the same environment with the same people each day transform our identities as students into our whole world. In addition, the school’s beautiful yet isolated location is over an hour away from big cities, narrowing our attention to 827 acres. This mindset has become part of the underlying student culture.
Our perceived distance from the rest of the world does not truly represent reality. Although our community’s physical location may make us feel removed from the outside world, the formation of this bubble conceals the truth: these seemingly faraway events relate to every member in our Hotchkiss community.
My own bubble began to pop when a friend told me that the wars in the Middle East meant she would be unable to return home during spring break. Previously, I had seen news articles, grim statistics, and headlines like how the war in Iran would have “rippling global repercussions.” However, I still lacked a feeling of personal connection to the region.
My friend’s situation made me realize how closely connected we all are to current affairs. In addition, recent all-school lectures and Chapel talks from students, faculty, and guest speakers regarding current events and the importance of culture have emphasized to me the proximity these affairs to the lives of our diverse student body.
I’m sure every student has seen a headline or at least heard of the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran, as well as other tense political engagements arising in the world. The conflict impacts not only Middle Eastern, but every person in the school.
Threats of attack on the U.S. leave many concerned about their families back home, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz—which has led to a large energy disruption—is set to cause global economic crises.
In such a busy environment, it’s alarmingly easy to forget the world outside.
Even if you’ve never been to the Middle East or don’t know a lot about its politics, it is increasingly important to make efforts to break out of the Hotchkiss bubble, no
matter where you’re from or what political beliefs you may have. As young people with the power to educate ourselves and make significant impacts on the world, it has never been more important to care about and learn about current events.
So, how do we break out of our bubbles? Effective methods may differ from person to person, but overall, we must pay closer attention to events happening around the world and proactively engaging with them.
At Hotchkiss, there are plenty of opportunities to do so wherever you look. Listening to students talk about how geopolitical conflicts relate to their own lives at Chapel, hear fresh perspectives on global issues from all school speakers, attending an Open Discourse forum, or discussing current affairs in club meetings. Simply talking about and researching what’s going on in the world can go a long way.
It may be hard to research every piece of ever-updating news in between managing schedules, homework, and friendships, but even just scrolling through news headlines or flipping through a paper in the dining hall can help us to pop our bubble.
