Last semester, I accidentally gained the reputation of being an Amman hater among my friends.

Lebanon is that one friend whose birthday we always forget. The country celebrates 82 years of statehood today and, like every year, few people will show up to the party.

It’s olive harvesting season in Jordan, a tradition rooted in a 5,000-year-old industry that still supports the region’s inhabitants. The trees, I’ve learned, are also a symbol of Palestinian culture and resilience, regularly uprooted and destroyed by Israeli soldiers and settlers. Across the region, these trees are under siege.

I’m sitting on a felucca that was still under construction seconds before we boarded, its floor tiles hastily put back into place for our party. I look around the Nile, at the lit-up skyline of Cairo, then at my friends dancing together and whispering along the bench that runs around the boat’s perimeter. The chaos that first intimidated me is what I now miss most about the city.

Mentoniya, Mentoniya. Last summer, I was struck with a vision for a newspaper that would synthesize campus discourse and bring all student events together in one collective monthly recount. Though I was committed to bringing it to life, I never foresaw the scope or size that it would reach in just one year.Mentoniya, on behalf of the Menton Times, I thank you for your readership and a successful first year together. The trials and tribulations of just one year at Sciences Po have filled the page...

Dear SciencesPistes: Welcome to the first ever (teaser) issue of the Menton Times! I am beyond excited to see where the Menton Times team of 2021-2022 will take this newspaper and where it will settle for future generations of Mentonaise students to come. The goal of the Menton Times — and its parent organization Menton Policy Review (MPR) — is to get information to students in a quick and reliable manner. With that goal in mind, the Menton Times is proud to publish news monthly and on a consiste...