I never thought I would feel unsafe or threatened in Israel. If anything, my first few days in the country suggested a settling sense of normalcy. But when we arrived in Sderot I could feel a change.

It is impossible to generalize the complex and ever-changing Israeli perspective on the conflict in the Middle East. The Western media does a poor job at capturing the eclectic points of view, and on my second day in the country, I am beginning to learn one thing: With growing knowledge of the happenings in Israel comes more confusion surrounding the root of the conflict.

Do you speak Hebrew? Where did you learn to speak Hebrew? What is your rabbi’s name? What congregation do you belong to? What Jewish holidays did you celebrate this year? What did you do on Yom Kippur?

With The Sun on hiatus for Winter Break, there is time for us Sunnies to see the world that exists beyond the confines of 139 W. State St. Thanks to Project Interchange, I will be spending the next week in Israel with a delegation of student journalists from across the country.

Welcome to the jungle. It’s the first night of compet down here at The Sun and things are heating up. The beer bottles from last semester’s end of publication party have been replaced with caffeinated beverages, and us editors are bracing ourselves for the daily grind that is life at the nation’s oldest continuously independent college daily.

Last night marked the beginning of The Sun’s annual editor compet, a transitional period training those vying for coveted spots on the 127th editorial board. Some may say the process resembles hazing, as editors in training fill the shoes of their predecessors for six weeks of head-to-head competition. But from an editor’s standpoint, there is no better way to prepare editorial candidates for the trials and tribulations that lie ahead.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of New York City’s Times Square stands a 52-story building that houses what many would consider to be the nation’s bastion of journalistic excellence: The New York Times. Though the new home to The New York Times has since made headlines for its Modernist structure that beckoned a few dare devils to scale its façade of ceramic rods, the building’s architecture pales in comparison to what brews inside its glass walls.

Last week, several Cornell students traveled to China as representatives of the Ivy League Student Delegation. The trip was just one example of how students in America and the rest of the world are beginning to reap the benefits of international initiatives in higher education. Here are some of the latest headlines that highlight this trend.