Shailen Sharma

The Government Didn’t Come. The Contractors Did.

9Apr By Shailen SharmaNo Comments

Featured, Opinion

The Government Didn’t Come. The Contractors Did.

Yale should adapt its international security education to reflect the realities on the ground in 21st century warfare. 46 Hillhouse Avenue, where Yale’s International Security Studies program is housed. (Credit: Buckley Institute) Shailen SharmaContributor, The Buckley Beacon In April 2023, Sudan collapsed into open gunfighting in the streets as the state authority evaporated. The U.S. State Department embassy in Khartoum announced that, “Americans should have no expectation of a US government-coordinated evacuation at this time.” Around 16,000 American nationals were left stranded in the gray zone: a lawless space where territory is controlled by armed gunmen, and the U.S. government is incapable or unwilling to intervene. Over two years later in October 2025,...

Our Guardian Angel Needs Us

I served beneath her colors, my grandfather was buried beneath her honor, and now she lay beneath the feet of a crowd who despised her, rejoicing in her demise. Shailen SharmaManaging Editor, The BeaconShe could not soar anymore, her wings torn. Her country would not hold her up as she fell to the ground. The very people who lived under her gaze cheered at her demise. While this scene may have mirrored the tearing down of our nation’s flag at last semester’s Occupy Beinecke protest, it was in fact not that protest. This was Mao’s revolution incarnate—student protestors who worked tirelessly to tear down every flag of the country that birthed them. While these attacks on China’s flag, monuments, and traditions may have seemed inconse...

“I do not feel safe living off campus, period.”: Addressing Safety Concerns Beyond Campus Borders

Reflecting on her experience of everyday living downtown, a Yale student residing off campus, who wished to remain anonymous, shared, “I do not feel safe living off campus, period. I live in front of the Green and every day when I head to campus, I feel I have to be on high alert.” Shailen SharmaManaging Editor, The BeaconIn the heart of downtown, where the city lights paint a vivid mosaic upon the towering buildings, a youthful vigor fills the city with life every Thursday night, carrying through the weekend’s final hours. Amidst the pulsating rhythmic beats resonating from the bustling bars and the echoes of late-night laughter lies a dark undercurrent that courses through the city, shaped by incidents of theft, violence, and a fe...