Throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, from 2020 to now, the mishandling of public health policy and messaging has led to a complete breakdown of public health in the United States. From small inefficiencies to large-scale negligence, the government and its public health institutions have failed the American people, which has led to a complete distortion of how we define illness as a society.
Read MoreAs the United States suffers an attack on the public education system by Republican policymakers, which has been a contributing factor to the widespread educator shortage, it is imperative that legislators who run on campaigns of diversity, equity, and inclusion take initiative to ensure that students enrolled in K-12 schooling receive an education that effectively utilizes culturally responsive pedagogies that focus on teaching students how to understand topics that have been heavily politicized — like race, gender, and socioeconomic status.
Read MoreAs a poster child of the declining liberal city, San Francisco has gained quite a reputation for itself. Most notably, regarding its growing homelessness encampments; the city has been in the spotlight with talk of rampant crime rates, abandoned buildings, and the infamous "poop map." Yet down the blocks of San Francisco’s tent-lined streets stand luxury apartments. The characterization of this issue is full of contradictions — as these newly developed units await incoming residents, the number of those on the street continues to grow.
Read MorePicture this: you’re at Disneyland. As you walk into the park, you are struck by a variety of sensations. The smell of cinnamon and pineapple — foreshadowing churros and DoleWhip — wafts through the air. The sounds of laughter and excitement surround you; everyone is eager to find the rides they've been looking forward to. In the distance, you can see costumed characters roaming Main Street, and you feel hopeful, secure in the knowledge that you’re about to have a great day.
Read MoreThe 2024 presidential election is set, and it looks mighty familiar. In a seemingly reoccurring nightmare, instead of Vice President Joe Biden facing off against incumbent President Donald Trump, we have President Joe Biden against four-time indictee and convicted criminal Donald Trump (who is probably in court as you are reading this). However, one major change between 2020 and 2024 is the issue of abortion.
While then-candidate Biden ran on abortion in 2020, it didn’t strike the same chord with voters as it does now. Instead of saying that conservatives may overturn Roe v. Wade, Democrats in 2024 can now tell voters that it has happened, and the worst may be yet to come. It was the Republicans who were able to run on this issue for decades to rile up their base, and now as a result of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the issue has been teed up for Democrats to take advantage of. All they need to do is swing.
Read MoreIn 21st-century America, we are witnessing an educational commitment to vilify and dehumanize marginalized communities through the censorship of children’s books. Since 2019, there have been more than 1,500 book bans in at least 26 states across the country, contributing to the erasure of many marginalized groups’ histories. In the 2022-2023 school year alone, there was a 33 percent increase in public school book bans. Bans on books that were once standard to read in the classroom, like Maus and Animal Farm, have made teachers and educators leave their field during an already massive educator shortage, further exacerbating the crisis.
Read MoreAwards season is a highly anticipated time for fans of Hollywood. The difficult task of hosting an award show is burdened with the pressure to perform, most notably in front of peers of the arts rather than the average American. The pressure to produce a watchable show filled with jokes and intriguing monologues can lead the host to make cheap shots at the crowd or topics known to gather controversy in an effort to alleviate stress.
Read MoreDonald Trump’s legal team is having quite a time. The former President is facing 91 felony charges in cases across the country, appealing a verdict which ordered him to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defaming her, and may have his properties seized if he cannot pay his $454 million debt from a New York fraud case. Ask any legal expert or lay person, and they will tell you that Trump’s chances of winning some of these cases are low. But there is one legal battle, also before the Supreme Court, that is likely to be decided in Donald Trump’s favor, Vidal v. Elster.
Read MoreDid you know that according to the Pew Research Center in 2022, there are only about twenty-four moderate Democrats or Republicans serving in Congress? Fifty years ago, that number was over six times higher. Despite this decrease in the number of moderate officials, a Gallup poll found that the percentage of moderate voters is relatively high at thirty-seven percent. These polls indicate a significant disparity between the number of moderate government officials currently serving in Congress and the proportion of voters they represent.
Read MoreWhen’s the last time you read a book?
If your answer is “Not recently,” then you aren’t alone.
There’s a variety of data suggesting that national literacy is on the decline. As of late 2023, ACT test scores, which factor in reading comprehension skills, fell to their lowest in thirty years. In fact, based on the ACT’s reading score system, aimed at anticipating first-year college success, the average student is not on track to succeed in their higher academic pursuits.
Read MorePro-Palestinian students, protesters, and organizations have faced an enormous wave of censorship since October 7th. Pro-Palestinian groups have been barred from college campuses, pro-Palestinian students have been blacklisted and had job offers rescinded, and university presidents have lost their jobs for defending pro-Palestinian students’ First Amendment rights. In a radical shift away from their purported belief in freedom of speech — and their fight to expose all Americans, particularly college students, to views that may be deemed controversial, offensive, or outright harmful — many on the American political Right have embarked on an aggressive campaign to silence pro-Palestinian speech.
Read MoreThe long legal debate over affirmative action has finally come to a close. In June 2023, the Supreme Court banned the use of race-conscious admissions programs within universities. While the debate over the legality of affirmative action has come to an end, a Pandora’s box of political uncertainties has been opened for the college-hopeful class of 2028. Without much guidance from the Supreme Court’s decision, the closing of the legal battle now marks the beginning of a political battle over how to implement and navigate a new college admissions policy.
Read MoreWhen watching the news, many Americans look on their screen at the elected official representing them and see the same type of politician: someone who is of a much older generation. Even as the country has become increasingly diverse and seen significant changes in ideology and values, Baby Boomer leaders have stood the test of time. Our country has failed to usher new generations into office to lead the way into this new era, especially in the higher positions where long-time incumbents have dominated the polls.
Read MoreAs I worked as a camp counselor this summer, I was ready for all of the surprises– from pulling ticks out from between my kid's toes to telling them to stop starting fires, my days were filled with spontaneity and almost nothing phased me. What truly caught me off-guard, however, were the girls in my camp, as they were the funniest group of kids I’ve ever met.
Read MoreVirtually every child in America goes to school. Approximately 9% of these children attend a private school. These are schools that are not bound by state regulations and are privately funded, usually by charging tuition. They are generally considered better than their public counterparts: a Gallup poll found that in 2017, 71% of its respondents felt that independent private schools and 63% felt that parochial schools (basically religious private schools) do an excellent or good job educating children, compared with 44% for public schools.
Read MoreBeginning on April 13, 2022, exploited migrants have been sent on buses to sanctuary cities throughout the country. Migrant busing refers to when political officials transport migrants seeking refuge in the United States by bus to different parts of the country. The busing program that Texas Governor Greg Abbott created has inspired many Republican governors to do the same to their migrant populations, effectively creating a displacement crisis across the United States.
Read MoreIn late summer of 1977, the United States launched the Voyager 1 and 2 probes, each of which carried a copy of a 12-inch gold-plated record that contained a time capsule from the planet Earth—sounds, images, and a message from then-President Jimmy Carter. In 2012, Voyager 1 became the first manmade object to reach interstellar space. The record it carries is the first message that humanity sent off into the universe in search of extraterrestrial life. Scientists estimate that the Golden Records may survive for over five billion years—likely far longer than the human species itself. That means that when humanity is long extinct, all that remains of our legacy may be the words of an oft-overlooked one-term president.
Read More“If Big Tech censors enforce rules inconsistently, to discriminate in favor of the dominant Silicon Valley ideology, they will now be held accountable.”
DeSantis is just one among several conservative voices who assert that Big Tech is controlling the media to unfairly suppress conservative viewpoints, pushing the national narrative towards a hidden, progressive agenda. This wave of fear has prompted two prominent conservative states to draft laws aimed at regulating Big Tech’s power to moderate content. However, these laws have sparked a wave of legal challenges from angry tech companies, prompting important questions about our country’s freedoms of speech, press, and expression.
Read MoreOn Jan. 23 2023, Jaahnavi Kandula, a graduate student at Northeastern University in Seattle, was struck and killed by a police officer going 74 mph in a 25 mph zone. Jaahnavi’s family mourned for months, aggrieved by the loss of her happy presence and the fact that she was so close to achieving her dreams, only months away from graduation. Then, shocking new footage emerged. In the video, taken the day after the accident, Officer Daniel Auderer, the vice president of the police union, is seen driving around while chatting on the phone with Mike Solan, the union’s president. They’re talking about the case, and Auderer is nauseatingly flippant about the situation.
Read MoreAmerican law has long recognized the role of negligence in criminal proceedings. Determining guilt in the case of malicious action is straightforward enough—if a person acted with intent to do harm, they ought to be held responsible. But the justice system accepts that cases of inaction can be just as fatal. A person does not need to hold the knife to be held liable; the simple failure to act when there is known risk that apathy will lead to harm—take, for example, failure to feed a child—is enough to establish guilt. In the eyes of the law, death that can be easily prevented—yet is not—is just as immoral.
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