Once a week I get a notification on my phone telling me the average amount of screen time I’ve used over the past 7 days. What was once an alert I didn’t put too much thought into, now serves as a reminder of how I spend the majority of my time each day on my phone.
Read MoreOn April 19, all adults in the United States became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. This is a cause for celebration for many — myself included — after the difficult months the state faced over the winter season. In December, California received its first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine, and began vaccinating essential healthcare workers. At that same time, Los Angeles became the latest epicenter in the country, where it was averaging over 15,000 cases a day during the holidays.
Read MoreAs I write this Letter from the Editor, news has just broken of the verdict for the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who murdered George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Chauvin has been found guilty on all three counts — second-degree and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter.
Read MoreOn January 17, 2017, the first “Women’s March” protest took place in cities all across the world. The protest happened the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, and was organized largely because of Trump’s many “anti-women” remarks.
Read MoreLetter from the Editor: Issue 2 (Spring 2021)
Read MoreThere is a phrase that has stayed with me since my freshman year of college, “just take it bird by bird.” In a passage by Anne Lamott, she tells the story of how her brother has found himself in a homework crisis, having waited until the last day to finish a report on birds that he had three months to write. Rather than stress his son out further, their father goes up to his child and offers the simple advice, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.” It has been a reminder in times of feeling overwhelmed and stressed with everything on my plate, to breathe, and focus on one task at a time.
Read MoreOne of the most important facets of a successful news organization is staff diversity with respect to race, age, gender, social status, and creed. This creates a conglomeration of different perspectives that can completely encompass the range of angles on an event. What results is often a snapshot of forty or fifty individuals in completely different stages of life. Stories in different chapters, all overlapping to inform.
Read MoreIn the coming weeks, hundreds of thousands of students will apply to transfer –– myself included. The stress of college applications is a heavy weight on one’s mind, but now it is compounded by an additional unforeseen circumstance: COVID-19.
Read MoreJoe Biden’s Vice Presidency was largely ceremonious ––he cast zero votes in the Senate while occupying the White House. He acted as the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, among other small legislative groups. Overall, he acted more as President Obama’s confidant than a political force. The same cannot be said of Pence.
Read MoreThis morning as I woke up, I underwent my normal routine: sit up, listen to NPR, scroll through Twitter, and check the news on FlipBoard. As I was mindlessly working my way through social media, I read a brief story that peaked my interest.
Read MoreOn May 7, 1955, a middle-aged Black preacher was shot and killed in his car in Mississippi.
George W. Lee was an African-American born into extreme poverty in Edwards, Mississippi. The child of an abusive father and a plantation worker mother, Lee was likely destined for the same future as many young Black men in his region as a poor agricultural worker.
Read MoreAs an elementary school student, I frequently sat at the kitchen table and glared at my homework. For hours, I would look at it, hoping it would complete itself. As the afternoon turned into evening, and evening turned into bedtime, my homework would still reflect back at me, uncompleted. I would whine and complain, begging my mother to let me go and play videogames, but her answer was always the same: “you have made your bed, and now you have to lie in it.”
Read MoreOn Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008, I distinctly remember my mother waking me up, hurrying me over to the television, pointing to the news, and saying, “this is your new president. Although you don’t understand it now, he just made history.”
Read MoreOn March 13, 2020, two months before the infamous murder of George Floyd, Louisville Police Officers served a no-knock warrant on a home in relation to drug trafficking charges. Ms. Taylor and her boyfriend awoke to loud banging at the front door. The 26-year-old medical worker would eventually be shot five times and bleed out shortly thereafter despite being unarmed.
Read MoreI feel safe walking around my own neighborhood late at night. I have never been followed around a clothing store by a security guard. I have never witnessed someone of my own race victimized on video. My family has never been targeted by the police for crimes we did not commit.
I’ve always been aware that I have privilege as a white woman in America, but looking into the eyes of people I deeply care about and hearing their cries as they speak to their experiences of what I listed above -- I wasn’t just aware of my privilege. I felt my privilege crawling along my every limb.
Read MoreDo you know how the Ringling Brothers Circus used to train elephants?
I didn’t, until about a week ago. For the first six months of their lives, baby elephants would be restrained with steel chains and forced to stand on concrete floors for up to 23 hours a day. After months of attempting to escape these tethers to no avail, the elephants would give up and assume they would forever be restrained. As they reached adulthood, much weaker tethers were put in place; however, the elephants did not attempt to break free from them because of the traumatic failures they ensued when trying to escape previously.
Does this resonate with anybody else right now?
Read MoreI cannot remember the last time I struggled so deeply to push a button. I cannot remember the last time a green icon instigated such intense feelings of guilt and indecision.
Read MoreWe are currently living in a world under siege. We have been thrust into a war against an enemy that hides in plain sight.
Read MoreAll hail technology.
With a widespread illness invading countries worldwide, businesses closing their doors left and right, and panic-inducing coughs and sneezes occurring on the daily, now is the time when many of us need the support of our loved ones. However, social distancing and lockdown protocols ordained by our local governments are making face-to-face interaction as difficult as it is to get your hands on a roll of toilet paper.
Read MoreMarch marks the United State’s 33rd Annual Women’s History Month. This past Sunday was International Women’s Day (IWD), and people all across the globe used the day to publicly declare their advocacy and dedication to the advancement of women’s rights.
In Mexico, protestors marched against elevating rates of femicide, while Islamic women in Pakistan chanted “my body, my choice” through the streets. The Philippines, Turkey, Mexico, the United States, and many other countries showed public consideration for the day.
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