Welcome to 2016! For people in my class this is a wonderful year of jubilation, thesis writing, capstones, and seminars. As we come to the end of this year it would seem as though commencement is really just about the only important thing besides figuring out what to do next. Oh, and moving, and paying back student loans, and confronting the realities that the “real … Continue reading Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Early in the fall semester, I published an article here in The Gustavian Weekly regarding the injustice of civil asset forfeiture, a process by which United States police officers and federal agents can seize the property of citizens without charging the citizens with a crime. Now, I am obligated to call attention to the atrocity of migrant asset seizure occurring in Europe. The so-called “migrant … Continue reading Immigration Law Seizes Humanity
If you don’t know who Gloria Steinem and Madeline Albright are by now, you should. Both women are still active in progressing the rights of women in the United States and are seen as important global feminist leaders. Both women have come out in support of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the New Hampshire primaries. However, their endorsements came with the assertion that young women … Continue reading Feminism’s Generation Gap
In the age of outrage, where offense is currency and political differences have polarized, college campuses must combat the urge to insulate students in an ideological echo chamber. It would be silly to pretend that the Gustavus community is representative, let alone remotely resemblant, of American society. The truth is that we are a remarkably liberal campus, steeped in social and political activism for many … Continue reading Dissent in the Age of Outrage
Cuz nothing brings us all together better than angry @Beyonce shaking her a** & shouting “Negro” repeatedly.” The sarcastic tweet from conservative commentator Michelle Malkin just begins to summarize the harsh backlash surrounding a good old-fashioned American controversy following the Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show. Rush Limbaugh had similarly degrading words for Beyoncé, describing her as “representative of the cultural decay and the political decay … Continue reading Beyonce’s Critics Fall Flat
Like many college students, when I hear the words “free college tuition,” I become ecstatic and automatically think it is a good idea. With Gustavus costing approximately $50,000 a year, having free college tuition would cause a large change in student loans and work-study. But is the concept of “free college” really so great? If college were to be free, then it would only be … Continue reading Free Tuition: Too Good To Be True
I went back home to Texas during winter break, and I found that a lot of things have changed. Many people rang in the New Year with alcohol and food. The people of Texas however, rang in their New Year with a new law, “License To Carry.” This law includes the open carry law. To simplify this in layman’s terms, thanks to House Bill 910, … Continue reading License to Scare
For those who know me, I’m a very emotional person. A good book, listening to a story, watching a film, or hearing other people tell me their hopes and dreams, all these things and more can hit me with cascades full of diverse emotions, bringing tears to my eyes or laughter to my lips. Being emotional also means that I’m very sensitive, but that isn’t … Continue reading Bridging the Empathy Gap
As you read this, the world is suffering from the effects of global climate change. The oceans are becoming more acidic, plankton are dying at an unnatural rate, and entire species have gone or are going extinct within our lifetime. Brazil and Ethiopia are facing some of their worst droughts on record, with no end in sight. California is also facing water shortages following a … Continue reading Desperate Push for Relocation
Being fifty years old and still paying student loans seems to be the path our generation is predetermined to follow. Over the past four decades college tuition in the United States has skyrocketed like never before. As CNBC reports; the average cost of tuition and fees at a private, non-profit, four-year university in the 1970’s was $1,832 (in current dollars). Now we’re looking at a … Continue reading Paying for a Chance at a Better Life
