As students, we are coached to work diligently to “achieve” something, whether that be a prestigious internship, fellowship or job opportunity. We know we’re supposed to be racing toward that goal, but it’s easy to get lost along the way. What if we return from summer break, struck with the fear that our majors might not be the best fit for us? What if someone warns us that this career we’ve been daydreaming about isn’t the most financially secure option? What if, while walking across the … [Read more...]
Education systems need our help
Guest Writer: Katie Krisker In the recent weeks, America has been shocked and appalled by the Washington, D.C. school scandal. For years, D.C. has been known as the “miracle” district after reforms made by Michelle Ree, Kaya Henderson and Antwan Wilson transformed a low performing, poverty-level neighbood school into one of the fastest improving schools in the United States. In October of 2015, the D.C. public school district made a statement headlining: “D.C. public schools continues … [Read more...]
I pledge allegiance to my guns
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." - The Second Amendment America's children are not being taught how to spell, determine the slope of an angle or to cite the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. Instead, America's children are learning to use textbooks as projectiles. They are learning how to fight. They are learning that fire alarms are just as useful for gunfire as … [Read more...]
Navalny, Putin and the war on Democracy
With 468 congressional seats up for grabs in the midterm elections taking place this fall, 2018 is going to be an important year in American politics. However, America isn’t the only country that will be holding important elections this year. The Russian presidential election will be taking place this March, and the outcome will be unsettlingly predictable. As of 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin has an impressive 81 percent approval rating, faces little opposition and is expected to … [Read more...]
America has a crisis: Gun violence
It was 2:30 p.m. on Valentine’s Day. A fire alarm rang through the halls of Majory Stoneman Douglas High School, followed by gunfire. That gunfire left 17 kids dead and the shooter with 17 murder charges. Here are 17 figures from Vox Media indicating that America has a gun crisis: 1: Between the years 2000 and 2014, the U.S. had 133 public mass shootings; that was more than Germany’s six and Canada’s three. 2: The U.S. has a bigger population than Germany or Canada. For every 1,000 … [Read more...]
Chapel speakers deserve more
It’s 11 a.m. You, like most AU students, have probably endured a whirlwind of a morning that began with a thrice-snoozed alarm, lectures, possibly a presentation or two and have ended here—in the audience of Reardon Auditorium. Of course, your first impulse after sinking into your cushy seat is to check your phone. Who knows what you could have missed on Twitter this morning while you were confined to the classroom? It’s only natural to scroll through social media, reply to a text or … [Read more...]
Oscar-nominated movie reviews
As the Academy Awards approach, I have committed, alongside my friend Sam, to watching every film, documentary and short nominated for an Academy Award. Here are the highlights from the nominated films and shorts I have watched so far. This is an open invitation for you to watch them and disagree with me. Don’t Skip Out On (Full Length Films): “Lady Bird”: As Saoirse Ronan, the actress who plays Lady Bird, said in an interview, “I didn’t realize…how starved we are for female … [Read more...]
Society needs to talk about equality
I first remember recognizing race in kindergarten. Obviously, I was not thinking about inequality derived from a superficial characteristic society deems valuable, yet struggles to define; however, I did befriend a black boy named Malachi. Juxtaposed with my own, Malachi’s life was strikingly different. We clearly differed in race, and the only commonalities we shared were our gender and a love for turtles. Yet, we were best friends. The concept of race, this time maladaptive, … [Read more...]
A case for reading more books in 2018
In 2016, a Pew Research Center survey found that 26 percent of American adults had not read a single book in the previous year. The survey results were broken down further by the research center, stating that men were less likely to have read a book than women and that people in lower income households were less likely to read than those with higher incomes. Younger adults were more likely to have read than older adults, with 23 percent of respondents in the 18-49 age range not having read … [Read more...]
Advice from a recovering perfectionist
Guest Writer: Erin Holloran They say the best step to recovery is to first actually admit you have a problem. My problem is that I’m a perfectionist. In fact, I’m a neurotic perfectionist. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted only one thing: perfection. I wanted to be known as a perfect student, the perfect artist, the perfect friend, the perfect Christian. I wanted to be absolutely perfect in anything I decided to pursue. But, I’ve always wanted everything perfect in my way and … [Read more...]