Guest Writer: Alexis Martinez Out of the 7.4 billion people on the third planet from the sun, you are only one. What makes your life more valuable than any other?  Humans are slowly killing the Earth.  The United States uses around 500 million straws daily, which equals 14 billion every month, or 168 billion every year. That’s around 4.4 billion pounds of straws that could end up in the oceans, and that’s just from the United States.  Non-biodegradable plastics that are casually … [Read more...]

The Department of Justice reports that an American is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds and that an overwhelming majority of sexual assault victims are under the age of 30. Additionally, one out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. A report out of the National Victim Center and Medical University of South Carolina states that one out of three women who are raped contemplate suicide, and 13 percent of women who are raped attempt … [Read more...]

Guest Writer: Elijah Neal “Welcome back / Your dreams were your ticket out / Welcome back / to that same old place that you laughed about,” John Sebastian writes in his number one 1987 Blues Rock Hit, “Welcome Back.”  It is a great road trip song for the eight-hour journey back to Georgia. It creates a nostalgic longing for my family, my friends and the well-kept roads of The South. I just want to be welcomed back to the place I know best.  When I was a freshman, I wanted to go home a … [Read more...]

This fall, Nike released an ad campaign featuring prominent African American athletes. One ad in particular celebrates Colin Kaepernick, former San Francisco 49er quarterback, for his controversial National Anthem protests two years ago. "Believe in something," reads the black and white poster, "even if it means sacrificing everything." Kaepernick came under heavy fire in 2016 for kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem before several games with the goal of raising awareness for … [Read more...]

Guest Writer: Jordan Baker Are you a Pacers fan? If you’re an AU student, your answer should unequivocally be yes.  Now, I’m not saying that you have to only be a Pacers fan, but you should carve out a small place in your heart for them at the very least. Whether you are from Indiana originally or not, you are living in Indiana while attending AU.  Why does this matter? Indiana is known around the world for its love of basketball. Fourteen of the 15 largest high school basketball … [Read more...]

This fall, Nike released an ad campaign featuring prominent African American athletes. One ad in particular celebrates Colin Kaepernick, former San Francisco 49er quarterback, for his controversial National Anthem protests two years ago. "Believe in something," reads the black and white poster, "even if it means sacrificing everything." Kaepernick came under heavy fire in 2016 for kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem before several games with the goal of raising awareness for … [Read more...]

Guest Writer: Olivia Winslow The average person spends five years of their life on social media. That adds up to the average person spending over 100 minutes a day on social media.  In those 100 minutes a day, you are bound to post at least one thing on one of your profiles. A lot of times, people think “no one important is going to see this” or “no one is going to care that I post this.”  But the reality is the things you post now will follow you around forever.  A study shows that 51 … [Read more...]

Here we are. This is it. I have made it (both finally and, seemingly, in the blink of an eye) to the end of my college career. Many things have changed in my life throughout the course of college, although I regret to inform you all that I have failed to achieve my one goal (that is, to obtain my MRS degree). Regardless of these shortcomings, I am entering my final semester with the Andersonian empowered and thankful for the time I have spent in this office, where I have learned many ways not to … [Read more...]

This week Stars and Stripes across the States are set at half-staff in honor of the late U.S. Senator John McCain. McCain passed away on Saturday evening at the age of 81 after a year-long battle against brain cancer following his decision to discontinue treatment. McCain served as a senator for the state of Arizona for more than 30 years. As a member of the U.S. Senate, McCain was heralded as a bipartisan who was eager to work across party lines in service of the American people.  The … [Read more...]

Guest Writer: Josh Senft Why is it that we as human beings fail to offer each other the courtesy of being honest? Of being frank. Of telling hard truths.  Many of us walk on eggshells, cowardly, as though every critical word we utter will render deep, negative consequences or “trigger” someone.  Now don’t misunderstand me — mental health is a serious concern. I’m not saying we need to be callous. But our subjective definitions of callousness, of “hate" and being “offensive” are limiting … [Read more...]