Blogs

LIBERALLY BLONDE | Privilege and Inequality

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By KAYLEIGH RUBIN

“Since many of you are from upper-middle class families, why care about inequality?”

In last week’s developmental sociology section, this question was asked of my discussion group. While it was a genuine question designed to invite discussion, it nonetheless struck a chord. There are no economic or political prerequisites for acknowledging inequality. There are no required justifications for considering it a prevalent problem. While certain socioeconomic groups are undeniably more affected by the issue, anyone and everyone can examine statistics, hold conversations, read literature and feel passionate about the problem.

Blogs

GROSKAUFMANIS | Retrospective Clarity

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By JACQUELINE GROSKAUFMANIS

I have 12 notebooks and thousands of stories, but only one meticulous system of journal keeping. When I was younger, I’d fill up diaries and leave them to marinate in their obsolescence. I would live my life, come home, record it… and then never re-visit my experiences. Sure, it was probably therapeutic and good practice to start piecing together my words, but for a long time I was missing out on what I believe to be the most important part of personal writing: reflecting. Beginning in 2008, I designated one notebook for every month.

Blogs

THE MCEVOY MINUTE | How the Media Got Clinton’s Benghazi Testimony Wrong

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By EMILY MCEVOY

Last Thursday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before the House Select Committee on Benghazi – the eighth of its kind since the attacks on the Libyan diplomatic compound in 2012 that killed four Americans. Clinton had testified in front of the committee before, but due to new information and evidence – namely, the emails discovered on Clinton’s personal account that she used during her time as Secretary of State – she was called to the floor again, this time for an 11-hour hearing.  In the weeks leading up to the Committee hearing, Clinton experienced a significant drop in poll numbers (falling 20 percent over the course of four months), in part due to the negative media focus on her use of private email while in the State Department. After a strong debate performance on October 13th, however, Clinton’s poll numbers began to climb back up, arguably due to the media’s strong assertions that Clinton “won” the debate. Many media outlets are now using similar language in describing the committee hearing, claiming that despite the Republican party’s opposite intentions, Clinton won once again.

Blogs

MANGA MONDAYS | OP, Please Nerf

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By MICHAEL MAUER

Anyone who’s played a MOBA has heard it. Most of us have said it too. Heck, if you’ve ever yelled at a some 12 year old on Call of Duty for running around using nothing but a noob tube yet still somehow managing to win games, you know exactly the feeling I’m trying to convey in this post. Today we’re not talking about video games, though. Instead I want to discuss a certain ridiculously overpowered character in anime, why they make for incredibly boring stories and then throw out an example of when godlike characters actually work.

Blogs

STUDY BREAK | Seven Tips for Making a Great To-Do List

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By JOYCE LEE

If I could share one piece of advice when it comes to being productive, it would be to make a to-do list. Having a to-do list isn’t revolutionary by any means. But for me, it’s an absolute necessity. Like any typical college student, more often than not I feel consumed by the amount of work I have to get done, whether it be related to school, social events or laundry, which always takes much longer than I want it to. If I have a million and one tasks to do at any given time, to say it’s overwhelming to think about all at once is an understatement.

Blogs

CHANDLER | Digiscernment

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By SARAH CHANDLER

Every Instagram like is unique and special, like a snowflake. They each have a different meaning, generate a different emotional response, correspond to a different level of social validation or, paradoxically, social tension. It’s a dilemma we all face: How do we respond to an Instagram like on a selfie versus on a picture of our dinner? A like from our aunt versus a like from our crush? A like in the first four seconds after posting versus a like two weeks later?

Blogs

MEDIA STOMP | Image Comics and the Ideal of Creator Ownership

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By MARK KASVIN

Marvel and DC books operate on the idea of a “shared universe” in which one title’s storyline can be affected (disrupted, some may argue) by that of another. The disappearance of several key characters in an issue of Uncanny X-men could be explained by their appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy, for example. These things happen. While it’s an exciting prospect for readers who have been immersed in the shared universe for a while, I’ve found that it’s frustrating for those who might be picking it up for the first time, especially if they want to stick to a few titles. It’s that sort of stuff that might sour a first-time reader on comics as a whole.

Blogs

PUTTING IT INTO FOCUS | Technology, Meet Student

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By ASHLEY RADPARVAR

Memorization has been and is currently used as a learning mechanism for many students. While memorizing may be the rule for some topics, understanding is a major tool to gaining success. Students of all majors misinterpret memorization as the only way to doing well on exams, interpreting key topics in discussion and understanding coursework. Yet many do not realize, or ascertain too late, that understanding in addition to memorizing is what leads to a better knowledge of coursework and, therefore, better grades. As I sat in the library, I pondered the arguments against memorization.

Blogs

DENG | Napkins Can Wait

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By SOPHIA DENG

Two a.m. in my bedroom: I was reading a post that described cold, rich ice cream sandwiched between two warm cookies, melting and oozing out in a sweet, sugary mess. Then I was reminded of tacos and how the plumpest ones spill out all the finger-licking glory as we bite into the tortilla. Am I hungry? Maybe, just a little ravenous. Oh, the woes of gazing at food posts in the wee hours of the morning.

Blogs

COMMON SENSE | Paid Family Leave

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By GUNJAN HOOJA

It’s the U.S., Papua New Guinea and Oman, otherwise known as the cool kids club. These three are the only countries in the entire world with no paid maternity leave law. It should be an utter embarrassment for the US to be such a category. However, I am happy that this topic is finally getting the attention that it deserves and has become a national policy talking point in this recent upcoming election. What boggles my mind is that as a young woman I know that in the future if I ever decide to have kids, the considerations I will have to take into account will be far more than any man.