Culture

AGORA | Trigger Warnings

By |

This article represents the first in a hopefully long series of articles which aims to address controversial topics in an open and civil manner here in Sunspots. The name was chosen carefully: the agora, the marketplace of ancient Athens, was at once a place where material goods were exchanged and where ideas and conflicting viewpoints could be expressed in the open air for all to hear and criticize. This is therefore the goal of Agora, a bi-weekly column for which writers in Sunspots meet in person and compose a conversational piece in which they summarize their own take on difficult topics, and contribute to conversations that need to be had. This week, two Sunspots writers turn their attention to the issue of trigger warnings. By now, it has become a staple of online writing, a boldfaced prefix to harrowing subject matter: the cw, content warning, or its functional Doppelgänger, tw, trigger warning.

Politics

KRAVITZ’S KORNER | The GOP’s Perilous Gamble on Trump

By |

If there was ever a time for the Republican Party to regret nominating Donald Trump, it would be now. The Washington Post’s release of video tapes that include Trump’s abhorrent remarks about women in 2005 underscore not only his immoral character, but also his weakness as a candidate. And following the second presidential debate, there is little sign that Trump is going to change the tone of his campaign. According to Election Betting Odds, a website that uses political betting markets to compute odds, Trump’s current chance at winning the election hovers at an abysmal 16 percent, down from 26 percent from before the video tapes were released, and down from 36 percent from before the first presidential debate. It’s safe to say that Trump would get crushed if the election were held tomorrow.

Politics

NOBODY’S OPINIONS | Trump Killed the First Debate

By |

I have to hand it to Donald J. Trump, he truly is a genius in ways I never thought anyone could ever be. The man was amazing in the first debate! He handed Hillary such a thorough defeat (almost on a platter) that I was for a time left totally speechless by the content of his answers. Where to start? I suppose at the beginning, though Trump’s opener was kind of lacklustre; at the start of the debate Trump abandoned his usual assertive, confident demeanor in favor of a more restrained, presidential look.

Politics

POLITICS & STUFF | Three Years Later: My Reflection and Frustrations with Public Forum Debate

By |

My high school years were defined by my participation in public forum debate. PF is a two-on-two debate format that encourages discussion on current controversies such as gun control, education reform and constitutionality. While I am extremely grateful for the critical forums of discourse provided through the activity, PF debate, from my experience, was a shitshow of sexism, classism, ableism and overall privilege that hid behind the feel-good notions of intellectual discourse and academic exploration. It was also an incubator for frustration against the exclusivity and elitism that runs rampant in this activity. Not only did the coaching fees, travel and hotel fees, and even attire actively exclude students not financially well-off, a multitude of damning biases and prejudices run under the radar.