Politics

WHITE KNUCKLES | Personal&Political

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It takes a long time to feel at home in another country. It takes mispronunciations, catching up on a lot of pop culture to understand the references, adapting to a different kind of humor, eating unfamiliar food and walking other roads. It takes a family in both countries, whether tied by blood or by adventures and bad days at work and difficult prelims and the question of what to do next. It takes a long time, and it happens gradually; you only realize it when it’s already happened, its making slips away in days and seasons. To me, it’s happened.

Life

SUIT DU JOUR | The Imagination: a Vehicle for Time-travel

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If you could go back in time, who would you want to meet? And why? Whether you think about it religiously or not, there is a historical figure from the past who has significantly molded your present. We are shaped by the people who precede us and these people guide us to our destinations, no matter how subtle their presence may be in our minds. If I could go back in time, I would love to meet Helena Rubinstein– the woman who pioneered what is today called “make-up.”

Politics

THE PERSONAL IS POLITICAL | I’ma Let You Finish, but Stop Interrupting Women

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Remember 2009 when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the VMAs and we all laughed and it either made you love Kanye or hate Kanye?  It’s probably the most familiar example of a pervasive cultural phenomenon: manterrupting.  If you’re a man, you’ve probably done it; if you’re a woman, you’ve probably experienced it.  It’s an insidious social occurrence that emboldens men to speak over women and silences women from speaking up for fear of being perceived as too outspoken.  It dictates all spheres of discourse, from the workplace to academia, from popular culture to the political arena.

Politics

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

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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.

Politics

THE PERSONAL IS POLITICAL | Political Culture and Clinton’s Cough

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The biggest news story from this past weekend isn’t that our nation just grieved September 11th for the 15th time. Nope, the biggest headline following this historic day is that Hillary has pneumonia. Over the past few months, the 68-year-old Democratic nominee has faced a constant barrage of scrutiny surrounding her physical health, and after her stumble and early departure from a 9/11 commemoration ceremony, it was revealed that Clinton is currently being treated for pneumonia. Even more disconcerting than the fact that Clinton still works tirelessly despite her illness and tries to conceal it from us, is our grotesque fixation on her and the hyper-scrutiny we subject her to.  Conspiracy theories ranging from seizures to an inability to support herself at a podium have surfaced, and a letter from her doctor claimed that Hillary is undoubtedly “fit to serve” as president.

Politics

THE PERSONAL IS POLITICAL | Hey, Stanford! “Alcohol Culture” Isn’t the Problem. Rape Culture Is.

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In the wake of the recent and infamous Brock Turner case, Stanford University has responded with a new policy to combat sexual assault on their campus.  Sexual assault is one of the foremost threats to student safety on college campuses across the nation, affecting one in five women and one in 16 men as of 2015.  The university’s solution?  A ban on hard liquor at campus parties.  The idea behind the policy is that limiting student access to large quantities of hard liquor will construct a safer campus environment.

Blogs

GROSKAUFMANIS | Not Like the Other Girls

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Some forms of sexism are easier to detect than others. For instance, we automatically know that when a child is told that they “throw like a girl,” he or she is being insulted. Despite the fact that none of those words alone are negatively charged, we can draw from societal context that “throwing like a girl” is bad, and, at the very least, not as good as “throwing like a boy.” This kind of sexism is pretty black-and-white: it points to misogynistic residue that exists today, with entire campaigns dedicated to combatting it. However, when sexist language directed towards females comes from females, the issue becomes more nuanced; particularly when the sexism is largely implicit. The irony of insular misogyny is both sad and abundant: girls condemning girls for being girls.