Queering a path in STEM
Pranav Chillappagari, Public Relations Manager
October 9, 2018
Filed under Opinion, Showcase, Social Issues
My biggest problem when deciding what I want to do in the future is narrowing down a wide range of interesting options between STEM and humanities. The decision was based on where I felt most comfortable, or to put it bluntly: which was more gay-friendly. Based on that criteria, it took me less than...
Good news creates a brighter outlook
Oce Bohra, Copy Editor
October 7, 2018
Filed under Opinion, Social Issues
There were a few months last year during which I stopped reading the news altogether; strange, especially for someone taking Journalism, but I simply couldn’t bother opening up my news app every day to article after article about political controversies, forest fires, global warmings and crime. The ...
Dealing with the deaths of problematic figures
Kavin Kumaravel, Opinions Editor
October 1, 2018
Filed under Opinion, Social Issues
John McCain passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 81. He knowingly caused the deaths of thousands of Middle Eastern people. “But he was human too.” XXX passed away a few months ago at the age of 20. He domestically abused a pregnant woman. “But he was human too.” When public figures ...
Destigmatizing DV mental illness
Riya Bindlish, Opinions Editor
May 15, 2018
Filed under On-Campus Perspectives, Opinion, Social Issues, Student Life
The hallways look a lot different now — at least to me. I see something that I didn’t see before. It prowls around, consuming us, slowly, and attacking us at our weakest moments. Yes, there’s a creature hidden in the shadows. One that is constantly overlooked, yet omnipresent and deadly: mental...
Why we no longer empathize with the news
Sraavya Sambara, Managing Editor
May 11, 2018
Filed under Opinion, Social Issues
We watch, we purse our lips. And apart from the occasional eyebrow raise and sympathetic look, we don’t move. We scroll past, and the moment is lost in an avalanche of information it is up to us to filter and capriciously decide whether or not to care about. The pattern is a scripted maneuver we have c...
DV’s culture of comparison harms self-worth
Sraavya Sambara, Managing Editor
April 16, 2018
Filed under On-Campus Perspectives, Opinion, Social Issues
A thick blanket of low-lying fog envelops students at Dougherty Valley High School. In one breath the fog enters the lungs. From there, its effects are immediate and noxious. The students jolt forward convulsively, and suddenly it’s as if everything, and everyone, is different. A classmate is n...
Considering a ban on semi-automatic guns
Brandon Shi, Vikram Balasubramanian, Kavin Kumaravel, Sraavya Sambara, and Skyler Spears
March 25, 2018
Filed under Opinion, Political Issues, Social Issues
We hoped it wouldn’t happen again, but it did. Since the tragedy that was Sandy Hook, mass shootings have cemented themselves into routine, permeating our news feeds with periodic cycles of mourning and inaction. Most recently, in Parkland, Fla., a gunman killed 17 people in a six-minute rampage a...
Banning the box: why we need to follow through
Arshia Mehta, Staff Writer
February 1, 2018
Filed under Opinion, Political Issues, Social Issues
Nationwide, over 100 cities and counties have adopted a policy commonly referred to as “ban the box” — preventing employers from shutting out applicants solely based on their criminal past. Momentum for this life-altering policy has grown exponentially in recent months, but not fast enough. Re...
Slacktivism: growing threat to advocacy
Riya Bindlish, Opinions Editor
February 1, 2018
Filed under Opinion, Social Issues
#Slacktivism or #makingadifference? Slacktivism — using the Internet as means to show support for a cause, requiring little effort or involvement — is trending, turning real world issues into means of self-promotion and undermining sincere advocacy. Through Snapchat stories, Instagram posts and Fa...
We should all be more feminine
Anumita Jain, Managing Web Editor
February 1, 2018
Filed under Opinion, Social Issues
In 2011, my family went to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate my dad’s birthday (although, in India, “Chinese” restaurants really serve Indian interpretations of Chinese food). My parents, for a reason beyond my memory, scolded our waiter. I expressed my embarrassment to my mother about her behavior...
Ban-the-box policy receives major attention across the USA: why following through is necessary to restore confidence in the justice system
Arshia Mehta, Staff Writer
September 28, 2017
Filed under Opinion, Political Issues, Social Issues
Nationwide, over 100 cities and counties have adopted a policy commonly referred to as “ban the box”—preventing employers from tossing applicants solely based on a criminal past. Momentum for this life-altering policy has grown exponentially in recent months, but not fast enough. Regardless, th...
New North Carolina body camera law erodes public trust
Kavin Kumaravel, Opinions Editor
November 3, 2016
Filed under Opinion, Social Issues
In instances of police brutality, the government ought to release videos under public demand. Contrary to this, North Carolina’s House Bill 972 (HB 972), signed into law in July, demands that a court needs to order the release of such videos if the public wants to view them. North Carolina Secreta...