Column

In this time of turmoil, music is here for us  The Internet has become an unlikely hero in all of our lives. Something that we took for granted every day (I see you, mindless TikTok scrollers) is now our lifeline. I attend my Zoom lectures in the dining room across from my mother’s daily work […]

A break from consumerism can allow us to appreciate what we have  I have three consistent coping mechanisms for bad days: dark chocolate, Gilmore Girls and buying new earrings. My obsession with earrings could make me the poster child for American consumerism. Most of the earrings I buy are meaningless. I spend two minutes deciding […]

Democrats, Republicans and the battle for the soul of America At the Republican National Convention in 1992, the controversial conservative political commentator Pat Buchanan declared that the country was in a “struggle for the soul of America.”  Just a few months earlier, Buchanan was on the offensive, leading a populist attack against the same reigning […]

Russia’s protest group is telling of its political dissonance On Feb. 21, 2012, a group of women wearing colorful ski masks and carrying electric guitars stormed the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia. In what they would later call a “punk prayer,” the women jumped around, crying “Mother of God, drive Putin away!” […]

Streaming is the biggest threat to stars like Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber  Before streaming, buying iTunes gift cards occupied the top of my Christmas list. I spent hours deciding which songs I wanted to buy. Would I spend my last $1.29 on an old favorite or the newest chart-topper?  When I was a freshman […]

Smart Works is most noteworthy because it builds a community of mutual support using fashion As I am a long-time fan of The Crown, the British royal family intrigues me. When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry got married, my friends and I stayed up until 5 a.m. to watch the wedding live. As Markle took […]

Despite its homophobic laws, Russia embraces gay culture in the entertainment world While growing up watching Izmailovsky Park — Russia’s version of SNL — with my family, there was always a skit featuring two straight men, clad in the “babushka” attire of kerchiefs and dresses. They weren’t necessarily drag queens, but the duo comedy act […]

As consumers, moving to a plant-based diet will help ensure the long-term survival of the planet Climate change is still a fundamental crisis facing our world today. It may not seem as immediately urgent as COVID-19, but it is every bit as dangerous, with irreversible effects. Wildfire seasons are months longer, massive storm surge chances […]

The president’s handling of the global pandemic should cost him re-election, but will it? For months, the American people listened to President Donald Trump downplay the threat of coronavirus, calling it the Democrat’s “new hoax,” and then, as cases began to rise, dismissing it as something that would just disappear, “like a miracle.” On March […]

Even our private accounts are for the public I’ve had quite a tenure on Instagram. Many of us were in our tender ages during the app’s inception in late 2010, and I’m sure we all watched the app’s transformation from an unassuming photo-sharing platform to a multimillion-dollar Internet superpower.  I could say the same thing […]

To fully escape the city, we need to leave our cars behind too  When I was in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park this past summer, I quickly came to appreciate the long hikes and evening walks that were completely void of the sights and sounds of loud and crowded cities. National parks are a […]

Twitter’s “Fleets” will exacerbate our culture of entitlement — and they’re stupid  Twitter’s newest feature — “Fleets” — will allow users to post their most fleeting thoughts and opinions, designed to vanish in 24 hours. Twitter claims that the new Fleet feature is a response to users complaining that they don’t feel comfortable tweeting because […]