Opinion

The case for having a pet in college By ANJALI IYER — amiyer@ucdavis.edu Last spring, my roommate informed me that we would be gaining temporary custody of her sister’s pet hamster, Daddy. He was to come live with us during the upcoming school year, as her sister wouldn’t be able to house him in her […]

The war over controlling language is deeply rooted in historical and legal implications  By VIOLET ZANZOT— vmzanzot@ucdavis.edu Hell will be “raised” when a woman is waiting to be made a “girlfriend,” “wife” or “mother” (if she wants it). Hell can “knock on your door” to hand you “drugs” (prescription) when it used to hand you […]

Ingest gossip cautiously By ABHINAYA KASAGANI — akasagani@ucdavis.edu For years, I have shirked participating in gossip, believing it to be the product of idleness. Gossip has always felt invasive, but its modern vilification led me to reconsider why exactly I react so poorly to the spread of information, despite it remaining one of the few […]

The circumstances of one’s birth should not play a heavy hand in determining their future By SAGE KAMOCSAY— skamocsay@ucdavis.edu Equality of opportunity encapsulates the idea that all members of a particular society are given an equal chance to succeed in work and politics and live a prosperous life — a meritocracy. It’s a concept that […]

Does this paradox hold true? By ABHINAYA KASAGANI — akasagani@ucdavis.edu Recently, a call with my mother led to a prolonged lecture about how, although our generation is more aware than hers had been, we are less able to translate our awareness into action and more inclined to morph it into anxieties. There are few poignant […]

Joining a book club is a learning experience in more ways than one By SABRINA FIGUEROA — sfigueroaavila@ucdavis.edu I’ll admit it: I hated reading as a kid. Don’t get me wrong, I love it now, but back then I thought I was just too dumb to ever understand complex prose. I’d even get a little […]

Understanding new approaches to war and protest  By VIOLET ZANZOT— vmzanzot@ucdavis.edu With time and wisdom, it becomes clear that the harsh line between friend and foe is evolving. It becomes translucent; it curves, it bends, it softens, it emboldens — losing simplicity and gaining complexity as society evolves. The same convolution comes to fruition in […]

Arbitrary apps do more harm than good for student communities By GEETIKA MAHAJAN — giamahajan@ucdavis.edu Good ideas are never unique for long. If a product, service or project is valuable, it’s logical that people and organizations adopt it en masse. Such is the reasoning behind the success of online shopping and asset-backed securities; if it’s […]

While the order invokes competition with China, Trump’s chip export policy tells a different story   By MILES BARRY —mabarry@ucdavis.edu   On Dec. 11, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Ensuring a national policy framework for artificial intelligence,” claiming that the United States is in a “race with adversaries” for artificial intelligence […]

Performative protesting determines who deserves attention By NEVAEH KARRAKER — nakarraker@ucdavis.edu   Authoritarianism is a regime type thoroughly studied in all secondary education institutions, and, with the comfort with which Americans have settled into democracy and our Constitution, we take for granted the political stability of the country we live in. The Trump administration is […]

Social media’s attention economy thrives on relationship insecurity   By ANJALI IYER — amiyer@ucdavis.edu   Most of us are entirely uncritical of the content we consume on social media — at least I certainly am. After a long day, it’s undeniably cathartic to turn off your brain and embark on a never-ending scroll through Tiktok […]

We are lonelier than ever and our t-shirts aren’t helping   By MILES BARRY — mabarry@ucdavis.edu   Walk through any American airport, thrift store or mall, and you’ll encounter a peculiar genre of clothing: the antisocial t-shirt. To name a few: “You Read My Shirt. That’s Enough Social Interaction for today”; “Rules for Monday: don’t […]