Opinion

Humor: Spider-Man is the most powerful being in existence and there’s no argument against this
HumorJanuary 21, 2019
Sponsored by “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse,” in theaters now Around 3 a.m. this past Wednesday — or maybe it was Tuesday, I can’t remember now — I determined that Spider-Man is the most powerful thing anyone has ever dreamed up. I understand that this is likely a controversial opinion, and I’m sure many of you […]

Embracing the full scope of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream
EditorialJanuary 21, 2019
Ignoring King’s more radical vision does a disservice to his legacy In the highly-publicized parts of the 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech that we’re taught in elementary school, Martin Luther King, Jr. dreams of a world where people live in harmony and are not judged by their skin color. It’s a compelling vision, and […]

Life and Death in Trump Country
ColumnJanuary 18, 2019
What “deaths of despair” can teach — and warn us — about America’s future When Kate O’Neill wrote her sister’s obituary in October 2018, she never imagined that it would generate nationwide attention. In fact, she never thought she would ever be writing one to begin with. Like so many other Americans, O’Neill’s sister, Madelyn […]

During active shooter crisis, students step up to ensure safety
EditorialJanuary 17, 2019
Students provided rides, shelter, communication on social media After a shooter killed 22-year-old police officer Natalie Corona in downtown Davis last Thursday, our tight-knit community was faced head-on with the realities and dangers of gun violence. Each time news breaks about another shooting, the same thoughts come to mind: why so often, how can this […]

Israel, Palestine and the battle for free speech in America
ColumnJanuary 17, 2019
Texas’ Israel loyalty oath is a form of political coercion and a blatant attack on Americans’ right to freedom of speech In Texas, a state long heralded as a center of libertarian conservatism, free speech matters –– until you criticize the wrong country. Speech pathologist Bahia Amawi, an American citizen, has been employed by the Pflugerville […]
Guest: Eulogy for The California Aggie newsroom
GuestJanuary 13, 2019
A former Aggie opinion editor mourns his college newsroom The California Aggie newsroom is a nostalgia machine. Anybody who’s spent any real time in 25 Lower Freeborn knows it, but to an outside observer, the place might feel like the headquarters of an unusually bookish cult. Then again, maybe that’s not so far off. Get […]

President Trump holds nation hostage
EditorialJanuary 11, 2019
Government shutdown to affect students, faculty As the government shutdown nears the end of its third week, 800,000 federal workers have found themselves either furloughed or forced to work without pay for an indefinite period of time. The shutdown was initiated after Congress failed to pass a budget due to disagreement over funding for a […]

Letter to the Editor: Harmful Republican ideologies do not belong at UC Davis
GuestJanuary 11, 2019
To the Editor: Re: “The elephant in the room” (features article, Dec. 11): While I agree that there should always be healthy debates between different ideologies, if the ideology of one side includes repression and hatred for others, then no, it does not belong in any way as part of a dialogue on campus at […]

Proposed Title IX changes puts victims second
EditorialJanuary 10, 2019
Public comment period open until Jan. 28 One of the jobs of the U.S. Department of Education, led by Betsy DeVos, is to enforce a pivotal statute in the Education Amendments of 1972 called Title IX. This statute was established to protect people from sex-based discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding. Title IX […]

How California fails its inmate firefighters
ColumnDecember 20, 2018
Volunteer inmate firefighters are at the frontlines of California’s wildfires but are often left jobless upon release Across the nation, Americans have been bombarded with harrowing images of the destructive wildfires that have devastated California this fall. For those of us in Northern California, the effects of the so-called Camp Fire have been particularly […]


