Opinion

I am an avid journaler. I have 29 journals that don’t shut all the way because they are packed with tickets and pressed flowers and receipts and cards and notes and fruit stickers. Okay, I’m a hoarder. I’m also a sentimental cheese-ball. How is this important? It means that I have a detailed record of […]

On my quest for answers to the age-old quandary of why social norms exist and how they came to be, I discovered not only that society implemented these standards long ago for arbitrary reasons, but also that they can easily be broken and repaired for kinks. By this I mean that social norms are based […]

Watching Mean Girls for the first time on Saturday was a bittersweet experience. Sweet in that this movie is just that — a cotton candy pink slide through the humors of adolescence. Bitter in that, once more, I had to accept that I will not be marrying Tina Fey, the one true love of my […]

“I was spending all my nights and days laid back day dreaming/Look at me — I’m a big girl now, said I’m gon’ do something/Told the world I would paint this town/Now betcha I run news.” True to the lyrics from her song “Grown Woman,” Beyoncé has had great success. Her musical ability is clear […]

This week, I had the honor to meet Amat Escalante, winner of the Best Director prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, arguably the most renowned festival of its kind in the world. He was there to screen his new film Heli. As it happens, there is a coming-of-age story in this fine piece of […]

Before they announced that our homes would be demolished, before they started posting increasingly frequent notices on my door reminding me to leave, before my neighbors emptied out their apartments one by one, the University was already attacking Orchard Park. Over the last few years, the UC has raised the rent year after year after […]

By failing to pass SR #20 in a 5-5-3 vote, the ASUCD Senate has given the University of California’s decision to invest in the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine a stamp of approval. With the final senate vote tied at 5-5-2, the tie-breaking vote was given to ASUCD Vice President Maxwell Kappes, who abstained, which […]

For me, the hardest part of reconciling Beyoncé’s life with feminist theory is when I consider the man she is married to. While there is no doubt in my mind that Jay-Z is a very talented artist, his music is often anything but feminist, and from what I can see, the rap genre seems to […]

There are a lot of maps in my house, including a world map (it’s upside down), a bike path map of Davis and a map showing the location of pinnipeds worldwide. But there’s one map that’s missing. I see it as one of those flight maps that has the curvy lines all over it connecting […]

Recently, ASUCD Senate Resolution #20 was seen by the ASUCD Senate.This resolution urged “the Board of Regents of the University of California (UC Regents) to undertake practices of corporate social responsibility through divesting from corporations that aid in the Israeli occupation of Palestine and illegal settlements in Palestinian territories, violating both international humanitarian law and […]

Going to the gym is a methodical experience for most people — put on stretchy clothing, hydrate and engage in some form of exercise. But what happens when someone defies the unwritten rules of gym etiquette? People typically conform to certain norms at the gym, including how to dress and behave properly. Breaking social norms […]

I spent the better part of my 18 years in the land of milk, honey and $11 craft sandwiches: Los Angeles. Growing up in the City of Angels has undeniably affected my coming of age (as well as my radical vocabulary). To help understand both the visible and invisible influences of place on coming of […]