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(12/04/15 7:16am)
When I arrive at the Garrett Hall bus stop, there are roughly a hundred students, mostly black, standing and conversing on the steps adjacent to the road. It's 8 p.m. and the sky is dark; a single spotlight stands at the base of the steps, illuminating the crowd from below. Under the organization of the Black Student Alliance and the local NAACP chapter, students have gathered here to stand in solidarity with fellow activists at Yale and the University of Missouri following occurrences of racist incidents there. A representative from the NAACP makes opening remarks, two students sing and another recites the poem “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay. Then, BSA President Aryn Frazier walks down from the steps and begins talking.
(11/13/15 5:10am)
Originally, the term “safe space” was used within women's and LGBTQ movements to describe discussions between like minded individuals on sensitive topics like gender and sexuality where one was free from uncomfortable critique, ridicule and patriarchal oppression. Nowadays safe spaces are often implemented online, but recently the terminology has become a buzzword on college campuses, with student groups often labeling dialogues and discussion on even moderately sensitive issues as “safe spaces” for all. At colleges like Yale, a poisonous form of the idea is gaining support: that entire campuses should be considered safe spaces. While creating limited safe spaces on college campuses deserves our support, expanding the definition of a safe space to encapsulate entire campuses is a dangerous idea that would have serious implications on freedom of speech.
(10/30/15 4:10am)
Western societies have always prided themselves on their egalitarian religious freedom laws. Still, there are some cultural and religious customs so foreign to the Western psyche that they seem all but barbaric. The niqab, or full face veil, is one such custom that has been a point of contention ever since France placed an outright ban on the wearing of the veil in 2011. Similar bans have been called for in other Western countries; earlier this year in Canada, now former Canadian President Stephen Harper supported a ban on the wearing of veils during citizenship ceremonies until it was struck down by a federal appeals court. The Netherlands has also banned the full veil from certain public spheres like hospitals and schools.
(10/23/15 4:05am)
As more and more students apply each year to increasingly competitive colleges, student mental health has become a heavily debated topic within the world of higher education. According to the American Psychological Association, 95 percent of college counseling center directors reported the number of students with serious psychological problems was a growing concern at their health centers, and 70 percent of directors believe the number of students with severe psychological problems on their campus has increased in the past year. While most universities do provide basic mental health resources like counseling, many are currently severely understaffed and have tenuous funding. Simultaneously, recent cases of college administrations silencing mental health cases in fear of negative press represent a disquieting new trend of universities shirking responsibility when it comes to mental health. Given their increased rigor and selectivity, it is the duty of collegiate institutions not only to invest in basic student mental health services, but also to proactively educate the student body on how to help peers with mental illness.
(10/19/15 4:10am)
If there was such a title as honorary Founding Father, it would most likely be given to Christopher Columbus. With the celebration of Columbus Day dating as far back as the late 18th century, Columbus has been revered in America as a fearless explorer and an embodiment of rugged individualism. Of course, the illusion of Columbus as a brave and courageous explorer has come to look silly to many in light of the atrocities he committed; The Cavalier Daily itself recently published an opinion piece by Alexander Adames on why we shouldn't celebrate Columbus Day. What remains to be implemented, though, is wide scale replacement of the holiday with Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
(10/09/15 4:05am)
With Halloween nearly a month away, the annual (if somewhat one-sided) crusade against ethnically-based Halloween costumes has begun. Last week, Opinion columnist Alexander Adames penned a cautionary piece advising students not to wear costumes “designed after a particular culture.” Echoing sentiments voiced in previous years in other college publications like the Harvard Crimson, Adames argues “donning a culture as a costume is offensive because it attempts to parody a person’s heritage” and that “culturally-based Halloween costumes are tasteless, offensive and reinforce negative ideas against various groups of people.” Indeed, there should be religious and cultural limitations as to what should be a considered acceptable for a Halloween costume. But Adames is wrong to assume appropriating clothing from other cultures in any form is automatically harmful.
(09/25/15 4:05am)
Ideas of artificial intelligence and the human relationship with such intelligence have always elicited fascination in popular culture. Robots with emotion, superintelligent AI, computers that talk like humans; such topics have been recurring themes in Hollywood blockbusters like iRobot and The Matrix. For years the topic of true artificial intelligence has remained squarely within the fictional confines of pop culture, an interesting concept to mull over in the movie theater with no serious implication in today's society.
(09/18/15 4:10am)
Last week the Managing Board published “The problem with Natty Beau’s window display,” arguing Natty Beau’s usage of fallen red solo cups in its window advertisement overtly reinforced the idea that alcohol overconsumption is an acceptable part of the University's culture. The piece further pointed out that the store's decision to put up the display at the beginning of the school year provided a counter message to the one the administration is currently trying to send. A week from its publication, the article remains the most commented upon Opinion piece on The Cavalier Daily’s website. In general, the response to the article was negative. Many of the initial comments implied readers were surprised by the Managing Board’s sensitivity to the display and argued students should be able to decide their stances on alcohol on their own; one commenter went so far as to say the Managing Board was supporting “an environment sterilized of anything negative.”
(09/11/15 4:15am)
The biggest migration since the end of the second world war began this week as thousands of refugees and migrants from Syria, Iraq and other war-torn Arab countries streamed in from southern European countries with the intent of reaching stable Western European countries such as Germany. While nations like Germany and France have announced they will take in refugees in the tens and hundreds of thousands, there remains fierce debate in the European Union about how members should tackle the situation. Leaders like François Hollande and Angela Merkel have appealed to the EU to divide the influx of refugee and immigrant populations so as to help share the demographic burdens of mass migration. Some have stated the best solution is to focus on stabilizing the political situations in the Middle East so as to stop the mass migration from its source, while others have endorsed building walls or turning away boats so as to leave migrants stuck outside Europe (as Australia frequently does near its borders). What many leaders have failed to look at when trying to assess the situation in the Middle East is how climate change has played a crucial part in causing the mass migrations we are seeing today. In the long run, it will be climate change — not wars — that will lead to the biggest migration issues humans will face in the coming century. If Western leaders want to have serious discussions about solving issues of Eurasian mass migration, they need to address how climate change is causing immigration and how they can confront climate-related issues within countries hit the hardest.
(09/04/15 4:10am)
“Have you ever been adjudicated guilty or convicted of a misdemeanor, felony or other crime?”
(04/24/15 4:10am)
Atop the summit of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea mountain, a silent weeks-long battle has been raging between scientists and Natives over the highest ground in all of Hawaii. Astronomers have proposed building an 18-story telescope within the central crater of the dormant volcano, claiming that it would give unprecedented galactic views of stars as far as 13 billion light years away. For Native Hawaiians, the mountaintop is a burial ground and sanctuary, one of the holiest sites in all of Hawaii. Within weeks of the announcement, hundreds of protesters have been camped atop the mountain hoping to dissuade the construction of the telescope. Thirteen observatories already exist on the slopes of Mauna Kea — if built, the most recently proposed one will be the largest in Hawaii.
(04/17/15 4:08am)
We see them a lot these days on our commutes between classes: boot wearing, beard growing, plaid shirt rocking “lumbersexuals.” The latest trend in the rapidly changing kaleidoscope of contemporary masculinity, the lumbersexual is a newly coined term for the man who refuses the fashionably groomed and clean-shaven looks of yesteryears, “metrosexual.” Rejecting the high fashion standards of the well-groomed metro-man, the rough and ready lumbersexual instead wishes for the return of “real” manhood where men can be free to grow out their beards, wear loose clothes and leave fashion to the other gender. Many see the lumbersexual trend as a return to essential manhood, a solution to an imagined crisis in contemporary masculinity.
(04/03/15 4:03am)
One can imagine tears flowing from the great stone eyes of the Cristo Redentor statue overlooking the throngs of cosmetically enhanced, half-naked women bustling on the beaches of Rio De Janeiro. Although it claims the title of having the most Catholics of any country in the world, Brazil has never tried to suppress its highly sexual and erotic culture. Upon hearing the mention of the country, one may conjure up images of intense football matches or densely lush rainforest, but perhaps also of the highly fantasized bikini clad Brazilian babe. Brazil’s obsession with the body has reached a peak this past decade with a spike in the number of plastic surgeries, recently surpassing the United States as the country with the most cosmetic surgeries performed. The spike has set off a debate in the country about the nature and justification of plastic surgery.
(03/27/15 4:20am)
After countless articles, international news coverage and a University left on edge, the inquiry into the case of Jackie’s alleged rape has finally been suspended. Yesterday, Charlottesville police, after conducting an investigation of over 70 individuals, formally halted further work on the case reporting they were “not able to conclude to any substantive degree that an incident that is specific to the facts contained in that [Rolling Stone] article occurred”.
(03/23/15 5:12am)
Officially, legalized racial discrimination ended over 40 years ago with the shuttering of Jim Crow laws in the late 1960s. Still, as the decades went by, many Americans yearned for the erasure of the color line not just by the state but by the people, hoping to overcome internally what W.E.B. Dubois identified as the defining problem of the 20th century. With the election of the nation's first black president, many believed the end of racism in America was tantalizingly close; perhaps widespread racial discrimination would finally be eradicated, successfully swept under the rug of the 20th century. Yet here we are in 2015, and all we are left with are the violent images of Ferguson protests flashing on our televisions, racist fraternity chants ringing in our ears, and the bloody images of one of our own being arrested. Lingering in these events is the problem that has haunted our nation since the end of the civil war: How do we get past the plague of racism?
(02/27/15 6:37am)
Besides the phrases “buenos dias” and “¿puedo ir al baño?” I admit to remembering hardly a lick of Spanish from my high school years. Despite the hundreds of grammar exercises and vocabulary words teachers drilled into my head, I simply wasn't intent on learning a foreign language. To my mathematically and scientifically inclined mind, there was only one language of any practical interest offered at the school — JavaScript. For three years I practiced coding as an elective, and looking back on it now, it was one of the best decisions I made in high school.
(02/13/15 8:20am)
President Obama’s unorthodox remarks about Christianity’s history at last week’s National Prayer Breakfast set off a firestorm of criticism. Reflecting on the recent rise of the Islamic State and its subsequent negative effects on Islam's image in America, the president reminded his audience that Christianity too had previously been used as a justification for a number of cruelties throughout history, remarking, “Lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.”
(02/06/15 5:00am)
Starting Mar. 30, one of the most prestigious Ivy League universities in America will ban all hard liquor on campus. President Philip Hanlon of Dartmouth College announced the decision Thursday as part of the “Moving Dartmouth Forward” program that aims to provide a safer learning environment and alleviate issues of sexual assault and binge drinking that have plagued the school in recent years. Specifically, the plan will attempt to stop the possession and consumption of any alcohol above 30 proof, regardless of age. Garnering the attention of the national media, Hanlon’s decision has been met with both high praise and strong criticism, including a critique from the Managing Board of this very publication.
(01/30/15 6:01am)
Earlier this week, guest writer David Olson reprimanded the mainstream media for failing to cover the Boko Haram massacre in Nigeria in lieu of the shootings at the Charlie Hebdo offices that garnered international attention. Olson noted the hypocrisy of western journalism, lampooning how the American news networks slaved after reporting every minute detail of the Paris shootings while staying mute on the approximately 2000 victims of a recent Boko Haram attack. Ultimately, Olson asserted that to combat terrorism, “we must stop selectively choosing whose lives we actually care about,” going on to expound that “no longer [can we] only pay attention when the violence and destruction of terrorists is aimed at western values, cultures and political interests, but also when it is aimed at others who we may not identify as easily with.”
(01/23/15 5:52am)
In the distance, I can vaguely make out the shape of the professor. He’s explaining something about algorithms, but my attention is firmly focused on the girl sitting two rows in front of me. Her laptop is on the CNN homepage, the screen flashing shades of red and yellow tickers — far more attractive than the drab black and white powerpoint displayed on the overhead. I spend the rest of class shamelessly catching up on world news while the professor clicks away at his powerpoint.