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(10/14/16 9:54am)
In the vice presidential debate on Oct. 4, Mike Pence spoke on the topic of race relations and policing in a rather unconventional way, deeming the science of implicit bias to play no real role in the tragedies that have riddled our country over the past few years. Pence claimed people have incorrectly used these tragedies as a means to “accuse law enforcement of — of implicit bias or institutional racism. And that really has got to stop.” This call to stop the discussion of implicit bias in the conversation on policing and racial disparities is quite ignorant, as it flies in the face of scientific discovery. The term implicit bias is starting to be used synonymously with racism, rewriting its true meaning into a political context. We all have implicit bias, and it is not necessarily something we can just get rid of, so we must recognize its implications as we carry on and try to address their consequences.
(10/07/16 5:59am)
While the presence of women in the top corporations in America and the world has shown slight improvement since I last addressed the issue about 6 months ago, alleviating gender discrimination in the workplace takes more than a change in the boardroom. At the 2016 Women at the Top conference, Christine Lagarde, France’s former minister for economic affairs, reminded us “more women are entering companies’ higher echelons — but gender parity remains elusive.” What is the cause of this deceleration after a clear gradual improvement? Our standard is slacking, as we are settling now that we have a few women in the top positions. We need to abolish the mindset that women are automatically good examples for other women by addressing gender discrimination in the context of human behavior and helping the women below us achieve success.
(09/30/16 4:05am)
On Sept. 21, Batten Prof. Edgar Olsen delivered his views on the current low-income housing assistance programs and possible remedies to curtail impoverishment. Olsen has participated in housing policy analysis since the 1960s, offering nothing short of a wellspring of knowledge and expertise on the matter. After serving as an analyst during the Nixon administration, Olsen more recently wrote a survey outlining the effects of the United States’ federal low-income housing programs. At the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Olsen laid out a proposal for reducing poverty with the reformation of this country’s current housing policy. “Low-income housing programs do not offer assistance to many of the poorest families that are eligible for them,” Olsen contends. In order for Americans to take poverty seriously, we need to revamp our current system of providing housing with reform and a conscious effort to acknowledge other agents of poverty.
(09/23/16 1:54pm)
The elementary school playground fight: a childhood rite of passage — well, it used to be. It seems as though the days of mulch throwing, monkey bar fighting and hair pulling on playgrounds are coming to an end. John Tierney of The New York Times wrote a piece on the increasing disappearance of jungle gyms from playgrounds over the years. Ellen Sandseter, a psychology professor at Queen Maud University in Norway, speaks to this shift away from the desire to conquer fear and develop a sense of finesse: “Children need to encounter risks and overcome fears on the playground… As playgrounds become more and more boring, these are some of the few features that still can give children thrilling experiences with heights and high speed.” When is enough enough? Helicopter parenting as well as a rising fear of failing is leading our generation to yield to emotional fragility.
(09/16/16 2:20pm)
A little over five years ago, anti-government protests in Syria morphed into the beginnings of a full-fledged civil war. With a growing death toll of about 450,000 people, Syria continues to be a topic of grave concern, especially with regard to the United States’ role as a witness to these catastrophic events. Since the crisis, the United States has contributed more than $5.1 billion for humanitarian assistance to Syria. This commitment to assistance reflects a valiant effort to put an end to this turmoil, but I think it reflects our inclination to perceive this civil war as remote, a project for the Middle East to tackle. We must start appreciating the closeness of this situation, for we have a moral obligation to grant entry to at least another 10,000 of the 4 million plus Syrian refugees. How are we going to respond to their cries for help? Rather than focusing solely on our political agenda, we should focus on how we are going to treat these refugees who are looking to the superpower for a way out. While the overarching goal is putting a hard end to this raging civil war, we have to think of the refugees first and foremost in the meantime.
(09/09/16 2:18pm)
On Nov. 21, 1996, Joshua and I were born. That point, exactly, is where our lives steered in opposite directions. I came home to two parents, an abundance of food and a safe neighborhood, while he came home to abject poverty on 26th Street in one of Norfolk’s worst neighborhoods — with a loving mother, yes, but no father. Most people would probably agree eliminating poverty is a worthwhile objective in our economically unequal society. However, our conversations do not reflect this decency. Let’s change the current conversation surrounding poverty to one of dynamic rhetoric, moving away from the conduction of studies and analysis of statistics. A change in speech as well as policy surrounding poverty is our chance to eliminate the exhausted credo that hard work always leads to success, suggesting if the poor worked harder and pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps, they would have equal opportunity and a shot at greatness. Frankly, that is simply feel good nonsense.
(09/02/16 3:04pm)
There is a definite theme threading through the content we see on national news channels. The influx of police brutality and racial tension floods the United States, suggesting seemingly no foreseeable end. We have been witnesses to these weekly, fatal encounters between civilians and police officers for the past couple years now. This era of unease, representing a new strain of racial turmoil, has revitalized the effort to iron out our differences and try to see what the world looks like from another perspective by taking to the streets in protest. Whether you are directly affected by this unrest, people are dying. Wives are losing their husbands, mothers their sons. Yes, protesting does have the potential to grow into violence, but there will always be the few in a peaceful crowd who incite a violent response by the police. Peaceful protest is the vehicle by which change can be brought about and it is the diplomatic weapon of choice to combat prevalent issues, such as racism and injustice.
(08/29/16 4:05am)
The upcoming presidential election is remarkably different from past elections. Some of these differences are fairly obvious: the early, unexpected Republican challenger makes daily headlines with his rather unorthodox style, while the Democratic nominee is wildly unpopular. Anger and disenchantment have been the sad background of this campaign. As the election nears, the nation feels rather forced to vote for the lesser of two evils. We are so focused on this conundrum we have lost sight of a crisis that shrinks our essential right to meaningfully express our choice in the electoral system. The influx of restrictions on voting rights is not only a very real form of discrimination, but a change that suppresses our voice and turns a blind eye to the text of our fundamental laws.
(08/01/16 12:00pm)
When we watch a criminal exit the courtroom on the arms of policemen or witness the expulsion of a student in the wake of an honor offense, we consider this question: How long should it take for someone to pay for their mistake? In the case of love affairs, as opposed to the criminal justice system, the answer varies depending on gender. I believe society is much harder on women than men when it comes to forgiveness in the wake of an infidelity scandal.
(04/29/16 4:52am)
The University has been very open recently about its ties to slavery and the slave trade, publically acknowledging Thomas Jefferson’s commitment to slavery in the construction of this school and in his private life. While many other universities have also recognized their roles in the slave trade, a New York Times article on Georgetown University’s 1838 slave sale reopens this wound of Americans’ past inexcusable actions. Georgetown’s Jesuit priests sold 272 slaves in order to keep the university alive. How does the nation come to terms with these events now? We must relate the past events to our lives today, negotiating the past without obliterating the truth while we try to change its course for the future. Since we cannot change the events of the past, we must pay our behavior forward in a way that honors the remaining descendants. In order to make these ancestors real to the general public and attempt to reconcile our rather grim history, we must honor those whose lives were violated with the creation of an edifice of some sort that can permanently stand the test of time. Additionally, we should grant scholarships to slave descendants.
(04/22/16 5:35am)
The phenomenon known as globalization has increased exponentially in the past years. The rise of interconnectedness of people between countries is evident and continuously cultivating foreign relationships. With this rapid evolution towards “a world of state interdependence,” it is imperative that people embrace the opportunities to be a citizen of the world. College students have this opportunity to become global citizens through study abroad programs. While some claim study abroad programs are overwhelmingly expensive and offer minimal academic rigor, it is crucial the University and colleges across the United States take strides to tremendously increase the number of Americans who study abroad in our increasingly interconnected world.
(04/15/16 6:02am)
I think it is fair to say humans share a collective desire to experience happiness as we travel through the stages of life. But how do we define happiness? What does it really mean to be happy? We think of happiness as an entity that can be found through the shuffling of thoughts or the chasing of commodities. While happiness can be found in “things” and achievements, personal connections and relationships most notably foster happiness.
(04/08/16 6:21am)
On March 23, 2016, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a controversial bill banning transgender people from using public bathrooms that do not identify with their biological sex, while also preventing local cities from passing their own nondiscrimination laws. Even though Senate Democrats refused to vote for this bill, it passed the state House 82-26, as Senate Republicans voted unanimously in favor of the bill. While McCrory claims the passage of this bill is “common sense” and ensures an end to a “breach of basic privacy and etiquette,” this approval marginalizes North Carolinian transgender individuals and allows for an intense retrogression in social thought and action.
(04/01/16 4:00am)
This spring, the Contemplative Sciences Center, or CSC, collaborated with Inward Bound Mindfulness Education to create a program for the University students to take a five-day trip over spring break in the countryside of Virginia at the Serenity Ridge Retreat Center. During this retreat, the students participated in mindfulness activities in which they developed their “skills of focused concentration, introspection, compassion, and insight.” While mindfulness education can be seen as a form of narcissism insignificant to a student’s well-being, it is necessary that we incorporate this introspection and meditation in college life through programs such this retreat, as it can significantly reduce stress and motivate self-reflection to strengthen the mind and body.
(03/25/16 4:22am)
It is fair to say nonfiction has the upper hand in the classroom, as it is seen as the more truthful and realistic form of writing. Nonfiction does present the facts of the real world, but fiction has its own valid methods of seeking truth, while digging more deeply into that newly found truth.
(03/18/16 4:58am)
In the fall of 2014, the University and surrounding community mourned the loss of then-second-year student Hannah Graham. When investigators connected cab driver Jesse Matthew to the abduction and murder of Hannah Graham, he was charged with first-degree murder. Originally, Matthew was set for trial on July 5, but on March 2, 2016, Matthew had a hearing in which he pleaded guilty to the killings of Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington. While this plea deal resulted in the withdrawal of a murder charge against Matthew, he was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences, for which there is absolutely no prospect of parole. Matthew is off the grid, for good. It is reasonable to believe Matthew only pleaded guilty in an effort to escape the fate of the death penalty. It is reasonable to believe it is unfair for a man who cut short the life of a young woman to avoid the highest capital punishment for his crimes. Yet, plea bargains provide healing for the family and friends left in the wake of adverse events and cease a cycle of violence that would have otherwise continued with the criminal’s execution.
(03/04/16 6:27am)
Women still, in 2016, lack presence in the top corporations in America and the world. Of 190 heads of state in the world, only nine are women. Only 20 U.S. senators are women. Some would say there is no longer this so-called bias against women and that this inability for women to reach top positions is due to their own unwillingness to make familial sacrifices. I think it is time for both men and women to realize that gender discrimination is a real threat in today’s society and its true causes need to be addressed, which entails finding immediate comprehensive solutions to correct existing gender disparities.