“That our President is not firmly standing against white supremacy should be a watershed moment for this country. The fact that there are enough people who buy into white supremacy and enough people willing to ignore it reveals that there is something fundamentally wrong with the people and political system of this country. Yet amid the profound confusion of the Trump presidency, it passed the news cycle as just another aberration”
Read More“The current state of American democracy is so flimsy that we cannot even celebrate the life of Justice Ginsberg without the dark shadow of politics looming over. The corruption of the Trump administration, coupled with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and the heightened tensions of an election year has intensified many people’s focus on our current political system. Americans are realizing just how fragile our system is, and how much fundamental change we really need.”
Read More“A partisan divide in our political institutions is part of the American democratic process. However, when it comes to life or death situations, partisanship has no place. The last month at UNC is a perfect example of what happens when political identities supersede scientific reason and public interest.”
Read MoreA few weeks ago in Wisconsin, the Republican state legislature forced an in-person election, endangering thousands of voters, and disenfranchising those who were unable to safely get to a polling place, such as the elderly and immunocompromised. The state went on to change requirements for how absentee ballots would be counted at the last minute, leaving thousands of votes uncounted.
Read More“OK, boomer” stems from TikTok—a short-form video streaming service—in one video where an older man says, “[the] millennials and the Generation Z have the Peter Pan syndrome. They don’t ever want to grow up.” The response from the video’s creator is simple, “OK, boomer,” referring to the Baby Boomer generation.
Read MoreSupporters of offshore drilling, chief among them the fossil fuel industry itself, point to the possibility of job creation and achieving energy independence. Opponents, however, bring up a wide range of human and environmental concerns. The Environment North Carolina report points to various risks of spillage and pollution from offshore and onshore infrastructure.
Read MoreIn the immediate aftermath, reactions across the world varied largely depending on one’s perspective of the broader conflict between the two countries. While thousands of Iranians took to the streets to mourn the death of Soleimani, other Iranians expressed pleasure with his death, given his role in suppressing local dissent and promoting aggressive Iranian government policies overseas that sustain Iran’s status as a “pariah.”
Read MoreEven if Soleimani’s killing was an illegal assassination, however, the next obvious question would be “so what?” Holding the U.S. accountable for any supposed crimes in international law would be extremely difficult, and punishing the president for alleged domestic wrongdoings would rely on sufficient political will in Congress.
Read MoreVirginia’s elections demonstrate the power that voting in state and local elections have. The Democratic control over the legislature in Virginia could potentially usher in an amendment, decades in the making, that would guarantee equal rights on the basis of sex.
Read MoreThe right does not face down fake news alone. A BBC article found that in one particular week, snopes.com “debunked many more anti-Republican party stories than pro-Republican ones.”
Read MoreOn Nov. 5, elections will be taking place in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Local elections definitely don’t get eligible voters as excited and engaged as when presidential candidates are on the ballot, but they are still nonetheless impacted.
Read MoreTwenty point seven percent of UNC students have experienced sexual assault since entering this University, according to an Association of American Universities survey conducted earlier this year. Let that number sink in for a minute, twenty point seven percent.
Read MoreWith growing political tensions on campus due to events such as the Genocide Awareness Project, issues with campus police and Confederates and last year’s toppling of Silent Sam, we need to come together as a campus and listen to perspectives outside our own. This is by no means saying that centers and spaces for minority groups are a bad thing - in fact, they are crucial to ensuring the minority voice can be heard in the broader discussion and helping underprivileged students find success and representation at Carolina.
Read MoreMessages about crime on campus should be timely, not several hours after the crime has occurred. Students also need to receive Alerts when armed protestors are on campus.
Read MoreThe actions of the Trump administration further foster the xenophobic and nationalist ideals of some in the United States. Creating barriers, not just for all immigrants, but to those without certain economic or health resources is a clear indication of who the Trump Administration wants to be American.
Read More“One might wonder: why would the president skip the annual dinner that dates back to the 1920s without an excuse? Well, simply put, the president cannot stand to be in a room with people who do not agree with him.”
Read More“The example of education bears the truth: our capitalist state government is exploiting the good will of teachers simply because they can. Educators in North Carolina, and the country, lack classroom funding, have class sizes that are too large, have more students living in poverty than ever before, and do not have access to the national standard of health care professionals in schools for their students.”
Read More“Despite the progress made over the past 100 years of granting and protecting citizens’ right to participate politics regardless of their social status, it seems that deep within the American psyche remains an elitist, classist, and often also racist notion that only a privileged few belong in politics.”
Read More“It’s September 26, 1960. Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon are seated across from each other, waiting for the first of the four 1960 presidential debates to begin.”
Read More“To the dismay of democracy, though, the unrest in Sudan has mirrored other recent uprisings in one troubling way: those who are screaming the loudest, but perhaps being heard the least, are the Sudanese citizens.”
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