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(07/17/20 5:00am)
With all that is happening in the world today, it is easy to get lost in what seems to be an endless slew of hopeless news. Between rising cases of COVID-19 and the ugliness of police brutality in the United States, it seems there is little reason to be hopeful for America’s future. I, however, look to the future not with despair, but with hope; the Black Lives Matter movement has renewed my faith in our ability to improve American society.
(02/24/17 5:30am)
From our comfortable perches atop the 21st century morals that have become our societal bread and butter, it is tempting to look at people from the past and judge them harshly for their actions. In order to satisfy modern standards of inclusivity and tolerance, we whitewash our own history by denouncing former icons as racists and bigots. Past moments of reactionary hysteria have become periods of shame worthy of derision. Too easily do we look back upon these supposed fools of yore, wagging our fingers at their ignorance, smug in our belief that we are above such nonsense.
(02/09/17 5:25am)
Like most Americans, I consider any question about seceding from the Union forever settled at Appomattox, Virginia in 1865. In my mind, the Civil War sanctified the United States as an indestructible union, one nation bound by the principles set by the Founding Fathers long ago. The fact that so many American lives were lost in the name of this ideal is a humbling one and is to this day a reminder of what we stand to lose should our Union ever be so questioned again.
(01/10/17 5:17am)
In the wake of such a contentious election, it is easy to lash out and be afraid. It is perfectly understandable that one might feel apprehensive about the future of American politics, or fear for what may follow in the years to come. Nonetheless, it is inexcusable to unfairly brand an entire voting demographic as a force of oppression, and I will not remain silent when my fellow students insist upon doing so. In that regard I must write in fervent opposition to Michael Mayer ’17’s guest column, and in defense of Tyler Baum ’20’s guest column.
(11/01/16 5:10am)
On Oct. 21, the Dartmouth Editorial Board voiced its endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. I do not share my colleagues’ enthusiasm for the Democratic nominee. I am instead among the plurality of Americans that reserves a deep skepticism for both major party candidates, and I cannot overlook the many questions surrounding Clinton’s credibility as a leader. No matter how innately flawed her Republican counterpart might be, I find Donald Trump’s failings an ill excuse for Clinton’s own shortcomings.
(10/11/16 4:15am)
We are often told that diversity is a virtue to treasure. We must be welcoming of all cultures, we are told, and we must accept them with love and tolerance. And indeed, this is a most desirable outcome. Diversity is vital to a thriving society. But, I ask, do these oh-so fierce proponents of diversity understand exactly what it is? Do they, for all their buzzwords and Tumblr savvy, truly grasp what it means to be a “diverse” society?
(09/09/16 3:13am)
The 2016 Senior Survey reveals a wide disapproval with the administration’s responsiveness to student concerns: 75 percent of its respondents stated they are either “generally dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied.” I have no doubt that a dozen hands in Parkhurst reached up to scratch their heads at this news, mystified by the poor reception to their munificence. I am just as certain that they shrugged it off as a mere fluke of statistics, so convinced of their own righteousness that they refused to accept the word of lowly students. What they failed to understand then, and still fail to understand now, is the bitter frustration that fuels these numbers.
(08/18/16 10:00pm)
Let us set aside our misgivings about stereotypes for a moment and consider the archetypal Asian family. Labels for Asian parents, ranging from tiger mothers to kyoiku mamas, all describe the same authoritarian strictness. As the widespread perception goes, most Asian parents relentlessly drive an agenda of academic and extracurricular excellence for their children in hopes of setting them up for future success. By necessity, more creative endeavors are routinely shunned in favor of more time to study or practice a new instrument, and social development takes a back seat in the quest for higher SAT scores and Ivy League diplomas.
(07/28/16 10:00pm)
Even the most cynical of persons will agree that the foundation of any free republic rests entirely upon the freedom of speech. Only with the provision of such freedom can a nation hope to prosper, for it is the ensuing clash of ideas and thoughts from which innovation is born. The same ingenuity that has defined America’s finest moments from independence to the Apollo 11 moon landing did not spring from a vacuum, but from the free movement of ideas and beliefs. We owe most everything that we are as a nation – social, scientific, and everything in between – to our commitment to our First Amendment.
(07/14/16 10:00pm)
Following the vicious killings in Dallas, an entire nation has been left reeling in its tracks. In the midst of such horrid violence, it is impossible to look upon the situation without also addressing the Black Lives Matter movement.
(07/07/16 10:00pm)
To mention the words “Second Amendment” is to cast a spark into a powder keg. Merely referencing the right to bear arms can incite the passions of an entire nation, as people on both sides of the gun debate emerge from the woodwork to throw their two cents onto an ever-growing pile. There is no shortage of daily flame wars waged on every corner of the internet, no dearth of politicians bellowing out their opinions for all of Washington to hear. Amidst these opinions, an increasing number of voices have begun to call for an overturning of the Second Amendment. Surely, they tell us, the United States is better off having fewer guns. Isn’t it worth pursuing if we can prevent just one more murder or one more massacre? The children, man! Think of the children!
(06/23/16 10:00pm)
When the American Civil War ended over a century ago, a shattered nation was made whole. North and South came together once more, as the United States became a unified country again. But the newly reunited America was fraught with new problems, not least among them a lingering hostility against the people of the South. With the defeat of the Confederacy came cries for retribution, and vengeance after so many years of tears and bloodshed. Justice, clamored the enraged voices of the past, justice! There was no place in America for Southern traitors! Punishment was their only just reward!
(05/23/16 9:30pm)
It is never easy to draw attention to the failures of this school I have come to love so much. It is harder still to hold my fellow students responsible for such failures. But hardest of all is to see these same students fight one another, so insistent in their quest to be right that they refuse to see the school for anything else. Nonetheless, when basic civil liberties are violated and when so few have spoken against their transgressions, I cannot and will not remain silent. Thus I must turn to the students of the Black Lives Matter movement and roundly condemn their actions in the Collis Center.
(05/09/16 9:30pm)
Scarcely two weeks have passed since my April 11 column “O’er The Land of the Free,” in which I took great relish in mocking our colleagues at Harvard University for referring to an American flag as an “unacceptable political statement.” I made my jabs with the understanding that this was, in many ways, a new low for academia. After all, who could have ever imagined that an Ivy League institution — in fact, to many the quintessential Ivy League institution — would lay claim to such diabolical self-censorship?
(04/25/16 9:30pm)
Though it is always concerning when societies implement a culture of censorship, more concerning still are the attempts to defend it. Jessica Lu ’18’s April 20 column “Considerate Correctness” is exactly such an attempt, and I must voice my vehement disagreement with her position. A culture of political correctness is not only antithetical to the core values that Dartmouth should uphold, but it also sets a dangerous precedent for higher education across the country.
(04/11/16 9:30pm)
I must admit to a sense of schadenfreude whenever I learn of foolish occurrences at other Ivy League colleges. It is devilishly fun for me to snicker at the misfortunes of our Ivy League peers, smugly satisfied that my school is, at least, not in their shoes. However, when such foolishness has far-reaching and dangerous implications, then that self-righteous snobbery transforms into genuine alarm. And then suddenly the smug superiority vanishes as I realize that the Dartmouth I love so much is vulnerable to the very same troubles.
(03/28/16 10:30pm)
Nary a day goes by without mention of the words “cultural appropriation” in American universities, and most recently they have come to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. On Feb. 22, the college’s dean of students sent an email to campus regarding an instance of “ethnic stereotyping.” The incident in question was a “tequila party,” at which some students wore sombreros and which was quickly construed as an offensive stereotyping of Hispanic students. In response, the Bowdoin Student Government issued a “statement of solidarity” decrying the party as “unacceptable” and calling for the administration to “create a space” for students who felt targeted by the party. Two of the Student Government’s own members even faced impeachment proceedings for attending the party.
(02/23/16 11:45pm)
On Feb. 9, one of the supposed great champions of the internet struck a terrible blow to free speech. Twitter announced the adoption of a Trust and Safety Council to, in its own words, “ensure that people feel safe expressing themselves on Twitter.” Twitter empowered this body with the role of not only overseeing Twitter’s products and policies, but also enforcing them for the sake of creating what they no doubt believe to be a better Twitter. It seeks to set guidelines for language or commentary that might be considered hateful and potentially purge them from Twitter altogether.
(02/11/16 11:30pm)
In the jungles of the strange wilderness known as the internet resides the very vocal, temperamental species that the media has christened the “Social Justice Warrior.” Indeed, they are all too happy to liken themselves to activists in the image of Susan B. Anthony or Rosa Parks. Ideology is their battlefield, the hashtag their weapon of choice. Their rallying cry echoes amidst the wastelands of the world wide web, from atop the soapboxes they call Facebook and Tumblr. They scream, they beat their chests, they raise a deafening yell before the final battle. Onwards, for social justice!