Changing regional political power in the United States
Political power within the United States can be broken down and explained through various layers, ranging from race and class to the grasp that corporations have on Congress. Who exactly has the most political power, and for what specifically, are ever changing concepts depending on the lens that is being used. For decades, political power […]
The law of gratitude and abundance
In my own personal research into ideas of spirituality, the universe and religion within the past year, a common theme that I have incorporated into my life is the idea of a law of gratitude. In my eyes, the law of gratitude is essentially appreciating all that you have, down to the bad, simply because […]
The flaws in our police state
One year after the death of George Floyd, Black and brown men are still dying at the hands of trigger-happy police. Time and time again, news has come across our timelines of yet another incident of police brutality, of yet another young Black man being brutalized for their skin color, of yet another American backstabbing […]
No prisoner is bad
In doing research for classes, and because of a slightly obsessive watching of a few prison TV shows, I have become more and more solidified in my stance for prison abolition. To start off, the quickest argument people tend to have when fighting for the existence of prisons (and police) is that bad people exist. […]
Decolonizing the mind
As I develop my political thinking more and more throughout my college experience at Brandeis, I have become increasingly supportive, and aware, of the importance of decolonization as a remedy to the human rights terror that plagues our modern world. While liberal thinking has gained popularity and dominance, the effects of historical colonialism still has […]
Dedicating to self-care
Throughout the past year, I have been committed to self-care, and I truly cannot thank myself more. Ever since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, like many, I have had to address the unnecessary stress and anxiety that has unknowingly plagued me for years. In academic circles, stress and anxiety are often written off as […]
The healthcare system is failing gay men of color
In a United States where we pat ourselves on the back for our liberal policies and stance as leaders of the free world, the institutions that we hold supreme are desperately failing marginalized populations already beaten by the hands of society. The U.S. healthcare system, made up of individuals with their own biases and with […]
Zoom class reforms are not working
If you’ve had humanities courses or probably any course on Zoom this past week, you probably have noticed slight changes in the way how professors are formatting class schedules and rules. It seems to me the university has talked to professors in an attempt to re-organize and better the way Zoom classes are held and […]
White supremacy on the footsteps of the Capitol
As soon as I saw the infamously shared photo of a redneck with his boots up on the table of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it was evident white supremacy and white privilege were the true motivators of these Capitol riots. The smugness of this domestic terrorist as he acknowledged his own power alongside the thousand […]
Time to change our elections
While the United States continues to pride itself on being a liberal mecca and exemplification of democracy to the rest of the world, we lack severely in the aspect of representation. The notion of “no taxation without representation” reigns supreme in our history lessons and as a core principle of America’s democratic strength, yet women, […]
Academic amnesty is a must
As the end of this semester nears, the thought of receiving grades seems beyond ridiculous to me. While it’s been three and a half months of continuous work, exams and essays, I am more than aware of the difficulties my friends and I, and many others, have had to deal with during these extraordinary times. […]
Time for Democrats to listen to us
A vital lesson that must be learned by establishment Democrats and the Democratic Party is that, while it aimed so desperately to gain white voters, it was the progressive and Black, Indigenous and people of color wing that got President-elect Joseph Biden elected. As Biden has spent and continues to spend an enormous amount of […]
Preparing for the worst: presidential election
As we near the 2020 presidential election, I can’t help but feel a need to prepare myself, in any way possible, for an inevitable outcome of despair and a distrust in American politics. Knowing that our only options are Biden and Trump, my own hope for a candidate that actually views me and my identity […]
A massacre in Lagos
Nigeria’s tireless and mobilized youth currently protesting Nigeria’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) exemplify a deep-rooted rejection of police states, police brutality and a government crippled by the elite’s manipulation of politics and economy. Nigeria’s youth currently demanding for the dismantling of state-sanctioned violence against the poor represents the wider narrative of African governments falling to […]
New York City does not need you
New York City’s “emptying” out is evidence of the disparities that have existed and that have been quietly celebrated by capitalists for decades. As article after article is published, detailing an exodus out of New York with which the right seems to have made a point to scapegoat Democrats, the truth about racial and economic […]
Presidential debate or real life SNL?
Last week’s presidential debate could have been a foreign comedic skit of the downfall of America. It was not professional, it was not substantive, it was not informative, and it certainly was not a good look. While there were many things to focus on and criticize—like the fact that Trump’s incessant interruption is a clear […]
Why you shouldn’t call CAs for noise complaints
Within the past few weeks, I have been irritated over and over again at the loudness of Brandeis’s calls to issue noise complaints and police its students over the “guise” of safety and prevention from the coronavirus. These calls ignore how noise complaints have disproportionately targeted students of color more than anyone else. The prevalence […]
What filling Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat means
Senate Republicans’ choice to go forward in accepting a nomination from Trump in filling Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat for Supreme Court justice is not only a slap in her face, but also a slap in the face of every marginalized group in America. As of right now, there are five Supreme Court Justices who align […]
Sliding belief in American politics
As the United States heads into the November election, an increasing sense of frenzy has permeated the news field with daily revelations of scandals, severe liberal critiques of the current administration, conservative bashings of Biden and an overwhelming amount of coverage dedicated to the multiple ongoing crises. Turning on the news right now is looking […]
What we owe the Indigenous
As we look back into history—and understand the manifestations the global imperial and colonial eras had on subsequent nation-building—we begin to understand more about the political power dynamics currently at play. The majority of countries within Latin America have populations of mixed African, Native and European ancestry as a direct result of European colonization and […]
