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(12/09/15 3:57pm)
In a previous article I brought some issues to light that can help explain why some Christians may react so extremely and perpetuate the “war on Christmas.” However, that should be taken with a grain of salt, because it is Christians who are the perpetuators. For the sake of this article, I will openly say that I myself identify as a Christian. So as a collective “We,” Christians, what can we do to turn this “war” around?
(12/02/15 4:00pm)
Having closed the doors on Thanksgiving dinner, we’ve taken the full plunge into the Christmas season. And yet with recent events preluding this festive time of year, we are reminded that when we’re no longer children, the disputes and bickering between cultures in society don’t always make this “the happiest time of the year.” This whole War on Christmas controversy—this year sprung by Starbuck’s offensive red cup—reminds me of a familiar quote by the peacemaker, Mahatma Gandhi: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
(11/19/15 2:06pm)
When looking at the two Republican front runners—Donald Trump and Ben Carson—there are a great number of differences between them that cause people, who are thinking of voting Republican, to lean one way or the other. While some may point out contrasting backgrounds—New York City and Detroit—the ways in which they present themselves, or even their race, I think the most jarring difference between these two presidential candidates is the way they view the country.
(11/11/15 3:26pm)
There’s a reason why more people seem to be interested in this particular presidential election. I’ve said before that many college students are caring more about the future of their country and government, thanks to the enthusiasm of Bernie Sanders and the liberal views he takes on issues that interest our demographic. But what is also interesting is the rise of non-career politicians who could very well make it into the White House. While several candidates on both sides have long histories as governors, House or Senate members, both Donald Trump and Ben Carson have recently jumped into the political system, feet first.
(11/04/15 12:53am)
I hope you all will be lined up at the Student Center for tonight’s 7:00pm showing of “V for Vendetta.” With its political themes as well as compelling thriller qualities, this dystopian film springs from a “What If?” perspective of a post-WWII world in favor of the Axis Powers. While I have always liked the film and its depiction of the rise of the common people against their government, I started wondering if our own “superpower” country were anything like that of the film’s oppressive government.
(10/28/15 2:52pm)
As October starts to roll out, Halloween is upon us and we’re all riled up and in the spirit of spookiness. Whether we’ve been going to haunted houses, watching horror/thriller movies or helping our friend pick out a really creepy costume, we’re all in the mood to get a little scared. And it’s all for fun.
(10/21/15 1:20pm)
I wrote last week that I don’t think anything will stop the growing desensitization of violence in America. Like a drug, we keep having to up the dosage, up the intensity, in order to have any sort of reaction to what we consume in film and gaming culture. However, while I gave this ultimatum, there is, in my opinion, one potential scenario that would change this damaging progression. What if violence were an everyday aspect of our lives?
(10/14/15 3:03pm)
When it comes to violence in entertainment, American culture is lost in the depths of a rapid downward spiral. This is most notable in film and video-game culture. Their content has graphics, which—to their artistic credit—are becoming more realistic with the advancement of technology. However, it is this very realism that creates the shift between depictions of violence in the past and those of the present. As they become more “well done” and “epic” they are attracting more popular attention and are thus more ordinary than ever before.
(10/07/15 3:13pm)
Last week I was among many other people who saw the viral video of a trans teen’s mom giving her her first prescription of hormone therapy. The mother does not explicitly say in the video what she has given her daughter after asking, “Do you know what it is?” as the girl reads the box she pulls out of a black bag. But the first site I saw the video shared by on social media, Hello Giggles, staff writer Natalie Southwick said that, “Erica Maison filmed a short video of her surprising her transgender daughter Corey with her first dose of hormone therapy… 14-year-old Corey had been waiting for more than two years to start hormone therapy.” Stories like this and the emotional videos tied with them warm many of our hearts—especially those of us who live in more progressive areas, like Ann Arbor. Unfortunately, this kind of parental acceptance is not the norm and I believe, in some cases, many LGBTQ+ minors will receive backlash from society’s move towards equality.
(09/30/15 2:01pm)
It was only a day or two after Lady Gaga’s music video, “Til It Happens To You,” came out that my roommate pulled me over to her side of our couch to watch it with her. My first reaction was about as positive as one could be—in regards to raising awareness about sexual violence. Gaga’s delivery of the lyrics gave the whole message a resounding effect and though the images themselves were graphic, they depicted real-life environments where attempted and completed rapes occur.
(09/30/15 4:25am)
I have admitted before that I don’t know much about politics. If I walked by a television that had a governor, senator or even our own president on the screen giving some sort of speech, I wouldn’t stop and listen to what they had to say. They are leaders that are concerned with issues that probably don’t affect me too much or people with money trying to appeal to those who have so much less. That has been my apathetic opinion for several years.
(09/20/15 2:31pm)
I didn’t vote. Not for 2012’s presidential election. Not for last year’s midterms. Am I registered? Yes. But I didn’t go. I had no drive and I had no wish. And I know I’m not the only one.
(09/13/15 2:26pm)
Into the second week of class, I think we can all agree that we are once more swung into the throes of another heavy-loaded college semester. Not only do we have our class schedule tacked up somewhere in our room or copied into our planner, we’re starting to get a feel for when we’ll be able to squeeze in lunch, dinner with friends, homework, maybe working out, our jobs, calling our moms and oh yeah, sleep.
(06/21/15 3:01pm)
It’s been a little while since Caitlyn Jenner officially came out, which sparked tons of media coverage that may have gotten a little overwhelming for some. Among numerous responses—many of them LGBTQ+ positive—was Jon Stewart’s response saying, “It’s really heartening to see that everyone is willing to not only accept Caitlyn Jenner as a woman, but to waste no time in treating her like a woman.” Here he is referring to the shift of intellectual to body-focused conversation regarding her. This may lead us to ask, was Caitlyn’s Vanity Fair photo shoot good or bad for feminism?
(05/31/15 2:51pm)
The other week I was scrolling through social media when I came across a page a friend of mine had liked. It was commenting on the Girl Scouts’ inclusion of transgender girls. Upon looking further into it, I was struck by a statement by the American Family Association in their petition asking the Girl Scouts “to restrict its membership to ‘biological girls’,” according to CNN’s website. It read: “Boys in skirts, boys in make-up and boys in tents will become a part of the program. This change will put young innocent girls at risk.” Statements like this are not just misinformed about what it means to be transgender, but they are also constructed in a misguided way that very intentionally perpetuates prejudice and fear of what is “other.”
(05/24/15 1:27pm)
If I’m being honest, I’ll admit that I appreciate a full, well-trimmed man-beard. While some people might see a man’s unshaven face as rough and barbaric, I know I’m not alone in viewing a well-kept beard as a sign of maturity, authority, and having a general indie-hipster persona. At first glance, trends like beards or tattoos may initially spark connotations of “deviance” or “relapse” from growing up into sophisticated adulthood. But our Millennial generation is turning the tables so that these trends are viewed alongside innovation and professionalism without as much conflict as before.
(05/17/15 2:48pm)
When people talk about the oil industry in the United States, conversations tend to spiral downhill as we hope for a greener future, but expect no immediate changes. As college students, we especially feel the stretch in our pockets when we pay about $3.50 a gallon at the pump or sigh at our heating and electric bills, knowing it’s all going to the wealthy few up top. But I see America changing its course, and when it does, people will jump on it.
(05/10/15 4:36pm)
From shortly after noon on a Saturday earlier this month until later that night, it seemed that all anyone could talk about was the earthquake that hit us. Being that the last earthquake to originate in Michigan was in 1994, a shake like this was something a lot of us had never felt before or that a lot of us don’t remember feeling. Through scouring the Internet, it seems that there are two conclusions to this rare Michigan occurrence. Either there are deep, hidden faults in Michigan or these earthquakes are a result of fracking.
(04/19/15 4:23pm)
A news story came out of Midland, Michigan earlier last month about a woman suing Planet Fitness over having her membership revoked after she complained about a transgender woman sharing the women’s locker room. Yvette Cormier was initially shocked because she didn’t realize the “man” was a woman.
(04/06/15 4:02pm)
It disheartens me that the same Bible that can encourage and build someone’s faith is rubbed in the faces of those on “deviant” paths. As a Christian, it hurts that some people don’t give Christianity a chance, and yet from the way scripture has been abused for centuries, I understand why they wouldn’t.