Opinions

Stop defending Islam as a 'religion of peace'

By Jacques Vorves · Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016

People need to stop defending Islam. It’s one thing to condemn violence, hate and prejudice against and/or by Muslims, but it’s another thing altogether to claim that Islam is a religion of peace, while at the same time deriding Christians for their backward beliefs. There are over one hundred verses in the Quran that call for war, specifically against nonbelievers.

Wearing a bindi is cultural appropriation

By Micaela Stevenson · Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016

When I was growing up right outside of Ann Arbor, I had neighbors who were Indian. That really wasn’t that different as Ann Arbor is growing in cultural and racial diversity, but they were the coolest people I knew.

Letter to the Editor: Opportunities for Africology and African American studies education at EMU

By Victor O. Okafor · Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016

The Department of Africology and African American studies here at Eastern Michigan University offers several academic programs and General Education courses that are designed to help enrich your learning experience in a way that could better prepare and equip you with knowledge and skills for effective functioning in a world of diverse peoples and cultures. We offer a bachelor’s degree program in African American studies, which is open to all students, regardless of your country of origin, racial, ethnic or gender classification.

No, you do not have the right to not be offended

By Jacques Vorves · Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016

No matter how hostile, how vitriolic it may be at times, freedom of speech is not something we should take lightly.

'Electioneering' and the Front National

By C.A. Joseph Peters · Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015

In the U.S., we use a first-past-the-post system in our elections, meaning that whoever wins a majority of the vote—even if this is only 51 percent versus 49 percent—wins that election.

Political parties need to respond to their voters

By C.A. Joseph Peters · Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015

The Democratic elite may support Clinton, one of my classmates told me in one of our many political back-and-forths, but Democrats as a whole support Bernie Sanders.

The opioid epidemic is a lie

By Michael Negron · Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

Many people have talked about the failure of the war on drugs. It's no secret that in spite of decades of attempts, little to nothing has improved.

The case for boots on the ground: why the U.S. should send ground troops to fight the Islamic State

By Mathew Weick · Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

After the Paris attacks, Francois Hollande swore to wage a merciless war against Islamic State, against which France, Germany, the United States, and even Russia have all intensified their strikes.

Stop the Christmas 'tug of war'

By Jane Mandley · Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

In a previous article I brought some issues to light that can help explain why some Christians may react so extremely and perpetuate this War on Christmas.

The shooting in Colorado shows how little people actually know about Planned Parenthood

By Micaela Stevenson · Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015

If you were paying attention to the news like I was, it was hard to miss the active shooter outside of a Planned Parenthood in Colorado over the Thanksgiving recess.

College students should be tax exempt

By Micaela Stevenson · Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015

Like many students, I am employed through my university, and, even though I have a place to live with a meal plan, I often find myself desperately trying to scrape together enough money to buy my textbooks at the beginning of each semester (and I know I am not the only one who gets a twinge of pain after searching endlessly for the textbook I need and shelling out hundreds of dollars). With the cost of attending college, combined with the often low-income status of many students, college students should not be taxed. According to Time, the average person will pay 20 percent of their federal income to taxes.

Trump's "great, great wall"

By Jacques Vorves · Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015

Contrary to what people like Donald Trump might believe, our borders are not being overrun by Mexicans.

Are Christians' fears over the "War on Christmas" justified?

By Jane Mandley · Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015

Having closed the doors on Thanksgiving dinner, we’ve taken the full plunge into the Christmas season.

When art enables abuse

By Michael Negron · Monday, Nov. 30, 2015

In most forms of journalism and critique, there's an aspiration toward objectivity. Certainly, some forms call on it more than others, but in the world that I come from—music criticism and, in a larger context, culture journalism—the opinions of the writer are inextricably linked to the subject they're courting.