Culture

Mental Health Is Your Issue Too

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“Okay class, it’s time to talk about mental health. For this unit, we’ll be discussing major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, and…” Meanwhile, the class of apathetic high school students decides to check their phones, attempt to nap, or pull out some math homework. The students have already concluded that this … Read more

Speech, Safety, and Seinfeld: College Policies on Free Speech

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America’s college campuses are experiencing rapid change. The 21st century has seen drastic increases in campus diversity, making student bodies a more accurate reflection of the American “melting pot.” Simultaneously, mental health issues continue to flood the headlines of university newspapers around the nation. And in the shadow of it all, a debate over political … Read more

The Strength of Street Knowledge

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The story of rap group N.W.A. begins with a pounding beat and a promise. “You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge,” growls rapper Dr. Dre as the group’s debut 1988 album Straight Outta Compton roars into anarchic life. The group’s five members—Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren, and DJ Yella—knew all … Read more

In Defense of the Christian Right

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As a proud Christian man hailing from Bardstown, Kentucky, I felt compelled to come to the defense of the Christian Right in light of the Kim Davis situation. Although the circumstance of the Rowan County clerk is the first of its kind in the post-Obergefell v. Hodges world, wherein gay marriage is now the law … Read more

Running Through the Pain

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On the morning of April 15, 2013, I packed a bag of bagels, a Gatorade, a water bottle, five bananas, a few GU gels, my running watch, and my race bib, and I boarded a bus to Hopkinton, Mass. The drive took about an hour, and every minute on the bus carried with it the … Read more

Critic Culture

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As I type this I’m streaking down the highway in a Megabus-turned-Boltbus with the jagged skyline of my city, Philadelphia, in sights. Read any of the recent headlines from Philadelphia’s media outlets and you will almost prevailingly find them to be about some aspect of the Pope Francis’ recent sojourn in Philly. Now that the … Read more

Harper Lee’s Imperfect Heroes

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The first set of articles to be published after Harper Lee’s new novel was released this summer were marked by the same sentiment: Atticus Finch, now a racist. Despite the huge hype surrounding the book, the New Yorker deemed Lee’s novel “a failed novel about race”. Critics reduced the novel to a “distressing narrative filled with … Read more

PSY Speaks the Truth

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The first time I heard a PSY song was probably sometime in middle school, during a family gathering where my cousins and I were lounging around the couch. The oldest, two months my senior, pulled out his phone, and, as we waited for YouTube to finish buffering, promised us that it would be crazy—the kind … Read more