Opinion – The University News

Pause for Opinion: Episode 9

May 6, 2019

https://anchor.fm/pauseforopinion/episodes/Ep-09-Pause-for-MentaliTEA-e3tcm2/a-ae82oe Mental health is an issue plaguing college campuses across the country. In this episode, I am highlighting a group of students from a Social Practice in the Arts course who are creating a socially engaged art project...

Pause for Opinion: Episode 8

Fiona Clair, Opinion Editor

May 6, 2019

https://anchor.fm/pauseforopinion/episodes/Ep-08-Pause-for-student-media-e3pcga/a-addp5b Hello again! As an initial warning, I would like to say that this is a topic that I am very close to, and I therefore cannot talk about it without bias. I still however think that talking about student media...

The benefits of studying math

Arjun Bagai, Contributor

May 6, 2019

Many people stress over the fact that they have to take mathematics in high school or college. Students do not want to find the roots of a quadratic equation, calculate the integral of a function or determine the eigenvectors and eigenvalues of a matrix. They say that math does not have any real app...

How We’re Killing Cultures Without Even Realizing It

Lexi Kayser, Staff Writer

May 6, 2019

It cleverly disguises itself as neighborhood “improvement,” but is it really improving life for the right crowd? Gentrification is one of the biggest issues facing St. Louis and cities around the country today, yet it’s one of the least talked about. Chances are you’ve never even heard the w...

Abolish the electoral college

Jakob Benedetti, Staff Writer

May 6, 2019

After Donald Trump became the second Republican in this century—and only the fifth candidate in history to win the Presidency despite losing the popular vote—there has been increased scrutiny by many on the left about the electoral college and how much sense it really makes in the 21st century. ...

Losing my religion: The illustrious tale of a college student’s spirituality

Fiona Clair, Opinion Editor

May 2, 2019

It’s hard to be religious in this world. Faith is such a beautiful thing, but all the escalating violence, retaliation and hate that have spread over the last few months (and years) centered around religious belief has really made me stop and think about my own spirituality and privilege. I don’t th...

In Defense of the Electoral College

Jaco Dowell, Contributor

May 2, 2019

With the latest presidential election, the debate on the electoral college has been revived. An opinion piece in the last issue of the University News called to abolish the electoral college. However, calls such as these are often grounded in a misunderstanding of our national and state governments....

Why we should stop using the word homophobic

Lexi Kayser, Staff Writer

May 2, 2019

Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders. Mysophobia is the fear of germs. Hemophobia is the fear of blood. And homophobia is the fear of...gay people? As an English major, I have lots of opinions when it comes to words, their roots, their meanings. I’m a total word geek, to be candid with you, and on...

Guest essay: The pros of peaceful protest

David Rapach, Guest Contributor

May 2, 2019

A letter concerning peaceful protest during the national anthem. Although I have not followed sports closely for some time, I was deeply moved in 2016 when I learned of the courageous decision by Colin Kaepernick (and others) to kneel during the national anthem in peaceful protest against ...

Feeling nostalgic? What about now?

Fiona Clair, Opinion Editor

April 10, 2019

Graduation is quickly approaching, which means the end of nearly a lifelong student career for many seniors. If you aren’t already getting emotional about this great monumental moment, I thought I’d put together a list of trends from all our years of schooling so we can laugh and grumble about our...

Psych meds saved my life

Lexi Kayser, Staff Writer

April 3, 2019

I’ve spent the majority of my life struggling with mental health issues, from anxiety and depression to eating disorders and PTSD. I’m pretty candid and open about what’s going on in my psyche nowadays (years of therapy sort of condition you to be this way), but it wasn’t always so easy for ...

The ‘swamp’ in action: Josh Hawley

Jakob Benedetti, Staff Writer

April 3, 2019

On the last edition of “the ‘swamp’ in action,” I took a look at the corruption of former U.S. Senator and current MSNBC analyst Claire McCaskill. I thought it only fair that this time around we should look into the record of the guy who replaced her: former Missouri attorney general and current Se...