Op-Eds
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Milking Congress for What It’s Worth: Big Dairy and Its Role in America’s Public Health Crisis
The nutritional standards in our schools are a symptom of a larger problem—our government continues to rely on corporate interests instead of prioritizing the welfare of our citizens. For the government to truly act for the public welfare, they should start by addressing the vast misconceptions they perpetuate for America’s children.
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Every Billionaire is a Policy Failure: The Visual Case
Understanding the size of a billion dollars constitutes a strong argument for the immorality of billionaires.
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The Earmark Strikes Back!
Earmarking is a hot topic in Congress for both parties, but there have been talks of bringing the process back. Is it worth it, though?
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It’s Time for a Constitutional Right to Education
Public school funding systems are failing to provide equitable education for low-income populations. As the achievement gap between high and low-income areas widens, there is an emerging need for federal protections for all students.
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Bias in Pain
Experiencing disbelief from medical practitioners is frustrating. For most women, it is almost a guarantee.
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What Vaping Can Teach Us About the Rights of Young Adults
Virginia, once home to a bustling tobacco industry, has done what was previously unthinkable: raised the smoking age to 21. Why? E-cigarettes have begun to pervade schools across the nation, and states are scrambling to come up with solutions.
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Why the Green New Deal Isn’t Right for 2019’s America
While the Green New Deal sets forth the type of ambitious goals necessary to tackle climate change, it also alienates key political actors and encourages politicization of climate action.
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The Invisible Issue
Over half a million people spend their days without a roof over their head. Almost 200,000 sleep on the streets each night. This is a crisis of humanity and a failure of the market. Despite this, homelessness remains a non-issue on the national political stage and the government has not passed legislation that might provide the solution that our most vulnerable citizens desperately need.
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Night Falls For Insects
Devastating loss of insect biomass and diversity has made the rounds in headlines, but how effectively is the science communicated? Science communication of the insect collapse is well communicated due to the framing of scientific articles, but it doesn’t necessarily lead to political action.
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And the Winner for Best Political Activist Goes to … Taylor Swift
Celebrities may well have the most impactful political endorsements given their significant influence on their fans.
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Democrats Took the House? So What? No Worries from Trump!
The 2018 midterms have created a unique situation for the Republican party and President Donald Trump. Although Democrats have created a divided government, Republicans and the President still have quite a few strategies they can use to accomplish their goals and prepare for the 2020 election using two vital tools: judicial nominations and the economy.
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How the Republican Revolution Broke Congress
Today’s problems with congressional dysfunction have been brewing for decades, but the biggest source may be the Republican wave of 1994.
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Political Art in 2018: Parquet Courts' Wide Awake!
What happens when you can't keep watching the news because it's terrifying, but you can't look away because you have to stay informed? Tune in to some angry punk-rock.
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Democratic Upsets Could Spell Disaster For Lasting Climate Action
For Democrats, November’s midterms gave them the ability to block the President’s agenda. In the process, they may have unintentionally destroyed any potential for bipartisan action on climate change.
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American News and What Really Matters in the 2018 Pakistani Election
American media coverage of the recent election in Pakistan displays a continuous and trite rhetoric towards politics in Pakistan. The press outlets insist on sticking to rudimentary and outdated reporting that offers nothing new and does not push the envelope towards a new understanding of a society on brink of a societal change. The election of Imran Khan and the victory of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf has historical importance for the people of Pakistan, even if not from the political standpoints of the United States.
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The Affordable Care Act’s Delicate Balance Is Causing Its Demise
The framers of the law now commonly referred to as “Obamacare” went to great lengths to mix privately-administered healthcare with government funding and regulation. That effort left the law complicated, controversial, and completely open to political sabotage.
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Charlottesville’s Housing Crisis is Coming
What steps is Charlottesville taking to stave off its impending shortage of affordable housing?
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The Surprising Politics of the Hallyu Wave
Hallyu, literally translated as the “flow of Korea,” refers to the recent explosion of South Korea cultural exports around the world. The most significant mainstays are in the realm of entertainment, spearheaded by the booming popularity of Korean pop music and trailed by the rise of beauty, food, and television. The rise of cultural popularity may not seem particularly influential, but for a small political hotspot like South Korea, hallyu is a big deal. South Korea has moved to make preparations to make it the main industry of export in anticipation of its future prosperity.
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Climate Change Denial is a Humanitarian Crisis
We are running out of time for American climate policy to evolve.
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#WeAreNotInvisible is Asian American History in the Making
This past October, the Asian Leaders Council (ALC) at U.Va. released a report pushing for academic reform, citing the need for increased Asian/Pacific Islander American representation in both faculty hiring and course offerings. This recent bout of activism parallels and follows a long, fraught history of academic reform in American history, one in which students at the University can both learn from and contribute to.
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Looking back at Virginia’s 5th District Congressional Race, by the numbers: Promising Signs for Democrats Outweighed by Gerrymandering
Results from the Congressional election in Virginia’s fifth district show promising signs for Democrats while underscoring the state’s intractable gerrymandering.
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Democratizing Discovery with Citizen Science
Citizen science gives nonscientists the opportunity to participate in setting research priorities, tackling scientific crises, while also creating a world of new data for scientists to explore.
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A Case For Globalization In A World of Trumps
The 2010s has seen a dramatic rise in nationalist rhetoric and leaders across the globe, damaging the fabric of international trade and cooperation that brought increased prosperity worldwide for so long. In order to fix this damage, world leaders must ensure that no one is left behind by globalization.
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The Case for Collaboration
The artificial division between sciences and humanities is entrenched in the University, but individual collaboration can help to alleviate the separation.
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The Politics of Impeachment
Considering closely the Mueller investigation, an analysis of the effects of partisan politics on the safeguards of democracy.