ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat truly gets the Asian American experience


After scrolling through my newsfeed and reading countless articles raving about the new ABC series Fresh Off the Boat, I felt it was my social obligation as an Asian American to check it out myself. But I’m ashamed to admit, it wasn’t at the top of my priorities, or even at the top of my […]

Truth, discovery and being very, very small


Philosophers have, for centuries, struggled to define truth. And so many theories and basic logical relationships rely on the basic assumption that something is true; namely, 2 + 1 = 3 because 2 indicates two things, 1 indicates one thing and 3 indicates three things. Whether that assumption is in line with reality is another […]

Congressional Republicans are failing due to incompetence


After last year’s midterm elections, when Republicans won sweeping gains in both houses of Congress and shifted power in the Senate from blue to red, liberal pundits were understandably concerned about what new legislation would pass the legislature before the next election in 2016. With campaign promises ranging from creating new jobs to stopping ISIS, […]

HONY post shows there’s still hope for American education


As the semester begins to pick up, life with the flurry of papers, midterms and lab reports seems to move at an accelerated pace. But when things get so busy (and stressful), it’s important to remember that there are others who struggle to obtain the same education that we often take for granted. On Jan. […]

Snapchat signals the advent of a new language


Snapchat is one of those things that really didn’t have to come into existence, but once it did, it immediately gained a following of users who can’t even fathom how they would’ve gone about their day without it. It’s that way with a lot of things in today’s social media world. Take Facebook, for instance. […]

Deconstructing what it means to be basic


Perched outside Trojan Grounds, you’re studying and generally minding your own business, when it arrives — the wave of long brown hair of a girl walking out of Starbucks. Donning oversized sunglasses, a loose tank top, lululemon leggings and Ugg boots, she clutches her venti Caramel Macchiato with whipped cream as if it alone gives […]

Growing up — it’s all in the name of college


  I never thought I would say this, but at the end of first semester, hopping on a plane to the freezing-cold East Coast seemed quite appealing. Despite the football games, late nights and new friends that made up my first semester freshman year experience, part of me longed for the familiarity of my former […]

Would I rather?


“If you had the chance to be white, would you take it?” It was a question posed late at night — at that ungodly hour when people are free to think wild thoughts. My first thought was yes. Yes, of course. I considered the sight of my roommate, her own smooth skin several shades darker […]

Results of “social experiment” on compliments aren’t news


A couple days ago, midway through my morning routine of checking all my social media platforms, I came across a Buzzfeed article. A young woman had started a social experiment, “Whenever a boy compliments you, agree with him.” In many of the conversations she posted, the boy would compliment her on her looks, she’d reply […]

Rand Paul needs to stop distorting truth about vaccination


Rand Paul has been sucked deeper into the loony lagoon. Despite being busy advocating for a return to the gold standard, claiming Ebola can be contained through free market mechanisms and asserting that the Department of Education is unconstitutional, Rand Paul has decided to make another wild assertion — that vaccinations should be voluntary because […]