POINT: More security in schools will not end gun violence


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When tragedy struck Parkland, Fla., last week, parents, students and children across the nation were both stunned and exhausted at yet another senseless massacre — one that common-sense gun regulations could have made far more unlikely. Some conservative pundits and policymakers who have come under fire for their opposition to gun reform have proposed a […]

COUNTERPOINT: For USG, voter engagement should remain the top priority


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Undergraduate Student Government elections will be underway in less than a week, but the mood around campus doesn’t reflect that. Yes, there are campaign signs along Trousdale Parkway, candidates make Facebook pages to gather support and campus news organizations write about the campaign trail. But for the average student, the air of USG elections just […]

POINT: Political parties create a pipeline for participation


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It’s that time of year. The smiling faces of Undergraduate Student Government presidential and senatorial candidates line Trousdale Parkway, Annenberg Media hosts candidate “town hall” events and swaths of friends change their Facebook profile pictures to the business casual-meets-school spirit promotional filters of USG candidates. Yet, despite its efforts, the intractable problem of USG at […]

COUNTERPOINT: Efforts to promote diversity are becoming redundant


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American culture’s contemporary emphasis on diversity is well-placed, and the institutionalization of diversity through various programs at universities made sense when they were put in place. But things change, and it’s hard to envisage what comes next. It goes unspoken that diversity is an integral component of the human experience. And yet, militant activism pushing […]

POINT: Formal efforts to promote diversity remain necessary


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Ritualized, formalized diversity is necessary. Elite universities are no longer for the privileged, or so the trend might suggest. The Washington Post reported Monday that Princeton University has tripled its Pell share receiving populace to 22 percent. Broadly, almost everyone agrees that diversity is beneficial for higher education. Yet, some believe that the means to […]