Opinion | Where does Joe Biden go from here?
By Dennis Austin, Columnist
February 27, 2020
Bernie Sanders scored his second consecutive primary victory in New Hampshire on Feb. 11. (For purposes of transparency, I was part of the 2016 New Hampshire campaign.) As Sanders positions himself as the Democratic Party’s frontrunner, there was one other noticeable observation: Joe Biden’s perform...
Opinion | It’s not too late to get your flu shot
By Tommy Block, Senior Columnist
February 25, 2020
Temperatures dipped last week, and it seems like everybody’s health did the same. There was so much coughing in the Illini Union that I thought I had accidentally stumbled into the infirmary. Just because we’re almost done with winter doesn’t mean viruses are. We’re not out of the clear y...
Opinion | American attitudes harm more than coronavirus
By Tara Pavithran, Columnist
February 24, 2020
Coronavirus poses a looming and direct threat to public health. The original 59 cases from Wuhan, China, have now become tens of thousands affecting dozens of countries. Among these countries is the United States. This is probably common knowledge. Since coronavirus started making headlines in early Janua...
Opinion | ‘Jesus is King’ is Kanye West’s most important work
By Matthew Krauter, Columnist
February 24, 2020
Recently in Chicago, I was fortunate enough to attend Kanye West’s Sunday Service. I can report it was one of the most genuinely positive and enjoyable things I’ve ever attended. West’s public conversion to Christianity has produced the most important work of his career. His album “Jesus is King” and ...
Opinion | Indian government turns anti-Muslim
By Neshmia Malik, Columnist
February 20, 2020
Over the course of a half-century, a marginalized group of people has been at the center of an ongoing dispute between India and Pakistan: Kashmiris. The Muslim-majority region has been exploited by the two rival countries for years when Kashmiris have consistently sought to govern themselves. Kashm...
Opinion | Award shows are the place for political statements
By Sanjna Menon, Columnist
February 18, 2020
Climate change, voter registration, governmental policies, sexual predators and equal representation are just a few of the horrific things still rearing their ugly heads this year. The more times these topics are discussed, the more attention they get and the more influential the person talking about them, ...
Opinion | Illinois FOID cards violate Second Amendment rights
By Matthew Krauter, Columnist
February 17, 2020
Gun laws in Illinois are among the worst of any state in the country. The arbitrary regulations in place are unconstitutional and do more to infringe upon the rights of law-abiding citizens than stop criminals. The Second Amendment guarantees the right that “a well-regulated militia, being necessary ...
Opinion | Housing needs to be in higher supply, not price controlled
By Austin Stadelman, Columnist
February 13, 2020
As the United States’ largest cities continue to be hubs for economic growth, more people find themselves having to move into the boundaries of cities to commute to work. This has drastically driven up housing prices over the last few decades to the point where millennials now spend an average 45% of...
Opinion | It’s high time for Centrist Democrats to speak up
By Mark Toledano, Columnist
February 13, 2020
At Friday’s Democratic debate in New Hampshire, the leading candidates were asked if they had a problem with a socialist being the leader of their party. All eyes in the room fell on socialist senator Bernie Sanders, who sensed they were talking about him. Yet only one hand went up to the question. ...
Opinion | ‘Parasite’ earned best picture
By Tommy Block, Senior Columnist
February 12, 2020
“Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles,” South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho noted at the Golden Globes last month, “you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.” As a fellow columnist of mine pointed out a few weeks ago, anyone who doesn’t heed Bong’s advic...
Opinion | What Kobe Bryant meant to the black community
By Dennis Austin, Columnist
February 11, 2020
As we enter Black History Month, we must remember black athletes, male and female, for their contributions to our culture. Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and tennis legend Althea Gibson are often revered as trailblazers in their respective sports and as some of many forebearers of the Civil Rights movement. T...
Opinion | ‘Mulan’ live action more culturally authentic than animated
By Alice Lee, Columnist
February 10, 2020
Of the many iconic Disney princesses that’ve been introduced to the American public, Mulan stands as one of the more courageous and heroic characters created in the franchise. A lesser-known fact of the 1998 classic is the story was based on the fabled Chinese warrior Hua Mulan from the poem “...
