New York City is contributing to the nationwide discourse on tobacco age restrictions in a big way. A bill proposing to raise the legal sale of tobacco to those 21 years and older is currently waiting for a signature on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s desk. Alhough New York is not the first city to implement the new age restriction, New York’s legislation has always had a high amount of influence over similar legislation in other cities and states, perhaps because of the city’s cosmopolitan relevance to popular culture. This debate made...

For the past couple of weeks, social media and news websites have been buzzing over an article posted on Slate regarding solutions to rape culture.  Slate contributor Emily Yoffe’s main point? In order to stop rape on college campuses, young women should stop drinking. Yoffe’s article, as the aforementioned “solution” suggests, focused largely on attacking the current generation’s trends of binge-drinking and hookup culture—a trend I don’t see as necessarily new. “Young women are getting a distorted message that their right to match men drink for drink is a feminist...

As our generation of third-wave feminists continues its discourse on sex-positive behaviors, the most obvious celebrity of interest has quickly become Miley Cyrus. As tracks from her new album, Bangerz, which dropped Oct. 4, climb the iTunes charts (the album itself hit the number one spot within hours of its release) the already notorious pop star has made even more headlines through her feud with 80’s pop singer Sinead O’Connor. The circumstances of their dispute involve a series of open letters penned by Sinead O’Connor, the first of which O’Connor...

In the past few weeks, much has happened in the realm of women’s rights. From Texas senator Wendy Davis (known best for her spectacular 13-hour filibuster of an annoying anti-abortion bill last June, a bill that was later signed by everyone’s favorite conservative, Rick Perry), announcing her intentions to run for Texas governor, to Anita Perry’s accidental quasi-confession of considering abortion as what “could be a right,” there have been quite a few headlines surrounding women and their health concerns and privileges. The trend, it would seem, continues with a...

I think it would be fair to say that the annual Miss America pageant is considered to be one of the most important national events by our campus community. This year, however, there is a reason to open up campus interest and dialogue on the pageant—or rather the problems that have stemmed from it. Last week, 24-year-old Fayetteville, N.Y. native Nina Davuluri was crowned Miss America, and became the first Indian-American woman to have ever received the title. “As NPR’s ‘Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me’ said earlier, ‘ everyone is...

As we made our return to campus this fall, many of us may have noticed a group of people dressed to impress in the S.U.B. – as corn.  The human corn crop was composed of representatives from WashPIRG, (Washington Public Interest Group), a nonprofit organization that employs the assistance of students to spread awareness on important political issues in the state. Currently at the top of their docket is a support campaign for Washington State Initiative 522. I-522 deals with explicit labeling of genetically modified foods and ingredients, and as...

The recent surge of articles published on New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand could not have come at a more opportune time for our campus.  The majority of these articles, penned by writers from Salon, Politico and everywhere in between, focus on Gillibrand’s chances were she to run for office.  Given Hilary Clinton’s resignation as Secretary of State this year, it is anyone’s guess as to whether Hilary’s name will appear on the 2016 ticket.  During her 2012 interview with Barbara Walters for the annual “10 Most Fascinating People” special, our...

Growing up, I can recall adults in my life reflecting on major historical events like the JFK assassination, the start of the Vietnam War, or hearing of the bombing at Pearl Harbor in much the same way – always saying that they could remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. It wasn’t until last year that I realized one of those moments has already occurred for me. Almost twelve years later, I can picture news footage of the Twin Towers, surrounded by...

April Fool’s Day 2013 was a productive time for the internet.  Netflix got us all with categories entitled “TV Shows Where Defiantly Crossed Arms Mean Business,”  Movies Starring Estelle Getty and Some Other Guy,”  and, (my personal favorite), “Movies Featuring an Epic Nicolas Cage Meltdown.”  I read a few satirical articles, looked at some pretty funny photoshop jobs, and was altogether pleased with the comic festivities until I came across one particular article, on a Maryland school board’s alleged vow to remove the letter ‘L’ from alphabet curriculum – because...

There is a revolution happening on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus, and it’s one that deserves attention across the nation.  UNC sophomore Landen Gambill is facing enormous backlash over speaking out about her experiences with her ex-boyfriend – experiences that she claims ended in rape and verbal abuse. To create a timeline, Gambill and her ex-boyfriend were together during their freshman year at UNC.  During this time, Gambill claims she was the victim of repeated verbal abuse and unwanted sexual advances until such time that the...