Opinions

By Casey O’Brien Our language about Tacoma is coded — and it is a problem. A friend of a friend of mine who is from Seattle was chatting with me recently about Tacoma. What she had to say didn’t shock me, but it did disappoint me. “Tacoma’s dangerous. It has such a drug and gang problem. It’s sketchy. And it smells bad.” From someone educated and, I thought, fairly progressive, it was saddening to me that she saw my adopted home this way. A friend of mine from high school...

By Jackie Sedley The City of Seattle announced on Tuesday that it will be suing the Trump administration in an attempt to halt the addition of a question regarding citizenship status to the 2020 census. Questions regarding citizenship have not appeared on a nationwide census since 1950, which alludes to the lack of societal progression guiding this addition. In accordance with the United States Constitution, the government is required to count the number of people residing within the United States every 10 years. This data is used primarily to determine...

By Sarah Buchlaw After calling activist Emma González a “skinhead lesbian,” Republican Leslie Gibson withdrew his campaign for the Maine House of Representatives on March 16, as reported by the Washington Post. This is the not the first, nor the last, instance of a powerful white man targeting a woman of color’s sexuality in order to invalidate her opinions and silence her voice. After Feb. 14 of this year, there are very few Americans who haven’t heard González’s name. A survivor of the Parkland, Florida school shooting at Marjory Stoneman...

By Jackie Sedley Walk Up, Not Out is a recent movement in response to scheduled walk-outs occurring on elementary, middle and high school campuses across the nation. Sparked by a Facebook post by Texan and retired teacher, David Blair, walk-ups urge students to focus less on civic engagement and more on individual acts of kindness when attempting to prevent future gun violence. This movement also deters people from focusing on gun control laws as means to limit violence, but instead promotes social inclusion as a means to limit a student’s...

By Ella Frazer You’re halfway through the semester, and you’re probably pretty stressed at this point (I know I am). With a little help from Christopher Edwards, Psychologist and Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator at Counseling, Health and Wellness Services (CHWS), I’ve compiled a little list of tips to help you relax. Limit your screen time I’m addicted to my phone. I get nervous just leaving the house without it, and sometimes, although I hate to admit it, I can’t even go a full class period without taking a look at...

By Casey O’Brien Do poor people have the right to choose the food they eat? Not necessarily, based on the Trump administration’s budget proposal for the SNAP program. SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is the program formerly known as food stamps. Until now, SNAP has operated through something called EBT cards — electronic benefit transfers — basically, debit cards that you can use on groceries. Trump’s proposal involves halving the amount of money offered through EBT, and delivering boxes of dried foods, canned foods and cereals to SNAP recipients....

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLICKR By Jackie Sedley A recent federal court case decision regarding whether or not prostitution is a constitutional right has sparked debate about the potential benefits of legalizing prostitution across the nation. In 2015, the Erotic Service Provider Legal Education and Research Project (ESPLERP) filed a lawsuit claiming that prostitution should be protected under the 14th Amendment, similar to the way the Lawrence v.  Texas case initiated protection under the due process clause for “intimate conduct” between consenting adults. However, on Jan. 17, the prostitution case was...

By Sarah Buchlaw Since “Broad City” first aired in 2014, creators Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson have been hailed as television’s favorite feminists. The show follows the lives of best friends Ilana and Abbi, who play themselves, living in New York City. Glazer and Jacobson have certainly broken boundaries as two successful Jewish women on television. They are honest, flawed, hilarious, and yes — irrevocably white. It is no secret that women are still fighting to be represented on screen as often (and as authentically) as men are. According to...