Sadie Roraback-Meagher: Evan, what’s the difference between an expired pie and this year’s New York mayoral election? Evan Wang: What? Sadie: Nothing, they’re both full of rotten apples. Evan: I’m going to quit the column. Sadie: Jokes aside, a probable Cuomo-Adams off seems like just ...
Greenland is a relatively new player on the global stage. Only gaining autonomy from Denmark in 1979, the region is known for fishing, ice and being the largest island that isn’t considered a continent. However, the history of colonialism and the Indigenous fight for sovereignty in Greenland is largely unknown outside of Greenland and Denmark. While this serves historically colonial powers, examining Greenland as a case study is vital to contextualizing Indigeneity within global politics. As U.S. President Donald Trump explores buying Greenland, it’s important to not only consider the opinion of European powers, but also the Indigenous people Trump’s proposal would immediately affect.
My dad turned 9 years old on the day of the Chernobyl disaster. Two years later, his father was sent to the city to clean up the contaminated area and manage the consequences of the catastrophe. He spent around five months maintaining the station, managing a team of people and ensuring that safety protocols were followed. Back then, everything was covered in radioactive dust, and even eating an apple from a tree or sitting on a park bench could be deadly. The radiation deteriorated not only the environment but also people’s physical and mental health. Some of his fellow liquidators lost their minds after getting lost in the Red Forest, a strip of greenery around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. My dad, a physician, explains that everyone reacted to the radiation differently.
Sadie Roraback-Meagher: Heya there Evan! Evan Wang: Hey Sadie! Sadie: I hope your week has been good so far. I don’t know about you, but for me, looking at the news this past week has been … what’s the word? Panic inducing? Nauseating? Just flat-out horrifying? But hey, at least that ...
In the field of development economics, there is a prominent view that education and investment in human capital are key for improving social organization and economic mobility, bringing about effective economic development. For an already-developed country like the United States, this view on development may not always manifest in economic terms — it could also pertain to both social progress and innovation. Having been able to compare the relationship between education and development in a developing country like China and a developed country like the United States, I have seen firsthand how access to and quality of higher education play a crucial role in shaping a nation’s trajectory.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump announced an executive order ending birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to formerly enslaved Black people after the Civil War. Almost immediately, the executive order was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in Washington, D.C. Attorneys general from 22 states agreed that the order is unconstitutional and violates the 14th Amendment. Even so, Trump is arguing that the exceptions in the 14th Amendment, such as the Indigenous exception, don’t allow for birthright citizenship.
Over winter break, I was back home in Beijing, China, where I was once again struck by the stark income inequality that defines so much of our society. This inequality does not hit me as hard when I’m in Medford, where the visual uniformity of the suburbs– where differences in wealth are more subdued – allows me to often overlook it. But in Beijing, the contrasts are impossible to ignore. The sight of Bentley cars just about everywhere I go, coupled with delivery workers who are sprinting tirelessly to their destinations just to make a living, leaves me grappling with difficult questions: how should I view income inequality, not just as an abstract economic concept, but as something more personal? What kind of lifestyle should I strive for in a world where privilege and deprivation coexist so seamlessly?
This past Thanksgiving break, I stayed at my uncle’s suburban home just outside Nashville, Tenn., where I saw life in American suburbia firsthand. The whole time I felt like I was in an “American Beauty” fever dream. To put it simply, I absolutely hated it.
This year, a famous Ukrainian rock band, Okean Elzy, celebrated its 30-year anniversary. The group has become a symbol of resistance for all generations of independent Ukraine. For my parents, Okean Elzy became an integral part of the Orange Revolution in 2004 and 2005, when Ukrainians protested against election fraud, and Euromaidan in 2013 and 2014, when the citizens objected to pro-Russian governmental policies. I strongly link the band’s music with those events as well, but mainly with Ukraine’s counteroffensive and defense during Russia’s full-scale invasion. This October, Okean Elzy performed in Boston as part of its global tour. The day after the concert, I had a chance to listen to a talk by the lead singer Svyatoslav Vakarchuk at Harvard.
About a week after various armed groups began to move against the Syrian government’s forces in Aleppo, the conflict is spiraling into a befuddling mess of frontlines, with some rebel groups now turning their attention towards one another. It seems that the recent violence has been brought ...
It was Sept. 29, 2022, and 57-year-old Daw Khin had just recently returned to her village in eastern Karenni State after being forced to flee due to attacks by Myanmar’s military junta, the Tatmadaw. Cleaning her now disheveled house, one of those still standing in her neighborhood, she stepped on a landmine which was placed right outside of her outdoor toilet.
I spent the entire past summer volunteering as a funder research assistant for a U.N. agency, where I researched over 300 Chinese corporations on their Corporate Social Responsibility indexes. From analyzing the key sectors of each company, I sought to identify those with the dual strengths of mission-driven goals and substantial social funding to support targeted initiatives.
My previous article was a call to President-elect Donald Trump to reconsider his stance on withdrawing troops from Syria. However, I do not feel as if I properly made a case for the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, which I so adamantly advocated for.
I used to count the days since the start of the full-scale invasion. It seemed that such a brutal and bloody war could not last long and that the international community would soon find a solution to make Russian forces withdraw. I stopped the daily count sometime after the images from recently liberated towns around Kyiv and the news about the bombing of Mariupol Drama Theater were released in 2022. Though the world saw the atrocities of the Bucha massacre and the attack on the theater used as a shelter by civilians, including children, the war has only become more violent since then. This week marks 1000 days since the full-scale invasion, and after approximately 3900 days of the war, Russian attacks continue to intensify, increasingly targeting entire families.
Recently, Ryan Walters, the state superintendent of public instruction of Oklahoma, announced that he had purchased over 500 copies of the Bible to be taught in high schools and sent videos of himself praying for President-elect Donald Trump to be shown to public school students. This is in addition to a previous program that sought to purchase some 55,000 Bibles to be distributed to every public school classroom in the state of Oklahoma. Not only is this a travesty and mockery of the American education system and the separation between church and state, which is enshrined in our Constitution, but it is also a slap in the face to Christianity, which should not be taught by teachers who are wildly unprepared for the job.
Following the recent election, the upcoming Trump administration has been discussing their plans to address various key issues in current American policy. Perhaps the least attention has been given to recent comments relating to American action in Syria, more specifically action as it relates to the various groups which make up the Syrian Democratic Forces.
This past weekend, I attended a concert in the Crystal Ballroom of Somerville with a friend. Much to my chagrin, he elected to leave before the opener even stepped foot on stage, citing other commitments. It was then that I knew I had a topic for my column.
The focus of our education system often places tangible results above all else. What letter grade can a student get? What is the average GPA? What is the graduation rate? These are the tangible factors that are discussed when implementing school policies. However, in placing so much trust in these seemingly irrefutable numbers, we are forgetting that schooling is a community effort. The environment in which students are taught will influence students as much as the grades they get on their algebra exams. The environment of our schools has increasingly drifted towards a sense of complacency and a lack of responsibility.
Before getting into my argument, I must point out that I am far from a supporter of the Sudanese Armed Forces. Despite this, recent atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces after the defection of one of their commanders have reinforced my opinion that it would be best for the country ...
The connection between the war in Ukraine and climate change might not be evident at first glance. Discussions of environmental damage brought upon by Russian warfare rarely appear on the front pages of major newspapers. Yet, recent scientific studies highlight that the war not only deteriorates ecosystems in Ukraine, but also accelerates global warming by emitting heat trapping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
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