Opinion | Column

Column

The Book Nook: ‘Always the Almost’ is a beautiful story of queer, trans joy

By Layla Noor Landrum | November 10

Edward Underhill’s debut novel, “Always the Almost,” is a heartfelt and emotional young adult contemporary romance releasing next year from Macmillan. Midwestern pianist and high schooler Miles Jacobson has just come out as trans — the result of which is a strain on his relationship with his parents and his boyfriend, Shane, ending things with him. And while his friends are accepting of him, ever since Miles and Shane began dating, he’s felt out of place. It doesn’t help, either, that his new piano teacher keeps telling Miles that he needs to figure out who he is. Desperate for a win, Miles resolves to get back together with his ex and beat his stuck-up rival at an upcoming piano competition. But when Miles meets Eric, a new boy who’s just moved into their small town, everything changes. Asthe two bond over their art — Eric with his cartoons and Miles with his music — and go from friends to more, Miles begins to question who he is, what he truly wants, and why he’s never felt like he’s enough for anyone, especially himself.  

---

Column

The End of the World Has Just Begun: The long peace ends

By Daniel Chung | November 10

The security architecture of the world will soon be changed as the United States somewhat recedes from its role as guarantor of global security and challengers seek regional hegemony to take advantage of America’s apparent weakness. The two main trends I have pointed to, the fracturing of critical supply chains and global depopulation, are depleting resources across the globe, and subsequent increasing scarcity enforces the feeling by states of being forced to play their hands before they lose the power to do so.

---

Column

Ukraine at War: The siege of Mariupol

By Mariia Kudina | November 9

Will it ever be possible to not freeze from grief and tremble from anger at the mention of Mariupol? The name of the Ukrainian port city decimated by Russian forces triggers shivers all over the body. So do the words Azovstal, a demolished metal plant nearly twice the size of Midtown Manhattan which served as a shelter for civilians and the site of the city’s last stand, and Azov, the group of fighters that protected it, some of whom are still in Russian captivity.

---

Viewpoint

It's Happened Before: A more violent normal

By Asher Berlin | November 3

The late Roman Republic is, in many minds, synonymous with political violence, civil war and the erosion of republican values. Less remembered, however, is how it got there. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as the saying goes, and neither did it — or at least its republican version — fall in a day. Thus the long path to Caesar began with a man who, unlike Caesar, never got a Shakespeare play: Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus. Gracchus’ life and career are surprisingly unimportant in examining his impact. Suffice it to say that, after pursuing radical populist solutions to economic problems and obtaining political power through uncustomary methods, he incurred the wrath of a conservative faction of the Roman senate. Given his policies, this was unsurprising. What was surprising is how they stopped him: by gathering a mob to massacre him and his followers. Violence had, for the first time, become a political tactic, one that soon became irresistible.

---

Column

Ukraine at War: The dual purpose of the Ukrainian metro

By Mariia Kudina | November 2

Daily trips to the Park Street T station in Boston bring back memories of riding a train to get to Kyiv’s city center. First and foremost, I am also taking the Red Line, with the starting point in the suburbs. The T also goes above the ground, passing a river. The only difference is its name — the Charles, not the Dnipro. 

---

Column

The End of the World Has Just Begun: The World Falls Apart

By Daniel Chung | November 1

In this column, we come to the heart of the matter. Due to deglobalization and the breakdown of fragile global supply chains, major sectors — especially agriculture — will see reshuffling and deterioration over the next few years. 

---

---

Column

Looking Through the Met: Heavenly Bodies

By Ryan Fairfield | October 28

It is hard to think of a more iconic Met Gala than 2018’s “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” So, let’s get into it, starting with Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Breaker of Chains and the Mother of Dragons, also known as actress Emilia Clarke. 

---

Column

Ukraine at War: Weaponizing cold weather

By Mariia Kudina | October 26

Just like New England, Ukraine is lucky enough to enjoy all four seasons. Yellowish and reddish fall leaves inevitably trigger the memories of the beginning of school. Cherry trees blooming signal the forthcoming of the warmer days. We know it is summer when everyone is complaining about the heat while still enjoying the time spent in nature without heavy jackets and boots. Winters are reserved for evenings at home when it is snowing outside as well as celebrating Christmas and New Year’s. 

---

Column

It’s Happened Before: Putin’s scare tactics won’t work

By Asher Berlin | October 20

 In the 1930s, Britain was terrified of the bomber. It was thought of as the ultimate weapon: It could swoop in virtually undetected and deliver devastation of biblical proportions upon vulnerable cities, wiping them out. A massive aerial first strike, some military experts claimed, could bring Britain to its knees before it had a chance to fight back. In World War II, these ideas were put to the test. Nazi Germany, victorious in France by 1940, moved on to Britain. 

---

Column

Ukraine at War: What does grief feel like?

By Mariia Kudina | October 19

Each time I hear about another Russian military crime, I naively think that the situation cannot get any worse. It always can; apparently, it hits differently when a friend is killed. For me, the grief feels like a heavy fabric thrown all over the body. 

---

Column

Looking Through the Met: A Lexicon of Fashion

By Ryan Fairfield | October 14

The last time the Met Gala was not held on the first Monday of May was in 2004. Since Anna Wintour took charge of the event, it has been held on that day of the week for years, so much so that “the first Monday in May” has become synonymous with the gala. Due to the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Met Gala was held on the second Monday of September with the theme “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” and a dress code of “American Independence.” The 2021 and 2022 galas were part of a two-part exhibition, which is why the 2022 theme was also “In America.” 

---

Column

K-Weekly: What are the Bangtan Boys up to?

By Odessa Gaines | October 14

On June 14, just four days after dropping their anthology album “Proof,” BTS (방탄소년단) announced that they would be taking a break from group activities. 

---

Column

The End of the World Has Just Begun: No policeman

By Daniel Chung | October 14

Of the points raised in my last piece concerning the origins of the globalized system, the most relevant to today’s affairs may be the fact that free trade has sprung up under American auspices — particularly the exertion of naval supremacy as the U.S. Navy underpins 90% of global commerce, or over $4.6 trillion worth of trade. However, the lack of a navy with true supremacy in our global system furthers the argument that our experiment in globalization is doomed to fall apart. This article will, consequently, serve as a review of global navies and their ability to protect the sea lanes of trade and communication.

---

Column

Ukraine at War: We don't need another post-nuclear war art movement

By Mariia Kudina | October 12

Have you ever looked at a painting in a museum of modern art and felt extremely confused attempting to understand the artist’s message? When and why did American creators ‘decide’ that realism is too limited for expressing ideas? What caused the transformation of traditional art to a conceptual one? The phenomena of abstract expressionism and the movements that followed it have blossomed in the United States after 1945, the year U.S. bombers dropped the world's first deployed atomic bombs over two peaceful Japanese cities. 

---

Column

It's Happened Before: To pardon, or not to pardon

By Asher Berlin | October 6

In a recessionary economy, there is one group whose future looks very bright: Trump’s lawyers. Now fighting battles on three legal fronts, former President Trump is spending millions to hold off a growing cast of opponents. Initially only dealing with a House of Representatives investigation into his involvement in the Jan. 6 debacle, Trump now has to contend with a New York state investigation into financial impropriety and, since early August, an FBI investigation into illegal removal of classified material from the White House. Out of this staggering litany of incredible misconduct, the most dangerous to Trump is his potential breach of federal laws relating to classified material. On a memorable day in American history, the FBI searched Trump’s property at Mar-a-Lago and recovered, among other things, top-secret material, which, were it to fall into the wrong hands, might devastate American national security. While Trump has faced legal problems before, it seems that in this investigation he might finally face real consequences, which could include a 10-year sentence.

---

Column

K-Weekly: BLACKPINK makes comeback after nearly two years

By Odessa Gaines | October 5

After a nearly two-year and greatly anticipated wait, BLACKPINK has finally made its musical comeback with its new album, “Born Pink” (2022). BLACKPINK, a four-member girl group made up of Rosé, Jisoo, Lisa and Jennie, first debuted on Aug. 8, 2016, with their single album “Square One” (2016) under YG Entertainment. 

---

Column

The End of the World Has Just Begun: In the beginning

By Daniel Chung | September 29

To understand the end of globalization, we need to go back to its beginnings. Shockingly, our current global system is less than 80 years old, and an aberration rather than the norm. 

---

Column

The End of the World Has Just Begun: Birthing pains

By Daniel Chung | September 6

For at least the last half decade, it’s seemed like the world has been in a constant state of failure for most observers of the news. To liberals in the United States, much of this has been pinned on the unexpected and largely unprecedented rise of Donald Trump to the presidency and the devolution of much of the Republican base into cult-of-personality MAGA politics. 

---

Column

In Pursuit of Eggcellence: The finale

By Julia Appel | May 20

For my birthday this year, my mom got me an egg cup that is shaped like a knight. It has a little spoon for a lance. You take off the helmet, whack the eggshell with the little spoon until it opens, and eat the egg out of the suit of armor like a ravenous dragon. I highly recommend the experience. All I need now is a hoard.

---

Column

The Art of Good Soup: Two girls, four pots

By Sadie Leite and Ellie Lester | May 2

Good things come to those who wait. At least, that’s what we tried to convince ourselves as the minutes grew in our wait for hot pot at Q Restaurant in Boston. Fifteen minutes turned into 40, and we simply were not having it.

---