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Opinions

The election of Yoon Suk-yeol in South Korea threatens women’s rights (Photo from Pixabay). 

OPINION: How far will a ‘K-Trump’ set back feminism?

By Soorin Kim | Mar. 28, 2022

Yoon Suk-yeol, a former chief prosecutor, is set to replace Moon Jae-in as President of South Korea on May 10. Suk-yeol has become increasingly known in the West as a “K-Trump,” similar to Brazil’s “Trump of the Tropics,” Jair Bolsonaro. Suk-yeol is a staunch conservative, running on a platform combatting the rising feminism movement in Korea to some consternation and some heady approval.  The election campaign pitted Suk-yeol against the former governor Lee Jae-myung, a liberal candidate seen as the “lesser of two evils” by leftists. For the first time in South Korean politics, the gender conflict played a large role in debates and campaigns. The feminism movement, and the vehement backlash it received, needed to be addressed. 

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Americans must be willing to face the real consequences of supporting Ukrainians through this attack (Pexels).

OPINION: Paying more for gas will help Ukraine

By Soorin Kim | Mar. 15, 2022

The tragedy in Ukraine has been dominating the U.S. news cycle for the past few weeks. As the terror rages on against innocent civilians, Americans have come together to express their solidarity through vigils, marches and other performative means of showing support. However, on a larger, governmental level, many have wondered exactly what actions the Biden administration will take to combat this humanitarian crisis.  The answer came on March 8 when Biden officially banned the importation of Russian crude oil and natural gas. This sanction, among the multiple other Russian sanctions imposed by sympathetic countries, will hopefully be a huge financial blow to Putin’s war chest: a limitation on exports will force the country to focus on a domestic crisis rather than on the terror pressed against Ukrainians. 

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(Navya Sinha / The Signal).

From a Basement: Students realizing classmate crushes aren’t as cute without their masks

By Miss Misery | Mar. 11, 2022

Refreshed from a relaxing spring break, Harper James was eager to return to the business building. However, her excitement had little to do with the next lesson in her BUS200 class; she had instead been anticipating seeing her long-time class crush, Jerry Seinfeld, without the mask covering half of his gorgeous face. Much to her dismay, though, when Harper re-entered the classroom she could not find her dear Jerry amongst the crowd of newly exposed faces. She recalled his usual seat and narrowed her focus there where her gaze was met by that of a man she did not recognize, yet one who greeted her as though they had long been acquainted. 

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(Navya Sinha / The Signal)

OPINION: Ketanji Brown Jackson is not an Affirmative Action hire

By Soorin Kim | Mar. 11, 2022

When President Joe Biden announced he wanted his Supreme Court nominee to be a Black woman, he was met with overwhelming dissent. Conservatives rallied against Biden, claiming he would nominate a judge solely because of her race and gender without regard for her lesser-than qualifications, thereby admitting to thinking that a Black woman couldn’t have the same stellar education or career of the five white men who currently serve as justices. Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson on Feb. 25, and since then the lawyer has received glowing endorsements from prominent Republican figures like J. Michael Luttig. Praise for her career and intellect are not unsubstantiated: Jackson is a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School and served as editor of the Harvard Law Review. She has clerked for the Supreme Court and has had a successful career as a public defender and later as a federal judge. 

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(Alessia Contuzzi / The Signal)

OPINION: Putin’s ‘blood and soil’ speech revealed war was never about NATO — a breakdown

By Ethan Kaiser | Mar. 2, 2022

In the early morning of Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war against Ukraine, phrased as a “special military operation.” Just two days before, Putin recognized two breakaway regions in Eastern Ukraine bordering Russia: Donetsk and Luhansk. These two areas have been the sight of civil war, with portions of the two regions under Russian-backed separatist control. But instead of recognizing just the separatist controlled regions as independent republics, Putin opted to recognize the whole region, even those under Ukrainian control, as parts of the “republics.”

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(Navya Sinha / The Signal)

OPINION: Doping discrimination has never been clearer

By Soorin Kim | Feb. 28, 2022

The world was in shock when fifteen-year-old Kamila Valieva was allowed to compete in this year’s winter Olympics despite testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Sports commentators called it a slap in the face to contestants playing clean, and the Olympics committee finally conceded that should Valieva earn a medal, she would not receive a victory ceremony.  This past July, a similar situation played out but received a drastically different public reaction.

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The 2022 Winter Olympics showcased how China efficiently handles Covid-19 and mimizies its spread through its Zero Covid Policy. Although effective, it is very unlikely that these guidelines could work in the United States (Navya Sinha).

OPINION: Why can't China's ‘Zero Covid Policy’ work in the states?

By Soorin Kim | Feb. 22, 2022

The 2022 Winter Olympics have been threatened by disease, doping scandals and diplomatic boycotts, just to name a few. But China has managed to pull the games off relatively smoothly so far...  With the nation being broadcast to millions of people worldwide, pressure was mounting to impress yet again, but this year, visitors wouldn’t be dazzled by new infrastructure and abundant wealth; those at the games would instead marvel at the strict and efficient way China has been dealing with Covid-19. 

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From a Basement is a satirical column written by Miss Misery. This fictional piece is about fraternities and hazing (Navya Sinha).

From a Basement: Campus fraternity proud to take a stand against hazing; emotional abuse on the other hand…

By Miss Misery | Feb. 22, 2022

Disclaimer: This is a satirical piece and does not reflect real individuals or events. Concern regarding the dangers of hazing has been on the rise in recent years. With more individuals involved in Greek life, criticizing it as an outdated and sadistic tradition, fraternities and sororities have had no choice but to respond. A clear message was being sent: get with the times or get left behind.

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Tony Hawk has gotten into the NFT practice (Photo courtesy of Tony Hawk Inc.)

OPINION: What a Tony Hawk NFT says about celebrity culture

By Soorin Kim | Feb. 17, 2022

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, have been dominating cryptocurrency news stories over the past year. An NFT is a piece of data stored on a blockchain which can be traded or sold for millions of dollars. They’re the latest development in digital art collection and can take the form of gifs, videos, tweets and now, skateboard tricks.  Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk recently made the decision to retire some of his most famous tricks, converting them to NFTs and cashing in on the craze, much to the chagrin of his fanbase. 

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 (Flickr / “Maus I and II” / Bill Smith)

OPINION: Why aren’t book bans illegal yet?

By Delaney Smith | Feb. 8, 2022

A Tennessee school board banned the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel “Maus” on January 10. This graphic novel details the horrific treatment of Jewish people during the Holocaust, with mice representing the Jewish people and the Nazis drawn out as cats. It is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest graphic novels of all time for its haunting storytelling, artwork and the use of cats and mice as instantly recognizable allegories.

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From A Basement is a satirical column written by Miss Misery. This piece touches on the topic of inevitable icebreakers and the trauma dumping that they may sustain (Navya Sinha).

From a Basement: Student unsure where the line between ‘icebreaker’ and ‘trauma dumping’ is

By Miss Misery | Jan. 26, 2022

The start of a new semester opens the door for an abundance of possibilities — joining a new club, taking new classes, starting a new job — all of which come with the unfortunate caveat of having to meet new people. Perhaps you would consider yourself to be a “people person,” yet even those fond of meeting new people can concede that the typical small talk in “getting to know you” type conversations can be tedious.

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President Biden has found it hard to unite with people who demonstrated that they would overthrow the government before letting him succeed. (White House / Adam Schultz).

OPINION: The good, the bad and Joe Biden

By Connor Carlin | Jan. 26, 2022

In 1920, a little known senator from Ohio named Warren G. Harding made a run for President with a promise of a return to normalcy. Reeling from the upheaval of World War I, the Spanish flu pandemic and the First Red Scare, America elected him overwhelmingly, hoping to go back to the way things were before, hoping to return to normalcy. Joe Biden campaigned on a similar promise in 2020, vowing to beat Trump and get America back to work. Normalcy for Harding and Biden means two very different things, but as first years go, Harding’s was much better than the one Biden had.

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POLITICAL ANALYSIS: Why represent the People when you can just represent yourself?

By Connor Carlin | Dec. 6, 2021

Congressional Democrats have a lot of big plans but limited chances of getting them out the door. Top on the agenda is President Biden's $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill, and next are bills on voting rights and immigration reform. These proposals have proven popular with the public, despite attempts by Republicans to gin up opposition. So, why aren’t they going through? 

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