Posts Categorized: Civic Engagement
For Young Feminists, 2018 Must Be The Year of Rising to The Occasion
To quote bell hooks, feminism is for everyone. This sentiment is, of course, something that I believe with every fiber of my being. Feminism is all affecting, vast and complex beyond what even great gender scholars can say. Feminism, also, benefits us all. It is the panacea for a better world. But in this type of thinking in the modern age, an aspect of contemporary feminism has become clear: feminism is not radical anymore. While, yes, of course- feminism is still an objection to patriarchy, and that is a radical notion. But in my somewhat unasked for opinion, feminism is losing its original politics and defiance that made it revolutionary in the first place. I specifically mean that feminism has become something that can be mass marketed- toned down and… Read more »
America’s Relationship with Guns Has to Change
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This past Sunday there was a tremendous shooting in Sutherland Springs Texas. An armed man drove to a church, and killed 26 people inside. The ages of worshipers wounded and killed spanned from 5 to 77 according to CNN. According to USA today, 2017 is the deadliest year for mass shootings. The First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas had a tragedy that put the death toll from mass shootings at 208 this year when, in 2016, 188 people died. When I found out about the shooting in the small town church, I learned that the shooter, Devin Patrick Kelley, reportedly had a record of domestic violence; had escaped from a mental facility in 2012; had tried to bring guns onto a military base to threaten superior officers; and last… Read more »
DACA and the Budget
We already know that immigration is a reproductive justice issue. We know that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program was created to protect undocumented children brought to the us by their parents. We know the Trump Administration is ending DACA. And we know that the DREAM Act is the best way to give these over 800,000 DACAmented folks a path to permanent citizenship in the US. But here’s the question – how exactly will this DREAM Act get passed? The short answer: the Congressional Budget for fiscal year 2018, which must be passed in December. And guess what? YOU have a say in whether Congress passes a clean Dream Act. Read on to find out how you can help. December: The Month All of The Things… Read more »
URGE Defends DACA: Why Immigrant Justice is Reproductive Justice
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What week is it? Regardless of the date, I can tell you that it sucks. Every morning we wake up to a new fresh hell wondering what this administration can retract or enact. In the year of our Lorde 2017 it’s easy to feel pretty hopeless. I, however, am here to tell you that even though each day brings another round of reasons to be angry or terrified , that does not mean that we can forget about what came the day, week, or month before. With constant attacks on our immigrant community, it is important that we stay vigilant, particularly with the timebomb of DACA’s expiration date looming. As early as March of 2018, over 800,000 immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children are at risk of… Read more »
White Privilege is Killing People
If you’ve paid any attention to the news in the past couple of days, you know of the tragic events that conspired in Las Vegas. The worst part is that this isn’t even news anymore. I’m sure nobody was actually surprised to hear that this is one of the deadliest mass shootings in history, especially considering that most of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history happened in the past ten years. I’m also sure that nobody is surprised to see the media’s mass coverage of the attacker’s history in a despicable attempt to sympathize with him. The people who knew him would never have expected the guy who liked playing poker would decide to shoot and kill over fifty people in one night, so just how could this have happened?… Read more »
Kenneka Jenkins’ Death Highlights a World Consumed by Social Media
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I was sitting in my apartment drinking my green tea, when my Group Me started to go wild. I opened the app to catch up on all the messages and saw that an incredibly grizzly story was the main topic of conversation. My friends were talking about what happened to Kenneka Jenkins, the 19 year old found dead in a freezer at a Chicago hotel. I looked up more information and saw screenshots, Facebook live footage, tweets and speculations about how she died. People were even on the Internet trying to solve her murder. I was on sensory overload. According to the articles I’ve read, Kenneka was at a party with her friends where there may have been alcohol, she got lost and her friends called her mom to say… Read more »
For The White Men, By The White Men: Time To Stop Being Shook, and Start Shaking Things Up
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I remember the exact date of the last time I was truly shocked about something I saw in the news: November 8, 2016. Or, more like November 9, 2016 at about two a.m. before I forced myself to go to sleep and hoped that all would be better in the morning. There are few things that I have been sure of in life, but one thing I truly believed was that justice would be always inevitable be served. It didn’t matter how much hate or prejudice still lived in this country, the majority of Americans knew what was right and would make sure that everyone was treated fairly in the eyes of the government. So when the presidential election happened last year, I had no doubt—Trump had his supporters, but… Read more »
#DEFENDDACA, But Feeding White People Pain Porn is Not the Answer
DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, is in danger. The program allows young immigrants to apply for a renewable two year visa to work and study in the United States. The program does not put recipients on a path to citizenship or resident status, but allows 800,000 people to live in the United States with access to resources that would be otherwise unavailable. DACA recipients are able to get a social security card, get a driver’s license, apply for employment “legally,” and apply to college. In a time when undocumented immigrants are vilified, programs like DACA counter that narrative. But the current administration is threatening to end DACA. It is heartbreaking to know that DACA recipients could potentially lose everything they have worked for. At a time like this,… Read more »
Tale of Two Hospitals: How Failing to Expand Medicaid Hurts Kansans
Healthcare has been a national conversation for years now, going back and forth as the most talked about topic for Americas. Republicans have structured their platform around the Affordable Care Act, while many Democratic candidates have pushed for even further changes toward universal healthcare. It’s estimated that between 6 million and 10 million people are at risk of losing insurance if the Affordable Care act is repealed under this administration — a number so large it’s nearly impossible for most people to comprehend, let alone empathize. Kansas, even as a deep red state, is beginning to feel the effects of this lack of empathy. In this recent turn of events, the epicenter of this debate is Topeka, Kansas — now facing the possibility of one of the community’s hospitals being… Read more »
Now More Than Ever, Local Action Matters
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On April 10th, Neil Gorsuch became an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court. With his nomination came the death of the Senate, due to the elimination of rules that maintained the checks and balances of our government. His confirmation is a signal of how the three branches of government are going to operate for the next four years. If we’ve learned anything over these past 100 days, it is that for every regulation or protection is taken away, another executive order is signed that negatively impacts our communities and the ones we love. We have to utilize our knowledge and privileges to combat against these wide sweeping injustices. We have seen this begin — from the federal judges in Hawaii that overturned the travel ban and the cities… Read more »