Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
Don’t Be Fooled, Charter Schools Don’t Fix Public Education
If you’re even remotely interested in what’s going on in our public education system, chances are you’ve stumbled across the whole public school vs. charter school debate. And, if you’re like me, you’ve probably been on the fence about charter schools, mostly because they’re confusing! What even is a charter school? Charter schools, like public schools, are publicly funded, but they’re not governed by school districts or school boards. Instead, they’re run by businesses, non-profit organizations, or groups of people who write a charter and secure funding. Unlike sate-funded public schools, charters are allowed to exclude students that live within the area based on things like their special education status or test scores. Those who support charters argue that they’re a great alternative to “traditional” public schools because they offer… Read more »
What to Do When Your Fave is Problematic
There are certain celebrities who I simply don’t like for one reason or another. Maybe they said something once that completely changed the way I look at them. Maybe they just rub me the wrong way. Maybe I don’t even know why I don’t like them. But I have to admit I get the tiniest sense of satisfaction or joy whenever one of them gets called out for saying or doing something problematic. This works both ways though. There are celebrities who I love that are problematic. The most obvious is Taylor Swift. I’ve been a fan since her early days, since the first time I heard Tim McGraw. It’s been said time and time again in what ways she has been problematic, especially in recent years, so I won’t… Read more »
How to Make Money While Making Change: Come Blog for Us!
Got a story on intersectional feminism, reproductive rights, or abortion access burning a hole in your chest? Come write for us! As a student blogger for URGE, you represent one of the many young voices we lift up everyday on campuses in Kansas, Ohio, California, Texas, Georgia, and Alabama. Our staff is always looking for diverse voices that can resonate with young people across the country, and we want to give six students that opportunity. Writing for URGE means more than you may think. Firstly, YOU’LL GET PAID (that in and of itself should make you wanna apply, right?), and your pieces will be featured on our website and shared on all social media platforms on the national level. Your voice, your story could contribute to the national conversations on… Read more »
The Night I Realized How Much I Benefit from White Privilege
Trigger warnings: police brutality, racism, violence I have a 20-year-old hand-me-down car that I absolutely love. Its name is Flacco, after my NFL team’s quarterback, and it’s a ’95 purple Ford Thunderbird with a V8 engine that I might get a little carried away with on long, empty roads sometimes. Like any older car, it requires a bit of extra maintenance. Shortly before my grandparents gave it to me, they had a new engine put in. Fairly recently, I replaced the battery. Even more recently, one of my headlights went out. Unaware of this fact, I drove to the gas station about a mile down the road one night. On the way back, I saw the lights start flashing and heard the siren and for the first—and so far, the… Read more »
Gender and Campus Carry
As mentioned in my last blog post, Campus Carry is going to be implemented in public universities across the state of Texas starting August 1st of this year. I’m trying to explore the intersects of this law and the way that different identities (other than the usual, straight, cis-gender, white male) will potentially be affected by this law. I explored the way that race and ethnicity affects who participates in Campus Carry and who feels safe with it implemented. This time, I want to discuss the way gender may play a part in the implementation of this law. I believe it’s safe to assume that the majority of students who are planning on participating in Campus Carry are men (most likely white men) for two reasons. The first of which… Read more »
California Thinks Prisoners Are Expendable Labor
On Friday February 26th, Shawna Lynn Jones, 22, became the third inmate to die while working alongside firefighters as a part of the California Conservation Corps. Shawna was struck by a falling boulder while putting her life on the line to battle a brush fire in Malibu, California. The Conservation Corps, instituted in 1976 by then Governor Brown, is a government-funded program that pays prisoners like Shawna $1 an hour to endanger her own life while working to keep residents and natural habitats safe from the State’s increasing risk of fire. Shawna’s death spurred media responses that applauded her service to the state of California and framed her death as a tragedy because she died while working to protect one of the most affluent cities in California. Let’s all be… Read more »
Religion and Reproductive Justice
I grew up in a family of Baptists, which in my experience meant gambling was wrong except for when my family did it. I heard a joke once about Baptists: that the only place they don’t recognize each other is in the liquor store. And in the case of birth control, that too came to be an odd beast in the home. I know enough about my parents’ sex lives to fill a small, uncomfortable book. I know enough about other people’s sex lives to fill a weighty tome. And as far as I can tell, most of the people I know who have sex use birth control when they can get it, even when they claim to be against its use. I have friends who choose not to buy… Read more »
This is How You Build an Intersectional Reproductive Justice Movement
We often criticize, push, and urge activist movements around us to go further, to be more intersectional. It’s not negativity that spurs this criticism; intersectionality is just an important practice that asks more of movements that are trying to build a better, fairer future. But when we critically engage with social justice movements we shouldn’t forget that people are already doing the kind of work that we imagine when we call for more comprehensive activism. Looking to them can inspire and sustain us. If you want to see an intersectional, reproductive justice movement at work, then look no further than the coalition of organizations who’ve worked to realize the farmworker bill of rights for over 40,000 laborers in Southern California. The bill of rights, inspired in part by the explosion of protests for workers’ rights in the past year, is… Read more »
3 Feminist TV Shows You Need to Watch in 2016
Let me just preface this by saying, I really love feminist media, but there is no real way to define what is and what isn’t considered feminist. I recognize that it’s subjective, but for the sake of this piece, I’m defining feminist media as shows with diversity, strong female characters (generally protagonists), and views about reproductive/sexual health addressed in the show. And I also recognize that some of the shows mentioned may do great in one or two aspects of those listed above, but be really awful in one, which is why I’m starting with… 1. Gilmore Girls Although this show has very few people of color in the cast (I can only think of Lane Kim and Michel), it had some really great feminist moments. (Note: I do NOT… Read more »
Kesha and Rape Culture in the Music Industry
Trigger Warning: Rape Today the New York Supreme Court will release the decision on the case filed by Kesha Sebert against her producer, Dr. Luke, who has filed his own lawsuit, with Sony’s support, claiming that the artist is just trying to defame him. The decision will ultimately determine whether or not Kesha will be able to publish any more music. Currently, she does not want to work with her assailant and is, under contract, not allowed to produce with another label or on her own. According to Kesha’s lawyer, she is suing Dr. Luke on assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, civil harassment, unfair business, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Kesha says that these charges date back to 2005 when she was approached and convinced… Read more »
