Unpegged: The Floating Swiss Franc and Implications for the Euro Zone
Several years ago, the Euro Zone experienced a crippling blow to its economy when Greece was on the verge of a full-on economic collapse. During the crisis, Greece endured high unemployment, overly high structural deficits, and a dangerously elevated debt-to-GDP ratio. Though the Greek economy is slowly piecing itself back together, especially with a new […]
From K-Dot to Kunta: The New Fate of Kendrick Lamar
Compton, California has birthed its fair share of artists who have gone on to make a mark in the rap and hip hop industry, but it’s Dr. Dre’s protege, Kendrick Lamar who has taken the industry by storm. Formerly known as K-Dot, the rapper’s Section.80, and good kid, m.A.A.d city have all been critically acclaimed. […]
Fossil Fuel Divestment: Our Path to a Livable Future
As the climate crisis worsens, it is becoming clear that action must be taken to prevent further deterioration of our environment. As a society, sustainable living needs to become a priority to preserve the Earth and save resources for future generations. One of the major problems we are currently facing is our reliance on fossil […]
Bigger Than History: What Selma’s Portrayal of LBJ Really Means
In one of the opening scenes of the Oscar-nominated film Selma, released this past December, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pays President Lyndon B. Johnson a visit at the White House to discuss discriminatory voting laws in the South. Dr. King wants President Johnson to vigorously pursue new legislation that would take away the ability […]
Organoponicos: The Light of Cuba Agriculture and a Case Study for Peak Oil
One of the most prevalent questions floating between political analysts, political scientists, students, and everyday educated American citizens concerns the state of post-embargo Cuba. What aspects of Cuban society will change or even disappear, and what aspects will resist outside influence? Over the past five decades, Cuba has developed multiple unique systems against the grain […]
Ayotzinapa: Mexico´s Pandora´s Box
During this past year, Mexico experienced one of the worst crimes in recent memory — the kidnap and murder of almost 50 students. The magnitude of this atrocity has not been seen in the country since the Tlatelolco Massacre, which occurred on October 2, 1968. Over 500 students were wounded and killed by the police, […]
Carbon-Credit Strategies: REDD+ and an Analysis of Mexico’s Legal Framework
Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), parties of the UN are working towards the ultimate objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. Negotiations take place at annual Conference of Parties (COP) meetings, and the COP — […]
The Atheist Anathema: Perception of Atheism in Modern America
Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical, Mormon, Orthodox, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu….Atheist. The majority of American citizens categorize themselves into some form of religious group. We are home to citizens of a variety of religious backgrounds. Yet, one of these things does not look like the others. In a predominantly theist nation, there is a lack of understanding […]
Sheikhing Things Up: An Economic Approach to US-Saudi Diplomacy
Discussions of the Middle East are often synonymous with two topics: the commodity of oil and US involvement in the region. The United States and Saudi Arabia, two ostensible allies, face a conflict of interests as the US continues to engage in nuclear negotiations with Iran and Saudi Arabia deploys air assaults on the Iranian-backed […]
SGA Senate Tramples Student Speech
On Monday, March 16, the Student Government Association (SGA) Senate voted “no” on a referendum proposed by the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which advocated for divestment from 4 companies that support Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. The companies – Raytheon, Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola – have sold products directly to the Israeli […]