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Blackfishing is the act of white people trying to look ethnically ambiguous by altering their features for the validation and support of POC (People of Colour). Major fast fashion brands like Fashion Nova and Pretty Little Thing are often partaking in such practices in order to look inclusive without actually being inclusive. These brands also endorse the extreme hourglass body type which is often stereotypically portrayed as a feature of a person with African ancestry. This leads to a lack of representation in mass media which invalidates a lot of POC which can often lead to body dysmorphia, self-worth and mental health issues. These brands are represented by major POC celebrities like Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B which is not a bad form of representation. However, when it comes to influencer ambassadors predominantly featured on their instagram page, these models are often just white people whose skin is simply tanned. The representation of East-Asian people and other POC is evidently scarce.

At the end of the night, we headed to ComedySportz (CSz) Improv. There, one of the group bonding activities was choosing a partner and asking them questions. One of the questions was, “What’s not wrong with your life?” When I heard this question, I took a minute to think about it. I had never had … Read more

When was the last time you applied or a job or an internship and were given the opportunity to call the references of the person that would be your supervisor? How often are you openly given this opportunity? And at what point during the hiring process are you given this opportunity? Something that has recently … Read more

The first day of my freshman year of college didn’t look as I always imagined it would. I wasn’t walking to class in the warm, damp morning air, nervously preparing to present myself to a group of complete strangers. Instead, as the countdown to that first class began, I was in my bedroom, painstakingly moving … Read more

Since the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine became FDA approved, one would expect less resistance to becoming vaccinated. With three out of ten Americans still remaining unvaccinated, and 14% staunchly against the idea of taking the vaccine, this is not the case. Some of these Americans give explanations as to why they don’t want to receive the vaccine, the major ones being that the vaccine is more dangerous than the virus itself and that their religion is opposed to it. Though both of these have been dispelled, people still find ways to disagree and refuse the shot, being major contributors to the ubiquity of COVID.

Lil Nas X seems to be on top of the world lately. Ever since the 2019 release of the record-smashing hit “Old Town Road,” Nas proved his mastery of media and kept all eyes on himself. When he had the #1 charting song in America, he had the courage to come out to fully express himself in his music. He created a buzz this year when he created a custom Nike Air Max 97 with human blood inside, and later when he promoted his debut album, Montero, in a photoshoot where he was “pregnant” with his baby (the album). Due to controversial choices like these, along with the fact that he is a Black queer man, he is often the target of bigots and pundits in the “culture war.” Although Nas has been extremely vocal on social media about shrugging off criticisms like these, on Montero we finally get a look at what’s going on inside Lil Nas X’s head.

Officially having gone into effect on September 1, 2021, the new Texas abortion law, named the Texas Heartbeat Act, banned abortion past six weeks of pregnancy. More specifically, the act banned abortion once cardiac activity can be detected, which occurs arounds six weeks into pregenancy. The law allows for no exception for rape or incest, or if the pregnant person is a teenager. The only way to escape the ban is if the pregnancy causes severe health concerns of the pregnant person and may lead to death or substantial damage to body functions.

To many, the United Nations is a seemingly distant organization with little impact on our daily lives. This year’s UNA-USA Youth Observer, Cynthia Yue, is trying to change that mentality.

Fifty years ago, in September of 1971, a revolution took place that would change the course of criminal justice in the American prison system as we know it. It would go down in history as the day that an act of desperation from the prisoners of Attica would serve as a wake up call about the conditions that prisoners all over America are subjected to. It is no secret that the conditions of prisons in the past were horrendous. Formerly incarcerated Tyrone Larkins spoke out about his experiences when he referred to Attica as “the roughest place I’ve ever seen in my life”. As a prisoner, you were stripped of your human rights and as a black prisoner, you never had any to begin with.

As an international student from Boise, Idaho, I first saw this trip solely as a professional development opportunity. I could not imagine how this trip would have brought me joyful memories with my peers who I had not met or only met through Zoom conference meetings. Despite coming from different backgrounds varied from business administration … Read more