3107, 2020

American Experience

Chiara Bruzzi/ July 31, 2020/ Activism, Guest Writers/ 0 comments

By: Arielle Germeus
Let me tell you about my experience
Wondering if my brother will make it back home if he were ever in a traffic stop
Wondering if I will make it back home if I were ever in a traffic stop
Watching a march occur of an organized parade of people believing I am less than human
Being told to change my hair because it looked unprofessional
Having people touch my hair without my permission because it “looks so soft”
Being denied a job because of my name
Afraid that my fellow students assume I am ghetto because of my hair
Getting several wary looks from my classmates because the discussion is about slavery and I’m
the only black student in the classroom
Getting shot at because I took down a suspected shooter and they thought I was the shooter
Getting shot at because I was in my apartment and a woman thought I was robbing hers
Getting shot at because I told the cops I had a legal firearm in my possession

1707, 2020

Looking for Perfection, Does Anyone Know the Way?

Chiara Bruzzi/ July 17, 2020/ Mindset/ 3 comments

By: Chiara Bruzzi
For those of you who know me well, you know how strict and structured I am about absolutely everything I do. No matter how small the task is, I give 100% of myself every time. Some of you may think that that’s a good thing about my personality, but I have to disagree. Constantly judging and rethinking every move you make and being so hard on yourself is emotionally draining and damaging. In fact, looking at yourself too critically hinders the process of finding self-love and leaves you feeling like you are never enough (no matter how much you do or how hard you push).

1707, 2020

We’re All Similar

Chiara Bruzzi/ July 17, 2020/ Guest Writers, Mindset/ 1 comments

By: Jovan Joseph
I think it’s essential that we recognize the reality of life; that every day we must live our lives to the fullest because every day we live, we get closer to death. With social media helping royals and children of billionaires flaunt their wealth, I see it, and I want it. To live with such luxury or spend money on cars and estates that might boost my ego, yet wouldn’t even put a dent in my wallet. However, then I realize the reality: regardless of what you have, you can lose it all at once – that goes for almost every aspect of life, including living…

1707, 2020

Speaking my Truth in the Face of Social Barriers

Chiara Bruzzi/ July 17, 2020/ Behavior, Guest Writers/ 0 comments

By: Jack Lombardo
As a cancer survivor, I can testify and say chemotherapy really sucks. What people often don’t think about is getting back to normal life. I also thought that once I would have finished my treatment, or at least gotten the strength to go back to school, everything would be normal again, but nothing was normal. When I got back on campus and saw my friends again, I wanted to show them that I still was the same person. But how could I be the same after what I had experienced?

1707, 2020

Poisonous Photoshop

Chiara Bruzzi/ July 17, 2020/ Feminism, Guest Writers/ 0 comments

By: Madelyn McDonald
In today’s society, Photoshop is all around us. Whether we’re sitting at the dentist flipping through a magazine, looking up at a billboard, or watching a commercial on television, photoshop sets unrealistic standards for everyone. Photoshop negatively impacts people, especially young girls, who attempt to reach a goal of impossible perfection. Letting young girls see this environment of what “a perfect girl looks like” is not only toxic but disgusting.

1007, 2020

How about we end rape culture in schools?

Chiara Bruzzi/ July 10, 2020/ Feminism, Guest Writers/ 1 comments

By: Giulianna Bruce
I’ll begin with the fact that I respect most rules.
The uniform shorts and skorts of girls in high school “cannot be too form-fitting” and “must be fingertip length or longer.” On the surface, this rule seems sensible. The basic reason behind such a rule is that the faculty and administration don’t want high school girls walking around in short skorts. That seems understandable, right? But why don’t they want this?To answer that question, I turned to page 24 of my high school student handbook. The first sentence of the “Dress Code” section states that the reason behind these rules is to “maintain standards of dress and appearance appropriate to the seriousness of academic pursuits.”

1007, 2020

Dear Latinos: Dark is Beautiful!

Chiara Bruzzi/ July 10, 2020/ Activism, Guest Writers/ 6 comments

By: Mildred Waxman
Many Latinos use their ethnicity to justify racism, stating, “I am LatinX; it is impossible for me to be a racist.” As a Latina, hearing this non-valid excuse disappoints me. Coming from a minority group that faces oppression does not give one the “pass” to be discriminatory within one’s community or towards other minority groups. With that being said, let me get something clear here, Latinos can be racist, and there is no justification for any racism whatsoever! Unfortunately, not everybody sees it that way. In order to understand the commonality of prejudice amongst Latinos, we must start at the root cause of racism…

1007, 2020

What is a Woman’s Biggest Insecurity in 2020?

Chiara Bruzzi/ July 10, 2020/ Feminism/ 7 comments

By: Chiara Bruzzi
In the technological society we live in today, women are under a lot of pressure to be “perfect.” What perfection looks like varies from individual to individual, but at the end of the day, we all feel the pressure. You would think that with social media, a place where well-orchestrated photos rather than raw representations of life are shared, women’s biggest insecurity in 2020 would be related to appearance. I don’t blame you, and I don’t disagree that in 2020 a woman’s confidence about her body and appearance comes from the approval of judgemental and, sometimes, fabricated social media users. However, as problematic as social media is, a woman’s insecurity about her body and appearance is not nearly as important as her self-worth. In fact, in 2020, a woman’s most dangerous insecurity has nothing to do with appearance. Instead, it has to do with a part of the body that most people see as having no superficial attraction towards…

1007, 2020

What it feels like to be Black at a Predominantly White School:

Chiara Bruzzi/ July 10, 2020/ Activism, Guest Writers/ 7 comments

By: Arielle Germeus
I never truly felt like an outsider or a minority until I went to a predominantly white institution. From the first day I stepped foot on campus, I was afraid that I would be judged for my appearance. My braids. My bandanas. My jordans. The things that society labels “black.”
One day, during my freshman year in Spanish class, I was sitting next to a boy, and I was wearing my red bandana. I had joked that I was in a gang, but instead of reacting in disbelief, he took me seriously and asked me to throw up signs. Would he have said that if I wasn’t wearing the bandana? Would he have asked me to do that if I wasn’t who I was? Whenever I look back at that moment, I realize that it subconsciously solidified the anxiety I would feel whenever I step on campus. It’s an anxiety and dread that I know the majority of my peers will never feel…