Joe Biden took his place behind the Oval Office desk after a long and contentious political election against the political equivalent of your heinous conspiracy-weaving uncle. Political pundits were confident that the election would be a landslide, but Biden’s narrow victory reminded us of t…

The criminal justice system in America is inherently flawed due to the nature of systemic racism in the United States. Black Americans make up only 13% of the population, but Black people overall make up 38% of the prison population. Some studies estimate that one out of three Black men will…

It has been over a year since COVID-19 was first discovered in Wuhan, China. In the time since, the world has been bogged down fighting the pandemic. With over 450,000 deaths in the United States alone, by the time the pandemic ends, the U.S. could easily be approaching 600,000 deaths. The e…

The right to vote is a foundational element of democracy, and a particular point of pride for Americans. The reality, however, starkly contrasts this professed dream for Virginians. Virginia is one of three states that continues to permanently deny the right to vote for citizens convicted of…

For the average reader, the most infamous line of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” may be “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” But instead, I’ve found myself repeating the question, “What's in a name?” over and over again in my head.

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were a watershed moment in contemporary history. I was too young to remember the day itself. My parents and older siblings have in some ways described the fear and anxiety of that day and the inescapable feeling that everything was shattering. I do, howe…

As election season winds down, it’s important to recognize how vital it is for us as Americans to take advantage of the rights we’ve been given, voting being one of the most important of all. And while it is good to pay attention to presidential elections, it is also pertinent that people pa…

The 2020 presidential election is creeping closer and closer, and during this time of political extremities and heated debates, we need to ask ourselves how we got to this point. How did our two most prominent political parties become so polarized? Liberals are labeled as snowflakes and cons…

After his Oct. 16 phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Syria, resulting in  outraged bipartisan disapproval from the House, anger and disbelief from the Kurds and an immediate, aggressive military offensive …

Everyone seems to believe that the United States is more divided now than it has ever been. Whether this is true or not — it’s not — it is clear that America needs a method of solving conflicts quickly and indisputably. Arguments on Twitter haven’t been working, so there is only one good alt…

Virginia Tech is losing money because of its investments in fossil fuels. The university’s endowment is operated by the Virginia Tech Foundation (VTF) and holds $1.15 billion in assets as of last year. Approximately 10% of this amount is invested in fossil fuels, which includes the productio…

I’m driving. If you know me, you’d know I do that a lot these days. Sometimes I have friends there with me; we laugh, sing — badly, in most cases — and talk until the sun sets. We even argue every once in a while. The car is an intimate place, though. Going 60 mph, it feels like you never move at all — you’re protected from the elements, the sounds, the breeze. When conflict arises, you’re in a safe space — you can hash things out, reach true understandings. In other words, there’s no pressure — no pressure to act a certain way or put up a certain appearance. You can’t say that about many places anymore.

When I was 14, a friend made the brave decision to confide in me. While working at a politician’s office, she told me her supervisor had ogled her, flirted with her, and made lewd comments about her appearance. I encouraged her to report him, but she was also 14 and scared to risk her intern…

During the State of the Union address on Feb. 5, 2019, President Trump asked Congress to ban late-term abortion. He framed his appeal as a reaction against New York’s Reproductive Health Act — which signed into law on Jan. 22 — and Virginia’s HB 2491 bill, which received support from Gov. Ra…

The first memory I have of Gov. Ralph Northam is from February 2014 when I was a nervous Virginia Senate Page, and he was the freshly inaugurated lieutenant governor. The day my name was drawn to help out at his office, the Capitol grounds were covered in ice, dangerous territory in the faux…

This year, Delegates Chris Hurst, D-12, and Danica Roem, D-13 of the Virginia General Assembly put forth their own bills to protect reporters in Virginia, as it is one of the few states in the country that does not have a shield law — a law that protects journalists from being compelled to r…

Theft by a fellow citizen is a crime. After all, the Declaration of Independence did originally say that people had a right to property. But while theft by a fellow citizen is a crime, theft by the government is perfectly legal.

As Virginia Tech students and residents of the great Commonwealth of Virginia, we are ashamed, disappointed and angered by the news that has come out regarding our governor and state attorney general. The recent revelations that have come out about their past behaviors are shocking and unacc…

I voted for the genial pediatric neurologist in the 2017 general election. The man I thought I voted for — despite objectionable policy positions on pipelines — was one of honor and principle, having served as an Army medical officer before returning to eastern Virginia to practice medicine.

The midterm elections of 2018 were a litmus test to determine if Americans were satisfied with the current government regime to which the country fervently displayed its dissatisfaction. A storm brews in our American political present that is not so unfamiliar to our elder French-speaking ne…