Six years ago, my teachers invited me to participate in a National Walkout to protest gun violence. The protest was prompted by a school shooting which killed seventeen people in Parkland, Florida. But although that incident was the pretext, the walkout was part of a broader national protest against the National Rifle Association and, by implication, the Second Amendment to the Constitution. After deliberating for several days, I was the only person in my school who chose not to participate. I was made to sit in the vestibule while several hundred students and teachers streamed past me on the ..read more

Climate change has been of concern for several decades, but especially recently, it has been a pressing issue that has far-reaching socioeconomic impacts in America. From health effects to financial strain, the crisis disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, exacerbating inequalities that are already present within society.  The WHO (World Health Organization) states that climate change directly contributes to humanitarian emergencies, leading to an increased number of deaths and illnesses, and the EPA’s (Environmental Protection Agency's) report emphasizes the disproportionate ..read more

Library hopping has become my latest hyperfixation. From the Rose Main Reading Room of the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue to my favorite desk at the local branch across the street from my Brooklyn apartment building, I have studied for countless hours, bonded with my favorite librarians, and people-watched, quietly learning about the citizens of my city. There is no one location in the entire city where I feel more like a New Yorker, unified with my neighbors in our shared safe space. In November 2023, New York City Mayor Eric Adams turned a new page in library history, announcing majo ..read more

Originally seen in the NY Times Recently, while I was perusing Newsweek, I came across an opinion piece published in January 2024 by U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) titled, “Joe Biden is the Real Threat to Democracy.” Throughout the article, the Senator critiqued President Joe Biden and his policies, arguing that they have harmed the national security interests of the nation. The Senator’s article, however, was a propagation of several factual inaccuracies and blatant falsehoods.  In the past, Senator Marshall endorsed former President Trump in his current election bid and was one of ..read more

On January 31st, members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing denouncing five major social media platforms, accusing them of ignoring harmful content on their platforms that specifically targeted children. The platforms were accused of being the driver of the youth mental health crisis and the culprit of facilitating child sexual abuse images and material online.  In the three-and-a-half hour-long hearing, the five companies’ executives—representing Discord, Snapchat, Meta, X, and Tiktok—were grilled by lawmakers who accused them of having “blood on their hands.” The hea ..read more

The shooting spree that took place in Lewiston, Maine, shook the community and reignited the perennial debate concerning gun control and mental health policies in the United States. The mass shooting, a severe incident claiming 18 lives and injuring several others, thrust the nation once more into the discussion of preventive measures and the urgent need for a comprehensive strategy encompassing mental health support, community intervention, and stricter gun control regulations to curb such tragedies. The perpetrator, Robert Card, a 40-year-old Army reservist, left a scar on the city of Lewis ..read more

Originally seen in the NY Times Three men assaulted her. Her boyfriend abused her. She overdosed on heroin laced with animal tranquilizer. Her name is Jessica, and she was homeless.  In February, after being discharged from the hospital, Jessica “move[d] not a moment too soon” into her new affordable housing apartment overlooking the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. A heartwarming but rare story: Affordable housing saved Jessica’s life.  1 in 83 New Yorkers are homeless – an all-time high (that is quickly rising!) for the city. And this statistic doesn’t include the many migrants fleeing ..read more

In the summer of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court made the controversial decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, a landmark case that protected the right to abortion. For those who had taken this right for granted, this decision came out of nowhere. Others, however, had been working for years to overturn Roe v. Wade.  The overturning of Roe was the result of years of work by conservative legal activists and organizations, namely, Leonard Leo and The Federalist Society (or FedSoc), The Judicial Education Project, and the Concord Fund. These o ..read more

To many, Donald Trump’s war on the media is one of the most distinctive memories from his presidency. Some might recall the public tirades of calling reporters “fake news,” “the enemy of the people,” and “some of the worst human beings you’ll ever meet.” Others might remember seeing his many re-election campaign lawsuits suing The Washington Post, CNN, and The New York Times for libel of opinions from columnists or his failed attempts to use his federal power in intervening with the businesses of traditional broadcasting.  The concerning nature of these attacks was a central talking poin ..read more

Two months ago, a seventy-year-old Black man, Glynn Simmons, was freed from jail in Oklahoma after serving the longest wrongful sentence in American history, 48 years. He had been convicted and sentenced to death for a liquor-store murder which prosecutors now say he did not commit. Although his death-sentence was commuted to life, Simmons’ life was still stolen: He now has cancer and perhaps not long to live.  Sadly, Simmons is not the only innocent man to lose what he can never regain. Two years ago, Ronnie Long was exonerated in North Carolina after 44 years in prison. Seven years ago ..read more