Columns

Recurring contributions from the opinions section.

On The Pandemic

On the Pandemic: A Buddhist Approach to Pandemic Grocery Shopping

"The stressful process of grocery shopping and coronavirus-induced anxiety, in general, may reduce our ability to think clearly, but Buddhism can provide insight into managing our thoughts and actions."

By June 3, 2020

Voices

Carrying On: 38 days and not counting at the Tombs

"In February, I accepted the Tombs’ annual challenge for seniors. On every one of the last 99 days of senior year, I planned to descend into the Tombs and hand the bartender my ID as proof of my attendance. I found the cheapest items on the menu and set aside enough money for all the checks. If you make it, they’ll put your name on a plaque, and how can you put a dollar value on that?"

By May 19, 2020

On The Pandemic

On the Pandemic: What COVID-19 reminded me about being a first-gen student

Last week, I finished my second year at Georgetown. As much as I wish I could provide some eloquent update about how, despite the obstacles created by COVID-19, I made the most of this semester and learned a lot, that simply isn’t the case. The reality is I’m tired. I’m really tired. I’m tired because I’ve spent every day for the past two months thinking about the fact that Georgetown doesn’t seem to consider me, a first-generation student, valuable.

By May 14, 2020

On The Pandemic

On the Pandemic: This Virus Has No Race

"With the rise in anti-Asian sentiment, I can’t help but feel uneasy in the rare times I do leave my house since the stay-at-home orders began. I wonder if the man who pushes his cart past mine in the supermarket sees me and feels hate. I worry if today might be the day some crazed stranger passes me or my family and reacts violently. "

By April 22, 2020

On The Pandemic

On the Pandemic: Instagram Activism Ignores Gendered Impacts of COVID-19

"The disparity between the facile attempts at female empowerment on Instagram and the ways women’s rights are under threat demonstrates how misdirected good intentions can actually be more harmful than empowering."

By April 22, 2020

On The Pandemic

On the Pandemic: What the Coronavirus Outbreak Reveals About Ableism at Georgetown

"Our schools’ new policies reveal that professors’ lack of support for disabled students exists not because of “lazy” students, but because of a lack of empathy and the excessive competitiveness that institutions such as Georgetown instill in their community members."

By April 22, 2020

Opinion

Carrying On: Climb On

There are moments when your life depends on a single foot. As I traverse the snowy upper slopes of Colorado’s Mount Harvard at 14,400 feet in elevation, the stakes are... Read more

By April 18, 2020

Opinion

The Political Punk: A Riot of their Own

The year 2020 marks the 100th year anniversary of women’s suffrage in America. It is worth quickly reflecting on the change since the landmark amendment had passed (partially thanks to... Read more

By April 17, 2020

Opinion

Carrying On: Scott Krulcik And The Way To Live

Scott Krulcik was no ordinary guy. At 19, he built an algorithm to transmit video feeds from a lunar rover. Some knew him as the kid who scored a 2400... Read more

By February 28, 2020

Opinion

The Political Punk: Riffs And Referendum—The Influence Of Classic Punk On Brexit

On Jan. 31, Britain formally left the European Union. The decision to split after the 2016 referendum has been rife with controversy with gritty fights in Parliament, explosive elections, and... Read more

By February 20, 2020

Opinion

Carrying On: Deadheads To Doctors

“Psychedelics are to the study of the mind what the microscope is to biology and the telescope is to astronomy,” transpersonal psychology pioneer Dr. Stanislav Grof said. A substantial contingent... Read more

By February 14, 2020

Opinion

Carrying On: My Summer On A Suicide Forum

“A suicide note is hard to write,” they say, almost matter-of-factly. After two months, I have learned not to panic, yet my head pounds as if hearing it for the... Read more

By January 31, 2020

Opinion

Carrying On: After Learning I’m Not The Only One

Content Warning: sexual assault, violence I don’t think you remember who I am. I don’t think you could pick me out in a crowd. You, whose hands left me sweating... Read more

By January 17, 2020

Opinion

Carrying On: The Hidden Cost of E-Scooters

Since their introduction to the D.C. landscape in September 2017, electric scooters, or e-scooters, have become as ubiquitous as rats in the Georgetown neighborhood. It is not uncommon to trip... Read more

By December 6, 2019

Opinion

Carrying On: The Pride and Prejudice Toward Reading

“I want to buy you something you’ll actually keep … Don’t you want something more appropriate for your age?” Those are just two of the things my great-aunt told me... Read more

By October 25, 2019

Opinion

Carrying On: At Peace With Not Belonging

“We all have that one friend we go to coffee with and then spend 8 hours talking about life while shopping and circling back to Target two hours later to... Read more

By October 11, 2019

Opinion

Carrying On: One Mass Shooting Is Too Many

with contributions by Caroline Wilkerson, a former student at Pepperdine University   Caroline: No one can warn you about what a mass shooting feels like. Nothing can prepare you for... Read more

By September 27, 2019

Voices

Carrying On: True Meditation in the Self-Help Era

When I first started practicing Buddhism at age 11, I became the odd one out in my family of Catholics and atheists. Piles of sutras, Buddha images, and prayer beads... Read more

By September 13, 2019

Opinion

Carrying On: Diversity and Inclusion? I’ll believe it when I see it.

On September 13, Felicity Huffman will be sentenced for her involvement in the college admissions scandal, a multimillion dollar conspiracy to gain access to the nation’s top universities. Other indicted... Read more

By August 30, 2019

Opinion

Carrying On: The Price of Silence

Content warning: This article discusses sexual assault. Given the highly personal nature of the events discussed in this piece, the author has chosen to remain anonymous. In September 2018, along... Read more

By April 26, 2019