What the Disposal of Rape Kits Means for the #MeToo Movement
CNN recently reported that, nationwide, over 400 rape kits were destroyed by police departments before the statute of limitations expired or before prosecution. According to the report, 80% of the kits were never tested for DNA and kits were kept in police evidence lockers for weeks or months after receiving them. This has been occurring since 2010, and only now is it being investigated completely. The investigation shows disturbing stereotypes that law enforcement has used
Scientist Claims Another Genetically-Altered Baby May Be On The Way
Watching Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman run around on screen in Gattaca was fun. The dystopian world of the movie, in which the genes of children could be individually selected, was not frightening, but rather dramatic and interesting, but only because that world was different from our own. Nowadays, with current gene-editing technology such as CRISPR continuing to develop and claims that such technology has successfully been used on humans, this fictional world does not
Opinion: Voting for Nancy Pelosi Isn’t About Voting for Her
On Wednesday, November 28, Nancy Pelosi learned that she will be a candidate for the House speaker, a decision that will be finalized with a floor vote in January. The odds looked pretty good for Representative Pelosi. Granted, her sole competitor Representative Marsha Fudge from Ohio dropped out and instead endorsed her, yet Representative Nancy Pelosi still faceed a challenge. Earlier last week, 16 Democrats wrote a letter openly stating how Pelosi is not fit
Americans Still Haven’t Learned To Leave Foreign Tribes Alone
From the Crusades, to Britain’s colonization of India, to the Spanish Inquisition, and finally to the genocide and statistical extermination of Native Americans, the Western practice of conquering and forcing others to conform to its ideals has a long and sullied history. Missionary work in particular, which ultimately led to the recent death of a 26-year-old American on a hostile island, is a point of contention. It’s been speculated that evangelization had a hand in
4 Things No One Is Addressing About the “Migrant Caravan”
Since Oct. 12, when 160 Hondurans started their journey from San Pedro Sula, Honduras to the US boarder to seek asylum, they and the so called “migrant caravan” that they make up has been a hot topic. From daily video footage of the caravan as it traveled through Central America to fear-mongering statements from the President, there is a lot being reported. But much of the reports ignore vital facts that brought us to the
Supreme Court to Deliberate on the Death Penalty
This November may prove pivotal in life and death, punishment and mercy. The United States Supreme Court is currently in the midst of two proceedings with the potential to uproot essential tenets for the continuation of capital punishment. The first is that of Madison v. Alabama. The case of Vernon Madison questions whether states can execute mentally-disabled inmates who no longer remember their crime. The defense argues that killing Madison would be unconstitutional as his
The Power a Name Holds: A Look at the Sweep of Renaming in India
After India’s Independence Day on August 15 of this year, India’s cities and towns began to change. Not with any political or social movements, but with the names these cities once had. Bombay is now Mumbai, and Calcutta is Kolkata. This isn’t the first time India has renamed cities and towns. Historically, many countries have renamed cities so what India is doing isn’t that unusual. In the span of three years, India has seen multiple
There’s No Such Thing as “Not Black Enough”
In such a racially polarized environment, you’d think that people of the same color are more likely to stick together as a people. It’s obvious to recognize that this just isn’t true. In America, and other parts of the world, Black people take part in a society that doesn’t want much to do with them. We’ve faced centuries of discrimination and decades of segregation. We’ve been subject to all types of tortures and hardships. We’ve
Here’s How the Week Of Islamic Unity Could Be A Ray Of Hope In A Divided Pakistan
The Week of Islamic Unity, as its name suggests, is a period of six days from the 12th to the 17th of the third month of the Islamic calendar, celebrated by Muslims belonging to different sects and denominations in an effort to promote unity between themselves. The ritual of celebrating this week was introduced to the Muslim community by Syed Rohullah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Democratic system of Iran. Ever after its introduction, it
What I Can Tell You About Being an Addict
Lately, I have been absolutely captivated by nothingness. Somewhere between writer’s block and psychiatric watch, I told myself and others who noticed I was off. Perhaps it was a phase, growing pains, something of that sort. Or a big lie, for I have always believed in the mantra itself; “life is nothing but a beautiful lie,” but this time I felt as though I spent too long staring in the eyes of the facts to