Opinions

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
"Have you ever thought of combining deep satisfaction with employment? I mean, making money from what gives you joy.”
Lookin' Good T41
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
Maybe it’s just me. No matter how much effort I put into getting dressed in the morning, I will always get hit on more when I neglect my appearance entirely. The correlation is undeniably proportionate: The more time I spend fixing my hair or painting my nails or layering loosely knit sweaters over gauzy silk tops, the more invisible I become. Inversely, the less time I have to get ready, the more attention I seem to attract. Two examples come immediately to mind.
Pizza as a Veg
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
This year has been quite a newsworthy one, with events around the globe rousing the public and inspiring a slew of intriguing headlines. But a few weeks ago, one headline in particular really shook Americans: “Pizza a Vegetable? Congress Says Yes.” Some found this news ridiculously amusing; others were outraged. But everyone can take a deep breath — Congress did not actually declare pizza a vegetable. They did, however, say that two tablespoons of tomato sauce on pizzas served in school cafeterias count as a serving of vegetables. It’s a theoretical and mathematical question, really. According to Congress, two tablespoons of tomato paste has as much nutritional value as half a cup of vegetables.
Politics & Fashion
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
Politics and fashion make an odd couple, as politicians are typically not very fashionable, and the politics of the fashion world range from dubious to doubtful. Their relationship does not seem to be based on mutual affection, either: the fashion industry loudly (and proudly) emphasizes its apoliticalness and most designers, though surely public figures with considerable influence, are seldom heard trumpeting political slogans. (And if they do, they don’t get very far, eh Galliano?) Meanwhile, politicians refrain from discussing their outfits, suggesting that the theater of fur and fabrics is not a particularly urgent matter. This clear distinction is common knowledge, but betrays the fact that politics and fashion have built a tight-knit relationship beyond logo shirts and party-related color codes. With a shameless enthusiasm that became apparent in the highly stylized Obama campaign, the alleged opponents use each other — and hence are one step ahead of the blissfully unaware voter.
The Road to Tripoli: Reflections on Libya in the Wake of the Arab Spring
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
I write from Sidi Bou Said, a touristy seaside town outside of the Tunisian capital, which Lonely Planet has informed me was once home to Michel Foucault. It's December 8, 2011 — the middle of the last month of this eventful year — and about three days after I had anticipated arriving in Tripoli, Libya. But upon arrival in Tunis, I found a more general air of concern than I had anticipated. Not only was nearly everyone I spoke to discouraging me from attempting to cross the land border, but apparently it was not possible to fly either. When I expressed my bewilderment to a Tunis Air employee — "What does the closure of the border have to do with your flights to Tripoli?" — she kindly brought me up to speed: about two weeks ago, Tunis Air suspended all service to Tripoli after armed people there boarded a plane full of (obviously unarmed) passengers. The men who boarded the plane with their weapons were thowar, she said — revolutionaries — and they came in search of some Gaddafi-loyalists who were trying to flee Libya.
Friday, December 9th, 2011
It’s hard to believe that two weeks ago, this place was occupied by protesters — that the walls were covered in graffiti, the windows blocked with hand-painted signs, the escalators barricaded. But it was indeed occupied, and thanks to the administration, it stayed occupied for an entire week.
Friday, December 9th, 2011
It’s hard to believe that two weeks ago, this place was occupied by protesters — that the walls were covered in graffiti, the windows blocked with hand-painted signs, the escalators barricaded. But it was indeed occupied, and thanks to the administration, it stayed occupied for an entire week.
Thursday, December 1st, 2011
When I came to stay with a friend from The New School and stumbled upon the occupation, I was curious about one thing: how President David Van Zandt would handle such a situation.
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
We are a group of students who acted to establish the occupation of the Study Center at 90 Fifth Ave. that began on Thursday, November 17. Our enthusiasm for the occupation was grounded in our ambitions to open an autonomous space in support of the Occupy movement, which recently had a hasty eviction from Zuccotti Park. We wanted to secure a base for connecting protests and struggles across the city, giving impetus for the further development of the burgeoning student movement.
NSPE
Friday, October 21st, 2011
While name changes are often a form of re-branding, this instance falls far short of a new frontier. I’ve been a student at Milano since 2009, and this is our third name with our second president and our second dean (if you’re counting). When they said new, they certainly weren’t lying.
Grammar Patrol
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
They continued to stare and say nothing, for the doors had opened and the crowds were filing in. As the three friends took their seats, one of them suddenly looked back as if to say, “I know what you meant and I don’t like it.”
Gnome
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
Some call it thievery; we called it Gnome Hunting.
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
While right-wing pundits have repeatedly accused Muslims of harboring radicals, polls from the past decade paint a different picture.
Big Green Purse
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
Right before my very eyes, mere inches from me, was the bag. The Big Green Pocketbook. The bag I was destined to own. Which is why it was so terribly confusing to see my dream bag hanging from the slouching shoulder of a stranger.
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
The occupation is not merely an opportunity for people to rant about the general injustices of the world. Those who are down in Zuccotti Park, and who have been down there for days, have something very real to say — the state of America’s broken economy and corporation-infested government needs to change.
Rick Perry
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
Unplugged
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
Imagine you're at the movies unplugged. The only thing turned on is yourself. You'll be so involved in the conversation you won't even check your watch.