Closing remarks
As I go forward into the world outside of this little bubble, I want to leave everyone with a few words of advice, a few last opinions before I leave campus and this column for good.
An open letter to people who want to take a break from politics
Alleging that certain things are apolitical is harmful because it allows us to think about bad things that happen in the world as misfortune, instead of as injustice, which forces us to search for the root cause and correct it.
Spread your hate elsewhere: in defense of student protesters of alt-right speakers
In fact, having some of these speakers on campus can actually harm our educations. By creating a space that allows for the alt-right to speak freely without adequate critique, those hosting the speaker are also opening the space to real violence against people from historically marginalized backgrounds.
South Africa and the ICC
By holding South Africa accountable for letting al-Bashir go, the ICC can set a precedent of going after those who are complicit in atrocities.
Famine’s afoot
It may be very easy to sit back and say something to the effect of “oh, aren’t all these natural disasters horrible.” While it is true that the situation is not good and we should feel empathy toward the people affected by the droughts, it is important, too, to remember that this is not exactly a series of random natural disasters.
Xenophobic attack in South Africa
The fact that there has been a resurgence of xenophobic violence in South Africa as of late ought to deeply trouble us all.
Books to read in 2017: The importance of fiction
In order to learn how such change making might be possible, we must read more and read more kinds of texts, and we should certainly be prioritizing all kinds of fiction.
The power of protest and collective action
In response to these conservative movements, though, protests are also cropping up all around the world.