Category: Opinion

Republicans should rethink their stance on qualified immunity

BY DAWSON WEINHOLD STAFF WRITER On Sept. 10, HB 5013 failed to pass the Virginia Senate’s judiciary committee after narrowly passing the House of Delegates. This bill would have eliminated qualified immunity for law enforcement. Qualified immunity is the legal…

Patriarchy? Depends on what we value

BY ALEX MADAJIAN STAFF WRITER Many people believe we live in a patriarchal society. At first glance, there is plenty of evidence to support this view. Just look at the distribution of political power and wealth. Only 25 percent of…

Feeling nostalgic?

BY LAURA SWIHART STAFF WRITER The leniency shown to students during the spring semester is all but gone as we dive back into schoolwork, either virtually or in person. “Safe Return to Campus” and “the virtual experience” are plastered on…

Here’s what you need to know about absentee voting

BY DAWSON WEINHOLD With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many voters are opting to vote absentee rather than risk exposure by voting in person on Election Day. Absentee voting isn’t a new concept, but many voters will be doing it for…

“Tenet” can save the movies

BY LUKE HARRIS Movie theaters have awoken from their deep slumber. After six long months away, I finally got to experience a movie in a theater: Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet.” I’ve been looking forward to “Tenet” since it was announced in…

Lean into online learning: stop the live lectures

BY DOMINIC PINO, OPINION EDITOR The real world diverges from our ideal world, and we are often stuck choosing between second-bests. Well, if we lived in a world of second-bests before the coronavirus pandemic, then now we must be down…

It’s time to stop the use of solitary confinement

BY SAVANNAH MARTINCIC Albert Woodfox spent more than 40 years in solitary confinement in the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary, nicknamed “Angola.” From 1972 to 2016, Woodfox’s entire world was encapsulated in a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell, trapped by weak evidence, an unfair…

Don’t follow California: keep gig work legal

BY ALEX MADAJIAN Think of all the services which are brought to us by gig work: Uber, freelance journalism, music in nightclubs, stand-up comedy, consulting and any other service provided by people who work irregularly for individual customers. In 2019,…

Today’s college students are the coronavirus generation

BY LAURA SWIHART Our parents grew up in a relatively stable world, taught by their parents that the path to success is finishing high school, getting a well-paying job that offers a lifelong career, getting married and having two kids….