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Our Disney Princesses, Ourselves

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I might be generalizing a bit here, but I think it is safe to say most girls spent their childhood watching all the Disney princess movies, singing along to the catchy songs and imagining a life as her favorite princess. This is a wholesome and normal stage in girls I think, like the way boys have toy lightsaber duels and play pirate in the backyard. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the girls who spent their childhood playing football with their brothers or loved to play video games, I’m just assuming that most girls enjoyed playing princess like how most boys would choose a nerf war over a tea party. Logically, then, these Disney princesses play a significant role in shaping the self-expectations and ideal image in many girls; this fact is evident in how Disney princesses evolved to better combat the feminine issues of the time. Let’s start at the very beginning- the first Disney princess, Snow White, debuted in 1937. American girls awed at this traditional male-her...
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GMOs: Science Corrupted By Greed

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Genetically modified organisms or GMOs are becoming more and more prevalent in the ever-forward society. Almost all corn, beans, tomatoes, and other vegetables bought in stores are genetically modified in some ways. Why is it so prevalent? Fresh produce is called “fresh” for a reason- the shelf life is limited and goes bad relatively quickly. Genetic Engineering replaces these “weak” genes with more advantageous genes of other species; for example, many tomatoes are now engineered with certain fish genes that are more resilient to freezing. By eliminating the natural weaknesses of vegetables, not only do they last longer on shelves but increase output due to their resilience to natural threats (diseases, pests, insecticides, pesticides, etc). These applications of science seem like solutions to many of the problems in the world like world hunger and poverty. In addition, the consumption of GMOs has not been linked to any causes of fatalities, illness, or disability. If this is ...
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Guerrilla Art: Improving Public Space

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A French artist, “JR,” installed a giant cutout of an infant peering over the U.S.-Mexico border wall shortly after President Trump’s announcement to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This instalment is an example of guerrilla art, or art displayed publicly without permits from the government usually for political purposes. JR’s piece captures the true purpose of DACA- fulfilling a child’s curiosity by providing the opportunities for children illegal immigrants to have a better life in the United States. What used to be a dull, prohibiting eyesore was transformed into a powerful, more attractive POI. This specific guerrilla artwork was legally approved to be installed on the Mexican side for a month, but many others are done illegally. Many argue that for this reason, guerrilla art violates the public space and opinion. Although some guerrilla artists take it to the extreme such as naked Donald Trump statues, most others are an appropriat...
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Why Color vs. Colour?

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Would you understand if someone asked you, “my flat is a mad ting, innit?” Most of us Americans would scratch our heads to try and decipher this coded message. However, we would completely understand if he would’ve asked, “my apartment is pretty messy, huh?” The United States and the Great Britain, once a colony and Mother country, developed distinct accents and slangs over the years. For me, this begs the question; “Is this a result of purely geographical separation or is there something more implied through the difference in language?” Geographical distinction certainly results in variations in language- there’s even a word for this occurrence- dialect. Dialects are prevalent in every language: Canadian French vs. France French, Latin American Spanish vs. Spain Spanish, Southern dialect vs. Northern dialect, etc. It is natural for a secluded people to alter pronunciations and style to suit their daily lives better- busy New Yorkers spitting 200 words per minute and a southern...
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Word Choice

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In today’s society, choosing words carefully has become more important than ever. Social media combined with polarized political spheres create a society in which saying one thing can have waves of consequences. I avoid tweeting things political or controversial exactly for this reason; I see tweets that start a storm of replies and argument in which I want no part. Nonetheless, I still find myself choosing my words carefully all the time on social media whether it is struggling for the perfect Instagram caption or a snapchat story. One recent experience consisted of giving out a birthday tweet to a good friend (female). Choosing the pictures for the tweet wasn’t hard, but I was very much hung up on the tweet itself. This was my predicament: how do I express love for a friend without unintentionally implying love as attraction? Sending the wrong message might make it awkward or really embarrassing for me. Because of the prominent use of indirect language to be more polite and r...
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Transformation

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This past summer, I finally experienced what was on the other side of the “windowpane.” As the assistant Drum Major of the Troy Colt Marching Band, I had the privilege of attending Smith-Walbridge Drum Major Clinics. It was a fantastic time bonding with my co-Drum Majors, being trained in leadership, teamwork and “Drum Majoring.” However, it was not the hours marching in the sun that lead to my revelation, but rather a Drum Corps performance. Drum Corps International is the highest tier of marching band competition. The best “corps” around the world train all season in hopes of winning it all at the DCI Finals in August. The schedule of the corps is insane; they travel around the country, not spending more than a few days at each location. Their living consists of majority of the sleeping done on a bus, rehearsing for almost 12 hours a day in the blazing sun, and getting embarrassing tan lines. We were fortunate enough to watch a rehearsal of the Santa Clara Vanguard at the cli...
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A Modest Proposal

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Global Warming, Middle East tensions, and Renewable Energy are arguably the more important issues of the 21 st Century. Many factors contribute to the problems, but all of them are partially originate from a single variable- the automobile. It is surely the culprit: spewing carbon as it burns unclean energy and gobbling up the Middle Eastern, non-renewable fossil fuel. Look around: three cars parked in your garage, trucks whizzing by on the highway, the uber app on your phone. Cars are such a hassle to not only the environment, but also to your wallet! $25,000 comes out of your pocket for an automobile in this day and age, and you need to feed this baby $2.60 a gallon every month. Not to mention thousands of dollars toward the common breakdowns, oil changes, tire replacements, and ACCIDENTS. Thousands of Americans die every year from car accidents and millions more are injured (Road Crash Statistics). These unwieldy beasts are weapons of death- an untamed rhinoceros.   ...
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