I have been learning about intersectionality in my Criminology class and my First-Year Writing class. Intersectionality is defined as “the idea that multiple oppressions reinforce each other to create new categories of suffering.” Learning about this in my classes has opened my eyes into how intersectionality plays a role in social justice. On a smaller scale, it has shown me how intersectionality affects self-identification.
Read More“Could you give us a twirl and tell us about your outfit?” was apparently the most dire question to ask Eugenie Bouchard, a Canadian tennis player after her winning match in the 2015 Australian Open. This question caused a flood of criticism towards sports media and opened the discussion about gender discrimination within the industry itself. How could a twirl be so important?
Read MoreThis photo is of a place called Old Saint Charles in Missouri. It is a historic area where the city is preserving the old value it has. Although it is just one photo, it is significant to me, because what you are seeing was built by African Americans in the early 20th century. Today, the area is surrounded by wealthy, white people. This is a common trend we see today where African Americans built areas but are taken over by the white majority. Many beautiful things we create are taken from the original creators, and others are given the credit. I want people to be more aware of accurate history and not marginalize certain stories.
Read MoreMeghan and Harry were recently able to share their story in their first public interview. The recent interview has answered many questions regarding Meghan’s experience entering the royal family, but also led to many more questions surrounding race. In the interview conducted by Oprah, Meghan brought up a conversation held between her husband and his family that discussed what the color of their children's skin will look like. This is not Meghan’s first time having to deal with racism, however the racial issues faced by her children before birth was surprising to say in the least.
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Photo credit: Susan Walsh, AP Photo
In just four years, the Trump Presidency has selected two highly controversial Supreme Court nominations, and it is looking more and more like his second nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, will be confirmed and become a member of the Supreme Court. Thankfully, Barrett does not have any allegations of sexual assault, a rarity in today’s politics, but she does have her fair share of sources of controversy.
When taking a look at her past, it’s easy to like Barrett. She has seven children, two of whom are adopted from Haiti. She is a woman of faith, and she has done extensive work as a judge and a professor, and her students at Notre Dame say she is a great professor who never brought politics into the classroom. It is also refreshing to see a woman rise so easily to power in a career field dominated by men. However, do not expect the rights of women to advance at all should Barrett be confirmed.
Barrett would overturn Roe v. Wade if given the chance, and organizations like Planned Parenthood would be weakened even further than they already have been. Although Americans have little say in the process of picking Supreme Court Justices, the process certainly impacts the American people. To overturn Roe v. Wade would be a significant step backwards, and it would not accomplish the conservative goal of putting an end to abortions. Women would not stop having abortions, they would simply have illegal abortions, but conservatives don’t care. While their message is that they want to save lives, they disregard the millions of children in foster care, the women who will die from dangerous abortions, and so many other lives in the process. This disregard shows that their agenda is not truly about life at all, it is about controlling women’s bodies. If Barrett will not stand up against the control of women’s bodies by the government, what will she stand up for?
One thing Barrett certainly advocates is marriage between a man and a woman, and a man and a woman only. It is fair to assume that given the chance, she would undermine LGBTQ rights, and expand religious freedom to discriminate against LGBTQ people. In our legal system, it is perfectly fine to believe in one’s religion that marriage is between a man and a woman, or a woman and a woman, or whatever else your religious text may say. However, personal beliefs are just that, personal. It is fundamental to our Constitution that religion and state remain separate, and as an originalist interpreter of the Constitution, Barrett should be more than familiar with the concept. However, despite her familiarity, the rulings she has made as an appellate judge and will make on the Supreme Court reflect her religion nonetheless.
The United States is not an anti-religious country, but we are, or at least claim to be, a country without an official religion. While it is okay for Supreme Court justices to have religious beliefs, it is unconstitutional for their religious views to leak into our legislature. Americans can expect to see a wave of religiously-driven decisions made by the Supreme Court in the future. Gay marriage, the right to choose, and many other landmark decisions could be impacted or even overturned under this new vehemently conservative Supreme Court. While Amy Coney Barrett might be a nice woman and an abundantly qualified candidate, she will leave a lasting impact on America, and it won’t be a good one.
We, as the leadership of Asian Student Alliance, request that our learning environments remain inhospitable towards hateful speech, including but not limited to:
● “Wuhan virus”
● “Chinese/China virus”
● “Kung flu”
● Threats or demands that individuals “go” or “return” to other countries
While we understand the importance of freedom of speech and expression, we believe these terms endanger the safety and wellbeing of our students. These terms create association between a deadly disease and a specific identity, fueling stigmatization that puts an entire community at risk.
We ask that faculty prevent, address, and eliminate the use of these terms in favor of scientific, universally-accepted names such as COVID-19, etc. This will ensure a safer, more productive learning environment for everyone. Furthermore, this will demonstrate our university’s intolerance towards hate, bias, prejudice, and racism.
We also stress the importance of reporting incidents in which these terms are used, regardless of whether they are targeted at a specific individual/group. Only by reporting can we obtain the data necessary to form effective solutions in the future. The bias incident form for Regis University can be accessed using the following link: https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?RegisUniv&layout_id=4
As a Jesuit institution, Regis University is committed to cura personalis—encouraging care and concern for the whole person—and we believe our request will help uphold this value in our learning environments. We are grateful, in advance, for your efforts to promote equality at Regis University.
Regis University Asian Student Alliance