Barron: Worry About Black Lives, Not Respecting Officers
By Morgan Barron, Opinion Writer
July 3, 2020
In a Senate floor speech, Utah Senator Mike Lee spoke of a peaceful protest organized in Ogden after George Floyd’s murder. Quoting Malik Dayo, a local activist and organizer, Lee identified this protest as a solidarity rally, not an anti-cop rally, that honored Nate Lyday, a fallen Ogden police officer, alongside Floyd. Before yielding the floor, Lee...
Gholami: In the Modern Age of Surveillance, are our Civil Rights Under Attack?
By Samira Gholami, Opinion Writer
June 26, 2020
Internet platforms’ abilities to share information is an immensely powerful tool, as seen in recent weeks with viral videos of police brutality. Though the violence isn’t new, the cameras being used to shed light on the issue are new. Social media users have skillfully employed their influ...
Gholami: Higher Education Still Has Much to Do in Addressing Racism
By Samira Gholami, Opinion Writer
June 21, 2020
Universities are typically thought of as bastions of progressive enlightenment where thinkers come together to make society better. Many people wouldn’t think that racist and bigoted rhetoric could originate from the ivory towers of academia, but I encountered many such topics in my time...
Cushman: We Cannot Stop Protesting the Death of George Floyd
By KC Ellen Cushman, Opinion Writer
June 17, 2020
In 1991, L.A. police brutally beat Rodney King on the street. After a long history of police mistreatment of people of color, this act of police violence toward a Black man led to the L.A. riots. Nearly 30 years later, the United States is once again facing massive protests over institutional racism because of police brutality towards a Black man. The death of George Floyd h...
Scott: Six Steps to Better Allyship
By Elise Scott, Opinion Writer
June 16, 2020
In the last two weeks, public support for the Black Lives Matter movement has skyrocketed. The protests — which a majority of Americans support — were sparked by the devastating murder of George Floyd and are the cries of a country in agony. It is disgraceful that it has taken heinous video af...
Barron: Defund, Not Abolish, the UUPD
By Morgan Barron, Opinion Writer
June 15, 2020
Following nationwide calls to defund the police and reallocate resources to invest in community services, UnsafeU, a student safety organization that has championed police reform at the U, has called for the abolishment of the University of Utah Police Department. According to the organiza...
Poma: Trump’s COVID-19 Immigration Policies Are Self-Serving at Best
By Sasha Poma, Opinion Writer
June 14, 2020
In March, Trump announced that he would close Canadian and Mexican borders until Easter – or at least until the pandemic subsides. In May, Trump announced that he would be extending the border closure “indefinitely,” and we have yet to see any developments. I speculated in an earlier op-ed that given his track record, Trump may not lift the ban any time soon, and so far, he’s ...
Scott: Shielding White Children From The Reality of Racism is a Failure
By Elise Scott, Opinion Writer
June 12, 2020
When I was in second grade, my teacher performed a rendition of Jane Elliott’s controversial "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes” exercise. The “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes” exercise takes a group of people, separates them by eye color, and proceeds to discriminate against one group while favoring the other...
Barron: How to Be an Ally as a White Student at the U
By Morgan Barron, Opinion Writer
June 10, 2020
Since George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a white police officer late last month, many of us have shared posts on social media wanting to highlight injustice, show support for protests and elevate black voices – but are white allies like myself doing enough to address racial injustice in ...
Gholami: #DisabledAndSaltyAF: COVID-19 Effects on Workers with Disabilities
By Samira Gholami, Opinion Writer
June 10, 2020
In recent months, working from home has been a blessing for some and a curse for others. Researchers at MIT took an early look at remote working in the U.S. during the pandemic and estimated that over one-third of the workforce shifted to telecommuting. Many employees like this change: one poll...
