You are on a boat. Its captain brings everyone on deck together and makes an announcement. As the leader of the boat, the captain has set a course for the foreseeable future. However, some of your fellow passengers are unhappy about the direction the captain has chosen for the vessel. It is about 20 degrees off the direction they hoped to go in—and they are pissed. And that’s fine. People disagree; people have opinions they feel strongly about. That is simply a fact of life. But the people unhappy with the captain’s decision decide this simply won’t do.
By Gwen Schanker, editorial columnist
During my six-month internship at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), I wrote about a number of exciting questions that oceanographers attempt to answer in their research. The researchers I covered ranged from a doctoral student...
Videos showing two tragic and brutal killings of black men by police officers two weeks ago marked the latest iteration of a shocking—yet too familiar—pattern of police violence against African-Americans in this country. Within 48 hours, Alton Sterling was shot in the chest while pinned to the ground by officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile was shot in the arm while reaching for identification after an officer pulled him over for resembling a robbery suspect with “a wide-set nose.”
Northeastern University announced on Monday its plans to invest in environmentally sustainable practices rather than to divest from fossil fuel companies. The university said it will contribute $25 million of its $700 million endowment to investments in “clean energy, renewables, green building, and sustainable water and agriculture.”
Ramadan is about righteousness. Ramadan is about learning to empathize with the suffering of others. Ramadan is about stripping down the material parts of yourself to bring forth kindness and devotion. Ramadan is about family.
As a person who prides herself on having a strong vocabulary, I have always had a particular interest in unusual adjectives. Some of my favorites include pompous, effervescent and volatile. In the past three years of my college career, the term interdisciplinary has loomed large, particularly since my studies combine two very different disciplines: Biology and communications.
Last week’s Brexit vote was sharply divided: 52 percent of U.K. residents voted to leave the European Union, while 48 percent voted to remain. It’s worth noting the demographic discrepancies. More young people voted to remain; older citizens voted to leave. More educated people voted to remain; those with lower levels of education voted to leave.
There is no way this column could be focused on anything but the tragedy in Orlando.
When 49 people are murdered and 53 more are injured at an LGBTQA+ club for nothing more than existing at the wrong place at the wrong time, all other topics and problems and discussions fall to the wayside. This was the deadliest shooting in United States history, and not writing about it would be almost disrespectful.
But what is there to say?
Last Saturday saw thousands celebrating LGBTQA+ pride at City Hall Plaza, despite spitting rain and a handful of wildly outnumbered protesters ordering the celebrators to repent and give up their sinful lifestyles. Rainbow balloon arches and colorful outfits outshined the gray day.
About two months ago, when I was getting ready to register for fall classes and face the fact that my co-op couldn’t last forever, I stumbled upon a journalism elective titled “Climate Change Communication, Energy Politics and Journalism.” As an aspiring scientific communicator, I was immediately intrigued and emailed the professor, Matthew Nisbet, asking for a class description. Nisbet, who is the editor-in-chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Climate Change Communication and therefore an established climate communication expert, described how the class, if it ran, would use a combination of writing and discussion to address controversies like nuclear power and climate change denial.
