Heated Rivalry: Nobody Can Think Straight
Editor’s Note: Minor spoilers of the show “Heated Rivalry” are included in this piece. We rang in the new year with Stephen Colbert declaring, “I’m a bossy bottom” on national television. It wouldn’t be far off to say that everyone knew what he was referencing....
It’s Not Just the Camps: Japanese Internment and ICE
Editors’ Note: This piece contains descriptions of gun violence, police brutality and incarceration. The term “Nikkei” is used interchangeably with Japanese American and people of Japanese American descent living in the U.S. Eighty-four years ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the...
Two Santa Cruz-Accessible Taiwanese Recipes
Editors’ Note: Most ingredients are measured with the heart. Everything in these recipes can be found at local grocery stores. When I first came to UC Santa Cruz, I searched all throughout campus for a good Chinese/Taiwanese meal. As much as the dining halls make...
Are Cultures Just a Trend to You?
When I was little, my family visited my ah ma’s house almost every weekend. I loved the place; a green, flourishing garden right outside the front door perfectly complimented the interior. It was small and cozy, always wafting with the smell of burning incense and...
The Irish in me, the American in you: Trinity Student Perspectives on the U.S. Political Crisis
When I stepped onto Air Canada Flight 800 to Dublin on Sept. 3, 2025, I stepped away from a country in shambles. I stepped away from federal troops being sent into LA and Chicago, a preliminary release of tens of thousands of Epstein-related documents and...
Who Gets to Have an Education?
The first time I took the loop bus down Heller Drive, it stopped at an apartment complex with such dilapidated exteriors that I couldn’t understand why UC Santa Cruz hadn’t repaired them yet. A group of kids boarded here, their feet swinging from seats too...
Who I Love is None of Your Business
As a queer person, I have always been expected to explain why I love who I love. When I came out to my father, he asked me why I’m gay. When I told him I hope to get married, he asked why. I couldn’t give...
Why You Should Bring a Bike to UCSC
Walking, busing, biking, driving. Despite how popular driving to campus is, it isn’t always the most efficient mode of transportation. Before you buy a parking permit or spend countless hours looking for open ParkMobile spots, let me convince you to ride a bike up, down...
Merit: Scientists of Color are Vital to Their Fields
After the first physics exam I ever failed, I locked myself in my car in the North Perimeter parking lot, curled into the crease of the seat, and wondered if I had the “merit” to be a scientist. In my mind, I had proven true...
Fiction or Fact-Checked? Combating Falsehoods on Social Media and Beyond
Since his first term, Donald Trump has made the news his enemy. He co-opted the phrase “fake news” in 2016 to discredit any outlet or journalist critical of him. Now, just months into his second term, he is attempting to control and restrict who can...