If you’ve often felt conflicted about popular aspects of American culture, like drinking or sexuality, chances are your value system has been impacted by a different culture. Perhaps it’s been influenced by your parents, your friends or where you grew up. You may even be part of the 1.5 generation Read More…
Despite the title of Robin Thicke’s new song, when a friend of mine first mentioned the “rapey” undertones of “Blurred Lines,” I was taken aback. The fact that the song’s music video is grotesque and objectifying wasn’t new to me, but I had failed to recognize these more problematic undertones Read More…
When I think of all the untold stories stagnating in the suburbs of Southern California, where I attended high school — in Santa Ana and Garden Grove — it saddens me that popular TV Shows like “The O.C.” and the “The Real Housewives of Orange County” have overshadowed the true Read More…
I remember studying in the main lounge of my residence hall last fall when a custodian came in to vacuum, apologizing for the noise in the process. This gesture surprised me because 1) I had been worried I was an inconvenience to him throughout the ordeal, 2) he was only Read More…
The first time I learned to identify myself as “white” on official government papers, I thought it was rather funny. To 12- year-old me, the term “white” did not extend beyond skin color, and the thought of me being identified in this way was so blatantly wrong that I didn’t Read More…
“My cousin came to me crying,” related Sudha Patel, owner and manager of the Downtown Berkeley Inn, as she attended to some reservations during my first encounter with her. “I think her son wanted to study film instead of medicine or engineering, and she was upset. But I told her, Read More…