As a child, my favorite drink in the whole world was orange soda. The color, taste, and sensation of carbonated bubbles rushing to my nose were all very appealing to my 8-year-old self. At the time, I didn’t consider how harmful it was to gulp down 160 calories and 44 Read More…
Janet Napolitano, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, has been nominated for the role of the next president of the University of California system. As a proud undocumented UC Berkeley alumnus, I am appalled by the decision and am strongly against the appointment of Napolitano as the next president of Read More…
Electrostatic effects on nature are so ubiquitous that they commonly play tricks on us: restyling our hair like a porcupine’s, emitting “firefly” flashes while we put on clothes, dusting our computer screens, sticking book pages and even producing a painful electric shock after a handshake. These amusing experiences, however, can Read More…
Twelve of the warmest years on record have come in the last 15 years, and while 97 percent of climate scientists agree that this trend is a direct result of human activities, progress on comprehensive national climate legislation has long been stalled. In a speech at Georgetown University in June, Read More…
Two years ago, I was in the market for an environmentally friendly toothbrush. I already used natural toothpaste and figured that some type of alternative to a daily use product like the plastic toothbrush had to exist. I was disappointed when I couldn’t find a good one. In the process, Read More…
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences report on the state of the humanities and social sciences, “The Heart of the Matter,” has the ring of a familiar lament, one that has reverberated at least since the 1960s. The boom experienced in the postwar era, which lifted many traditional ships Read More…
It has been two weeks. Even as we held funeral services and memorials for you, I still can’t believe that you’re gone, anak. I keep looking at the door, hoping that at any given moment you’d walk right in and ask me, “What’s for dinner, Mom?” Then you’d put your Read More…
Editor’s note: This author has chosen to remain anonymous due to the personal and sensitive nature of the op-ed. Rape culture is a term that has been thrown around a lot in recent months. News items like the Steubenville rape case and Daniel Tosh’s standup have created this idea that Read More…
This Pride weekend, there is a lot of “what’s next?” talk in LGBTQ-land: in the streets, in the press and in our inboxes. Frankly, we are not used to winning. Oh yes, a battle here and there … but this was “The War.” Suddenly, LGBTQ people are being told by Read More…
I am a believer in the power of community colleges because I am proof that they work. More than 20 years ago, I dropped out of high school, lived in my Volkswagen and attended Santa Barbara City College. At the time, I was homeless but undeterred. My focus in life was Read More…
