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Felix Beilin
You would never guess the Epoch Times’s origins by glancing at its homepage. A near-endless scroll of reporting on stimulus negotiations, absentee voting, and law enforcement sits front and center. On the left, a lengthy column of opinion contributors, their profile photos next to their most recent articles. On September 18th, all but one were white; most were men. At the top, “The Epoch Times” reads in a sort of watered-down New York Times typeface—recognizably American, but not a plagiarism of the meat-and-potatoes legacy media aesthetic. Finally, a colorful graphic in the corner beckons readers toward the Epoch Times’s special coverage of the looming election. “We report. You decide,” the caption reads, an obvious recycling of Fox News’s famous slogan.
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Zack Lori
The US Constitution is, in some places, very specific. For instance, if you happened to be wondering which circumstances would allow for a soldier to live inside your house, you would consult the constitution, not statutory law. However, the constitution is decidedly sparse in its passages about the judiciary system. Most importantly for our purposes, it does not mandate a specific amount of justices to serve on the US Supreme Court. This is not entirely unusual---the constitutions of Australia and Germany don’t mandate the amount of justices on their highest courts, either. Spencer Allan All of the views expressed in this post belong to the author and not to Political Union as an organization. Warning: spoilers ahead for Boys State, now streaming on Apple TV+.  When I first learned about A24’s critically acclaimed new film Boys State, and my three-second cameo in it, I was hesitant to watch. How could one of the most hectic and educational weeks of my life be condensed into a two hour documentary? It wasn’t until I agreed to write my thoughts down for NU Political Union’s blog that I watched and discovered what the film got right (and what it didn’t) about the future of American politics.
Felix Beilin
The term “American Dream” dates back to James Truslow Adams’s 1931 novel The Epic of America. As Adams describes it, it is: That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement…A dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. Isaiah Jones This post is unusual, as the author is not a member of the Political Union Executive Board. However, we felt it would be in the interest of public discourse to publish his response to Pamela’s article from a few weeks ago. As always, all of the views expressed in this post belong to the author and not to Political Union as an organization  With one of the most consequential elections looming, the messaging from left-leaning media outlets such as The New York Times, CNN, Vox, and more has been very clear: Progressives should swallow their pride and vote for Biden. The fear of a repeat of 2016 has led to calls from liberal elites to set aside differences to focus on defeating Trump. Under the guise of party unity, Democrats have been reaching out to Bernie supporters to back off from their ‘extreme’ views and support more electable policies and candidates. But in doing so, Democrats put pressure on progressives to compromise their values and settle for Biden. So in this article, I will try to justify the decision to vote for non-major party progressive candidates for president.
 Eliana Buckner
All of the views expressed in this post belong to the author and not to Political Union as an organization. Two weeks ago, the Northwestern University administration decided to move first- and second-year students to remote classes for the fall quarter. The Friday update also mentioned a 10% tuition reduction. Many students argued that the quality of online education is not on par with in-person instruction, and the university listened - or so it seemed. My initial instinct was to applaud this decision that would ease financial burdens for Northwestern families. But follow-up emails from the administration outlined that the 61% of NU students who receive need-based aid “will not be impacted, as their aid will be reduced commensurate to tuition, and their expected family contribution [EFC] will remain the same.” Pamela Chen
All of the views expressed in this post belong to the author and not to Political Union as an organization. Sure, it’s not my prerogative to tell you what to eat for breakfast, or whether you should buy that chartreuse sweater you’ve been eyeing at Urban Outfitters (chartreuse? really?), or even if you should choose to spend your time studying for your upcoming midterm versus scrolling through TikTok for another hour. People are free to do whatever they please, live their lives however they want. But, based on the type of person you are and the values you hold, I could likely make some safe assumptions about which choices would be the smartest. Deciding between a blueberry muffin and a bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast burrito? If you’re a vegan, I’d say go for the blueberry muffin. The chartreuse sweater? Not that it really goes well with your complexion anyway, but since you’re an environmentalist, I’d direct you towards some non-fast fashion clothing options instead of Urban. And, if you’re reading this, you’re probably a Northwestern student, so please go study for your midterm. So…yeah, it’s really not my prerogative to tell you who to vote for. But, if you believe Black lives matter (because they do), if you want to help save the planet from climate change, if you want to protect the LGBT community… if you’re a progressive, I can say with hefty confidence that you should vote for Joe Biden. |
POLITICAL UNIONWelcome to Political Union's blog! All opinions expressed are those of our writers, and not NU Political Union. Archives
October 2020
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