Last week, C.J., a columnist at the Star Tribune, made national news for her criticism of KARE 11 reporter Jana Shortal’s attire while she was reporting on the Jacob Wetterling case. Like many people,...

As I’m looking over career paths and taking more courses, I’m more and more exposed to government and professional documents. Though frequently used, passive voice never gets enough respect among writers.For...

Between recent high-profile terrorist cases and unjustified murder at the hands of police, many are asking the question, “How should we arm law enforcement officers?” The White House is currently...

It seems as though this summer has been filled with tragedy. The past couple months have seen the deadliest mass shooting in the United States, an airport attack in Istanbul, a massive suicide bombing...

In the wake of Orlando, or really any massacre for that matter, I often see the qualifier “radical” used synonymously with “extreme.”  Ironically, the most frequent uses describe...

Advocates of police reform are pushing for a ballot measure that would require Minneapolis police officers to carry liability insurance.  Similar to how car accidents raise your insurance premiums,...

This past week, Minnesota lawmakers agreed to change Minnesota electoral procedures from caucuses to primaries. During this election season, criticisms have abounded over “rigged” electoral...

Last week, a House committee passed an amendment that would revise the National Defense Authorization Act, requiring women to register for the draft.      This seems like a natural progression...

Last week, the University of Minnesota announced that it will soon allow a suspended fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, to return to campus. The group was suspended last year after episodes of hazing and...

What do dorms and prisons have in common? Some critics might argue mediocre food and bothersome residents — but due to the fact that both places feature many people living in close quarters, I’d...

During my time as an undergraduate in the College of Liberal Arts, I’ve taken a wide variety of social sciences courses. This semester, I’ve had the opportunity to explore some quantitative...

Earlier this month, Gov. Mark Dayton declared that May 5 will once again be the official state “Day of Prayer” in Minnesota. That date coincides with the national Day of Prayer. As...

In its recently released hit list, ISIS declared that several Muslim political figures — including Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison — are “politically active apostates.”      Far...

While looking into graduate programs over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed many differences between graduate and undergraduate application processes. Most noticeably, essay prompts for graduate programs...

In recent days, news sources have extensively covered the Panama Papers — an enormous financial leak which revealed information about the shell corporations of scores of global elites. However, I...

Last week, Tesla Motors introduced the Model 3, the most affordable of their cars to date. In a matter of days, 276,000 people placed their $1,000 reservations.     I believe that Tesla Motors...

The University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents recently endorsed a proposed tuition increase for out-of-state students. The plan is to increase the University’s cost to match the midpoint among...

This past week, a United Nations court found Radovan Karadzic, a man who served as a politician during the Bosnian War, guilty of committing war crimes in Srebrenica.     In a similar story,...

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is a contentious issue among certain circles here at the University of Minnesota. Students for Justice in Palestine have been pushing for the University...

Earlier this month, the Canadian government pressed charges against David and Collett Stephan for failing to treat their infant son’s meningitis and empyema with medicine. Instead, the couple favored...

While gearing up for the Michigan primary on Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders took to Twitter to criticize former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s support of NAFTA, which he claims harmed Detroit.      Though...

The United States Department of Justice has announced it will investigate the Minneapolis Police Department’s response to the Black Lives Matter protests which took place outside the 4th Precinct...

Al Jazeera has announced it will cancel Al Jazeera America before April. Although I’m very fond of international news sources, I was glad to hear the announcement.     After BBC Arabic...

Melissa Click, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Missouri, lost her job last week. Several months ago, an infamous video captured her calling for “some...

Pope Francis made headlines last week, first when he criticized Donald Trump and then when he decided to express his belief that it’s acceptable to use birth control to prevent transmission of the...

Although biologist Richard Dawkins originally coined the term in 1976, the rise of the “meme” as we know it today is a relatively recent phenomenon. Initially referencing the spread of cultural...

Currently, the United States prosecutes terrorism through a mix of federal and military courts. I believe the strangeness of this procedure demands we either create a new system for trying accused terrorists...

As the semesters trudge on and students approach their senior year, many consider graduate school when evaluating their academic future. For American graduate students, school abroad can offer affordable...

Bruce Vento Elementary, a St. Paul public school, has made headlines for its decision to stop celebrating Valentine’s Day, among other holidays. In a letter, the school’s principal, Scott Masini,...

After the fallout surrounding the release of trumped-up videos appearing to depict a Planned Parenthood representative discussing the sale of fetal tissue, many states decided to conduct investigations...

Here at the University of Minnesota, different courses exhibit a wide spectrum in the amount of feedback students get about their grades. But one thing remains the same no matter what school you attend:...

Many people get their introduction to satire and liberal pop politics through TV programs like “the Daily Show” or “the Colbert Report.” While it’s nice to see people get...

A man with a gun walks into a school. A young woman detonates an explosive belt in a bazaar. These are stories we’re all too familiar with, and they seem to have emerged out of nowhere.    I...

As strings of mass shootings continue both in the United States and globally, an interesting development among first responders has proven useful in treating shooting victims: Communities are introducing...

This week, a man stormed into a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic armed with a gun and propane tanks, carrying out an attack that left three people dead and nine wounded. Officials have kept quiet and...

On Nov. 13, the world stood in shock as it received the news that terrorist attacks were underway in Paris. Information kept coming in, and the death toll kept rising — up to 130 — as many...

Here on campus, the student group Asian and Pacific Islanders for Equity and Diversity has been protesting the restructuring of the Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence. The group is upset because...

Bernie Sanders and his cult-like followers often like to fetishize various European countries and their policies. His free public college plan is an example of such misguided policy. Obviously, there are...

The situation between Israel and Palestine is once again quickly decaying. My Facebook feed is littered with biased tirades and posts. Over the past few weeks, videos have captured various horrors that...

In an unprecedented attack, terrorists killed almost 100 people last week in Ankara, Turkey, after two bombs went off during a peaceful protest. It was the deadliest attack of its kind on Turkish soil,...

Anti-drug propaganda has led many people to believe that any illegal drug, or even nicotine, is an absolute evil and a poison for the body. However, many vilified drugs, when used properly, have neurochemical...

Discussing sexual assault and rape on campus is an upsetting thing to do, but it’s also necessary. This issue has deeply affected people I care about, and therefore, I don’t embark on this...

Six men in Minnesota were arrested this September as part of a child sex trafficking sting operation. Minnesota has close ties to sting operations as a policing technique — in fact, the Minneapolis...

Much to the dismay of human rights experts, Saudi Arabia was recently named head of a United Nations Human Rights Council panel. I can’t stress the absurdity of Saudi Arabia holding this position...

Did you hear about the nun who broke into the nuclear storage facility? This sounds like the setup to a joke, but in reality, a nun and two accomplices, including one from Minnesota, broke into a nuclear...

Religious tolerance — or rather, the lack thereof — has been a common theme in the news over the past few weeks. A dozen instances come to mind of recent mainstream news stories that highlight...

We’ve all been sitting in a classroom waiting for a lecture to commence when some huckster grabs the proverbial mic and begins to pitch a shady “internship” or “management opportunity.”...

Free speech on American campuses has popped up frequently in the news this past year. We’ve seen growing support for trigger warnings, absurd cries against micro-aggressions and even the cancellation...

Earlier this year, National Public Radio said that Minneapolis and St. Paul are “fast becoming the center of ISIS’ recruitment effort in the United States.” This statement is not without...

Discussions of race are once again at the forefront of American discourse, and the focus has been on the implications of Confederate symbols. The outcome seems to be the general rejection of Confederate...

Following the Charleston church shooting on June 17, many of my peers turned to social media. I saw a variety of posts and tweets, and a common misconception made glaringly obvious was our perception of...

The U.S. Supreme Court found clothing chain Abercrombie and Fitch to be in the wrong when the company refused to hire a hijab-clad woman for assumptions about a conflict with dress code policies. The store...

Our generation, despite arguments made by petulant and vague articles, still retains one of the most fundamental human emotions: love. It is quite common for older generations to doubt the younger generation,...

About a decade ago, it seemed like talks on renewable energy were only focused on investment in research. However, in the last couple of years, many new and innovative products have come to market. Electric...

Freedom of speech has been in the news recently, with many people misusing it to further their agendas. Silencing critics or suppressing opposing views under the auspice of free speech is glaringly ironic...

American Indian Reservations in Minnesota have been in the news recently with several state agencies promising various aspects of reform.    First, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President...

A United States bankruptcy court recently granted the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis an extension for its bankruptcy restructuring, postponing the deadline until Nov. 30. Most of the discourse...

New studies suggest that blood transfusions are one of medicine’s most overused treatments. This may come as a surprise, as many people, myself included, had been convinced that there is a seemingly...

Minnesota lawmakers have proposed a bill that would allow anglers to fish without a license provided that âÄúany fish caught are immediately returned to the water,âÄù a practice also known...

Two bills proposed in the Minnesota House focus on misunderstood topics of public safety. One would ban powdered alcohol and the other would repeal an existing ban on firearms suppressors. These bills...

The foolish and misunderstood custom of tipping has reared its ugly head, an event underscored a Minnesota House bill that reduces minimum wage for some types of tipped workers. The cultural norm of tipping...

Minneapolis public schools lose more than $200 million in state and federal funding each year because one-third of the district’s eligible residents choose to attend charter schools or schools in...

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety division of Emergency Communications Networks has issued an advisory warning about the lack of locational information for 911 calls made on cellphones. Unlike...

Minneapolis lawmakers have proposed bills that would lift the moratorium on constructing nuclear plants in Minnesota, which has existed since 1994. Lifting the ban could help Minnesota transition to using...

Seven Minneapolis gang members were recently indicted on charges relating to trafficking crack cocaine. Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau told KARE 11 that the charges showed “results...

A bill has been introduced in the Minnesota Senate that would prevent minors and vulnerable adults from subjection to conversion therapy, which consists of treatments aimed at changing a person’s...

Rep. Ron Erhardt, DFL-Edina, has proposed a bill that would increase the tab fees for the most fuel-efficient vehicles. The idea of the plan is to make up for the loss in gas tax revenue as vehicles continue...

Minneapolis is considering a legislative change that would no longer require homeless shelters to be located in places of worship. The push is supported by City Councilmembers Cam Gordon and Lisa Bender,...

This session, Minnesota lawmakers will be debating whether convicted felons should regain voting rights upon their release from prison. Currently, Minnesota is one of the 20 states that allow felons to...

Following its fiasco in Canada, Target has decided to lay off 550 employees from its Minneapolis offices. The firings did not come as a surprise. Target’s operations in Canada were a total failure...

In an attempt to spur reform, University of Minnesota bioethicists Carl Elliott and Leigh Turner have reached out to legislators with an open letter requesting, among other things, “annual committee...

In an interview this past week, former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura was quoted making disparaging remarks about Chris Kyle, the inspiration for the box office hit “American Sniper.” “Killing...

This past week, Tony Perkins, president of conservative lobbyist group, the Family Research Council, made assertions that Minneapolis, among other cities in the United States, enforces Shariah as the law...

Though still in its infancy, President Barack Obama’s proposal for two free years of community college for qualified students seems to show serious promise for educational reform. Hopefully, it will...

Earlier this month, the Powerball jackpot reached a record high just shy of $1.6 billion. Despite its popularity, I often see people bemoan this form of gambling as silly and irrational. However, I argue...