Opinions

Sometimes, the systems that we love in theory seem objectionable when actually put to the test, and we let them slip and fall by the wayside. All too often, when it comes to criminal justice, we are over-eager to forget about our laws and principles in the name of vengeance. It’s easier to assume guilt [...]

Just when you thought America was done with elections for a while, another race has succeeded in garnering the attention of the national media, spawning a series of attacks and negative ads, and transfixing the attention of political junkies everywhere. What’s unique about the special election to fill the vacant House of Representatives seat in [...]

A new bill is being proposed to congress surrounding the sales taxation of online retail purchases. The Market Fairness Act is a bipartisan bill that would allow state governments to collect taxes from online purchases made by state residents. The act has potential effects on the small businesses, large corporations and consumers. What is interesting [...]

Two weeks ago, the nation was thrown into shock. One of our country’s most dear sporting events was attacked, our friends and family were thrown into danger, and our most historic and beloved city was shut down entirely. Within 24 hours, and even earlier in some cases, many politicians, pundits, and ordinary citizens were using [...]

After the tragic Boston Marathon bombings last week, the Internet was abuzz with tweeters, bloggers, and posters filling cyberspace with information. Like many recent world events, the social media response to the bombings became a part of their story. Links to news articles, charity websites, and up-to-date informational websites spread like wildfire through all sorts [...]

Dear Swarthmore Board of Managers, As history students at Swarthmore College, we support the campaign to divest our school from the fossil fuel industry. Our classes in the Swarthmore History Department have taught us about the appalling long-term impacts of resource extraction. From the coalfields of Appalachia that prompted the second largest armed rebellion in [...]

Americans generally accept a role for government in meeting a number of important national needs. Defense, schools, roads, bridges, public health and safety, and courts are all services that we as a society support with tax dollars as components of government policy. Emergency management is another. The immediate response to last week’s Boston Marathon bombing [...]

To the Board of Managers: On behalf of the members of the Department of History, I am writing in support of Mountain Justice’s campaign to have Swarthmore College divest its endowment from the fossil fuel industry. I hope you will agree with my colleagues and myself that our students represent the best of the liberal [...]

“What difference does it make why they did it?” Chris Matthews said on his eponymously named MSNBC show Monday night. Matthews was referring, of course, to Boston Marathon bombers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Attempting to avoid injecting religion into the discussion, Matthews showed exactly why the motivation behind the bombings is so important for us [...]

Dear Campus Community, This letter is in response to the discussions regarding rape and sexual assault, so please know reading on might be triggering. Many students have approached me in the past week, sharing their stories and wanting to continue the discussion that began on Wednesday night in Eldridge Commons.  They were sad and pained [...]