Looking For New Rhetoric Around Immigration Reform
The bulk of media coverage on current initiatives for U.S. immigration reform has centered on either the fate of 11 million undocumented immigrants already living here or our reception of low-skilled migrant workers. An issue in immigration reform, however, is a more fundamental question of America’s orientation to the world-at-large: is it our ambition to be a continual nation of immigrants? According to a 2010 census about 13 percent of the U.S. population are foreign born. We need policies and a popular rhetoric affirming the sustained presence of persons from diverse countries within our borders. Even if not often spoken…
A Response to Giffin on ‘White Privilege’
In last Friday’s edition of the Wheel, David Giffin presented a lengthy critique of the concept of “white privilege.” At least, I think he did. Maybe. It was unclear to me whether Giffin was attacking the validity of the white privilege critique, or simply the way the concept is deployed in modern political discourse. He was probably doing a little of both. Giffin defines white privilege as the “notion that white individuals in society benefit from certain social or economic norms in a way that people of minority groups do not.” He laments how accusations of white privilege have been…
Reflecting on Faith and Religion
Over Spring Break, the Office of Religious Life held its annual New York Seminar trip. Every year the program seeks to raise awareness about issues the nation is facing and their pertinence to faith and religious tradition. In the past, themes have included immigration policy, education disparity and healthcare. This year the focus was “Sacred Sites on the Margins of NYC,” and the Emory group traveled to neighborhoods around New York City to explore religious traditions and gain a new perspective on faith. The program this year had 25 Emory attendees, including faculty, Inter-Religious Council members, theology students and alumni….
Warkentine’s Response To An Online Comment
“No offense, but this is kind of boring. Write an editorial about Kazakhstan.” Online comment made by ‘Drew’ on the Wheel website. Few know the name of the world’s ninth largest country — the origin of Sputnik, the testing plains for the Soviet atom bomb, the untamable steppe where the first incipient apple trees blossomed alongside the wild ancestors of today’s tulips, soon to spread across the globe. Few have tasted kumis, our beloved fermented mare’s milk. Few have eaten bisbarmak, “five fingers,” our delectable dish of horse and noodles. Fewer still have skied our slopes and galloped upon our…
Wheel Debates: Opposed to Affirmative Action
Fisher v. University of Texas is a case currently before the Supreme Court. The decision is still pending but expected soon. A ruling in favor of Abigail Fisher could end affirmative action policies in admissions at public universities, with potential implications for admission at private universities as well. This debate imagines that the Court rules in favor of Fisher, with the Opposed arguing against the decision, and the Pro arguing in support of the decision. As John Latting, Emory College’s dean of admission, writes in his letter to prospective students, “Emory seeks an outstanding first-year class … objective information … [is]…
Wheel Debates: In Favor of Affirmative Action
Fisher v. University of Texas is a case currently before the Supreme Court. The decision is still pending but expected soon. A ruling in favor of Abigail Fisher could end affirmative action policies in admissions at public universities, with potential implications for admission at private universities as well. This debate imagines that the Court rules in favor of Fisher, with the Opposed arguing against the decision, and the Pro arguing in support of the decision. One such case of this attempt toward re-interpretation is a lawsuit currently being handled by the Supreme Court: Fisher v. University of Texas. Traditional views on…
The Leo Frank Case: A Century Later
One hundred years ago this April began a series of events culminating in one of the most notorious anti-Semitic incidents in American history. It would end two years later when a Jew was lynched in Atlanta. In a class I taught in the history department two years ago, I asked students if they were familiar with Leo Frank. Not a single hand went up. An appalling sign of ignorance of our own city’s past? Or was the Leo Frank incident such an aberration from the welcome that Jews have found in the American mainstream that it hardly registers today? Perhaps…
A Critical Analysis of Privilege in Society
Earlier this week, I made the (arguably poor) decision that commenting on a Facebook political post was a good idea. A friend posted a snippet of Ben Carson’s recent interview on “The Mark Levin Show” on the radio, in which Carson called white liberals “the most racist people there are” for stereotyping the political beliefs of blacks and other minorities as exclusively liberal and ostracizing those who don’t conform. One commenter had cited his own experience with a black friend who had been viciously attacked for her libertarian political beliefs, and another had sarcastically rebuked him. I asked the sarcastic…
On Living: We’re All Sad Here
There’s something contemplative about bus rides and staring out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of all that passes you by. It’s kind of like life in the abstract; sometimes you feel like you’re just a bystander, watching everything go by quicker than you wanted or expected. You just want to beg and plead for life to take a break, to stop rapidly changing. During my contemplation on the bus, I too wanted to cry out to the bus driver, I wanted to ask him to slow down so I can get a better look at the blooming spring…
Our Opinion: Disappointed With SGA Presidential Election Decision
Student Government Association (SGA) presidential candidate, current SGA Chief of Staff and Goizueta Business School junior Matthew Willis raised claims of cheating against his opponent in the election, College junior and SGA Representative-at-Large Raj Patel. Willis’ claims included allegations of campaigning via social media, email exchanges and personal conversations with students on the day of the election, which according to the SGA elections bylaws, violates the rules. After the SGA Elections Board held a meeting to hear both sides and concluded that Patel did, in fact, violate some campaign rules, he was still awarded the position of SGA president. The…
