The Oscars Discrimination Controversy Shows How Complicated Discrimination Actually Is

People following the Academy Awards likely noticed a significant source of controversy surrounding this year’s ceremony, one likely more important than annual debate concerning who should win the actual awards. For the second year in a row, no black individuals were nominated for any of the acting roles, even though there were several black performances that many dubbed deserving. As Variety pointed...

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What is this SlutWalk Thing Anyway?

Few people seem aware of the prevalence of modern feminist efforts, many of them being confined to the internet, covered little by the media, or regionally-focused. But the few efforts that have caught on internationally still don’t seem to be recognized by the average citizen, so this will be the start of a series to remedy that. This week we’ll cover “SlutWalks,” one of the only...

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Environment Detriments: Modern-day Racism in Action

As a Sustainability student who is interested in the effects of pollution upon communities, I understand that the term “environmental racism” collectively represents a vast array of grievances. That said, few seem to understand what the term actually means. Environmental racism was first discussed in a 1971 report written by the Council of Environmental Quality. In it, the council...

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Ahmed's Clock: A Result of Racism or Hypersensitivity?

By now I'm sure everyone has heard the tale of Ahmed Mohamed, the teenager who was put in handcuffs for bringing his homemade clock to school. This incident is a shameful example of predjudice getting out of hand, but has luckily turned out for the better for Ahmed in all the support he has found following his suspension. Since the story has spread, a lot of questions have been asked over the...

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The Psychology of Unconscious Bias

A lot of the posts on this blog are based off of articles on other social justice websites. This week, i decided it was time for a change. I searched through my favorite websites, Psychology Today, for some insight on unconscious bias and what I found was an article that both shocked and impressed me. Check it out here.   Dr. Mikhail Lyubansky expands on some issues outlined...

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The Art of Reflection

Privilege. I have it. You have it. Now what? I've come to realize that I've drilled the importance of self-reflection into this blog, but not once have I described what self-reflection is, or what it looks like in the context of privilege. I'm going to try to fix that as best as I can. Self-reflection, in layman's terms, is "meditation or serious thought about one's character, actions, and motives."...

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Reaction to the VMAs: One Small Step for Miley, One Giant Leap from Manaj

And the Moonman for Best Hip Hop video goes to.. #VMAs http://t.co/SWRN5MPOOT — MTV (@MTV) August 31, 2015 Nicki Manaj's acceptance video has been a buzz all throughout social media for the past few days.  Her firm, assertive stance on white artists winning awards by appropriating black artists' styles has earned her a title as a revered voice of reason in the music industry: a beacon...

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