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C O L O R E D/B E A U T Y

As a woman of color, I’ve always felt the backwards, indirect form of insecurity that is not-feeling-white. Not fitting into the eurocentric norm of a perfect, blond woman with fair skin and light eyes. I’m exactly none of the above. I have black hair, brown eyes, and brown skin. For centuries, since Europe started to become an imperialistic conquistador, eurocentric beauty laws and views have been spread as the most perfect way to look. Dark skin has and is constantly brought down and regularly referred to as ugly, imperfect, or below. These beauty standards have found ways to be integrated into almost every country in the world. Countries like Iran, Korea, and India have gigantic billboards yelling in the faces of innocent young girls and older women that “WHITE WINS!” and that “TAN IS BAD”. Advertisements for makeup skin treatments (such as bleach and chemical peels) to lighten skin are quite honestly everywhere. I used to be uncomfortable going to the home salon of my own aunt because of the large numbers of jars of “Skin Whitening Cream” she had in her cabinets. I’m embarrassed, to say the least. I’m embarrassed that America, filled with its suntan lotions and spray tans, has forced me into a mindset where I am ugly and my peers are beautiful. I’m embarrassed to think that a few years ago, I myself looked down upon my own family and ethnically diverse friends for being non-white. I’m embarrassed to not be proud of my skin, my heritage, and my background. It’s time for ethnic minorities in America, to start “small”, to have the right to think, “I’m beautiful”. I feel that while this may be disregarded as a minor issue, it is also one that has been marginalized for decades, and I’m sick of it. Let’s change this. Let’s flip those signs around. Tan isn’t bad, eurocentric views are.

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R E L I G I O N

For me, religion is very fluid. I was born a Hindu, due to my parents’ upbringings. I frequently attended services at my local temple and I was used to the Hindu culture and people. I was, at the time, comfortable, with the practices and not fully understand the God behind Hinduism. It makes sense to blindly follow religion when you’re a mere young child. In the last few years, I have grown to really love Hinduism and the values it holds. But I have also realized my love for other religions. All systems of belief, for me, are respectable. However, I cannot call myself an Agnostic simply because I do not actively practice any religion. Yes, I pray every now and then to the Hindu gods and yes, I do make dua before important events and stressful decisions (Islam). And I spend a lot of time listening to my Christian friends talking about their traditions with the religion and how it affects their lives. I just recently read a book about the parallels between Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. What I realized was that a lot - A LOT - of similarities exist. And I believe that it’s to the extent that some religions literally stand for the same idea: being a good person. Yes, each religion may go about that in a slightly different way, but the goal is the same: to make good people. We spend so much time drawing thick lines between each ideology, and not nearly enough time on learning about the different cultures, including religious cultures, which make up our nation. The minute we ignore stereotypes and begin being more open-minded is when we can function as we should. America is such a opportunistic and incredibly diverse country that allowing for all to be represented fairly would make this nation what it was meant to be. When people call Islam as a violent religion, it’s completely ignorant. First off, you’re forgetting that other religions have displayed more violence in our world’s history. The crusades, execution by the Romans, the KKK, the Holocaust – they’re all religious. Millions upon millions of people have died. That’s not to say that ISIS and other “Islamic” terrorist groups are not killing many – they are. But just as people say that the KKK does not accurately represent Christianity, ISIS does not accurately represent Islam. Secondly, you are misunderstanding the entire point of religion. Islam, as interpreted in the Quran, is an incredibly peaceful religion. Ideas such as equality, kindness, and compassion are emphasized by the book, as well as thousands of religious leaders. ISIS and other radical groups who claim to be Muslims are simply not. They are not even following the religion! In addition, a religion cannot be violent. Yes, some people who practice it may be, but the religion itself is NOT a killer. In the same way, the religion itself cannot fuel an extremely misogynistic society, either. Many Americans look at countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan, and assume that women are put down because of the religion. In fact, the Quran directly states that rape culture is actually forbidden in Islam. MANY Muslims have fought for women’s rights. What is being confused is that a culture can lead to an extreme patriarchy. Take a look at history. A century ago, women in America could not vote. Now, while women are not treated as equals to men, they have many more opportunities and rights. In the same way, women’s rights globally take time. For an entire culture’s view of a gender to adapt, it takes time. And right now, we are all developing towards equality. Some argue that it’s taken far too long and no one is fighting for women’s rights. Well, it isn’t easy to protest. In a setting where women aren’t supposed to step outside, protesting is dangerous and easily punishable. It isn’t easy for people to just come outside with posters, yelling for rights. One, no one will listen. Two, it’s highly dangerous. But again, it isn’t because of the religion. It’s because of the society. We can urge any religion to develop to one that promotes equality and growth, but we cannot exile one because it’s lagging.

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T H E/N/W O R D

The N word directly comes from the ethnic slur “Negro” or “n*gger” used to oppress black people in the US. It was used as a slavery term, to degrade African Americans by skin color.

Quite frankly until it has been completely forgotten it can never be used, as an insult, as a friendly term, or otherwise. Never. It’s reasonable for white people to feel that their usage of the word in a harmless context is, in fact, harmless, but the mere root of the world was literally coined to dehumanize millions of people. To justify their abuse and murders. To allow, even now, the entire world to look down upon African Americans. I have even heard some non-black PoC use this word. That completely ignores the fact that as PoC ourselves we do not have the same amount of privilege as a white American. It’s honestly sad for me to see this happen, as ideally at least PoC would be the most understanding. When some African Americans “allow” their non-black friends use this word… that’s a personal choice. But just because a friend allows you to use this word does not mean that suddenly every black person is fully on board with the usage. We simply cannot assume, in that case. I’ve also heard the idea that the casual, harmless use of this word will normalize it. This is a point that I myself cannot fully interpret. On one hand, there is the idea that the word as a whole should never be said. However, black Americans still use it regularly, and not in a derogatory sense. On the other hand, there’s the idea that the word should be normalized in our culture. In which case, anyone should be able to say it as long as it is not in a derogatory sense. These two ideas contradict one another, if that makes sense. My personal belief about this paradox is that I don’t need to understand it. I’m not black and I don’t need this word. We should allow black Americans to decide the existence of this word. Honestly, there are so many words to use that aren’t this word. When people use the excuse that it’s a “fun” word… it’s ridiculously irritating. There are LITERALLY so many words. Like homie. Or bro. Or dude. Or just anything else. It is completely our responsibility, as non-black Americans, to give them the chance to grow as a minority in a predominantly white and white driven country. Using this word, even as POC, whether it be of Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, or White (including Middle Eastern). Using the N word, in my eyes, proliferates hate and creates an atmosphere among us where it is okay to use a word, regardless of how, that completely deteriorates the being of or even just simply offends someone who, for countless generations, has been ridiculed simply because of their DNA: their bone structure, skin color, and hair texture.

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A B O R T I O N

The debate regarding abortion is a hugely opinionated and subjective one. It ranges from a topic of murder to one of family rights. Personally, I’m Pro-Choice. And while I can understand the roots of arguments made by people who are Pro-Life, I cannot agree with them. The biggest issue and debate lies within just the definition of a “baby”. To most Pro-Life supporters, the zygote, the practically nonfunctional group of cells filled with protein and DNA, is a baby. I’ll say and agree that yes, nurturing this zygote will most likely cause it to become a baby, but if a mother cannot nurture and care for the cells within her body (by not eating properly, doing drugs, or drinking alcohol, abusing the body, etc.), it cannot come to life. I cannot bring myself to call the zygote a live baby. Some Pro-Life supporters argue that if a baby is unwanted, it can just be given up for adoption. Well, that’s not always the case.

On the other hand there exists the idea that abortion is not the real solution; which I agree with. Abortion is necessary at this point, both nationally and globally, however. But yes; we should be spending money on the most fundamental things: sexual education for youth, access to contraceptives, proper knowledge of the consequences of sex, until abortion is no longer necessary. But this comes only after we are giving pregnant women what they need, that temporary fix, the one that can keep lives together and safe, abortion.

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NGC 5078 and Friends : This sharp telescopic field of view holds two bright galaxies. Barred spiral NGC 5101 and nearly edge-on system NGC 5078 are separated on the sky by about 0.5 degrees or about the apparent width of a full moon. Found within the boundaries of the serpentine constellation Hydra, both are estimated to be around 90 million light-years away and similar in size to our own large Milky Way galaxy. In fact, if they both lie at the same distance their projected separation would be only 800,000 light-years or so. Thats easily less than half the distance between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy. NGC 5078 is interacting with a smaller companion galaxy, cataloged as IC 879, seen just left of the larger galaxys bright core. Even more distant background galaxies are scattered around the colorful field. Some are even visible right through the face-on disk of NGC 5101. But the prominent spiky stars are in the foreground, well within our own Milky Way. via NASA

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