Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions

To the students taking part they are, in the words of one protester, “uplifting the voices of Gazans, of Palestinians facing genocide.” But to many people outside the universities, the focus has been on confrontations and arrests. Where does this disconnect come from? Most people don’t participate in on-the-streets protests or experience any of the disruption that they cause. Rather they rely on the media to give a full picture of the protests.

The two major parties have largely run minor-party competitors out of business in intentional ways. Democratic and Republican officeholders adopt laws making it more difficult for others to run. But although a third party is not likely to have much electoral success anytime soon, they do enrich American politics.

Israel entered Rafah, a city that marks Gaza’s southern border crossing with Egypt, on May 7, 2024, launching a military offensive that the U.S. and others have cautioned Israel not to pursue. As always, Israel ignored the cautions and pressed on, running up the mass-killing tally despite Hamas accepting a cease-fire proposal.

Researchers who run the American Communities Project, which explores the differences in 15 different types of community in the United States, believe the surveys are asking a question with no real meaning in the United States in 2024 – a question that may have outlived its usefulness.

A Vatican declaration, the “Infinite Dignity,” opposes gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy. Yet even in the ancient Roman Empire, individuals could transgress traditional conceptions of gender roles in various ways. While Roman notions of femininity and masculinity were strict as regards clothing, for instance, there is evidence to suggest that individuals could and did breach these norms, although they were likely to be met with ridicule or scorn.

The global coffee shop chain is challenging the NLRB, the federal agency responsible for enforcing U.S. workers’ rights to organize, saying that the agency used the more labor-friendly of two available standards when it asked a federal court to order the company to reinstate workers at a Memphis, Tennessee, store who lost their jobs in 2022 amid a nationwide unionizing campaign.

AI-generated content has become another “weird trick.” It’s visually appealing and cheap to produce, allowing scammers and spammers to generate high volumes of engaging posts. Much of the content is still clickbait: Shrimp Jesus makes people pause to gawk and inspires shares purely because it is so bizarre. Facebook is encouraging it.

The protesters are demanding divestment, meaning the sale of financial assets either related to Israeli companies or shares in other corporations perceived to assist the Israeli military. In addition, many protests include calls for the disclosure of those financial ties. They also feature demands for colleges and universities to distance themselves from Israel by ending study-abroad programs and academic exchanges.

There are arguments for and against increasing legalization of cannabis for adult use in the U.S., but expanded access to legal cannabis also may have unintended consequences for adolescents. These consequences are compounded by the increasing potency of some cannabis products.

The right-wing political campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion policies taking place in several states across the U.S. has called into question the nation’s commitment to achieving racial equality. In this landscape, Seattle is marking a milestone of sorts – the first anniversary of adopting its Race and Social Justice Initiative ordinance.

Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, conservative activists led a counterattack against campus antiwar and civil rights demonstrators by demanding action from college presidents and police. College presidents routinely caved to the demands of conservative legislators, angry taxpayers and other wellsprings of anticommunist outrage against students striking for peace and civil rights. They’re doing it again regarding Gaza-war protesters.

When the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to get an abortion in June 2022, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that the court “should reconsider” other rights it currently recognizes – like the rights for same-sex couples to have sex and marry. If the Supreme Court overturns legal precedents on these and other issues, old state laws that haven’t been enforced, possibly for centuries, can suddenly spring back to life.

While Reagan and Trump – two of the most media-savvy Republican presidents – used religion to advance their political visions, their messages and missions are starkly different. Trump’s religious vision is rooted in white Christian nationalism, the belief that the white Christians who founded America hoped to spread Protestant beliefs and ideals. According to white Christian nationalists, the founders also wanted to limit the influence of non-Christian immigrants and enslaved Africans.

How do we account for other language-based forms of expression? If performed works such as theatre or songwriting can be considered literature, where is the limit? And why aren’t video games considered a form of expression?

In journalism school, students learn their craft while engaging with critical questions about their roles and responsibilities. They are often taught by previous or current journalists, whose work experiences prepare them to help students tackle reporting challenges. Crises ask journalism educators, students and practitioners to grapple with sharing stories about what the future could hold. What will journalists’ jobs look like in five years? Or 25 years?