I knocked on the office door promptly at noon. She opened the door and said, “Can you just wait a few minutes? Our teleconference is running late.” I nodded. The door shut. I waited. Twenty minutes later, I was sitting at a round table in a large, airy office full of plants. It had two …
Tag Archive: northwestern
Apr 24 2012
Northwestern: Even More Racist than We Thought
Northwestern’s not known for being an oasis of tolerance. (Examples: here, here, and here.) But a few members of our student body have decided to sink this school to a new low this past weekend by hosting a party/drinking game called the “Beer Olympics.” A student who saw the event described it this way: [W]hat …
Apr 20 2012
Why I Think Proselytism is Wrong
The whole controversy on our campus surrounding Cru and their “I Agree with Markwell” campaign has gotten me thinking about proselytism. (Proselytism, in case you don’t know, is just a fancy word for trying to convert people to another religion.) In my view, proselytism is wrong. I have two foundations for this view. One of …
Apr 18 2012
We're Not Lost: An Open Letter to Campus Crusade for Christ
Northwestern’s chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ, an evangelical Christian organization otherwise known as Cru, has an edgy new campaign. It’s called “I Agree with Markwell” and consists of the following: students wearing bright orange shirts that say “I Agree with Markwell,” covering the campus with chalk writing and posters that say “I Agree with …
Apr 05 2012
Northwestern Sex Week and Conservative Hypocrisy
Northwestern’s annual Sex Week is coming up next week. Sex Week is basically exactly what it sounds like. I quote their website: “our mission is simple: we want people to start talking. Sex Week is meant to provide students with fun, provocative, and informative opportunities to explore the role of sex and sexuality in our lives. There …
Mar 18 2012
I'm Not Poor: A Reflection on Class at Northwestern
[TMI Warning] Before I came to Northwestern, not once in my life did I feel like my family didn’t have enough money. To be sure, there have been times in my family’s history when we didn’t. Immigration–especially moving between countries and continents four times in seven years like we did–does deplete one’s financial reserves. For …
Jan 24 2012
Alternative Student Break: Helping Rich Kids Feel Good About Themselves Since 2007
This is my column for the Daily Northwestern this week. This week, students from all over Northwestern will be applying for Alternative Student Break, a program that sends students to other parts of the country or the world to do volunteer work for a week. ASB is popular because it’s so hard to find anything negative about …
Nov 04 2011
The Gym: the Poor Man's Runway
Yesterday, one of the main student publications at my illustrious university came out with this gem, titled “Dressing to Impress at the Gym.” After the title and byline, the article takes an unfortunately predictable route: So the gym might not be the sexiest place on earth. But, who says that it can’t be one of …
About the Author
Brute Reason Tumblr
- "But what if our lives could have meaning even if we cannot, or will not, think of ourselves as..."“But what if our lives could have meaning even if we cannot, or will not, think of ourselves as beautiful? What if I look in the mirror and see ugliness, and imperfection, and asymmetry, and I choose to value and love myself anyway, because I’m a valuable human being worth a whole lot more than my externality? This is not to say that those of us who do feel […]
- "I want my feminism to be a feminism of daydreaming. I want my feminism to believe in the..."“I want my feminism to be a feminism of daydreaming. I want my feminism to believe in the transformative power of imagining the impossible. I want my feminism to stop chasing this faux equality that puts us on the race to be better managers of exclusion and, instead, gives us the possibility of re-thinking a future where we no longer have underclasses within […]
- "When it comes to media pushing perfect people, if you’re not skeptical, you’re doing it..."“When it comes to media pushing perfect people, if you’re not skeptical, you’re doing it wrong. The only right way to do it is with deep, trigger-happy skepticism. It’s advertising — which means it’s supposed to make you want something. That alone makes it squirrelly as fuck. If you don’t train your brain to see that first and foremost, and to move cautiousl […]
- "It’s when you’re kickin’ it with your boys and you don’t speak up (or maybe even join in) when the..."“It’s when you’re kickin’ it with your boys and you don’t speak up (or maybe even join in) when the one dude is being called a “bitch” or a “pussy” because he didn’t hit on the girl you saw. It’s knowing street harassment is wrong but also knowing that you let your eyes linger way longer than was comfortable for her when she walked by you in those yoga pants […]
- "What may seem like ‘productive discussion’ or ‘lively debate’ feels like an attack on your identity..."“What may seem like ‘productive discussion’ or ‘lively debate’ feels like an attack on your identity and validity as a human being when it comes from a person in a position of power who is telling you how to react to something that upset you. When a disabled woman, for example, expresses anger about something that is going on in the news and nondisabled peop […]
Contact!
Don't feel like commenting? You can also find/contact me here:
Two things to keep in mind:
1. I am bad at answering lengthy emails. Sorry!
2. I may ask you for permission to blog about our correspondence. However, if you are harassing/abusive/trollish, then I no longer have to ask you for permission. Proceed with caution!
Two things to keep in mind:
1. I am bad at answering lengthy emails. Sorry!
2. I may ask you for permission to blog about our correspondence. However, if you are harassing/abusive/trollish, then I no longer have to ask you for permission. Proceed with caution!
Recent Comments