Zhu: Why I feel awkward when you speak Chinese to me
Caroline Zhu, Staff Columnist
November 15, 2019
For years, I’ve admitted I’m uncomfortable when foreigners try to speak Chinese to me. Even though I don’t take offense at it, something about these interactions feels hollow and awkward. I know that I’m not the only one to feel it, but voicing these discomforts is often met with confusion and...
Zhu: What we let social media companies get away with these days
Caroline Zhu, Staff Columnist
November 1, 2019
With news commentators comparing our current political and economic state to historical periods like the 1880s, it is of little wonder that antitrust concerns continue to grow, particularly in light of the recent attention Facebook has been getting. The boom in the early 21st century of fast-growing te...
Zhu: The commodification of activism by self-interested corporations
Caroline Zhu, Staff Reporter
October 25, 2019
When did corporations start taking stances on cultural and political movements? When it started to seem profitable to do so. Today, we see some companies put forth genuine efforts to give back to communities and to their consumers, while others put forth hollow advertising that supports social movements....
Zhu: Why we romanticize the hustle, and why I hate it
Caroline Zhu, Opinion Editor
October 4, 2019
Ever since millennials and more recently Generation Z started growing into maturity, older generations have levelled claim after claim of laziness and entitlement at young adults, while many protest that this generation works just as hard as previous generations did, often for less payoff. Tuition rates ...
Zhu: Reboot culture limits creativity, stifles new voices
Caroline Zhu, Staff Columnist
April 19, 2019
In the past decade, more and more blockbusters have been either reboots or remakes of old films and franchises. It raises the question of not only why this is happening, but whether or not these films have any value to offer to popular culture beyond pure nostalgia. Although it is difficult to pinpoint when th...
Zhu: Vulgar humor opens conversation on privilege
Caroline Zhu, Staff Columnist
March 29, 2019
Amid her relatable quips about the state of Cleveland’s streets and being a woman today, Michelle Wolf’s campus appearance last Friday focused on the importance of privilege in modern society. Planted in fun hypotheticals about the historical women’s rights movement, her words helped open conversat...
Zhu: Who still uses Asian-American slurs?
Caroline Zhu, Staff Columnist
March 1, 2019
A self titled “speaking artist,” Alex Luu is a slam poet from Southern California who speaks out about his experience as an Asian-American. Most recently, he made an appearance at the Taiwanese American Student Association’s Plum Blossom Banquet last weekend. Halfway through Luu’s evocative set o...
Zhu: KonMari isn’t minimalism and for good reason
Caroline Zhu, Staff Columnist
February 15, 2019
Following the release of her Netflix show, “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,” Japanese organizing consultant and author Marie Kondo made a sudden return to pop culture. But the response to her show and her philosophy reflects a distinctly Western take on Eastern cultures and minimalism. While Kondo...
