Opinions / Columns

The last time the U.S. Senate had to expel a member, the country was tearing itself apart in the Civil War. With a country that feels almost as divided today, 2017 may see another Senate expulsion — Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey. Federal prosecutors in Menendez’s home state opened a trial against the Democratic […]

In the struggle between American cities for economic dominance, an influx of 50,000 new jobs seems too good to be true. But that’s exactly what tech giant Amazon is offering. More than 100 cities — ranging from Boston, to Toronto to a collective of several small North Carolina towns — have signaled interest in becoming […]

In his mind, President Donald Trump can never go wrong — his actions are justified, his words are nothing but the truth and his band of followers is loyal and ever-growing. And when he’s not praising himself, he’s shifting the blame to others. “I inherited a mess, it’s a mess at home and abroad. A […]

The streets are filled with protesters. The shelves at grocery stores are empty, and pockets are even emptier. Right now, Venezuela looks bleak — and Veronica, a Venezuelan immigrant living in Pittsburgh who requested that her last name be withheld for her family’s safety, said the country is feeling the effects. “The feeling is just […]

The apple core I had just tossed had no sooner hit the bottom of the bin when I heard the familiar scolding from my mom. Once again, I had forgotten to put it in the compost bin. As a kid, I didn’t really know why I needed to be environmentally conscious, whether it was recycling […]

With a mix of fear, anger and sheer disbelief, I watched the television screen in my friends’ apartment as CNN’s correspondent tapped an interactive map, coloring Pennsylvania red. Last fall’s presidential election came as a shock to many, but for me the blow came when my home state cast its electoral votes for the Republican […]

If you were on campus last Friday, you might’ve seen an RV sporting a cartoon photo of Donald Trump hiding behind a smiley face mask. This unusual RV serves as the mobile headquarters for the 2017 Trump and Walmart Make America Worse Tour. Dighan Kelly, a sophomore urban studies and French major, organized the stop […]

A Pittsburgh skyline dominated by smokestacks once denoted the bane of environmental destruction to some — but to many, it was a livelihood. More than ever before, Pittsburgh is shedding its long-standing status as the “Steel City” as it continues to transition from a City that is economically reliant on fossil fuels toward a City […]

Imagine you’re an average college student at a fraternity party. It’s cold — February in central Pennsylvania always is. Suddenly, someone falls down the stairs. They’re drunk enough that they don’t wake up when they hit the floor of the basement. Through the rest of the night, you see his fraternity brothers trying to wake […]

I was in the candy aisle of a bookstall April 19 when I first heard the emergency alarms and looked up to see the main concourse of London Euston Train Station in a dark frenzy. I grabbed my bag, shuffled out the nearest exit and stood outside with other travelers for almost half an hour […]