• United We Stood, Divided We Are: Abortion, SCOTUS, and the Polarization of the Country

    By: Valerie Hinkle     As we come off the heels of the Fourth of July weekend, let us think about what exactly we are celebrating. Independence Day is meant to celebrate the United States, but can we really feel patriotic given the current state of this country? This year we’ve seen an incredible reversal of … Continue reading “United We Stood, Divided We Are: Abortion, SCOTUS, and the Polarization of the Country”

  • Hip-Hop Influencing English Language

    As a black male English major, I pride myself on speaking properly and clearly in my schoolwork and my everyday life. When I tell people just how big of a hip-hop fan I am, most people are surprised since hip-hop is known to push the envelope when it comes to English, in terms of words … Continue reading “Hip-Hop Influencing English Language”

  • Fiction Inspires Reality

    “Reading is an act of civilization; it’s one of the greatest acts of civilization because it takes the free raw material of the mind and builds castles of possibilities.” –Ben Okri   Fiction can be more illuminating than our own historical texts. Imagination can be more powerful than reality. Literature gives us the freedom to question … Continue reading “Fiction Inspires Reality”

  • Spotlight: Professor Steven Leyva

    Steven Leyva was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in Houston, Texas. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in 2 Bridges Review, Scalawag, Nashville Review, jubilat, Vinyl, Prairie Schooner, and Best American Poetry 2020. He is a Cave Canem fellow and author of the chapbook, Low Parish, and author of The Understudy’s Handbook, which won the Jean Feldman Poetry Prize from Washington Writers … Continue reading “Spotlight: Professor Steven Leyva”

  • Spotlight-TRIOUD: Music from Greece and Turkey

    On Wednesday, March 16th, the Arts Production and Management Department, formerly named Integrated Arts, hosted an event in the Wright Theater called Trioud: Music from Greece and Turkey, featuring Spyros Pilios Koliavasilis, Niko Mitrione, and Ian Power. They played many Greek and Turkish pieces on the oud, including my personal favorites, “Azize” and “Kurdilihicazkar Longa”.   … Continue reading “Spotlight-TRIOUD: Music from Greece and Turkey”