I can still recall the spit that freckled my face as two of my peers howled at me for believing in the “hoax” commonly referred to as identifying as nonbinary. Or rather, the numerous walks through the hallways that have been laced with unintentionally racist, sexist, homophobic remarks made by my beloved classmates. I’m confident in saying that stumbling across ignorance is an almost universal experience. An utterly distasteful one, too. Time and time again, I’ve witnessed my peers sweep

At the height of the pandemic and critical race relations, I make a plea: Don't forget the other existential crisis, climate change.

At the height of the pandemic and critical race relations, I make a plea: Don't forget the other existential crisis, climate change. The three are related. Like climate change, the pandemic requires scientific solutions on a global scale. And many communities and countries of color are and will be hardest hit. 2020 is seeing a run of natural disasters driven by global warming. Wildfires devastated Australia, its worst ever. Siberia had a six-month record heat wave, facilitating extensive Arctic

“It’s the end of the world as we know it! If the wrong side wins our upcoming election, there will be dictatorship, the end of democracy, and inevitably a Civil War!”

“It’s the end of the world as we know it! If the wrong side wins our upcoming election, there will be dictatorship, the end of democracy, and inevitably a Civil War!” This is the media frenzy we live in right now. We exist in parallel realities, getting our news from media silos that reinforce our preconceived notions, with each side accusing the other of being “fake news.” How can we be one nation under God , when we can’t even agree on basic facts? And I confess, I’m guilty of judging those

Imagine hearing this from 13-year old kid in a junior high classroom: Joe Biden and the Democrats are running a child sex ring for pedophiles. Or, reading a recent letter to the editor in local paper that “QAnon” is a “good” thing. Both are laughable and frightening at the same time.

Imagine hearing this from 13-year old kid in a junior high classroom: Joe Biden and the Democrats are running a child sex ring for pedophiles. Or, reading a recent letter to the editor in local paper that “QAnon” is a “good” thing. Both are laughable and frightening at the same time. There have always been segments of our populace who believe in conspiracies. When John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in November 1963, it couldn’t have been the work of just one mentally unstable man. There had

As the only faculty member at Highland Community College who is openly lesbian (or gay for that matter), I felt I’d done my job for the LGBTQ+ community when I hung a small rainbow flag in my office. But, twelve years later, I’m still the only one and one of the few in Freeport.

As the only faculty member at Highland Community College who is openly lesbian (or gay for that matter), I felt I’d done my job for the LGBTQ+ community when I hung a small rainbow flag in my office. But, twelve years later, I’m still the only one and one of the few in Freeport. It is hard coming out. I’ve met teens who went to Hollywood because their midwestern families threw them of the house, only to be homeless. I met a trans person who was the butt of the jokes when she joined the staff of

During another “Week That Was,” the trauma across our country intensified. We heard the pandemic was running its course and normalcy was just around the corner. Our hospitalized President appeared to triumph over the virus with “cocktails” of experimental and antibody drugs. Three days later at the White House, he declared Americans shouldn’t be afraid of this epidemic which consumes thousands of people every day -- as he continues a no-mask policy.