Category: Columns

Holding out hope for unity in United Methodism

Matters of religion, like family and politics, sit particularly close to the heart. For many people, their religious tradition is the cornerstone and foundation of their lives, helping to instill them with a sense of belonging, meaning, and purpose. When fissures start to form in the familiar doctrines and trusted religious institutions, a question emerges:… Continue reading Holding out hope for unity in United Methodism

Paying respects to Kobe Bryant

It’s been a somber couple of days in the sports world, transcending all sports and affecting fans across the world. Kobe Bryant, former NBA superstar, along with eight others, including one of his daughters, was taken from this world too early in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Jan. 26. Bryant, a five-time… Continue reading Paying respects to Kobe Bryant

Sparknotes: an obstacle to serious learning

With the start of a new semester, many students are returning to some reading-intensive classes. Perhaps you are a history or English major and you are up to your eyeballs in biographies and novels to read, or maybe you’re in another field but have found yourself taking a few 200-level English courses to satisfy some… Continue reading Sparknotes: an obstacle to serious learning

State legislature wrong on same-sex adoption

The Tennessee state legislature has now passed a bill that would allow adoption agencies to deny gay couples over religious and moral convictions. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is expected to sign the bill into law, and his office has told reporters Gov. Lee will be signing the bill as soon as he returns from a… Continue reading State legislature wrong on same-sex adoption

Don’t count on your draft number coming up anytime soon

While tensions with Iran seem to have abated, the sheer deluge of World War memes and semi-ironic videos produced about the younger generation’s simultaneous apprehension and delight at being conscripted into combat got me thinking about what the prospect of a mass draft in the modern era would even look like.  We are, it goes… Continue reading Don’t count on your draft number coming up anytime soon

Cheating on an Astro-nomical level

The Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB) have been labeled with one of the worst names you can have in the sports world – cheaters. Recently, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred released a nine-page report on findings from an investigation into claims that the Astros used video surveillance technology in their 2017 World Series run,… Continue reading Cheating on an Astro-nomical level

LSU and Clemson set to battle for national title

This year’s College Football Playoffs has been one for the books, and the two teams that will duke it out for the national title, No. 1 Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers and No. 3 Clemson Tigers, are both powerhouses (14-0 on the season) that should make for an epic showdown. LSU has played a phenomenal… Continue reading LSU and Clemson set to battle for national title

New smoking age: reasonable public policy

President Trump signed into law a new provision to amend federal legislation to prohibit the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 21 on Dec. 20, 2019. The law is a revision to the existing Food and Drug Administration guidelines for the age of sale regarding tobacco products, and according to USA Today, also includes… Continue reading New smoking age: reasonable public policy

Higher ed bubble introduces uncertainty for UTM’s future

The thing about bubbles is, they always burst. The growing bubble in higher education is no exception. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 33.4 % of Americans 25 or older have degrees. Whether this seems like an achievement or shortcoming, it’s too many. An enrollment bubble is about to pop as degrees are in less… Continue reading Higher ed bubble introduces uncertainty for UTM’s future