Opinion

Cut the Fat
Featured, Opinion

Cut the Fat

An ode to Yale’s administrative bureaucracy. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Memorial Quadrangle Gate on High Street near Yale University’s Old Campus. (Credit: Owen Tilman) Ari ShteinStaff Writer, The Buckley BeaconPick one person, at random, off Yale’s New Haven campus. Keep your eyes closed—don’t peek!—and ask them what it is they’re doing here. Incredibly, it’s just about as likely they’ll tell you they’re an administrator as an undergraduate student.Yale has got a lot of non-academic staff on payroll. Some do important IT work, or clean the halls or feed...
We Don’t Need ‘Trust.’ We Need Ambivalence.
Featured, Opinion

We Don’t Need ‘Trust.’ We Need Ambivalence.

The American university has never been more reviled. And the way we’re trying to fix it is wrong. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Pauli Murray College at Yale University. (Credit: Buckley Institute) Ari ShteinStaff Writer, The Buckley BeaconIn April, Yale University President Maurie McInnis convened a Committee on Trust in Higher Education, which would “undertake a process of reckoning and reflection … to better understand public perception and envision ways of strengthening trust.” Per an early-September report in the Yale Daily News, the Trust Committee had spent its summer “conducting background research and holding preliminary conversations,” but found itself unsure of w...
On Charlie Kirk and Political Violence
Featured, Opinion

On Charlie Kirk and Political Violence

The recent wave of politically motivated attacks in America compels us to fear. It also compels us to unite. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ (Credit: © zimmytws/Getty Images via Canva.com) William BarbeeContributor, The Buckley BeaconAs I exited my apartment last Wednesday afternoon, I felt the vibrations of dozens of cell phone notifications harangue me from my pocket. I decided to take a peek at these messages, thinking they would be from friends making jokes about this thing or the other. My assumption that the buzzes came from friends was correct; that they were making jokes, however, was not.The news I received from my friends—that Turning Point USA co-founder and conservative activist Charlie Kirk had bee...
When Extremism Masquerades Аs ‘Equality’: Why Connecticut’s Latest Equal Protection Bill Is A Threat To Civil Rights
Featured, Opinion

When Extremism Masquerades Аs ‘Equality’: Why Connecticut’s Latest Equal Protection Bill Is A Threat To Civil Rights

The new resolution S.J.35 provides no new protections, but rather uses extreme language to prevent any compromise on some of the most controversial cultural topics of our time. Kylyn SmithContributing Author, The Buckley BeaconOn Friday, February 7, I logged on to the Connecticut Government Administration and Elections' Public Hearing at noon to testify against Senate Joint Resolution 35, or S.J.35.For decades, the Equal Protection Clause of Connecticut’s state constitution has prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex, to include workplace rights for pregnant women. The new bill seeks to modify the definition of “sex” to include “terminating a pregnancy; sexual orientation; gender identity and expression; and related he...
To Our Liberal Friends
Featured, Opinion

To Our Liberal Friends

Our response to Publius. Buckley Beacon StaffThe Buckley BeaconPublius, the now-defunct Yale Daily News editorial board, took Yale by surprise with their Election Day special, “We’re Jealous of Our Conservative Peers.” To their credit, they managed to do something quite impressive: Frame liberal hostility to conservative opinions as a perk, not drawback, of conservatives’ experience at Yale.Constant criticism and social ostracization, Publius argues, affords conservatives a unique chance to cultivate their beliefs, and refine their presentation to an audience eager to cancel them. We admit, this is a compelling spin on what might otherwise be considered an odious excuse for censorship, intolerance, and exclusion. Conservativ...
How to Make Your Yale Degree More Valuable: Lessons From Buckley’s Annual Conference
Featured, Opinion

How to Make Your Yale Degree More Valuable: Lessons From Buckley’s Annual Conference

"The Buckley conference encouraged students to consider what it means to be challenged—consider what it means to get the most out of their Yale education. Should students take action, speaker after speaker pointed to a promising future: one where ideological friction in the classroom actually makes students sharper. A future where embracing the free speech principles laid out in the Woodward Report will give students an edge in life and, in turn, make Yale degrees more valuable." Fiona BultonsheenStaff Writer, The BeaconIn December of 1974, a group of free speech advocates and administrators at Yale put together the Woodward Report, which contains lines that 81% of the student body support, according to the Buckley Insitute annual s...
Our Guardian Angel Needs Us
Opinion

Our Guardian Angel Needs Us

I served beneath her colors, my grandfather was buried beneath her honor, and now she lay beneath the feet of a crowd who despised her, rejoicing in her demise. Shailen SharmaManaging Editor, The BeaconShe could not soar anymore, her wings torn. Her country would not hold her up as she fell to the ground. The very people who lived under her gaze cheered at her demise. While this scene may have mirrored the tearing down of our nation’s flag at last semester’s Occupy Beinecke protest, it was in fact not that protest. This was Mao’s revolution incarnate—student protestors who worked tirelessly to tear down every flag of the country that birthed them. While these attacks on China’s flag, monuments, and traditions may have seemed inconse...
Beacon Fall 2024 Crossword
Opinion

Beacon Fall 2024 Crossword

“October is the month for painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world.” -Henry Thoreau, “Autumnal Tints” Isaac ObermanPuzzle Editor, The Beacon
D.C. Interns: Vote for a Safe Summer
Opinion

D.C. Interns: Vote for a Safe Summer

After four years of the Democratic Party ignoring the crisis of safety in America’s cities, Democratic Party nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris’ past support for defunding the police has catapulted crime to the forefront of national debate. It is time for young voters to reckon with the truth. Emma VentrescaContributor, The BeaconThis summer, I joined the flood of college undergraduates bound for a city flush with opportunities for the aspiring politico: Washington, D.C. The flight to the capital gave me ample time to develop my vision for the months to come: stepping onto the Metro every morning in my best business attire, touring the Smithsonian with new friends, and most importantly, running around the National Mall at sunr...
Breaking the Myth: Politics and Ethics Aren’t Just for Politicians
Opinion

Breaking the Myth: Politics and Ethics Aren’t Just for Politicians

“Again, politics is everywhere. It's reality. And if you can't talk about these things and give everyone a little space to do it, then we can't function as a democracy and as a pluralistic society.” Sabrina GuoAssistant Editor, The BeaconSome believe that avoiding the news or steering clear of careers in law or government will shield them from the influence of politics. Professor Jason Kaune, Lecturer in the Practice of Management at the Yale School of Management, asserts that this is impossible, and those who believe this are in for a rude awakening.Kaune explains, “Politics, more broadly speaking, is pretty simple. It’s the way we interact with each other. You and I have a political interaction because it’s more than one of u...