It’s official y’all (again): blogging season is back, and with the second semester upon us, I thought I’d update y’all, my loyal readership base, with some new blog-related developments.

Passion Blog

I briefly considered switching topics for my passion blog this semester, but after some careful thought, I decided to continue the critically acclaimed “E=mc^Buckets” series. I’m way too passionate about the intersection of sports and statistics to suddenly shift directions, and with the actual NBA season in full swing, I have some new, exciting content in store for readers.

Civic Issues Blog

Minorities and the Police – Social justice and historical trends have always fascinated me. The issue of police brutality is no exception. Last semester, I wrote my paradigm shift paper on the increased documentation police abuse against minorities, and, through my research, I realized the microcosmic nature of police and minority relations. In other words, by understanding the complex nature of the minority and police dynamic – who’s history spans from Nixon’s aggressive policing strategies to the controversial Black Lives Matter movement – we can better analyze “post-racial” America’s fractured infrastructure.

The Education System – School overcrowding. Poor resource division in impoverished, inner-city school districts. The failure of common-core. The de-emphasis of broad-based learning. The U.S. education system is currently facing significant, infrastructural issues that have yet to be addressed in education policy. We all seem to acknowledge the deficiencies, but why haven’t we taken tangible steps to fixing them?

Last, but certainly not least….

This I Believe Ideas

At this point, my ideas for the “This I Believe” podcast are fairly improvised – I’m having some trouble reconciling the need to be honest and insightful without writing an overly dramatic script – so feedback would be great.

(Un-) Safe Spaces – With the increasing awareness of PC culture in America, safe spaces have emerged as places where people can exist without the fear of discrimination, bigotry, or harassment. Yet, despite their honest intent, I believe have safe spaces have also created an environment that suppresses freedom of speech. Don’t get me wrong; I am in no way justifying intolerance or hatred. But I think that safe spaces encourage censorship, which contributes to the loss in creativity, the exchange of ideas, expression, human growth, and ideological progress. I guess in broader strokes, I’m touching upon the importance of the first amendment, but you get the picture.

Preserving the Past – I’m a firm believer of the idea that as humans, we have an obligation to remember the stories of our ancestors and transfer them to future generations. One of the most effective ways to learn is through story-telling, and examining the past is the best way to contextualize the human experience/narrative and identify our species’ mistakes, triumphs, and turning points. As the saying goes, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”