Category: Opinion
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How the Resume Grindset Kills Our Campus
The first few weeks of the semester always bring a flood of “we’re hiring” and “officers wanted” flyers across campus. If you’re currently struggling to balance your responsibilities or running low on time, but are looking to add a shiny title or two to your resume, here’s my advice: don’t apply. We need less grinders…
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A win for sports, is a win for UTD
Despite recent successes in academic fields, UTD faculty have expressed skepticism about our university’s burgeoning sports identity. But why see it as a binary choice? Academic excellence and a robust sports identity aren’t mutually exclusive; they complement each other. In a video from the academic senate this summer, faculty voiced concerns and doubts about the…
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SAG strikes could herald turning point for creatives and just compensation
Long gone are the days of Blockbuster and in came the era of Netflix and Hulu. As these streaming giants quickly began dominating how we consume media, questions of how employees of these entertainment projects would be compensated arose. As a result, the Screen Actors Guild’s American Federation of Television and Radio Artists division —…
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Poor parking and transportation on campus isn’t only UTD’s doing
For many students, commuting to school is a great option to save money, but in recent years, it’s often felt like the savings aren’t worth the trouble when realizing how inconvenient parking is at UTD. By now, all of us know that UTD is a commuter school. 78% of students live off campus as of…
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A ban on knowledge – how book bans harm adolescents by blocking them from representation
When your future child is interested in reading about Scout’s adventures in Maycomb, Alabama in the classic “To Kill a Mockingbird,” or wants to dive into Huckleberry Finn’s adventures with Jim along the Mississippi River in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” they might have trouble finding it on their school bookshelves. As a Literature major…
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SAVE won’t save you from debt
The Biden Administration’s most recent plan to relieve student loan debt is a practical starting point for those eligible, but ineffective for the original audience Biden promised to help nor even solving the actual crisis. The Biden Administration is still fighting to forgive student loan debt after the Supreme Court struck down the Biden-Harris Student…
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Get your fitness in with UTD’s new outdoor gym
The UTD Fitness Court Studio is one of the latest and most exciting additions to University Recreation amenities, but it has yet to gain traction during the summer heat wave. However, students interested in exercise — particularly resistance training and aerobics — should utilize the outdoor calisthenics gym when the temperature cools down this fall.…
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Letter to the Editor: Transphobia creates environment of hate on campus
The recent wave of anti-trans hatred being pushed in the media and legislation has, unfortunately, spilled over onto campus. In recent weeks, students have spotted a number of flyers asking about “transition regret,” which studies show is extremely rare, according to a meta-analysis by Bustos et. al. The purpose of these flyers is clear—they are…
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You (probably) can’t be an anonymous source
There’s an inquiry you receive a lot as an editor at The Mercury — “Can I be anonymous?” And the answer, for the most part, is no. From news stories to opinion pieces, The Mercury receives a surprising number of students requesting to both share their voice in our publication and yet also remain unnamed.…
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TA compensation needs to change at UTD
UTD teaching assistants, or TAs, do not get compensated like every other school in the UT system does, and that needs to change. Students who successfully complete a course at UTD can become a TA because they have proven that they have enough knowledge to help other students succeed. Other schools in the UT system,…