Up For Debate Category

I discovered PWR BTTM only a month ago, and they probably wouldn’t have crossed my radar without a little stoking from Apple Music. One Friday in early May, a raw punk thrasher called “Big Beautiful Day” from their new release “Pageant” found its way onto my New Music playlist. I was immediately enamored. As I began to read about their image of queer advocacy, the hook sunk deeper. Here were a pair of gender non-conforming musicians rocking drag, while howling out songs about bodily autonomy. I dug it in aRead More
  I’m a huge fan of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In my opinion, it’s the funniest show on television, and there ain’t a close second. Watching the escapades of a group of sociopaths who run a bar – a motley crew known as “the Gang” – provides a dark sort of comedy that stands out from most laugh-tracked garbage that cable channels try to pass off as humor. It’s no coincidence that in watching the last few weeks of turmoil unfold at the University of Missouri and Yale University, I’m remindedRead More

Posted On April 21, 2015By Kelli JohnsonIn Politics, Rants, The Scene, Up For Debate

Women Were NOT Meant to be President

I read this article recently about some CEO lady who basically went on a rant on why Hillary Clinton, and well, women in general were not MEANT to be President. Their biological physiology does not align well with the job because you know…those damn hormones. Oh and also the Bible says so. Yeah, I know, I couldn’t find the verse either. As women, we can run households, schools, hospitals, entire corporations even, but we CANNOT and SHOULD NOT run the country (or apparently a church, for that matter…), because whoRead More
I am not a doctor. I do not hold a PhD. I am not writing this from a research lab strewn with papers on the subject I am (sort of) going to discuss. I am a 23-year-old creative writing graduate that lives with her parents. I am currently student teaching high school English. And I am writing from this bed where my clean clothes still lie in a pile (and will probably never be put away because that’s just how I roll). I have no authority on this matter andRead More
First, step back and realize how totally insane the events in Paris have become. Take a deep breath and exit Tweetdeck. Close your Facebook tab on Chrome. Now wander over to the window and look outside. Notice how unless you’re in Paris, nothing has changed. Anything still sitting with you? The frustration and anger you feel toward someone thousands of miles away murdering a couple of satirical cartoonists is justified. Don’t feel anything? No worries, I’m not going to hound you about it. The reactions to the Charlie Hebdo shooting,Read More

Posted On December 22, 2014By Kelli JohnsonIn The Scene, Up For Debate

Miss World Cancels Swimsuit Portion, Oh My!

Let me preface this by saying that I have no issue with beauty pageants…or whatever the politically correct people of the Internet want to call them. If you’re beautiful with a rockin’ bod, hats off to you, my friend! However, I do take an issue with the fact that we are still pretending these beauty pageants are anything more than beauty pageants. Yes, these women are philanthropists and scholars and diplomats and general do-gooders. But first and foremost, they are beautiful. They are beautiful women, who are ALSO those otherRead More
You’ve seen it everywhere lately. Unless you’ve been hiding under an incredibly immense boulder, you’re aware what’s going on in Ferguson, Missouri. You’re aware what’s going on in New York City. You’re aware that widespread protests, riots, and general civil unrest are permeating the streets of American cities and towns from coast to coast. You know the material facts – that two unarmed black men are dead, killed by police officers. You know that there are two sides to the issue – one side defending the police officers’ actions asRead More
So, two nights ago, I saw a movie I’d been wanting to see for quite some time – Gone Girl. Having never previously read the book upon which the film is based, my enthusiasm came from my appreciation for director David Fincher and the enticing previews I had seen. First things first: the film was fantastic. I recommend that each and every one of you go see it ASAP. But now, a few days removed from roller coaster that is Gone Girl, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the movie as a commentaryRead More
A sensation in the news this week: an Ohio State student had run onto the field during an Ohio football game and was taken down by a coach, who seemingly was just “protecting” his players. Anthony Wunder, a fourth-year engineering student, has completely lost his scholarship that covers his tuition and housing. He was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing. There has been talk as to whether or not the right and appropriate measures were taken. I watched a video on ESPN Go of Jemele Hill and Michael Smith with differentRead More
In America, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and along the way the once cherished American middle class got stuffed. According the ALF-CIO, America sees one of the largest CEO to average worker income gaps in the world with American CEOs pocketing more than $12 million annually while the average American worker brings in just over $34 thousand annually. Add the fractions, carry the 1 and you have a pay rate difference of astronomical proportions – the average American CEO, in 2012, made around 202.3 times moreRead More

Posted On September 25, 2014By John O'NeillIn Buzzworthy, Opinion, Politics, The Scene, Up For Debate

A Millennial Political Platform

The 2016 presidential elections will be fierce. With no eligible incumbent, the nation is braced for the political season that has already begun – its starting gun signified by the media peeping at prospective nominees viable to survive what promises to be an attritional war of primaries and the always fierce and final push toward the general election. Like any show dog or pageant contestant trying to win over the hearts of an American electorate, the political parties are grooming and prodding their candidates to form an ideal appeal. DamningRead More

Posted On September 10, 2014By Lucy EnrightIn The Scene, Up For Debate

Gen Y Bashers: You Hate Us But You Raised Us

I come across more and more articles everyday about Generation Y as if we’re some kind of plague suffocating innocent civilians with our overinflated egos – thanks a lot mom and dad. The nerve of those parents for giving us encouragement, praise, and positive reinforcement!      Shout out to all the haters behind the countless articles berating Gen Y (someone’s parents didn’t love them enough). But hey, much like us Gen Y-ers, you’re entitled to your own opinion. And while I can’t say I totally disagree with many ofRead More

Posted On August 28, 2014By Kristine NavasIn Advice For Women, The Scene, Up For Debate

Why Beyonce is the Worst Role Model

With the highly anticipated VMA performance now over and all the gushing aside, the question lingering in my mind is why are we praising the self acclaimed “Queen B.” Is it her voice? Is it her dancing? Honestly, I doubt people even know why they praise her. Yeah, her voice is good and she can do some mad choreography, but you never really hear anything about that. If it’s about her performance it’s more about how amazing her butt looked, OMG she’s pregnant, or she’s totally putting those divorce rumorsRead More
Let me start this off by saying not all “nice guys” are the same.  (Though, it’s kind of hard to say that due to the vomit induced by this article). Some are genuinely kind people with full, rich personalities who take responsibility for where they finish in life.  Others are two-dimensional assholes who believe their niceness gives them a certain right to women. There are two major conflicts I have with the offending article.  The first is the concept that nice guys deserve anything–as if just being polite entitles youRead More
I recently read an article on Thought Catalog entitled “25 men discuss the difference between the girl they want to date and the girl they want to hook up with.” Now. I mean this as no discredit to the author, because she simply posed the question on the website Reddit and recorded twenty-five of the responses. To her credit, it is an interesting concept in essence. The subject alone has the potential to become a really provocative peek into the so called “toxic hook up culture” and get an interesting conversation started.Read More