Opinions

Seventy-two years ago, Palmer Hoyt moved to Denver from Oregon to become the editor, publisher and president of The Denver Post. Forceful as well as comparatively youthful, Hoyt had earned national acclaim for his work in Oregon, as Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas would later observe, “taking editorial comment out of news stories and putting it on the editorial page.” With this “revolution in newspaper circles,” under his belt, Hoyt arrived ready to rattle the settled habits of The Post. In colliding opinions over the first decades of the paper’s existence, readers had praised and celebrated — or derided or scorned — the editorial bias of the paper. As Alfred Prowitt described in the American Mercury in 1927, some cast The Post as “the champion of every good and pure and holy and righteous cause and the faithful and unceasing defender of righteousness, justice, decency, law and order.” Others characterized the paper as a … [Read more...] about Passions, prejudices and opinions: Colliding views led to “revolution” in The Denver Post’s editorial page

Sign up to get our new weekly column as a newsletter. We're looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. (CNN)In Shakespeare's tragedy, the armored ghost of Hamlet's father stalks the ramparts of the royal castle, with a face cast "more in sorrow than in anger." Such was the expression of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she walked to the podium in front of American flags Thursday to announce that Democrats would draft articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. She invoked the Declaration of Independence and complimented her colleagues "for their somber approach" to a process that Pelosi herself had long resisted. Yet the nation saw another facet of the Speaker's character just hours later when a reporter asked, "Do you hate the President, Madam Speaker?" She shot back, "I don't hate anybody," citing her Catholic upbringing and warned, "Don't mess with me." Read More Those words, wrote Pelosi biographer Elaine … [Read more...] about Pelosi’s hidden message to Trump

On the corner of Sixth Street and Fourth Avenue, the ruins of the Flycatcher stand surrounded by fencing. Now a construction site, the space is the future home of a multi-unit residential complex. Initially marred in controversy, the proposed building was met with neighborhood resistance and speculation about its zoning designation and purpose. The Union on 6th development appears to be on a set track to becoming another high-rise housing complex. Despite comments by developers Greystar Real Estate Partners, who worked on the District on 5th building, fears are still present that the Fourth Avenue development will end up as another student housing development for Tucson. With only a designation for local businesses to have priority for the ground-level retail space put in place, the development has taken little into account for the surrounding community and only business interests have won, albeit minor. Like many other new high-rises in town, it is targeted towards a ‘young … [Read more...] about OPINION: Beautifying gentrification in Tucson

Recently, actress Gina Rodriguez posted a video via her Instagram story singing along to the song “Ready or Not” by the Fugees, in which she said the n-word without hesitation. In disgust, I showed the video to my friend and explained her history of anti-blackness, to which he replied: “Why do we expend so much energy into some nobody when people are literally in cages?” My counter was that everybody likes to partake in celebrity gossip and that celebrities should be more responsible with how they use their platforms. As a response, he offered this hypothetical: “Imagine if every second we spent getting upset because some celebrity was problematic [we instead] spent time calling our state representatives, etc. instead of convincing ourselves [that this is] doing the right thing?” Although I do respect his argument and recognize that there is a lot of misplaced energy put into certain instances of “canceling,” I do think that there’s … [Read more...] about OPINION: What are we trying to accomplish with cancel culture?

The role of an academic in society has been a question constantly facing academics in their research, teaching positions and placement at universities. Often the university is seen as disconnected from the greater public; it’s a separate space distinct from its surrounding communities and society. While research is often pertinent to growing developments in technology and thought, there is still a prevailing notion that academics are distant from society in a large part of their work. From a student’s perspective, this holds different weight, especially in a society increasingly more insistent on the pressure placed on personal responsibility for all aspects of life, especially economic. Increasingly, there are discrepancies between the academic fulfillment of a university and the growing emphasis on job-preparedness instead. To no academic or student’s fault, this development is part of a broader move toward the reliance on a degree to function in the economy and a … [Read more...] about OPINION: What are our roles as academics?