Flags waved. Crowds chanted. Police stood by in riot helmets. Barricades were up, and the gates remained locked. It was April 20th, 2024, the Saturday after Columbia University students had established what came to be called a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” — an action that would go on to ignite nationwide outrage, as well as compel thousands of other American college students to protest in solidarity.

Originally Published: June 4, 2024

Marjorie Eliot stood in her Harlem kitchen as she prepared a tray of styrofoam cups. It was a Sunday afternoon in early December of 2023, and that only meant one thing: Jazz.

Outside her door, on the third floor of 555 Edgecombe Avenue, a line of concert attendees had begun forming. Eliot’s intimate Sugar Hill apartment possesses both a literal and figurative warmth that makes out-of-towners feel at home. The Parlor was quiet. It wouldn’t last long.

Originally Published: February 21, 2024

The Staten Island Historical Society, an education-focused non-profit, operates an interactive museum where they hosted the 2022 Hearth and Harvest Festival. It was here, in a room full of attendees awaiting a performance of traditional Native American dances, where I somehow found myself still alone. 

Originally Published: November 30, 2022

On March 31, 2021, pot began calling the kettle until it picked up the phone, then proceeded to announce that it had been legalized in the state of New York. 

 More than a year has gone by since the Marijuana Taxation and Regulation Act, commonly referred to as the MTRA, was signed into law. The changes have been seen as slow by some, nonexistent by others and irresponsible by more. 

 On a bright morning in early autumn, I set out with a mission to talk about weed legalization in New York. 

Originally Published: October 21, 2022

Dr. Andrew Delbanco presented Kings’ Black History Month lecture based on his most recent book which delves into how slavery, specifically the desire to escape slavery, shaped American history more than we tend to give it credit. The talk took place in the City Room on Thursday, Feb. 9.

Delbanco is an acclaimed Columbia University professor whose written works focus primarily on American History and Literature. The book that his lecture was based on, The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America’s Soul, from the Revolution to the Civil War,  won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and was named a New York Times notable book in 2019.

Originally Published: February 15, 2023

(OPINION) On Thursday, Jan. 19, Interim President Stockwell Day made the first announcement of the semester about upcoming changes to The King’s College. As recently reported, many of our activities at King's are now looking and feeling very different. This moment in King’s history is fraught with uncertainty. To top it all off, Day advised the student body on how to respond. 

Sadly, Day’s comments did not strike me as helpful; instead, they were just the opposite. Day’s allegorical instructions, while good-intentioned, deeply misrepresented biblical processes of grief and scientific literature on how we as human beings feel.

Originally Published: February 2, 2023