During the spring semester, AU’s Antiracist Research and Policy Center hosted a Lunch and Learn event titled The Solidarity Question: Why is Palestine Important to Antiracist Student Organizing? The event focused on pro-Palestine student organizing through an academic perspective, bringing in experts in history, social movement theory, and decolonial theory to engage in dialogue together and with students in attendance. This transcription is intended to be used as an archive for those who are interested and were not able to attend.
The administration’s lack of clear communication before committing actions that harm our community shows that AU admin does not care about fostering the community that our students, staff, and faculty have built. Until the administration starts taking our demands seriously, they better expect to be reminded of who this campus really belongs to: the people.
So, you’ve done it. You’ve crossed to the next step of your relationship with your next door neighbor and now you want the whole world to know. We’ve all been there. But what’s the best way to shout it from the rooftops without actually doing so? An Instagram post might work, but that’s one and done. You’ve tried your dorm, but your roommate keeps saying that it’s “making them uncomfortable” and you’ve “ruined the vibe of the floor.” What’s a person to do? Never fear, because we’ve compiled a list of the best places to mack with your floorcest relationship.
For these “open-minded” closed-hearted individuals, friends are just like their internships: stepping stones for a greater scheme. The slightest infraction from friend group policy is often totally unforgivable and must be punished, even by so-called prison abolitionists. Maybe I have an idealized view of the past, but I feel like during the Vietnam War, radical politics were about loving human life and connecting with your like-minded peers (and smoking weed). Now, it’s about getting mad at people for hanging out with someone that didn’t say hi to you once.
Ask yourself: has the university admin already chosen a side?
Considering the death threat sent to a Palestinian faculty member and how there was not much done to protect Palestinian members of our community after this. Also consider how the admin has rarely mentioned the Palestinian community in their emails, while almost always, the Jewish community was mentioned at least a few times per email. Admin has already chosen a side. A side they cannot say out loud because they’re supposed to be “inclusive.” They even have chosen to reinvent the curriculum of AUx 2, and even getting the FBI involved. Has anything happened? Not that I’m aware of. Previously, it was all about racism and teaching us students at this PWI about what intersectionality is, to a point where we know what it is and it feels like they are covering their asses by saying “we force everyone to take a class that teaches them to be inclusive.”
On December 4th, 2023, the Antiracist Research and Policy Center hosted a panel titled Student Speech, Education Policy, and College Campuses Today to discuss the recent infringements of student activists’ free speech. As anti-genocide and pro-Palestinian activism have surged on college campuses due to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, A.R.P.C. invited scholars Thea Abu El-Haj, Lara Schwartz, Miriam Durrani, William Youmans, and Dwayne Wright to share their expertise with the A.U. community, hosted by A.U.’s own Aamarah DeCuir. This transcription is intended to be used as an archive for those who are interested in the topic and were not able to attend.
American University’s Antiracism Research and Policy Center hosted their first Lunch and Learn of the semester on November 1st. The event was focused on educational equity in the era of “anti-wokeness” and the Supreme Court’s overturning of affirmative action.
The event was hosted by the founder of AU’s new club Brave Spaces, Gabriella Hoard, who interviewed the three panelists: education professor Dr. Kenjus Watson, law professor Dr. Leah Epperson, and student Josiah Carolina.
Here at the Rival American, we promote safe partying! Always go with a buddy, keep track of your drinks, don’t scooter drunk, and never go to a frat party. Halloweekend (the weekend before Halloween) is a notorious party weekend at AU, and colleges around the country. Halloweekend is usually a defining moment for people- tears are shed, eyeliner is smudged, and costume headpieces end up in the gutter. The Rival Staff has collected the 14 Commandments of Halloweekend, so you can learn from our mistakes and make next year the best Halloweekend ever!
Whenever Halloween rolls around I am reminded of the many years I’ve spent in trashy costumes and house parties asking strangers “what are you supposed to be?” Only to be met with an incredibly obscure or equally obvious answer (I should’ve known the guy double fisting Marlboros and a Natty Light was Bojack Horseman). I’ve come to appreciate the jankiness of college Halloween antics, but that wasn’t always the case. In honor of the worst best holiday we’ve all come to lovingly dread, here’s my list of reasons why Halloween isn’t for the faint of heart.
You’ve been sexiled. Welcome to a key pillar of the college experience! Here at The Rival, we feel your pain and want to help you figure out what to do now that you can’t relax in the comfort of your own bed. Here are a couple ideas of how to kill the next few minutes hours while your roommate gets it on.
“We understand why people dislike AU for certain reasons, we do too, but I don’t think that lack of support should reflect onto our athletics. Our athletes and teams need support from the community, and they are fun games to watch! And I’m not talking just about [only] men's basketball, literally every sport”
We heard AI was coming for our jobs, so we set out to see how concerned we should be. We gave Chat GPT the prompt “Write a 500 word satirical article about American University. Include main characters Sylvia Burwell, Clawed Z Eagle, and Wonk Cat. Make the story take place in The Bridge Cafe and be sure to make the story humorous,” and had it write and this article for us. The cover image was generated through NightCafe, an AI imaging software, with the prompt “Sylvia Burwell and Clawed Z Eagle.”
