ALL STORIES
(OPINION) I needed the tiger’s strength, their composure, their fighting spirit. So I finally booked my $25 guided tour at CFAR on a Sunday afternoon. The only thing separating us was the chain link around the enclosure and about five feet of distance. I saw the tiger looking at me, and we locked eyes. Her eyes were the most stunning blend of turquoise and amber. Her face was calm, like she was looking past my eyes into my soul. Some people’s adrenaline levels would shoot up if a tiger ever got within five feet of them. Looking into her eyes, I felt a sense of peaceful reassurance wash over me.
(OPINION) There are nearly 210,240 hours in 24 years, and Adnan Syed spent those 210,240 hours in prison proclaiming his innocence before his eventual release in 2022. Syed’s life completely changed when his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee went missing that evening. Weeks later, her body was found, and Syed became the prime suspect. How did Syed continue to declare his innocence? Two decades after his initial arrest he was exonerated of all crimes, but it is important to delve into the details that made his 2022 release possible.
(OPINION) A recent New York Times article depicted The King’s College as a conservative, predominately white and Protestant institution. In doing so, they directly ignored the minority voices that are poignantly shaping King’s. The Times emphasized the white presence at King’s by quoting only white students; only one out of the four was a woman. At least three students of color were interviewed, but the Times didn’t include their side of the story.
(OPINION) Last February, my world was folding in on top of me. That was the day the Russian army invaded the eastern Ukrainian city where my grandparents lived. Living with the notion that the people I love are in constant danger of being attacked while trying to keep up with college schoolwork was far from easy and still is sometimes. But this article isn’t about me, Ukraine or any national-level catastrophe. Instead, it's about the unrest happening at The King’s College right now and how we should respond.
(OPINION) There is another context in which I view these things. King's is a "strategic institution," however overused that phrasing became. It is a point of gathering and departure for many ambitious, capable Christians willing to subject themselves to a formative education. Running a private Christian liberal arts school in NYC is obviously a tall order. But when I was there we had 500+ students, and it seemed only to be getting bigger. Profs would complain about how many sections they had to teach and how many students they had to juggle. What went wrong?
(OPINION) Many students at The King’s College are aware of the multiple overdue rent notices and the service of an eviction threat from a debt collector to student residents. However, many do not know about the actual debt collector Kucker Marino Winarsky & Bittens. The multi-million dollar firm describes itself as “a highly respected Manhattan law firm” focusing on real estate and corporate law. Still, I can’t help but wonder: How respected can Kucker be when the New York Attorney General investigated them two separate times?
(OPINION) I won’t lie – it’s hard being at King’s these days. As a senior, The King’s College has become home. I’ve been here through the COVID lockdowns, the tension of the 2020 election cycle and the general insecurity of a post-pandemic city. The Community Update on Feb. 13 felt like the breaking point. But I’ve kept coming back to this question that my dad would always ask: Who are we, and who are we becoming? Regardless of our circumstances, we are always being molded and shaped toward something. So who will we choose to be in the midst of uncertainty?
(OPINION) So far, most of the coverage by mainstream news outlets of The King’s College’s financial woes has oddly focused on King’s donors such as Bill Hwang, the DeVos family and interim president Stockwell Day. It would be smart for reporters to dig more into Canadian businessman Peter Chung and his involvement with King’s in the past two years as well as his other business ventures through Primacorp Ventures Inc. and the Emanata Group. Could it be true that Chung was a philanthropist and a savior for King’s during a time of crisis of the Covid-19 Pandemic? Or could it be true that Chung's failed vision and turbulent strategy for King’s has contributed to King’s weak financial position and potential for closure?
(OPINION) My heart, as it has been for the past few weeks, is keenly attuned to The King’s College and its dire situation. To be honest, there is little I can tangibly do to help this situation. It is easy to get wrapped up in feelings of dread and defeat as the future remains uncertain for King’s in New York City. But worry, as we all know, never solves our deeper problems.
(OPINION) In February 2022, I attended a press conference where Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams and other key leaders in New York addressed the spike in subway crime and homelessness at the beginning of 2022. One year later, it’s time to see what has actually changed. Did our elected and appointed leaders do what they promised to do? If so, did it work? The short answer: barely.
(OPINION) If you hear a teenager on TikTok describe their faith, chances are they’ll say they’re “spiritual, but not religious.” More and more young people are choosing to believe in a higher power, yet relegate that higher power to a secondary role in their lives. Even Christians within our generation have grown less likely to invest in a church and more likely to surround themselves exclusively with secular peers. With the problem established, I can present my thesis: become an active member of your local church. Doing will surround you with the right people and help you take the right actions.
(OPINION) Few current political issues are as emotional, tumultuous or polarizing as abortion. Approaching the topic inevitably evokes deep pain and a sense of injustice from both sides of the aisle. Recently, the mainstream press has begun to scrutinize a specific facet of the abortion issue: ectopic pregnancy procedures. Wanting to protect the lives of expecting mothers is basic common ground and should inspire legislative clarification instead of provoking further division.
It seems that I, like many other Americans, view the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade as just another sweet Thanksgiving tradition. It’s a family-friendly music-fest of color and sound, but the celebrities and the little songs and the warmth are all perfectly manufactured and poised to sell products and make money. As fun and whimsical as these floats may be, they are, essentially, just one big commercial.
Hispanic Heritage Month begins every year on Sept.15, near the beginning of the fall semester, and ends on Oct. 15. As a first-year student, I was surprised I heard no mention of Hispanic Heritage Month by King’s. Now as a senior, I am disappointed that for the past 30 days the school remained silent yet again.
At 19 years old, after two months of weight loss, mood swings and dehydration, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. As jarring as it was adjusting to a new lifestyle with Type 1 diabetes, I quickly became enthralled with the technology behind diabetes treatment. I turned to this hive mind, applying their collective wisdom — delivered via YouTube videos, blog posts and social networks — simplifying my life and preserving my bank account.
“Don’t Worry Darling,” directed by Oliva Wilde, made its debut Friday, September 23rd with star-studded cast featuring Harry Styles and Florence Pugh. Yet, despite the amount of work put into bringing the film to life, that same effort did not equate to when it finally hit theaters.
“Death of a Salesman” is a powerful story that interrogates the American Dream and one man’s inability to live out that dream for himself and his family. In Miranda Cromwell’s new interpretation of the script, the titular character and his family are depicted as African-Americans, adding a new layer of complexity to the social and professional lives of the protagonists of the story.
(OPINION) British tabloids obsessively condemn everything that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, did or did not do during Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. Four years after getting married, Prince Harry and Meghan have not had a moment of peace in terms of the British media. Why do they hate Meghan Markle? What did she do to deserve such dehumanizing treatment?
In mainstream American culture, especially among Gen Z students, traditional “Britishness” — encompassing the aura of opulence displayed during the royal funeral service — should be criticized for its cultural base in colonialism and discrimination. It is estimated by the British government that the funeral cost at least $7.5 million.
In January of 2016, former President Donald Trump claimed he could “stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I [he] wouldn’t lose voters.” Now, one insurrection later, Mr. Trump’s property in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, was sieged by the FBI in order to obtain government documents — many marked “Confidential,” “Secret,” and “Top Secret.”
Don’t take this answer as disrespect or as me being hostile. I have two semesters and a lifetime ahead of me. There’s a fear that can be all-consuming when thinking about how much my life will change in just a year. I celebrate those who have it all figured out and the people who have the roadmap to their perfect destination with their significant other. For me, it’s different. I like the uncertainty. I’m not trying to be mysterious, I’m trying to be spontaneous.
So, please, stop asking me what comes next.
Mr. Kimball’s lecture was not “embarrassing,” but it must have been delivered improperly, and it was certainly received incorrectly. Ironically, it was students’ immediate reaction to the lecture that was embarrassing.
Three years ago I visited The King’s College as a prospective student. Coming from Miami, a city proud of its diversity, I figured a school in New York City would be the same. To my surprise, King’s did not reflect that in their student body. It left me thinking, would I ever feel like I belonged here as a woman of color?
As it turns out, no, I wouldn’t.
The controversy surrounding the Interregnum Opening Lecture with Roger Kimball is an opportunity to live out the liberal arts education we have pursued at The King’s College. As King’s students, we have been equipped with the tools provided to us by the liberal arts to have thoughtful discourse.
After last year’s Interregnum theme of Reconciliation, I felt encouraged — ready to embark on this year’s theme of Readiness in the Interregnum Opening Lecture on Wednesday, March 30. To my disappointment, I was mandated by the college to listen to American conservative art critic, Roger Kimball, talk about the dangers of multiculturalism and the superiority of Western culture.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye, directed by Michael Showalter, is a biopic depicting the rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. The film delivers a straightforward retelling of her story, but without Jessica Chastain cast as the lead, the movie would have been mediocre at best.
The spectacle of Joe Biden’s 62-minute-long State of the Union address underscored the tradition’s desperate need of a radical overhaul. The address has become a political football that serves no one’s best interests and has long worn out its welcome.
Back in May 2020 when I wrote an op-ed called “The Other Pandemic: How Xenophobia is Putting Asians at Risk,” I explained the detrimental effects of America’s former president calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus.”
Little did I know, that was only the beginning.
REVIEW — Marvel’s Eternals made its grand debut onto Disney+ for streaming on Jan. 12, 2022. The film follows the titled Eternals’, an immortal alien race, introduction to the already-full Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sersi, Ikaris, Sprite, Ajax, Thena, Gilgamesh, Kingo, Makkari, Phastos and Druig are members of a group of superheroes who are more than seven centuries old and placed on Earth to protect humans from Deviants (an alien species who are end products of DNA testing gone wrong).
(OPINION) It’s no secret that the Christian community is shrinking. Headlines like “America’s Christian Majority is on Track to End” and “The Weird Spiral of Declining Christianity in America” grace endless reputable news outlets’ religion and culture sections. It’s also no secret that spiritual practices like witchcraft and astrology have been making waves, especially in the Gen-Z and Millennial communities.