Best of Opinion 2024-25

Last year, the opinion section returned after a two-year hiatus. This year, it thrived. 

With over 220 articles from a passionate gaggle of nearly 50 writers, our arguments were as memorable and multifaceted as Rogers Park itself. Discussing everything from campus culture to Chicago civics to national politics and TikTok fame, our Ramblers wrote on just about everything under the sun. 

Opinion didn’t just cover new topics this year — it explored new ways of presenting coverage, too. For the first time since the section’s return, it boasted point-counterpoint articles, guest essays from campus leaders, editorial cartoons, satirical critiques lampooning Loyola life and even a letter to the editor — from beloved therapy dog Ashlar, no less. 

Opinion tread into this new territory with an enthusiasm that can only be described as valiant. Every week, dedicated writers augmented their news judgement, argumentative faculties and creative spirits to produce nuanced, high quality articles reflective of the student body. They daringly pitched their opinions, trying their hand at new forms of writing without losing sight of the section’s roots. 

It’s because of their zeal, dedication and ambition the section has become what it is. The works featured in this issue are reflective of the larger work we’ve done this year — in quality and scale — but mostly they’re a celebration of the students who are willing to publicly defend their opinions week in and week out. 

To everyone who contributed, thank you for putting yourself out there and your name in the paper. To everyone who read — thank you for reading, and for inspiring us to write.

Essay: Navigating Grief on the College Campus

Originally published Sept. 18.

It seems fitting that in one of the most hellish landscapes imaginable — the School of Communication basement — I received the worst news of my life.

“Are you sitting down?” my dad asked. I was sitting, uncomfortably, in a high top chair sandwiched between the snaking corridor’s yellow walls. 

“We lost him.”

The usual oppressiveness of the basement’s fluorescent lights were multiplied tenfold as streams of salty tears stung my eyes.

Earlier that February morning, my mom informed my brothers and I our sister Anna’s husband, Matthew, had a possible brain aneurysm. His chances of survival were reduced to heartbreaking figures.

Read more here.

Essay: Crosswords Saved my Life

Originally published April 16.

Over the last two years, my name has become synonymous with The Phoenix’s crosswords.

I didn’t expect this to happen. In fact, my years at Loyola have been as unexpected, difficult and rewarding as a Sunday crossword puzzle.

I’ve been solving crosswords since 2018. In high school, I watched each morning as my Ma sipped her tea and filled in The New York Times crossword until I could do it myself — though I still pestered her for hints.

My eating disorder began in 2019. Throughout the brutal, finger-numbing Bronx winter, I laid for hours on my bedroom’s radiator and distracted myself with solitaire and crosswords. They got my mind off the fact that I was dying.

Read more here.

We May Be The ‘Ramblers’ But Our Athletes Deserve a Field on Campus

Originally published Sept. 25.

How far are you willing to go to support Loyola’s soccer, softball and rugby teams?

There’s no way to perfectly quantify the results to such a question, but I would venture the answer lies somewhere on the cracked pavement along the mile-long walk separating Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus and Hoyne Field. 

Located one mile west of campus on Devon Avenue and Hoyne Avenue, Hoyne Field is home to Loyola’s Division I NCAA men’s and women’s soccer teams as well as the softball team. Club sports, such as men’s and womxn’s rugby, also rely on Hoyne for games and practices.

All of these sports have the ability to draw crowds when they’re given the platform and opportunity to do so. In August, Loyola Women’s soccer set an overall attendance record, for men and women, assembling 1,178 attendees at their “Pack the Park” game against Depaul University, the Phoenix reported. Loyola provided shuttles for students decked out in maroon and gold to support the Ramblers, but this isn’t an every game occurrence.

Shuttling students wouldn’t be necessary if they could just leave their homes and walk less than a block to see their teams play. The concept seems obvious — the same reason there’s a ginormous arena in the center of campus for the basketball and volleyball teams. 

Read more here.

Satire: Happy Birthday Campion Hall!

Originally published Feb. 19.

It’s 2095, and Loyola’s oldest dorm, Campion Hall, celebrated its 140th birthday this past week — a milestone few expected it to reach.

The event was held in the dorm’s basement and featured a commemorative cake lit with 140 candles. Attendees included campus celebrities such as LU Wolf, university President Mark ‘Junior Junior’ Cher Reed III and Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM, still serving as men’s basketball chaplain at the age of 175. The Class of 2099 had mixed reactions about the state of the dorms.

“It’s got plenty of character and a pungent smell throughout the second floor,” one first-year said.

Campion Hall was built in 1955 and was the university’s first dormitory, according to Loyola’s website. Initially named Loyola University Residence for Men, the hall was renamed to honor St. Edmund Campion. 

The building once served as the primary place of housing for the university’s Interdisciplinary Honors Program and the ROTC program, as its design was notably similar to military barracks — a quality that has helped it hang on for well over a century.

Read more here.

What My Dog’s TikTok Fame Says About Gen X

Originally published Sept. 25.

Until recently, I’ve never really thought about my parents’ online presence. Sure, I knew my mom took pictures of me at milestones in my life to post on Facebook and I knew my dad sometimes liked to browse current events on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

What I didn’t know was my mom has been leading a double life online.

I only learned this information when, while searching her name on Google to find her Facebook account, a TikTok account under someone called Finn Shanahan appeared in the results.

Confusingly enough, the real Finn Shanahan can’t create a TikTok page as he is a one-year-old, 45-pound English sheepdog-poodle mix with a nibbling habit and a sour, human-like face. My mom had dedicated an entire secret TikTok page to our family dog without our knowledge. The account currently has a staggering 11.5k followers. 

I was surprised not only at the sheer amount of people who willingly followed my dog on TikTok, but also by the content of the videos he was in. The most popular posts on the page are nonsensically edited slideshows of Finn hopping around to some unfitting and bizarre sound, with a gaudy filter to top it off. 

Checking the comments only fueled my confusion. Rather than the expected troll comments and bots, I was met with real people’s earnest compliments. Dumbfounded, I realized there were real human people who found the posts not just entertaining, but compelling enough to engage with. 

Read more here.

The True Cost of Trump’s Deportation Agenda

Originally published Jan. 22.

As the country’s political landscape shifts with President Donald Trump returning for his second term, one issue remains central in political discourse — immigration.

Returning to my internship in Chicago Public Schools after winter break, my inbox was flooded with emails preparing CPS faculty, staff and families for Trump’s return to office.

These emails specifically pertained to Trump’s mass deportation plan, which he promised to enact on his first day in office. Mass deportations are projected to start in Chicago shortly after Trump’s inauguration, The Associated Press reported. However, deportation plans in Chicago are currently being reconsidered after preliminary details were leaked in recent news.

The Laken Riley Act targets undocumented individuals with criminal records, but his rhetoric suggests larger segments of the immigrant population could be subject to deportation. Homan stated the administration wants undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. to fear arrest and “self-deport,” according to The Washington Post.

Read more here.

The Pursuit of Dr. Pepper in Loyola Dining Halls

Originally published Nov. 16.

Every Oct. 24 brings an alluring holiday — one sorely neglected by Loyola students. However, I can’t fault my dear peers for their crime, as Loyola makes no effort to help them celebrate it. 

This holiday is commonly known as National Dr Pepper Day, and the best way to acknowledge it is by drinking the aforementioned beverage.

However, this task is uncommonly difficult for Loyola students. Instead of being able to grab a nice, cold glass of Dr Pepper in one of our lovely dining halls, they must trek off campus to purchase one themselves.

This situation last week was both tragic and heartbreaking, and it made me realize something — Loyola’s dining halls are in desperate need of a Dr Pepper revolution.

The addition of this fizzy refreshment to our current Coca-Cola-brand soda machines has the potential to transform and elevate meal times. Students would have the option to enjoy the sweet-yet-spicy flavor of this beloved soda any time they want, pairing Loyola’s culinary creations with something other than four variations of Coca-Cola and a few other boring beverages.  

Read more here.

Gen Z Culture is the Perfect Blend of Humor and Heart

Originally published Oct. 23.

Hurricane Milton hit the West Coast of Florida Oct. 10 bringing mass destruction with intense flood surges and tornados across the storm path. Just weeks before Milton, Hurricane Helene ravaged the big bend region of Florida and devastated numerous Appalachian communities.

While watching the storm develop on CNN, I also watched Florida locals dress up in founding father costumes and lip-sync to Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hurricane on TikTok. 

As I continued interacting with similar humorous hurricane TikToks — everything from Michael Jackson impersonations to dinosaur suits — I saw less hard news and more clever ways of coping, with countless users commenting how Gen Z is “unserious.” 

Our generation’s tendency to embrace the light within darkness gives me hope other generations will stop treating everything so black and white and learn to embrace — or at least understand — the numerous ways to approach tragedy. 

Read more here.

Study Abroad is Not a Requirement

Originally published Feb. 19.

It can be disheartening to watch friends and peers visit world famous landmarks while trudging through single-digit degrees to get to class. 

Loyola’s John Felice Rome Center is one of the university’s most unique features, advertised to be just a bus ride from Vatican City. Each semester, around 230 students live and study nearly in sight of Rome’s historic center, according to the Loyola website. 

It’s easy to become jealous of those studying abroad while living in Chicago for the spring semester. While we endure frigid temperatures and an absent sun, friends abroad fill social media with evidence of them sipping wine and admiring ancient architecture. 

Though studying abroad can be a great experience, it isn’t a requirement of a rewarding college experience. 

Read more here.

Sherdian Road Divides Us. Let’s Build a Bridge.

Originally published Jan. 29.

Seemingly every hour, cars exiting North DuSable Lake Shore Drive clash against the horde of Loyola students in their mass exodus from class as they head across campus. Calling this cyclical and unstoppable event a disruption would be a massive understatement. 

The only reasonable remedy to the headache of crowded crosswalks and lengthy traffic light wait times is to find some other way of crossing the street without burdening both students and drivers.

To preface with full honesty, I haven’t studied urban planning, construction management nor engineering.

Political science and history is my self-proclaimed forte and I can hardly assemble an IKEA desk with detailed instructions, let alone organize a major construction effort. Yet it’s become evident Loyola has overlooked this rift between the northern and southern sides of its Lake Shore Campus — and something needs to change.

I’ve seen first-years at the crosswalk of North Sheridan Road during syllabus week end up missing their graduation because the light took so long to change. Jaywalking isn’t only acceptable, but almost mandatory in this environment. Teenagers play leapfrog in front of multi-ton trucks in the hopes of not being late to a core class. 

Read more here.

Roommate Risks: Should First-Years Go Random?

Originally published April 9.

YES:

The summer before the first year of college is often full of stress. There are class schedules, orientation and dorm necessities — and, to top it all off, the question of a roommate. 

Students use apps like ZeeMee or Instagram pages to connect with fellow first-years and attempt to control their roommate selection and make friends before school begins. 

NO:

There’s no shortage of weird people in this world. It’s one of the beauties of humanity — no two people are the same. But this also means humans can operate and live wildly different lives from each other. Standards and norms of living that seem outrageous to one may be completely habitual to another. 

As a beneficiary of the Loyola 2029 Instagram page, and a friend to two lovely roommates, I advise you don’t go random your first year. 

Read more here.

Power Down Advice to Unplug

Originally published Feb. 26.

March 7 is the Global Day of Unplugging, when the chronically online and technologically inclined are encouraged to power down their devices and reconnect with the real world for 24 hours.

A symptom of the digital age from which almost no one is immune is hearing the now tired mental health tip from professors, employers, doctors and even friends — disconnect from technology when we notice it interfering with our mental health.

While limiting screen time and technology use has been proven to better one’s mental health, it’s time the very people who require us to keep devices glued to our hands stop preaching such advice.

Chronic technology use is a result of the realities of the digital age. Disconnection feels near impossible when employers expect timely responses at all hours of the day and worrisome family members require constant access to your location. 

Personally, I’d love nothing more than to shut my phone off, shove it in a drawer and forget about it until absolutely necessary. I long for the days before my time, when landlines and hand-written letters were the most common modes of communication.

Read more here.

Now is the Time for Loyola to Fight for its Transgender students

Originally published Sept. 18.

Last Tuesday, like many other Ramblers, I tuned in to watch Vice President Kamala Harris debate former President Donald Trump. 

While I knew going into the event a spectacle would ensue, I was still absolutely floored when the former leader of the free world made a crazed statement about Harris’ supposed liberal agenda.

“Now she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison,” Trump said.  

After picking my jaw up off the floor, I was perplexed as to how anyone could make such an unhinged comment in front of the entire nation. 

And then, remembering I didn’t just fall out of a coconut tree, I recalled the context in which this statement exists. 

Read more here.

Satire: An Open Letter From Your Shower Shoes

Originally published Sept. 25.

This is an open letter from the shower shoes of the Loyola community and those who use us. 

As summer turns to fall, I want to direct your attention to our worsening labor conditions. Though the residents will remain anonymous, we here at the Misplaced Rights of Shoes Association are hearing reports of shower shoes in De Nobili Hall being left in the shower until next usage and sandals in Mertz Hall tied to a 14th story window to dry. Let’s not forget about the rubber flip-flops in Francis Hall forced to listen to two roommates discuss the merits of their post-postmodernist argument that Beowulf and Grendel are not primordial rivals but actually lovers. 

Though our lifespans tend to be only two years, this is no way to live out our short, yet impactful lives. We were brought into this world to protect human feet from the filthy shower tiles of community bathrooms. Though it’s humble and dirty work, we take pride in our necessary role in protecting student lives.

Instead of sitting idly by in a moist corner under a bunk bed, or nestled in a shower caddy between the three-in-one body shampoo and Axe body spray — I’m calling on all shower shoes to go on strike until our demands are met. 

Read more here.

Respect the Rights of Student Journalists and Protestors

Originally published May 1.

In recent weeks, students on campuses across the nation have been protesting university investment in companies which manufacture weapons used in the ongoing Israeli military actions in Gaza. Increasingly within the last 24 hours, police have resorted to violence against student protestors and in the process silenced student media with threats of arrest — these events are reprehensible and deeply alarming to the staff of the Loyola Phoenix.

Late last night the New York Police Department conducted sweeps of encampments set up by pro-Palestinian protestors on the campuses of Columbia University and the City College of New York. 300 students were arrested in New York City April 30, adding to the total of 1,600 student protestors who have now been arrested at 30 institutions across the country, according to a count kept by The Washington Post.

Student reporters served as a vital source of information on Columbia’s campus during the raid after the NYPD shut the campus off to professional outlets. While covering the clearing of the encampment, WKCR — Columbia’s student-run radio station — reported NYPD personnel had threatened student journalists that if they left Pulitzer Hall to cover the events occurring on the ground they would be arrested. 

Read more here.

A ‘Better Loyola’ is a Worse Rogers Park

Originally published Sept. 4.

On the fences surrounding the recently-demolished Centennial Forum, accompanied by the seemingly never ending screeches and clangs of demolition, are signs displaying the university’s latest mission statement — “Building a Better Loyola.” 

This supposedly better Loyola is outlined in the new campus plan released Sept. 4, a document which describes Loyola’s plans for renovations and demolitions over the course of the next decade. Among other proposals, the plan details intentions to expand residence halls and build new science buildings, demolishing buildings that are “outdated,” and “challenging to renovate to meet today’s and future needs.” 

These somewhat vague and deliberately noncommittal inner-campus ventures, however, are far less concerning than their proposed plans for the community. 

Although none of the suggested neighborhood developments have set timelines, the plan details “Streetscape Improvements” on Loyola Avenue, Rosemont Avenue, Winthrop Avenue and North Sheridan Road. It also cites 1234 W. Loyola Ave. as a “potential building site” for residential and recreational use and 6300 N. Broadway — currently Vedgewater Community Garden — as the location of a “future campus building.” 

Read more here.

Trump Stunts Veil Cruel Policy with Nationalism

Originally published Feb. 26.

Trailed by 41 V8 Nascars and two Secret Service vehicles, Donald Trump sped around a sold-out Daytona International Speedway in his black presidential Cadillac Feb. 16. While 100,000 Americans filled the stands, Elon Musk was back in Washington dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Trump has yet to step away from the spotlight since his inauguration. He continues to perform stunts that overshadow changes he’s making, creating dire implications for both Americans and people all over the world.

When Trump stepped out of the Capitol Rotunda Jan. 20, he sat down in the Oval Office and began signing executive orders, The Associated Press reported. Some of these orders made radical and hurtful changes to the government, but others were performative diversions. 

Trump creates distractions like the one at Daytona for the same reason he signed so many executive orders so close together — his aim is to project arbitrary nationalist victories to overshadow the lack of improvements the administration has made for the average person.

Read more here.

Chicago’s Leaders Stand up for the City and Against ICE

Originally published March 19.

For almost a decade, President Donald Trump has campaigned on cracking down on the “flood” of immigrants, drugs and crime he says are inundating America’s borders.

Trump has invoked arcane laws to push his agenda, from the 1798 Alien Enemies Act — passed to defend the country from a monarchist invasion — to an obscure section of the McCarthy-era Immigration and Nationality Act that allows the Secretary of State to deport permanent residents for “foreign policy consequences.”

Since Inauguration Day, immigration enforcement acts have hit Chicagoans hard. But leaders at the city and state levels haven’t taken it lying down, instead pushing back against Trump’s harmful rhetoric and the persecution of Chicago’s immigrant communities.

Due to his disagreements with Illinois’ and Chicago’s Democratic administrations, Trump has made it clear the city and its immigrant community are on his list of targets.

Read more here.