Opinions & Critiques

Staying informed during this COVID-19 crisis is crucial and since early February, fake news content surrounding this issue has flooded the internet.  Citizens all over the world are trying to protect their families and tackle the problem while everyone is consistently sharing, reading and reposting information from various media outlets, but what can we believe is true? That is a rising concern many of us are facing.  The clear theme this piece focuses on is ‘fake news’ and that is consistently evident throughout the article. It shines a light on how we cannot believe and spread everything we see in the media without confirmation.  The writer starts with a strong lead about how his dad forwarded him a message that said, “if you could hold your breath for 10 seconds, you were proven not to be infected by the novel coronavirus”.  The word ‘proven’ in this context is very strong. That leads people to believe, oh it was proven, therefore, it must...

Social distancing and self-isolation have become the new norm, for now, and the foreseeable future in places all over the world.  Celebrities are spreading awareness on various platforms as for how important it is through this COVID- 19 crisis that we follow the rules of staying inside.   Although, that doesn’t have to mean social isolation. The new way of keeping in touch has escalated on a variety of platforms.  Zoom, House Party, Tik Tok, and Instagram Live are taking social distancing to a new level and trying to find ways to spread the message to young adults.  Celebrities like John Legend, Keith Urban and more are live streaming free concerts from home amid coronavirus. Other celebrities are even posting videos spreading awareness as to why it is important to follow the rules hoping that maybe their young fans will listen to them.  The problem is, many children still have yet to care.  So, my question is, everyone is doing ...

This week's top news stories are mainly centered around politics and coronavirus. Although, one opinion piece that stood out is related to women in the workforce. This is a common topic that has been focused on in many of my classes and I think it's important that people are aware of the issues we face as women. C. Nicole Mason opens the piece with an angle of her personal experience. She starts off speaking about the jobs she has experienced creating a personal story for the audience to have empathy and understanding towards where she is going to take this story. She is clear and by the end of the first paragraph, she states, "which is true for many women in the workforce." This is a decent transition into the nut graph which provides the statistics behind the issue. When reading through opinion pieces, everyone goes about a certain style or format depending on the writer. Mason stood out to me because she hit many aspects of the criteria we have looked at in ...

Coronavirus is spreading fast, but is ignorance and racism spreading even faster? Coronavirus is a virus that is found in animals and it came from a seafood and meat market in Wuhan, China, in December. It is a global issue that is erupting daily and the international community did not act quickly enough in their window of opportunity to stop it.  The issue should not be taken lightly, and people need to take caution to avoid the infectious disease, but is it right to single out a person just for their looks or cultural differences?  While constantly following news and social media, it is evident that nasty comments, looks, and fights in public spaces are happening against anyone that has East Asian roots due to where the virus stems from.  This is disheartening because it is creating a separation in our society.  Multiple videos are going viral of people physically attacking individuals with masks on subways or streets just because o...

Let’s take a moment to register that this opinion piece about Kobe Bryant was written 24 hours after his death in the helicopter crash. In those 24 hours, Kobe’s wife Vanessa Bryant had to hear the devastating news that she not only lost her husband but her daughter too. The theme of this piece was on Kobe Bryant’s legacy. Its angle was directed at his past for when he was accused of raping a woman many years ago. She beings the article with praise towards Kobe’s legacy and the people that passed away in the crash, but then proceeds to go into detailed evidence about the rape case. For starters, I do agree that the structure of this piece and what it incorporated followed most of the guidelines for an opinion piece. She gathered statistics and information to back up her argument, but what lost me is, what exactly was her clear argument? She goes back and forth in the piece about whether we should remember Kobe Bryant as this great legacy or how we should recog...