Hurricane Irma is expected to make a turn toward Florida in the next 24 to 48 hours. The size and strength of the storm drove the largest evacuation in the state’s history. Thousands of residents are in shelters. Even more left the state entirely. Most of our reporters and staff at The Miami Hurricane left…
Culture Shock: Penchants for privacy abroad
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. I have no Czech friends. Most of you will read that and think I must be socially awkward or a weird shut-in. I promise, although I sometimes…
Culture Shock: Going through actual culture shock
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. Before departing for a semester in another country, the study abroad office makes students go through certain modules so we understand any responsibilities and risks associated with our…
Internet authoritarianism threatens shift away from democracy
The last degree of privacy enjoyed by internet users will soon be stripped in favor of communication corporations ability to track activity and slow or block service accordingly. Congress passed this bill last week, and President Trump is expected to sign it into law. Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump are doing this under the auspices…
Culture Shock: Globalization is key to traveling abroad
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. Americans may no longer be allowed to travel in the European Union without visas. In early March, the European Parliament passed a resolution that recommends travel restrictions…
Trumpcare enabled by inattention, laughing off extreme campaign promises
It’s been an eventful couple of weeks in Trumpland. We’ve been introduced to a healthcare plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, a budget that cuts 30 percent of funds for the EPA and after-school meals for kids and another judicial hold on President Trump’s revised immigration bans. People voted for Trump because they didn’t like…
‘Steak-gate’ concerns have some meat to them
So Donald Trump says and does a lot of ridiculous things. Well, “ridiculous” may not be the appropriate word for everything – “racist,” “aggressive” and “destructive” are better suited for a lot of his actions that concern the American people. But “ridiculous” is definitely apt for one story that popped up in the news across…
Culture Shock: Whether in Prague or Miami, home can be anywhere
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. I have only been in Prague for a month. Much of the city remains unfamiliar to me and, if we’re being honest, I only finished unpacking last week….
Culture Shock: Why I chose to study abroad
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. Leading up to my semester here, and once I arrived, friends and family members were excited for me and asking all sorts of questions, most commonly “why…
Trump’s co-opts ‘fake news’ to wage war on real journalism
This is an opinion column. Although any factual evidence used to support my arguments are verified, the views expressed here are not purely factual news reports. This is not an “article.” I contribute opinions to The Miami Hurricane, but they are not representative of the editorial board, of the newspaper, nor of the university. They’re…
Culture Shock: Coffee abroad is a way of life
Culture Shock is a blog that analyzes the experiences, from awkward to awe-inspiring, of moving abroad for a semester as junior Annie Cappetta studies in the Czech Republic. “Without my morning coffee I’m like a dried up piece of roast goat” – attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach I drink black coffee. Strictly. Except for when…
Betsy DeVos poses danger to public education
In eight years of being vice president, Joe Biden never cast a tie-breaking vote. Mike Pence has done so in his first month. The vote confirmed the nomination of incoming Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. DeVos is, in short, a disaster. You may have noticed this from the viral clip of Sen. Bernie Sanders asking…