Barbara Bush, the wife of George H. W. and mother of George W. and Jeb Bush, died last Tuesday, April 17, in her Houston home at the age of 92. As the outpouring of condolences and fond remembrance of her long life demonstrates, Barbara is beloved by an entire nation. While frequently referred to as the matriarch of the politically powerful Bush dynasty, she redefined the role of First Lady and became a celebrated figure of compassion, fortitude, and grace.

For many, spring is the season of emerging flowers and pastel colors. For some Hamilton College seniors, it means anticipating decisions from the Fulbright Commission on their applications for one of the approximately 1,900 research, study, and teaching grants for recent American college graduates and graduate students. Receiving a grant is an incredible accomplishment, and Hamilton boasts numerous Fulbright scholars among its alumni.

In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, as with almost every incident of mass gun-related violence, the issue of gun control has arisen for heated discussion. Pundits, politicians, and social media users all demand action, be it a ban of bump stocks or the strengthening of background checks before the sale of a gun. Inevitably, gun owners or members of interest groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) respond in kind. Their defense: some form of  Second Amendment argument.

Immediately upon beginning Michael Wolff’s political tell-all, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, I was reminded of the books Barnes & Noble once placed near the checkout line, the amusing books about courtly scandals and the ridiculous hijinx of prominent historical figures. Some of them had silly titles, like Napoleon’s Privates. Some of them offered soap opera-worthy drama about royal family intrigue, exposing the private lives of long-dead nobility as entertainment for a 21st-century audience. No matter the book, no matter the subject, these revealing and sometimes ridiculing accounts always left the reader with the simple thought, These people are idiots.

Fire and Fury is no exception.

Amid peaceful protests, Dr. Paul Gottfried discussed his book Fascism: The Career of a Concept last week with Professor Alfred Kelly’s “Nazi Germany” class and interested guests. Gottfried introduced his lecture with brief commentary about both liberals’ and conservatives’ use of the label “fascist” to condemn either side of the political spectrum. According to Gottfried, the use of “fascism” as a label for any movement that is not derivative of Benito Mussolini’s Italian fascist movement is simply inaccurate.

On an early morning this July in Demopolis, Alabama, a black police officer who fell asleep on patrol crashed his car into the town’s Confederate monument and toppled it over. It was purely accidental, but the damage was irreparable. Demopolis had to make a decision about the fate of the stone Confederate soldier, now broken at the shins. After deliberations among the mayor and a special committee, the town council voted to replace the statue with an obelisk honoring all fallen soldiers. They gave the Confederate statue a new home in the Marengo County History and Archives Museum.