Among President Trump’s proposed budget changes, one stands out as particularly cruel to low-income communities. His plan includes a radical change to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which currently serves more than 43 million Americans. Right now, SNAP recipients receive the full amount of their benefits on electronic cards, which allow them to select from a wide range of foods and shop with their dietary needs in mind.

Over winter break, a college student from my hometown went missing.
Blaze Bernstein, a 19-year-old at the University of Pennsylvania, disappeared after going to a park in Orange County, California with a friend late at night while home from college. Police officers and community volunteers scoured the area for days, circulating posts on social media and holding out hope that he would be found alive.

Conversations about race and racism on college campuses have prompted debates about political correctness, free speech and white privilege. Do students of color face a more challenging academic environment? Does navigating these spaces put them at a disadvantage?

Many students of color have to endure institutional racism, but they also must engage in academic environments that have historically and culturally favored white students. Particularly at predominantly white schools like Hamilton, students must weather the cumulative effects of living in an academic culture characterized by white dominance.