Being Blue at PSU

By Deepa Kadidahl We frequently hear the phrase "representation matters. Growing up, I rarely saw other Indians in American media. Every time I would see an Indian person in a TV show or movie, I would either feel a sense of pride at being represented or a sense of embarrassment when they reflected mere stereotypes of Indian people. Successful representations of Indians and other South Asians as seen in the Netflix series Never Have I Ever can be quite enjoyable to watch and have allowed me to reflect on my own experiences growing up as an Indian American girl. In recent years, representation has become a more significant issue in politics and corporate hierarchy. On the day of the Indian holiday Diwali, Rishi Sunak became Britain's first Prime Minister of Indian descent. I might have been inspiring to see a man descended from the colonized subjects of the British Empire become their Prim Minister, if it weren't for the fact that Rishi Sunak will be a terrible leader. Suna...

By JT Thomas Hello all! As I've been saying for the past couple months, we at the Penn State College Democrats are trying to make this blog more fun. So, to that end, I've got something special for our first post in October: a review of the novel Red, White and Royal Blue, by author Casey McQuiston. This book is set in an alternate version of the year 2020, one where a certain baby-man dipped in Tang mix didn’t win the 2016 election, but is replaced by the fictional democrat Ellen Claremont. The story itself is about her son, Alex, and his rivalry/friendship/romantic relationship with Prince Henry across the pond. Yes, you read that right. Screw the enemies to lovers and friends to lovers tropes, this book is full on enemies to fake friends to real friends to friends with benefits to lovers. Filled with interesting geopolitical dynamics, Red, White and Royal Blue is sure to keep fans of US politics and the British crown entertained. It’s also an incredibly powerful love story...