Being Blue at PSU

By Tori Kovalchick Since the conservative overhaul of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) under the Trump presidency, we continue to watch decades of legal precedent unraveling. Two new cases have entered this conversation: Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce. Both cases pose major threats to federal agencies that interpret statutes under the “Chevron deference.” These cases entered SCOTUS in the spring of 2023, and the outlook on a decision is in the summer of this year. The “Chevron deference” is a long-standing precedent established through SCOTUS’ ruling on Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. back in 1984. This “deference” of interpretation of a federal rule comes in two steps, and it revolves around the ambiguity of the law that is being challenged. If a federal rule is challenged but found to be clear, then the court can rule on its own interpretation. But, if the rule is declared ambiguous, ...

By Baybars Charkas These days, you never have to read too far into a class syllabus to find some or other mention of artificial intelligence, usually warning you not to use it for reasons of plagiarism, or warning you to use it sparingly. When I entered university two short years ago, no professor felt it mattered to devote a section of their syllabus to AI. That would have seemed a bit silly. And yet, it has suddenly become difficult to escape mention of AI, in the classroom or elsewhere. Looking back, it may be difficult to appreciate just how much AI’s profile has risen in the public consciousness. In the space of maybe a year, AI went from being the preserve of science fiction and computer geeks to the subject of universal conversation. Programs like ChatGPT, people like Sam Altman, and computer science lingo like “deep learning” and “back propagation” are household names. Now everyone from around the world feels they have to cultivate an opinion on AI and its consequences.  A ...

By Sylus Smith As November arrives, we're in for more heated arguments, absurdist grandstanding, and the sort of televised bloodsports that the Romans could have only dreamt of. It's budget season. Due to the self-induced chaos of the Republican caucus, little attention has been recently paid to a looming government shutdown. However, since House Republicans have finally elected a Speaker, it's time to return to what they want to do with their power. Given the extent of new abortion restrictions, an apt candidate arises for immediate analysis. There is, however, a disturbing trend that emerges from such investigation. Whilst several programs exist to help alleviate the human suffering caused by attacks on abortion rights, these programs now also face threats from the Speaker and the Republican-controlled Appropriations Committee. Considering first the labyrinthine road taken to reach the elevation of Mike Johnson to the Speakership, it would seem fair to say that his posit...

By Christian Schamberger Fears loomed over this year’s election cycle as predictions pointed toward lower turnout rates relative to previous “off-year” elections. Even amid these fears, Democrats came out with tremendous victories last Tuesday in Centre County, Pennsylvania, and the rest of the country. The protection of abortion rights stood strong as voters cast their ballot for pro-choice candidates across the country. Three main victories include: 1. In Ohio, voters enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution by voting 56.6% “yes” on their ballots for Issue 1 which would protect “abortions up to fetal viability.” 2. The Virginia state house was a key race on last Tuesday as Governor Youngkin (R.) was looking to pass limitations to abortion rights if Republicans controlled both chambers. Democrats continued to hold onto the state senate and flipped the state house blue. 3. Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky held his position in office even in the deep-red state of Mitch...

By Evan Sutton Israel's bombardment of Gaza has been raging on for one month as of the time of writing this. As the Israeli government commits numerous crimes, Cori Bush currently leads a coalition of progressive Democrats in support of a ceasefire. However, I am appalled that most fellow Democratic congresspeople still unconditionally support the discriminatory and destructive policies Israel forces on innocent Palestinians. For example, President Joe Biden, along with his allies, have called for an increase in military aid to the Israeli Defense Forces while providing what is effectively lip service to Palestinian children killed by Israel. If we want to adhere to our values of liberty and justice for all, we must condemn Israel's 75-year-long subjugation of Palestinian people and demand their rights be respected. In every violent breakout in the region since the Nakba (the mass expulsion of 750 thousand Palestinians from their homes), the Israeli government has killed and wo...

CW: talk of guns, shootings, suicide, and death. This is meant to be read as a satire in Carrie Bradshaw’s voice from Sex and the City. Once upon a time, the College Democrats and College Republicans debated on gun laws in America. My expectations going into tonight were on the low side – I didn’t want to be disappointed. But as the groups started speaking, I knew I would be in for a treat. The first topic was about having guns in schools and possibly arming teachers. The first debater on the Republican side opened with a quote from former president John F. Kennedy. Seems harmless at first. Then I realized. No one had told him that JFK had been killed from a gunshot to the head. That could be the only reason they would start with that quote. I mean, if there were stricter regulations on guns, that wouldn’t have happened right? Hopefully they didn’t notice my shocked expression as they tried to continue with their statement. I couldn’t help but wonder how they could start so confidently...

By Hailey Crawford Working in the science field is hard, but being a woman in the science field is even harder. Higher education may prepare us for the concepts we need to understand in the lab, or how to convert nano liters to liters, however it fails to conduct the discussion of mistreatment and misunderstanding towards women in scientific settings. It wasn’t until I decided to head to a classroom one afternoon during the first week of 7 th grade that I understood how prominent of an issue this was. It was the first meeting of our school’s robotics team, more of an interest meeting than anything else. Immediately, I was intrigued. I’ve always enjoyed engaging in new challenges, and I soon discovered this would be much more of an obstacle than the coding and mechanics I’d have to adapt to. It was just me, a couple other girls, and a whole lot of men. I wasn’t able to screw parts together without being told “I can help with that!”, or “Why don’t you go and work on our poster design be...