Nina Larbi
op-ed editor
Op-Ed
2021 is shaping up to be an eventful year, but one unexpected development was the GameStop short squeeze. After finding out that gaming retailer GameStop had the most shorted — or bet against — stock on the market, a group of Reddit users organized themselves and individually bought GameStop stock en masse. They drove up the cost of stock, forcing hedge funds that had bet GameStop stock would decrease in value and had hence borrowed stock to sell at a low price. This practice is known as “short selling” — buying borrowed stock back at a much higher value than anticipated, which created the “squeeze.”
In recent years, the popularity of the shopping app Depop has skyrocketed, and its trendy, Instagram-like approach to shopping has resulted in an explosion of thrift resellers. Many middle- and upper-class individuals with storefronts on the app shop at thrift stores in low-income communities, buy trendy, good-quality pieces in bulk and resell them for three or four times the price. With the right lighting and fashion blog posing, a T-shirt that cost a few dollars from Goodwill warrants a $20 price tag on Depop. Though the mainstream popularity of thrifting is certainly a win for sustainability advocates, thrift reselling for multiple times the original price of an item from a store particularly catered to lower income communities is unethical and indicative of a flagrant lack of class consciousness in the sustainability movement.
At the beginning of the semester, my classmates redownloaded dating apps to take their chances with people in the area. Looking over others’ shoulders, I wondered why they would almost immediately swipe left on community college students or young people who are not attending college.
When boy bands are mentioned, most conjure the mental image of pubescent boys with over-styled hair, wearing ASOS catalogue clothes and singing vapid, conventional pop music. Members of these groups are not considered “true artists” and their fans are reduced to insipid fan girls who only care about looks.
Nina Larbi ’22 writes about Mount Holyoke’s investment in the fossil fuel industry after Smith College’s divestment
Nina Larbi critiques “HBO’s new teen-focused series “Euphoria” which is the subject of much internet praise, due to its skill in capturing the essence of “Generation Z” teenagers .
Jane Kvederas discusses the fact that the new Dining Commons does not reliably serve enough plant-based protein options to provide enough sustainable nutrients for those with dietary restrictions. While the Dining Commons is doing a fine job overall providing for the dietary needs of students, there are improvements to be made in providing for vegan and vegetarian students, especially when it comes to protein.
BY NINA LARBI ’22
One of the issues dividing the ballot in the 2020 election is slavery reparations. The concept has always had an ambiguous definition, but fundamentally, it entitles compensation — usually financial — for the descendants of slaves, meant to make amends for the centuries of brutality Americans faced under slavery and their economic and legal disenfranchisement thereafter.
BY NINA LARBI ’22
The North African identity is complex and often goes unrecognized. Those who identify as North African are consistently labeled as Middle Eastern, Muslim or simply as ambiguously brown. We are grouped together with the Middle East most frequently, aggregated under the acronym MENA (Middle East and North Africa). Whatever the label is, it is hardly ever “African.” Today, “African” has become synonymous with “black.” This is not to dismiss anyone else’s pride or identity, but we as North Africans are Africans, too. Despite racial and cultural differences, North Af- rica should be considered part of Africa rather than an extension of the Middle East. The mindset that the Maghreb — the Northern region of Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Mauritania — functions as part of the Middle East damages North African identity and degrades ethnic pride in the region.
BY NINA LARBI’22
High schoolers across the nation are waiting anxiously for their college acceptance letters. When they receive their decisions, the agonizing often isn’t over. Students wonder why they did not get accepted by MIT while their friends did, or why they did not get enough financial aid from the University of Pittsburgh while their classmate got a full ride.
BY NINA LARBI ’22
White artists in America have a long history of appropriating black culture to gain popularity in the music industry. Musicians often adopt black culture to create a “bad girl/boy” image.
BY NINA LARBI ’22
“Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” has taken the world by storm. In the series, Marie Kondo, a Japanese author and organizing consultant, travels to the homes of disorganized Americans and aids them in cleaning their homes using her Shinto-inspired Kon-Mari method. Kondo has faced backlash for her methods, and this negative reaction is not only incurred from random individuals on the internet; prominent figures like Jimmy Kimmel and Ellen DeGeneres are also treating her with disrespect. The hatred directed towards Kondo is rooted in racism and a sense of American superiority, and this prejudice is coming from both sides of the political spectrum.
BY NINA LARBI ’22
Being new to college, I still find it jarring when I go on social media and see people I have known since we were seven years old posting pictures of themselves completely plastered in their white-brick dorm rooms, complete with cheap IPA. Maybe it is because I was part of the overachiever clique in high school, so the most risky thing that any of us did was watch an R-rated movie when we were 15, but it’s just plain weird to see your old friends become social alcoholics, all documented by Instagram and Snapchat.
BY NINA LARBI ’22
This year, I succumbed to capitalist America and went Black Friday shopping at a local mall in my hometown. Although I left the hellscape that is the Willow Grove Mall’s Sephora empty-handed and with my pitiful $20 bill still tucked into my wallet, I could not stop thinking about the advertisements, the environment, the staff and the store itself. Advertisements in the store displayed bright makeup looks, from red eyeshadow to purple highlighter, and showcased a diverse cast of models.
BY NINA LARBI ’22
Last Tuesday’s election saw many historic successes for women of color, including the election of the first NativeAmerican and Muslim women to Congress. These results have garnered support and celebration, as we, women of color, are finally seeing ourselves represented in legislative bodies.
BY NINA LARBI ’22
In late October, Donald Trump informed the nation of an executive order he was preparing that would eliminate birthright citizenship, the amendment that currently grants citizenship to anyone born on U.S. territory. His reasoning was simple: that America is the only country to have birthright citizenship (this is false; around 30 other countries share this law).
BY NINA LARBI ’22
Between studying for upcoming midterms and writing uninspiring papers, I spent my fall break watching MTV’s “Daria.” Since the show’s end in 2002, the character has been turned into an icon of absolute apathy, which is odd because the series clearly attempted to do more than exhibit her emotionlessness. Although Daria is presented as somewhat apathetic, with an “I’m surrounded by idiots” sort of mentality, she works to address the issues she sees in a constructive manner. If your animated hero does not recommend misanthropy, why should you?
Set to release in May 2021, Disney’s “Cruella,” based around the “101 Dalmations” antagonist Cruella de Vil, is the company’s newest addition to its series of live-action movies. The trailer promises a dark backstory for the classic villain, with actress Emma Stone’s voiceover declaring, “I am woman, hear me roar.”