In This Issue

Letter From the Editor

The history of the DU is a direct line back to a national media environment that was full of independent student and local publications. Though the DU has changed repeatedly over the years, all of us on the staff continue to dedicate our time and our words to carrying forward the spirit of disagreement, discussion, artistic, and intellectual exploration that inspired the foundation of this paper.”

Staff Dedication

The Decisive Utterance Staff would like to dedicate this issue to our graduating Editor in Chief, Nancy Montalbano-Ferrini as well as our graduating Layout Editor, Alex Quigley.

Puzzle

Narrative | International Affairs

“Everyone froze, tension clinging to the air like static. I sat stiffly, as if I could feel a soldier standing behind me, breathing. We were all being watched.”

Op-Ed | Disability Rights

“We need to ensure that our laws keep pace with our modern understanding of disability advocacy, and Congress’ repeal of Section 14(c) is long overdue considering the costs of maintaining this archaic statute.”

Commentary | Politics

“Until the contradictions of capitalism are resolved by overthrowing the system that produces them, and until power is wrenched from the hands of the capitalists, then class struggle and social problems rooted in class antagonisms—bigotry, exploitation, war, and environmental collapse, to name a few—will continue as certainly as the sun will rise tomorrow.”

Fiction

“I have nobody. All I can do now is just sit in my thoughts in my apartment as the acid rain hits my crystal fluoropolymer windows. The sound of the rain caused ripples in the vial of lake water as it sat atop the desk in my room. Man, if I could work at that data center, only then will my life be happy.”

Commentary | Political Economy

“Be it low-stakes property disputes or de facto “surveillance deputies”; oligopoly pricing or meddling HOAs, an increasingly isolated culture creates friction against community equity and afford ability.”

Campus | Legal Policy

“Last month, the Restorative Justice class taught by Professor Michael Seng hosted Elizabeth Clarke, founder of the Evanston-based Juvenile Justice Initiative (JJI). Clarke began her talk with McDonnell’s story, using it as a metaphor to lead students to a larger question: what does it take for a system shaped by conflict and repression to fundamentally change?”

Commentary | Media Analysis

“For many people, their first exposure to the legal system does not come from a courtroom—it comes from a screen. Whether it is the fast-paced litigation of Suits, the high--stakes criminal defense strategies of How to Get Away with Murder, the forensic certainty of CSI, or even the unexpectedly competent courtroom performance in Legally Blonde, popular media has become one of the primary ways the public “learns” how the law works.”

Political Commentary

“However, as spending increases every election cycle and as out of-state PACs become more underhanded in their efforts to influence election results, state parties, candidates, and voters will have to become more wary and more informed about who’s paying for their candidates and what exactly is being bought.”

Sports | Derby Preview

“There is no weekend like Derby weekend. None. I've been a horse girl for years and somewhere along the way racing got its hooks in me and never let go. While I'm not a professional by any means, I've spent enough time around this sport to break it down in a way that makes sense whether you're a seasoned veteran or just tuning in for the big hats and mint juleps. Either way, welcome to the best weekend of the year!”

Legal Analysis | Employment Law

“We cannot allow the Equal Pay Act’s promise to be discounted by tradition or adjusted for prior discrimination. This Note titles prior salary as an engine, but an engine without a force is just a hunk of metal.”

Fiction

“Karen Voss stands before the tribunal to give testimony in defense of her actions.”