Academia Archives

The Intercollegiate Student Magazine

The Myth of Institutional Neutrality

Yale University

Institutional neutrality serves as political cover, and such cover inevitably reinforces their inertia toward making meaningful changes.

The Panoptic Coffeehouse and the Rise of Academic Disciplines

By Taylor Rousselle

McGill University

Separating astronomers from poets and philosophers from politicians meant that new knowledge could be disseminated in a manner dictated by the government.

The Cost of Prestige

By Corinne Davidson

Boston University

This thirst for prestige becomes dangerous when you forget there are more important factors in valuing people other than just status.

Philosophy’s Persistent Hallucination

By Daniel Schrader-Dobris

University of Southern California

Is there hope for fashioning novel philosophical trajectories untethered to the ideological limitations of the past?

The Consequences of Academia’s Gender Imbalance

By Aurora Weirens

Cornell University

As fantastic as it is that so many young women are getting after it and going to college, the consequence of this dramatic skew harms both genders.

Reconnecting Universities with Local Communities

By Luke Contreras

University of Chicago

Beyond the manicured lawns and intricate architecture, these institutions have become isolated from the communities they reside in.

After Admission: Academia’s Failure to Retain Diversity

By Azza Elrashid

University of Pennsylvania

As elite institutions continually affirm their unwavering commitment to recruiting diverse student bodies, they must also commit to retaining them.

The Necessity of Student Journalism

By Greta Reich

Stanford University

Student journalism, much like professional journalism, is essential not only to inform the community but also to hold those in power accountable for their actions.

The Legitimacy Crisis of the Ivy League

By Caleb Dunson

Yale University

Meritocracy, in its simultaneous immeasurability and ubiquity, has also come to justify social inequalities that ought to be attributed to structural issues.

The New Threat to Academic Freedom

By Tyler Ory

Harvard University

Are we fostering environments that encourage exploration and critical thinking, or are we succumbing to politically driven agendas that stifle debate?

Are Administrators Unqualified?

By Serena Puang

Yale University

In stories like Milane’s, it’s easy to blame college administrators. Universities employ administrators in disability services specifically to provide accommodations to students like Milane. Other student-facing administrators, such as deans and university presidents, influence the college experience on every level through the writing and implementation of policy.

The Liberal Arts Need More STEM

By Luke Contreras

University of Chicago

The key is that we should not be funneling undergraduates into more “practical” or “employable” majors, but rather equipping all students with an education that’s practical and employable.

The Cynicism of Clarence Thomas

By Caleb Dunson

Yale University

But I don’t think he changed so much as he settled, accepting a cynical worldview and placing no stock in the possibility of a radically different American society.

Reaching the Bounds of Psychology

By Ben Klein

Louisiana State University

While psychology is still a budding seed, it isn’t hard to imagine it firmly planting itself in the garden of hard sciences. As with most sciences before it, psychology can and must transition from the realm of conjecture to the realm of calculation.

The Problem With College Implants

By Khira Hickbottom

Tulane University

Campuses are a hotbed of social and academic life, but an entire community with its own nuances and concerns exists outside this bubble. Beyond the comfort of dining halls and dormitories, there lies a world of opportunity and growth. If you are to claim a city and its corresponding university, you must commit yourself to loving it wholly.

Laura Helen Marks, Porn Studies in Academia

By Natalie Maher

Tulane University

Porn, as a whole, is never ‘just fucking’. Even something that appears to be ‘just fucking’, it’s still fucking with the camera placed just so, your bodies placed just so, and it’s choreographed! Even if you wanna make it seem completely authentic, that also is a choice.

Steinski and Cultures of Amateur Reproduction

By Olivia Grace Tanaka-Kekai

Tulane University

he first time that I saw Hannah Höch’s Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada Through the Last Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany, I remember being pulled into it. Not being able to focus on any one thing caught my attention with such fervor that it didn’t matter that I was looking at it nearly a century too late.

School Clubs are Now Resume Puppets

By Bobby Becker

Tulane University

These organizations don’t serve their missions anymore — they generate resume-positions.

The Case for Studying Abroad

By Mary Brewster

It’s an experience that allows students to grow, become more independent, and to explore new places while learning about the world around them and subjects they are interested in.

Professors Shouldn’t ‘Avoid Bias’, They Should Embrace it.

By Bobby Becker

Tulane University

If you’re a philosophy professor who has read the entirety of Marx and dreams of a communist utopia, I want to hear your opinion. If you’re a history professor who studies the collapse of the Soviet Union and hates communism with a burning passion, I want you to hear your opinion too. I’m not paying $50,000 in tuition for you to dance around your true thoughts.

In the Wake of Roe v. Wade Overturning, Colleges Should Show Support

By Allison Moskowitz

Tulane University

Helping students have access to abortion services (and maybe contraception if that goes too) will make students less fearful and more safe about their experiences in college, and this in turn will help colleges maintain their competitiveness in admissions.

Letter from Editor — Who We Are & Why We Are Here

By Bobby Becker

Tulane University

In this letter, I want to express exactly what The College Contemporary is, and what value we intend on bringing to college campuses.

Unlike traditional student newspapers, we want to recruit writers and readers from schools around the country under a single publication. We believe this new model can improve student journalism at the college level.

The Hidden World of Romance at Women’s Colleges

By Zoe Friese

Although their nature is fiercely debated by modern academics, romantic friendships played a significant role in the culture of women’s colleges and the individual lives of nineteenth and twentieth century students.

A Free Campus Press Requires a Multi-College Effort

By Bobby Becker

Tulane University

Over the last few decades, universities have become brand-focused; they now invest millions into their public relation teams. Student newspapers, meanwhile, have struggled. With the advent of the cut-throat digital economy, most student papers now depend on their school’s recognition and support. The result of these two facts is scary.