Author / Rohan Palacios
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Knocking Down the House
With the 2020 presidential campaign well underway, many students are following electoral storylines closely, engaging in Twitter wars, and even volunteering their time. Perhaps lost in the desire to connect to the national political moment are the multitude of opportunities to get involved in our community. A number of Wash U students have ambitions to…
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Coloring Outside the Lines
As kids, questions regarding “identity” were an opportunity for my younger sister and I to show off the Indian-Venezuelan-Irish heritage that we knew would prompt further questions from confused friends and only slightly less puzzled adults. Over time, “identity” evolved into something more meaningful; at times a source of insecurity about our appearances, linguistic limitations,…
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“Howdy Modi!”: Diaspora Diplomacy Fans the Flames of Fascism in India
“Friends, this election is important because we have won with a massive mandate which has stunned the world…If anybody has won today it is the democracy and the people!” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi struck a triumphal figure in declaring victory after India’s May 2019 general election, delivering his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a massive…
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“I Am Bully Proof”
In the 2018 Democratic Primary, activist Cori Bush battled Congressman Lacy Clay for the seat he has held since succeeding his father, Bill Clay, in 2001. Bush hoped to combine support from national progressive groups, public backing from prominent allies, and her award-winning career as an advocate for marginalized communities in St. Louis to become…
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Impossible Trinity
The most important election in St. Louis was decided in nail-biting fashion on March 5th, when twelve-year incumbent Lewis Reed retained his position as President of the Board of Aldermen (BOA) by winning the Democratic primary. Reed won the primary with only 35 percent of the vote; his two opponents, Missouri State Senator Jamilah Nasheed…
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Venezuela: It’s Complicated
When Juan Guaidó, the previously unknown leader of Venezuela’s legislature, invoked a constitutional clause to declare himself president, he set off an international firestorm. Almost immediately, American Vice President Mike Pence called sitting president Nicolás Maduro “a dictator with no legitimate claim to power” and affirmed American support for Guaidó. The last months have seen…
