The government of China has a longstanding tradition of religious persecution that can be traced back to the 1949 expulsion of foreign missionaries under the Communist party. This tradition continues today under President Xi Jinping, who in recent years has ramped up the surveillance and “reeducation” of regional Muslims in the northwestern part of the…
This January three Democrats took key leadership positions in Michigan’s government. Over the past two months Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson have worked to change the policies of the Republican-controlled state legislature. Here are some of their most recent efforts. Earlier in February Governor Whitmer issued an…
This year almost two billion voters will elect their leaders— more people than ever before, according to an Aljazeera News report. Citizens of several democracies cast their votes recently or are heading to the polls in the coming months. At the same time, American voters are considering their options as new candidates come forward to…
When judges announce the outcome of a gerrymandering trial later this month, their ruling could potentially redraw dozens of legislative and congressional districts across Michigan. Sparked by a lawsuit brought by Michigan’s League of Women Voters, the trial lasted from Feb. 5-7 and called on the testimony of both experts claiming that the districts illegally…
It’s often said you need to get above and away from issues to truly understand them. There’s a certain objectivity that comes with distance, a fact noted by a favorite author of mine, Thomas Merton. Merton was a Trappist monk, cloistered away in the hills of Kentucky during the activism and social change of the…
Last Friday students from across Europe skipped class to demand that their politicians take action to stop climate change. The movement originated in Sweden, where young activist Greta Thunberg began leaving school once a week for sit-ins at the Swedish Parliament to demand that the government address environmental issues. Inspired by her protests, young people…
On the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 27, Consumers Energy was in a crisis. Across Michigan, two days of bitter sub-zero cold caused by a polar vortex created record demand for natural gas. Then, a fire at Consumers’ Ray Natural Gas Compressor Station in Macomb County shut down gas flow from the key facility, which is…
As the clock creeps closer to the next cycle of American democracy, several challengers have emerged to contest the potential re-election of President Trump. With no declared Republican opposition as of yet, all opponents of note have emerged from Democratic and Independent sides. Here’s a breakdown of the most prominent candidates. The following information has…
As the March 29 deadline for the UK to exit the EU approaches, Brexit has been back in American headlines. Mark Turner, an exchange student from a city near Manchester who’s studying computer science at Hope, looks back on his experience in England when the UK first voted to leave and explains what the future…
In her internship at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Hope College student Isabelle Rembert (’19) would have worked on planning and running an international summit, giving her an opportunity not only to gain experience in her field of interest but to interact with the diplomats who would attend the summit. Her fellow student intern in…