By Parker Ward The lights came up to transition into the next song. The piano notes I had heard all throughout my childhood began playing once again. I knew what was coming, and I was ecstatic. My childhood idols played the song I used to listen to for hours on end with my father. I was able...

By Vanessa Trevino Growing up, I was always thin and never thought anything of it. My eating habits were horrible. I would scarf down doughnuts for breakfast, pizza for lunch and the occasional cookies and milk at night to help me fall asleep. That didn’t sound like the diet of a “skinny”...

Our View In a misguided attempt to increase safety in Texas colleges, Republican State Sen. Brian Birdwell has authored Senate Bill 11 — a bill that would allow concealed carry of weapons on public campuses — and sponsored Senate Bill 17 — a bill that would allow open carry of holstered handguns...

By Chandler Claxton Growing up, I always valued the truth, no matter how brutal it was. The truth is what first attracted me to journalism. The profession survives on the credibility and accuracy of media outlets and their reporters. Without the audience’s trust, news stories hold no water and the primary...

By Caitlin Piper I was introduced to pyramid schemes when I was 6 years old, after my father fed me a “cookie” that tasted like an unholy combination of a prune and a half-chewed granola bar. After a bit of goading and a lot of whining, I managed to choke it down as he rattled off the many health...

By Caitlin Piper I was 8 years old when I first convinced myself I was going to hell. It was through no fault of my family, who — despite being staunchly Catholic — were consistently supportive of me. Nor could it be blamed on the priests and nuns whom I would visit every week, as they favored...

On the afternoon of Sept. 4, a 23-year-old facilities department employee approached a female Eastfield student. The employee offered the student a tour and invited her into a locked music practice room before sexually assaulting her, according to police. Mesquite detectives, alerted to the crime by campus...

By Courtney Schwing I looked at his face as I sat in the passenger seat of his car. It seemed different. I had spent countless days and endless nights studying the structure of it. I remembered the peacefulness in his face as he was in mid prayer on Sunday mornings. I could spot the difference in his smiles:...

By Stephen Klehm In September, Emma Watson gave a speech at the United Nations in New York, arguing against the common definition of feminism and asking men to take a stand for gender equality. The speech and its subsequent campaign, He for She, received almost immediate attention from the media....

By Caitlin Piper At its core, the He for She campaign is a noble endeavor. The result of a collaboration among the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, British actress Emma Watson and American journalist Wolf Blitzer, the campaign aims to promote gender equality and denounce...

By Sidney Murillo I am all about being body positive. I love the idea of men and woman feeling good about themselves. Not just about the way their bodies look, but rather what kind of person they are. I kind of have to be. I am a short, chubby Hispanic girl, and I can’t turn on the TV, read...

By Juanita Hernandez How long do you wait for Netflix to load its content? What if I told you that the loading time could double and even triple if we got rid of net neutrality? Net neutrality, enforced by the Federal Communications Commission, prevents Internet service providers such as Comcast,...

The 2014 Texas gubernatorial election, in which we will select our next governor, will take place Nov. 4. Texans may cast their votes among Republican Greg Abbott, Democrat Wendy Davis, Libertarian Kathie Glass and Green Party candidate Brandon Parmer. Unfortunately, a large number of people do not appreciate...

By Genesis Castillo With finals around the corner, students are surely preparing ahead of time. The truth is many students wait last minute to even begin studying for their finals, which can result in a scary nightmare. Mitzy Flores, a business major, recalls staying up all night to study for her Algebra...

By Gereneicia Foster Growing up in a single-parent home, people automatically assumed that I was worse off than other kids. Adults pitied me. I also remember hearing stereotypes like kids in a single-parent home are more prone to drugs, violence and promiscuity. Yes, many studies have shown...

Billy Dennis Since when did it become patriotic to support treason? Oh yeah, since we elected a black, Democratic president. The far-right conservative hero, Cliven Bundy, has been stealing from the federal government for over 20 years, racking up a debt of $1 million for not paying his grazing fees...

Robert Burns My palms were sweaty. My heart raced. My stomach felt as though it had dropped to my knees. It was my first assignment in my first journalism class at Eastfield. We were supposed to write a profile on a club or organization, and I had chosen the Disability Services Office. I sat just...

By Genesis Castillo After leaving St. Edward’s University, a small, private liberal arts college in Austin, I was skeptical about moving back to Dallas and transferring to a community college. Not sure of my decision to move back home, I visited several Dallas community colleges. Tuition at St. Edward’s...

By Gereneicia Foster As I stayed up for the turning of the moon last week, I must admit that I didn’t know what to expect. Honestly, I have never heard of a blood moon before April 14, and the term sent a chill down my spine. I kept seeing pictures of a huge crimson moon on every news outlet and social...

By Morgan Corley Massive Open Online Courses are a good thing. While there are people who believe they are a waste of time and resources, widely available education will always be a positive thing. MOOCs are one of the newest trends among universities. Universities will post entire classes worth...

By Caitlin Piper I distinctly remember my best friend’s 7th birthday party. She had invited 10 other kids from our first-grade class for an afternoon filled with colorful balloons, sugary treats and a veritable truckload of torn wrapping paper. More than anything else, my friend wanted a bike — a bright...

By David Ramirez College students, especially new ones, are learning something you can’t learn in a classroom: time management. When full-time students juggle classes and a job, it can be quite difficult. As a student with a 4.0 GPA, I wanted to challenge myself beyond this semester. I’m...

By Genesis Castillo Diagnosed with ADD/ADHD at age 13, I refused to believe in the idea that my forgetfulness, lack of focus and impulsiveness were symptoms of a learning disability. All my life I had thought of myself as intelligent and bright, but as I reached my adolescent years, I struggled...

By Billy Dennis From Michael Moore to Glenn Beck, people on both sides of the political spectrum have hailed National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden as a whistleblower and a hero. But make no mistake about it, Snowden is a traitor and a coward, and as such, deserves to be tried as a spy. Let’s...