Hi! I am Jennah! You may know me from the current events section of the Greylock Echo! I am typically found writing long-winded pieces about the filibuster, a recent election, or going obnoxiously over word count on pieces about the State of the Union address. But, in an exciting turn of events, I will be writing my first ever opinion piece–well, sort of. 

I have always wanted to be as cool as the opinion writers, but spitting back facts about the most recent political event has always sort of been my thing. So, for the Echo’s April Online edition—which will possibly be my final contribution—I will be presenting all the opinion articles I’ve wanted to write but never did. Or, at least, their titles and a quick blurb. (You will quickly learn why the EIC writes my titles for me—and why I write articles that allow for boring titles)

Sen. Feinstein Should Retire! 

This was more relevant before she announced her retirement. A more updated version would be that she needs to resign. 

Keep Abortion Legal—It’s A Bigger Issue Than Just Women’s Rights

Abortion is such an intersectional issue and to portray it as just a women’s right’s issue harms those who it impacts the most. Abortion is, at its core, about race and class. 

Impeachment is Political Theater, But That Doesn’t Make it Any Less Effective 

Impeachment, especially the (second) impeachment of my high school career, is straight up political theater. But, not doing so sets a dangerous precedent. The odds of a president getting removed from office or convicted are low. But you can never be unimpeached. 

Okay, the Markey-Kennedy Race was Not as Big of a Deal as We Made it to Be

Markey is also problematic, just in different ways. Progressive Democrats, especially in the 413, should have been more clued into the Morse-Neal race. The pieces of it that went ignored in favor of trolling Kennedy were more politically interesting—like why an old-money Dem did so well in the Berkshires and the connection it has to state politics.  

Bring Back Talking: The Case For Filibuster Reform

I am a proud 60-vote threshold hater. I think, if you’re going to block a bill, you should have to talk until the time to vote on the bill expires, like they did in the olden days. 

“No Ethical Consumption Under Capitalism” Doesn’t Mean We Shouldn’t Try 

Stop posting your $800 SheIn haul and saying that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism. That’s not what that means. Make an effort to shop ethically and avoid fast fashion if you have the means to do so. 

The 1975 Is Better Than Matty Healy’s Persona

The 1975 got a bad rap on TikTok for Matty Healy’s erratic behavior (and those who weren’t against it were very for it). But, the band is so good when you listen to, or read, the lyrics! A band known for its frontman eating raw meat onstage should not also be able to write “About You” and the actual lyrics of “She’s American.” 

Turn On C-SPAN Once in a While. It’s News From The Source 

While you do not need to get a MyC-SPAN account, watching C-SPAN (or any other live stream of current events) is kind of the best way to go. Form your own opinions! It will help you!

Death to Half-Face-Snaps: The Death of Communication 

Stop snapchatting half of your face all the time. Or worse, your forehead. It’s ruining the joy of communicating. Once in a while is fine. But, at the very least, send your friends a full face snap. 

Taylor Swift and Joe Alywn Broke Up. Love is Not Dead. 

Taylor Swift is 33 years old and has stadiums of people screaming her name. Sometimes relationships fizzle out. It will be okay, I promise. (Also, there’s an inherently problematic nature of tying a woman’s happiness to the man she’s seeing and you would think that die-hard Swifities would understand that…)

The Record is the Album of the Year

A celebration of their friendship, Boygenius has knocked it out of the park with The Record. There isn’t much more to say—just listen to it. 

Apartheid States are Bad, Actually. 

I think we need to shift our coverage of certain countries. And I am very surprised by the seemingly overnight shift in coverage of this particular country in May of 2021. 

Stop Romanticizing Being Sad, It’ll Make You Happier

I love Phoebe Bridgers and Taylor Swift as much as the next girlie, but listen to Lover once in a while. Being sad and sitting wistfully in your room while listening to “Moon Song” is fun and all. But dancing around to “Stay Stay Stay” is also VERY fun. Have some fun and don’t make sadness your aesthetic; you’ll cheer up. 

Get Off of Twitter! 

I am on the record as a Twitter addict. But we all need to get off the app. It doesn’t help anyone to have a weird little void to yell all of our thoughts into. 

I hope you’ve all enjoyed this brief list of my opinions for my first ever opinion article.  Please give me an excuse to talk about literally any of these with more nuance. Or, if you want to see me yell about them more, go to my Twitter @jennah_simpson