In this episode, The Daily reports on hot takes of the week, top Opinion stories of the past two weeks along with other op-ed and contributing pieces that we received. The Daily explores dual-citizenship under Trump’s second presidency, what it is like to be a dual-degree student at Northwestern and what really occurs within campus libraries.
ALICE OH: My hot take of the week is that we as a society should bring back skinny jeans. No hate for jeans five sizes bigger than your own — trust me, I’m a fan and probably a lifelong enjoyer. But skinny jeans give you that flattering daddy-long-leg look that you just can’t get with those baggy jeans.
ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ: My hot take of the week is when slow walkers in buildings like Kresge or Tech suddenly bump into a friend and, you know, decide to yap while taking all of the available space that is in the hallway. Like bro, please move out of the way, it’s 10 in the morning, these halls are quite small and I’m already late to my class.
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ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez.
ALICE OH: And I’m Alice Oh. We’re so back. This is Who Asked You?, a podcast capturing opinions on the issues that matter to us and you.
ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ: The Opinion desk is bringing back this series to share the opinions of the week while also having an incredible yap sesh with some of The Daily staff!
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ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ: On January 7th, my op-ed in The Spectrum was published on The Daily’s website. The piece, titled “What Trump’s second presidency means for dual citizenship”, talks about former President Donald Trump’s interest in ending birthright citizenship, the sudden rise of interest in dual citizenship and what this new chapter in our country means for dual citizens like myself.
And for me, growing up in Denver, Colorado and Valparaíso, Zacatecas, México, I learned how being in different environments in different countries allows for more prosperity and experiences to be had, and with the beauty of dual citizenship, it allows citizens like myself and so many others in this country to explore more, get more benefits and just in general, get a sense of what the world offers.
ALICE OH: Yeah, I mean, my sister is a dual citizen. She has Korean citizenship and U.S. citizenship. And honestly, I’m jealous of her, because when we’re traveling, obviously it’s a lot easier. And I’m also applying for U.S. citizenship soon.
I don’t think we have the option to apply for dual, but I mean, if there was, I would totally do it. You know, I feel like if I relinquish my Korean citizenship, it would feel like losing a part of myself. So I’m wondering, how your identity comes into play when you’re thinking of your Mexican heritage versus your life in the U.S.?
ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ: Yeah, so for me, I just feel like I am more honed into my Mexican heritage, since both of my parents were born and raised by fully blooded Mexican parents in Zacatecas, and yeah, just being even here in the U.S. is such an interesting perspective to have because there’s so many disparities and obviously, opportunities that people in Mexico don’t get, like better education, safety and just in general, security by police or just in general, those who are supposed to protect their citizens.
But at the same time, in the U.S., there’s a lot of rights and opportunities being relinquished for minorities and underrepresented communities, and now with Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, she is adopting free university for everyone, no matter your status, finances or where you come from. And also for the elderly and those who are needy and sick, you also get free health care under the government, which is something that has been in the process in Mexico for a long time, and now it’s finally reality. Even my own grandparents, when I visited them in December, they just received their cards from the government, and they’re very, very excited about having those sort of opportunities, compared to the U.S., where you have to pay for a Tylenol, that’s, you know, quadruple the price, and it’s just not fair to a lot of people.
ALICE OH: And you talk a lot about your concerns about Trump’s presidency coming up, and, you know, he talks a lot about how he wants to deport so many illegal immigrants and this massive plan that he has in place. And you know, for me as an immigrant, on green card, so I’m a permanent resident, it’s like, I don’t know what’s gonna happen next, you know what I mean? So, I definitely agree with your point on that.
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ALICE OH: In my column “The dual degree life is not for the faint of heart,” readers learn of a day in the life of a Medill/Bienen dual degree student and the ups and downs of pursuing two unrelated disciplines. It’s a rough journey to obtain two glossy diplomas … Is it worth it?
Well, in my opinion, I think that it is because it’s a lot of hours, I rarely get free time, even on the weekends, I’m rehearsing or practicing. And you know, a lot of my friends will be like, “Oh my God, all of your BeReals are in the practice room. What are you doing?” But I think it’s just, I just love to do both, and I can’t imagine my life without one of them.
ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ: Yeah, even just reading your column, it’s just so inspiring and so ambitious, just to see, you know, people taking advantage of these opportunities that Northwestern does offer to its students. But, even for me — I’m a double major in journalism and Latino studies with a minor in poli-sci — there’s times where I think that’s a lot, but even just reading your column, it makes me, I don’t know, it just makes me feel so inspired by you, because you start your day off at 7 or 8 a.m., and you end it at like, 1 a.m. or even later sometimes.
And I’m just curious about how you balance Medill, which is journalism, The Daily and other sort of stories and going to events, and also Bienen with the practices, the amount of buildings you have to run to across campus, and just in general, like, opening that Pandora’s box that Northwestern does offer.
ALICE OH: I definitely fall asleep in a good number of my classes. And I recently discovered the power of caffeine, so I’ve really been putting my faith in that. But, I think if you don’t have the passion for both, it’s not possible. And I think that a lot of people are very heavily, they lean toward one discipline, but I try to kind of be as equal as possible.
Also, obviously, Northwestern professors and faculty do account for the amount of classes that you have to take. And so, I’ll show up to a lot of my classes 10 minutes late because I’m running from North to South Campus. And then they’ll be like, “Yeah, we totally, that’s totally fine.” And so a lot of instances where I think people are really understanding of dual degree students.
And obviously it’s, the workload is kind of crazy, and I’m still learning to navigate it all. But I think as you go, you learn to kind of sacrifice some things and also prioritize others. And, for me, it’s like, I can never really do work for the next week, or the next few days. It’s always like, “Oh, what’s coming up tomorrow,” you know what I mean? Because there’s so much stuff.
But I think that, I think that it’s worth it and lowkey, sometimes I like the hectic days because I feel alive, and I’m never bored, so it’s exciting.
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ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ: In his contributing piece titled “What’s really happening in our libraries?,” Op-ed Contributor Nick Bucciarelli talks about NU’s Seeley G. Mudd Library, the attempts of productive collaboration that he has witnessed firsthand and the severe lack of books in libraries, like Mudd, being the reason that people are rowdy in these spaces.
This contributing piece was very interesting at first, I would say. I really didn’t even think of libraries like Mudd, or even Main, being these sort of spaces for attempts of productive collaboration.
The times that I’ve been in these sort of spaces at Northwestern, they’ve been times where I, you know, lock in, do my work, put on some good music and just really get into the concepts of these readings or assignments that I take for classes, but seeing Nick’s sort of perspective on the Mudd Library specifically was very interesting. And I really didn’t even consider the severe lack of books in Mudd.
I just see Mudd as sort of a place where the STEM majors are just there, they’re there for hours, and unfortunately, you know, sometimes sleep there, or pretty much live there. It’s like their second home, but for me, I feel like Mudd is sort of a place for not just the attempts of productive collaboration, but also the attempts of meaningful conversation. And I feel like that’s more important sometimes.
ALICE OH: Yeah, I totally agree. I remember seeing this photo being passed around of this guy bringing like a pillow and a blanket to Mudd and literally just crashing out, on one of the sills or whatever.
I was like, that’s something you never see in Main, and I feel like I definitely agree with you. I think Northwestern is already stressful. People are already dying in their classes and really struggling to keep afloat, but this, just this one moment where you can be with other people, I think that’s really necessary.
I have definitely thought about group work being emphasized, especially in the U.S., because I think, for example, the Korean education system is very individualistic, and you don’t see a lot of group work, which I personally like, because I think it helps me just lock in more. But yeah, I’ve never really thought about it in a library setting like this.
And I also think different sections in the library are there for a reason, right? So if you want this, very independent, locked-in type of work, then you know, you have those sections of the library that you can go to, and then you have collaborative sections. So, I think that people are keeping this in mind, and it exists. So, if you’re bothered by, you know, collaborative and more rowdy work, I think stick to your section.
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ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ: Here are the other opinions from the last two weeks:
Letter To The Editor: A response to Lewis as an Evanston resident from rural America by Op-ed Contributor Kathy Alonso.
Roots of gratitude grow greatness by Op-ed Contributor David Temprano.
Letter To The Editor: An open letter from Fossil Free NU – Students support climate action and the University must as well by Op-ed Contributor Fossil Free Northwestern, and
Best Guess: Welcome to Winter by Opinion Contributor Mika Ellison.
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ALICE OH: Do you have a hot take? Send it to [email protected] with the subject line “Hot Take” along with your detailed hot take to be featured in the next episode.
ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez.
ALICE OH: And I’m Alice Oh. Thanks for listening to another episode of Who Asked You?
ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ: This episode was reported by Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez and Alice Oh and produced by Anavi Prakash.
The Audio Editor is Anavi Prakash. The Multimedia Managing Editors are Kelley Lu and Jillian Moore. The Editor in Chief is Lily Ogburn.
Our theme music is “Thoughts” by KaizanBlu, used under a Creative Commons 4.0 International license and provided by the Free Music Archive.
Follow us on X and Instagram @thedailynu.
Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez is a Medill sophomore. He can be contacted at [email protected]. Alice Oh is a Medill and Bienen sophomore. She can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this opinion episode, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
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