The Michigan Review - Journal of Campus Affairs

Steven Crowder Voices Support for Conservative Students on Campus

On October 25th, Young Americans for Freedom at the University of Michigan hosted YouTube political comedian Steven Crowder at the Power Center for the Performing Arts. Crowder is best known for his “Louder with Crowder” weekly podcast and his unapologetic mockery of left-wing politics and personalities. Before Crowder arrived on U-M’s campus, posters advertising […]

Noted U-M professor warns fiction writers against cultural appropriation

If you’re writing fiction, it’s best to keep societal “power dynamics” and histories of oppression at the back of your mind. That’s one suggestion offered by University of Michigan literature Professor Peter Ho Davies to account for acts of cultural appropriation by fiction writers. During a recent university-hosted event titled “Cultural Appropriation — Uh oh, No-no, or […]

John Cheney-Lippold’s Academic Activism

After asking for a letter of recommendation from a professor in the University of Michigan’s American Culture department for a study abroad program in Israel, LSA junior Abigail Ingber found herself in the midst of controversy. On September 5th, University of Michigan Professor John Cheney-Lippold denied her request for a letter of recommendation on political […]

Reaping the Whirlwind: Brett Kavanaugh and the Undoing of a Republic

The dust is not settled and the worst is not behind us. Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination hearing showed us exactly what happens when the primal rage of the Democratic Party mob is unleashed. That Kavanaugh’s hearing smacked more of an X-rated “High School Musical,” than a picture of the world’s “greatest deliberative body” is only […]

A Nuclear Bomb

In October of 2013, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid had a decision to make. The Republican Party under Minority Leader Mitch McConnell seemed to take pleasure in delaying the Senate. FIlibusters were becoming the norm and cloture motions, votes to break a filibuster, had nearly doubled from the Bush era, as logjam seemed to be […]

With Blockchain, We are Headed to a Future of Decentralization

In a world of Facebook exploiting users’ data, Xi Jinping censoring WeChat, and Russia blocking the use of Telegram, the time has come for a viable solution to the data ownership crisis. In this increasingly globalized and hyperconnected age, we have incredible tools with which to conduct business, communicate with loved ones, and disseminate information. […]

Thank You, Blake

When I first came to campus, I had to meet new people. As a freshman, this can become a tedious task, and I quickly became overwhelmed by the new names that seemed to fly past me. It was stressful at times, but the opportunity to get to really know people is always a treat. Generally, […]

Receding Expectations: Michigan Football in Review

“We bow to no man. We bow to no program. We are Michigan.” These words, uttered all season long in the calming cadence of James Earl Jones, linger now as a sardonic mockery of our program’s state of affairs. As Michigan fans, we unrealistically expect greatness in our athletic endeavors, ignoring the staunch unlikelihood […]

E Pluribus Unum Peccatum: The Fall of the USMNT and How they Can Rise Again

It was a cold, chilly Tuesday night, and I had just finished my first Microeconomics midterm. I made haste, walking quickly toward the C.C. Little bus stop to find the four wheels that would take me back to north campus. I clutched my phone and realized the United States Men’s National Team would soon play […]

The Debasement of Political Satire

Monty Python was a popular—and brilliant—mid-1900s British sketch comedy troupe. Recently, I’ve been watching clips of their eponymous TV series, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, which satirizes British culture. Their political sketches, such as Party Political Broadcast and The Ministry of Silly Walks, critique politicians and excessive bureaucracy, respectively, and are pretty funny. More importantly, they […]

Bending Realities: ‘Westworld’ and Our Conception of Free Will

“Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?” Oh many times, Jeffrey Wright, many times—perhaps more now than ever before. I never thought a show could bring out this feeling in me, but it turns out that a TV addiction has its perks. ‘Westworld’, a show I was unfamiliar with a mere month ago, […]

Oscars Grandstanding: Since When are Celebs our Moral Compass?

For an awards ceremony that hosted its first political speaker back in 1973, when The Godfather star Marlon Brando sent Sacheen Littlefeather in his stead, the Oscars have certainly found their (left-wing) voice. This past Sunday, 2018 Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel offered the ceremony’s signature statue as a model for the well-liked male: he “keeps […]