The extreme nature of the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6 requires that all actors involved be held accountable. In the week following one of the darkest days in contemporary U.S. history, the corporate world began to respond with its own calls for accountability. Companies like Starbucks, Axe, and Chevron all released statements on social media condemning the insurrection. The National Association of Manufacturers, a business lobbying group that has long been an ally of the Trump Administration, even released a statement calling for the President to be removed from office by invoking the Twenty-fifth Amendment.

December 16 marked the six-month anniversary of Vice President Mike Pence’s now-infamous op-ed, “There Isn’t a Coronavirus ‘Second Wave.’” In the piece, which was widely criticized for being factually incorrect, the Vice President said, “We’ve slowed the spread, we’ve cared for the most vulnerable, we’ve saved lives, and we’ve created a solid foundation for whatever challenges we may face in the future. That’s a cause for celebration, not the media’s fear mongering.”

Recently, I tested positive for COVID-19. Despite following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines, everyone in my household is now working our way through a variety of symptoms. Contrary to what some pandemic-deniers may think, this is not an indication that mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing are not effective. Rather, the plight of my diagnosis, as is the case for many who contract COVID-19, is a result of the inability of folks to follow even the most basic public health guidance.

One of the most devastating pieces of news to date in regard to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic occurred on Thursday, November 19. “THE CORONAVIRUS HAS NOW KILLED 250,000 PEOPLE IN THE U.S.” sat boldly at the top of The New York Times website. However, this stark number failed to make a blip in the radar that is social media. Instead, the Twitter trending page that day was filled with “Charli,” “Dixie,” “James,” “Trisha,” and “Snail.” What occupied the minds of the millions who participate daily in the social media sphere was not a mourning for the lives lost due to an apathetic response to a deadly pandemic on the part of the federal government, but rather, petty drama surrounding the cancellation of two teenagers for making a poor comment in regard to their followings and not wanting to eat escargot.

Travel to the town of Juchitan de Zaragoza in the Mexican state of Oaxaca and visitors will find a rich Indigenous Istmo Zapotec culture, which is known for its precolonial traditions of food, music, religion and breaking the gender binary.

Papua New Guinea, an island nation in the southwest Pacific comprising the eastern half of New Guinea and its surrounding islands, is a culturally and historically rich country which is often overlooked by travelers in favor of neighboring Indonesia and Australia.

On Aug. 13, the United States Department of Transportation suspended nearly all charter flights between the U.S. and Cuba. The announcement comes five months after the Trump administration suspended charter flights to any airport on the island aside from Jose Marti International Airport in Havana.

Mexico City’s regional congress passed a bill which outlaws gay conversion therapy on Friday, July 24. This makes the capital city the first municipality in Mexico to do so, marking a major victory for the country’s LGBTQ+ community.

Tens of thousands of protesters continue to demonstrate in Khabarovsk, Russia, for the third week straight in an forceful show of civil disobedience against the Putin administration. The protests, which began on July 11, are in response to the Kremlin-led arrest of the popular Khabarovsk Krai governor Sergei Furgal for accusations of multiple murders.

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the United States will become minority White in 2045. This news is a welcome departure from our nation’s roots — roots which were planted and sown by the marginalization of those who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), LGBTQ, or female, or with a disability. This change can already be seen in the demographics of Gen Z, the generation with the highest amount of individuals identifying as non-White and non-straight compared to any other generation.

Travel deep enough into the Chihuahuan Desert and you’ll find yourself in Zacatecas. The Mexican state known for its mining industry and colonial architecture is often overlooked by travelers in favor of more popular cities such as Guadalajara, Mexico City and Acapulco. That said, one would be remiss to overlook the desert state while planning a trip to Mexico. I had the privilege to visit the state’s capital city of Zacatecas along with Jerez de Garcia Salinas a couple of years ago, and I can truly say that Zacatecas is one of the most unique and beautiful places I have ever been to.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many festivals, concerts and celebrations have been canceled across the globe. Pride Month has been no exception. The annual June recognition of the Stonewall riots, which started the contemporary LGBTQ+ rights movement, has seen cancellations amid the pandemic. However, a number of LGBTQ+ activists, organizations and municipalities have taken it upon themselves to adapt to a global climate which favors remote gatherings rather than in-person celebrations. Below is a selection of 10 Pride events hosted around the world which you can participate in remotely from the comfort of your home.

Joining millions of activists around the globe, tens of thousands of Australians have taken to the streets over the past two weeks to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. However, for many of these protesters, the demonstrations are about more than standing in solidarity with their American counterparts — Australian activists have used the movement to place an international spotlight on Indigenous Australian deaths in police custody.

The San Diego Faculty Association will hold a faculty town hall on Monday, June 8 to create a space for faculty and staff to voice their concerns surrounding the pandemic, recent acts of police brutality and protests, and any other concerns with teaching and research.

A number of students have reported that an open Associated Students virtual discussion on potential adjustments to finals grading policy was “Zoom-bombed” by several users who yelled racial slurs on Sunday, May 31. The meeting was held by A.S. Vice President of Academic Affairs Adarsh Parthasarathy in response to the May 30 email drive held to demand that UCSD change its finals grading system in light of recent acts of police brutality and protests.

UC San Diego students have begun an email drive to demand that the university adjust its grading policy for finals in light of recent acts of police brutality and subsequent nationwide protests. The initiative has predominantly been advertised on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, with the emails to the UCSD Emergency Operations Center and the A.S. Office of Academic Affairs calling for the university to modify its grading policy.

The University of California, San Diego began the first week of its COVID-19 screening program with the establishment of voluntary testing sites throughout campus on Monday, May 11. The three-week introductory program offers free self-administered tests for all on-campus undergraduate and graduate students asymptomatic for the novel coronavirus.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a number of changes to San Diego, including the closure of beaches and parks, the cancellation of upcoming events, and a significant departure from the normalcy of living in San Diego. With these changes have come heightened emotions and unrest, which at times have boiled over beyond the social media sphere into in-person protests. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) has been a prominent figure throughout this pandemic. Gonzalez joined a group of activists on Friday, April 24 to deliver approximately 1,000 masks and gloves to detainees at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, but was turned away. Likewise, Gonzalez has been vocal about the lack of law enforcement at the various San Diego anti-lockdown protests. Recently, she called out the Sheriff’s department on Twitter for ticketing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement protestors at the aforementioned detention center but not those at the anti-lockdown protests in Encinitas, downtown San Diego, and Pacific Beach. The UCSD Guardian sat down with the Assemblywoman via Zoom to discuss the work she has been doing in regards to the ongoing pandemic, both within the California State Assembly and on the ground in San Diego.

When Bernie Sanders dropped out of the 2020 Presidential Race on April 8, my first reaction was not disappointment or anger. Instead, I felt myself take a sigh of relief for the Senator. Ever since the South Carolina Primary took place at the end of February, a voice in the back of my head kept telling me that the dream of a Sanders Presidency was not going to happen. Don’t get me wrong, I voted for him when Super Tuesday arrived, and set up a weekly donation to his campaign. But the onslaught of hate he continued to receive for simply wanting to create a more equitable America made me thankful when his graceful exit finally came. That being said, ask anyone in my hometown of Wheaton, Ill. who is the biggest Sanders supporter they know, and you’ll likely hear my name pop up. My relationship with Senator Sanders began long before I would vote in the California 2020 Primary, so in the spirit of honoring an American hero, I wanted to take a moment to chronicle my five-year journey with the Vermont legend himself.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a lot of misinformation floating around on social media. At the same time, most students have had their lives completely changed over the last month, with many unsure of what the future will hold and what they can do now to protect themselves. In an effort to mitigate some of these anxieties, we joined The Triton to sit down with Dr. Robert Schooley, Chief of UC San Diego’s Division of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Stacie San Miguel, Director of Medical Services and Student Health Services, and Dr. Angela L. Scioscia, Interim Executive Director of Health & Wellness at UCSD, to have a conversation about the pandemic as well as to discuss ways for students to stay safe and promote wellness.