Page 2 – The Waltonian

By: Lenora Kirkland

On Jan. 6, 2023, another school shooting made national headlines, only this time, the perpetrator was a six-year-old boy. The incident occurred in a first-grade classroom at Richneck Elementary School located in Newport News, Virginia.

The student in question found the weapon in his home, brought it with him to class and shot his 25-year-old first-grade teacher, Abigail Zwerner. Although the injuries sustained by Zwerner, were declared life-threatening at the time of the shooting, her recovery has been positive. She has since been released from the hospital where she was receiving care for her sustained injuries.

According to the child’s parents, the student was suffering from an “acute disability” at the time of the shooting and is currently receiving treatment at a local hospital along with a predetermined “care plan” that the parents had already begun following with teachers and staff at Richneck Elementary. This plan involved parental supervision to and from school each day. The day of the shooting was one of the first days in which the student did not receive such supervision.

No more information has been provided as to the specific disability the child faces, or what this “care plan” entails. With the investigation still ongoing, authorities are continuing to examine the cause of how a child came to be in possession of a lethal weapon.

The parents of the child have released a statement to ABC News saying, “Our family has always been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children.” According to recently published information on the case, the weapon used was legally purchased by the child’s mother at an earlier date. With little precedent in cases in which a child is the perpetrator of such a crime, the investigation continues to rattle the American justice system. Authorities have declared that the act was intentional, causing a general outcry over whether or not it is just to declare intent in the case of a six-year-old child wielding a weapon.

In the state of Virginia, juvenile sentencing is restricted to children over the age of 11 making it impossible to convict the six-year-old. Rather, it seems that the parents of the child will be more closely examined for their role in the incident. State laws do exist that prohibit the storage of a loaded handgun in homes where a child under the age of 14 is in residence, which could be used to make a case against the child’s parents.

Despite the tragedy of this incident, it is not the first time a child under the age of 9 has used a lethal weapon in a school setting. In 2000 a similar story made headlines when a six-year-old in Michigan killed his fellow classmate after bringing a lethal weapon to school. According to BBC, the family has since “pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter.”

Richneck Elementary has also been heavily criticized for its handling of the incident. According to relevant information released during the investigation, school employees had been made aware of the possibility that the student was in possession of a weapon. Despite this crucial foresight, a thorough search of the child’s bag yielded no results. The incident has sparked numerous critique of the American public school system. In an interview with the Press Herald, local high school librarian Nicole Cook said, “Every day in every one of our schools, teachers, students and other staff members are being hurt. Every day, they’re hit. They’re bitten. They’re beaten. And they’re allowed to stay so that our numbers look good.”

The recent case in Virginia is still being handled by local authorities and judges to determine exactly how such a tragedy was once again allowed to occur in the United States school system.

Sources: ABC News, AP News, BBC, New York Times

By: Lenora Kirkland

As citizens, the act of voting is what solidifies our representative democracy, giving the government the electoral mandate it needs to be a legitimate power.

Whether or not you have the money or resources to join a political campaign, or fund a politician you believe in, voting is an accessible mode of political participation that no eligible American should ever be barred from. That being said, as long as we uphold the notion of voting as a privilege we will continually fall short of protecting it as a right.

There are many different ways in which the people’s right to vote is under threat. The disenfranchisement of ex-convicts and prisoners is a notable example. The United States accounts for a mere 5% of the global population, yet 25% of its incarcerated. According to a study cited by CNN, in the 2020 presidential election alone, as many as 5.1 million Americans were barred from voting due to felony convictions.

Florida is a good case study of the need for this type of reform. On the ballot in 2018, Florida voters were given the chance to voice their opinion on restoring voting rights to ex-convicts. Without this amendment, Florida was actively disenfranchising 10% of its eligible voters. The opinion given by the people was overwhelmingly in favor by 2.8 million votes, thus restoring the right to vote to 1.4 million Americans.

That being said, without federal protections in place, local politicians enacted a law that required felons to first pay their restitutions and court fines before they could have their right to vote restored. With this alteration, 774,000 of these 1.4 million Floridians saw the possibility of their right diminish. Rather than being contingent solely upon citizenship, their right to vote was greatly affected by their access to economic resources.

Ron DeSantis, the current governor of Florida won his position that year by a mere 33,000 votes, meaning the disenfranchisement of these 774,000 could have been a factor that tipped the scale in his favor to win him the election. This disenfranchisement calls into question politicians’ legitimacy and whether or not the true will of the people is truly reflected in election results.

In addition, there are other ways in which voting may become an unattainable privilege instead of a fundamental right. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, the average prisoner in the United States, prior to their conviction, had an income that was 41% lower than a non-incarcerated individual from the same age group. Many of these individuals lack the economic resources to afford bail or good lawyers to make their case in court. Those who have the ability to pay the median bail of 10,000 dollars are placed at a political advantage making their vote more than just a right, but also an economic privilege.

Similar issues arise in regard to the racial disparities in the U.S. prison system. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, Black Americans constitute 13% of the U.S. population, yet 38.4% of the nation’s incarcerated. The criminalization of African Americans remains pervasive in the United States. On average, African Americans are twice as likely to live in poverty than white Americans, and are thus less likely to have access to good lawyers, or afford the high cost of bail. The facts on this issue are vast, with the ones cited here being only the tip of a much bigger iceberg. It is undeniable that taking away the right to vote from prisoners or ex-convicts has a racial element.

All that being said, this is a complicated issue. The electoral mandate the government claims is also made legitimate by a politically informed electorate. There would need to be provisions in place that prevented people in authority within the prison system from controlling information accessible to prisoners, if they have access to any at all. There is also the question of whether these convicts would be expected to vote in the state where they are being detained, or where they have their residency. These are important issues to tackle, yet they do not negate the right of all American citizens to vote.

We must continue to fight for equal access to this right until all of America is free to choose.

Sources: CNN, Columbia University, Pew Research Institute, Vera Institute of Justice

By: Lenora Kirkland

On Nov. 8, citizens across the United States cast their ballots in the midterm elections. The results are crucial for the next two years of Biden’s presidency, and thus to the Democratic party as a whole. For Biden, a Congressional majority is critical to passing his administration’s desired policies over the next few years of his presidential term.

Republicans were hopeful for what has been called a “red wave,” and although the party did achieve significant gains in both chambers, they still fell slightly short of many citizens’ hopeful expectations.

In addition, despite circulating claims, it seems unlikely that the Republican party’s success is correlated with support for Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Few Trump-endorsed politicians won seats in either house, despite the former president’s claims that his support is widespread.

The results show that Biden is likewise losing support from his own party, making the results of the future presidential election an even greater riddle for the American public to solve.

Most seats in Congress are virtually guaranteed to go to the same party every election; others are more likely to be in flux, making them key political battlegrounds for politicians seeking election. Pennsylvania is one such state. The election of John Fetterman to the United States Senate flipped a key Republican seat to a Democratic stronghold. As a result, the Democratic party surpassed their opponents securing a majority in the Senate, with 50 seats to the Republican party’s 49.

That being said, not all election results have been determined. Georgia will be holding its Senate elections on Dec. 6, leaving open the possibility of an even greater Democratic stronghold in the Senate.

In the House of Representatives, the Republican party emerged with a majority having gained seven new seats with 217 in total. The Democratic party only managed to secure 212 seats this term, having lost nine.

As a result, Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to hold the position of speaker of the house, has stepped down. In her place, the Republican-dominated house will likely be led by Kevin McCarthy, the California representative who has held the position of minority leader since 2019.

The Republican control of the house is set to trigger a number of investigations against president Joe Biden and his administration. In his own words, a committee led by James Comer, a Kentucky representative, “will evaluate the status of Joe Biden’s relationship with his family’s foreign partners and whether he is a President who is compromised or swayed by foreign dollars and influence.”

Holding your state representatives accountable is crucial to the responsibilities that come with being citizens. Make sure to stay up-to-date and informed on current issues in light of these recent congressional changes. If you see injustice in how you are being represented by your elected officials, join a campaign, call the politician in question to voice your concern or sign a petition. As citizens, we are given a voice that must not be taken for granted.

Sources: CNN, The Guardian, NBC, The Washington Post

By: Lenora Kirkland

This past month the Supreme Court heard two cases regarding the use of affirmative action in college admissions. The first of the two hearings involved a close look at Harvard University’s race-conscious admissions process. Eight of the nine Supreme Court Justices were involved in the oral arguments for this case.

The ninth Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson opted not to participate due to a potential conflict of interest having connections tο the ivy league institution as both an alum and as a previous member of Harvard’s Board of Overseers. This case began via a lawsuit by Students for Fair Admissions Inc (SFFA), originally filed eight years ago, against Harvard University for alleged discrimination in its admissions process on the grounds of race.

SFFA has sued the University of North Carolina on similar grounds. The argument being made by SFFA is that affirmative action, in the cases against both universities, is a violation of Title IV of the Civil Rights Act which prohibits race discrimination in academic institutions that receive federal funding. In the case of SFFA versus UNC, the prosecution argues that such policies also go against the equal protection clause of the 14th constitutional amendment.

The importance of diversity in education seems to be a compelling interest for members of the Supreme Court as it enhances the quality of a student’s education and better prepares them to serve a diverse world; however, there are divisions over how this diversity should ultimately be achieved. The case against Harvard, as well as the case against UNC, are set to play an important role in determining how race is used in the college admissions process, and how racial diversity is pursued in the realm of education. The question of redressing historical grievances related to slavery and the long-standing oppression of black Americans has also been a factor in the case for affirmative action.

As presented in the arguments for affirmative action, race is only one of many factors that may tip the scale in favor of students from minority backgrounds. It has been argued by a number of Justices that a student’s race is a part of their identity and that its inclusion in college applications enables universities to admit students using a more holistic framework. SFFA contests this statement by arguing that race is not necessarily an integral part of every minority student’s identity.

One of the key elements of the affirmative action debate is the precedent set by Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003. This case set a precedent in support of affirmative action in college admissions, which SFFA seeks to overturn. The main premise of the 2003 case was that affirmative action was necessary in order to ensure equality of opportunity in the academic sphere. But why then has the issue of affirmative action resurfaced?

At the time of the Grutter v. Bollinger decision, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor commented “The Court expects that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today.” As these 25 years are nearly up, the issue currently being debated is whether or not the use of affirmative action is still needed in order to ensure all applicants have equal access to the academic opportunities of higher education.

All that being said, there is significant debate over the existence of sufficient race-neutral alternatives that would justify the termination of affirmative action policies. Though both sides seem to agree that there is a problem, they are divided over how it should be rectified. The arguments for both cases are available on the Supreme Court’s official website. As citizens we must do what we can to stay informed on these important topics; the future of our nation depends on it.

Sources: Supreme Court Website, Oyez, CNN, Reuters, Ballotpedia, Washington Post

By: Lenora Kirkland

This month, Eastern University was given a grant of one million dollars to improve our campus. Plans include redoing the gym room, adding new offices, and making preparations for a new wrestling team.

“We are extremely grateful and blessed to receive these funds,” President Ron Matthews shared in the announcement email. “The completion of these projects will greatly enhance and strengthen our Eastern campus, community and facilities. One of the five priorities in Eastern’s 2022-2027 Strategic Plan is to increase philanthropic support to Eastern, and this award is a strong start to this effort.”

The grant money comes from a federally funded Pennsylvania grant program called RACP (Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program). In order to qualify for these funds, Eastern filled out an application outlining their intentions for the funds if they were to receive them. This clarification regarding the intended use of the money is both required and binding. In other words, if the school applying for grant money receives the funds, they must be used as indicated in the application.

“The $1 million awarded to Eastern is designated for renovations to the athletic facilities, including gymnasium additions and updates, site work, a vehicular bridge, a pedestrian walkway, and an internal drive connection to on-campus athletic facilities,” President Matthews shared in the email.

When Eastern applied for this grant, they promised the money exclusively for the development of athletic programs and facilities. Now that they have received it, it must go towards this development project. Many students are thrilled at the potential this money has to bring about improvements to the place that so many of us call home. That being said, some are less optimistic upon hearing the plans for these funds.

Grace Koncsics, a senior, has been thoroughly involved in interpreting how this grant money, and the current decision on how to use it, will affect students at Eastern. She notes that “Eastern has 500 student athletes, out of approximately 5,400 students attending Eastern, which means 4,900 students are not Student Athletes—this makes up not only the majority but a large majority.”

The decision has sparked significant controversy amongst Eastern University’s student body, who are disappointed by the lack of concern for other seemingly more important uses for these funds. Most notably, students have reacted strongly to the lack of financial attention given to various problems pertaining to Eastern’s residence halls.

“The dorm I live in (Hainer) has black mold, water heater issues, flickering lights and walls with dents,” Koncsics said. “The hall my friend lives in (Gallup) has insect infestations as well as only one working washer. Eagle is constantly damp and condensation on the basement floor is frequent. Kea’s bathrooms flood consistently and the basement’s mold is dangerous.”

Koncsics has been actively involved in the push-back against Eastern’s decision through meetings with SGA and communications with both Kenton Sparks as well as the office of the Provost. Per Koncsics’ initiation, there has also been a petition circulating that received over 200 signatures in the span of two hours, as well as a number of anonymous comments that she shared.

According to Koncsics, “The petition was a two-day affair where I went around and asked as many students as I could to sign and asked them ‘would you be willing to sign a petition against more funding for the gym/gym renovation and instead funding for the dorms?’”

One student commented, “I am a student athlete and the dorms are disgusting.” Another noted, “We don’t want a new gym; I want to wash my clothes.” Even a number of Eastern’s student athletes are skeptical of the current plans for the grant money. An anonymous student athlete said, “I’m a student athlete and the gyms are fine. I’m tired of the mold.”

“My hope is that next year Eastern will fix this massive mistake by asking for grant money for the dorms and in the meantime, taking some of its funds and using it immediately and directly to the dorms,” Koncsics said. “I just hope the biggest success is the change in monetary choices. We will see what happens during the meetings and forums yet to be held!”

By: Lenora Kirkland

Nigeria faces numerous threats of violence across its 36 states, many of which often seep into its Federal Capital Territory where the country’s capital city is located. In the later weeks of October, the U.S. State Department announced that its non-emergency embassy workers and their families must seek immediate removal from Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, due to a heightened threat of terrorism in the region.

According to a CNN interview with a member of the U.S. State Department “Targets may include, but are not limited to, government buildings, places of worship, schools, markets, shopping malls, hotels, bars, restaurants, athletic gatherings, transport terminals, law enforcement facilities and international organizations.”

That being said, no details regarding the nature of this threat were released, nor was the Nigerian government consulted before the announcement was broadcasted to the international community. Soon after this order was given, the U.K., Australia, Canada and Ireland followed suit in encouraging their citizens to avoid travel to the country in light of this perceived threat.

Violence and political unrest have persisted in the country for many years. According to the BBC, in July of this year, hundreds of inmates escaped prison during a raid in the country’s capital. The inmates were determined to have had connections to Boko Haram, an Islamic Terrorist Organization acting out of the Northern region of Nigeria.

Despite the threats of violence the country faces, the national unrest that the United States’ accusations have created, has begun affecting those local to the country’s capital who have been given no clear explanation regarding the true nature of the threat.

The Nigerian government has reacted to the United States announcement by attempting to downplay the possibility of a terrorist threat. According to the country’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, “security agents are proactively rooting out threats to keep citizens safe – much of their work unseen and necessarily confidential.”

Naturally, the lack of information accessible to the public has continued to facilitate unrest in the region as citizens are left unable to react to the perceived threat. Usman Alkali Baba, Nigeria’s police chief, has stated that no imminent threat existed within the country’s capital. That being said, the actions of the international community seem to send a different message.

Sources: BBC, CNN

By: Lenora Kirkland

On Oct. 21 Taylor Swift released “Midnights,” her first album release in almost a year. Like many other Swifties, I had high expectations. That being said, I must confess that Taylor did not deliver to the extent that I believe she is capable of. I am wary of defining the value of Taylor Swift’s album in my own terms, since I know each reader is, of course, entitled to their own opinion. That being said, don’t cancel me for mine.

After you’ve heard the poetic stories of “Folklore” and “Evermore,” it’s hard to hear her belt mediocre lyrics like “Karma is my boyfriend” and “thick as thieves with your ex-wife.” It is also impossible to not visibly cringe when you hear lines like these. The rest of her song “Karma,” which is where the first quote is from, only gets worse. That being said, I know that her writing can be better.

I lived in Greece for ten years where our COVID-19 restrictions were much stricter than those in the United States. Around the time “Folklore” and “Evermore” were released, I was in the middle of a city wide lockdown that would prevent me from leaving my house for six months. Taylor Swift’s music got me through a dark time of isolation, and so I know that she has the capacity to write meaningful music. It’s disappointing to know that she under-delivered this time around.

The collaboration element on this album also seems to be below her normal standards. Lana Del Ray’s inclusion in the album through “Snow on the Beach” had the potential to be a fantastic addition. You can imagine my disappointment then when the song turned out to really just be a solo. Taylor Swift has a right to take up the spotlight on her own album of course, but the words “feat Lana Del Ray” in the song description, feel misleading.

Her music video for the song, “Anti Hero” was good. The video makes many 1980 era references which I hope are hints at the release of “1989 Taylor’s Version” in the near future. Maybe it will rectify my feelings of disappointment and sadness over “Midnights.”

According to the singer, this album was meant to be a collection of music written at night. The artistic potential of this concept is great, but in the end, didn’t really seem to come through. Even her best lyrics didn’t show any correlation with the predetermined theme, at least not any more than her other albums. I was expecting her to do more with the idea.

All that being said, not every song on the album is a flop. I have been listening to “Sweet Nothing” on repeat since the album’s release. The melody is soothing, and reminds me more of her “Folklore” era. “Labyrinth” is also quite a lovely melody, the kind you can easily fall asleep to.

Taylor Swift has meant a lot to me throughout my life. I like to claim that I was a fan before she was really famous, belting out lyrics from her “Speak Now” album before it was cool. That being said, I also feel it is necessary to critique her when she drops the ball, which I believe is the case with this new album. Maybe Taylor Swift’s next debut will deliver the music every Swifty knows she’s capable of delivering.

By; Lenora Kirkland

On the weekend of Homecoming, Eastern’s SAB organized this year’s first school dance. There was dancing, Chick-Fil-A eating and glow sticks; a little bit of everything. Even Micah Britton, a senior, agreed that “the Chick-Fil-A is a hit,” to which Zoe Mailhot replied, “and that’s spoken by a vegetarian that can’t eat any of it.” Chick-Fil-A is just “a vibe” in and of itself according to Britton. I’m sure many would agree.

Others were in mutual agreement about the DJ’s song choices. In all honesty, it took some time before the good music started to pull people onto the dance floor; however, classic bops do wonders for a crowd of college students and soon after WAP was played, the dwindling number of dancers grew exponentially. It seems we are all united behind a common love of fried chicken and dancing. “It’s really fun seeing all the people that are out having a good time, just dancing to songs from our childhood,” Alex Colby, a freshman who attended the dance, said. It was very exciting to witness the walls of our differences crumble as we sang the lyrics to a number of classics in unison.

A group of seniors also shared their thoughts on the dance as an event that reminded them of their COVID years spent at Eastern. “The dance is the best dance I’ve had since freshman year here. The COVID dances were outside on the tennis court so it was a less formal and a much colder environment,” Britton said. The dance was most certainly an event of a post-COVID era, allowing us to socialize together once again.

A large proportion of the student body loved the chance to chat with friends on the dance floor. Kayla Rodriguez said, “I like it, it’s really nice and a great chance to socialize!” Frankie Bolen is another student who enjoyed the social aspect of the dance. She said “A lot of my friends are here tonight!” which was her favorite part of the event.

That being said, there were still many who opted not to attend the Homecoming dance, making it a much smaller gathering than it perhaps could have been. “Homecoming would be better if more people came, because SAB actually invested in doing cool stuff and they haven’t done that for the last three years,” Mailhot said.

Comments on the quality of the set-up were also positive. Valentina Aquino, a freshman, was one of the first to point this out, noting “I like the theme, and the decorations are beautiful!” Mac Macolino agreed, saying “they’ve done a really great job decorating, and they’ve put a lot of thought into this! It’s really sweet.” The glow sticks and photo booth were also widely enjoyed elements of the event.

Many also enjoyed the chance to dress up. “It was so fun to dress up and get cute,” freshman Josh Steen said. Freshman Kate Hall said that “getting ready with friends was almost just as fun as the dance itself.”

The event was most certainly a night to remember. A massive thank you to SAB for all their hard work and effort! The dance was a hit, and we look forward to the upcoming fall events!

By: Lenora Kirkland

Max Baer died at age 74 serving the PA Supreme Court. Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts(via AP)

On Sept. 30, 2022, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court lost its Chief Justice, Max Baer. As a justice on the state Supreme Court since 2003, and a member of the Democratic party, Baer has played an essential role in a number of significant rulings for the state of Pennsylvania, but also for the United States as a whole.

Most notably, his work culminated in a series of rulings that would facilitate Trump’s claims of a stolen election. One such decision was the accepted appeal to extend the deadline for mail-in-ballot voting during the 2020 Presidential Election. This ruling enabled 10,000 people to vote in spite of delays within the U.S. Postal Service. According to Baer, “There is nothing constitutionally infirm about a deadline of 8:00 p.m. on Election Day for the receipt of ballots”. Controversially, his decision was seen as enabling voter fraud, prompting the claims of a stolen election that fueled the eventual storming of the capital on Jan. 6, 2021.

On a more local level, Baer played a significant role in the case, Wolf v. Scarnati (2020). The case related to Gov. Wolf’s renewed disaster declaration, enabling him to enforce stricter COVID-19 regulations and shutdowns. A week after the declaration’s renewal, the Pennsylvania General Assembly began to seek its reversal through resolution HR836, without consulting the Governor, who did not present his approval. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision was that “The Pennsylvania Constitution does not empower the legislature to act unilaterally to suspend a law, and the governor’s purported suspension of law did not violate the non-delegation doctrine,” a decision that Max Baer played a significant role in determining.

Although Baer was a crucial member of the Pennsylvania justice system, his death has left behind a vacancy that will soon be filled by Debra Todd, the first woman to hold the position. Todd has played a significant role in many of the above cases, in favor of the subsequent rulings. She was only the second woman appointed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2007, and has been an active member of the state’s judicial system ever since. In a phone interview with her hometown newspaper, the Ellwood City Ledger, she determines that “now is a time of mourning, not celebration.” Out of respect for the Baer family she has declined to accept any other interviews until a later date. Her official ceremony is set to occur on Jan. 20 of this upcoming year, launching a new era of female representation in Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court.

Sources: Ballotpedia, USA Today, WESA

By: Lenora Kirkland

There are few things Americans hate more than totalitarian rulers. Founded upon the concepts of democracy and federalism, the values of the monarchy could not be further from those of the American people. But now, in light of Queen Elizabeth’s death, our country lowers its flags half mast, mourning a queen we had no connection to. For almost a week, international headlines about whether or not Duchess Kate and Prince William were seen crying at the queen’s funeral took precedence over issues of gun violence and politics. Where do these emotions come from?

We consume media about the royal family in the same way we all inevitably keep up with the Kardashians (anyone who says they don’t keep up with the Kardashians is lying to you). The drama of it all is so desirable that it’s almost unavoidable. Princess Diana’s public marital issues and her controversial death, marked a turning point in the relationship between America and the royal family.

That being said, it wasn’t just the drama of her marriage and accident, but her kind heart and spirit that drew the American people in. Diana was a figure we could relate to, mainly by associating her with our widely consumed childhood fairytales. When she died we began to take an even greater interest in the royal family, fascinated by this institution’s power that we had only ever read about in fiction.

All people desire, whether implicitly or explicitly, some form of leader to mobilize and represent the rest. Take the example of the United States presidency. We rally around this one man as if no one else could ever be as politically relevant, ignoring congress members and local government officials. We do not do this because our president is somehow the most powerful man in America. He can’t be, because he inevitably holds his position on the basis of electoral and congressional support.

But nonetheless, we look to him for identity. The same is true of the queen. Although she is not our sovereign, we are naturally drawn to the idea of a single figure to represent the rest. Queen Elizabeth may have been the queen of England, but to those of us watching from across the pond, she embodied all the values of national representation that we do in fact relate to. That being said, monarchy represents more than just a desire for national identity.

As someone who has not lived in the United States for over a decade, I am constantly surprised by how many signs and flags people put up, outside their homes, churches, and schools. There seems to be a cultural desire to use symbols such as Make America Great Again or Black Lives Matter to showcase to others who you are. You may not be able to prove that America was ever a great nation, or showcase with your actions that you’re committed to reversing systemic inequality in our country, but by putting up a sign, you convey to those around you what ideas you want to be associated with; even if these ideals are not necessarily ones you actually champion. In the case of the queen, we ignore the postcolonial strife that lingers with her title; we choose to look past the history of exploitation and power that comes with the monarchy, and we treat the queen as a sign for the front lawns of ourselves.

We cherish the sign because it gives us a shared purpose and a clear identity, not because it represents what we fight for, or who we really are. That is why we cherish monarchy.