The Smart Ass

Volume XXII, Issue 2

Editor’s Letter

After last November’s presidential victory, people understandably breathed a sigh of relief. Some felt that they could happily turn off the news and unplug from politics, no longer feeling responsible for keeping up with the latest Republican scandal or criticizing blatant political corruption on Twitter. Now, Biden’s America would herald in a new era of progress, and we could all move on with our lives. Unsurprisingly, that’s just not true.

Being truly progressive will always be an aspirational project that we have to constantly work towards. Progressive views can’t be static or unyielding to change—they have to perennially evolve in order to reflect society’s most urgent needs. Progress is not a given and it’s not linear. The passage of time does not equate to the betterment of our society, just like the removal of an ignorant and despotic president does not immediately solve our problems.

As students, we are in a unique position to mobilize our youthful idealism and spur progress. We’re frequently told by older adults that our liberal convictions won’t last once we enter the “real world,” but that’s exactly what qualifies us to be at the forefront of progressive movements. We are equipped with relentless purpose and optimism, what some may consider a naive refusal to accept the status quo, and a bold willingness to take risks. We don’t need a dose of moral realism, we need a reminder of the power of student movements. Students at UC Berkeley don’t need to look further than the anti-apartheid movement which began on our campus in 1984 and resulted in the UC Regents divesting $3.1 billion from South Africa, the largest university divestment in the country.  

Still, as UC Berkeley students, we can’t take our simple attendance at a university with a storied legacy of student activism to mean we are absolved of constantly reevaluating our prejudices and our long-held beliefs. Being a student in a politically charged environment like today’s requires us to remain open to changing our mind when presented with new information, to critically question the institutions that we benefit from, and to actively engage in grassroots politics that strengthens the communities we live in. National politics can be distracting and entertaining, but let's not forget that student movements have been the most successful when they localized national issues. Antiwar protests were most effective not when students marched against U.S. involvement in Vietnam, but when they boycotted their campus ROTC chapters. Anti-apartheid campaigns were most effective not when students marched against the U.S. government’s support of racist policies in South Africa, but when they demanded their universities divest. Students have had success within the Black Lives Matter movement when they addressed incidents of police brutality and racism on their own campuses; for example, in 2015, protesters at the University of Missouri and Claremont McKenna College forced their president and dean, respectively, to resign over their mishandling of racist incidents. 

Throughout this semester’s edition of The Smart Ass, you will find an array of perspectives on our new era of politics and perhaps an issue or two that you can localize on campus. There are those who remain skeptical about the future, and others who believe we can allow ourselves to be cautiously optimistic. Regardless of which camp you find yourself in, we can all agree that now is not the time for political apathy, and it is certainly not the time to become ambivalent towards progress.

This is my last semester as Editor of The Smart Ass and I would like to thank every staff member that has contributed to my wonderful experience at the helm of this magazine. While I feel bittersweet to be handing it off to the next year of writers, editors, and designers, I have full confidence that The Smart Ass will continue pushing the needle of progress at UC Berkeley. 

Onwards and upwards,

Meher Mann

Meher Mann

The surge in anti-Asian violence seen over the last year is a terrifying, but unsurprising development in what has been a long and untold history of Asian Americans. Crucial to this history is the often strained dynamic between Asian and Black communities in the United States, one that has been repeatedly exploited in order to perpetuate a racist status quo that ultimately only benefits white Americans.

Hannah Barahona

Dear diary…Kamala is so annoying. She’s always quoting her favorite debate moments. There are only so many times that I can take “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking--I’m speaking.” Kamala, we’re in a McDonald’s drive-thru. Jeez, I’d rather have Maya Rudolph as VP.  Don’t get me started on “We did it Joe.” At this point, I simply don’t want to do it anymore. And her exercising at the Capitol steps…what a complete show off! 

Grace Rapaski

What we craved was sweeping change, a dismantling of our inherently corrupt systems, a recrafting of the American status quo. What we were given was a moderate Democratic candidate running a campaign representing a lot of smaller steps; steps that do not compliment our ambitious visions.

Aryan Deorah

January 6th, 2021, a day that will live forever in infamy. It started like any other: I woke up around noon, did my morning routine, ate breakfast, and texted my two best friends to see if they could hang out.

Elizabeth Bennett

The United States long acted as an international leader, but today we see a failure to lead the war against the pandemic, an authoritarian despot inspiring an insurrection that threatens the very institutions of our country, and a refusal to assist communities hurt by climate change.

Elizabeth grubb

I find myself more and more frustrated with the fact that campaigns are treated as a stepping stone to reform, rather than a mechanism of reform. The typical logic I hear from Democratic campaigns is: “We need to elect a Democrat then we push for reforms (that are long overdue).” Why not campaign in a way that actually produces material changes, regardless of the success of a candidate?

Ryan liu

The Democratic Party has long prided itself on it’s “big-tent” status: despite their different views, there’s room for both West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez under the nominal banner. Yet this ideological battle has caused deep-rooted internal schisms before. Who could forget the marathon 2020 Democratic primary, marked by fierce conflict between the party’s two chief factions?

Raisah Khan

With Vice President Harris’s “tough on crime” history as a politician, her current term begs the question: how will criminal justice reform manifest in a post-Trump America, and will it sufficiently address the pitfalls in our system that we have witnessed in the last half-century?

aryan deorah

The year is 2016, and a left-wing candidate is battling a far right-wing candidate who demonizes immigrants, has authoritarian tendencies, and doesn’t show much care for democratic norms. The election is occurring in a modern western democracy that has become increasingly fraught and polarized and has had past flirtations with right-wing extremists. Institutions, parties, and families are divided over the main candidates and many look to election day with a mixture of hope and fear for their future.

CAitlin Cotter

Joe Biden is not - and has never been - a political figure known for his commitment to fighting climate change. Between seeking approval from both a more progressive, demanding generation and more moderate Democrats reliant on fossil fuels, he was forced into an unfortunate position that would influence his campaigning for the 2020 presidential election.

Jack smith

Leading up to the 2020 election, Georgia was, for all intents and purposes, an afterthought on the national stage. While there were murmurs of Georgia emerging as a tossup state, most attention was focused on historically coveted swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. For many voters, it was simply a given that Georgia would remain deep red across the board.

Tim etter

Marjorie Taylor Greene, an incendiary freshman member of the GOP caucus in the House of Representatives, was recently stripped of her committee assignments due to her extremist views and endorsement of conspiracy theories. In totally unrelated news, a freshman member of the GOP caucus named Tharjorie Maylor Shmeene has just joined these committees in the ensuing power vacuum.