Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently published an essay entitled “We Must Pace The Frontier,” arguing to slow the development of AI. Despite being primarily rooted in his ethical beliefs, he focuses primarily on the “operational security” of the systems, not the physical or ethical reality. He does not mention the environmental impacts of AI, nor does he discuss concerns about intellectual property and creativity. AI has many positive implications for the future of humanity, but it is destroying the planet we live on and diluting the cornerstones of human expression that are art and writing. Pacing the development of AI is necessary, but Amodei’s assertion that the first step in slowing down is to introduce “embedded evaluators”—auditors that work purely within companies to ensure they are compliant with subjective ethical rules and non-existent regulations—is biased and, if implemented, would be ineffective. Instead, the development of AI should be contingent on our ability to fix the many problems that come with it in real time. AI has too much potential for good for society to completely abandon it, but at its current rate of development, it is impossible to prevent the irreparable harm it can cause.
Read moreThe Summer of Spiderman and What’s Next for the MCU
Tom Holland has been at the helm of one of cinema’s strongest summers in recent years. Spiderman: Brand New Day has raked in a global gross of $2.2 billion, while Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey continues to sail upwards of $1.5 billion. In helping create these seismic box office dents, Holland has brought audiences to the theaters all summer long, breaking records for both Universal Studios and Sony.
Read more“The Most Unprofessional Thing I’ve Ever Seen:” Trump’s Recent Threats Continue to Question the Fate of the Kennedy Center
Graphic by Maria Clara Cruz
Located in Washington, D.C., the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has recently become a source of conflict between the Trump administration and the U.S. District Court, becoming an ongoing discussion of whether or not President Trump’s name will be permanently added to the exterior wall of the memorial.
Read moreCornell and Title IX: Resources for Survivors on Campus
Graphic by Maria Clara Cruz
The handling of a sexual assault case two years ago at Cornell University has placed the university’s response to allegations of misconduct under considerable public scrutiny. In the newly reopened case, the anonymous student, referred to in official documentation as Jane Doe, a former student at Cornell, filed a 101-page complaint alleging a gang rape at Cornell’s chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity by 7 fraternity members in 2024. The new evidence emerging, including a secretly recorded phone call, fraternity Snapchat group chat, and drugging allegations has raised questions on how the initial investigation was handled.
A Tale of Two Cheeses: The State of Mac and Cheese at D-Hall
Graphic by Casey Byrne
As Charles Dickens once said, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” I agree with this across a number of points. In terms of “the worst,” we are experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change, AI, and manipulative corporate hiring practices that are causing record levels of unemployment. We are probably witnessing the fall of democracy and the modern world order. As for “the best,” we have the modern comforts of DoorDash, legalized marijuana, Zendaya (blessed be her name and her hat), and Chicken Finger Friday.
Read moreOlivia Rodrigo has “Real Big Expectations” and Yet She Keeps Exceeding Ours
Graphic by Casey Byrne
On August 29 in Irvine, California, singer-songwriter and philanthropist Olivia Rodrigo hosted Daisy Chain Fields, one of the most successful not-for-profit music festivals this year. The festival was inspired by Sarah McLachan’s 1997 festival Lilith Fair.
Read moreSkidmore Aspires (To a New Semester)
Graphic by Maria Clara Cruz
In the pollinator garden
And all throughout North Woods,
From Outing Club bonfires
See students’ livelihoods!
With cherished summer over,
The leaves begin to fall,
While choirs sing and discs are thrown
All around the Dining Hall.
Sing a song of Skidmore,
There’s something bright for all!
So tranquil in the summer,
Yet, bustling in the fall!
In Our Age of Genocide
Graphic by Faith Benton
There is an art in dissecting a genocide.
It involves the composition of long lists of possible instigators, the identification of the breaking point, the acquiescence that one cannot determine the precise moment in time that produced the now-certain result. To perform an autopsy, the coroner must distance himself from the body; the victim’s human identity must remain untouched by the emotions of the examiner so that cause of death may be accurately reported. Dissection of a genocide requires the same separation.
Read moreJUST SPORTS OR JUST DISRESPECTFUL? Sydney Sweeney’s Controversial Return to Campaigning
“Just Sports” was the tagline of the ad for the online sports betting platform Novig released on September 9th, but its content shifted viewers’ focus from the marketing of sports betting to the ambassador of the advertisement.
Sydney Sweeney, well known for her roles as Cassie Howard in Euphoria (2019-2026) and Olivia Mossbacher in The White Lotus (2021), poses provocatively with different sports equipment and apparel covering her body, which was otherwise exposed throughout the ad. She speaks in a sultry tone, repeating the word “sports” while the equipment she appears with changes routinely – from basketball hoops to tennis rackets to hockey sticks – to reveal the different sports that Novig users are able to bet on using the service.
SGA Speech Night: Fall 2026
Last night was the SGA speech night, with students showing their support for each candidate. With a few seats open for upperclassmen, the main positions open are for our first-year president and senators.
Read moreSGA to Begin Providing Financial Compensation for Members
This year, for the very first time, Skidmore’s Student Government Association will begin providing financial compensation to some of its members. Nine students that occupy the highest ranking and most time consuming positions in SGA will each receive a total of $1,500 in compensation for this academic year.
Read moreA Sign of Our Times
The Moon, with Earth in the distance. Image courtesy of NASA.
Amidst global fanfare, the Artemis II capsule containing its crew of four touched down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10. The mission launched on April 1, and spent the next week-and-a-half circling the Earth, launching to the Moon, doing a go-around and returning home.
Read moreUnited Nations Reaffirm Women's Rights as Universal Human Rights
Women Heads of State and Government on stage, together with the President of the General Assembly and his predecessor, for a meeting on the sidelines of UNGA77, part of the newly established Platform of Women Leaders. Image courtesy of United Nations.
Recently, the United Nations voted to reaffirm a resolution supporting global women’s rights, a decision that was prompted by severe global backlash against gender equality, as reported by UN reports in 2025 and 2026. It passed with 37 countries in favor, 1 against, and 6 abstentions. These Agreed Conclusions strengthen access to justice for all women and girls, protect against violence and abuse, advocate equality, and prevent future violations.
Read moreTrend Culture Writes Another Love Story
RFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette walking down a NYC street. Image courtesy of Hulu.
Ryan Murphy’s recent Hulu miniseries “Love Story” has revamped the public spectacle of Carolyn Bessette and John F. Kennedy Jr.’s relationship for a whole new generation. The show's release has sparked a wave of conversations through our current pop culture. In particular, the duo’s sense of style has been the catalyst for a recent resurgence in iconic 1990s fashion.
Read moreIn Defense of Arrogance
Actor Timothée Chalamet, photographed at the Oscars. Image courtesy of NewsPlus.
In a novel celebrity scandal, Timothee Chalamet has found himself in opposition to major performing industries after making a sweeping assertion that “no one cares” about art forms like ballet and opera. The trouble with Chalamet’s barbs is that they are marked by the exclusivity of the environment he has grown accustomed to.
Read moreIf This Is Leadership, What Are We Preparing Students For?
45th and 47th President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump. Image courtesy of USA Today.
When racist behavior from leadership is normalized, students learn it’s compatible with power. This reshapes democratic engagement. One reason as to why this behavior has become so normalized is based on the Overton Window political theory.
Read moreTransparency and Accessibility: Inside Skidmore's 2026 Election Season
SGA Presidential candidates on the podium in the Wyckoff Center. Image courtesy of Shayla Gerkin ‘29.
Speech Night, held on April 1st, drew students, faculty, and administrators to the Wyckoff Center to hear proposed platforms and goals, encouraged by candidates’ posters and Instagram campaigns. This year’s candidates for SGA President, Soraya Gordon ‘29 and Dylan Kostbar ‘28 have run similar campaigns, both promising greater transparency from SGA, stronger student engagement, and improved accessibility on campus.
Read moreReading Between the Lines: HR 7661 Seeks to Ban LGBTQIA+ Books
LGBTQIA+ Books banned in 2025. Photo courtesy of Pen America.
Children across the United States are being barred from reading books—not by their parents or teachers, but by their state governments. In January alone, Katy Independent School District banned over 140 LGBTQIA+ books from school libraries. Language around book bans has been intentionally ambiguous, but PEN America defines the process in clear terms as “...any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by governmental officials, that leads to a book being either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished.”
Read moreBad Bunny's Halftime Performance: A Show of Unity
Bad Bunny performing at the Super Bowl LX halftime show.
On Sunday, February 8th, 31-year-old Puerto Rican rapper and singer, Bad Bunny, performed the Super Bowl LX halftime show, the first one in NFL history to be almost entirely in Spanish. The performance ran for about 13 minutes and has since broken the record for the most-watched halftime show with an average of 128.2 million viewers in the United States.
Read moreFLEX No Better Than Bus
A FLEX van. Photo courtesy of CDTA.
For two months, FLEX has been the primary form of transportation for Skidmore College to Saratoga Springs. FLEX, a swipe-to-pay minibus that accepts Skidmore ID cards in lieu of payment, charges the standard bus fare of $1.50. Despite the CDTA’s optimism that FLEX would reduce waiting times and increase ridership, the implementation of the new system has resulted in several accessibility concerns and safety risks.
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