I want to remember every detail about that day — the physical surroundings, the weather, our companions, and above all, everything about my late mother — but I can’t. All I remember is that she was holding me by the hand while my baby brother was snuggled inside her chupa, a traditional Tibetan dress. I was eight years old, and we were about to cross into Nepal.

In the name of free speech, can we misinform and deny someone’s right to a healthy life? Does an individual’s freedom of choice supersede the collective benefit?

On March 5th, Ethan Lindenberger, a teen from Ohio testified in front of Congress to talk about his decision to get vaccinated, defying his anti-vaxx mother. Ethan is now immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases such as hepatitis, polio, measles, mumps, and chickenpox.

In his testimony, Ethan named Facebook as the primary source of injecting, anti-vaccine sentiments in his mother, despite his repeated attempts to point out the research-based evidence — debunking any causal association between vaccination and the incidence of autism or brain damage. …

I think I am speaking for the majority of Tibetans — or at least to me when I say that March 10 of every year, brings me a generational pain — a pain of my grandfather who starved to death in a prison for being a Tibetan, a pain of my mother who was looted of all her property and was forced to beg for food, and my own story of family separation. I think there’s not a single Tibetan family who does not share a story like mine or even worse.

On March 10,1959, thousands of Tibetans took to the streets in opposition to the illegal occupation of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC used their military forces to kill 87,000 civilians that day. Seven days after the protest, His Holiness the Dalai Lama escaped to India. Since then March 10 has been known as Tibetan National Uprising Day. …

Medicare for all is no longer an absurd campaign slogan. In fact, many mainstream media outlets are calling it a “2020 litmus test for Democrats.” This time, Bernie Sanders has company. Several high profile Democrats who announced their candidacy for the 2020 presidential race have now joined the bandwagon.

In fact, many mainstream media outlets are calling it a “2020 litmus test for Democrats.”

But the million-dollar question is: what exactly is “Medicare for all” —to our presidential candidates?

Democratic 2020 candidates like Senator Elizabeth Warren(D-MA), Corey Booker (D-NJ), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) are courting “Medicare for all” promises, but their interpretations of this buzzword are starkly different from each other. …

With the exception of the air we breathe, everything we are wearing, holding, consuming, or using, is marketed on social media — even your perception of your surroundings. In our attempt to connect with the world using social media, we forget to connect within and to our community. While the role of social media is undeniable in revolutionizing the communication platform, making it more accessible, faster, and easy to use; the price we are paying for those comforts extends far beyond its said purpose.

Social media has become almost an intrinsic part of life amongst millennials. According to Pew Research Center, nearly over 90% of young adults in the U.S, ranging from 18 to 29, use social media without notable differences in racial and ethnic backgrounds. As of 2018, Facebook reported 2.27 billion monthly active users, making it the most widely used social network worldwide. …