Reaction Time: Religious Freedom Ridiculousness

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

There's a difference between practicing your religion and practicing discrimination.

Disability And (Dis)Accessibility On College Campuses

Colleges are ignoring needs of students with disabilities, to the detriment of graduation rates.

The Colosseum, Neo-Narcisissm And Why You Shouldn't Do It For The 'Gram

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

Would you carve your initials into the Colosseum for an epic selfie? (Wikimedia Commons)

One epic selfie too far...

Reaction Time: Federal Pot Policy Has Neither Reason Nor Value

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

Keeping marijuana illegal is costing us, financially and otherwise.

Reaction Time: The Pros And Cons Of A Marriage-Centric Gay Rights Movement

Focusing the gay rights movement solely on marriage equality doesn't make sense anymore (Gay Marriage USA, Facebook)

Marriage provides many protections; freedom from violent discrimination isn't one of them.

Reaction Time: (Un?) Conditional Love

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

If God does not make mistakes, perhaps we are the ones making mistakes each and every day.

Reaction Time: 'Body Positive' Lammily Doll Is Just Barbie 2.0

Comments (6) | Aerie, barbie, body image, BuzzFeed, campaign for real beauty, Disney, doll, Dove, frozen, get real, holidays, lammily, Mattel, nickolay lamm, Opinion, reaction time, self image, special k, toys

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

The Lammily Doll is not as inclusive as she appears (Lammily, Facebook)

Nice try, but you can't sell self-esteem.

What The Hell Is Going On With Gay Marriage?

Comments (0) | bans, bisexual, Columnists, gay, Human Rights Campaign, kansas, lesbian, LGBT, marriage, marriage equality, popular opinion, reaction time, same sex marriage, sixth circuit, Supreme Court, transgender

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

The gay marriage movement has one inevitable ending (Gay Marriage USA, Facebook)

Could the Sixth Circuit Court's ruling actually make national legalization more likely?

Reaction Time: Carl's Jr. Can Stuff It With Their Own Gnarly Burgers

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

Why are we as consumers continuing to allow Carl's Jr. to get away with misogynistic advertisements? (Carl's Jr., Facebook)

Have you or someone you know been personally victimized by a Carl's Jr. commercial?

Reaction Time: The War On Drugs Is Literally Insane

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

The war on drugs hurts more than it helps (Facebook)

Six weeks in prison for eating SpaghettiOs? That's the American War on Drugs.

Reaction Time: Ridiculous, Reprehensible Recliner Rage

Comments (0) | airlines, Airplane, Columnists, columns, Delta airlines, emergency landing, Entitlement, FAA, flying, knee defender, millenials, nickel and dime, opinion, reaction time, recliner rage, travel, United Airlines

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

(Jacinta Quesada/Wikimedia Commons)

Because your needs obviously trump everyone else's.

Do Self-Defense Products Necessarily Contribute To Rape Culture?

Comments (2) | Alcohol, Columnists, date rape, Drugs, Education, men can stop rape, nail polish, opinion, prevention, rainn, rape, rape culture, reaction time, self defense, sexual assault, undercover colors, victim blaming

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

The burden of protection from sexual assault shouldn't be placed on victims. But it is.

Is Suicide Selfish Or Selfless?

Comments (3) | Actors, Depression, entertainment, henry rollins, LA Weekly, mental health, movies, musicians, Opinion, reaction time, Robin Williams, Rolling Stone, Selfishness, stigma, suicide

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

Suicide doesn't seem so selfish to those who see their very lives as a burden to others.

Lana Del Rey And Her (Superficial) Summertime Sadness

Comments (9) | addiction, aesthetic, Amy Winehouse, Born to Die, dark, Depression, fake, image, kurt cobain, Lana del Rey, Opinion, opinion, reaction time, romanticization, suicide, Summertime Sadness, the guardian, Ultraviolence

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

It's not cool to be depressed.

It's not cool to be depressed.

What Columbine, 'Slender Man' And Elliot Rodger Tell Us About Mental Health Stigma

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

We need to focus on mental health before it's too late.

Violence has a common denominator.

Reaction Time: Jonah Hill And The 'Other F-Word'

Comments (0) | 22 Jump Street, Alec Baldwin, Columnists, columnists, curses, etymology, gay, homosexuality, Human Rights Campaign, Jonah Hill, Language, LGBT, linguistics, love conquers hate, opinion, reaction time, slur, Tyler the Creator

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

Do words only have as much power as we give them?

Reaction Time: Keep Holocaust Denial Out Of The Curriculum

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

Students were asked to write an essay about whether or not the Holocaust happened - who thought this was a good idea? (Facebook)

It's more than anti-Semitism.

Reaction Time: Dirty Drug Enforcement

Comments (3) | autism, California, Columnists, columns, Drugs, lapd, LAUSD, Los Angeles, los angeles times, marijuana, narcotics, neon tommy, opinion, police, reaction time, riverside county, Special Needs, sting operations

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

Are the police of Riverside County so desperate to increase arrest statistics that they are targeting special-needs children? (C

Are Riverside County police so desperate to increase arrests as to target special-needs children?

Reaction Time: Girls Kissing Girls

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

A strange phenomenon seems to be striking millennials - the inclination for straight females to kiss other straight females for

Making out with a woman for attention is different from thinking you might be genuinely attracted to one.

Reaction Time: My Little Bullies

Comments (56) | backpack, Bronies, bullying, children, Columnists, columns, Education, grayson bruce, michael morones, My Little Pony, neon tommy, North Carolina, reaction time, response, schools, suicide, TV, violence

Ariana Aboulafia
Columnist

Grayson Bruce poses with his banned "My Little Pony" backpack (BileRico.com)

A school responds to bullying by punishing... the kid who was bullied?

'Service Dog? Yeah, Right'

Comments (41) | americans with disabilities act, disabled, handicapped, Los Angeles, los angeles times, neon tommy, Opinion, opinion, service animal, service dog, symbol

Ariana Aboulafia
Contributor

The LA Times recently reported on the increased problem of "fake service dogs" (PawsitivityServiceDogs)

I am constantly ridiculed for asking for accommodations for myself and my service animal.

Arizona's Equality Fail

Comments (0) | amendments, Arizona, bible, bill, Constitution, equality, free exercise, gay, gay pride, Laws, lesbian, LGBT, Opinion, politics, queer, Religion, religious freedom, Sin

Ariana Aboulafia
Contributor

Citing "religious freedom" as a reason to deny service to LGBT people is nothing but a cheap marketing ploy, turning discrimination into honor and bigots into martyrs.

In Defense Of Macklemore

Comments (0) | apology, Drake, gay, hip-hop, Identity, industry, Kendrick Lamar, LGBT, macklemore, Music, Opinion, queer, rap, Rights, rolling stone magazine, ryan lewis, Same Love

Ariana Aboulafia
Contributor

I am not straight. I am not a man. Yet I identify with Macklemore because I understand where his intentions lie.

Residential Re-Education: Not Everything Is About Race

Ariana Aboulafia
Contributor

DOliphant, Creative Commons

Who do our residential education programs insist on dividing us by race?