Amid a literacy crisis and shockingly low rates of young adults who’ve opened a book in the past year, Calli Taffel PZ ’30 writes that the best way to reverse that trend is to remove the stigma around reading bad books. Whether smutty fantasy or a predictable romcom, Taffel says you can still get the benefits of reading regardless of content.
Calli Taffel
OPINION: Memetic warfare — when comedy gets deadly
The Claremont Colleges were placed at the center of scrutiny as a conservative X account condemned jokes posted in light of the first anniversary of the death of Republican political pundit Charlie Kirk on Fizz. Calli Taffel SC ’30 argues that regardless of political substance or leaning, joking about severe political outcomes such as death and war can lead to desensitization and apathy, a consequence of memetic warfare.