Welcome to the Zeitgeist, the NYU Politics Society’s undergraduate opinion publication dedicated to providing a platform for students to learn about and engage with politics and current events.

How Singapore Treats Its Viruses

Photo courtesy of Skynews          Singapore, in both its close geographical ties and political ties to China, is in an especially precarious position when it comes to the new deadly…

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The Young Don’t Vote and Bernie Won’t Change That

Photo courtesy of The New Yorker. With New Hampshire now behind us, the Democratic primary field seems to have narrowed down significantly. Septuagenarians Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden, have wasted…

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The Battle Hymn of the Oligarch

Image courtesy of Tom Gralish/Philadelphia Inquirer. The apocalypse had arrived. The New Hampshire Democratic primary was close, and the Iowa caucus an abject disaster. Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight ominously forecasted that…

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John Delaney’s “Pragmatic Idealism”

Nearly one month from the Iowa caucus, thirteen Democrats have dropped out of the presidential race--mayors, governors, and U.S. Senators among them. There are still fifteen (!) left, including the first prominent Democrat to announce their candidacy: former Congressman John Delaney of Maryland. As of this writing, Delaney has struggled to break ground in the polls, but he has recently redoubled his efforts in Iowa in the hopes that his brand of “pragmatic idealism” will eventually catch fire. In The Zeitgeist recently sat down with Delaney to talk national service, infrastructure, foreign policy--and that box jump video.

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Vaping is a More Effective Smoke Reduction Tool Than Government Policies

Middle schoolers, high schoolers, and university students have increased their use of e-cigarettes, despite rising public concern. While underage nicotine consumption and smoking-related lung disease deaths are a real problem, legal vaping products and accurate consumer information can combat instead of worsen these effects. We should welcome the presence of alternatives to tobacco, and endorse safe, and legal options.

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Decriminalize, Destigmatize, and Rehabilitate

The American criminal justice system can and should be reformed in a multitude of ways, but one major change that needs to be made concerns the drug policies that disproportionately impact people of color and people living in low-income communities.

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Opinion Polls and Manufactured Popularity

One day prior to the November 20 Democratic debate, The Hill released an article titled “Buttigieg surges to ten-point lead in New Hampshire: poll.” Two days later, another article by The Hill stated that a poll showed Buttigieg held a seven-point lead in Iowa. Upon closer examination, however, the samples of the two polls cast considerable doubt on their reliability and statistical significance.

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