OPINION No one is above the law, not even former President Trump

PELLITTIERI’S POLITICS

MATTHEW PELLITTIERI @m_pellittieri

Following weeks of anticipation, former President Donald Trump was arraigned April 4 in New York on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

In their Statement of facts, prosecutors argued that Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently” falsified records in an attempt to boost his chances in the 2016 presidential election by suppressing information about an alleged affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Along the way, he also allegedly broke election laws and committed tax fraud.

On the surface, the case seems fairly basic. It’s not like some of the other cases involving Trump. Those are about the subversion of democracy itself. This is simply about a person breaking the law. If prosecutors prove their case, a guilty man will be brought to justice. If they don’t, then an innocent man will be vindicated. Either way, the justice system is just going through its normal motions, just with an abnormally prominent defendant.

However, if you listen to many prominent Republicans, Trump’s legal situation is a travesty.

Trump ally and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said it was a “shocking and dangerous day for the rule of law in America.” Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri called it “beyond absurd.” Even anti-Trump moderate Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said the indictment “sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents.”

It should come as no surprise that most Republicans are defending Trump against the charges. After all, he’s still a major figure in the party and likely their next presidential nominee. What is somewhat surprising, though, is how they’ve chosen to defend their man.

They could stick to calling the charges weak or even baseless, but many go further and present the arrest as some sort of affront to the Constitution or a distortion of legal and political norms. Hawley even called it “an assault on the rule of law,” as if charging a prominent figure with a crime is some ghastly abomination that will pound away at the very foundations of the republic.

In reality, charging a politician with a crime is the very definition of the rule of law. Every person, no matter how popular or powerful they are, is accountable for their bad actions.

Lady Justice is blind. This concept is often held up in favor of defendants, but her impartiality is not always to the benefit of the accused.

Put in the context of the Trump case, any supposed, targeted prosecution is wrong but so is withheld, deserved prosecution. If Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has evidence to make a case against an alleged criminal, then he has the right and the imperative to do so. That criminal could be a mob moss, a petty thief or the former president of the United States; it doesn’t matter.

Trump’s legal troubles are evidence that the justice system is working – not that it’s about to fall apart.

It should encourage and fortify our shared trust in our institutions. Instead, some politicians are basically separating their base from those institutions through the mass exploitation of personal loyalty to the former president. They’re turning something that could be good for the country into something that is incredibly bad for it, and they’re doing it at a time when trust in the government is already low.

The stereotypical American diet is undeniably unhealthy and the cause of many health problems. As college students, we need to make the right eating choices today so that we won’t face health problems in the future.

Most people in the United States have an increased risk of chronic illness due to consuming too much sodium, saturated fat, and sugar, according to the CDC.

Heart disease, diabetes and cancer are some of the terrible consequences stemming from a bad diet. For example, a study by The American Diabetes Association indicates that there will likely be a 673% increase in type-2 diabetes cases in people 20-year-

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old and younger by 2060, if the trends observed from 2002 to 2017 continue.

These numbers should be a wake-up call to change our eating habits, but it can be especially hard for college students.

A typical breakfast can include more sugar than is recommended for a whole day. Cereal, doughnuts and even blueberry muffins are high in added sugar, as well as drinks from Starbucks.

Beachbody On Demand interactive recommends no more than 25-36 grams of added sugar be consumed daily, that number seems small compared to the 73.8 grams of sugar in a venti white chocolate mocha with whipped cream from Starbucks.

Protein, found in eggs, meat and cheese provide the nutrients needed to start the day, while fresh fruit and homemade juice are sweet and not as sugary. Of course, it takes longer to prepare breakfast at home than to stop by your favorite coffee shop, but the health outcomes can be drastically different.

Typical lunches and dinners are full of low-quality carbohydrates and high in saturated fats. Fried foods, processed meats, and canned foods can also pose risks to health. Caffeinated drinks, chips, and other snacks typically consumed throughout the day can be high in sodium, fats and harmful byproducts. While it’s important to develop healthy eating habits, obsessing over calorie intake can lead to stress and eating disorders. On top of that, making healthy choices is typically more expensive and can strain the budget. Unfortunately, most health insurances don’t cover nutritionist access, and sometimes the root of the problem is not resolved with medication.

As an international student

GRAPHIC BY MADDIE FITZMORRIS

from Peru, I’m used to a very different diet. Legumes, vegetable rice and meat stews are typical dishes, while snacks such as plantain chips and toasted corn are some of my favorites. In America, it can be more expensive and harder to find healthy eating options. Yet putting in the time and money is worth it.

Disregard of one’s diet can lead to health problems, and an increase in medication consumption as well. On a related note, the U.S. makes up 40.8% of the global market for the pharmaceutical industry in 2020, according to an article published by Zippia. And a CivicScience article says 70% of Americans take at least one prescription medication a day.

College students are responsible for food choices on our own; it can be hard to navigate through these choices. We usually know what’s best for us in the long term, it can seem hard or impossible to make those decisions based on the short term.

Becoming aware of what we’re consuming is the first step to achieving change. Prioritizing our health and food choices financially and in other aspects can be the next step. Demanding change in food production regulation or sugar taxes can be seen as possible solutions as well.

We can reject the typical American diet and start making smarter food choices to benefit our health. Our generation can avoid facing so many health problems in the future if we make the right choices today.

It won’t be easy, and that change won’t come overnight, we can regain control of what we eat and what we’ll become.

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