American Studies major Bailey Cichon penned op-eds for The Gazette over the summer.

The Issue with Commodifying Witchcraft - this piece was based on independent research done for Prof. Laura Rigal's class American Gothic: Film, Lit and Pop Culture. While Prof. Rigal's class was deeply based in literature, poetry, and contemporary media representations of horror and abjection, Cichon wanted to look into the rise of witchcraft on TikTok. She wrote a paper called "Witches for Justice: How WitchTok and US Politics and Social Issues Collided". She wrote the op-ed to extend her research.

She also wrote this general op-ed in response to Iowa (and other states') call to ban teaching CRT. It was based on conversations she had in a variety of classes over the years--Understanding American Culture (with James Oudenhoven), Introduction to American Studies and Diversity in American Culture (Dr. Mathew Swiatlowski), Money, Capital and Culture (Dr. Eric Vázquez) and History of The Midwest (Dr. Stephen Warren). 

Cichon will graduate in December 2021 with BAs in Journalism & Mass Communication and American Studies. While Cichon's career has taken a more video production-centric route, she hopes to use her career to continue drawing attention to cultural and social issues.