Yes — the day we have all feared is fast approaching. With health issues including two cancerous nodules recently removed from her lungs and broken ribs, it seems as if the day Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg must step down is coming quicker than we had hoped. Imagining the court without the "Notorious RBG" requires a dynamic analysis.

As a first-year student at the University of Michigan this past semester, I could see that tolerance was a big topic at the University. Incoming students received notices to attend tolerance-focused workshops, heard from their resident advisers about the importance of honoring differences and, in many ways, were made aware that mutual respect at U-M was vital. “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” seemed not only to be a University office, but also a mantra on campus.

The coming year stands to be a watershed for the raging debate over guns and gun violence in this country.

The most basic problem with thinking about candidates in terms of likability is that it prioritizes charisma over a candidate’s policies, temperament, experience, values and vision for the country. It creates a horse race version of politics in which everyone becomes a pundit choosing candidates based on who they think other people will like instead of based on who inspires them or presents the most thoughtful policy platforms. More importantly, likability is deeply gendered and racialized.