Abby Foster, Writer

I was sad to learn that the powers that be over at Comedy Central cancelled The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. And not only because I enjoyed the show. I will go out on a limb here and shamelessly admit that at some point over the two-year run of the Nightly Show, I developed a huge crush on the host. Smart and funny are always sexy to me, but when you throw in a Social Conscious, well then, I turn to butter. So, yes, I miss Larry. It has been a week, and already I miss gazing nightly into his friendly eyes through my television screen and his thick black glasses.  I miss his laugh - that infectious little chuckle. And, in all seriousness, I miss the message of the show. I'm not the only one missing out here. America just lost an important voice in our conversation about social justice. Obviously, Larry and his Nightly panel gave voice to black Americans. But they didn't stop there. Larry and his crew spoke up for Latino/as, for the LGBTQ community, for the poor and for w...

It is that time of year again. The time of year when college campuses across our nation, come alive with nervous newbies excited, yet terrified about what lies ahead. Are those movies depicting college life real? Are professors scary? Will I make any friends here? If you are sending someone away to college for the first time this fall, here are few things I recommend they do to make the most of their college experience. These hacks are not only based on my personal experience as a student but on over fifteen years as a college student services professional. A fun job if you can get it! College can be an epic experience. Unfortunately, only about half of the people who start college will earn a degree. Researchers who look into how and why students stick around have found that the students who get involved on their college campuses in some way are more likely to finish their college degrees. So here are some hacks to getting involved and sticking around long enough to finish co...

Today is election day and for the first time in my voting career, I just cast my ballot for a woman for President! In honor of this historic day, here's a little piece I wrote a few months back.  This  summer  Hillary  Rodham  Clinton accepted the Democratic party’s nomination for President of the United States. While anyone with access to a  newspaper, television or  a ny  other type  of media saw this coming months ago, the day this announcement was made caused quite a stir ring of emotions   among my feminist friends. Rightfully so, this is a huge accomplishment for women.  One f riend  commented   on social media  that  any  feminist who cares about politics should  " have tears in their eyes at this moment " .    I h ad  to confess that I did not.    I have nothing against Hillary Clinton. Nothing against feminism. In fact, quite the contrary.    ...

‘Bad Moms’ is billed by its marketing team as a “hilarious new comedy”. Not one to easily fall prey to marketing hyperbole, I was skeptical, but anxious to see this light summer movie nonetheless. I expected it to be a nice break from the delta summer heat and thought it might be good for a few chuckles. I was delightfully surprised. ‘Bad Moms’ is a good movie with heart. It gives audiences more than cheap laughs and a contrite message about motherhood. Sprinkled in amidst the drinking, and lewd “un-mom” like behavior this movie packed some powerful messages. Messages about more than motherhood. This movie is a cinematic statement on what it means to “succeed” in our society. What it means to be a good mom, a good student, a good employee, a good person. It makes us take a second look at the ideal suburban, soccer mom with over-scheduled kids. It makes us think about our schools and what it is we want our kids to get out of them. Is it enough that they be able to ace a standardize...