AMP
The Official Student Opinion and Satire Magazine of UTD

Opinion
Print Issues
What We Can Learn From the Mario Movie
Films have always been subject to criticism — both good and bad. With how fast information is spread and shared through the internet today, leaks and previews of films are easily accessible, which is then subject to judgment on social media. Whether it be the rumors of an emoji or Tetris movie being in development, […]

Opinion
Print Issues
Don’t Abolish UTD Diversity
Dedication: While writing this, the Director of the Multicultural Center, Bruce August Jr., passed away. He was a mentor for several students, no matter their background, allowing for a special connection that for many would last years. Bruce had given so much of himself to UTD and helped support various organizations; his positive influence will […]

Opinion
Print Issues
The Blooming Effect: Springtime and Femininity
Why does Springtime have such a feminized connotation to it? Does the season of the year with spring and flowers implicate a girly scene? Well yes, but its history with today’s state of the world ties all those associations and emotions together, with a little twist. As the temperature gradually rises, the birds start singing […]

Opinion
Print Issues
Stick Up For Stuffies
Some nights are easier to deal with than others. However, on those restless nights when I cannot sleep at all, thinking about every problem in the world, I reach over to grab my stuffed animals. Yes, I am a twenty-one-year-old person and still sleep with stuffed animals. I have my childhood stuffed dog who is […]

Opinion
Print Issues
Finding Trans Representation in Trigun Stampede
Finding Trans Representation in Trigun Stampede Trans representation can be pretty hard to find, even in the modern era. A lot of it has historically been either caricatured or outright bigoted, as seen in movies like “Dressed to Kill” or “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” which treat trans people as both a threat and a punchline. […]

Opinion
Print Issues
The Problem With BookTok
A wave of nostalgia pours over me as I pore over the pages of my copy of the Three Musketeers by renowned French novelist Alexandre Dumas. The copy is ripped in several places, the cover is creased, there are several crinkles and dog-eared pages within, but it holds immense sentimental value to me. On the […]

Opinion
Print Issues
The Mystery Meat of Man-Eating Media
There’s a girl at the bar, and she’s looking at you. You didn’t expect this, didn’t come out looking for action, but she’s looking at you — a predatory, calculated look accented by the long, well-manicured hands that tap a staccato rhythm on the bartop. She smiles when you meet her eyes, so you smile […]

Opinion
Print Issues
An Ode to “The Owl House”
The Disney cartoon “The Owl House” is reaching its end. It’s a sad reality for those of us who have never felt more seen by a piece of queer media. The main character Luz lured the audience in with a premise that is all too tempting to anyone who ever felt isolated, alone, or misplaced. […]

Cover Stories
Opinion
Print Issues
Creator or Computer? The Ethics of AI Art
If there’s a hot button topic that you’ve heard about recently, there’s a decent chance that artificial intelligence, or AI, has been part of the discussion. There are many ways to define artificial intelligence, but in simple terms, it’s broadly considered “a field which combines computer science and robust datasets to enable problem-solving,” according to […]

Cover Stories
Opinion
Print Issues
Divest From Death
UTD profits off of war, destruction, and death. Here’s how. Our university, like all American universities, has an endowment fund which is a pool of money that it collects from donations. These donations are critical to an institution’s ability to make profits, which it needs to be able to invest in academic research, university infrastructure, […]

Opinion
Print Issues
The Community-Driven Baseball Horror Sim That Made Me Trans
“Blaseball” is a community-driven baseball horror simulation video game that made me trans — sort of. A more accurate description of my interactions with said game would be that “Blaseball” played a pivotal, but not exclusive, role in me realizing I was and am a transgender woman. I am not even remotely the first nor […]

Opinion
Print Issues
The Unifying Power of Hateable People
It’s 11:47 p.m. You have two quizzes, a discussion board, and a paper due at midnight. You should be finishing them like a normal, responsible human being. Instead, you and seven other people sit huddled around a game of Mario Party 8, like geniuses. All is fun and joyous, except for one critical detail: one […]