30 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(12/05/02 5:00am)
ONE YEAR ago today, I wrote a year-end column about how thankful I
was to be here as a transfer student when compared to the hellish experience of freshman year at this school called Carnegie Mellon, a university located approximately 35 miles west of the 7th circle of hell. Slowly, the Web link to the column was passed between hundreds if not thousands of CMU students and alumni. The response to the column basically reinforced my belief that many of the people at CMU are cold and uncaring introverts. Though most people called for my head on a stick, many friends at the University have been asking me to write another column about CMU. But what I needed to respond to was the frequent comment that I had no right to an opinion.
(11/21/02 5:00am)
MOST students would agree
that ISIS is something like the
bastard child of the McDonald's drive through window radio and an ATM machine, but complaining isn't getting students anywhere. The apparent total meltdown of the system Monday is the last straw for the outdated system. The University may have a budget crisis and money is tight, but education starts with course enrollment and a streamlined system is long overdue. Under the current circumstances, putting everybody into a room and letting them fight for placement is looking very tempting.
(11/14/02 5:00am)
THIS PAST Sunday, "60 Minutes" broadcast a segment
on the prevalence of cheating on American college campuses and the University had the dubious honor of being used as the example of student immorality. Using the headline story about the cheating scandal in Prof. Bloomfield's class in 2000, the show seemed to suggest that recent cheating scandals are indicative of a change in the morality of American youth. The segment's producers seemed to be searching for an appalling revelation with which to condemn the college students of today as unrepentant liars. Unfortunately, "60 Minutes" missed the boat, as so many others do, about the real problem plaguing higher education -- the commodification of the diploma and the need to do whatever it takes to reach one's goals.
(11/07/02 5:00am)
EVER SINCE the University was founded nearly 200 years ago its
storied traditions have prospered with each new generation, and one particular urban legend about secret societies merits attention. Of course, being "secret" means that people aren't supposed to know anything about them. The aura of mystery surrounding the urban legend of secret societies has always provided a potent story for students, but what if it's all much ado about nothing? The smoke and mirrors game of immature students in recent years needs to be exposed.
(11/01/02 5:00am)
Mandatory graded discussion sections must go. Although there are many wonderful, caring and intelligent TAs out there, the discussion section serves only as an unnecessary bridge to the small and focused classes of high school. There is no denying that many students find discussion section to be of great use to them and it never hurts the final grade to spend extra time covering a subject. But mandatory graded discussion sections take away valuable lecture time from professors, force students who may not need review to sit for a question and answer session, and put pressure on students to speak up and kiss up to the TA simply to increase their participation grade. For many students, mandatory discussion sections are simply a waste of time.
(10/24/02 4:00am)
IN AMERICA, one of the prices of freedom is registration of information. Our government has a right to know certain things about us if we are to receive and accept the incredible benefits it provides. In exchange for the unequivocal rights we receive, we are categorized and classified by means of registering the status of ourselves, our houses and our cars -- but not our guns. While gun licenses and registration are required, the newly perfected technique of ballistic fingerprinting that could serve as an additional tracking method is not. The gun control debates that have raged for years focus on banning assault rifles and enforcing waiting periods -- two reforms that might alleviate gun-related crime -- but ballistic fingerprinting could revolutionize law enforcement the way human fingerprinting has.
(10/17/02 4:00am)
THE SNIPER. That's been the only thing on the minds of residents
of D.C., Maryland and Virginia since the deadly spree began Oct. 2. Though none of the shootings has been anywhere within 50 miles of the University, everybody is concerned about safety in Charlottesville, traveling to Washington and even stopping for gas in between. Amid this reign of terror, stories of the "murderous tyrant," Saddam Hussein, have been pushed out of the headlines. If the elimination of Hussein's despotism is such a pressing concern, why can one sniper take our attention away? Quite simply, because Mr. Sniper actually presents a threat to American lives in the here and now, whereas Saddam Hussein's intent is far from clear.
(10/10/02 4:00am)
THE GREATEST aspect of being an American is the ability to alter
one's political and social decisions solely on the basis of the perceived benefit. The Republican Party changes its stance on election policy when it suits its best interests, but apparently it doesn't feel that Joeblo American in New Jersey has the same right. The issue concerns last week's announcement that New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Torricelli was dropping out of his reelection campaign five weeks before the election due to a fundraising scandal for which he was admonished by the Senate this summer. Republicans are now fighting to prevent Democrats from replacing Torricelli on the ballot.
(10/03/02 4:00am)
YOU KNOW what Cavalier football games have been missing lately? More cretinism and insolence, of course! When University students unite every Saturday for home games, there's something special in the air -- especially when students pick fights, get thrown out of the stadium by police, get drunk and tick off the people around them, and yell prejudiced comments. And the fact that it is all done while dressed up in shirts and ties and dresses makes it so much more honorable. Since it seems as if the administration has mandated that any student organization or event must have some cutesy play on the word "Wahoo," we can even call it "Cavalier Football Hooliganism."
(09/12/02 4:00am)
IF YOU haven't watched one bit of news, watched one documentary, listened to any programs, read any newspapers or searched Internet news sites during the past week, you're better off than most people. No matter the time of day or the medium you are examining, we are bombarded with reminders of how important September 11 supposedly is in American history. The media coverage was oversaturated last September, but now it has become exploitative as raw emotion is used as a tool to generate fear of a vague and small threat, as well as ratings.
(09/05/02 4:00am)
THE CITY of Charlottesville has decided to decrease parking in the area for non-residents (a.k.a. University students), but students are likely more confused than angry with the decision because anyone who has been at the University for more than five minutes knows that such parking is already non-existent. As talk of budget deficits, hiring freezes, cutbacks and decreased course offerings swirls through the University, a full-blown epidemic of cantparkmycorollaitis has stricken students living off-Grounds.
(08/29/02 4:00am)
JOHN ASHCROFT is the worst
(07/22/02 4:00am)
AS YOU enjoy your final summer before embarking on the incredible journey that is the University, you are deluged with mailings from the school, but only care about that one envelope ... your roommate assignment. The most palatial and sought-after room on Grounds can be meaningless if you and your roommate don't get along. My first-year roommate experience was actually at Carnegie Mellon University, a heinous place located approximately 40 miles west of the eighth circle of hell, so my experience is unique. But I do know how to deal with roommates that you don't want to live with, or eat with, or hang with, or see ... ever.
(07/11/02 4:00am)
IT IS INCREDIBLE what claims are being made in the name of freedom as the memory of Sept. 11 fades into the recesses of our minds. It was big news last week when a California appellate circuit judge ruled that the words, "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance serve as an unconstitutional promotion of religion. After a public outcry for the pledge, the judge held his ruling for further review. The problem is that as the ruling stands, the judge is right.
(04/18/02 4:00am)
YOUR LIFE is validated in America when your chewed gum makes headlines and sells for $10,000. For star baseball player Luis Gonzalez, the sad reality of what it means to be a celebrity in America finally was realized this week when a piece of gum he chewed was part of an auction and ensuing scandal. The existence of a market for chewed gum is nearly as frightening as the realization that the North American Man/Boy Love Association is a real organization. Americans don't want media coverage on issues, they just want to see celebrity byproducts. It is time that America examines and does something about its disturbing obsession with gum.
(04/11/02 4:00am)
IN A TERRIBLE tragedy, a six-day search for a dog left aboard a crippled ship in the Pacific Ocean has been called off - the tragedy being that the rescue operation cost an astounding $50,000. This very Enronesque operation is the latest in a string of stories that show the incredible lengths to which society goes to save its animals. The issue is that animals are increasingly being treated far better than American citizens themselves are. The legal system harshly punishes animal abusers, while movies and television shows depict crimes against children with far greater regularity than they depict animals getting hurt, and society in general is focusing more on animal rights than human rights.
(04/04/02 5:00am)
A RECENT decision by the Supreme Court means that there may be a way to rid the University of the person making the bomb threats - send him to California, where the "three strikes" law may be repealed. This plan is foolproof now that the Supreme Court has decided to examine the constitutionality of California's Proposition 184, which imposes harsh penalties on felony offenders for a third violent act. The Unabomber - or whatever stupid names this wannabe is being called by the University community - won't have to worry about pesky laws threatening to put him in prison for life for multiple offenses. Instead, he can enjoy a life of sunny weather, smog, Hollywood and petty, gutless, disruptive crime.
(03/21/02 5:00am)
AMERICAN patriotism has never been more apparent than in the past few weeks. According to a March 11 Newsweek article entitled "For 9-11 Families, More Money on the Way", the families of Sept. 11 victims have succeeded in holding the government accountable for the attacks to the tune of $1.6 million on average per family. Also, the New York couple who graciously contributed the Ground Zero flag to the city, a symbolic representation of American resilience which has traveled the nation, declared ownership of the flag. As American soldiers continue to die while fighting the war on terrorism, it
(02/28/02 5:00am)
PRESIDENT George W. Bush's recent rhetoric concerning the "axis of evil" may only provide definitive proof that choking on a pretzel and passing out has had a lasting effect on his judgment. Since his State of the Union address, Bush steadily has increased pressure on adding Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's removal to the list of imperative actions in the campaign against terror. However, Hussein has shown no initiative to attack the United States in recent years and there is no need to remove him at this time.
(02/21/02 5:00am)
MARK R. Warner has been in office for less than six weeks and University students already have deemed him the Antichrist. Amid a recession without an end in sight, shrinking budgets and the prospect of tuition hikes loom over all aspects of public higher education. When times are bad, people blame the man in charge and Warner has the dubious honor of being the top man in the Commonwealth during the recession. The truth is that he has come in after the budget shortfalls and economic problems of the previous administration. Tough times require tough decisions and the targeting of higher education for downsizing is an entirely reasonable action. Nobody at the University should feel the obligation to tell him what a great job he's doing, but he should not be criticized for budget cuts and tuition hikes when his detractors fail to propose practicable solutions.