47 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(04/26/11 5:29am)
WHEN SOMEONE tells me for the first time that he or she read one of my articles in the newspaper, I always have the same reaction. First, I get surprised that anyone reads anything on a physical newspaper other than the comics. Then, I find myself almost apologizing.
(04/19/11 5:23am)
CAN'T SOMEONE else do it?" For "The Simpsons" aficionados, this slogan conjures up the episode in which Homer ran for sanitation commissioner and sang a parody of "The Candy Man" called "The Garbage Man." In many episodes, Homer represents mankind's flaws. In this particular instance, for example, creator Matt Groening used Homer to demonstrate laziness and irresponsibility. Yet a sense of entitlement, rather than just laziness or irresponsibility, is what really underlies thoughts such as "Can't someone else do it?" With Earth Day approaching, we should make an effort to bypass our Homeric self-interests in favor of being more pro-social, even if it results in a reduction of individual liberties.
(04/05/11 5:43am)
"JERSEY Shore" is what is right with the United States. About 7.6 million viewers tuned in for the season three finale of MTV's big hit, double the number that watched an NCAA Tournament basketball game during the same time slot.
(03/15/11 4:54am)
IF AN ELECTED legislator were to claim college students lack life experience and act on emotion, there would not be much controversy. If said legislator were to impede on students' rights because of these two characteristics, however, then the situation would be murkier.
(03/01/11 5:46am)
NEXT WEEK, the University will be participating in the college event that has long inspired National Lampoon straight-to-DVD movies. Though spring break has been portrayed as an excuse to get intoxicated, some around the University are challenging this image. Alternative Spring Break was established in 1992 with the goal of providing students a gateway for an alcohol-free service week. The group's intentions mean well and can be very constructive, but its efforts are misdirected.
(02/15/11 5:00am)
THE BEGINNING of the spring semester is marked by a few memorable events. Rushing and pledging are two that are very common. Proponents will point to brotherhood and sisterhood. Critics find it hard to understand why anyone would pay for a group of friends. Yet hardly anyone questions the purpose of college itself, which fails to serve as much more than a paid social network. The main purpose of college is education, but this is rarely realized.
(02/08/11 5:47am)
EVERY year Americans celebrate the most sacred sports holiday ever broadcast on television: the Super Bowl. The championship game of the nation's most popular sport has evolved into a national social event. With the rise of advertising, the Super Bowl has become a spectacle for hard-core sports addicts, casual viewers and even non-fans who just want to watch the commercials. The first Sunday in February is not only when the two best football teams battle for a championship, but also when marketing agencies deliver their cream of the crop commercials. Every year has at least one commercial that crosses the thin line between edgy and controversial.
(02/01/11 3:46pm)
NOT SURPRISINGLY, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell was chosen as the commencement speaker for the Class of 2011. Traditionally, the newly elected governor is selected to speak the year he is elected, but outgoing University President John Casteen was given that honor in 2010. By almost all measures, the decision to have Governor McDonnell give the commencement address was the correct one. The goals for the decision-making process, however, should be reevaluated for future graduations.
(01/25/11 7:17am)
Nature versus nurture.
(01/19/11 5:42am)
No matter how hard we may try, some things are simply not preventable. We can take supplements and frequently wash our hands and still get sick. Likewise, mass murders tend to make their way into news headlines all too frequently.
(12/02/10 6:31am)
Black Friday. Cyber Monday. The numbers are still coming in for Cyber Monday, but early returns have already deemed Black Friday an economic success. The National Retail Federation reported that average spending increased by more than $20 a person this Thanksgiving weekend compared last year's numbers. This increase may be a sign of a recovering economy, but may also suggest that consumers are falling into the same traps that caused the recent economic crisis.
(11/18/10 6:33am)
Sometimes it is about race. The topic is impossible to cover in a column that is less than half a page, so some legitimate points will be omitted due to length restrictions. With that said, recent attitudes have stigmatized the discussion of race in current events. Likewise, racial commentary has been unfairly reduced to merely "playing the race card."
(11/11/10 7:00am)
Regardless of your political allegiances, last Wednesday was a relief. The Tom Perriello and Robert Hurt ads stopped dominating the airwaves; Larry Sabato brought more recognition to the University and lawns and front yards had grass again rather than political signs. Most important, pro-voting messages and incessant lectures finally ceased. The intention behind this bi-annual pro-voting movement is well-intentioned, but in actuality causes more harm than good.
(11/02/10 5:00am)
The clock had struck midnight two Saturdays ago,\nbut the Cinderella story was just beginning. At one end of the octagon stood a more athletic man two inches taller, twenty pounds heavier and with a four-inch reach advantage over his opponent. The man, former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Brock Lesnar, was the 2000 NCAA wrestling champion. His opponent, Cain Velasquez, was only a junior college national champion. Lesnar held the Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight title and Velasquez was the challenger. On paper, Lesnar was by far the favorite. That all changed about two minutes into the fight when Velasquez took control and never let up. As the first Mexican-American heavyweight champion in combat sports history, the underdog embodies the new American spirit.
(10/15/10 5:24am)
Jon Stewart wants to change the way Americans discuss politics. Unlike those on the far right and far left of the political spectrum, Stewart hopes to foster intelligent discourse among the middle rather than using tactics like fear-mongering.
(09/30/10 5:52am)
The Board of Visitors recently approved a $22.9 million plan to renovate the roof and columns of the Rotunda. To put that into perspective, that amount of money is equivalent to more 2,000 in-state student tuitions - or about half of a class - for this academic year. Maybe we are all jaded at the thought of millions of dollars being poured into an unconvincing project, but that is not what worries me most about this announcement. What concerns me is that for an institution that places such emphasis on character, thought and integrity, the University has repeatedly dropped the ball on carrying out these virtues. The Rotunda renovation is the latest example of how glitter is encouraged over substance.
(09/23/10 5:57am)
President Teresa A. Sullivan has invited members of the University and its community to participate in the Day of Dialogue Sept. 24. As President Sullivan states in her mass e-mail, the event "is meant to be the genesis of a dialogue that continues throughout the semester and beyond. It is not intended to be a day for solutions but for questions that will keep us talking. Solutions will come later." This goal of Day of Dialogue is the correct approach on the path to solving problems of violence and bias in our community, but if not done carefully, it could actually hurt progress. We need to downplay the role of administrative policies in violence prevention and increase the role of what we as individuals can do to ensure our own safety.
(09/09/10 6:04am)
Mark Sisson, the author of "The Primal Blueprint," captured my attention with his unconventional thinking. His book rose to the top of Amazon's bestsellers list partly because like-minded people promoted him on their websites. He, along with other Paleo-dieters, have helped flip the world of nutrition upside-down. Sisson advocates high-fat and low-carb diets because he claims that since the Agricultural Revolution roughly 10,000 years ago, humans have not evolved to the point of being able to healthfully consume massive amounts of carbohydrates. The strange thing about Sisson is that he advocates eating mostly fats in order to lose weight. Saturated and unsaturated fats, (not trans or hydrogenated, of course) and cholesterol are recommended in much higher doses than what government agencies would suggest.
(09/02/10 5:21am)
He stole the spotlight during this slow summer news season. You can read dozens of articles criticizing the speakers, estimating the true attendance numbers, and commenting on the racial undertones of the setting. More important, the content of Glenn Beck's attempt at "Restoring Honor" failed to fulfill the rally's central goal of furthering civil rights.
(04/27/10 6:03am)
The path to hell is paved with good intentions.