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(09/26/13 3:44am)
The University Bookstore recently held an event at which English Prof. Mark Edmundson talked about his new book, Why Teach?, in which he analyzes the purpose of higher education and advocated strengthening humanities disciplines at universities. At the event, Edmundson discussed a wide range of topics and eventually talked about funding for academic programs. He called for a re-examination of our priorities as a school and argued that if teacher salaries and entire departments were on the table in a budgetary crisis, then athletics funding — specifically football money — should be as well.
(09/19/13 2:54am)
University President Teresa Sullivan recently announced the formation of a commission to investigate the connections between the University and slavery. Her choice to do so is intriguing given there was no significant pressure for Sullivan to shine such a potentially negative spotlight on our school’s history. Not many institutions want to recall the fact their successes can to a significant degree be credited to advantages derived from slavery. But in doing so, Sullivan is demonstrating courage in confronting an issue that schools, states and other institutions all too often choose to ignore. Hopefully her action will start a trend among American universities, especially Southern ones, to be honest with themselves about the role slavery had in their formation and success.
(09/12/13 2:36am)
President Barack Obama has had a difficult year. With the NSA scandals, sliding approval ratings and a chaotic international scene, the White House has scored few victories and weathered many embarrassing moments. The most recent headache to confront Obama is the situation in Syria, which continues to deteriorate and create complex international political situations. Polls show that Obama’s approval rating on this issue has been steadily dropping as he pushes for intervention, which many see as another political blunder. But I would argue that Obama’s handling of the Syria issue has been his most politically effective campaign in years.
(09/05/13 2:40am)
Recently, a national “divestment” movement has begun to sweep through American colleges and universities. The movement asks that schools divest their endowments from fossil fuel companies in a symbolic and monetary stand against energy sources that damage the environment and fund radical regimes. In response, a group of pro-oil energy philosophers, scientists and others led by Alex Epstein published an open letter to American universities asking them to reject this movement as a recognition of the good fossil fuels have done and are doing for this country. Epstein claims fossil fuels have led to the dramatic improvements in quality of life seen in the last half-century and actually are good for the environment long-term, and that debate about the merits of fossil fuels has been repressed.
(08/29/13 1:08am)
Anyone who was on Grounds last year remembers the drama surrounding the Honor Committee’s “Restore the Ideal” proposal. For those who weren’t, it all started when the Committee decided to take action to combat issues facing the honor system at the University.
(04/25/13 2:00am)
Last week’s tragedy in Boston has forced the country — politicians, journalists and civilians — to re-evaluate many of its approaches to domestic terrorism. Ever since his capture, the question of how to approach bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s trial has been met with controversy. After speculation surrounding whether or not Tsarnaev was properly Mirandized after his arrest subsided and the White House announced he would be tried as a civilian and not an enemy combatant, numerous members of the Republican Party spoke out against the decision. While the label of enemy combatant would not allow Tsarnaev to be tried in a military commission, it would allow for more intense interrogation techniques to gather intelligence. These demands for the removal of the suspect’s basic rights guaranteed by our justice system are not only immoral and illegal but also demonstrate a remarkably short memory for the failures of similar techniques used in the last decade.
(04/18/13 12:10am)
The Supreme Court has been in the news a lot recently after hearing high-profile gay-marriage cases. But a little-noticed case that comes before the high court in the next week carries huge ramifications for medical research.
(04/11/13 1:17am)
Recently, much controversy has surrounded the University’s termination of pledging activities for Greek organizations. In response to several alleged incidents of improper conduct, fraternities were asked to initiate their pledges within a few days while several houses were put under investigation. I don’t want to get into too many specifics, as I am uninvolved with Greek life and know relatively little about the organizations in question. I am, however, appreciative of the benefits both fraternities and sororities at the University bring to the student body. It is because of this appreciation that I am concerned about how the recent incidents were handled.
(04/03/13 11:28pm)
Dysfunction and gridlock have become Congress’s identifying traits in the past decade. The results have been ineffective or non-existent legislation on issues such as gun control, the budget and the debt. The problem is clearly ideological deadlock. In the case of gun control, for example, 90 percent of the American people supported background checks for gun purchases, yet the issue is still a source of major contention.
(03/27/13 11:41pm)
The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday and Wednesday on two laws concerning gay marriage. The first was California’s Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state, and the second was the Defense of Marriage Act, which limits federal benefits of marriages to heterosexual couples. The court’s decisions, which will likely be released in June, have the potential to either completely overturn all laws banning gay marriage, to strike down only one or both of the laws at issue or to leave both laws intact and the decision about gay marriage up to the states.
(03/21/13 12:18am)
In the aftermath of Rector Helen Dragas’ attempted ouster of University President Teresa Sullivan last summer, one of the biggest questions University community members raised was whether or not the two would be able to work together effectively after Sullivan’s reinstatement. Some thought the animosity created by their conflict would impede Dragas’ and Sullivan’s professional relationship, but both leaders expressed optimism that they could reform a strong partnership.
(03/07/13 12:07am)
The Board of Visitors recently approved updated enrollment projections through the year 2020. The plan is for the undergraduate student body to increase by about 1300 students while maintaining the current in-state to out-of-state ratio. These planned changes have created some controversy among those who feel that increasing enrollment will damage the on-Grounds environment and overly increase class sizes, but for the most part the changes are seen as necessary to increase tuition revenue and keep pace with state higher-education goals. Though the administration has done a good job of anticipating potential issues with the change and taking action to address them, there is one area that has not been fully addressed and needs to be — upper-class housing.
(02/21/13 3:16am)
As the coming University elections have drawn closer, the Honor Committee’s Restore the Ideal Act has been widely discussed. Numerous editorials both condemning and praising the act have been published, Facebook groups have formed and campaigns have started. The debate has tapped into dormant passion and opinion about honor issues from within the student body. I do not expect the reform to pass, but I think the debate it has inspired is crucial. I have been an outspoken critic of the act, but I also believe the issues it was intended to fix need to be addressed. The honor system as we know it may be changed, without our consent, by the University administration if we don’t. The problems with the consistency and justice of the system cannot remain.
(02/07/13 5:11am)
As President Barack Obama has begun his second term, he has been working toward reforming his cabinet after several first-term members have stepped down. Some candidates he’s tapped, such as John Kerry for secretary of state, have had relatively smooth confirmation proceedings. Others have not. Notable among the latter group is Chuck Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska who has been nominated for secretary of defense. Though at first glance Hagel would seem like a good pick for both parties, he has faced significant criticism from the right throughout his confirmation. Republicans point to controversial positions he has held in the past on Iran, Iraq, Israel, nuclear disarmament and more as proof Hagel is a poor choice for the job. He did not help himself by appearing lifeless in his confirmation hearing. Nevertheless, Hagel is the best pick Obama has made so far for his new cabinet.
(01/31/13 3:42am)
THE BOY Scouts of America are an iconic organization. For generations, young men have learned about leadership, the outdoors and public service by spending their time with the Scouts. But the BSA has recently been embroiled in a series of controversies stemming from its ban on gay scouts. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the organization’s right to ban openly gay boys and men from membership as scouts or leaders. Facing increased resistance to this policy, the Boy Scouts of America launched a two-year internal review that ended about six months ago. Despite the length of the process and ever-increasing public support for LGBT rights, the Scouts decided to risk negative press and continue their ban. The issue has recently gained more attention, thanks to cases of former scouts such as Ryan Andresen, who was denied certification as an Eagle Scout because of his sexual orientation. Ryan’s petition on change.org has gained almost 500,000 signatures.
(01/24/13 2:09am)
Throughout the fall semester, there was a spirited debate on the proposed changes to the honor system at the University, which were approved by the Honor Committee and are now dependent on a student vote. Two reforms, informed retraction and jury reform, were presented as a joint plan to combat growing concerns about the effectiveness of the Committee. Informed retraction would allow a student accused of an honor offense to take a one year suspension rather than go to trial, while the jury reform would alter the composition of the trial juries from randomly selected students to elected honor representatives.
(01/17/13 3:49am)
In the aftermath of the fiscal cliff deal, Democrats had a lot to celebrate. They had successfully raised taxes on the wealthiest Americans, even if they had to compromise on how many. This was an important part of President Obama’s plan to reduce the deficit, and one of the main ideological sticking points between the two parties. But they now have to face another showdown about spending reductions — one where the major entitlements will be under significant scrutiny. Most leading thinkers on the left want to take advantage of the growing schism in the Republican party between the new hard-line Tea-Party wing and the more moderate establishment to avoid any substantial cuts to Medicare or Social Security. They believe cuts to defense can suffice and allow entitlements to remain unchanged. This strategy seems relatively sound in the current political climate, and if successful would be another major partisan victory. It would also be an enormous mistake.
(12/06/12 4:40am)
Ashley Spinks’s Dec. 2 column, “A more liberal education,” argues that the general education
requirements here at the University are misguided and unnecessary. The crux of her argument is that these requirements restrict students from fully exploring their own interests outside or in support of their major, that they are overly subjective in their content and often unnecessary and finally that they indicate a lack of trust in students to act like adults and choose their own classes. In many ways I agree — in my college search a heavy load of core classes was off-putting. But I do not think that the idea of general education is a bad thing either, especially in a moderate form. I believe in the basic philosophy embodied by general requirements and a liberal arts education: that all fields of study, regardless of major, profession or interests, will be useful and worthwhile later in life.
(11/29/12 2:50am)
In the aftermath of election day a few weeks ago, my primary worry about the results was that the Republican majority in the House and the Democrats in the Senate and the White House would be unwilling and unable to compromise. I thought the Democrats might see the reelection of President Obama as a sign they don’t need to listen to Republicans, and that the GOP would react to their defeat by digging in and sabotaging any efforts at bipartisan action. While I hoped progress could be made on issues such as women’s health, gay marriage and immigration reform, my most immediate concern was with the enormous threat of the fiscal cliff. If either party was unwilling to compromise the consequences would be devastating. I was most worried about the Tea Party element of the Republicans, who almost derailed the debt-ceiling talks just over a year ago. I doubted they would be willing to discuss an increase in government revenue in negotiations, which would have made a deal almost impossible to reach.
(11/15/12 2:19am)
In a column published earlier this week (“Trampled weeds,” Nov. 12) the author spoke strongly against the legalization of marijuana and was critical of the votes in both Colorado and Washington that did legalize it on the state level. The author makes some strong points, but I also think she is overlooking some of the arguments of her opposition. I would like to respond and attempt to address some of her concerns.