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(09/17/15 4:15am)
In recent years, a new strain of learning has emerged in the ever-evolving sphere of American higher education: "trendy" courses, where the focus of the class material is centered on some prominent element of popular culture. These courses cover a wide range of topics, from “Politicizing Beyoncé” at Rutgers University to “Battling against Voldemort” at Swarthmore College to “Game of Thrones” at our very own University.
(09/10/15 4:00am)
“General welfare” wears many different hats in the sphere of American politics. Some use the term to justify reform in inner cities, while others use it to promote increases in funding toward the military budget. Some even use the term to profess their right to parade around the flag of a certain historical “confederation,” whose political foundation rested on one of the cruelest violations of human rights in world history. Yet, while these initiatives are all important in their own respect, there is one concept in American governmental policy that is almost universally perceived as a means of promoting the general welfare: public health.
(09/03/15 4:05am)
In principle, Federal Work-Study is a highly beneficial program for institutions of higher learning and students across the nation. The program’s initiative, according to the United States Department of Education, is to provide “needy” students with “funds for part-time employment. . . to finance the costs of postsecondary education.” In other words, the DOE subsidizes the wages for part-time, on-campus jobs so colleges and universities have an incentive to hire more student employees.
(08/27/15 4:10am)
Without a doubt, “socialism” is a taboo word among the American people. Its political connotation resonates from a time when paranoia and fear were so widespread in this nation that in one instance the American government resorted to placing hundreds of liberal Hollywood artists on a blacklist simply due to their alleged — and often unfounded — ties to the radical left. And, to make matters worse, many of these innocent citizens were legitimately tried in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee. To this day, socialism and radical leftism are often equated with qualities of being “un-American,” as pundits and politicians alike associate the term with sentiments of anti-capitalism and anti-freedom, a mere baby step to the right from the dreaded “communism.”
(04/23/15 4:13am)
Rapidly rising tuition rates at institutions of higher learning have become commonplace for modern American college students. In fact, according to the Institute of Education Sciences, tuition rates adjusted for inflation have risen a stunning 129 percent since 1982, while real median family income has only risen approximately 8 percent. Because of this inconceivably rapid inflation relative to the average citizen’s standard of living, student borrowing has more than doubled over the past two decades, with students taking on mortgage-level debt before most of them are even financially independent from their parents.
(04/09/15 4:10am)
Substantial controversy has been raised over Indiana’s recently passed Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which — in essence — openly allows businesses to discriminate against potential customers by citing their right to the “free exercise of religion.” This piece of legislation has caused serious uproar across the nation; pundits, celebrities and politicians alike have denounced the inhumane precedent the RFRA has established and called for its repeal. This law raises pertinent questions about the concept of liberty in the United States; specifically, do businesses truly have the claim to liberties imparted to the individual by the Constitution? At what point do an individual’s rights take precedence over those of a corporation?
(04/01/15 5:01am)
Last weekend, the University hosted the Virginia International Crisis Simulation, a Model United Nations conference that brought in college students from across the country in order to simulate an assortment of international dilemmas, both historical and contemporary. Students often question the purpose of Model UN, as from the outside it is frequently perceived as a “nerdy” game that does little other than allow students to discuss issues without making any real difference in the world. In fact, some critics even go so far as to label the entire construct of these simulations as entirely worthless. But is Model UN really as pointless as students on the outside perceive it to be?
(03/26/15 4:26am)
The student body at the University was rocked last week by the brutal arrest of Martese Johnson, an African-American student and a prominent leader in the University community. His arrest was the most recent occurrence in a series of instances of police brutality, all of which have contributed to placing the idea of institutional racism at the forefront of the American conversation. However, a question needs to be asked about this concept: is racial discrimination truly reinforced by our nation’s legal institutions, or is it caused by the biases of these organizations’ individual enforcers?
(03/19/15 6:05am)
The concept of the individual is dying in the United States. Politics shape nearly every aspect of human life, from the roads we drive on to the price we pay for every good we purchase, yet Congress somehow fails to satisfy the political yearnings of nearly 85 percent of the American population. Even during the most inefficient period in congressional history, budgets and codes and various reforms continue to be passed by our nation’s legislative body, but what is the true driving force behind public policy? Does Congress really have individual interests at heart when voting on legislation?
(03/05/15 5:01am)
STEM is perhaps one of the most pervasive acronyms for undergraduate college students across the nation, drilled into young students’ brains from the second they begin contemplating their plans for the future. The job market for undergraduate technology and science majors is red-hot, and the current social milieu in the nation practically hardwires young minds to gravitate toward these lucrative careers, regardless of what their real interests may be. But is a highly specialized education really as valuable as we think it is? Are liberal arts majors wasting their time by not harnessing their intellectual capital in the most “rewarding” career fields?
(02/26/15 5:03am)
Sexual assault has firmly grounded itself in the forefront of Virginia policy-making after the tragic murder of second-year College student Hannah Graham and the scathing remarks from the Rolling Stone article last semester. Currently, a mad scramble to pass preventative legislation has overtaken the Virginia General Assembly, with new ideas and new bills being churned out at a rapid pace. While many bills have passed both houses of the General Assembly with little contention, including mandatory reporting of sexual assault to a college’s Title IX Coordinator, one bill — for good reason — has not had quite the unanimous reception.
(02/19/15 5:03am)
Ideological backwardness is at an all-time high in the United States. Take a look at the Republican Party Platform of 2012, for example — a document designed to represent the core beliefs of 25 percent of the American population, yet is riddled with misleading, factual inaccuracies. Although Republicans are certainly not the only culprits in deceiving the general public, and they are only partially responsible for the record-low congressional approval rating, one of their core tenets in regard to university students is both fundamentally insulting and inherently false.
(02/13/15 8:22am)
The black rhinoceros is now a critically endangered species. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the once formidable prevalence of this mammal has been reduced to mere thousands in recent years, a result of vigorous poaching by money-hungry criminals in impoverished African nations. It is rarely a positive to allow a species to go extinct, but almost every citizen of certain sub-Saharan countries would think otherwise. A blessing and a curse to the continent, the endangerment of black rhinos not only signifies corruption in African governments, but also embodies the fundamental misconceptions resting in the typical civilian mind.