Opinion

Opinion

JACKSON: Diversity means religion, too

By Lauren Jackson | March 18, 2015

Though founded on staunch secularism (Jefferson pointedly designed the Lawn with a library at the head, not a chapel) the regional influence of a predominantly Christian South has shaped matriculated students’ religious makeup since the University’s founding. While vibrant religious communities exist on Grounds, it is critical to note in what ways religious diversity at the University is lacking and what the University can do in terms of administrative facilitation to foster the inclusive atmosphere it aims to achieve.

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Opinion

SPINKS: A closer look at the IRC

By Ashley Spinks | March 18, 2015

It is presumptuous to assume that because a group of students is entirely “international,” they will necessarily have overlapping University experiences. International students, after all, come from nearly 150 different countries, and so the idea that they can all be adequately served with identical resources and living conditions is faulty. But in my experience, the IRC did not attempt to corral international students, literally or figuratively.

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Opinion

EVANS: Beware the resurgent religious right

By Will Evans | March 18, 2015

It may be rational for a fundamentalist Christian to outright condemn gay marriage so as to lead a morally consistent life, but such an attitude clearly wants for reason and should have zero sway on senate floor, or any floor for that matter. And yet, at present only seven Republican Congressman support gay marriage.

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Opinion

ZIFF: There is no Planet B

By Tamar Ziff | March 17, 2015

Framing climate change as a partisan issue creates unnecessary controversy over minimally substantive projects — such as an extension to Keystone XL — and makes environmental consciousness a political bellwether rather than a social imperative. Climate change is occurring: the Earth is experiencing universally rising temperatures, and human activity — namely, anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases — is the cause.

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Opinion

ALJASSAR: Living as Jefferson intended

By Nazar Aljassar | March 17, 2015

By and large, the average student will never in his four years at the University take a class with or speak to a faculty member living in a pavilion. The faculty members living in pavilions do not enrich the student experience nearly as much as they once did — so student spaces should replace faculty residences.

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Opinion

Regulating racism

By Managing Board | March 17, 2015

At Rochester, the need to locate students stemmed from racially motivated threats. As we wrote yesterday, racism — and other isms — is perpetuated by the existence of environments of inactive bystanders. Anonymous social media platforms demonstrate an area of student interaction where offensive posts are ubiquitous and users have no accountability.

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Opinion

​OLSON: A return to basic classroom etiquette

By Jake Olson | March 17, 2015

Whatever the cause may be, it is important that we reject this type of behavior as a social or educational norm. The University offers one of the most envied educations in the country and treating it with any less than the utmost respect certainly doesn’t send a positive message about how students value their time at the University. Fortunately, students have the most influence to ensure that this culture is not representative of the student body at the University.

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Opinion

​DOYLE: Quotas will not break the glass ceiling

By Bobby Doyle | March 17, 2015

Norway was the first country to impose gender quotas of 40 percent, all the way back in 2003. After 12 years any positive effects from quotas should start to show. However, it is very hard to see any change. Less than 6 percent of general managers in Norway are female and not a single CEO out of their 32 largest companies is female.

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Opinion

PATEL: Democratize public events

By Sawan Patel | March 17, 2015

Rather than the usual system, in which congressional members bring guests, a lottery would allow any American a chance to attend a public, political event. Such a change would promote the ideals of equality and political egalitarianism that have come under pressure recently as a result of the barrage of corporate and personal political spending.

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Opinion

​Combating racism on campus

By Managing Board | March 16, 2015

Since our University is no stranger to this type of racial scandal, these issues are just as relevant for us. At a party jointly thrown by the University chapters of Kappa Alpha and Zeta Psi in 2002, some guests came wearing blackface. We can readily point to the party-goers wearing blackface as racist in their actions — but why not also consider the fact that these two fraternities, by ostensibly failing to criticize these guests and failing to kick them out, contributed to an environment in which racist behavior was acceptable?

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Opinion

MINK: Jefferson deserves our praise

By Alex Mink | March 16, 2015

Where Adames goes wrong, however, is saying that praising “Jefferson as a person” suggests “appreciation for everything about the man, including his personality and practices.” Jefferson was flawed, to be sure, but his sins were the sins of his time, and did not belong to him alone.

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Opinion

​BROOM: Distinguishing pieces and increasing links

By Christopher Broom | March 16, 2015

Effective labeling is especially important in the digital space, where the lines between sections and types of pieces within sections are more easily blurred. In the current website design, sections are labeled in the navigation bar and in text at the top of each article. This seems reasonable for both the News and Opinion sections where the type of piece is then clear. In other sections, though, the readers are left to sort out for themselves whether they are reading an objective news report or an Opinion column.

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Opinion

​By the numbers

By Managing Board | March 6, 2015

Ahead of spring break, the Managing Board recounts some notable numbers from the start of the semester.

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Opinion

​HARRINGTON: Why endorsements don’t matter

By Elaine Harrington | March 6, 2015

The 2015 student elections results proved endorsements are insufficient for and unnecessary for winning.

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Opinion

​RUDGLEY: Looking back on “Examining Women’s Studies”

By Ben Rudgley | March 5, 2015

Not only was WGS not what I wrote it was, but it also proved to be a wellspring of expansive and insightful critical debate. Thanks to the class, I am now far better equipped to understand and deconstruct both forms of explicit patriarchal oppression and the subtler implicit biases that continually erode at the possibility of equal opportunity for women and minorities in all spheres of personal, work and civic life.

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Opinion

​Make the Lawn representative

By Managing Board | March 5, 2015

Students may be quick to criticize the Lawn selection system for the disproportionate representation of particular groups, or stigmas surrounding particular extracurriculars, or even the diversity of the applicant pool itself. But the homogeneity of Lawn residents, though impacted by many factors, is due to what we have made the space of the Lawn — an accolade for high-achieving students, a reward by which we can (imperfectly) measure individuals’ achievements, and not necessarily a space where our whole community can gather.

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Opinion

EDEL: Expanding our idea of spring break

By Brennan Edel | March 5, 2015

I realize Groves’ intention isn’t to solely promote the traditional spring break experience, but in effect his email is doing exactly that, with the side-effect of marginalizing alternative spring break options. Although it’s not the express job of the University administration to publicize alternative options — many of which are student-organized — and more their job to ensure student safety, they should match their coverage of ‘traditional spring break’ with a touch of other options.

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Opinion

CONNOLLY: Seeds of conservative hope

By John Connolly | March 5, 2015

Did CPAC actually provide answers to any of these questions? No, not remotely. But it does provide a useful lens into what looks to be an extremely entertaining primary season. More than that, perhaps the most important function of CPAC is to determine whether Republicans can achieve some measure of cohesion as they look to pick their nominee.

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Opinion

RUSSO: Why we need vigils

By Mary Russo | March 5, 2015

Vigils are not merely “gestures of solidarity.” Rather, vigils provide a space for individuals who are grieving to find emotional support in their community. When unimaginable tragedies, such as the disappearance and death of Hannah Graham, face our community, the only method of support that is available is support through our peers.

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Opinion

GORMAN: Define your own education

By Ryan Gorman | March 5, 2015

Thirst for knowledge is fading away from undergraduates, and as a result, higher education is losing its focus on exploring the depths of human intellect. College has become a stepping-stone, a four year itch on the backs of students with inherently misguided ambitions. The concept of attaining wealth in the professional world has protruded the sacred boundaries of our nation’s higher institutions, for as an undergraduate, if you sit back to smell the roses, you lose.