For all of the good that I know the panel achieved, I don’t believe that it is beyond reproach. The panel was not what I wanted it to be, and I realize that may be unimportant. I know it may seem condescending for me to suggest improvements to black student leaders’ protest and activism tactics, when I am so far removed from the struggles they face on a daily basis.
Driven by this desire to “win” in their committees, students engage in debates that are highly educational in nature, reinforcing information on complex world issues in a fashion that trumps traditional classroom assignments. An extensive evaluation of the Urban Debate League in New York City found that this style of learning through debate and problem solving has incredible perks for students across a variety of different personal characteristics, including academic performance, communication, creativity and self-concept.
There are a great number of examples of movements that failed because of a lack of effective organization. This is what I am afraid of happening for the problem of police brutality in America. If there is no effective organization in the form of lobbying groups to enact proposed policies, there can be no effective change.
Even with these shortcomings, the most reprehensible one in Sachs’ piece is her choice to deflect accusations made against Israel by pointing to the injustices and human rights violations committed by ISIS and Arab/Muslim governments in the region. By doing this, Sachs sets the bar pathetically low for the “beacon of democracy” she believes in. One moral failure by no means excuses another.
I completely support policemen and what they stand for, but I also know the job of the police, or in this case that of an ABC officer, is to resolve the given situation with the least amount of physical force required. Carrying an openly visible firearm does not accomplish this goal, and furthermore unnecessarily asserting physical dominance over someone only creates more fear in the public.
The issue is not just the stigma that exists on Grounds, but the stigma that afflicted students believe exists on Grounds. It is their perception of a stigma that decides whether or not they will be comfortable admitting to their problem and seeking help. So though it is absolutely necessary for events like the Mental Wellness Day to continue, the people suffering now need a more immediate solution that allows them to receive the care they need without having to face their fear of stigmatization.
The final reason the U.S. military base has not been disbanded as of yet is that it serves to project U.S. power overseas, protecting economic and political interests. Yet, is this base still a source of American power? The people of Okinawa want it gone, and it only seems to provide a steady stream of bad press.
Indeed, whatever risk there may be that sponsored content could damage the trust of readers in the independence and objectivity of the news and editorial writing, that risk is clearly outweighed by the certainty that losing financial independence and seeking money from the University itself would almost completely negate any possibility of readers believing that the paper remained objective where the University was concerned.
Whereas a local police force seeks to ensure safety, prevent crime, and maintain peace in a community, the ABC goal is to identify and punish alcohol law infractions. Thus, ABC special agents also behave differently than local police due to their different — and myopic — goal. These goals are frequently incompatible.
In “We’re here for Martese,” this Managing Board asserted its position the day after the incident that “Whatever details may surface, a member of our community was hurt. . . in a space where he is supposed to feel safe.” Yet such assertions are weak because details in events like this do matter; details about Martese’s behavior with the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control and the status of his ID are key in understanding what happened that night.
Just as the first ships headed west from Europe, there must be a first voyage to Mars. After all, exploration is innate in mankind, and we will eventually exhaust the Earth’s limited resources. Each of the journeys involves a long, treacherous road through a hostile environment. However, the circumstances are vastly different.
When something horrific happens, it is disappointing to hear law enforcement officials not only fail to fully acknowledge responsibility, but also generally be uninformed about what the law enforcement mechanisms in their own communities are. If the officers who arrested Martese were trained the same way Charlottesville police officers are trained, then every branch of law enforcement is equally implicated.
Even if the ABC is not an organization that directly perpetuates racial discrimination, it is clear that the organization provides its individual officers with the ability to do so on an arbitrary case-by-case basis. The fundamental flaw, then, with the ABC — and with all police forces in general — is that the power of its individual enforcers extends far beyond the scope of the power of the institution as a whole.
The fact is, Borland isn’t retiring so he can save a bit of intelligence; he’s retiring so he doesn’t end up depressed and suicidal, forgetting the names of his children and the details of his childhood. You can’t compensate somebody for that burden. Nor can you call it an injury. Injuries you can live with; CTE is a curse.
Americans support and enable the existence of drug cartels by constituting the largest consumption market for illegal drugs on the planet. The consequences of such American demand are clear and stark. Since 2006, over 100,000 have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico, including over 1,000 children.
Reality does not reflect this clean binary between “criminals” and the law-abiding; you are more likely to be harmed by someone you know, and whom you would probably not identify as a “criminal.” Sixty-two percent of Americans think having a gun in the home makes it safer, yet only about a third of Americans own guns. However, the United States still has the highest rate of civilian-owned guns in the world, which correlates to the most firearm related homicides among developed nations.
Apparently, students valuing the “return on investment” of their degree rather than the experience of earning it is also not a new trend, and in fact, has its roots in our parents’ generation. Much of the growth in the percentage of students who rate highly the importance of "being well off financially" occurred from 1966 to 1987, when it increased from around 42 to 74 percent.
Injustices associated with law enforcement affect all, but black Americans are by far the greatest victims. It would be dishonest to neglect differences in the way black and non-black bodies are treated by American institutions. The very fact that certain people are able to ignore racial disparities and declare that all lives matter demonstrates that not all lives matter the same.
Increased attendance at office hours would, furthermore, increase student understanding and ability with regard to course material. Some students feel so overwhelmed that they do not even know what questions to ask when they go to office hours. As a result, they do not even try to go. Simply showing up can force a dialogue where one’s weaknesses in certain concepts can be identified and very easily be rectified because the professor is right on hand to respond.
After all the pain the color line has inflicted upon the American psyche, many just want race not to matter. Increasingly, the idea of the “post-racial society” and the struggle to attain it have become mixed in with the ideals of the American dream, an ideal that imagines a utopia where race is left unacknowledged. Yet such an idea is misleading when racial distinctions are so ingrained in humanity’s history.
