Opinion
Opinion
Republicans wimp out with the House budget for the sake of political games
Mar. 29, 2015Late last semester, I wrote a column for this paper titled “After sweeping the midterm elections, Republicans must prove themselves.” I am sad to report they have not lived up to their promises. Republicans now have control over both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and they have the ability to start passing legislation to heal America’s wounds that have only been getting worse over the past decade.
Opinion
Darts & Laurels: pop stars, duck hunters and FratPACs
Mar. 26, 2015In the news this week: pop stars, duck hunters and FratPACs — and, no, that’s not a new form of booze. Here’s your weekly Friday
Opinion
Smoking cigarettes is much harder than it looks
Mar. 26, 2015I picked up my first cigarette between my senior year of high school and my freshman year of college. Despite the fact my two best friends had already been smoking for a solid year at that point, I’d always hesitated. After all, it’d been drilled into my head pretty thoroughly that cigarettes provide zero benefits. They’re addictive. They’re expensive. They don’t provide the intoxicating effects of alcohol or other popular drugs of choice. And, of course, they exponentially increase one’s chances of contracting cancer. My first cigarette was a spur-of-the-moment “Why not?” decision, not one built on excitement or anticipation. I threw up immediately after finishing it.
Opinion
Menstruation isn’t gross or embarrassing — period
Mar. 26, 2015It’s unsettling to wake up to a red Rorschach test on your sheets. Why am I covered in blood? Who did I stab last night? Why do I want to cry and eat macaroni and cheese?
Opinion
Facebook hosting news may not be such a good idea
Mar. 25, 2015Facebook was perhaps the pioneer social networking site, surpassing early failures and moderate successes like Myspace. Today, though, it’s often seen as a congested social hellscape, overrun with posts from your pregnant high school classmates, vaguely racist rants and OMG this adorable little girl asked her brother where babies come from and YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.
Opinion
Ted Cruz’s campaign will sharpen up the GOP
Mar. 25, 2015On Monday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz announced his candidacy for president of the U.S. With the simple tweet “I’m running for President and I hope to earn your support!” the 2016 election season began. The checks will be written. There will be stump speeches. Babies will be kissed. Ronald Reagan will be invoked. Flag pins will be worn.
Opinion
Santa Fe Student Government needs your help
Mar. 24, 2015We’ve been devoting a lot of coverage to Ted Cruz, Iran, anti-homelessness ordinances and regressive legislation concerning who can use what bathroom. Today, let’s direct our attention locally to Santa Fe College.
Opinion
A woman’s place is on the money — literally
Mar. 24, 2015If you were to open your wallet right now and pull out a genuine U.S. bill printed within the last century, there is a 100 percent chance there will be a man’s portrait on it. To put this a different way: There is a 100 percent chance that there will not be a woman on it. The last time a woman’s portrait was printed on U.S. paper currency was in the late 1800s, when first lady Martha Washington, President George Washington’s wife, was on the 1886 and 1891 $1 silver certificate. It isn’t just paper currency where women have not been recognized, however. Only three women have been on U.S. coins: Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea on $1 coins and Helen Keller on the back of the 2003 Alabama quarter. There has always been a need to recognize more accomplished women, and now it might actually be addressed.
Opinion
Intentions behind #RaceTogether misguided
Mar. 24, 2015In the span of one short week, Starbucks rolled out and ended a campaign called “Race Together,” with a hashtag and sticker set to match. Starbucks allowed its partners to write “Race Together” on customers’ cups, hoping to generate dialogue. By the way, “partner” is just what Starbucks calls its employees as a gesture of goodwill and to show that employees are valued.
Opinion
Talking about death is an important part of life
Mar. 23, 2015If there’s one thing Americans don’t like talking about, it’s death.
Opinion
Race: What matters is identity, not categorization at birth
Mar. 23, 2015Ariana Miyamoto was born May 12, 1994, in Sasebo, Japan. She is a Japanese citizen. She speaks Japanese fluently. She spent her childhood years in Japan. She identifies as Japanese. Miyamoto’s beauty, talent and strong sense of patriotism enabled her to win the 2015 Miss Japan Pageant. With this victory, Miyamoto will represent Japan in the Miss Universe Pageant. Despite her qualifications and talent, Miyamoto has faced criticism, and people have questioned her ability to represent Japan.
Opinion
UVA frat’s exoneration does not invalidate sexual assault epidemic
Mar. 23, 2015Sexual assault on college campuses has become one of the defining issues of the mid-2010s. Discussion of the problem is widespread, and at this point it has become impossible to ignore. The president launched an initiative to combat it. Sen. Marco Rubio is sponsoring legislation against it. As a community, we were forced to deal with it during last year’s spree of yet-unsolved attacks against women.
Opinion
Public-humiliation trends a setback for modern society
Mar. 23, 2015The sixth annual TEDxUF conference was held Saturday, and it was a chance to see the awe of TED Talks come to life right here on our own campus. Unfortunately, I did not manage to land a ticket. But, inspired by the availability of an event on campus so similar to the innovative presentations I used to watch every week, I went searching for some good TED Talks to watch.
Opinion
Ted Cruz’s candidacy announcement signals start of 2016 presidential race
Mar. 22, 2015Fun fact: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, fiery lawmaker and the person who bears the closest living resemblance to the guy from “American Dad,” was born in Canada.
Opinion
Democrats voting no on Trafficking Act is a shameful, political charade
Mar. 22, 2015There comes a time in American history when a bill is introduced into Congress that has real bipartisan support and has such common-sense appeal that it would be idiotic for anyone to block it. To want to play politics with a bill of this nature would be asinine and would prove one’s ineptitude. Yet, this “well, duh, we are going to vote yes on it” bill is being obstructed by Senate Democrats, and no end is in sight for them to realize the senselessness of their stance against something that, I’m sure, 99.99 percent of the population supports.
Opinion
Trans bathroom bill comes from hatred, contempt
Mar. 22, 2015Tonight on campus, LGBT Affairs is hosting a vigil for the thousands of trans women who lose their lives to violent hatred annually.
Sports
Johnson's Journal: Georgia State's NCAA run ends, father and son walk off court together possibly for last time
By RICHARD JOHNSON | Mar. 21, 2015JACKSONVILLE — With 19 seconds left in 14-seeded Georgia State’s 75-67 loss to Xavier, a father subbed his son out of the game.
Opinion
Consent is not sexy, but it doesn’t need to be — it’s necessary
Mar. 19, 2015I invited someone over to my place a few weeks ago. I texted them early in the day to meet up later in the night, but by the time we were supposed to meet up, I wasn’t feeling it. I was tired, but I felt bad for backing out — I was the one who asked them to hook up and knew they would be disappointed. So, I kept my commitment and we met up.
Opinion
The world eagerly waits for Vladimir Putin to spit that fire
Mar. 19, 2015A specter is haunting Russia — the specter of gangsta rap. Over the course of his 16-year reign, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly affirmed his status as a disciple of hip-hop’s more aggressive permutation. This could be seen most recently from March 5 until this past Monday, when Putin was nowhere to be seen, spurring both media outlets and the world audience to work themselves into a tizzy over where he may have gone and why.
