Resurrecting political civility
Politics. It’s a word that conjures up images of people yelling, the colors red and blue, and the ever present elephant and donkey. But like it or not, debating is the name of the game and there’s really no way to skirt around it. Luckily, in America we have been granted the privilege of free speech and we are at liberty to express our opinions. This is a fantastic thing – may we never take it for granted.
October 14, 2008
Alone on Parent Weekend
I knew why my parents couldn’t make it this past weekend. I’m from Florida, and the logistics of spending the weekend and the plane ticket money for another trip across the country weren’t in our favor. It just didn’t make sense — I gave my mom a tour of the campus during orientation, and I talk to my parents on the phone every week. They know what’s going on in my life, and that I’ve adjusted all right.
October 14, 2008
A touching problem
Contact. What does it mean, anyway? It’s a sports term, a way to fix vision, and a totally foreign concept to most Americans. With phones, computers, and video games, one wonders whether direct human contact will eventually disappear completely. To quote the near-prophetic line from “The Emperor’s New Groove”: “No touchey!”
October 14, 2008
Supporting Russell Crowe for President
We have an election coming up and we need to decide who the best candidate for the job is. Some might say it’s Barack Obama, some might say it’s John McCain, some might look at one of the vice president candidates and say, “Hey, that’s actually a woman.” I don’t know. I’m not a doctor. But to be brutally honest with you, I don’t really like any of them. In fact, if they were both in my apartment right now I’d be scared about how they got there and tell them both to wipe their feet because I don’t own a vacuum.
October 14, 2008
Remembering to “take it to the Lord”
I don’t know about you, but when I was in junior high, one of my mom’s friends would send me business card sized “Pass It On” cards in the mail to encourage me. One had a picture of a teddy bear and said, “No God, No Peace.” Another read, “Keep Hangin’ On,” and depicted a cat clutching a tree branch with its paws.
October 13, 2008
Facing off: Democratic foreign policy
When it comes to foreign policy, Sen. Barack Obama has stuck to his principles and held fast to his plan for the United States. He was against the war in Iraq from the very beginning, and in 2002, he spoke out against it saying the war would lead to “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs and undetermined consequences.”
October 7, 2008
Becoming the Hulk – without working out
I do need to work out. Don’t get me wrong. The only exercise I have is walking to and from the grocery store, which probably justifies my recent purchase of a watermelon and the negligence of my forgetting of said watermelon, the rotting of said watermelon in my refrigerator, my lack of disposing of said watermelon, and the resulting fruit flies that have inhabited our kitchen.
October 7, 2008
Facing off: Republican foreign policy
In this election cycle, the main focus of foreign policy has been Iraq. Over six years have passed since the United States overthrew Saddam Hussein. Foreign policy extends beyond Iraq, but because of Iraq's prominence, foreign policy is inextricably linked to that country.
October 7, 2008
On being relational
Yesterday, as I was walking to my dorm, a boy — let’s call him Tim — smiled gently and said, “Good afternoon. How are you doing today?” As I had never met this boy, his personable salutation caught me off guard. “He’s weird,” I thought to myself. Perhaps, though, this guy got it right.
October 6, 2008
Avoiding the awkward turtle
Life is filled with the awkward turtle. If you have no idea what that is, place your right hand directly over your left and wiggle your thumbs in an awkward motion. See? There you have it. But seriously, life has awkward moments scattered across it, and some are more frequent than others.
October 4, 2008
Facing off: The Democratic tax plan
By declaring intentions to take more taxes from the rich and to give tax cuts to the poor, Sen. Barack Obama has become a modern day Robin Hood. As president, his plan is to restore fairness and give 95 percent of Americans the tax relief they need.
October 1, 2008
Time for some self-improvement
Summer is a great excuse to eat awesome food, but that wonderful season has come to an end and the ice cream trucks have driven off into the sunset. However, even with the trucks gone, the ice cream has stayed with me, and yet again, it’s time for some self-improvement.
October 1, 2008
