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(11/21/08 12:00am)
Having spent the majority of my college career navigating my way around my science and math requirements (if you need a suggestion for an easy DIII I'm the girl to ask!), I can safely say that I am not a scientist. I am a rational observer of the scientific community and, as a sentient human being, I am susceptible to their discoveries and assertions. Indeed, wizards in lab coats have the ability to shape policies and affect everyone's lives with their findings. Presently, the breathless dictum emanating from on high is that mankind is warming the planet, causing the oceans to rise and killing the polar bears. Once again, I do not claim to be a scientist nor do I claim to know any more about global warming than the next person. What concerns me is that the dogged proponents of man-made global warming are asserting that the debate is "over" because a "consensus of scientists" believes it to be occurring. In my opinion, to declare a debate over and refuse further discussion is to reveal that the argument is weak and cause people - like me - to question any further assertions. As the great and recently departed Michael Crichton once said, "Let's be clear: The work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right ... The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus. There is no such thing as consensus science. If it's consensus, it isn't science. If it's science, it isn't consensus. Period."
(11/07/08 12:00am)
After months of uncertainty, the longest election in history has come to a close and the country can now accurately identify the next leader of the free world. President-elect Barack Obama, having run a brilliant campaign, deserves all the victory and praise going his way. His triumph was indeed historic, and I will be proud to look to him as my country's leader. But although I am enthusiastic, I do have concerns.Throughout the last two years, Obama promised many things and raised our expectations extraordinarily high. Despite the ostensible closure of his campaign, many Americans still do not know for sure where Obama plans to take this country. Yes, we have heard that he is for hope and change, but, as a newcomer with a short resume, voters approached Obama much like a Rorschach inkblot, seeing what they wanted to see, not necessarily what he is.
(10/24/08 12:00am)
In the wake of the recent economic meltdown, Americans are eager to assign blame and hold the guilty parties accountable for, at best, their poor judgment and, at worst, malevolent greed. To be sure, there is more than enough culpability to go around, from reckless mortgage brokers to politically correct lending practices to inadequate oversight. While institutional glitches bear a great deal of responsibility, the tendency for individuals to allocate any and all misfortune, even that which is self-inflicted, on external scapegoats is a troubling trend in our society.Indeed, the majority of financial failures in America these days are the consequence of poor decision making on the part of the individuals themselves - not the lenders, not the banks and not the stores. Ours is a credit culture, and far too many people have grown accustomed to living outside their means. This is a mistake and one that lends itself to negligence and poor judgment. As the markets seem so erratic, and we struggle to maintain stability, a return to personal responsibility is imperative. And living within one's means is the number one requirement for such accountability.
(10/03/08 12:00am)
On Friday night, the presidential candidates fought a rhetorical battle of words for their respective visions of America. Sadly, that same night, a quintessential American lost his fight with cancer. Surrounded by loved ones, Paul Newman, the film legend, philanthropist, war hero and family man died Friday at age 83.The news was somewhat overshadowed this weekend by grave financial and political matters, but Newman was a man whom we should all take pause and remember as we move forward into what looks to be an uncertain and ominous era. While times are hard, politics are divisive and we struggle with the banalities of every day, our memory of Paul Newman can instill in all of us a renewed faith in humanity. Whoever you were cheering for in Friday's debate or however you feel about the current financial bailout, we can unite in a shared admiration of this impressive man who truly did make a difference.
(09/19/08 12:00am)
Observers to this election season have seen that an ever-increasing mass of campaign minions, career politicians and political pundits have been cultivating an exceedingly polarized atmosphere. For months now, each side has been readying their weapons and mapping out their strategies, attempting to secure votes via the skillful manipulation of rhetoric, divisive politics and hard-hitting inquiries. As different as the candidates are, one similarity is their common tendency to marginalize the successes of our current commander-in-chief. To be sure, the pair varies in terms of the degree to which they disregard the president's achievements. While Senator Barack Obama and Senator Joe Biden disparage President Bush's leadership (indeed Biden has hinted that, if elected, an Obama administration might possibly pursue criminal charges) Senator John McCain is doing his best to distance himself from the current administration.
(09/05/08 12:00am)
Some had internships, some sought adventure abroad, some bummed around the house, some spent the summer looking for a job, and a few found employment. After sitting in classrooms for a good nine months, the majority of American youth need a new scene. Summer is a time for - as John Cleese would say - "something completely different." Having torn free from the bonds of professorial dictates and stifling schedules, the ability to choose one's activities for the following three months is a luxury of epic proportion. And some do have great opportunities: wealthy parents or a generous relative may finance a trip to Europe. Numerous applications painstakingly written months in advance may have provided one with the opportunity to work as an intern or lab assistant. Others may return to their hometown community swimming pool to reclaim their lifetime gig as the beloved lifeguard. Yet for each trip to Europe or invaluable experience at a top organization there are many wholly unable to set their own summertime agenda. The economic woes of the past year served only to intensify this unfortunate reality. The precise definition of an economic recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth. Although the country did not fall victim to even one quarter of such anemic figures, Americans did feel the pressure of a slowing economy, as (among other things) the housing bubble burst, the dollar weakened and gas prices soared. In the midst of the economic malaise, students throughout the country finished school and ventured out in search of a job - for a bit of spending money, resume enhancement and good old-fashioned character building.
(04/11/08 12:00am)
Americans tend to link a college education to financial success. Sometimes I wonder whether a college education is worth the price we pay, or, to put it in the language of economics majors, if what we pay in time and money is an economically efficient use of resources. While politicians, interest groups and certain segments of society accuse and condemn oil companies and pharmaceutical enterprises of price gouging, it always strikes me as odd that colleges and universities are able to escape such criticism.The net price of college tuition in the United States has consistently been rising at a rate far faster than inflation. In the last five years, the cost of four-year colleges rose 31 percent above the general inflation rate. A press release published by the House Democrats in 2006 pointed out that since the year 2001, tuition at public universities has increased by $2,000 (or 57 percent) and at private universities by $5,000 (32 percent).
(03/21/08 12:00am)
Pop Quiz: Who recently wrote this in a Washington Times opinion piece? "What we cannot afford, in my view, is to squander the progress that has been made. In fact, we should step up our financial and material assistance ... I would like to call on each of the presidential candidates and congressional leaders to announce a comprehensive refugee plan with a specific timeline and budget as part of their Iraq strategy. As for the question of whether the surge is working, I can only state what I witnessed: United Nations staff and those of non-governmental organizations seem to feel they have the right set of circumstances to attempt to scale up their programs. And when I asked the troops if they wanted to go home as soon as possible, they said that they miss home but feel invested in Iraq." Your choices: A) Senator Joe Biden, B) General David Petraeus, C) President George W. Bush or D) Angelina Jolie. If you guessed A, B or C, you would be wrong. While some may attempt to brush aside the good reports, empirical evidence and success stories, the truth is becoming harder and harder to ignore. Even Jolie, the ever-difficult-to-label, yet prominent media figure has even weighed in on American progress in Iraq.
