There are three types of students seen on campus. The first are those who were actually offended that Gustavus was ranked as one of the most sober schools in the country. The second are Gusties that just go through the motions of getting offended, and finally there are the true Gusties, the ones on billboards and magazines, the ones who sign up for a million … Continue reading Raising awareness about raising awareness
Oh Hollywood, you really outdid yourself this time. This past weekend I went to the movies, settled down with my popcorn and prepared to be bombarded with the classic Hollywood propaganda. But no, this time I was in for a real surprise. As I sat trapped in an abyss of endless trailers, a preview came up and the words “Oh hell no,” escaped through my … Continue reading Disaster: the movie
Chances are you have been hazed. Whether or not you realize that you have been hazed is another issue entirely. The National Collaborative for Hazing Research and Prevention, an organization led by a pair of researchers from the University of Maine, says that 55 percent of students involved in any sort of team or organization have been hazed. At the same time, however, 90 percent … Continue reading Only the strong survive
Hi friends! I’m sure you never would have guessed this, but the economy’s undergoing a bit of a hiccup at the moment. Some doomsayers are calling it the “Great Recession.” Heck, even the Negative Nancys over at the Associated Press are jumping on the wah-wah wagon: apparently, half of the nation’s graduating class of 2012 will be jobless or underemployed after graduation. Yow. Now I … Continue reading What do you do with a BA in…
If you have not seen the KONY 2012 YouTube video by now, you must have been living under a rock. But just in case you don’t know what I am talking about, Joseph Kony, (a.k.a. the Bad Guy) is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a terrible rebel army that abducts Ugandan children and forces them to become child soldiers. Kony and his … Continue reading Invisible priorities
Social Security is without a doubt one of America’s most popular government programs. It has long been viewed as the “third rail” of American politics, meaning if a politician touches it they die. While a majority want the system to remain as it is, there is a sizable minority (mostly Republicans) who want Social Security to be changed or abolished. Most believe that Social Security … Continue reading Is social security sustainable?
“What drags our entire economy down is when the benefits of economic growth and productivity go only to the few … the gap between those at the very, very top and everybody else keeps growing wider and wider and wider and wider.” So read the President’s teleprompter as he spoke in front of a rally in support of his “Buffet Rule” proposal last week. The … Continue reading A barrage of budgets; charlatans all
We’ve been duped. Hoodwinked. Bamboozled. However you prefer to say it, our generation has had the wool pulled over our eyes. I was always told as a kid that if you want a good job, you go to college. It made sense: more education would equal more opportunities and more money. In 1940, less than 5 percent of Americans over the age of 25 had … Continue reading Employment, thy name is cursed
Voting in elections is a constitutionally given right. It’s one of those perks of young adulthood most Gusties have recently acquired. At 18, we can join the army, gamble, buy spray paint, porn and cigarettes. And, most importantly, we can finally vote. This November’s elections will be a first for many young Gusties, and the first chance to vote in a presidential election for a … Continue reading The hidden cost of voting
This past Thursday, Dr. Charles Krauthammer, Pulitzer Prize winning author and columnist for the Washington Post, came to speak at Gustavus as a part of the Lindau Symposium. By most accounts the event was a smashing success. Well over 600 people attended—so many in fact that the event filled one overflow room and moved into a second. Dr. Krauthammer gave an erudite and intelligent summation … Continue reading The black and gold standard
