Some time early in my middle school career, a friend of mine, a Greek immigrant, introduced me to what was essentially a Korean knock-off of World of Warcraft. The game, called Mu, came complete with every reason there was to get hooked, at about half the production value, with no subscription fee or price. English speakers were a minority in this online world, so when … Continue reading Use your words
There has been a great deal of political posturing the last year or so over the national debt. Both sides agree that the deficit and the debt need to shrink. Unfortunately, that is where their agreement ends. The Republicans maintain that the only way to shrink the debt is through program cuts alone, while the Democrats believe that some programs will need to be cut … Continue reading A deficit of reason
Apathy is hard to come by at Gustavus. Seriously. Even those whose lives revolve around such seemingly apathetic activities as skipping class and all-day Call of Duty marathons most likely watch enough of The Daily Show online to have a cause célèbre of choice. It’s hard to come here and find nothing to champion, no club through which to galvanize fellow students into support, no … Continue reading The love vote
“It may look like I was being a bitch, but that’s only because I was acting like a bitch.” Remember this quote from Mean Girls? Everyone has an opinion and everyone else has criticisms. It is impossible to do anything anymore without offending someone. Political correctness inhibits what people say, do and think, and these inhibitions shape the United States in everything from public policies … Continue reading This article has been f#*@&$! censored
If you have had access to the Internet in the past few weeks, you have most likely been bombarded by the overnight sensation that is the Kony 2012 movement. Through the wonder of the Internet, the video driving this campaign was seen 71,000,000 times all over the world in less than a week since it was uploaded. The video, produced by the non-profit organization Invisible … Continue reading Addicted to awareness
Although the white settlers of Minnesota may have technically won the Dakota War, they may be losing the battle of memory. For the past 150 years the story of the Dakota War has mainly been told from the perspective of the white settlers. Recently, however, the story of the Dakota people, which had until now gone unstudied, has become the major narrative of the period. … Continue reading The battle of memory
Good morning fellow Gusties, and what a morning it is! Spring has finally come, and the wonder of God’s majesty is in full force. But hark, what is that sound? ‘Tis the trumpets of God’s chosen warrior in the fight to save America: Rick Santorum! And what’s that he’s saying? That there is no such thing as a liberal Christian? GASP. But wait, if there … Continue reading No such thing as a liberal Christian?
Students of the liberal arts persuasion will often find the temptation to slack off on reading assignments rather hard to resist. If you attend Gustavus, you have probably heard something along these lines: “All we do in (insert preferred humanities class) is sit around and discuss (insert favorite abstract concept). I’ll just read the intro and conclusion and be fine.” There are varying degrees of … Continue reading The slacker paradox
I’m sure we all remember the 2008 election, the year of hope, of change, of Palin. It also gave birth to the now famous slogan, “Drill, baby, drill.” While the slogan has receded in popularity after the BP oil spill, many Republicans still support the idea of increasing U.S. oil production by drilling more, as we saw in recent congressional debates about the Keystone pipeline. … Continue reading Should we drill in ANWR?
Has everyone seen the swimmers’ new t-shirts? They’re making quite a splash, primarily in the pool of intra-clique relations. There are clear social divisions on campus. The bros reign over the corner television, i.e. Broville. The sororities and fraternities secrete themselves away in their houses. The swimmers and cross-country runners are infamous for their exclusivity. And as in the larger society, the ostracized independents are … Continue reading You can sit here
