Though the 2016 election is almost a year away, it is still a popular subject in the media. The media creates an illusion that voters have only two choices in candidates: Democrat or Republican. The media also narrows the field by only discussing the leaders in the polls. The media could play a larger part in name recognition for smaller campaigns, yet it largely ignores … Continue reading The Illusion of Choice In Politics
Every fall, students at Gustavus receive an email informing them that any federal or state drug conviction can disqualify a student from receiving federal student aid grants or loans. This policy is the result of a 1998 amendment to the Higher Education Act, signed into law during Clinton’s “war on drugs”. This is an appallingly bad policy. Student federal aid is designed to encourage more … Continue reading Federal Drug Laws and Federal Student Aid
This week starts the beginning of a new month, which has all sorts of festivities. Thanksgiving is celebrated, Black Friday happens, and deer hunting season starts. An estimated 34 percent of Minnesotans hunt or fish which leads to our state having the second highest percentage of hunters. Approximately one thousand people every year are injured or killed because of hunting mistakes. Always make sure you … Continue reading Game On! Deer Opener and Safe Hunting
Books that are considered immoral and banned are the books that show the world its own shame. They can “damage” a person’s lifestyle, they include racial terms, some mention sexual situations, some include witchcraft, others have the audacity to include violence and negative situations. Take your problems or dislikes with a book to the American Library Association (ALA) and they will hold a meeting to … Continue reading The Novelty of Banned Books
Science and industry, the two pillars of society as many people and the government would have you believe. This notion is made even more prevalent by certain programs such as STEM within schools, as well as AP and CIS classes that particularly target advancing minds in science. The question that leaves us with, however, is what about the classics? Classics, in this case, refers to … Continue reading Why Study Classics?
World Mental Health Awareness Day was held last Saturday and I celebrated by being mentally ill. That’s a bad joke, sorry. I’m mentally ill every day of the year, but I felt just a little bit more bitter about it on that day because simple “awareness” of mental illness isn’t a problem in our country. Our major news outlets and our politicians have no problem … Continue reading Mental Illness Doesn’t Carry a Gun
Columbus Day: no parades, no parties, and depending on where you live, you may or may not get a day off of school. It doesn’t really seem like a big deal, just another event reminder on your Google Calendar. So who was Christopher Columbus? Children in the public school system all learn, “in fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue,” and that he is … Continue reading Columbus Day Shouldn’t Be a Holiday
As I read through my social media feeds I tend to see very happy individuals out doing things they love. Activities such as apple picking, hanging out with friends, eating lots of Domino’s, and for some reason even more apple picking dominate my news feeds. However, when I pick up Yik Yak and scroll through I tend to read a lot of sadness, confusion, frustration, … Continue reading Got Grace?
The Gustavus bubble is real. Without buses, subways, or any other way of public transportation, carless Gusties are trapped on campus. Part of this problem is that 83 percent of the student population comes from within the state, and so the Campus Services are designed to cater to the majority of the students, in this case, Minnesotans. That being said, as campus safety states, 1029 … Continue reading Living in the Gustavus Bubble
You’re sitting in a coffee shop, reading the latest issue of the GUSTAVIAN WEEKLY, when you get a message on your smartphone. You pull out your phone and check it out, and while you have it out you also check Facebook, Twitter, and your bank account. What you don’t know is that twenty feet away from you is sitting a hacker using the router in … Continue reading Ghost in the Machine: Vulnerability in an Age of Technology
