Throughout the past twenty years technology has continued to amaze millions of people throughout the world. Today, most people have iPhones, Androids, or other types of smartphones. These smartphones were created to help reduce the need for a computer, and they have. But has their purpose gone too far? Let’s go back twenty years when the Internet was just starting out. In 1993, John Allen … Continue reading Technology: A Tool for Taking Over
In 1977, a neo-Nazi group announced its intentions to march through a predominantly Jewish community in Skokie, Illinois. The marchers intended to wear Nazi uniforms and display swastikas through a neighborhood where one in six people were Holocaust survivors. Speech doesn’t get much more hateful than that. Ultimately, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) controversially defended the group’s right to freedom of speech and freedom … Continue reading Protecting Hateful Speech
There’s something delicious about hometown drama after you’ve gone off to college. My high school years were hard enough without all the shenanigans going on in the hallways. But when my school started popping up in the local news last year, I gobbled the drama up from the safe distance of my dorm room. Like everyone else, apparently, I’m a sucker for a good tale … Continue reading (White) Rebel Without a Cause
This past week a friend of mine posted a meme on my Facebook wall. The meme read, “there are two kinds of people when Christmas decorations appear in the shops.” Below was a picture of Buddy the Elf and King Theoden from Lord of the Rings. Needless to say, I was certainly the solemn King Theoden stating, “so it begins.” Now, this article isn’t a … Continue reading What’s the Rush?
Laws, we are told, apply equally to all citizens. If you break a law, you’ll get punished for it regardless of social standing, race, sexuality, religion, etc. Justice is blind. Or at least that’s what the government wants us to believe. Nevertheless, being a student on a private college campus, has forced me to realize that this is not the case. Through Campus Safety, Gustavus’ … Continue reading The Perks of Being a Collegiate Criminal
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?
