To no one’s surprise, Democrats called this week for reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine in the wake of the Tucson massacre.
Ben Meyers’ wildly unfounded castigation of block tuition as an impediment to students’ ability to obtain a “complete education” is a dreadfully poor and specious evaluation. Meyers rants about how we want our UF graduates to be diverse, well-rounded and engaged citizens of the world, suggesting that this can somehow only be accomplished by means of a course load of 12 or fewer credits a semester. This offensive insinuation that one extra class a semester would indisputably cripple the average student embarrassingly underestimates the tenacity, ambition and work ethic of the Gator Nation. Simply taking a course load that will allow students to actually graduate on time should not be characterized by our SG officials as a “burdensome” challenge. Block tuition rewards the overachievers, incentivizes the slow movers and continues to allow the flexibility for students to learn at their own pace on their own dime.
I was really glad to see the Ben Meyers column in Wednesday’s paper. I believe it helped remind the student body that despite the Board of Trustees delaying block tuition, it still has an imminent deadline. Logically, this topic should have generated a larger reaction than it has in the past few months. However, when I talk to my friends and fellow students about block tuition, what I find is that they just don’t know all the details regarding it. At the same time, I can’t blame them, as the administration has been equally vague in disclosing various aspects concerning the issue.
As the day draws closer to the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, a lot of words will be thrown around. Some, such as “crazy,” “insensitive” and “irrational,” will cast broad strokes on vast groups of people. Others, such as “religious fanatic,” “Nazi,” and “baby-killer” will raise both eyebrows and ugly sentiment.
Over the past couple of years, hot button issues such as immigration and health care reform coupled with a harsh economic climate led to a caustic political environment unseen since the Vietnam War. This dialogue finally received scrutiny due to the tragedy in Tucson, even though the incident seems to be an isolated event rather than a result of deep political rhetoric. It is still worth asking: Will anything change or will it be business as usual for this Congress?
“There is no cheat sheet for life…”.
In “Teenage pregnancy not so glamorous,” Anita Babbitt argues that abstinence-only sex education is to blame for higher teen pregnancy rates.
Everyone has someone they’d love to bring down a notch. There’s always that guy in class who’s a little too smug in his answers, that coworker with her holier-than-thou attitude.
Ever notice how you have all the right opinions? Why don’t more people think like you? Think back to when you were young, and imagine a situation where you and your fellow classmates were all “competing” to be the best at something. How about the most interesting show-and-tell piece? We’ll go with that.
Laura Ellermeyer, author of Tuesday’s tutoring column, could have gone to TA sessions for free to prepare for the exam. ECO 2013 has TAs available seven periods a day, five days a week. I’m not sure if practice tests were made available last semester. They usually are and are by far the best way to prepare for an exam.
Last week, the Alligator learned of an event being planned by the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville. We will not dignify the event by discussing it in this publication.
His dream still rings true, but, oddly enough, the day we take to celebrate it appears to undermine Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision.
TutoringZone is God, right?
As drop/add came to an end and we all settled into our spring classes, we got to enjoy the time-honored tradition of seeing our tuition bill show its sinister face.
During a week littered with stories of tragedy, we’ve had to admit the hassle of drop/add period doesn’t warrant all our usual complaining.
Wikipedia is celebrating its 10th birthday Saturday, and, fellow students, what would we ever do without it?
In 1996, Sheryl Crow opined on the human condition: “If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad. If it makes you happy, then why the hell are you so sad?”
In the fall of 1962, when the United States and the USSR stood inches away from the brink of an international blood-letting, word reached the Kennedy administration that the hard-line Soviet government did not desire to lead the world hand-in-hand into the furnace. In a flex of diplomatic bravado, Secretary of State Dean Rusk boasted: “We’re eyeball to eyeball, and the other fellow just blinked.”
I just dropped the book-bill bomb on my parents. Needless to say, warnings of “you better actually read these” followed. Of course I will, Mom and Dad … maybe.
A year later, some progress has been made. There’s still a long way to go, however, in rebuilding the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Solutions by The State News
