Remember STAR testing? If you’re unfamiliar with the subject, just know that there is no true incentive for a student to perform well on the exam. When I was in high school, fellow students would bubble in letters that would coincide to make pictures of smiley faces, drug references, et cetera. One of the purposes of this type of...
As a nation, we have all just collectively survived the masses of shrapnel from one of the most competitive and contentious presidential elections in history. One would expect that vociferous arguments over unemployment, the 47 percent, rape and creeping socialism would result in a constructive debate about the route this country needs to take in the years to come....
The good ‘ole USA has always been numero uno, right brother? Number one! What exactly are we number one at, though? I’m pretty sure we got that diabetes thing on lock down, but what else? It turns out there is another strange statistic that we dominate at: incarceration. The U.S. leads the world in prison inmates at 2.3 million...
Proposition 37 aims to require new labels identifying all foods made from genetically engineered material. It will give consumers more knowledge about the foods they eat and will, for the first time, allow each California citizen clarity in their right to choose between genetically modified foods or organics.
Prop 37 initially seemed to me like a logical new addition to...
Our nation is forward thinking, focused on matters immediate to our circumstances. We have been tested by slavery, war, civil rights and the Great Depression. We have pushed through adversity addressing socioeconomic injustice, a struggle that continues. Today, we are in the grips of a devastating economic downturn and as we seek to restore our economy, never in our...
On Nov. 4, 2008, people everywhere across the nation stood transfixed to their televisions, straining to catch a glimpse of whom our democracy had decided would be fittest to shepherd our country out of a recessionary disaster. And in an overwhelming victory Barack Obama was swept into office with the wind of huge popular support at his back to...
Taking responsibility for the violence in Benghazi is like admitting fault for a bank robbery because you failed to hire enough security guards. On Oct. 15, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took responsibility for the attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya last month that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. This is commendable on...
When I first sat down and read about Proposition 32 I wondered why so many people were telling me to vote no on it. It bans both union and corporate contributions to state and local candidates. I’m all for getting money out of politics. The prop even claims to have no exemptions and no loopholes. Finally, a straight-forward bill...
After signing the Civil Rights Act, July 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson addressed the graduating class at Howard University. He said, “You do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains, liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race, saying, ‘you are free to compete with all the others,’ and still justly...
On Oct. 16, seven candidates running in Riverside-based districts met at UCR to introduce themselves to an eager audience. The question-and-answer session was a joint effort by ASUCR and ASPB to inform students and encourage them to vote in some of the most competitive elections in the state and the country. But though the goals were admirable, students may...