Proposition 30, a November ballot measure proposed by Governor Jerry Brown, seeks to increase sales tax by one-quarter of a cent for four years and income tax for taxpayers making over $250,000 for seven years. The successful passage of this tax initiative will designate state revenue to California’s education system, yet only ensures the bare-bone minimum to the UC...
The debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan was considered a draw by CNN Political Analyst David Gergen. A CNN poll of undecided Virginia voters was split three ways: a third for Ryan, a third for Biden and a third still undecided. Political analysts from Fox News declared Congressman Ryan the clear winner and vice president...
Our justice system isn’t infallible. Since 1973, 140 people have been found innocent and released from death rows in 26 states. Nationally, at least one person is exonerated for every 10 that are executed. We cannot trust the life of a human being in the hands of an imperfect death penalty system. Nor can we trust a system that,...
There were two choices: attend a four-year college straight out of high school or spend my first two years at a local community college. I leaned towards the cheaper investment, but as pressure rose from my parents, I went with the university option. Because of this I probably saved myself time and frustration. For anyone who finds it difficult...
On the evening of the presidential debate, Governor Mitt Romney stood at one podium, a venture capitalist that made his living buying and dismantling American business and lining his pockets with the misery of unemployed American workers. Kansas City’s GST Steel was one such company that had been making steel rods for 103 years when Romney and his Bain...
The presidential debate drinking game: ever heard of it? I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the college students have, and while I am not saying I participated, I can only say it was entertaining to watch my roommates take part in the activity. The first 2012 presidential debates were held in Denver, Colorado, a swing state that has...
Come December, Chancellor Timothy White will leave our university to assume his new role as chancellor of the California State University system. His impending departure has come as a shock to students, faculty and staff. The news is certainly bittersweet—Chancellor White has created a legacy on campus and in the experience of students as a voice of caring and...
Recently, free speech was on the chopping block at UC campuses across the state. At the direction of President Mark Yudof, the President’s Council on Campus Climate, Culture and Inclusion investigated anti-Semitic hate speech at UC Berkeley. The council recommended that cultural competency training be required at all UC campuses and current provisions of harassment and nondiscrimination...
Flags flew at half mast recently for the latest American deaths in Libya. The inevitable and most simple question is, “Why murder?” Naturally, most reporters and newscasters were quick to blame al-Qaida, but the involvement of certain terrorist groups, whether they admit to the violence or not, is merely a cause for speculation. Fingers can easily be pointed in...
We’ve all heard it. “I care, but my vote really doesn’t matter.” We’ve heard it in Rivera library, in Starbucks, in class, at the HUB. In a time of uncertain job prospects, disastrous cuts to higher education and massive student debt, not many students have faith in the power of the vote to produce any lasting change. Shortly before...