Last week, after over a month on campus, representatives of Occupy UCR released their demands. The list, which is designed to “make UCR a place of greater integrity and equity,” is as ambitious as it is lengthy. But with demands varying in scope and complexity from free wifi to the introduction of a new Activist Studies minor, many are...
It’s hard to follow the news on Iran these days without experiencing a bit of déjà vu. 10 years is a long time, particularly for those in college, yet perceptive students will remember the sense of inevitability in the media coverage surrounding Iraq in early 2002. So much remained uncertain: Hans Blix was still inspecting Iraqi weapon sites and...
“When you put on that uniform, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white; Asian, Latino, Native American; conservative, liberal; rich, poor; gay, straight. When you’re marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you…” These words were spoken by President Obama at his State of the Union Address on Jan. 24, but he did not...
The core values and academic mission of UCR are to provide a safe, nurturing and enabling environment for faculty, students, and staff to freely pursue their interests in teaching and learning, research and creative activity, and engagement with the broader community through outreach and service. Of similar importance are the core business and operational activities that enable the academic...
The United Nations has once again proven itself to be an ineffective and useless body—last week, Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution aimed at addressing and ending the brutal assault on the Syrian people by their own suppressive regime. More than 5,000 people have been killed by Syria’s government since anti-government protests began in March of last year,...
The Demands of Occupy UCR
After spending the last three weeks listening to the concerns of the UCR community, we at Occupy UCR compiled the following list of campus-specific demands. The purpose of these demands is to make UCR a place of greater integrity and equity—intellectually, morally, and socially. We have sought to make these demands as practical, specific, and...
As the political issues come into focus leading up to the presidential election, public education and jobs are becoming increasingly important to students across the nation. Students can no longer afford to accept claims by those who seek to lead this nation, regardless of party affiliation. This is about surviving a trillion dollar student loan debt and escaping the...
The real-world value of college rankings has long been disputed amongst the individuals and institutions they affect. Some claim that rankings oversimplify the very complicated process of evaluating a school’s net worth, while others argue that they help prospective students make very difficult decisions between schools. Last week, however, it was revealed that one of the primary problems with...
As a Westerner watching the downtrodden people of the Middle East rise up against their oppressors, it is hard not to feel both inspired and optimistic for the future. This euphoria sometimes makes it easy to forget that the damage done by these regimes survives long after their demise. Decades of experience stuffing ballot boxes and torturing dissidents doesn’t...
The results of the primaries in South Carolina and Florida brought about what will be the decisive fight this primary season. Either Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich will end up at the top of the Republican Party ticket to take on incumbent President Barack Obama in this fall’s general elections. That is not in any way to brush aside...