Policy and argument, not rhetoric and respectful disagreement
The presidential and vice-presidential debates this year have received a shocking amount of attention, with record-breaking views and hours dedicated to analyzing them.
Landmark torture case heads to trial
Will the colonial powers finally ‘get theirs’?
It took almost exactly 60 years to the day for three Kenyans to hear the words they’d spent most of their adult lives waiting for—the words saying that the tortures they experienced at the hands of the British colonial government were “arguable cases in law.”
Monitor vs. whiteboard
Online school lacks benefits of traditional education
I find myself walking to a lecture at 10 a.m. It’s raining, my sweatpants are soaked and I don’t give a shit about cellular reproduction right now.
I then spend the entire lecture daydreaming about being one of those unemployed moms or girls with drawn-on eyebrows whose “college education” entails sitting in their warm beds taking online quizzes.
Making room for class
PSU classrooms in need
Recently the Vanguard ran a piece on the new classroom in the School of Business Administration, and it made me jealous because, for the most part, Portland State’s classrooms are terrible. The business school has its own operating funds, but I wish the rest of the university would follow suit and bring its classrooms into the 21st century.
Scoring high
Establishing credit is important but risky
College is an institution established with the intention of preparing bright young folks for the future. Here we not only earn our degrees but establish ourselves as productive members of society. A part of doing this lies in establishing and building a good credit score.
I just tweeted…to say I’m sorry
Celebrities stoop to new social media lows
We all know that Twitter is a marketer’s dream. Who would have known a few years back that in 2012 a celebrity’s public relations strategy would entail typing a sentence about where they just picked their nose, and as a result gain a couple hundred new fans.
Pay up, Oregon
Battling climate change in our own backyards
Two local teens have filed suit against the state for failing to adequately battle climate change.
Olivia Chernaik (12 years old) and Kelsey Juliana (16 years old) claim that Oregon hasn’t taken the steps necessary to stave off impending environmental doom. They fear living in what they imagine the world will become: a veritable wasteland.
The social dilemma
How our virtual lives isolate us
We live in an era of constant integration: At any given moment we’re connected to millions of other people—tweeting, liking, clogging up servers with pictures of our meals and showing off to our friends how “white girl wasted” we got last night with lots of folks.
Choice and the election
Voting for your reproductive rights is crucial this year
Susan B. Anthony once said, “No self-respecting woman should work or wish for the success of a party that ignores her sex.” I keep thinking about this as we approach Nov. 6.
Oregonians for higher education autonomy
New PAC would end Oregon’s higher ed system as we know it
In a world where Citizens United is so powerful, seeing super-political action committees run rough-shod over our political process is pretty common. It’s been rare to see it in Oregon, but we’re going to get to see them in action soon.
O campus police! Have you your pistols?
Arming campus security would overcome a lack of protection
One of Portland State’s main selling points is that it’s an urban campus, in the middle of downtown Portland, to which thousands of people commute every day.