Adventures in guilty pleasures

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August 31, 2009

schedule 2 min read

Bringing back SexyBack You and I, we’re both college students, and as such, media elitism is a major part of our social discourse. We reconsider friendships with those who begin to show signs of admiration for the insipid rock ballads of Nickelback and we will turn down almost any date that involves watching Katherine Heigl […]

Breakin’ the law in p-town

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August 31, 2009

schedule 3 min read

It has regrettably come to my attention in recent weeks that one need not do anything to break a law in Provo. I mean this in the most literal sense possible, and if you doubt the possibility of this seemingly bold claim, I direct you to the following hypothetical reconstruction of an actual situation:

Letter to the editor

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August 31, 2009

schedule 1 min read

The primary reason for Utah being last in terms of per pupil spending is the high ratio of children to adults. Utah is among the top states in terms of percentage of the state budget allocated to public education, but by the time that amount is allocated to students, the per pupil amount is not […]

Utah’s Energy Future: Smoking or Non?

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August 31, 2009

schedule 3 min read

As a society, we have decided that it is important to ban smoking indoors because of the serious health effects of secondhand smoke. This ban, of course, is protested by Big Tobacco junk scientists who claim no relation between cancer, lung disease, and smoking. But we know better.

No new student center

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August 31, 2009

schedule 4 min read

Last year among myriad other edicts and appropriations, our indomitable student council voted to fund the preliminary stages of building a new student center. Preliminary in the sense that no such student center will as yet be built. Rather, the idea is that $1 per student per semester will be taken from student fees and put into a fund which will be used at a future date to construct a new building where students can chill, hang, relax, chillax, etc. Things like, for instance, bowl, swim, climb fiberglass imitations of cliff faces and eat. Our administration has for some time been wildly in support of this idea, from the Dean of Students Bob Rasmussen (who was kind enough to explain all this to me), to our former presidents and (hopefully) our new president.

Plight of Utah’s Deaf Students, Part 1

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August 31, 2009

schedule 4 min read

After a corrective surgery, six-year-old Adam’s cochlear implant had broken. As an intern for the Utah Schools for the Deaf, I joined Adam on the rug for story time. When the teacher asked Adam in spoken English what color the turkey was, he looked around confused before looking to me. I signed COLOR, WHICH? Adam sat up and excitedly signed YELLOW. I responded RIGHT! … but when I looked up, I saw that I was in trouble. Apparently, I was forbidden to sign with Adam. His Individual Education Plan stated he must communicate using spoken English. His teacher kept him from recess to teach him how to say yellow. She made Adam touch her throat as she said a slow yeellloooww while his peers played outside for an hour.

Top 10 reasons it’s awesome to be a Senior in a sea of Freshmen

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August 31, 2009

schedule 2 min read

10. You know Hollister clothing was cool in high school and frosted tips still look stupid. 9. Seniors have realized that you can call your teacher Bill and not Professor. 8. You know the location of every hot tub in Orem / Provo, closing times, how to get into the closed ones and you effectively hop all of them every night.

Take 6 takes the stage on Labor Day

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August 31, 2009

schedule 3 min read

It’s okay to admit it. A cappella is pretty damn cool. Take 6 is one of America’s most famous modern a cappella groups, incorporating jazz, R&B, soul, pop and gospel into their extensive repertoire. If that’s not enough guilty pleasure for you, consider that they’re basically a boy band.