The Collegian
Saturday, May 04, 2024

Opinion


Opinion

A letter to the editor: Where are our academic planners?

I am extremely disappointed with the university's decision to stop providing academic planners to students this year. When I received an email over the summer notifying me that the student handbook would now be available only in an online format, I didn't realize that planners would not be distributed as a result. This decision is a hindrance to my academic success, and I hope my fellow students will stand with me in opposing it. I applaud the university's efforts to go green, but such environmentally conscious initiatives should not be undertaken at the expense of what has become an academic and organizational necessity for myself and so many other students. For the past three years, my academic life has revolved around my planner and its easy-to-use format--nothing offered in stores works quite as well. It has become a fixture in my college career, a small but much-appreciated reminder of the university's commitment to my academic success. If the university thinks that it can save money or appease environmental regulators by nixing planners, they have grossly overlooked the wide range of benefits that the notebooks have provided to countless students over the years. I sincerely hope that the University of Richmond will reconsider its decision and provide even rudimentary assignment books--we don't need anything fancy or glossy--to the students who want and need them. And I hope that my fellow students will not remain quiet about this decision. If you feel your academic career will suffer as a result, please make your voices heard to your professors and the deans.


Opinion

Letter from the Editor: Welcome Back!

To students, faculty and subscribers: welcome to the start of what we hope is an exciting semester. As we begin the school year, The Collegian staff is working toward better coverage of the news that is important to the University of Richmond community. We encourage you to send in story tips to collegianstories@gmail.com, so we can ensure that nothing that happens on campus is overlooked. This year marks another election year, and as a staff, we look forward to hearing your opinions and views as the election season unfolds. We ask you to send in your opinions about important election issues this fall and take a look at your peers' articles. We hope to launch a new and improved web site before the end of the year, and encourage you to visit The Collegian's current page, www.thecollegianur.com, for up-to-date information on campus. On our web site, we offer articles that don't appear in the print edition, extra photographs, videos and archived writing from previous issues. Also, our multimedia team will be restarting the weekly "What's Up In the Web" videos to accompany some of the most important stories covered by The Collegian each week. Our sports team is beginning its coverage of all the fall sports this semester.


Opinion

I'm not a Daisy

As the campus tour begins, my fellow prospective students and I settle into seats in a large lecture hall on campus. The student tour guide moves to the front of the room and starts to recite her spiel.


Opinion

Occupy the Richmond Bubble

I walked down to the Forum on Monday to see all the hoopla about abortion. I was greeted by a forum covered in pro-choice chalk slogans and visuals of aborted fetuses.


Opinion

Response to Rhatican's sentiments

Rhatican's argument is grounded on the assumption that all humans have a right to life. Furthermore, Rhatican states that abortion in the cases of rape are immoral, and that "her (the fetus) murder compounds the injustice of the rape." If all humans have a right to life (including fetuses), and these rights supersede any other circumstances (including crimes, such as rape), then it logically follows that killing or murder of any sort to justify or make due with (in the case of rape) the outcome of any such crimes would be equally immoral. If all humans have a right to life, and this right cannot be superseded by any crime committed, then it follows that any killing to justify a crime is immoral. And so, for example, it necessarily follows that the death sentence would be equally immoral as abortion. If all humans have the right to life, and this right cannot be superseded by any circumstances, then how is killing on the battle field the morally right thing to do?


Opinion

Key advice for graduates-to-be

This letter is addressed primarily to my friends in the graduating class of 2012, many of whom I have known since they were freshmen; however, I suspect the current juniors, sophomores and freshmen might be able to take something away from it as well. No doubt at this point many of you are staring down the last week of classes, excited about graduation, but still unsure of what comes next. For those of you who are going to grad school, have already landed jobs or are commissioning into the regular Army, the path is already somewhat obvious, so you can feel free to stop reading now if you'd like. For the rest of you, however, I'd like to share my part of post-graduation experience as someone who has just undergone the same transitional period into which you are about to enter. I hope to be able to perhaps alleviate some of the fear, anxiety and misconceptions that are all too real for a second semester college senior who has no concrete plans after walking across the stage in May. The first thing I would like to get out of the way is that the vast majority of employers do not care about your major. Don't believe me?


Opinion

A poem: 'Twas the day after Pig Roast

'Twas the day after Pig Roast, and all through our school, not a Spider was stirring, as a general rule. Champagne bottles strewn 'cross each dorm room alike, helped nurse up a fall from a tricky Green Bike. The students were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of frattiness danced in their heads. Still dressed in their pearls or in a backwards cap, each Spider passed out for an afternoon nap. Last morning outside there'd been such a clatter, of kids on the move, to see what was the matter. Away to the windows we flew like a flash, and threw open the blinds, for 'twas Pig Roast at last! The happiest day to occur campus-wide, day-drinking and lodges bring such Spider pride. Look!


Opinion

Only YOU can prevent a Totalitarian police state

I would like to now inform you that your basic rights as U.S. citizens are being stripped away from you as I write this letter. Yes, the republic upholding "liberty and justice for all" is evolving into one of "liberty and justice for all who keep their mouths shut." Back in 2009, President Obama vowed to close Guantanamo Bay, which you might recall was under a bit of scrutiny for performing illegal torture tactics upon prisoners who had never been formally charged with a crime.


Opinion

A girl's guide to beer pong

Beer pong. It's a game that has brought children and families together for decades now. You throw a ball and end up with a friend. Still, for some people, particularly girls, the game may be a mystery.


Opinion

In defense of KONY 2012

Immediately after the release of the Kony 2012 video, countless criticisms were made of the video itself and the Invisible Children organization.


Opinion

NCAA reform: Create a legal market for player goods

Last spring, CBS and Turner Sports reached an agreement with the NCAA to pay it around $11 billion over 14 years for sole broadcasting rights of the NCAA basketball tournament. That's almost a billion dollars every year. There are similar big-money agreements in football, baseball and other sports that involve exclusive broadcasting rights in exchange for payment to the NCAA. So while the NCAA has been whoring itself out to the likes of CBS, ESPN and Fox for millions and sometimes billions of dollars, it must be fine with its players attempting to make a buck off of their abilities while still in school, right? I bet you can tell where this is going.