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Opinion

Opinion

A word of "achtung" (caution) - surviving Oktoberfest

By admin | October 21, 2009

Greetings from Ireland, the Emerald Isle! I realize I should have probably written something about Ireland first, instead of Germany, but in the spirit of October (and what better way to celebrate this glorious month than a beer-and-pretzel-laden festival in a German city), I would like to recount an amazing weekend abroad: Oktoberfest 2009. I, like many other fellow Spiders, somehow managed to get to Munich, Germany, by way of bus, train, plane, taxi, walking, hitching a ride on the Hofbraeu horse wagon ... you get the picture.

Opinion

Elections: running for redundancy

By Mike Padovano | October 7, 2009

Some people might think that it's entirely too soon to begin talking about the 2010 elections. In my opinion, it has become ridiculous that we even bother holding elections anymore. Like clockwork, every other year, we are treated to a tremendous amount of bullshit and lies, and the worst part is that we entertain them as if they were actually going to happen if we cast our votes.

Opinion

Letter: in defense of males

By admin | October 7, 2009

Dear University of Richmond Campus, The image of a male on the University of Richmond campus has become increasingly negatively skewed.

Opinion

Opinion: Hate it or love it, I don't mind

By Kiara Lee | October 7, 2009

Dear Readers, I wanted to take the time to remind you all that you are reading an OPINION column, just in case you have forgotten. If you are looking for news, sports or anything else, please refer to the corresponding pages. Still here, on the bottom of page 11?

Opinion

Returning Family Weekend favors

By Maura Bogue | October 7, 2009

Back-to-back Family Weekend and Fall Break - poor planning but promising possibilities. As parents poured onto campus last weekend, our residences became a little cleaner, our stomachs and refrigerators a little fuller and our self-esteem a little higher.

Opinion

It's the reality, stupid

By Darius Rasheed Nazeri | October 1, 2009

The very first paragraph of Mike Padovano's column, "An Obama progress report," reminded me of a simple but amusingly true statement: "Everyone is entitled to their opinion but yours is stupid." Now, it is true our Constitution provides for freedom of speech -- which the government protects -- however, this should not necessitate a political discourse based on awfully-put-together talking points, half-truths and no-truths, fallacious (attempts at) arguments, uncivil behavior, name-calling, fear-mongering and a disrespect for our political processes and leaders. Vis-a-vis the crazy town-hall heckling, gun-wielding, socialism-crying, anti-government alternate-reality birthers and astro-turf activists, there is an even larger crowd of Americans who have different opinions on the role of government and different methods for voicing them. We mortal beings -- we, the reality-based, who witnessed the biggest financial collapse since the Great Depression and sensed the effects of a sluggish economy in the high unemployment numbers, the terrible job market and the lack of capital and credit -- we look at the world and see what takes little effort so long as one has the ability to distinguish fact from fiction, and reality from ideological interpretations of it: We are aware that 14,000 Americans lose their healthcare coverage everyday, that healthcare spending in 2007 was more than $2.2 trillion dollars, yet more than 45 million of us are without healthcare. We mourn the loss of 4,326 men and women in uniform to an unnecessary war in Iraq. We have seen rising costs put higher education out of reach of the great majority of Americans and are troubled by the fact that less than 25 percent of college-age youth are full-time students.

Opinion

A traveler's guide to linguistic traps

By admin | October 1, 2009

Ladies and gentlemen, as usual, apartment 507 is bringing you an exclusive. This is the first in a semester-long series of translated conversations to help you figure out what a man means when you are having a hard time deciphering his words. We'll do this by example.

Opinion

Learn or earn, teach or torture

By Maura Bogue | October 1, 2009

Despite taking an entirely Arts and Sciences class schedule, my most thought-provoking lessons this week came from the Business School. Quite the coincidence that I referenced my B-School expedition last week, because an e-mail I received regarding my column was from the very professor whose accounting class I had visited last semester - professor Joe Hoyle.

Opinion

First impressions of London

By Elizabeth Hyman | October 1, 2009

During my second week of studying abroad at Goldsmiths, in London, I've already come across some big differences between being here and being at Richmond: Cooking for myself.

Opinion

An Obama progress report: I'd rather be waterboarded

By Mike Padovano | September 24, 2009

Now that it has been nine months since President Obama took office, I hope we can all agree on one thing: The only change he brought with him to the White House was a darker complexion, a funky last name and a new hammer and sickle decoration for the Oval Office. His empty speeches of soaring rhetoric have proven to be just that, and rather than reversing the fiscal irresponsibility of the previous administration, he's made it a lot worse.

Opinion

No glove, no love: let's seal the deal

By Kiara Lee | September 24, 2009

Men, Are you tired of wearing the glove when it comes down to the dirty-dirty? Do you see the condom as a restraint that takes away from the "feeling"? And does your old girl constantly nag you about putting one on? Well, shut up and deal with it ... if you want some during your study break tonight, that is. You would not believe what we ladies must go through to keep the bun out of the oven.

Opinion

Letter: Long Walk

By admin | September 24, 2009

When a person is released from prison, his or her quest for true freedom has only just begun. Although physical bars no longer surround them, ex-offenders must overcome the challenge of reconnecting with themselves, friends, family and society. The walk is long, arduous and impossible to complete in solitude, because societal structures often prevent ex-offenders from resurrecting their lives before prison, no matter how intense their desire is to reform and to redeem themselves. In the Highland Park neighborhood of Richmond, Boaz & Ruth strives to assist ex-offenders through transitional job training.

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