There currently exists a disjuncture between the proportion of Americans who are willing to donate their organs and those who actively register to become organ donors. Many polls and surveys demonstrate that the majority of Americans would be willing to donate their organs upon death, yet only about 45 percent of American adults are registered donors.
This litany of appalling media biases has corrupted journalism to the point where fair coverage of presidential elections is a luxury among mainstream media outlets. The political union of the Washington establishment, corporate interests and the media has created an environment in which it is political suicide for a candidate to so much as question the status quo in foreign policy or income inequality. As both Pauls have learned, criticizing disastrous Middle East policy will place you squarely in the crosshairs of the kingmaker of American elections — the mainstream media.
You now wear the honors of Honor and with the turn of a tassle you progress forward from students to alumni. As alumni we ask that you don’t forget your experiences at the University.
The Class of 2015, however, will not have the opportunity to see even the short-term impacts of this year — at least not as students. They will not have the opportunity to forget this school year, as it is their final memory of the University. Rather, they are entering the outside world having experienced large-scale national issues in their own backyard.
I have paid particular attention to the digital elements of the paper including the mobile applications, Twitter feeds, multimedia efforts including video and the website among others. They have all changed over time, seemingly growing in fits and starts.
Our Council this year is the most diverse it has ever been; it spans across all schools, races, religions, ideologies, majors, backgrounds, groups and CIOs on Grounds. Even within different ethnicities, students are diverse in and of themselves. Even the pool of applicants this year was more diverse than we have ever seen before. Diversity within the Trustees Council will allow us to gain and include perspectives and insights that have previously been excluded or not represented.
America is a meritocracy in principle and perhaps somewhat in practice, so it makes sense that some sort of merit-based aid remains in the university system. However, merit-based aid often relies on GPA and standardized test scores, two measures of academic performance that highly correlate with income. The results are that students of relatively high socioeconomic status don’t have to pay for college — when they can afford to more easily than others — because they have high socioeconomic status.
As the academic year comes to an end, the Managing Board recounts some notable numbers.
In its current capacity, student self-governance only protects the governing and not those being governed. It is a system put into place to empower all students; however, it is also exactly what is currently preventing any action and accountability that we, students, seek. If measures written in a Constitution cannot be interpreted and enforced now, what purpose do they really serve?
In a research project done by the Harvard Business Review, the team found that for one large corporation, over 300,000 person hours were spent on a single weekly excom meeting over the course of the entire year (this figure doesn’t include time spent preparing for the meetings). Parkinson’s law explains another way meetings waste time.
Can we internalize the ideas forwarded by Jefferson — considered notions of religious liberty and equality of opportunity — while acknowledging his dire callousness? We can — but we must be careful not to conflate the value of his ideas with that of his person. He was an intelligent man, but not a wholly good one, and his refusal to free his slaves seems particularly egregious when juxtaposed with his views on the fundamental rights of those he saw as truly human (read: not everyone).
Issues facing LGBTQ students can be complex, but one issue that almost uniquely plagues transgender and gender non-conforming students is the issue of invisibility. When spaces demarcate between just two genders — male and female — and force all students into one of these two categories, transgender and gender non-conforming students are rendered invisible to existing structures.
An argument could be made that any dubious ideas Paul might have could be checked by the other powers in government if he became president. However, the duties of a president go far past the position he holds; presidents are constantly making judgement calls. In light of Paul’s views, I find it hard to trust his judgment.
I propose a system in which all students are granted the same set number of free pages per year. This number should be calculated based upon average professorial needs. For example, the University of Pittsburgh allocates students 900 “print units” per semester — a number based on a student’s average need.
The danger of an increased administrative presence on Grounds is greater than just the additional cost. Administrators might become disconnected from the faculty and students they are meant to serve. Though many administrators such as guidance and Counseling and Psychological Services counselors see students on a daily basis, others lack direct communication with students.
I have written frequently about what The Cavalier Daily, and any collegiate paper, should be. The students who create The Cavalier Daily have worked to be a source of information, a place for our community to learn what it needs to begin a conversation and a place to have that conversation. Again, I have criticisms about some of the specifics. The website still needs to be cleaned up: the search tool is ineffective, and it’s difficult to find articles or columns more than about 10 days or two weeks old.
There is cause for hope among progressives as they look to 2016. It is very possible that if Clinton’s competitors for the nomination all level concerted, persistent policy criticisms her way then she could be forced to adopt a more liberal, populist platform in several key areas. Clinton’s challengers can successfully push her to the left if they focus on issues that play well with the Democratic base, like income inequality, a cautious foreign policy and climate change.
If it is not conscious decisions, but rather subconscious biases as a result of existing structures, that push administrators toward unethical tendencies, addressing ethical issues in higher education is that much more complicated. But this case-study provides some clear solutions: one could be that administrators be required to review their decisions in one consistent platform; another could be that outsiders come into college campuses over certain periods of time to discuss current ethical dilemmas.
The plans to build a Mauna Kea observatory show blatant disrespect for the Native Americans, as well as how Native Americans are often exoticised rather than fully recognized in American culture. Often, when people imagine Hawaii, they visualize not only the beautiful beaches and lush forests but also the local people, hula dancing and other aspects of Native culture. The problem isn't so much that Native Americans aren’t recognized; instead, it’s about exoticisation — exotic representation of only certain aspects of the native islander “good life” — without truly caring or respecting Native American lands and culture.
If it’s not dining options or advertising causing this lack of interest in meal plans, then what is it? Personally, and based off of the general feeling around Grounds, I’d be willing to label dining hall food as subpar. It’s reasonable to assert that this stands out as a reason that students might spend less on meal plans. After all, there’s really no other reason students would avoid expensive meal plans. Dining locations are abundant and extremely convenient, and there are meal options for most hours of the day. It must be the case that students simply don’t enjoy dining hall food.
