Op-Eds
Op-Eds
We’re on the rise
You can see the tower of Rush Rhees Library from almost anywhere on campus. I think there’s one spot—if you stand directly in front of the Frederick Douglass Building—where you can’t see it. Other than that, it’s visible from basically everywhere, including inside some buildings and within a decent radius off campus. There’s been a […]
Op-Eds
2015: A momentous year 
This has been a momentous year. At the end of April, the community celebrated the grand opening of College Town, which now boasts approximately 20 retail facilities, including Barnes & Noble, the Corner Bakery Cafe, Constantino’s Market, Breathe Yoga, Insomnia Cookies, Jimmy John’s and many others. In March, we surpassed our initial $1.2 billion goal in The […]
Op-Eds
An eye for an eye shouldn’t be our solution
On April 8, a federal jury found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty on 30 charges related to his role in the bombing of the 2013 Boston Marathon, an event in which three people were killed and over 250 others were injured. Of those charges, 17 carry the possibility of the death penalty. There’s really no surprise […]
Op-Eds
RFRA: More harmful than advertised
In March 26th, Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed SB 101, also known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), into law. There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding how this actually came about. Let’s take a look at the recent history of religious freedoms. In 1993, President Clinton signed the original RFRA into […]
Op-Eds
United States should stand its ground on GMOs
Arguably, the most underreported story in the media these days is the ongoing negotiations over the proposed United States-European Union Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This massive free trade deal would increase U.S. and EU gross domestic product (GDP) by about 0.4% and 0.5% a year—a $100 billion annual windfall for the United States, […]
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War-weary America doesn’t deserve another fight
This past Wednesday, President Obama sent a draft joint resolution to Congress. For the first time in almost 13 years, Congress will have the ability to approve an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). This AUMF will allow President Obama to continue his campaign against the Islamic State (IS), also known as ISIL and […]
Op-Eds
Stiff sanctions should be our strategy with Iran
Over the last few weeks, dozens of UR students have contacted the office of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to urge her to co-sponsor the bipartisan “Nuclear Weapons-Free Iran Act of 2015.” Similarly, next month, a group of five UR students will travel to the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. alongside 2,400 students from 490 campuses […]
Op-Eds
(Don’t) do it for the Vine: Josh Peck and Rape Culture
Last week, the UR Campus Activities Board announced that Josh Peck will be coming at the end of February as a guest speaker. Peck is famous for many things, be it his role as the nerdy step brother on “Drake and Josh,” to having over 7.2 million followers on Vine, a six-second video sharing social […]
Op-Eds
The 2015 budget: A mixed bag
President Obama unveiled his latest budget proposal Monday, announcing a long list of programs and policies he’d like to see make it through the Republican- dominated Congress. The budget calls for massive federal spending in 2016, but with an ever-growing federal debt, there is a low likelihood that most of the president’s proposals will be […]
Op-Eds
The State of the Union: The Democrats’ response
In the opening remarks of his State of the Union Address, President Obama proudly declared, “America, for all that we have endured; for all of the grit and hard work required to come back; for all of the tasks that lie ahead, know this: the shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the […]
