Can God exist in face of catastrophe?
In his appearance before a crowd in Saint Peter's Square, Pope Benedict mentioned the earthquake in Japan and the terrible suffering it has caused. He expressed sympathy for the Japanese people and offered help. He promised to send money from the Vatican's bank.
Does Gov.Tom Corbett really care about the educational opportunities for Pennsylvania students of the college level or the K-12 level? Well, he claims to care. According to his website, Corbett believes "every child in Pennsylvania, regardless of their zip code or economic status should have access to the best education possible.
On January 7, 2011, Rep. Mike Pence re-introduced an amendment to Title X of the Public Health Service Act to prohibit family planning grants from being given to clinics that perform abortions. While currently in the first step of the legislative process, if this bill were to pass millions of women across America would be significantly effected.
If there's one trait I try to encourage amongst my peers, it's to be optimistic. Looking at the bright side of situations and problems always opens a door for a solution. Lately around campus, however, I've noticed students and faculty find it easier to complain about certain people, departments and events around school.
As we enter March – Women's History Month – one cannot help to think about the many hardships women have faced in this country. Famed historian Howard Zinn once stated in his "A People's History of the United States," that women are the "intimately oppressed.
At the end of last semester, I had the invaluable opportunity to learn a lesson that will help me for the rest of my life. Unlike many things we learn in college, this lesson wasn't taught in a classroom: it was taught through a friend. Last semester was the final undergraduate semester for Winston Alozie, one of my friends and mentors.
To all the housekeepers around campus, I give you my recognition, praise and appreciation because I believe you are a vital part of Edinboro University. Last year, living on the third floor of Lawrence Towers A, there were always constant messes in the elevators, hallways and, mainly, in the bathrooms.
Some people believe Valentine's Day is a wonderful holiday to show their significant other how much they love them. Others believe it's a holiday created by the government to get us to spend money on roses that end up dying, promises that end up getting broken, and presents that end up in the attic.
The state of America's educational system is a major issue. We hear government figures speak on it constantly and have seen attempts at reform with programs like No Child Left Behind. Despite the talk of education reform, how much is really being done to teach children properly? This is one of the many questions which arose after an incident which occurred two weeks ago in Akron, Ohio.
Christian unity in the sense of total reconciliation may be too much to expect. The best that might be hoped for and worked for today is closer, warmer, more respectful relationships among the many different Christian churches. Realization of this objective would have to start with recognition of what the different churches already share.
By a unanimous vote, the Supreme Court has ruled that contract employees at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory must undergo the same background checks including questions about drug abuse and treatment that are required of government employees. The decision is defensible on the grounds of consistency, and such checks are a long-established feature of both public and private employment.
About two years ago, around this time of the year, I was reading the Spectator when I came across a unique Spectator on the Street question. It asked students, "What are you doing for Black History Month?" I looked through the students' responses: most of them being typical politically correct answers.
As we are a few days removed from Martin Luther King Day, it only seems fitting to address one of the major issues regarding this holiday and the man behind it. We claim to honor the legacy of a man who caused great changes in our nation each January 15, yet, for many Americans, it has disintegrated into a spectacle of community service advocacy, and for some, just other day off from school andwork.
Immediately after Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, discussions of his theological statements began to take place at different locations. Luther himself, however, was unable to participate in many of these discussions because he had been placed under a ban and was unable to travel.
As many New Year's resolutions fall quickly to the wayside and become vague memories of self-promises, it's time, as a students, to focus on something deserving continued or renewed vigilance – the future. Worried? Maybe you should be.
On college campuses all over the world, one of the most discussed topics is romantic relationships. At EUP, we have numerous panel discussions, lectures, and counseling sessions on the subject. Relationships, especially while in college, are seen as a major importance for many students.
Anthropology as a scientific discipline can be instrumental in understanding human behavior, even in a sociologic context. Much of the way humans organize society is dependent upon the very essence of who we are, how we see ourselves in the world, and how we organize ourselves in an effort to improve our lives and ensure we can provide a safe and secure environment for ourselves and future generations of our species.
German chancellor Angela Merkel sent waves through the international community last month by stating multiculturalism in Germany has "utterly failed." Merkel cited the relationship between foreign (Muslim) and domestic workers saying, "We kidded ourselves for a while that they wouldn't stay, but that's not the reality.
As it gets closer to Thanksgiving, I began thinking about the importance of family. When I think of my family, my great-grandmother comes to mind. I often recall sitting and talking with her, listening to first-hand accounts of an African-American women living during the Great Depression, WWII era and Cold War.
The poorest country in our hemisphere can't seem to avoid calamity, which comes frequently and disguised in many viciously destructive forms. Having long endured the plagues of abject poverty, neglect and government corruption, the people of Haiti today continue to suffer from their latest afflictions brought on by earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, mudslides and disease.
Those struggling to pay for higher education might find it hard to shed a tear for athletes on full scholarships. But a new study shows many don't get the "free ride" they may have been promised even as colleges and coaches reap the rewards of their athletic prowess.
The elaborate political titles that we come across in this country are almost not even noteworthy. However, when I interviewed 14 people participating in Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear," I could not escape these political titles.
College students often fail to take full advantage of the resources available to them. Edinboro's variety of on-campus services, groups and activities all are too often overlooked. However, some of the most underused resources are none other than the professors themselves.
The Internet is developing so rapidly that users typically discover only after the fact that their privacy was invaded or their private online activities were revealed to strangers.
Is freedom a right or a privilege? This is a question for young adults coming from the new school, unlike the old school. This is also a question for Joe Walton who is from the old school and who is ironically an historian.
I remember learning in one of my high school English classes that one of the major themes a story can hold, stripped away of all the details and boiled down to its bare essentials, is the "rite of passage."
In the midst of the 2010 midterm elections, a great deal of media attention has been given to the importance of voting.
We cannot change the past, and many in this country would argue that we should never apologize for it.
A common theme among those in the "tea party" movement is that ordinary citizens ought to participate more in the business of government.
For too long, the official attitude south of the border toward illegal immigration has been this is America's problem, not Mexico's.
In this country, we allow ourselves to become one-dimensional when it comes to recognizing discrimination and prejudice.
For years, the NFL blithely denied there were long-term health effects from multiple concussions. It took congressional pressure for professional football to acknowledge the problem and help fund a study, which found links between repeated concussions and depression and dementia later in life.
As discussed last week, Google's cavalier and seemingly hypocritical attitude toward privacy is morally grey at best, there is potential for it to become far more sinister in the future. In some cases it is potentially a threat to our freedom.
In the Oct. 14th issue, Zoser Little wrote an editorial on integrity in the NCAA. Referring to Reggie Bush losing his Heisman trophy for accepting monetary gifts, Little attacks the NCAA system for holding a double standard. He claims the system itself does not possess integrity and is all about making money.
Dear Editor, During the Election of 2008, I was thrilled to be part of a group of Edinboro residents, including many university students, who stood in line for almost two hours to vote for a new U.S. President. After eight years of a Republican administration that allowed banks and corporations to work with little or no regulations, resulting in a near economic Depression, we hoped that electoral change would lead our nation back to its earlier economic prosperity.
Perjury. Impeachment. Sex with an intern in the Oval Office. Parsing the meaning of "is." Apparently, those were the good old days for people responding to the most recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. They rated former President Bill Clinton as the most popular political figure in the land, with 55 percent viewing him favorably compared to 23 percent who had an unfavorable opinion of him.
How different would our daily lives be if, when we left our houses every morning, someone was assigned to follow us, record our comings and goings and store the information they gathered? While this vision is far from the reality of day-to-day life in the real world, in cyber space, it is an all too common occurrence.
Edinboro recently held its first of six President's Hours. This rare occasion (once a month) offers a great opportunity for students to talk to President Jeremy Brown directly, with any kind of university-related concern. The magnitude of the opportunity was slighted when only one faculty member attended the first scheduled President's Hour.
During week two of the NFL season, the 49ers took on the Saints. In this game, Reggie Bush was injured and ultimately had to leave the game. A statement is made in a EUP dorm room shortly after Bush sustains his injury: "that's karma." This karma alluded to the news report that Bush accepted the Heisman trophy after violating NCAA rules by taking money as a college football star.
Last week, the Pew Research Center, a social science research organization, conducted a survey on the beliefs, practices, customs and principles of various religious groups. The religions included in the survey consisted mainly of mainstream religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Mormonism.
The pastor of a next-to-vacant church in Gainesville Fla., decides to burn copies of the Qur'an. Suddenly he is on the front page of papers and on all T.V. news programs. Demonstrations, in protest of what he plans, take place around the world.
It's apparent that we live in a world where information is more accessible than ever before. Through technological advances, the media has become perhaps the most potent tool for presenting information about the world around us through books, the news, Internet and many other sources .
It isn't hard to figure out why the Obama administration wants to make it easier for police and spy agencies to eavesdrop on the latest forms of Internet communication. The burden of keeping the nation safe from crooks and terrorists is daunting, especially in an increasingly virtual world, and it's sensible for law enforcement to seek every possible advantage.
At the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year, many students were happy about the changes around campus. The development of new buildings and the record-breaking enrollment of incoming students excited many members of Edinboro University's community.
The Spectator would like to wish all students and alumni a safe and happy Homecoming. It's good that you're all home for the holidays. That is the theme this year: "Home for the holidays."
I'm already in the Rust Belt. Atop this, I have bad hair, my apartment is sad, I am too old to be so, so single, and the car is falling apart: in conjunction, now that the university is keeping its students out of the library on Saturdays, I'm feeling like this could be the thing that pushes me over into becoming a Van Halen fan.
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