Outside Opinions

Legalization Could Help Put End to Rampant Overdose

February 21, 2012 by

After Whitney Houston’s sudden death last Saturday, Tony Bennett didn’t hesitate to publicly make the link to drugs that many suspected. At a Grammy pre-party, the 85-year-old addict in recovery s...
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He Said: Next Valentine’s Day, Think in Terms of What Would Whitney Do?

February 15, 2012 by

If you, like me, spend an inordinate amount of time agonizing over the fate of divahood in American pop culture, this weekend was pretty tough on you too. Whitney, this one’s for you. In honor of th...
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Response to Ask an Atheist: The Truth About Christianity

February 10, 2012 by

In the article “Are Eastern religions a good alternative to Western ones?,” one of the authors, Brian Gallagher, made many assertions about Christianity that were inaccurate and misconstrued the t...
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Help Give Every Child the Opportunity of an Education

February 8, 2012 by

As a teacher at West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, I taught an incredibly talented, intelligent group of ninth graders. But when they entered my classroom on the first day of sch...
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Keep Cyclists Safe While They Keep Your Gas Prices Low

February 6, 2012 by

I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to Nicholas Winger, Nico Cervantes and the unidentified others who came to my aid when I crashed my bicycle during my (successful) attempt to avoid impact wit...
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The Wednesday Hump: Heternormativity at Its Finest

February 6, 2012 by

I enjoy the crude humor and candid tone of the Wednesday Hump just as much as any Gaucho. However, what strikes me most about this column is its sense of exclusivity. It’s about one thing and one th...
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UCSB Student Steps Off Bike as UCPD Steps Up Enforcement

February 1, 2012 by

Last Friday started off great. After waking up at 8 a.m. to no alarm on a clear, sunny day, I threw on some workout clothes, grabbed my bike and headed out the door toward the Rec Cen. A typical ride ...
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Regain Your Grip on Reality by Dropping the Digital Dependency

January 30, 2012 by

Perception. It’s a hard word to define, especially from an individual standpoint. How one person perceives things is different from how another person does. The only fact about perception is that we...
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Yes, UCSB, Your Government Is Listening To You

January 26, 2012 by

Most college students are pretty unhappy with Congress right about now and rightfully so. With huge cuts to education and high unemployment especially among recent college graduates, the Republican ma...
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Politics: Like Reality Shows, You Signed Up For This

January 25, 2012 by

I don’t consider myself to be an overly or outwardly judgmental person. However, there are certain occasions where I condone judging. The first is reality television. Whenever I find myself watching...
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Ask An Atheist Unfairly, Inappropriately Attacks Christianity

January 25, 2012 by

Reading last Thursday’s “Ask an Atheist” column was saddening for me as a Christian who knows the writers of both columns and knows they are consciously writing lies about the Christian faith wi...
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Alcohol Consumption No Excuse for Excessive Violence

January 25, 2012 by

One night at a party in Isla Vista I came upon a scene in which some asshole was threatening a seemingly innocent girl and consequently pissing off the wrong people. Needless to say, he got punched in...
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Commerical Assault of the UCen Disrupts Student Downtime

January 23, 2012 by

You have an hour between classes. It’s a slightly awkward period of time and you’ve got a decision to make: You can either return home briefly, only to rush back to school, or stick around and fin...
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Regain Your Life’s Focus by Living Outrageously

January 20, 2012 by

This letter is going to be about a fictional character, who shall be given the arbitrary name of Aspen Shorelion. Young Aspen is a freshman at UCSB, and he’s feeling a bit lost. It so happens that h...
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We Never Invited Internet Censorship… Or Did We?

January 19, 2012 by

Over the past few weeks many Americans have displayed their outspoken opposition against the Protect Intellectual Property Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act. According to CNNMoney, SOPA would preven...
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