Opinion

Opinion

Free to Travel (Unless the Government Disapproves)

By Erin Wildermuth | December 4

Cuba and the United States are not the closest of allies. There was that whole Cuban Missile Crisis thing during the Cold War. More recently, in 1996, the Cuban military felt it necessary to shoot down two of our planes. The U.S. developed five different plans for assassination of Fidel Castro between 1961 and 1963 and has been trying to bring down Cuba's communist government ever since.

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Opinion

Going Cross Country for Bipartisan Support

By Jacob Shelly | December 4

Today's headlines offer no shortage of worthy political debate. A raging war, early presidential positioning and the emerging details of the approaching Democratic congressional agenda are hard material for a political columnist to shy from. But for my final polemic of the semester, I'm interested in setting aside predictable partisanship.

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Opinion

Staff editorial: Anthropologists' resolution reflects disapproval of war

December 4

AU graduate student Kanhong Lin co-authored a resolution passed by the American Anthropological Association that condemns the use of anthropological research in torture and calls for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The Nov. 18 meeting at which the resolution passed was the first AAA meeting in 30 years in which enough members attended to achieve a quorum and pass the resolution.

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Opinion

Staff editorial: New cameras good, but don't let your guard down

November 30

Public Safety is replacing and upgrading several of the security cameras in the Nebraska Avenue parking lot. The cameras ran on an older technology and often malfunctioned. The cameras are not always monitored but are set to record all the time. Although most students feel safe on and around AU's campus, robberies in the area are unfortunately nothing new.

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Opinion

Corrections

November 30

In a letter to the editor, Lynn Nguyen was incorrectly identified as a past participant in the Washington Mentorship Program. She was accepted to the program but did not participate. The Eagle apologizes for this error.

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Opinion

Student Op-Ed

November 30

Two weeks ago, one of the great figures of the 20th century passed on. Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, perhaps influences our way of thinking about the economy more than anyone else. The ideas he promoted, such as free markets, low inflation and low taxes, are generally accepted by both sides of the ideological chasm today.

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Opinion

Staff editorial: Geography skill problems aren't just schools' fault

November 30

A recent survey by National Geographic revealed that young adult Americans are sorely lacking in knowledge of world geography. More specifically: -Only 37 percent could correctly identify Iraq on a map -20 percent think Sudan is in Asia (It's in Africa, by the way) -48 percent think that the majority population in India is Muslim (It's Hindu) And, most shockingly, half of young Americans cannot find New York state on a map.

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Opinion

Letter to the editor

November 30

Dear Editor, While I appreciate efforts toward partisan equity in The Eagle's opinions section, I am nonetheless inclined to wonder if the selection of columnists is conducive to true intellectual inquiry. Conservative columnist Caleb Enerson presents metered but uncompromising support for the Republican Party in his column, "On the Right.

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Opinion

For College Students, Debt Hits Hard

By Paul Perry | November 30

The American dream is a bitter lie for thousands of students across our country today. Since 2000, the average cost of attending four-year public college has increased over 40 percent. Yet earlier this year, Congress cut $12 billion in student aid (enough to send 230,000 students to college for four years), allowed student loan rates to spike and refused to raise Pell Grants.

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Opinion

Advice to Republicans

By Jong Eun Lee | November 20

First of all, let me begin by saying I am a "Fox News Liberal." While I am certainly a loyal Democrat, I also have high respect for the Grand Old Party. I have regularly attended conservative conferences and seminars, including the famous CPAC. I believe the modern United States benefits from the historical achievements of many dedicated Republicans, from Abraham Lincoln to George Bush, Sr.

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Opinion

OP-ED: How Far Along is North Korea's Nuclear Program?

By Cass Lam | November 20

The U.S. government and Central Intelligence Agency claimed North Korea might be able to finish reprocessing its nuclear fuel and would eventually produce a 50 megawatt-electric reactor by 2008, but some international scientists and non-governmental organizations questioned this claim, saying there is a lack of evidence of North Korea's construction of the 50-megawatt-electric reactor activities.

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Opinion

Democrats: Please (don't) screw up

By Caleb Enerson | November 20

For the first time since 1994, the Democrats have control of not one but both Houses of Congress. They have already announced several goals for the next two years, such as raising the minimum wage, discussing a timetable for leaving Iraq and lowering prescription drug prices for people on Medicare.

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Opinion

Staff editorial: Faculty Senate proposes alternative to tenure

November 20

The Faculty Senate recently passed a proposal that will allow professors to stay at AU after their first five years of teaching without gaining tenure. Faculty under the new system will be called Professors of the Practice. After their first five years of teaching, they will be offered renewable contracts ranging from two to five years.

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Opinion

Staff editorial: Michigan voters say no to affirmative action

November 20

On Nov. 7, Michigan voted in a referendum to ban the use of race as a factor in state university admissions. Racism and sexism are still a fact of life in America. Officials at Michigan universities were denied an opportunity to help correct these evils of the past that continue to the present.

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Opinion

Letters to the editor

November 20

Tenley residents respond Dear Editor, In an editorial from Nov.16, the headline reads, "Tenley Campus residents are AU students, too." My reply to this is, really? I find this rather ironic as students in the Washington Semester Program were denied the privilege of attending a trip to New York City as they were told they were not American University students.

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Opinion

How to eliminate underage drinking

By Caleb Enerson | November 16

Alcohol is not an inherent evil. While it is perfectly acceptable to rally against binge drinking, drunk driving and the like, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with drinking. People have been drinking for thousands of years as a socially acceptable (albeit adults-only) activity.

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Opinion

Staff editorial: Tenley Campus residents are AU students, too

November 16

The Washington Mentorship Program gives AU students admitted for the spring semester an opportunity to live in D.C., take some college classes and have an internship. The students live at the Tenley Campus. AU offers the program because it does not have a wait list.

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