Opinion

Opinion

Letter to the Editor: AU must disassociate with dictatorships

February 7

When President Benjamin Ladner laid out a 15-point plan to change the way that American University operates, he made Point Eleven to "enhance our profile as a values-based institution, emphasizing long-held university commitments to such values as human rights and dignity, social justice, environmental protection, diversity, and individual freedom.

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Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Bush ignores genocide

February 7

I waited in vain during the State of the Union address for President Bush to utter one single word: Darfur. My hope grew as powerful words kept flowing during the State of the Union address. Sentences such as "A society is measured by how it treats the weak and vulnerable" or "One of the deepest values of our country is compassion" seemed to comfort my expectation.

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Opinion

Editorial Cartoon

February 7

Ryan Keller

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Opinion

Staff Editorial: AU meets with 'Ruckus'

February 7

Starting Monday morning, a new, legal, risk-free music downloading option will be available on campus. AU signed an agreement with Ruckus downloading service, a pay service that has about 700,000 songs available and adds 50 new movies to its servers each month.

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Opinion

Student gov't - losers by any name

By John Dawood | February 3

In case you didn't know (chances are you don't), shortly before school let out for winter break, a brand new Student Confederation constitution passed through the backing of a well-represented special election, turning out a whopping 194 votes, including six abstentions.

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Opinion

SC president shows spirit, sets example

By Stephen Tucker | February 3

With the Student Confederation elections coming up soon, many people are trying to decide if they should run and whom they should vote for. These elections, as they do every year, will shape not only next year but also many years into the future of American University.

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Opinion

Bush addresses problems

By Mike Inganamort | February 3

Talk about a good week for President Bush, Americans and democracy-loving peoples around the planet. Fresh off the heels of an extraordinarily ambitious and upbeat Inaugural address, President Bush, in his State of the Union address, let Americans know just how serious he is about ending tyranny in our world.

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Opinion

Bush hasn't kept promises

February 3

(In his second Inaugural address, President George W. Bush used the word "freedom" 27 times and "liberty" 15 times over the course of the 17-minute speech. This amounts to the appearance of either word about 2.5 times per minute. I was there. I saw it.) Hi.

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Opinion

Tuition - mo' money, mo' problems for AU?

February 3

Provost Neil Kerwin announced this week that students can expect a 4.5 to 6.5 percent increase in tuition for each of the next two years, based on the expected university budget. The increase reflects AU's rising status in college-ranking lists, and the money is intended to go toward finishing the Katzen Arts Center, building a new School of International Service building and improving the University's library.

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Opinion

BlackBerries for Kogod

February 3

Kogod recently announced that it will be giving 300 free BlackBerries to students, faculty and administration in the graduate school. In addition to the hardware, it will be giving them six months of free service. This is being made possible by an agreement between administration and T-Mobile, distributor of BlackBerry 7100t.

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Opinion

All Thumbs

February 3

Thumbs Up Magnum photographer Eli Reed speaking on campus ... Eli Reed spoke and presented his work at the Wechsler Theater Wednesday. It's wonderful to see AU's oft-forgotten photography program reel in a big name from the field to speak. Jonah Goldberg speaking and blogging on campus .

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Opinion

Bush manipulates language

By Greg Wasserstrom | February 3

Last night in his State of the Union address, the president used language to hide his meaning and intentions, rather than convey them. By manipulating language, George Bush was able to get Democrats up on their feet applauding, looking anxiously at one another, inadvertently supporting a ban of stem cell research, overturning Roe v.

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Opinion

Editorial Cartoon

February 3

Ed Cartoon

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Opinion

Americans can take their time with coffee

By Melinda C. Hall | January 31

How much do we really like coffee? As a devout daily drinker of two-plus cups of coffee, sometimes two-plus thermos-fulls, I must say it is my favorite thing - I clutch each Styrofoam vessel as if it were my one object of control, my last hope for a world gone awry.

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Opinion

'Terrorists' in eye of beholder

By Peter K. Muller | January 31

To many, it seems self-evident that we have a definitional problem plaguing the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Without revision, the ambiguous language that accompanies the GWOT will lead America down a perilous path of frequent and costly interventions. While obtaining consensus on a working definition of "terrorist" will be arduous, a continued failure to do so will hamper America's ability to accurately identify and neutralize those who seek to challenge or destroy her influence.

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Opinion

Liberals against liberty

January 31

At 11 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday, the polls opened in Iraq. Millions of people under the threat of torture and death turned out to vote in the first free election in the history of the Arab world. For democracy and the people of Iraq, this was a huge success.

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Opinion

Court ruling decides nothing

January 31

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that the University of Michigan's affirmative action admissions system was illegal and could not be used. Michigan's system was based on a points system in which factors like achievements, grades and race were worth a certain number of points.

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