Why I'll be fluttering soon
(04/03/09 6:11pm)
So today I came across this video on Slate.com by way of Twitter:
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So today I came across this video on Slate.com by way of Twitter:
Every year around this time I hear people argue against minority recruitment weekends.
If you turn on/read the news these days it seems like everybody's mad about the economy. Between this week's widespread outrage over the AIG bonuses and Jon Stewarts' channelling populist anger last week, it's clear that nobody's happy about the status quo and everybody's looking for someone to blame. The public blames the media, the media blames Wall Street executives, politicians blame each other along with anyone else that's convenient for the moment. But the only thing that's abundantly clear is that, in the eloquent words of Stewart,"it's not a f—ing game."
I should confess that while many have feared economic doom and gloom, I've been pretty relaxed and calm. My mom's a teacher, and Duke's financial aid initiative isn't going anywhere before next school year, so I figure I'm OK for a least a little while. But even for me, this week has been a little worrisome.
I'm hoping to live off campus next year. And if I get the house I want, I'll be in Trinity Heights. At the moment it looks like I may be going into hostile territory.
This post is printed in The Chronicle.
Let me start by saying, there's absolutely nothing wrong with crying over Barack Obama's election or his inauguration. In fact I tried to muster up a few manly tears of my own while I watched his inaugural address, but no dice. At first I thought maybe I was too icy-hearted. Then I figured maybe it just hadn't hit me. But finally, today I realized it's because I was—and am at the end of the day—a huge cynic.
Because they are about to be filthy rich!
You might remember that last summer President Richard Brodhead ( or Dicky B as he's known in my head) signed on to the Amethyst Initiative; a group of college and university presidents which hopes to encourage debate on the drinking age. Naturally, all of us at the Chronicle loved it. And, of course, there were haters.
In keeping with the Obama theme, I'd like to add my own spice to our little Backpages-American soup...or mosaic...or patchwork? Whatever the we're calling it these days. Anyway, as with any big event like this, everyone wants to have a momento of it. Correction: Everyone wants to buy a momento of it. Thus we have what I like to call Obama-kitsch.
On Aug. 28, 1963, my grandmother was there. She stood on the National Mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial when Martin Luther King Jr. articulated his dream for America. After making the long trek from Savannah, Ga., she stood with about 300,000 others to demand jobs and freedom. But, more importantly, she stood there to move America a step closer to the dream that she, King and millions across the country shared: an America that lived out the true meaning of its creed.
On the first of the year, a policeman in Oakland, California shot a killed a 22-year-old man named Oscar Grant on at a BART (Oakland's public transit authority) station. He was unarmed and lying on the floor, and by the looks of the videos that have surfaced online he was not in a position to fight back, though witnesses and videos have shown that he may have been resisting the officers.
Yesterday I was disappointed to read the Editorial Board’s deeply unfair characterization of the Young Trustee reform process. The editorial painted a picture of a reform process designed to maintain Duke Student Government and Intercommunity Council hegemony over the Young Trustee process. This could not be further from the truth. The editorial was erroneous on several counts.
Something must have been wrong in his brain. Maybe a couple of neurons weren't firing at the right moments. But whatever the reason, in an interview published yesterday in the Washington Times Michael Steele said that the GOP's new public relations initiative would be "off the hook." He used the phrase-which died at least seven years ago-to emphasize his upcoming focus on "urban-suburban hip-hop settings."
On Aug. 28, 1963, my grandmother was there. She stood on the National Mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial when Martin Luther King Jr. articulated his dream for America. After making the long trek from Savannah, Ga., she stood with about 300,000 others to demand jobs and freedom. But, more importantly, she stood there to move America a step closer to the dream that she, King and millions across the country shared: an America that lived out the true meaning of its creed.
I remember that every now and then-maybe every month or two it seemed-local news outlets in Atlanta would run a story on Americans' rising levels of obesity. Invariably there would be some focus on the South, with our love of fatty cuisine and leisurely lifestyles. Of course it would all be accompanied by the obligatory camera shots of people's bellies lumbering down some busy street. Americans' obesity has also provided reliable fodder for late-night comedians and helped shape some global perceptions about us.