Opinions - The Eastern Echo

Focus on achievement gap hurts students

By Jodi F. Bullock · Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012

According to AnnArbor.com, over the past six years Ann Arbor Public Schools paid a firm $441,000 of taxpayer money to consult with the district on addressing the achievement gap. Yet for all the money spent, 27 of 33 Ann Arbor schools were recently cited for failing to meet the state of Michigan’s standards.

Get money out of politics: Cost to elect president was around $6 billion

By James Tatum · Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012

The election season is over and by estimates from the Center for Responsive Politics, it cost $6 billion to elect our president. Records from the International Monetary Fund show that is more than the gross domestic product of several small nations like Grenada, Malawi and Belize.

Federal government needs to let states decide on drugs

By Chris Hoitash · Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012

So, who wants some legal weed and a political science debate? The November elections are over, but the aftershocks shall permeate the political sphere for some time. A new dilemma has formed from the elections, and the answer isn’t as clear to the powers that be as it needs to be.

Be humane when you have choices to eat meat

By Jumanah Saadeh · Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012

There is so much to say on the topic of eating meat: The treatment of animals at the slaughterhouses, how the meat is processed, the health considerations in eating meat, accessibility of quality meat, mass consumption and so on.

Letter to the Editor

By Arturo Rodriguez · Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012

Dear Editor, In response to the Oct. 17 Eastern Echo article, “Dream Act a bad idea, gives scholarships to wrong people” by David Konarske, I applaud his strong stance on the controversial issue and further appreciate his opinion on the subject. It isn’t an everyday occurrence that undocumented students, not “illegal immigrants,” receive the attention and publicity they deserve.

Getting tired of just a two party system

By Patrick Seick · Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012

By the time these words are printed and read, the oh-so important presidential election will already be over. We will know whether our country will ascend to unprecedented heights of glory or plummet to the status of a developing nation. Of course, the closing of the electric campaign season means, perhaps most importantly, the end of irritating, often-misinformed tweets and Facebook statuses pertaining to elections.

Concept by Sammy DeMarco and drawn by David Woodward (The Eastern Echo/2012).

Deliver worthier news, not just horse race stats

By Sammy DeMarco · Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012

Answer this question: Why was it important to know which presidential candidate was leading in the national polls on October 22? If you properly answered “It wasn’t” then you may move on to the next column. However, if your interest is sparked, continue reading.

‘Star Wars’ distracts from disaster, politics

By Robert Uldricks · Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012

Lately something happened to shock me out of a state of newsy apathy. Between the onslaught of mind numbing political drivel and the terrifying prospect of New York City going without subway service, I heard on Halloween that the Walt Disney Co. had bought Lucasfilm Ltd., the company behind the 1977 sci-fi classic “Star Wars.” Finally the news media reports something of substance.

Disney, ‘Star Wars’ merge unwelcome

By Chris Hoitash · Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012

As Friedrich Nietzsche once famously said, the Force is dead. Who killed it? Hard to say, really. An Oct. 31 Associated Press article said “A decade since George Lucas said ‘Star Wars’ was finished on the big screen, a new trilogy under new ownership is destined for theaters after The Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that it would buy Lucasfilm Ltd. from him for $4.05 billion.”

Economy not only important issue

By Casey Wooley · Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012

The presidential debates are over, and we’re winding down the last few days before the election on Nov. 6. The candidates are crisscrossing the nation, hitting the very limited barrage of swing states that remain, seven now according to NBC News, and those of us here, enshrined in reality, are ready for it to be over with.

Why is fair pay a controversy?

By James Tatum · Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012

The most inept comment to come from a Republican official this election season wasn’t from Richard Mourdock, the Senate candidate in Indiana, or from Todd Akin, a candidate in Missouri, both of whom made outlandish comments about rape. Women’s health wasn’t the issue either.

Letter to the Editor: Proposal 2

Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012

Dear editor, In my 10 years of teaching at Eastern Michigan University, I’ve never before written a letter to an editor.

Is Facebook friendship truly friendship?

By Jodi F. Bullock · Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

Not so long ago, the only way to know what a friend had for lunch was to either eat lunch with her or make a rather strange phone call. Now, all you have to do is log into Facebook and look at the status update she posted at noon.

Coulter tweet brings attention to offensive ‘R-Word’

By Patrick Seick · Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

“Obama: ‘Stage 3 Romneysia’ – because cancer references are HILARIOUS. If he’s ‘the smartest guy in the room’ it must be one retarded room,” was the Oct. 23 tweet offered by Conservative loudmouth Ann Coulter.

Debates reveal true nature of politics

By David Konarske · Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

Last week, the final debate of the presidential election ended. This time, I decided to watch the debate in Eastern Michigan University’s Student Center after the Mock Presidential Debate ended.

An open letter to students regarding the 2012 election

By Decky Alexander · Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

This open letter is to all my students: the lefties, the righties, the in-betweens, the first generations, the legacies, the undecided and the undeclared, the absolutists and the atheists, the Pell granters, the parent payers, the dreamers and doers and those who dream to do.

Mogul’s threats subvert democratic system

By Chris Hoitash · Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012

Apparently David Siegel didn’t get the memo: It’s the 21st century, not the 19th. An Oct. 9 Huffington Post article said, “David Siegel, the founder and CEO of giant timeshare company Westgate Resorts, sent an opus-like email to his workers, railing against one-percent bashing and arguing that the president’s reelection would “threaten your job.”

Rushin’ into fight with Russia irresponsible, dumb

By Robert Uldricks · Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012

Recently, President Barack Obama called to attention some comments made earlier this year by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Obama should steal Romney’s idea to limit deductions

By James Tatum · Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012

“Senator Clinton has a different approach,” said the slender Chicagoan to the Stepford Wife. “She believes that we have to force people who don’t have health insurance to buy it, otherwise there will be a lot of people who don’t get it,” he continued as he methodically slashed her ideas. “…And they may charge people who already don’t have healthcare fines or have to take it out of their paycheck, and that I don’t think is helping those without health insurance.”

Pot’s no different from alcohol, legalize it

By Jodi F. Bullock · Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has denounced marijuana legalization initiatives that will appear on ballots this November in Colorado, Oregon and Washington on the grounds that marijuana is a dangerous drug. If the DEA wants to continue their war on marijuana because they consider it dangerous, it should also urge the prohibition of alcohol for the same reason.