The Distinguished Lecture Series is an entirely student-run organization committed to bringing influential speakers with powerful ideas to campus to give free lectures to students. On Monday, Nov. 17, the committee brought The New York Times bestselling author Bill Bryson to Shannon Hall in Memorial Union.
November 20 is Universal Children’s Day, a day devoted to observing the welfare of the world’s children. Unfortunately, in the U.S. and elsewhere, children are still denied fundamental human rights. Children worldwide suffer from corporal punishment in homes and schools, are denied access to schooling, are forced to join violent militias, and endure a host of other atrocities that clearly violate the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and other international human rights treaties. One issue that has received attention in the past few months is that of child labor.
Did you notice? Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel just announced plans to massively “upgrade” the US nuclear arsenal. It might have been swallowed by other breaking and ongoing news: ISIS and another beheading, Ebola, Ferguson, or the historic comet landing of Philae – at least one positive story. In addition to local news, stories in my own community of Hood River, Oregon include the transport of coal and construction of coal terminals, blast zone determination for oil trains, or the legacy of the Hanford nuclear production complex, which was part of the Manhattan Project.
President Obama came forward Monday, with his support for the concept known as net neutrality. Simply put, net neutrality is the idea that Internet service providers should give equal access to the Internet regardless of the source and not prioritize or block content.
Here we are. Over a week past the election. I think it’s about time I relax, take a deep breath and start complaining about something other than politics. For me, the next logical step is sports. When I first sat down to write this article, though, I struggled to find something that I could realistically malign for 500-900 words. I mean, things have been pretty good lately. The Packers are 6 and 3 and they just finished putting the smackdown of the century on the Bears, which I’m sure made Jay Cutler feel nothing because it’s clear by his play and demeanor that neither the city of Chicago nor the sport of football mean anything to him. On top of that, while the Badgers suffered a couple disappointing losses to start the season, it’s hard to complain when they’ve won four straight in decisive fashion and have a player with a realistic chance of winning the Heisman
Human history is very complex—as bright as it can be, it could also represent us to be the mere descendants of twisted minds as we repeat the regrettably depressing past. One of many moments predominated by this is the history of ethnic genocide. Today, another ethnic genocide deeply rooted in religious and ethnic conflicts in Myanmar is continuing to worsen. The Rohingya, a muslim minority group in a country which is predominantly Buddhist, is on the verge of another genocide at the hands of the Myanmar government.
The Waubesa Wetlands, located at the southwestern edge of Lake Waubesa, are home to a plethora of plant and animal species. As a source of ecological and aesthetic importance, the Wetlands are one of the area’s prized locations, named one of the state’s “100 Wetland Gems” by the Wisconsin Wetland Association. But this rich and beautiful area is currently threatened by a proposed plan to develop the 924-acre Northeast Neighborhood of Fitchburg, which lies near the wetlands. Despite testimony from several experts, the Capitol Area Regional Planning Commission (CARPC) may be pushing forward to do just that, with potentially disastrous results.
Halloween weekend has come and gone. Barely there costumes and piles of candy (among other things) are no longer in our dreams or mantra to get us through the school week. Instead of moving on to the next holiday, which would be Thanksgiving, the entire campus has gone Christmas crazy. The talk in classrooms and on all social media forums is of Christmas music, Christmas decorations and Christmas presents. Even as I write this article, I am listening to Christmas music and drinking hot cocoa. While I am not opposed to Starbucks switching its seasonal drink choice away from the favored pumpkin spice latte to the peppermint mocha, I am lost in the dash to get to Christmas.
Following the news of her inevitable defeat, Mary Burke delivered her concession speech to a crowd of disappointed supporters Tuesday night. It was, in a word, brilliant. She demonstrated passion, determination, humor and a touching poignance that would have even tugged at the emotions of those who opposed her most. She appeared smart and in control, but most importantly, she looked like a leader, a leader willing to fight and claw to defend her democratic values. All of this led me to ask: Where the hell was this during the campaign?
A few weeks ago, over Twitter, I had a slightly tempestuous series of exchanges with the music streaming company Spotify. Its services, which can be accessed by either paying directly or agreeing to listen to advertisements intermittently between songs, are available for both computers and phones.
Scott Walker was able to emerge victorious in his third election in four years and returns as Wisconsin’s governor. Gov. Walker’s win coincided with a dominant night for Republicans around the country. Despite the fact that Gov. Walker’s tenure has been marred with controversy, he was able to defeat Democratic candidate Mary Burke with relative ease.
Today is the last day to vote in the 2014 midterm elections. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. across the state. This election is the culmination of all the political ads you’ve been inundated with over the past months and those awkward Facebook debates with your freshman year roommate’s weird Uncle Jeffrey that went on far too long without a semblance of a hope of changing anyone’s mind.
Last Friday, Michael Alsbury, a pilot flying a test run for a Virgin Galactic spaceship, lost his life when the spaceship crashed on its California test site. In addition to the tragedy of Alsbury’s death, this crash could also be an early deathblow to the fledgling space tourism industry. Virigin Galactic has been one of the top contributors to advancing the front of space tourism. While the company and founder, Richard Branson will have some difficult lessons to learn concerning the failed crash, some of which may involve listening to advisers who told them the ship was not ready for testing, perhaps we can all learn a lesson from the unfullfiled hype that the crash has imposed upon those who were excited for the potential of space tourism.
Solutions by The State News
