Opinion - The Daily Cardinal

OPINION

Yik Yak shows the downside of opinion

By Marisa Bernstein | Apr. 26, 2015

I spent all afternoon Friday, April 17 lying on the dock by Memorial Union. Yeah, I would absolutely hate me too. But I finished class at 9:40 a.m., and winter is apparently back, so for all we know that quite literally might have been the nicest day Wisconsin will have until June. So, I took advantage of it. Allowing my alarmingly Irish skin to fry like a cheese curd in the minimally intense sunshine.

CAMPUS NEWS

Letter to the Editor: Israeli Independence Day event benefits all of campus

By Andy Van Sistine and Sadie Dorf | Apr. 26, 2015

When I committed to the University of Wisconsin-Madison I was ready to challenge myself academically, socially and culturally as an involved Jewish freshman. I knew that my college choice would be a journey of growth and I was ready to take on the college world by keeping an open mind. I had always been an active Jewish child through my family’s Friday Shabbat routine, my elementary education at a Jewish private day school, nine summers spent at a Jewish summer camp and eventually studying abroad during my sophomore year of high school in Israel. I made the choice to explore myself, my faith and my abilities by exploring Israel, a country that values culture, passion, history and celebration.

OPINION

Letter to the Editor: Porn contributes to gender stereotypes

By Natalie Maczuga | Apr. 21, 2015

Tits, ass, pussy. These are the words that choke the media of today. All we see is naked ladies and their genitals spread open cross the magazine covers. With this said, what is the difference between commercialized pornography and the sexualized material we view at bus stops, on television, in magazines, or in movies?

OPINION

History prepares us for future violence

By Hae Rin Lee | Apr. 19, 2015

I think one of the greatest and worst psychological defense mechanisms in the human mind is denial. It is an outright refusal to admit that something has occurred or is currently occurring. The irony is that what is used to protect us actually hinders progress and true peace. As a mechanism, it is so tempting to use, even when confronted with its faults.

OPINION

Lessons are best learned the hard way

By Marisa Bernstein | Apr. 15, 2015

Living away from parents is a fun adventure. In the beginning I felt so invincible. Like, “I’ll stay awake forever on a Monday night because I feel no pain and nothing matters except what I feel in this moment, and right now I want pizza and I don’t care what it does to my body because it’s the middle of the night and I’m in college, man.” This was a far leap from my years of living at home, when my mom was there to emotionally lift me out of bed every morning, my dad was there to spread the peanut butter on my toast, and then the two of them would literally watch me walk from the house to my car yelling after me the inspiring yet slightly condescending phrase, “Make good choices!”

OPINION

Government programs are the key to economic prosperity

By Sergey Fedossov | Apr. 15, 2015

As college students, we came to Madison to further our education and take that critical step to join the workforce. The benefits of a college degree are irrefutable, and going to college is about as culturally ingrained as apple pie and baseball here in America.

OPINION

Competitive Republican primaries will benefit Clinton

By Ryan Seib and Benjamin Rangel | Apr. 14, 2015

This past Sunday Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy for president in 2016—the worst kept secret in politics. Over the last few weeks, Republican candidates have also come forth with their respective declarations of candidacy with undoubtedly more to come. The large difference between the two is that Clinton has a better chance of winning the Democratic nomination without any serious competitor than any non-incumbent in recent memory, while the Republicans have a long primary season ahead.

OPINION

Remember Lincoln for who he truly was

By Max Lenz | Apr. 14, 2015

At 7:22 in the morning, 150 years ago today, the most brilliant political leader in our country’s history died, hunched over on a stranger’s bed that was too short for his body. He was 56 years old. In that time he accomplished more politically than anyone ever had and anyone ever will.

OPINION

The failure of America’s fourth estate

By Cullen Voss | Apr. 14, 2015

It’s difficult to have a citizenry who gives a damn about voting when they immediately associate politics as a shouting match between two sides who are constantly trying to undermine the other. There is the office of the presidency and then there is the President of the United States. There is the governorship and there is the governor. In both of these instances, the titles and the individuals themself are not synonymous but you must have civility when discussing the man or woman holding that office. When the media is critical of, and investigates Gov. Scott Walker or President Barack Obama’s policies it is healthy and just as much a part of the democratic process as voting, calling them names in an effort to boost ratings or web traffic, is not.

OPINION

Take a moment to consider existence

By Elijah Gray | Apr. 12, 2015

I’m on an airplane right now. Well, not right now, because by the time anyone reads this, spring break will have come to a close and I’ll be settling back into college life in Madison. But as I type these words I’m on a plane to Los Angeles, surrounded by people who might as well be miles away.

OPINION

The death penalty fails as a punishment on multiple levels

By Hae Rin Lee and ??zge Sevindik | Apr. 12, 2015

Should the state have the right to end people’s lives as a punishment? Is that ever going to be effective in reducing the pain and suffering inflicted by the most heinous crimes, let alone eradicating them completely? I do not deny that those who commit statutory wrongs in our society should be punished, but I wonder whether this particular disciplinary method is serving as an effective deterrent. Outside of certain particularized situations, I can no longer accept that it is.

OPINION

Reliability means making tough choices

By Marisa Bernstein | Apr. 8, 2015

My favorite place in college library is the line leading up to the cash register in the little cafe on the first floor. I get giddy just thinking about picking out my snacks. Generally it’s where I take a little break, grab some gummy worms or something else that I will later regret eating. But I do it anyway, time and time again. I always rely on those gummy worms to lift me up during endless hours of studying.

OPINION

Boston bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and the death penalty

By Sarah Rowen | Apr. 8, 2015

The juror’s decision in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev came back yesterday and he has been found guilty on all 30 charges, including the 17 charges that carry the death penalty. This is an incredibly unsurprising outcome, seeing that Tsarnaev plead guilty, his lawyer’s opening remarks were “it was him,” and that the defense did not cross examine a single witness called by the prosecution, the majority of whom were survivors of the attack. The trial, however, is still far from over. The jury must begin deliberations again, this time over whether or not Tsarnaev will receive the death penalty.

CAMPUS NEWS

Soglin should do more for student life

By Max Lenz | Apr. 7, 2015

It’s all over, folks. Another local election that most students probably had no clue was happening is in the books. Not surprisingly, incumbent Paul Soglin won by a large margin. Madisonians’ mustachioed mayor is back for at least four more years. For those of you that have read my articles in the past (I’m of course referring solely to my mom and dad), you’ll know that I am a fan of the mayor. His intellectual capabilities and inherent Madison-ness make him the ideal leader of our community. However, while I am overjoyed by the incumbent’s victory, there is one area that was, perhaps rightly, overshadowed in the campaign that I would like him and the Common Council to address moving forward: student life.

OPINION

Creativity is dead in America

By Lucas Deruyter | Apr. 6, 2015

Creativity and originality are dying in American media. As of late, remakes, adaptations and spin-offs have taken center stage in movies, television and literature. It is becoming much more difficult for new independent projects to enter into media’s center stage. While this may not seem like an issue, this is going to have a tremendously adverse effect on storytelling in the long run. it was recently announced that a live action movie based on the children’s cartoon “Winnie the Pooh” is going to be made by Disney. It is too early to tell whether this film is going to be any good, but the fact that yet another children’s story is being adapted or rebooted is concerning.

OPINION

Cardinal View: Soglin is still the right choice for Madison

By The Daily Cardinal Editorial Board and Sam Morgan | Apr. 6, 2015

In the fall of 1967, 22-year-old Paul Soglin and his UW-Madison peers were engaged in a peaceful sit-in to protest the campus presence of Dow Chemical Company, one of the leading producers of napalm during the Vietnam War. When Madison police attempted to remove the students from the building in which they were protesting, the confrontation turned violent and many students, including Soglin, were beaten by officers. Soglin was later chosen to lead the student strike that followed the incident.

OPINION

Letter to the Editor: Teach for America endangers the public school system

By Sarah Dobbs | Apr. 5, 2015

We can provide an excellent education for kids in low-income communities.” What recent graduate of education doesn’t want to embrace and advance this statement? This is the mission statement of Teach for America. The program, though well intentioned, is a threat to public education. It replaces qualified teachers with recent college graduates in underserved classrooms and uses tax dollars to fund pro-reform, pro-privatization education operations. TFA is a menace to the success of public education everywhere and, as a college student and passionate proponent of public education, I must alert you that TFA is recruiting on your campus!

‘Living naturally’ negates millenia of natural selection

By Sergey Fedossov | Mar. 26, 2015

It seems I can’t go a week without hearing something about “living naturally.” While it isn’t as common in Wisconsin, this health craze of looking toward our ancestors and their lifestyle habits and choices is all but unavoidable on the West Coast. However, I do see the slow creep of this movement in UW-Madison’s student population, and it must be stopped. I see toe shoes, ketogenic Paleo diets, functional strength training a la CrossFit and all affiliated acts as a faddish response for middle-aged men tired of the weekly spin class their significant others force them to attend. This group of ideals would almost be tolerable, and even respectable, if its proponents were not some of the most annoying people you’ll meet on planet Earth, but since they are, I feel its my job to pick apart what’s driving these fads forward.

OPINION

Transparency needed in course evaluations

By Sam Gottstein | Mar. 26, 2015

A recent email from the Office of the Registrar reminded me of the daunting task of registering for classes. In the upcoming weeks, many UW-Madison students will begin to enroll in classes for the Fall 2015 term.

OPINION

Public schools could solve homelessness

By Yukako Hirakawa | Mar. 24, 2015

I recently met a man who is passionate about ending homelessness in the United States. His name is John McLaughlin, and he works at the U.S. Department of Education. As an education program specialist, John deals with educational issues involving homeless students.