On Saturday, I had the opportunity to discuss the “Ask a Minority Project” with two students directly involved with the creation of the project. I met with Danae Smith, president of the Black Student Union, and Michael Aiyar, student employee of the Diversity Center. We had been unable to arrange a meeting prior to the publication of my last article regarding the project so we took this as an opportunity to discuss the intentions and goals behind the project. I raised concerns in the previous article other students may have...

Over the past week, boxes were placed at various locations around campus for a project called “Ask a Minority.” Next to each box is a list of the different student diversity organizations who will be answering questins posed to them through these boxes via the Facebook page, “Voices of Marginality.” The description on the Facebook page reads, “Inspired to action by the University of Puget Sound Confessions page, Voices of Marginality represents an attempt to create a unified voice for the student diversity clubs on campus.” Although I do support...

Same-sex marriage legality has recently become a major question at the federal level, with the Supreme Court deciding to hear two cases, one regarding Proposition 8 and the other the Defense of Marriage Act, that have the potential to put an end to the debate. On an episode of the satirical television show, “The Colbert Report,” that aired on March 27, Stephen Colbert acted devastated that so many people, including Bill O’Reilly of the Fox News show, “The O’Reilly Factor,” are actually in favor of same-sex marriage. On March 26,...

On January 26 it officially became illegal for consumers to unlock cell phones purchased after this date in order to use them with a different carrier. The Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, made this decision in October 2012. Unlocking cell phones was previously allowed as an exception to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. The ban has not, to say the least, been well-received by the populous. It has, in fact, been so ill-received that a petition was submitted to the White House. The petition was created on...

In November 2008, California passed Proposition 8, an amendment that officially banned same-sex marriage in the state. Prop. 8 has been viewed by many as unfair and discriminatory, and on Feb. 28, the White House issued a brief to the Supreme Court urging them to overturn the controversial law. The brief presents the question of “whether Proposition 8 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” President Obama’s stance on same-sex marriage has recently become more pronounced, even more so now that the administration has decided to play an...

Christopher Dorner, the former LAPD officer accused of murdering retired police captain Randal Quan’s daughter, Monica Quan and her fiancé, Keith Lawrence, was confirmed to have died  in a cabin in Big Bear, CA. A fire was started in the cabin on Tuesday presumably when police officers threw tear gas grenades inside. CNN reported on Friday that he remains of a body found inside were confirmed to be those of Dorner by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Dorner’s manifesto has received large amounts of attention and is available in...

The online non-profit organization WikiLeaks has been the source of much controversy over the past several years. Founded by Julian Assange in 2006, the website is a collection of information of a classified nature that is “leaked” by anonymous individuals. Two years ago, Bradley Manning was arrested in Baghdad due to his alleged involvement with WikiLeaks including leaking classified documents as well as footage of a 2007 U.S. airstrike in Baghdad. On Nov. 29 he testified for the first time since his arrest. Manning’s detention has lasted for 921 days...

Taxing the wealthiest portion of Americans has been a large issue for quite some time now “1-percenters” are often seen as selfish individuals who are unwilling to pay their fair share. While this is certainly the case regarding many people in this category, there is a group known as The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength leading the way in the movement to increase taxes on themselves and others like them. The group formed in 2010 in order to push for the expiration of the Bush tax cuts. According to their...

The 2012 election was, for many reasons, certainly an historic one. President Barack Obama was elected to a second term, winning many swing states after a well-fought campaign. His victory left many conservatives wondering what exactly caused Mitt Romney to lose the election. Many believe the “Ryan effect” was a cause for many moderates to turn their backs on Romney and re-elect Obama. However, there is quite a bit more to it than that. On election night, political conservative Andrew Sullivan appeared on The Colbert Report. Sullivan is an author...

The issue of rape and abortion has become a major issue due to the careless comments recently made by many pro-life Republicans. What many of them also have in common is that they have tried to go back on their comments in order to salvage their campaigns. It all began with the Republican Senate hopeful Todd Akin of Missouri. He infamously stated, “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” Akin apologized shortly after this, going as far as airing...

On October 22, Governor Mitt Romney and President Obama had their final debate, which took place at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. The debate focused on foreign policy and was moderated by CBS News anchor Bob Schieffer. Thirty minutes into the debate President Obama stated that Romney has “proposed wrong and reckless polices,” citing his praise of George Bush “as a good economic steward and Dick Cheney as somebody who shows great wisdom and judgment.” Although Romney found the statement rather humorous, it really isn’t that far from the...

On October 5 a Latino Education Policy Forum was held to discuss the possibility of making Washington state funds for higher education available to undocumented high school graduates. The forum was held by the Latino/a Educational Achievement Program (LEAP), an organization that seeks the betterment of academic achievement among Hispanic students in the state of Washington. So far, LEAP has had one major policy approved by the state legislature – House Bill 1079, which passed in 2003 and is explained by their website as allowing “undocumented students to pay in-state...