Opinions

You know that character with schizophrenia who is convinced that the government is watching him and is used in nearly every hospital or alien related movie ever made? Today, he might not be entirely crazy to believe that his every move is being tracked. Although there are several situations in which devices that can track a person’s location can be good, and even save lives, it is necessary for the government to set up boundaries that limit the violations of personal privacy. After 9/11, the government implemented the Federal Communications...

Read for pleasure lately? Doubt it—in college, chances are that students have very little time to dedicate to reading material that is not required for a class, and here at Puget Sound, many students lack the time or motivation to even indulge in reading what is required. This trend reflects the habits of a majority of adult Americans. When I do occasionally crack open a required reading for a class (i.e. midterm in two hours), I often notice something interesting: that my mind is completely blown. Such books and articles...

Egypt removed an egocentric dictator from thirty years of reign, and yet here in the US we cannot get a single politician to choose education over his Republican beliefs. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s responses have been nothing but dismissive of the protesters’ wants. As he represents the voice of the people, this is unacceptable. The Wisconsin protests revolve around Governor Walker’s push to cut benefits for state workers, which includes teachers. His cuts would essentially eliminate the effectiveness of unions. The only power that would remain is effectively described in...

On Feb. 18, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to ban Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal funding, with a vote of 240 to 185. This amendment, which Planned Parenthood CEO Judy Tablar has called “an extreme and dangerous piece of legislation,” will likely have devastating consequences for our society if it passes in the Senate as well. The bill, proposed by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), targets Planned Parenthood specifically because it is known as the go-to institution for abortions and contraceptives. Many House representatives are wary of...

It seems like everyone is under attack for their beliefs these days. Whether it’s pressure from your parents, fostering a political agenda or simply fuming in your bedroom over a conversation you’ve just had or something you’ve seen on TV, the tension between different groups of people and their ideas is impossible to escape. This tension is particularly prominent between two groups: the fundamentally religious and the bombastic atheist. The mutual intolerance often held by both extreme atheists and extreme fundamentalists is not only limiting to compromise and progress, but...