Archive for April, 2009
ASUCI Elections: No Change Means More of the Same
In the past, many ASUCI proposals seem to have been tailor-made to benefit only specific groups, but this year ASUCI made huge strides with its UC Irvine Stimulus Package Referendum proposal. The referendum was amazingly inclusive, offering to financially assist groups ranging from multicultural programs to the Greek system to student media. Yet, ask any of your fellow Anteaters if the proposal passed and the most honest answer they will be able to give you is, “I don’t know.” Likewise, the same could be said for four out of five executive positions, which are also currently undecided.
Fighting Charities Gone Wild
Orange County is home to some of the worst charities in the nation. How can a charity be bad, you ask, with wide-eyed innocence? The answer is based on the amount charities actually spend on their respective causes relative to how much funding they actually raise. The Association for Police and Sheriffs in Fullerton managed to spend only 4 percent of its funds while the Association for Fire Fighters and Paramedics in Santa Ana spends a mind-blowing 2 percent of its support on the actual cause, according to Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest evaluator of charities.
Meet the New Majority: Non-Tenured Faculty
UC Irvine generally does a great job of welcoming students. Lately, however, as I’ve followed those springtime campus tours around, I’ve noticed one thing that is wrong. Cheerful and otherwise well-prepared docents offer a problematic picture to potential Anteaters and their parents. Last week, a jolly tour guide stood under a tree and assured everybody that Academic Senate faculty members teach all classes at UCI.
Catch 22: Regulating Climate Change During a Recession
In 2007, in the decision of Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the court ordered the agency to determine whether heat-trapping gasses harmed the environment and/or public health. The agency’s findings were unanimous in determining that heat-trapping gases caused incredible harm to both the environment and to public health.
Letters to the Editor
ASUCI Executive Vice Presidential Candidate Responds; Reader Argues that Candidates Have the Wrong Focus; Past Lawsuit Renders Election Spending Caps Unlawful; AGS President Criticizes Apathy, Not Spending Caps
Can’t Handle the Snark? Get Off the Internet
David Denby, the resident film critic at the New Yorker, has been, for several months now, making the rounds on National Public Radio and other media outlets to schill his book, “Snark: It’s Mean, It’s Personal and It’s Ruining Our Conversation.” The subject of Denby’s book, in case it isn’t clear enough, is snark.
Hypocrisy Marks Durban Conference
“We say that this fake regime [Israel] cannot logically continue to live. Open the doors [of Europe] and let the Jews go back to their own countries.”
The Soloist
One look at director Joe Wright’s (“Atonement”) latest film and you think you have it figured out. What it looks like from trailers and clips is your average awards-bait film; a disabled savant whose inner talent is brought out by his friendship with a saner person. For the most part, this assumption is correct, but a surprising lack of a few major conventions of the feel-good Oscar flick, and the strength of the two lead actors makes what could have been another sappy paint-by-numbers experience into something actually worth seeing.
Shanghai Reveals Its ‘Two Faces’
Rather than turning left to go to the Loan Reserves Desk or making a right to the couches and study cubicles, students should take 20 steps straight ahead.
Greeks Go All Out at Songfest
On Friday night, the Greek community held its 30th annual Songfest philanthropy event in the Bren Events Center. This year, the event raised over $30,000 for the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer program, burying Songfest’s goal of $25,000. Each fraternity and sorority at UC Irvine paired up in fall quarter and for the entire year rigorously rehearsed 12 minutes from a play of their choosing. The end result is three hours of singing, dancing and choreography. Past Songfests have included segments from plays such as “Wicked” and “All Shook Up.”
