On the surface, an amateur rugby player, an aspiring college student and a hitman may not have a lot in common. One could blow a game play, one may blow his chance to get into college and the last might just blow your head off. Yet these different roles represent the diverse spectrum of protagonists whose stories were told at the fourth edition of the Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF).
A woman comes up to a group of men and asks a simple question: "So do you guys like jokes?" Not realizing where she is about to take them, they say yes. Innocently, she asks them, "What do you call the extra skin around a vagina?" She responds, "A woman!" The smiling faces are quickly transformed into awkward grimaces and blank stares. This video installation by Elizabeth Watkins is just one of the works of art in the "Provocations" exhibit, the annual undergraduate art exhibition juried by Sarah C. Bancroft, curator of the Orange County Museum of Art.
An orchestra tuning its instruments before a musical is like the blossoming of roses; resilient. It starts out dull and closed off to its spectators, but with harmony guiding its movements, its different parts move outward and expand. It twists, dives and curls around in what at first does not appear able to create beauty. But in the end, it always does, fine-tuning its most appealing features in a cluster of rhythmic motion, finally settling into a state of calm. The difference between the blossoming of an orchestra and that of a rose is what comes next.
In this month's issue of Pediatrics, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government-appointed medical panel that sets guidelines on a number of health issues, advised doctors to regularly screen teens for depression. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's recommendation for doctors to make screenings more consistent, therefore, is an acknowledgement that depression has evolved into a nationwide and pressing concern.
When I was younger, I saw the world out of very confused eyes. I think I remember seeing so much happiness in it. But of course to compliment the pleasure, there always used to be a thing or two that was wrong (or at least just imperfect). I mean, when you're 6, how do you explain that some kids do not have the kind of clothes you do? How do you explain people living in huts? How do you forget the feeling that you experienced when you had a good meal only to walk out into the street to see children not quite having the luxury of an afternoon lunch? When you are 6, how do you rationalize all this in your mind? Well, I guess then I always figured that some things needed to be changed and that someone was going to come around and fix it. The world could be better.
Over my college career I have gotten involved in many facets of the university life. I am currently serving as the treasurer of my fraternity for a second consecutive term. As treasurer, I have been successful in raising our chapter out of a considerable amount of debt. I was the vice president of Students with Entrepreneurial Talent Ambitions (SWETA) and am currently starting an organization on campus called the Students for Educational Equity, with the purpose of helping to bridge the educational achievement gap in America. Over the past three years, I have worked as an intern for Western Asset Management Company, the world's third largest trader of fixed assets.
I am the most qualified individual for ASUCI president because I have the dedication and experience to serve the students with the greatest impact. Acting as student body president may seem glamorous, but being a successful student leader is more about hard work and sacrifice. Before I was elected, I played water polo for UC Irvine, but it soon became clear that I could not be a successful athlete and president at the same time. So I decided to give up my career in intercollegiate athletics and work 40-60 hours a week in ASUCI because I am passionate about UCI. I am running for re-election because I know that ASUCI has the resources to create a brighter future for Anteaters, and I possess the leadership to make these visions a reality.
It's a well-known fact that teachers are grossly underpaid for the crucial work they perform: teaching and imparting information to us so as to better prepare students for the world after school and college. So it comes as no surprise that the rotten economy's adverse effects on teachers has created a large amount of controversy in school districts, households and classrooms across America. Orange County and its surrounding areas are no exception.
While our president has been studying abroad over the last couple of weeks, there has not been a shortage of attacks from Republicans and conservatives. Their attacks have ranged from the dumb, such as Barack Obama no longer wanting America to be a superpower, to the hilarious, with Rush Limbaugh saying that the only reason the stock market is up is because Obama is overseas and can't "run" the economy from over there. Now I understand conservative angst and desperation. The Democrats were out of power for awhile in Congress and the executive branch, and they probably said and did some outrageous things while being in the minority. But throwing Boston Tea-Party-like tea parties? Come on.
Last year the UC Irvine community celebrated the first annual Peter's Parade—or at least attempted to. With only 15 student groups participating out of over 400 and garnering less than 100 onlookers on a campus of over 27,000, Peter's Parade was hardly a celebration of anything. So what does this tell us? UCI student life could use a hand, and as students, we must rely on ourselves rather than wait on outside aid that may never arrive.
