Opinion
The adventures of Triceragoose: Stomping ground
By Steve Minnich | April 2, 2009Contact cartoonist Steve Minnich at steve.minnich@richmond.edu
Contact cartoonist Steve Minnich at steve.minnich@richmond.edu
Dear Readers, Welcome to a new year! Transition is over, and I now face the daunting task of filling Megan Wilson's shoes as the editor-in-chief of The Collegian for the 2009-2010 year.
You probably noticed the hordes of alums walking around campus last weekend, children in tow or reuniting with their old cohorts.
I spent most of my Saturday night walking around campus. I don't know exactly what I expected to see on my stroll, but I unfortunately didn't catch any goose murderers or spot any alumni rekindling old flames in the bushes.
To the university administration, what are you waiting for? There is a situation at the gym that should have been addressed weeks, if not months, ago: a person clearly and significantly below a healthy bodyweight, excessively exercising, day after day.
What is one of the greatest, and most overlooked, aspects of college life? Pranks. College was made for pranks.
In last week's opinion section, an article was published titled, "Abortion Seems to Defy All Logic." The author began by making the analogy of the past enslavement of African Americans to the enslavement of aborted babies. Putting the faulty logic of this unoriginal analogy aside, the author fails to realize that by outlawing abortion - which is the objective that the article advocates, society would be enslaving women - making them prisoners of their own wombs. Like many anti-abortion advocates, Caleb apparently views women not as human beings, but instead as second-class citizens who do not deserve autonomy over their own anatomy.
Regardless of whether you know who Stephen Sondheim is (don't feel bad, I didn't either until covering his campus visit), the Father of Broadway's words should still strike a chord: The only things worth doing are the ones that scare you. When I learned I'd be home for my brother's concert last month, my chance to heed Sondheim's advice glittered like the black, sequined top of lead singer Jenny Lewis (former "Troop Beverly Hills" child star) at Rilo Kiley's Philadelphia show last summer. Hers was a performance that a) considering the homosexuality-on-campus dialogue that has dominated the opinion section this semester, could beckon enemy lines closer as Lewis could seduce you regardless of where you've set up camp along the sexuality spectrum and b) made me itch to be on stage. Entonces, I informed my brother that, if need be, I was perfectly willing to lend my vocals for a song or two.
Pig roast is my favorite holiday. I mean, the ones at home with family bonding are great, but what other chance does the Richmond campus get to bond?
Part of the Collegian's mission is to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas, and we are proud of the discussions that our opinion section and online edition have fostered. But as the semester has progressed, some of the comments for online articles have moved away from a discussion of ideas, morphing into anonymous and very public attacks on the personalities and lifestyles of the people who write articles, columns and comments on our Web site. The Collegian's policy for print opinion submissions is that they must be accompanied by the writer's name, unless the editor grants a writer's request for anonymity.
Editor's Note: The following article is satirical in nature and should in no way be taken as truth. President Edward Ayers announced Tuesday that the Festivus celebration, better known as Pig Roast, will be canceled this year. A late-night meeting on Monday composed of the board of directors, deans, and President Ayers concluded that due to the increasing number of alcohol-related incidences on campus that the well-known drinking holiday was not a good idea. "Last year we had to increase our police force so that our students could party... I don't think that is why students come here," Ayers said in his speech Tuesday morning.
"They're not really humans," "Their lives hold the potential to improve the lives of others," "Doing this is economically necessary for some," "It's not morally wrong," and, "If you don't want one, don't get one." Such were the arguments for keeping slaves in the 1800s. Today, these same arguments would be ridiculed if anyone tried to use them to justify slavery, yet all of them are used to justify abortion.
Four (Really Trivial) Things This School Needs: Fireplaces. In the library? In the Commons?
The shuffle on my iPod can predict the future. How's that for an opening hook? It all started way back in 2005, my freshman year of college.
To the UR students who showed their support for the appointment of Acting Chaplain Kate O'Dwyer Randall to the permanent position of Chaplain to the University of Richmond in a petition circulated at the end of last semester, congratulations.
It's safe to say that I hated this school one year ago. For lots of reasons, I also hated the insecurity I felt within myself. There is nothing like being in a city, state or nation where you don't know a single person.
Dear Editor, I'm not sure how familiarized you are with the new class schedule for next year.
Barack Obama campaigned on the pledge that only the very top group of income earners in America would see tax increases under his leadership.
Ladies and gentlemen, don't miss the "Pies for Charity" event from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, March 30 in the Forum.
It was the Thursday of spring break when I found myself on the front porch of a dilapidated house in the 13th Ward of New Orleans.