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Advertising, Consumption and the American Way

does freedom come with or without the iced mocha latte

Opinion | Spring 2012 | Volume 76 issue 7

Employers Abuse Social Media To Infringe On Jobseekers’ Rights, Invade Their Privacy

Continued popularity of social media has provided employers with unregulated too.

Why Journalism Is Important

Journalism has a very basic function: to tell the truth.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ensures the most basic American freedoms, and among these is the freedom of the press. The founders of this country recognized that a free press is necessary for the survival of a nation and its government.

Journalism Is Still Important

Journalism remains as important to the well-being and education of society as ever.

Journalism is important because it connects the dots of an expanding and confusing world. Reporters gather a deluge of data, translate the technical or academic language and present the facts in a digestible way, including both sides of the same coin.

Opinion | Spring 2012 | Volume 76 issue 6

Students Being Pushed Away From A Good Education

Offering additional courses with higher fees alienates those already struggling to pay tuition.

Having money has its advantages, but access to education shouldn’t be one of them. This is an issue that has recently received a lot of attention due to events at Santa Monica College, where a proposal to offer additional classes with higher fees was met with protests from angry students.

Being Ahead To Help Those In Need

Santa Monica College was ahead of the curve in trying to offer students alternatives for classes.

The board of trustees at Santa Monica College recently held a meeting to devise new options for tuition, and other colleges in the district should start to make similar plans. However, protests aimed at the meeting ended with 30 students being pepper sprayed, and the unfortunate outburst may draw attention away from a bittersweet possibility.

Opinion | Spring 2012 | Volume 76 issue 5

Bad Medicine: Addiction Hits Close to Home

The face of drug addiction is changing.

With the deaths of Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson and, most recently, Whitney Houston all being attributed to the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, it is tempting to chalk up their addictions to simple rockstar decadence. But the L.A. Times released reports showing that deaths from drug overdose now outnumber deaths from traffic accidents in the United States, and these rock-star problems are wreaking havoc on the lives of everyday people.

Continued Lack of Gun Control Means No End to Tragic Campus Shootings

Recent university shootings are proof that gun control laws are needed to end senseless killings.

Early this month, seven people were killed at Oikos University in Oakland, Calif. A former nursing student, upset that he had been expelled, entered a classroom, told the students to line up against the wall and opened fire. Each of the seven deaths from that day is tragic.

Women’s Rights Take a Big Step Backward in AZ

AZ’s HB-2625 to wreak havoc on employees while saving employers religious guilt and secular money.

Birth control and contraception, a very personal topic, is on the minds of many Arizona women as their Republican led state legislature draws nearer to the passage of a new law allowing employers to deny insurance coverage for birth control when used for non-medical contraceptive reasons, giving employers a virtual key to the bedroom of their employees.

Opinion | Spring 2012 | Volume 76 issue 4

Kony Campaign Seeks Justice For Thousands

The campaign hurls toward bringing former Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony to stand trial.

Millions of Internet users have stumbled onto the viral hit “Kony 2012” and perhaps wondered what the hoopla is all about. After watching the emotional 30-minute YouTube documentary, the brainchild of Jason Russell—USC Production Film School graduate and founder of the non-profit organization Invisible Children Inc.

Kony 2012 Misrepresents the Facts

The hugely popular film is misleading and the motives behind it are suspicious.

Joseph Kony is a monster. That is indisputable. What is in dispute, however, are the facts and motivations behind the film that has made him an Internet sensation. This raises the question of whether “Kony 2012” is an altruistic call to action or mere propaganda to justify a military invasion in central Africa.

End This War: The Afghanistan War Has Gone On Too Long And Has Cost Too Many Lives

The recent killings by American soldier prove prolonging the war will result in more atrocities.

March 11, an American soldier walked into an Afghan village and slaughtered 16 innocent people, most of them women and children, and set the bodies on fire. This is tragic, but it is only one of countless violent acts that have been committed against civilians in the decade-long war in Afghanistan.

Opinion | Spring 2012 | Volume 76 Issue 3

Asleep On The Job

Lax updates leave students in the dark about Valley’s crime records.

Valley College seems like a relatively safe place for young adults to pursue an education. The crime record at the Sheriff’s office certainly agrees: no reports have been filed since mid-December of last year. But the valley crime record available online tells a different story.

Inflated Gas Prices Offer An Opportunity

The high cost of gas provides added incentive to explore alternative fuel options.

Gas prices are up. It is impossible not to notice. The national average cost of a gallon of gas has reached $3.79, with prices even higher in California. But, it does not have to be this way. Alternative energy solutions must be found. Everyone is feeling the pinch— even those who do not drive— as higher gas prices increase the prices of virtually everything else, since the more it costs to trans- port something, the more consumers pay for it.

North Korea Is Out With The Old, In With The New

Kim Jong-un is a different man, that may bode well for the U.S. and the people of Koreas.

Kim Jong-un bears a striking resemblance to his grandfather, north Korea’s founder and “Eternal President,” Kim Il-sung. After 20 years of drought and famine, though, the country he recently inherited hardly resembles the once- proud Korea of his grandfather’s era.

Opinion | Spring 2012 | Volume 76 Issue 2

Rally The Troops

Smokers on campus must rally to prevent the potential smoking ban.

Walking passed someone blowing smoke in your face is unpleasant regardless of whether the recipient smokes. It’s rude and is a potential health hazard to others, which is why there are designated smoking areas situated around campus. Unfortunately, that might be changing very soon.

Valley College Smoking Ban Is A Bold Move

Valley College considers a bold move into the 21st century with a blanket ban on campus smoking.

Valley College should ban all smoking within the campus perimeter to protect the health of its students and faculty, as well as set an example as a green campus that is aware of the environmental impact caused by discarded cigarette butts. It is no secret that smoking is dangerous to your health and a highly addictive habit that attracts many users at a young age.

Drop-Out Students Get Shut Out: Valley’s New Three-Strikes Rule Limits Class Attempts

New rules to limit number of times a student can take a course questions generation’s motivation.

In a day and age where budget cuts define the California Community Colleges System, it is no surprise the state is implementing changes such as the “three-strike rule” to limit the number of times a student can take a class; it is, however, baffling that anyone would complain.

Opinion | Spring 2012 | Volume 76 Issue 1

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Billion-Dollar Corporation

Apple faces the disapproval of hundreds of thousands of people who oppose its employee treatment.

Look around, and one is bound to find an Apple product nearby. It might be someone making a phone call on an iPhone or a toddler tracing out the first letters of the alphabet on an iPad. This new year, Apple is faced with ups, downs, twists and turns.

Waiting To Exhale

In the wake of Whitney Houston’s death, the public should consider its how liable it is.

The death of pop icon Whitney Houston is just the latest in a celebrity-obsessed culture that destroys its heroes with an onslaught of tabloid headlines, turning a once amazing talent into a one-note joke. Houston was found dead in a Beverly Hilton bathtub on Feb.

The Dream Act Could Turn Into A Nightmare

The DREAM Act threatens to take away classroom seats that belong to those with citizenship.

California, ranked as the fifth-largest economy in the world, is buckling under its own weight, and no one is feeling the squeeze more than the education system. In these times of woe and want, with unemployment hovering around 10 percent and more adults returning to school to polish skills so they can compete in the job market, an initiative like the DREAM Act is destined to fail.

Marriage Is a Right, Not A Privilege

California’s Prop 8 has been shot down as part of a new wave of support for same-sex marriage.KEVIN

An appeals court has ruled that a proposed law banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. That is great news, but it is not enough. It is time for Proposition 8 to be repealed completely and for California to recognize that everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, has the right to marry the person they love.

Opinion | Fall 2011 | Volume 75 Issue 7

Pot, Kettle, Black

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences should practice what it preaches.

The only thing wrong with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' handling of Brett Ratner's resignation is what the move is supposed to represent. Ratner, who was tapped in August to produce the 2012 Academy Awards yet resigned his post Nov.8 after making a comment on The Howard Stern Show stating that "rehearsing is for fags.

Lack of Security on Campus Spooks Students

Hide your keys, hide your phone, grab a flashlight.

According to Deputy Ricky Baker, the security system upgrades at Valley College will make the campus safer at night. But, what should students do as they walk back to their cars...tonight? Picture this: It's 10 p.m., and your instructor has just excused you from your last class of the day.

The Sound of Silence

The firing of Penn State’s long-time Head coach Joe paterno was a long time coming.

The removal of Penn State's head football coach Joe Paterno last Wednesday evening was not the end of a legacy or legend ... it was the end of a dictatorship. It was neither tragic nor unfortunate to see Paterno, who had been head coach at Penn State for 46 years, fired after the exposal of a deep and dark secret, which had remained hidden inside Penn State's walls for more than nine years.

Opinion | Fall 2011 | Volume 75 Issue 5

Los Angeles Parking Sucks (Even More)

Apron parking tickets take a toll on college students, as though we need another expense.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation is sucking the life out of already broke Angelenos while financially raping already impoverished university students. All under the shield of an antiquated law. After more than 25 years, the city of Los Angeles has enacted a seemingly forgotten law: Los Angeles Municipal Code 80.

Fifteen Minutes of Shame

Media outlets paint a skewed picture of reprieved convicted murderer.

The story of Amanda Knox has been a tabloid goldmine since it unfolded in 2007. As long as people continue to believe lurid slurs in the media about particular people – i.e. Casey Anthony and Conrad Murray – tabloids will continue spewing these stories no matter the consequences.

Necessary Price

Anwar al-Awlaki was an American-born figure in the Yemeni affiliate of Al-Qaeda.

Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born member of Al-Qaeda, killed via a missile strike from an American drone aircraft was absolutely the right thing to do. It is ridiculous for anyone to argue that this one-time citizen of the United States should have been given the opportunity for a fair trial on American soil.

From College Dropout To More Money Than God

Steve Jobs left a legacy that is second to none.

A 1993 Wall Street Journal article described Steve Jobs as a once-great computer pioneer who had now been relegated to a "niche player." The irony is all the more delicious considering that many people found out about Jobs' death on the very machines that he invented.