Bake sale boils over

This letter is in response to the negligent, misleading bake sale hosted by the College Republicans on Wednesday.

Don't get me wrong; as a political science major, I love to see social activism on campus. However, I believe that the College Republicans skewed the aspects of affirmative action in an attempt to sway opinions of fellow students.

Despite what Sean Hannity and Pete Seat may tell you, the purpose behind affirmative action is described by the Department of Labor as: "Taken together, (affirmative action laws) ban discrimination and require federal contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action to ensure that all individuals have an equal opportunity for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or status as a Vietnam-era or special-disabled veteran." Before this critique of the bake sale becomes too partisan, let me say that I am not writing to advocate the justification for affirmative action. What I am suggesting is that instead of irresponsibly spreading inaccurate propaganda about the issue, the College Republicans should attempt to educate colleagues in a manner that warrants an impartial decision to be made on the matter. We, as political activists, must take into account that there are a significant number of students on campus who are exceedingly uninformed about many of the social and political issues in circulation today. Instead of poking fun at a very serious and controversial matter such as affirmative action, political organizations (College Republicans and Young Democrats alike) should focus more on conveying an accurate depiction of the details of an issue so citizens can make an unbiased, well-informed decision in regards to their support and/or disapproval on the matter. By doing this, the opinion of the majority will be represented accurately and truthfully, which is precisely what a democracy should strive for. [Read article]

Every now and again, I get nostalgic about my less-than-normal childhood. While other mothers would gently brush and braid their daughters' hair, I remember my mother taking a pumice stone and scraping my skin raw in an attempt to rid me of the dark coloring I inherited from my father.

Thanks to her full-blooded Spanish grandfather, my mother has a very European look with fair skin, slender lips and a petite nose. My father, on the other hand, carries the more typical Filipino look with darker skin, full lips and a nose that looks like the result of being laid on his face as an infant. [Read article]

The best in last week's editorials from college campuses across the nation

Iowa State University

The real problem, though, is that in not listening to the Iraqi Governing Council, the United States has set itself up as an opposition force to the Iraqis rather than a force working with them.

What will sovereignty mean if the United States still has a military force that doesn't consult the local government? As a result, the United States is alienating the very people it set out to help and setting the stage for continual disaster in Iraq. [Read article]