This election year is finally coming to a close. I'm sure many of you are ecstatic about this - it's just so much simpler to go home and watch "American Idol" and "Last Comic Standing" than watching those boring debates that actually require you to think.

But this was, in fact, a very important election cycle, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned from it - especially for the Democrats. Let's face it, it wasn't the best year to be on the "liberal" side of the argument. [Read article]

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

Pell Grants should not be reduced

Federal Pell Grants should not be reduced or eliminated for middle-income college students.

If the tax tables are updated, about one quarter of the 5 million college students who receive Pell Grants will see their rewards reduced by an average of $300 next year.

Low-income students should not be affected by these changes; however, middle-income students could be affected greatly. [Read article]

Abstinence slows AIDS in Africa

Alex Dong's ignorant rant regarding the Global Fund and AIDS in Africa in Friday's Wildcat was totally misguided and obviously from someone who has never been to Africa and seen the epidemic firsthand. First off, the abstinence programs supported by the Bush administration are the only ones that are actually stemming the growth of AIDS and evidence of this is clear in countries like Senegal or Kenya and in the Indian and Muslim communities of Botswana and South Africa. These places have virtually stopped the spread of AIDS by encouraging men to not visit prostitutes and encouraging people to not have premarital sex. These concepts may seem odd in America, where sex is prevalent, but a simple look at a map of Africa will show that AIDS is most prevalent in communities where religion does not prohibit promiscuity or where governments try to cover up the true epidemic. Global Fund wastes its time giving drugs to the sick, rather then stopping AIDS before it spreads. [Read article]