Opinion

Opinion: Sound advice for foreign students

Studying abroad is beneficial in many ways. One benefit is that you can observe the educational system in the host country, which can be totally different from the one that you were used to. There are a lot of factors that affect these differences, such as culture, student psychology and historical educational system.

Staff Editorial: When in doubt, follow ethics

In February, a rogue computer hacker opened a hole in a prominent Web site that helps students apply to business schools. The hacker created a way for applicants to find out if they've been accepted to the school, and many applicants used the hole to look up their status.

Please, take them away: guns a hindrance to free society

There is a place in this country in which more citizens died of gun violence in a single week than did American soldiers on the battlefields of Iraq. Given such an analysis, one could argue that statistically speaking, this American venue was, over the course of this particular week, more dangerous and violent than Kabul or Baghdad.

Starbucks exec responds to Eagle letters to editor

The Eagle has recently published two letters to the editor containing information about Starbucks that inaccurately describes our coffee purchasing practices. We are proud of the efforts Starbucks makes to purchase coffee in a socially responsible way, as well as our work with coffee farmers.

Opinion: Barbie 2008? No thanks

If you ever happen to wander into my room (don't regard this comment as an open invitation), you'll notice something slightly unconventional on my desk amid notebooks, scissors and highlighters - a Barbie. No, this isn't some defense mechanism in which I regress to my childhood in order to find happiness.

Letter to the editor

Dear Editor: This is a letter I recently wrote to my father. Based on the many conversations I have had with people on this campus and abroad, I believe that it may hold value and shed words of hope to others to let them know they are not alone. Dad, I have been going through a lot of stuff recently.

Staff Editorial: Cuts streamline AU

AU will soon announce the termination of the master's dance program from the Department of Performing Arts roster, in order to further focus on the undergraduate dance program. Though the natural reaction among students tends to be indignation toward the administration for cutting something, we feel the University's decision makes sense.

Bankruptcy bill bankrupt

Bloggers, editorial pages, my parents - everywhere I go, liberals are bashing the bankruptcy bill that passed the Senate last week. And to be fair, it's an absolutely terrible piece of legislation. Professor Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard expert in bankruptcy law, says it isn't fair and that it "beats up the average family already staggering under the weight of bad luck and huge debts, while it lets real abusers go free.

Comics

Staff Editorial: Support Pura Vida in AU coffee wars

Sometime in the near future, AU will decide on the fate of a premiere piece of real estate on campus. The spot currently occupied by Auntie Anne's Pretzels will soon be replaced, either by a Starbucks or a Pura Vida coffee shop. Strangely, the administration has brushed off a huge outpouring of support for Pura Vida as "less than one-fifteenth of campus.

Opinion: Choose coffee that promotes fairness

Since October, the administration and our dining services provider, Bon Appetit, have been deliberating what will replace Auntie Ann's Pretzels in the Mary Graydon Center. The deadline for this decision is approaching quickly. Two companies, Pura Vida and Starbucks, are offering similar gourmet coffee shops.

Staff Editorial: Death Penalty week a chance to learn

Monday is the start of Death Penalty Awareness Week on campus. The event, sponsored by AU's chapter of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, includes a panel discussion, a vigil and a speech from a death row inmate. The event is a great chance to have a real dialogue about the issue, provided it does not degenerate into a shouting match.

Comics

Staff Editorial: Victory for gay marriage rights

Gay and civil-rights activists are celebrating this week, as a superior court judge in California's San Francisco County ruled that the State Supreme Court cannot ban the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, based on a clause in the California constitution that protects all the state's residents from discrimination.

News teaches morals

Recent courtroom activities and congressional hearings have captured America's attention on a level the likes of which have not been seen since the O.J. Simpson trial a decade ago. Once again the best place to find your favorite celebrity is on reality court TV.

Letter from the Old and New Editors

Dear readers, For seniors, spring semester means purgatory; I'm just a member of the Class of 2005 in limbo. I schedule job interviews between classes. Phone calls from parents, which had come less frequently since high school, are picking up again as Mom and Dad anxiously inquire after summer plans.

Staff Editorial: CUA cuts not in spirit of academics

The Catholic University of America announced last month that it would cut scholarships for the campus newspaper, campus yearbook and student government. The announcement came just a few months after CUA administration cut ties with the newspaper, The Tower, due to unhappiness with The Tower's reporting on campus issues.