Saturday, June 20, 2026

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

Racist reactions to Obama's election ignorant

One of the more unfortunate side effects of the election of Barack Obama as president has been a rise in prejudice hate crimes across the nation. These incidents have ranged from the expected name-calling to nooses being hung to a store in Michigan flying a flag upside down — the international signal for distress — the day after Obama was elected.

COMMENTARY

Recession news not a cause for serious concern

The National Bureau of Economic Research made official Monday what many have known to be a fact for a while: The U.S. is in a recession. No duh, right? What many people fail to grasp is that the nature of a recession is such that it can’t be determined that we’re in one until we’re well into one. Thus, the announcement.

COMMENTARY

Actors' strike will hit economy hard

It’s been less than a year since the end of the last major entertainment strike, but once again Hollywood is rampaging right for the edge of the cliff, ready to do its best “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” impression. Or “Thelma & Louise,” to be politically correct. This time, it’s the actors — not the writers — who have begun threatening a strike.

COMMENTARY

Cabinet picks don't represent change

It seems like an eon ago that President-elect Barack Obama, that mighty vanquisher of the “same old Washington,” was merely an upstart junior senator, taking on the Clinton political juggernaut. The choice back then was clear — a vote for Obama was a vote for the future, whereas support for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., was a vote for the past.

COMMENTARY

This year's Black Friday behavior out of control

It’s time to reconsider “Shop ‘til you drop.” On Black Friday — the day retailers often see their bottom lines climb out from the negative — shoppers often congregate outside their bastions of retail religion for hours upon hours in the late-fall cold. They leave their Thanksgiving dinners early or skip them altogether.

COMMENTARY

Groups promote unity, not racism

I read Alex Freitag’s column Student groups overstress race (SN 11/20) with great interest, as a lot of the bullet points remind me exactly how much work needs to be done with bridging the gap in race relations on this supposedly diverse campus.

COMMENTARY

Clinton a wise choice for secretary of state

It may not be official, but the worlds of news and politics are all abuzz with word that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., will soon be announced as President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for the position of secretary of state.

COMMENTARY

Funding student groups with tuition only increases expenses

This letter is in response to the editorial Race-based groups deserve student tax Funds (SN 11/25). This editorial states, “People also should remember that nobody is forcing students to join these groups.” While this is a true statement, it is not true that nobody is forcing students to fund these groups.

COMMENTARY

Assault victims bear no responsibility for attacks

I don’t like the way Abby Lubbers adds insult to injury in the police blurb Police: Woman attacked near Hubbard Hall (SN 11/24) by indirectly placing the blame on the survivor of the attack. Reminding readers to plan where to run in case of an attack or to look around the bushes seems to insinuate that this woman obviously failed to form an escape plan ahead of time or to look for villains who might be lurking in bushes.