Opinion

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Dump the second semester slump

There is no set definition to describe the difference between first semester and second semester. When trying to craft my own definition I searched the very trustworthy site of Urban Dictionary only to find this definition: “Pertaining to the students in their second semester of the school year, it is the act of doing poorly on one’s assignment, paper and or tests. This does not just go for schoolwork, can be done in all facets of life also.”

More money more health care problems

Everything in the world has some consequences. Today, our world is moving fast; the speed of economic boom in many developing nations is amazing. Unfortunately, there are some negative consequences of this economic progress. One of those is the increase of chronic illness in those countries.

Je suis Charlie, je suis free speech

News reports over winter break provided a flurry of headlines worth talking about, from the CIA torture report, gasoline prices falling to the lowest they’ve been in six years and President Obama restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba. All of these events possess a high level of significance, but none more-so than the terror attack in Paris Jan. 7 when two gunmen wearing masks and wielding assault weapons killed 12 people. Their target? A cartoon newspaper named Charlie Hebdo that prints satirical cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad. 

Students should not overlook well-being during finals

For those Badgers who feel that the stress caused by their workloads is akin not to that of the typical college student but the most beleaguered, overworked airplane pilots, any break from studying may be perceived as an impediment to ensuring readiness for a final test or essay. However, even though stress is an implicit part of most college students’ academic experiences, knowing when to take a break from studying is an important part of maintaining mental and physical health. In hearing and observing people’s attitudes toward studying, I’ve realized that many students are wont to follow an academic orthodoxy that holds hunkering down for hours on end as the optimal way to guarantee success in the classroom. To be honest, many workloads do require hours of focus and dedication if one wishes to do well. Nevertheless, work habits that consistently forgo exercise and relaxation breaks in favor of uninterrupted studying run the risk of intensifying the stress caused by coursework and increasing the likelihood of illness. 

Rockets to riots: A look back at 2014

As 2014 draws to a close, we should take time to remember the important events that shook us, scared us and filled us with wonder. 

Travel to discover yourself and the world

Ernesto Campos is an organic farmer living in Camarones, Ecuador. There, he and his wife, Carmen, manage over 60 acres of cropland, harvesting varieties of limes, sugar cane, jackfruit, yucca, cacao, bananas and countless other sorts of tropical produce. A section of the Camarones River, run thick with algae and polluted by neighbors’ pesticide and manure runoff from nearby pastures, runs on the north side of Ernesto’s property. Ernesto gets his water daily from this source and refuses to treat it—by boiling, filtering or with iodine—before drinking it. He says that treating the water makes it “dead.” It’s drinking “living” water that has made him strong—and keeps him an able-bodied farmer at the age of 78.

Supreme Court to drop fresh verse on First Ammendment track

Put on your party hats because oral arguments are in full swing at the Supreme Court. I love this time of year. It’s an all out jurisprudential bash filled with judicial supremacy, strict scrutiny and a delicious side of the sweet and sassy Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This term should be an interesting one, with the court taking on a host of different issues, despite their avoidance of the same-sex marriage question. One case that particularly caught my eye, however, is that of Elonis v. United States. 

U.S. military problems outline pressing global issues

Police killings show social disconnect

Japanese job hunt exhausts graduates

Starting a new job is an exciting and anxious moment. Even though there are a lot of things to learn and remember, people are filled with the feeling that they are able to create their own future when they start their jobs. This is particularly true at your first postgraduate job because that job has influence on all your later jobs as well.

Pampered homecoming does not meet expectations

After watching the Nov. 22 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” I was curious to see if the hilarious and catchy skit “Back Home Baller” was true to Thanksgiving break (pause reading here if you have not seen the video and watch it). As a freshman, I had always watched my older sister come back from college with stories and leave with leftovers. In the SNL skit the lyrics say, “I’m a back home baller, if I want something I just holler. I do what I want and I get what I want cause my parents miss their daughter!” I wondered if the situation would be the same for my Thanksgiving break.

Belfast shows plight of immigrants

High corporate tax rate is killing American business success

In recent years America has not made it easy for businesses and corporations to compete effectively on the world stage.  Now, the midterm election may have opened the door for some positive changes.

Afghanistan needs humanitarianism

Cardinal View: UW’s thank you video done in bad taste

Amidst the game day haze, between the criss-cross wave and Jump Around, fans looking to the Camp Randall Stadium jumbotron may have seen a video from the UW Athletic Department.

Tradition underlies Wisconsinites’ love for hunting

This Saturday marks the beginning of the gun deer season in Wisconsin. Just as they do every year, thousands of hunters will put on their blaze orange and flood the state’s forests, marshes and other natural areas as a part of a tradition that spans centuries. At the same time, many people in Wisconsin and around the country will voice their disdain for the practice which they view as barbaric and backward in an era where most are not killing for sustenance. To be honest, I probably share many of the same political views held by those who protest hunting, and yet, every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, I am sitting in a box, in the middle of a field, wearing the aforementioned blaze orange, hunting.  Can you say cognitive dissonance? So, I want to take this opportunity to explain why I go hunting, and why it means so much to me.

Bill Bryson charms Union audience

The Distinguished Lecture Series is an entirely student-run organization committed to bringing influential speakers with powerful ideas to campus to give free lectures to students. On Monday, Nov. 17, the committee brought The New York Times bestselling author Bill Bryson to Shannon Hall in Memorial Union.

Letter to the Editor: Celebrate Universal Children’s Day: End child labor

November 20 is Universal Children’s Day, a day devoted to observing the welfare of the world’s children. Unfortunately, in the U.S. and elsewhere, children are still denied fundamental human rights. Children worldwide suffer from corporal punishment in homes and schools, are denied access to schooling, are forced to join violent militias, and  endure a host of other atrocities that clearly violate the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and other international human rights treaties. One issue that has received attention in the past few months is that of child labor. 

Letter to the Editor: Nuclear expansion poses the greatest threat to security

Did you notice? Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel just announced plans to massively “upgrade” the US nuclear arsenal. It might have been swallowed by other breaking and ongoing news: ISIS and another beheading, Ebola, Ferguson, or the historic comet landing of Philae – at least one positive story. In addition to local news, stories in my own community of Hood River, Oregon include the transport of coal and construction of coal terminals, blast zone determination for oil trains, or the legacy of the Hanford nuclear production complex, which was part of the Manhattan Project.  

Racial dialogues continue to be necessary for progress