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The Daily Cardinal Est. 1892
Sunday, July 06, 2025

Opinion

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OPINION

Gay marriage a civil right, not destructive

In 1896 the United States Supreme Court heard the case of Plessy v. Ferguson and upheld, by all but one vote, the constitutionality of a state law requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the principle of “separate but equal.” For a country only decades removed from the abolition of slavery, the catalyst for the bloodiest war in our nation’s history, “separate but equal” seemed like a logical, safe, and conservative step in the right direction after slavery, even if it was a retreat from full equality. The Supreme Court made clear with its decisive ruling, that the country was not ready to embrace people with a different skin color as equal citizens. However, with the hindsight of history, it is clear that “separate but equal” prolonged discrimination by providing a supporting rationale, rather than aiding progress toward full equality.


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OPINION

ADHD medication dangerous for students

After hours of endless studying, do have trouble focusing?  Could you benefit from the ability to concentrate better?  Who couldn’t, right?  Well, over the course of the past few years, a trend has swept the nation: Doctors are diagnosing students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD and prescribing them medication to alleviate their symptoms. 


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OPINION

Bipartisanship still alive in Connecticut

The polls were open last week and it was refreshing to see a “Non-Partisan” on the ballot; however, in a conversation with one of my peers, I was informed that she needed to look up the candidate’s parties before she went to vote so she could vote Democrat across the board. At first, it seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do, but on second thought I began to realize how much I didn’t like that method of voting. I have made the same mistake before. I am a proud Democrat, after all. I came from a Democratic, left-leaning family and I was raised to believe the things the Democrats stand for are right. I guess that is where most of us get our political views, which is fine, unless we close our minds and widen the gap between the parties. If we are at the point where we don’t examine the candidates and what they stand for and instead vote for them simply because they are a Republican or Democrat, we are spoiling the great right that we have to vote and to express our opinions.


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OPINION

Recall reform rudely restricts rights

Imagine you are an employer and you have an employee you can’t fire. As long as they don’t do anything illegal, you simply don’t have the power to terminate them and must continue to pay them regardless of their job performance. Now imagine this employee has the responsibility of managing the entire business. Would you be entirely comfortable with that?


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OPINION

Leaders refuse to admit mistake of Iraq

This March marked the ten-year anniversary of the onset of the Iraq War, now widely regarded as one of the biggest foreign policy catastrophes in American history. Exactly 4,488 Americans lost their lives in the war, alongside a minimum of 120,000 Iraqis, with some studies placing the Iraqi death toll as high as 1.5 million. On top of this sickening and incomprehensible carnage, at least four million Iraqis have been displaced, half of them fleeing the country and the other half relocating within Iraq. U.S. taxpayers have financed this venture to the tune of two trillion dollars, with the ultimate bill likely to run anywhere between four and six trillion dollars when factoring in the costs of health care and disability payments for returning soldiers, including the 253,000 troops who suffered traumatic brain injuries, according to a report by Linda Bilmes of Harvard University.


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OPINION

Israel extends deft apology to Turkey

It often takes a big man (or woman) to apologize, even if he or she is clearly in the wrong. People are simply not inclined to admit they have erred. If someone is not in the wrong, but apologizes only to mend a broken relationship, this plainly demonstrates maturity. Last semester, I wrote an opinion piece arguing Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a baby. While I won’t admit that I was wrong to say that—for I am never really wrong—I would like to assert the fact that he is certainly acting like a mature adult on the world stage at the moment.


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OPINION

Letter: Rebecca Blank must correct Ward's WISPIRG mistake

Dr. Rebecca Blank says when she becomes the next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, she plans to spend her first year getting to know key leaders throughout campus, the State Capitol and the UW System. Let’s hope she also takes time to cultivate the next generation of leaders: the students who are currently enrolled at UW. The best way to do that is to correct a mistake made by her predecessor, Interim Chancellor David Ward, and allow students to decide how to spend the segregated fees they pay to support student activities and services.


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OPINION

Sequester to increase student debt

In 2011 the student debt hit $1 trillion with $3,000 of new student debt accrued every second, according to Businessweek Magazine. Simultaneously, the cost of education has exploded, promising student loan debt will only continue to rise in the future.


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OPINION

Online relationships undeserving of taboo

As far as the Internet goes, I’d say I’m a more-than-average user. On my iPhone, you can catch me checking all of my social media, uploading pictures, downloading music and iMessaging. On my computer, you can catch me doing all of these things simultaneously, while also doing them on my phone. Social media has launched, landed and taken over our society, and I have to say that I’m a big fan. While I understand being “plugged in” all the time is obnoxious and scary for some, I also know thousands of great connections have been made online. From experience, I can say online friendships are worth a try. If I told my mother 10 years ago that I had met my best friend on a blogging website, she would have warned me that “she” was actually a 64-year-old “he” who wanted to tempt me with free candy and take me away. She also probably would have asked me why I was blogging at eight years old, but that’s another topic for another day. Thankfully, meeting people online has not only become more convenient, but it’s also a lot less taboo than it was a decade ago. Before we could be connected in a thousand different ways to a person, we had no idea who was really on the other end of the Wi-Fi (or the hardwire, depending how far back you really want to take this one). Now I consider it a daily event to talk to people I’ve met on the Internet, some of whom I’ve never actually met in person. I know for some people this whole concept is still really shocking, but as the saying goes, everything gets better after the first time. At some point, you get used to the concept and just accept that sometimes the people who understand you best aren’t always your next-door neighbors. There’s always a site that solidifies this fact for people and if you haven’t found it yet, chances are you’re a sociable person who enjoys spending time with others instead of in bed at 3 a.m. on a Friday night. For me, and I’m sure for at least a handful of others, it was Tumblr. To anyone who lives under a rock, Tumblr is a blogging website that takes over your life (Note: the sarcasm isn’t as heavy as it may seem). Much like in our everyday lives, there are two kinds of users—passive and active. Passive bloggers tend to use Tumblr as another way to procrastinate; they reblog pictures of pretty sunsets or maybe a nice poem and a cup of tea every other week when they’re avoiding that economics homework deadline. This is a serious over exaggeration, but my focus isn’t on these people. Then there are people like me, the active bloggers. Tumblr is a community where I have met my closest group of friends, some of whom live where I do, and some of whom live across the world. The first time I made a friend on the Internet, I was terrified. I didn’t want to tell anybody because I didn’t want them to assume I was talking to the previously mentioned 64-year-old man with the Snickers. I didn’t have the courage to tell them I knew it wasn’t this unnamed predator because I had spent seven hours on Skype, video chatting with a complete stranger. That friendship turned out to be one of the greatest I’ve ever had and I still speak to that friend very often. From there, I took charge and made bonds. I messaged people who seemed interesting and had the same ideas I did. I’ve met people across the country and the world because of Tumblr, and I’ve been lucky enough to meet some of them in person too. I speak to my Internet friends on a daily basis, probably more than I speak to my mom. The concept of meeting on the Internet is so different from meeting in person. On the Internet, you can be anybody you want. Hiding behind a screen, even with Skype, is a strange experience, but one that can be so worthwhile. People meet online every single day, and it’s so easy to become one of them. I think it’s so much easier to talk to people over the Internet because you can express yourself however you want. And no, that’s not me giving permission to anybody to be somebody they aren’t (this isn’t Catfish, kids). Everybody should make an online friend at some point, if only to tell somebody yes, you have a friend in Australia and yes, she likes cats. It can be scary, but you never know who you could befriend that could change your life in a positive way. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll meet a person who turns your world right-side up. Maybe you’ll marry them. How can you know if you never try? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.


Daily Cardinal
OPINION

Antitheism detrimental across the board

I once heard a quote that the most sensible stance toward organized religion is to remain agnostic.  No one on Earth today stood at Mount Sinai while the Torah was given or saw Jesus turn water into wine.  Simultaneously, it is impossible to prove a negative, namely that God does not exist.  No matter how much tragedy and hardship exists in the world, no matter how much senseless hatred and violence remain extant in our world, not a single human being will ever be able to prove God does not exist.  It is foolish to try.


Daily Cardinal
OPINION

A new pope with new ideas

With the new pope has come a hope for many that the Catholic Church may revise some of its controversial doctrines. A new concern is to what extent liberation theology has affected the new pontiff during his rise to the papacy. An understanding of liberation theology requires context, so this column aims to shed some light on that subject  and on whether or not people should be concerned about this issue with regard to the papacy. I must note liberation theology is often used to refer to social activism within Catholicism. However, I will focus solely on a more distinct usage that arose in Latin America.


Daily Cardinal
OPINION

Letter: grading system failing

Problems with the grading done by TAs go well beyond the “inconsistencies” discussed in Eli Bovarnick’s Opinion March 21 column, “TA grading system inherently flawed.” Even more important is how accurately the grades TAs give measure what their students learned.


Daily Cardinal
OPINION

Binge drinking costly for taxpayers

I am an intern at Health First Wisconsin, and if you read the news last week, you probably heard about the comprehensive report issued by Health First Wisconsin and partners—including the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and Wisconsin Partnership Program at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. The report is the first comprehensive study that outlines the cost of excessive alcohol use in Wisconsin. Put simply: Wisconsin is the guy who is passed out by 9 p.m. with two forties taped to his hands. Ya, that guy. Feel free to roll your eyes with me. Wisconsin is a drunk mess.


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