Andrew Carpenter

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Views on race should be discussed, not censored

Two weeks ago I wrote a column calling for an end to the practice of using race in university admissions. While many took offense to the way the column was written, I was surprised by how many people took offense to the existence of my ideas and to me personally. When I wrote the column, I thought I was simply contributing another idea to the campus climate that would enliven our discussions of race. I knew some readers would agree and others would disagree, but I was certain that I wouldn't find an environment that was hostile to me or to my arguments.

Race deserves no place in university admissions

Diversity is a recurring theme at UW-Madison and, as always, the discussion turns to race. Administrators who focus on the color of students' skin continue to find a lack of diversity, which is a nice way of saying we are too white. Responding to this crisis of superficial uniformity has been a favorite task of chancellors, committees, and columnists for decades. While the overwhelming sea of good intentions is aimed at increasing diversity, I would argue that there are almost no students who pay any attention to race.

The whole story on contraceptives

Last week two facilitators and a supervisor from Sex Out Loud came to my residence hall to lead a program called ""Safer Sex."" At first, my Christian values made me a little apprehensive. However, despite my concerns I was pleased to find that the program concentrated on asking for consent, sexually transmitted diseases and preventing the dangers of sex. While I disagree with the idea that the university should be promoting promiscuous sexual behavior, I understand the importance of giving students the information they need to make their own decisions. People have the right to know how to use a condom or how likely they are to contract HIV before they make their own sexual choices.

Think about meaning of pledge before reciting

Besides those of us who will go on to be teachers, no one really thinks about the pledge of allegiance. But if we really examine the pledge, its wording, how it is used and what it means, we find an issue we should be thinking about in great detail. Anyone who said those words, be it one time or every day throughout their schooling, pledged to support a nation ""under God."" For a campus that values diversity of opinion and freedom of choice, this is a startling realization. We all gave our allegiance to the idea that our country is guided by the hand of God with his principles influencing the way we run our state.

Let them drink beer

In his column On Oct. 1, sports columnist Ben Breiner blamed the empty student section on apathetic students. ""Wisconsin's student fan culture does not give a crap about the football game,"" he wrote. I disagree. It's not that the students don't care about the game, they are late because they care about beer more.

Definition of marriage an individual concern

I hear a lot about gay rights as a student in Madison but the discussion is almost exclusively one- sided. The newspapers, the administration, multiple campus groups—everyone seems to be pushing for equal recognition of same-sex partnerships here at the UW. While we live in a hotbed of activism and support for homosexuals, our state did ban gay marriage. Not in the legislature but in a public vote: no matter how loud Madison cries, the silent majority closed the books on this issue in Wisconsin.

Obama should take a cue from Bush on Iran

Wisconsin should weigh nuclear power option

Most Wisconsinites have never thought to choose between global warming and nuclear power. Today Wisconsin seems to be much more afraid of things heating up than of things melting down. But 26 years ago it was a different fear that kept environmental studies professors awake at night.

Logical plan needed to change drinking laws

 I've never actually heard someone say ""thank goodness the drinking age is 21! Remember how bad it was back before in the '60's?"" The idea that the drinking age should be 18 is more or less a given, especially here in Wisconsin. Even though most of us disagree, we continue to ticket our fellow citizens who are old enough to die for their country, vote and live on their own. The reason for the gap between what the public thinks and does and the laws our politicians continue to support is the lack of a safe, cost-effective plan to lower Wisconsin's drinking age.

Music industry needs to give middlemen the ax

Have you ever wondered why anyone would pay a dollar a song when they can just get the music for free? You can find thousands of CD's through the library, download the music from a file sharing program or use a torrent site with almost no risk. Anyone can, and most students do, obtain multiple gigabytes of music in just a few days for free and without punishment. To get the same amount of music would legitimately cost thousands of dollars and be incredibly more time consuming than simply downloading any song you wanted.