Letter to the editor


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Cultural studies are vital Cultural studies scholarship in our universities is on a decline. The discipline is underfunded, and is virtually unheard of amongst the general American public. It is not surprising, then, that our universities fragment cultural inquiry through specialization. Whereas distinguished international institutions such as the University of Amsterdam allot the discipline a […]

Do colleges have the right to search faculty emails?


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Institutions of higher education should be allowed to monitor the potentially illegal activities of its students and staff. In this age of technology, questions of security and privacy are in constant motion. Unfortunately, the Internet is far too vast of a wasteland to truly enforce and guarantee full privacy — and one should not expect […]

Soda ban intrudes on personal freedom


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Monday afternoon, just hours before New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on large sugary drinks was to take effect, a state judge blocked the measure because of the law’s “arbitrary and capricious” nature.   The court held that the city’s Board of Health encroached on the authority of the City Council in its […]

GMO labeling a smart move for Whole Foods


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In an effort to increase transparency and reinforce its commitment to consumers, high-end grocery store Whole Foods announced Friday that it would be mandating labels for genetically modified organisms, GMOs, in food products by 2018. The decision was seen by some as an effort to reintroduce Whole Foods as one of the quality produce distributors […]

LA County lacks racial integration


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Sometime last week, I was walking across campus and talking with a friend about Los Angeles. The talk was engaging, but at one point he mentioned that he does not believe Los Angeles to be a particularly segregated city. His case is rooted in the fact that the city’s diversity is remarkable in terms of […]

Relaxing of TSA rules make travel less safe


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With the array of metal detectors and lines of uniformed security guards a fixture of today’s travel experiences, there’s no doubt that airport security has been radically transformed by the 9/11 attacks — air travel has not been, nor will it ever be, quite the same again. But rules change as years pass. This week, […]