NSA reform is a step in the right direction


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For many critics of the National Security Agency, President Barack Obama’s speech last week which unveiled new reforms to the government surveillance program, was likely disappointing. Though not without shortfalls, however, these proposed reforms should be seen as a much needed step in the right direction. In wake of the storm of privacy rights concerns […]

Congress must vote to raise the minimum wage


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It’s hard to write a weekly column on a Congress that turns three-day weekends into weeklong recesses. That’s right — Congress has adjourned until Jan. 27. After Congress passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill that keeps the government’s lights on until September, it’s worth considering an idea that requires no government spending and was proposed […]

Schools should widen holiday criteria


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Among other universities across the nation, USC halted its semester Monday to observe the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday that, after decades of lobbying, was finally approved as a federal holiday in 1986. Fittingly, a few days before the King holiday, and after seven years of discussion the University of California system announced a policy […]

ASA boycott is a threat to academic freedom


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In a controversial decision, the American Studies Association moved to boycott Israeli universities last December, accusing Israel of denying academic freedom to Palestinians, according to the Los Angeles Times. Instead, the act seems to be a contradiction; by its very nature, it threatens the academic freedom it claims to protect. The ASA states that its […]

ASA right to support Palestinian equality


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The Dec. 16 vote by the American Studies Association to boycott Israeli academic institutions has been met with widespread criticism, with many university presidents — including USC’s own President C. L. Max Nikias — publicly denouncing the boycott. Most of this criticism, however, is based on a flawed understanding of what the boycott is all […]

Congress must break unproductive streak


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In his first inaugural address, President Ronald Reagan cemented his place in the cliché hall of fame with his remark that, “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Sure, the conventional conservative wisdom holds that the government that does least does best. By that metric, the 113th Congress is on […]

Colleges shouldn’t write off low income schools


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Before the fall of my senior year of high school, I had never heard of the University of Southern California. I know it seems like an exaggeration that I could not have heard of this world-renowned school, but growing up thousands of miles away in Chicago didn’t stop me from eventually discovering the Trojan family. […]