USC needs a stronger recycling culture


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At last Saturday’s football game, dozens of student volunteers for USC Sustainability’s Tailgate Waste Diversion team learned the hard way that the university lacks waste consciousness. If USC worked to develop a stronger recycling sensibility, however, it could have an incredibly positive environmental and community impact. The need for more effective waste management has never […]

The wealthy’s taxes must be raised


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Billionaire investor Warren Buffett wrote an op-ed in The New York Times on Monday, describing how the wealthiest Americans have been “leaving the middle class in the dust.” Buffett suggested that a minimum tax rate of 30 percent should be enacted on Americans making more than $1 million each year. Buffett’s comments come as Congress prepares […]

Marijuana debate clouds reality


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The arguments claiming that decriminalizing marijuana will end the influence of Mexican drug cartels and bring in billions of dollars in tax revenue are incessantly echoed in America — and both were strategically used this year to successfully convince voters to legalize the drug in Washington and Colorado. Students, especially, have been quick to embrace […]

Students must continue Ron Paul’s ideas


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Many people, Democrats and Republicans alike, dismiss Texas Rep. Ron Paul as a crazy old man whose support for the sale of unpasteurized milk and call for a return to the gold standard render him and his ideas unworthy of serious consideration. But luckily, an increasing number of young people have looked past this flippant […]

What should the media’s role be in the Petraeus scandal?


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This week, China elected new members of their Communist leadership. More than 1 million Israelis had to sleep in bomb shelters because of the Gaza conflict. President Barack Obama began the first week of his second term. But the news that received the most extensive media coverage this week? Former CIA Director David Petraeus’ extramarital […]

New measures demand attention


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Last week voters across the country approved measures that will change the face of American education. In California, Proposition 30 passed, allowing for a tax increase on the wealthiest Californians to fund K-12 schools as well as state colleges and universities. In Washington and Georgia, voters passed a law to allow charter schools to operate, […]

USC must respect students’ free speech


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There was an embarassing incident last Thursday when an administration employee instructed Dept. of Public Safety officers to throw three doctorate students out of an event celebrating the groundbreaking of Wallis Annenberg Hall on suspicion of being protestors. The three second-year Ph.D. communication students — Alex Leavitt, Emma Bloomfield and Marcus Shepard — were falsely […]

State, nation should not grant amnesty


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Last Wednesday, Los Angeles City Council members approved the creation of a controversial city identification card that could be used by illegal immigrants to open bank accounts and access city services, such as libraries. The purpose of the cards is to incorporate Los Angeles’ vast undocumented population into civic life. This new policy only exacerbates […]

DNA collection violates criminals’ rights


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The Supreme Court agreed last week to review a case that will decide whether or not law enforcement can collect DNA samples from all people arrested for, but not yet convicted of, violent crimes. Though this might seem like a rational way to investigate and prevent crime, civil liberties advocates are concerned that this kind […]

How should the Republican Party reinvent itself?


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What made the difference between a second term for President Barack Obama and a first term for Mitt Romney? Ninety-three percent of black voters, 71 percent of Hispanic voters, 73 percent of Asian voters, 55 percent of women voters, 63 percent of voters earning a family income under $30,000 and 60 percent of voters ages […]