Should the presidential candidates focus on military policy?


Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney gave a foreign policy speech Monday at the Virginia Military Institute — an appropriate setting for a speech focused on war. Romney touched on many foreign policy issues, including the Syrian conflict, Iran’s potential acquisition of nuclear weapons, relations with Israel and the United States’ overall role in the Middle […]

Letters to the editor


Paul Ryan will repeat debate success “You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt? The answer is yes, that’s what I’m telling you.” Vice President Joe Biden’s statement epitomizes why the American people are rejecting four more years of an Obama presidency. In a substantial debate devoid of personal […]

Local newspapers should go hyperlocal


The field of journalism is changing rapidly, with social media and the Internet revolutionizing the very nature of the industry. Amid these changes, local and regional newspapers have had to significantly restructure their models to succeed in an increasingly digital world — whether that means going online completely, covering more cities than they’re capable of […]

USC should engage in city’s bike culture


Los Angeles might have a notorious reputation as a driving city, but the city closed some of its roads Sunday in order to make room for vehicles that don’t guzzle gas. The occasion was CicLAvia, a semi-annual public festival designed to transform the congested, polluted streets of Los Angeles into a safe place to walk, […]

Talking points mislead students


In this year’s presidential campaign, President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney have embraced familiar scapegoats for America’s stagnated economic growth — Obama singled out big oil subsidies in last week’s debate and in August, Romney promised to eliminate all government funding of Amtrak. Both are examples of popular partisan talking points that […]

Reparative therapy cannot be justified


Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law last week banning California parents from subjecting children with homosexual feelings to reparative therapy — or, as it is more colloquially known, “praying away the gay.” In response, critics have taken up arms against the ban, calling it an infringement on religious liberties. Despite the fundamental importance of religious […]