I, like so many other people around the world, have tuned my television to watch the world’s best athletes compete for the gold in these Olympic Games. The intense sporting events have come with a series of medal-awarding ceremonies, which feature both the men and the women who have placed in his or her area of expertise. However, there is one sport that has only been awarding medals to one gender. Don’t expect to see any women on the podium during the ski jumping ceremony — they’re not allowed to compete. (more…)

Published Friday, February 26th, 2010 in Featured, Viewpoints | No Comments »

Last week, Laney Austin ’11 wrote about how awkward everyone on this campus is.  I’m not going to argue with her — there are a lot of awkward people at Wooster.  And sometimes they can be hard to deal with.  Even I, as a somewhat awkward person, often find those more awkward than I  am trying to be at times.  But these people serve an important function.  I believe that it is awkward people who make this campus great. (more…)

Published Friday, February 26th, 2010 in Viewpoints | No Comments »

Before Jan. 12, 2010, Haiti was already one of the poorest countries in the world, struggling with political instability, environmental degradation, and health crises.

After the magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck, the nation lost as many as 200,000 lives, leaving more than one million homeless and hundreds of thousands injured with a government in shambles — children dying, families lost and unaccountable suffering.  Luckily, others from around the world immediately stepped up and rose to the cause. (more…)

Published Friday, February 26th, 2010 in Viewpoints | No Comments »

When many of us were young we dreamed of being big stars when we grew up. In high school, those of us with zero performance or athletic talent rerouted our life plans and settled for dreams like becoming a doctor or a lawyer.  And then, one day in college, while watching TV to avoid working on that thing called “I.S.,” a marathon of “Real World” comes on. From that moment forward the spark of our once extinguished flame is rekindled. We realize, “Hey, I can be famous too!” (more…)

Published Friday, February 19th, 2010 in Featured, Viewpoints | No Comments »

Some people complain that it’s a waste of money and resources. And perhaps it is. But the truth of the matter is that the Olympics are one of the biggest unifiers on this planet. The Winter Olympics alone have been hosted consistently every four years since 1924, except for cancellations in 1940 and 1944 due to World War II. Each time, more and more countries have sent athletes to participate. Millions upon millions of people tune in to cheer on figure skaters, curlers, lugers — whatever suits their fancy. (more…)

Published Friday, February 19th, 2010 in Viewpoints | No Comments »

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010, our campus was graced with the presence of widely acclaimed Professor of Literature Valerie Smith. She spoke to a full room of English professors and students about her recent projects, most of which revolve around the Civil Rights movement and cold cases from the era. Her work and interest in the ethics of spectatorship inspired a concern amongst a few of my peers and myself. How do we measure the morality of television shows such as “Cold Case,” a show that explores fictional unsolved crimes based on typical cold cases? (more…)

Published Friday, February 19th, 2010 in Viewpoints | No Comments »

Normally, I try to keep my two hats as editor in chief of the Voice and student coordinator of Common Grounds, Wooster’s chem-free on-campus coffeehouse, separate.  Last Friday, however, saw an incident that made me want to talk to the campus community as a whole about what we do. Specifically, after a crowded night, one of my staff members found cigarette butts on our porch and even inside the house. (more…)

Published Friday, February 19th, 2010 in Viewpoints | No Comments »

When President Barack Obama accepted his Nobel Prize two months ago for his thoughts on the environmental crisis that scathes our world, he mentioned that there is an interest of all nations to “see others elevated.”  Why, I ask, is he getting the prize for something that was said 100 years ago? (more…)

Published Friday, February 19th, 2010 in Viewpoints | No Comments »

When people think about  Wooster, they tend to associate a variety of different characteristics with our campus. Some people think of our independent study program, our winning sports teams or our overall engaged and polite student body. Although these traits may be true, there is something missing from our mission statement. An incredibly important trait that might as well be a requirement on your admission application — everyone here is awkward. (more…)

Published Friday, February 19th, 2010 in Viewpoints | 3 Comments »

WARNING – from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention:

They drive on our streets. They attend your PTA meetings. They may even deliver your mail. They have infiltrated society, plotting to bring their disease to the forefront of civilized humanity. The plague they bring may be incurable. They are — stupid people.

Citizen, this concept may seem familiar to you. De Tocqueville wrote about the “tyranny of the majority.” Madison understood the flaws of man in government. The American government has prevailed for 200 years against these mongrels, and we will surely defeat them again. Unfortunately, we have never seen them rise with this amount of unconquerable fervor. Time-honored antibiotics like logic and intelligence prove ineffective. (more…)

Published Friday, February 12th, 2010 in Viewpoints | 1 Comment »