Academea Nuts

Spanish Influence Overshadows Spain's Affluence

2008-05-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

I've recently discovered that I may be biased towards Spain. The fact of the matter is, it seems that "Spanish" is so integrated into American life that we often forget about Spain. Students take breaks to "Spanish" destinations - Mexico, the islands - but how many of us really take the time to sit and admire SPAIN itself. Even in NYC, restaurants that cater to "Spanish" tastes are really serving more traditionally "Mexican" or "Latin" flavors.

Perhaps we should all take time out to enjoy Spain in all of its European elegance for a change. I shall strive to do as much.

Academics vs. Politics

2008-05-24T13:39:00.001-07:00

I was amused to see politics go so far as to suggest that just because Morehouse has obtained its first white valedictorian (it's a traditionally African-American institution) that this foreshadows Barack Obama becoming the first "black" president.

Joshua Packwood, an African-American studies major, and the student to crack the minority barrier at his school of choice, rose to his academically-celebrated post through hard work and rightfully-earned (one presumes) grades at his university.

In politics, however earned his place may be, Obama's fate is still, technically, in the hands of a "popularity contest." So whereas America might be on the verge of another monumental step in history, I cringe to think of politicians using the well-earned status of Joshua Packwood to their own advantage.

May Barack Obama stand upon his own merits as Packwood has his.

Rush Limbaugh: A Brilliant Man

2008-05-15T04:46:00.000-07:00

Rush Limbaugh, the neo-conservative genius, is a brilliant man.

His latest stroke of brilliancy: by urging voters to vote for Obama as a "weakest link" opponent, he is turning those scared and gullible throngs into the polls and of course votes for Hillary.

This is fantastic, because, as Rush obviously knows, Hillary would be considered the weakest link. In a general election match-up of Hillary vs. McCain, McCain would easily be able to draw that liberal vote from line-strandling Democrats and undecided independents who just have reasons to plain hate Hillary.

Which also proves the genius of the Republican party - in a year when Republicanism is straddling a fine acceptance line itself, who better to serve the party than someone who is considered liberal by it's traditional conservative standards.

And the Republicans yet again take the White House in '08 due to the incompetance of the Democratic party. Genius I say, genius.

Ono to Stein: You're 'Expelled'!

2008-05-14T04:43:00.001-07:00

Turns out a little known documentary I hadn't heard of until this morning is causing quite a rucus. The documentary, which didn't fare that bad in the box office, stars Ben Stein and touts the idea of intelligent design over Darwinism.

Yoko Ono is beefed because the documentary also features John Lennon's "Imagine" and she's not okay with that. No, it has nothing to do with the message of intelligent design attached to the movie that bothers her. She's just irked that millions of bloggers think she's a sell-out because the song was used in, gasp, a mass-media outlet.

Oh, the power of the blogosphere.

'Anonymous Coward' Truly Second Rate

2008-05-13T04:55:00.001-07:00

In an ironic twist, a hacker that stole the data of 6 million Chileans has been discovered by police as 'Anonymous Coward'. In my opinion, the only thing more telling than the fact that he stole the data of 6 million CHILEANS (as compared to say, 6 million tech-savvy Russians) is the fact than even his handle declares his second-rateness.

Furthermore, he stole mostly addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers - information of which most is already a matter of public record to any phone book/Myspace savvy thirteen-year-old out there.

The entire matter makes me raise an eyebrow towards the real seriousness of the threat.

A Perfect Fit

2008-05-12T04:45:00.000-07:00

This may seem like a no-brainer, but finally doctor's are pushing for medical tools and equipment (think metal plates, pace makers) that are actually sized to fit those into which they are implanted. You would think that this would be a natural thought, but apparently a doctor didn't realize the importance of such standards until a metal plate was lodged improperly into a little boy's skull.

The one factor that prevents such things from being in place already? Well, despite incentive programs already offered by the government to firms that think "kid-friendly" in their designs, most businesses do not consider the demographic as worth enough business profits.

This is when consumerism has really hit a low.

Rebirth of Hitler Elite

2008-05-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

With Israel turning 60, a lesser though somewhat related topic hits the radar of academic circles. There has been a German resurgence of desire to republish Hitler's Mein Keimpf, in the original German.

Why is this such a big deal? For starters, the republication of his work has been strictly prohibited since the conclusion of World War II, and those copies already in circulation have remained highly regulated. Despite this, estimates say that there are still about 10 million copies of the book in circulation.

To prevent a resurgence of the ideals of Hitler, especially in the hands of right-wingers, many historians feel the need to annotate any newly published versions when the copyright expires in 2015. The last thing the world needs is someone crazy enough to read through the 700-page zinger and get the urge to start another mass genocide on the Aryan front.

Yet, somehow, I feel a free-speech/censorship case waiting to hit courts worldwide. Someone out there is sure to fight this.

Wikipedia (n):

2007-11-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

I would like to start this blog entry with a question taken directly from a recent CNN news article:

Do you take wikipedia seriously, or with a grain of salt?

For the most part, I like Wikipedia. It certainly comes in handy when I need a quick reference, although I leave in-depth searches to other more reliable source material.

At the same time, I despise the poor grammer and sometimes jumbled entries, and have at times wondered if I should take a weekend and correct ignorant spelling or sentence fractions. But hey, I'm neither OCD nor QUITE that big of a nerd, so I let it be.

But with debates on the rise, what IS the future of Wikipedia? I find it interesting that of course its largest opponent happens to be the president of another encyclopedia. Reminds me of political mud-slinging.

At the same time, I see the corruption of big-business publicizing their own entries. Yet, Wikipedia seems to monitor the site frequently enough that I'm sure constant changes get noticed. Even I've tried to add a thing or two to my sororities Wikipedia page, and although I know beyond a shadow of a doubt certain things about my sisterhood, Wikipedia has no qualms not accepting my changes. Perhaps Wikipedia should worry more about lawsuits in the future.

But still, I believe the biggest lesson taken from this newest Wiki scandal is simply the same as what was taught us by our eighth grade English teachers: you can't trust everything on the internet. Especially if the entry doesn't even have correct spelling.

Cowboys and Indians

2007-10-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

I think at some point in our lives we all run into that teacher that sings in a cowboy hat. For me, that was Rex Gearheart, my eighth grade English teacher. I have him to thank for turning me away from my dreams of being a chemist and towards by goals of becoming....well, something you can become with an English degree. At the very least, he turned me into a poet.

Anyway, enough about me. More about eighth grade English. It turns out that a recent development has occurred that would make Rex Gearheart excited - if it weren't for the fact that he left his dream of middle school English teacher behind for his dream of assistant principle, and his cowboy hat and sense of humor in the dust, trading them in for a disciplinarian stick and a case of big shot to fill up that ten gallon hat. But enough about him.

Turns out that students like me, who were weaned on Last of the Mohicans, can see our children grow up to "Young Indiana Jones" in the classroom. Apparently, this series placing education before adventure and is foreseen to become an integral part of the learning classroom. I suppose it's a little better than Teletubbies and a little worse than The Magic School Bus generation.

I'm interested to see how this will effect SOL scores.

To read more about this phenomenon, visit: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/24/young.indianajones.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch

SAVE Antioch NOW

2007-10-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

It is not often that I would use a blog to seek aid for an institution, although philanthropy seems to run in my blood and seep through my veins. But today, I plan to make an exception.

I'm not sure how many students of my generation would know the name Antioch College if they happened to see it posted somewhere. The only time I had even delved into the pathos of the institution was half a decade ago when I was planning the next step of my higher education.

The school stuck with me then, so much so that I applied even though it wasn't on my go-to list of top Ivies and highly ranked public schools. And even after I decided upon my alma mater, the University of Virginia, I am still enthralled enough to suggest Antioch as a viable solution to those near and dear to me, including my two younger sisters.

So it certainly is a tragedy to know that Antioch is about to close because of a financial deficit. Of course, as soon as this decision was made, alumni started pouring in funds rather than see the institution's gates closed, but the fact of the matter is, Antioch alumni aren't grand enough in numbers to make quite the difference. Currently home to a mere 230 students, Antioch has rarely thrived at more than 2,000.

Which leads me to my suggestion. What if we, alumni of other various institutions, chipped in and sent our tzedekah money to Antioch. "Now, why would I do that?" you ask. The answer is simple: to provide that wonderful college experience you yourself were fortunate enough to have to a student who is best suited to Antioch.

Some of Antioch's positive traits? Antioch doesn't grade classes. In an age where everyone wishes that SOL's were abolished so that everyone could actually LEARN what piques their interest, Antioch has risen to the challenge and focuses on an education, rather than a schooling. Yes, ladies and gents, there IS a difference.

Antioch is a cornerstone of social change. From weakly peace vigils to silent sit-ins, the students there are students who truly care about the world around them.

Unlike it's elite neighbors, sexism and classism doesn't seem such an issue. Antioch is indeed the poster-school of the flower child.

All of these reasons, and more, merely begin to shed light on the special aura this school holds. It would be a shame to see it go. Please, take one moment, and help save Antioch, now.

The ABC's of America's School System

2007-10-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

Accused. Berated. Then cleared.

That seems to be the sad truth when it comes to teacher sex scandals and molestation charges.

CNN recently reported on the growing numbers of sexual assault, abuse, and molestation within America's most cherished institution - the public school system. Unfortunately, their findings also showed that most offenders are cleared, and rising numbers go on afterwards to other school districts and continue their misconduct.

These numbers are startling, and call for change. But on top of the numbers comes yet another problem: the fact that much of this might be avoided if teacher's were forced to keep incidences like these on their records.

It is sad that in a nation of "zero tolerance" school policies, where a kindergartener can bring a fork to lunch and have "possession of a dangerous weapon" on his record for his entire educational career, the very teachers who are in charge of our students are not forced to have any sort of accountability for their heinous actions.

I call for a "zero tolerance" teacher policy. Perhaps it will help kill two birds with one stone.

The 'Nobel' Thing To Do

2007-10-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

I recently stumbled upon a troubling report, one that's pretty rank with controversy.

It turns out that Nobel prize winner James Watson, credited for helping discover DNA's double helix, is not only a scientist - he's a racist.

Apparently Watson put down both the intelligence and employment ethics of African Americans in this country.

My verdict towards Watson: disgraceful, and not so smart a statement from a seemingly brilliant man.

However, I don't believe the lecture Watson was scheduled to give at a British museum should have been canceled because of this. While disgraceful, it is a matter entirely separate from nucleic acids.

If we in academia are going to bar racist scientists from our students, should we not have to bar fascist leaders, presidents of countries with terrorist tendencies, or morally imperfect senators from also speaking at lectures, presentations, and graduation ceremonies?

The truth of the matter is, America and the international stage is developing a mindset that, although not as shocking as the racist remarks presented in this case, might be just as close-minded. As long as someone's personal business does not interfere with their presentations (for instance, as long as Clinton doesn't hit on the Metropolitan intern, or offer to take her to coffee near Rodin's statue) then why should we ban them from the spread of knowledge, which is the only way to enhance learning - especially in a society where learning isn't as lauded as it used to be?

Thumbs down for Watson for his impish remarks; but thumbs-down in turn to the museum for canceling his lecture.