Opinion

More often than not education has been disregarded on the assumption that it will not be needed. Based on my own experience, however, I feel as if this is a deadly assumption.

My finest example regards my first years as an undergraduate at ASU.  It was then I discovered I would need a foreign language requirement in order to earn my bachelor’s degree in history with the preferable language being Spanish.  

At first I was shocked to find out of this requirement.  There were also times in which I became angry about this.

Once again we come to the end of our school year, where finals are the only thing standing between us and the warm, free days of summer. Normally each year, editors for The Herald choose to devote this final column as a sort of “farewell” to their readers.

However, we decided to break from this tradition and bring some lightheartedness to an otherwise stressful week.

received my Arkansas State University acceptance letter in August 28, 2008 while I was studying Software Engineering at King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

I stepped on this campus as a student January 4, 2009, the same day my grandfather passed away back home.

I transferred to ASU hoping to graduate and make my family proud. I am the last of my siblings to get a college degree, something that my grandfather was very proud of.

A number of states, 38 to be exact, are considering new laws they say are aimed at tackling voter fraud.

Unfortunately, these new laws, being pushed by Republican majority state legislatures, intentionally dilute the voting power of a number of minority groups.

In an April 11 post of “PoliticalHowl,” written by Herald staff writer Kayla Paine, a new organization called Americans Elect is seeking to put a presidential nominee on the ballot using the internet, without going through the traditional two-party system process.

For those voters who are tired of the traditional two-party election process, this organization hopes to garner bipartisan support and avoid the often nasty political fights that typically ensue.

On April 21 the world was supposed to wake up to streets bleeding the message of “Stop at Nothing” after Friday’s Cover the Night event hosted by the non-profit organization, Invisible Children.

The Kony 2012 Cover the Night was an event that called Stop Kony 2012 supporters to plaster their towns with posters urging people to “Stop at Nothing” to take down the Ugandan leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, Joseph Kony.

However, according to news reports, most of the world woke up to streets of sparsely scattered posters or nothing at all.  The Stop Kony 2012 campaign that stirred up controversy by utilizing social media seems to have fizzled out just as quickly.

When students graduates from high school they have already spent three-fourths of their life in school. Taking a year off would benefit a large portion of these students.

Tim Tebow displaying his faith is a good thing.  

As readers may already know, Tebow is the NFL quarterback who is constantly displaying his spiritual devotion.  

This has attracted a lot of attention in both positive and negative ways.  He is not making any forcible attempts to convert anyone, so his display of faith is good for many reasons.

In the Monday, April 16 issue of The Herald, we reported of a recent decision by President Obama and Congress to cut a certain award amount of Pell Grant funds.

These funds, awarded above the standard $5550 and normally used by students for summer school, will no longer be available because of a federal budget bill designed to control rising government expenses.

While we are disappointed that this option is no longer available, we are thankful that the standard award amount has been left untouched, despite rumors that indicated otherwise.

We often hear people talking about how weather affects their activities and ultimately their moods. For a case in point a family taking a picnic, the weather was supposed to be sun-drenched as summer is approaching.

However, due to the unfortunate occurrence of dark clouds suddenly developing over the previously clear sky the mood has changed. Just think of the time and effort taken to plan the family outing. All is ruined by the unpleasant weather conditions and the oncoming weather.

We cannot deny that weather affects our mood. Warm, pleasant and fair weather makes us smile. It brings a cheerful atmosphere and a happy feeling to everyone around. 

Mitt Romney’s posturing leaves me deliriously humored. His pretending to be an average, everyday American dressed in blue jeans, kissing babies and misquoting episodes of “Seinfeld,” comes across as a bad character study in farcicality than integrity.

What anyone sees in Romney leaves me mystified.  The man gleefully pronounced “I too am unemployed,” despite making millions by shuffling money around in numerous offshore accounts.

Imagine a white president of the Black Student Association on campus.  Or how about this: a Catholic president of the Muslim Student Association?  

I know, most of you are probably thinking I’m crazy for even thinking something like this could happen, but just suspend judgment for a second and hear me out. 

­This Sunday, April 22, marks the 42nd anniversary of the celebration of Earth Day. Millions across the U.S. and around the world will celebrate the day with different events, marches and teach-ins.

ASU has often commemorated the day by planting trees, holding events around campus and having guest speakers

In many ways, the celebration is interesting since, in theory at least, it is a day in which scientists, politicians, businessmen and everyday people supposedly join hands in appreciating our earth’s natural environment.

Unfortunately, while most who celebrate the day have good intentions, many environmental groups, politicians and scientists use the day to advocate for policies on global warming, pollution control, and specific laws like cap-and-trade.

While some might find this legitimate, we think it is unfortunate Earth Day has become focused so much on political policy and less on personal responsibility.

According to an April 18 article in Mother Jones Magazine, a news publication, more and more Americans are becoming skeptical of the scientific community and the research it conducts.

This may be the result of some scientists using their research to support a certain political issue.

Certainly, ASU has done its share of research into environmental issues, and some professors have at times, promoted certain government action.

But in a day and age when too many things, it seems, are politicized, we think it is important that science stay away from political advocacy.

Let Earth Day remain a day we can appreciate and enjoy the natural environment that’s been given to us.  It  need not become the latest platform for politicians to make their talking points.

“Our View” is written by the editorial staff. The opinions are not necessarily reflective of the student body, faculty or administration of Arkansas State University.

About Donald Kennedy:

• Professor of animal science
• Ph.D. Louisiana State University
• Teaching specialties include livestock and companion animal nutrition and livestock production
• Research interests include forage utilization and use of biofuel co-products in livestock diets.
• Affiliations include American Society of Animal Science, North American Association of College Teachers of Agriculture and Arkansas Cattleman’s Association

The recent controversy surrounding lean finely textured beef, or “pink slime,” has caused many people to fear eating it, even though the USDA has declared it safe for consumption. With your background in animal science and knowledge of the process, what is your opinion on this? Is the USDA right?

To tablet or not to tablet, that is the new question.

The multi-touch, user-friendly, personal, tablet computers are the new craze among tech enthusiasts

This coming week, ASU administrators will introduce preliminary plans to students, faculty and staff on the future development of our campus.

This presentation, beginning at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, is the next to last step on the finalization of the ASU Comprehensive Campus Master Plan, a plan to turn ASU-Jonesboro into one of the finest campuses in the country.

While there are many details still to be worked out, these preliminary plans mark an exciting time for the Jonesboro campus as they will help transform and revive our growing campus.

One of the top stories in the news at this time is the North Korean missile situation.  

As readers may know, provided they are keeping up with current events, North Korea recently launched a ballistic missile to test its capabilities of producing a nuclear warhead.

Fortunately, it failed by crashing into the sea west of the nation.

According to a recent MSNBC article entitled “US cancels food aid to North Korea after missile launch, warns of more sanctions,” there have been many strong responses to this.

I decided to write in response to Andrei Varney’s recent column entitled “Trayvon Martin shooting raises racial tensions.”

As readers may recall, there was the recent atrocity of Trayvon Martin’s death.  

I sympathize with Martin’s family, but the writer of this previous opinion argues that guns and gun-friendly laws must be banned to prevent such crimes.  This is problematic.  

Certainly, this writer has the right to express his opinions, but he has not thought things through.

On Feb. 6, March 10 and more recently April 9, The Herald ran stories about a recent proposal by the university which would revise the current policy on intellectual property.

The proposed policy would grant ASU “full legal title to all Intellectual Property created by any person or persons to whom this policy is applicable,” essentially causing students and faculty to lose the property rights of their work here at the school.

Sorority housing may be an ASU milestone but are the costs and effort put into building these houses really worth it? I believe, and so do many of my fellow students, the answer is a resounding no.

Being from the North, I was quite shocked when I arrived in Jonesboro to find out that the county, city and university itself were dry. The ban on alcohol immediately reminded me of prohibition, and I particularly thought of how outdated and primitive this law is.

This past weekend, Christians around the world celebrated Easter weekend to remember the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jews also spent the weekend celebrating Passover, a time to remember God’s deliverance of them from slavery in Egypt in ancient times.

Setting apart certain days of the year to celebrate or remember certain events is a trait shared by many different religions around the world.

As a school with a highly diverse student body, we have many who hold their beliefs very deeply and observe such holidays as part of their religious convictions.

Jonesboro’s population has increased by nearly 12,000 people from the year 2000 to 2010, meaning two things—the town is growing, and a younger crowd is settling down here.

This being said, the infrastructure of Jonesboro has been rapidly changing to support this yearly growth.

Comic by David Barrentine

The vast majority of the 4,000-plus colleges and universities in the U.S. currently do not allow guns on their campuses, but 25 schools have challenged that by claiming it is unlawful to restrict a person’s license to carry a concealed weapon.

After considering both sides, I believe that allowing concealed carry on campus will not produce the most positive results.

Are you tired? Run down? Listless? Leave your sedentary lifestyle back at the dorm and go support the Intramural sports at Arkansas State.

Intramural sports are a great way to get our minds active and away from the monotony of schoolwork. Plus, there are added health benefits.

About Doris Chu:

• Associate professor of criminology
• Ph.D. in criminal justice, State University of New York at Albany
• Teaching specialties include police and society, criminology, intro to criminal justice, juvenile delinquency, gender and criminal justice, institutional and community interventions.
• Research interests include policing, comparative criminal justice and public perceptions of law enforcement.

Back on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla., George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin. Officials have not filed charges against him. Based on your background in criminal justice, do you believe this was the right move?

For the third time in U.S. history a sitting governor faces losing his office. Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker faces an election seeking to have him removed from office only halfway through his first term.

His recall election is due to his signing of a contentious collective bargaining bill in January 2011, which essentially removed the rights of Wisconsin state employees to collectively bargain (their ability to negotiate their working conditions), except for their ability to negotiate wages.

I decided to write this piece in response to Aaron Kurtz’s latest column entitled “Understanding the Christian Faith: the Bible,” in which the he believes that God is the only person you should live for.

Since many conservative candidates have been addressing social issues this campaign season, I’d like share my thoughts on such views (they are courting us as voters after all).

“I am Trayvon Martin” has become a common catchphrase for those who oppose the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by 28-year-old George Zimmerman, an ethnically mixed neighborhood watch leader.  Even Barack Obama said if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon Martin.

But who exactly was Trayvon Martin? Since most of the media attention surrounding this case has been on Zimmerman and the alleged innocence surrounding Martin, I believe it is fair to shed a true light on Martin, using information accessible to anyone.

The beginning of April is here, and that means registration for fall classes begins. This can be an exciting time as students choose their classes and professors, figuring out the ‘perfect’ schedule for next fall.

Having a degree of any sort, however, means taking classes that will prove challenging over the course of a semester.

The whole issue with telling the 19 faculty families in mid-February they needed to move out in March is problematic from so many angles. The situation really shows ASU to be unconcerned with family, community, and particularly faculty.