Guest Editorial: My Kittens…Your Money
by Jameel Haque
Before the public admission that our government was spying on its own citizens, my family had long suspected that our phones might well be tapped. This essay is a public apology. America, I would like to apologize to you personally. Thousands, perhaps millions of your tax dollars have gone to listening to me babble about the kittens […]
Anger, Warnings, and Grim Talk at the GC Community Meeting / From Floppies to Flash Drives: The Future of Info Resources
by DSkinner
At the March 15 GC Community Meeting, billed as an open forum on recurring computing problems, Information Resources’ annum horribilis devolved into a GC-style theatrum absurdum. President Kelly opened with some optimistic remarks about the budget process in Albany (CUNY, it appears, may make it out of this cycle without further cuts), and then promptly turned the […]
The GC Bar: A Requiem
by DSkinner
Sadly, though not unpredictably, the GC Bar has closed. On March 17, Vice President of Student Affairs Matthew Schoengood sounded the death knell via an email: “Although we had hoped to provide this service on a trial basis through the end of Spring 2006 semester, it became apparent that this was not an economically feasible venture.” […]
Academic Repression in the First Person: Warning! Warning! Danger! Danger!
by MBeacuterubeacute
The following is a blog posting, titled Warning! Warning! Danger! Danger! by professor Michael Bérubé. Michael was recently selected by David Horowitz for inclusion in his book The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America. Readers can visit his blog at http://www.michaelBérubé.com. Penn State University professor Michael Bérubé. Monday, February 06, 2006 At least two readers […]
On Getting Involved
by CWojtkowski
Sometimes the Graduate Center feels like a hotel. Students check in and check out, pay their bills, get their learn on, and leave for the day, or week… or semester. I don’t mean that the sense of cohesiveness and community is lacking; that depends on social and familial situations of individual students. But a stroll through the fifth […]
It’s Nice to be Mean
by DQuiles
In 1986, Huey Lewis and the News contended that it was “hip to be square.” They were wrong. But I have a similarly paradoxical maxim for the ‘00s: it’s nice to be mean. And I’m right. Of course, I don’t think that the kind of “mean” that I’m talking about is actually mean. But I must be missing something, because […]
Promises & Problems: Howard Stern’s Move to Satellite Radio
by TMonchinski
In October 2004, “shock jock” Howard Stern announced he’d be leaving 92.3 K-Rock when his contract expired for greener pastures. His destination: Sirius satellite radio. His motives? Following the Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” incident at the Super Bowl, K-Rock’s management was kowtowing to the Federal Communications Commission, assigning censors to Stern’s show to dump content deemed […]
Neither Occupation Nor Political Islam: A Secular, Democratic, and Progressive Alternative in Iraq?
by RAugman
After three years of war and occupation in Iraq, many Americans across the political spectrum are having a difficult time finding a constructive position. According to media reports, one would think there is only a choice between two sides: you either support the U.S. occupation and the Iraqi National Congress, or you support the armed groups opposing them. […]
Reflections on Democracy in Haiti and Palestine
by NBen-Ari
Jean-Bertrand Aristide: Once seen as the savior of Haiti. On February 7 and January 25, Haitians and Palestinians (respectively) went to the polls. Haiti has been an independent republic since 1804, and is one of the founding members of the United Nations. Palestine is a territory that has been occupied by the Turks, then the Brits, and now […]
The Global Cartooning Crisis: American Artists Respond
by KWilliams
“It’s really surreal,” cartoonist Matt Wuerker observed. “It’s like something out of a Kurt Vonnegut novel.” And it is. In September, Fleming Rose, the editor of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Poston, invited cartoonists to “draw Mohammed as you see him.” Twelve did, with results ranging from the bland to the grotesque. Months later the Islamic world exploded in […]
