2008 Woodie Awards
Voices Articles
Obama's speech hits home
By
Barack Obama's 45-minute speech on race in America on Tuesday was a much needed sobriety check for our country that gets drunk in the intoxication of American politics. A brutally honest examination of racial tensions, Obama's speech is likely have more impact culturally than politically.
Snap Shots
By
Our reader's voice
CMU raids Stossel Speech
I was incredibly disappointed to read in Monday's paper that CMU is trying to crash John Stossel's lecture tonight by scheduling a Speak Up, Speak Out forum. CMU has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on liberal speakers in recent years without giving a dime towards a conservative speaker.
Our reader's voice
Credit card fees for students
I want to say that I agree that CMU should not have to cover the cost of credit card payment convenience fees for students. However, I also believe the students should not have to cover fees above and beyond what it costs for the transaction. The article entitled "University adds fee for credit card users" doesn't really address how Visa's flat fee prohibits CMU from offering Visa as a payment method.
CM You
After five years of war in Iraq, what are your thoughts about what has happened or is happening now?
We can learn a few lessons from upsetting events
April at Central Michigan University is often a month in which significant teaching opportunities are eschewed and surrender to a type of hysteria which takes over. Will that happen this year? I remember a CMU basketball coach who in November used the "N" word to motivate his basketball team, who was fired in April after significant protest came forth.
Graduate Student Corner
Approximately 100 CMU graduate employees, teaching assistants and researchers are collaborating to form a Graduate Student Union to advocate for the rights of graduate students as employees. CMU has a solid reputation for treating most of its employees well; however, many graduate student employees have fallen through the cracks.
Speaking up
After years and years of teasing students by listing the classes in the schedule books but never allowing registration, CMU finally added Chinese language classes to the curriculum. CMU first offered Mandarin (or, as Chinese call it, standard Chinese) in fall 2001 and stopped in May 2002.
Wealth
Large chunk of budget money goes toward students' financial aid
As the nation's wealthiest universities find themselves under fire from legislators, CMU seems to have a fair amount of money going to those who need it most - students. The Senate Finance Committee is dangling a mandate requiring 5 percent of university endowments to go toward financial aid.
