“Well, you know, it is North Dakota.” That is my typical response whenever I see or hear about an absurdity in our neighbor state and do not feel like justifying it (which occurs at least weekly). The latest absurdities—proposed amendments to the state’s constitution—are mind-boggling and worthy enough for me to sit down and write…
Author: Matt Hansen
Matt Hansen, a fourth-year student, writes The People's Republic of Matt, a politics column in Opinions. He double majors in political science and sociology at Concordia. On Twitter: @MattHansen
My take on Kony 2012
Believe it or not, people are still buzzing about KONY 2012. The video, which has reached nearly 100 million views on YouTube, continues to ignite conversations about 1) its creator, Jason Russell, who was recently detained for a very public meltdown, 2) non-profits, like Invisible Children, and their money-raising tactics and 3) America’s “white industrial…
Keystone politics
Whenever gas prices skyrocket, Americans suddenly become interested in our country’s dependence on foreign fossil fuels. A dramatic price jump is enough to force families to reconsider their taking separate cars to work and school or an afternoon run to Starbucks. Elected officials also become aware of their dissatisfaction. For politicians, since their ultimate goal…
Spring in the mountains
I spent spring break with 14 other Concordia students in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky. The trip, organized by senior Nathaniel Cook, aimed to expose Concordia students to the great environmental problems facing a rural and poor region of Appalachia. Its focus was on a controversial coal mining technique commonly referred to as mountaintop…
Can SGA candidates really deliver?
The Student Government Association elections are next week. Since Monday, when campaigning officially commenced, students have been bombarded with Facebook page “like” requests, campus mail flyers (that will very quickly end up in the trash), and the visual displeasure of tacky and unnecessary advertising plastered throughout campus buildings. For the candidates, this is their time…
E-books: A threat to democracy?
When Amazon originally released the Kindle in 2007, its appearance (and price) was much different than today’s model. It was clunky. The first Kindle looked and operated more like a fun prototype, and less like a serious reading device. Over the past few years, however, the device (and its competitors, like the Nook from Barnes…
The importance of the public intellectual
Not too many people knew about global warming before Former Vice President Al Gore premiered “An Inconvenient Truth.” Climate change research was something that was reserved for elites in the sciences and environmental fields. Gore successfully used the platform of being a well-known political figure to convey scientific findings to a mass audience. Rather than…
Melting pot or not?
People often say the United States is a melting pot, a place where immigrants arrive and accept a new, “exceptional” identity, that of an American. In this melting pot, people are proclaimed to be equal and their different previous national identities become one. More recently, however, individuals are questioning this assertion, and as Andrew Hacker…
Reevaluating teacher evaluations
About this time every semester, faculty members leave their classrooms for a few minutes to allow students to answer questions about their performance and experiences with the course. While the process of evaluating faculty is widespread and encouraged by academic divisions and departments, the instructions and background information about the process provided to students is…
The value of Twitter
I’ve had a Twitter account since my junior year of high school. As a proud early adopter, I spent a solid year tweeting mostly to myself, posting links to news articles and interesting online reads. I’m still doing that, but in good company — with nearly 360 followers. Those followers did not arrive overnight. Now,…