Tag: Political Awareness
The absurdity of North Dakota politics
“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…
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…
My response to Kony 2012
When the Kony video went viral on Facebook, I was one of the first people to watch it. Hours later when I opened Facebook, there was an outcry from most of my friends literally begging every living soul to watch the Kony video. The video was well produced and incredibly compelling, eliciting a visceral emotional…
Community welcomes new U.S. citizens
On March 9, 31 people came to Concordia College for a celebration and ceremony and left as new United States citizens. This naturalization ceremony was attended by families and friends of the new citizens, as well as Concordia staff, faculty, students and even alumni. The ceremony consisted of the necessary legal request for naturalization of…
Our commander in chief
While many Americans watched last week’s State of the Union address, its possible President Obama’s mind was somewhere else. Specifically, halfway across the globe in Somalia, where concurrent to his speech, a hostage rescue mission was carried out by Navy SEALs. The raid, which brought an American and Danish citizen to safety, is yet another…
Rep. Keith Ellingson (D-Minn) holds higher ed. conference call
“So from now on, I’m telling Congress we should steer federal campus-based aid to those colleges that keep tuition affordable, provide good value, serve their students well. We are putting colleges on notice. You can’t assume that you’ll just jack up tuition every single year. If you can’t stop tuition from going up, then the…
Cobbers react to SOPA
“SOPA…the Spanish word for soup” read sophomore Paula Haeder’s Facebook status Jan. 18. Before this date, this is all the word “SOPA” meant to most Americans. However, two pieces of legislation became a national hot topic as thousands of websites like Wikipedia, Tumblr and Pinterest protested the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual…
Franken meets Campus Dems
Sen. Al Franken opened with a question at the Jan. 10 conversation with members of the Campus Democrats. After he asked how many students in the room work while also going to school, nearly every person shot a hand into the air. People who work 10 hours a week kept their hands up, at the…
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…