A slightly demented cheerleader takes the stage. Heavy-metal
wannabes, in a fit of inspiration, prop up lights, speakers and fog
machines. And a woman, dressed in a gorilla suit, pantomimes as if
she’s part of a children’s performance.

Westwood is boring ““ there’s very little to do in
this neighborhood. I find myself walking to the same news stand,
again and again, because I don’t know what else to do.

For the past few years, I’ve heard plenty of criticism
regarding technology: It’s impersonal and unreliable, it
can’t replace human contact. Though the claims are true,
technology also boasts strong advantages, particularly for college
students.

Peace, I’ve learned, is often subjective. When in the
context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, peace traditionally
becomes merely an oft-repeated idea, too often insincere, cloaked
with shaky agreements and soon forgotten.

Don’t we always take something for granted until
it’s taken away? But the truth is that we can’t put a
price tag on health. Many of us are willing to go that extra mile,
or make certain sacrifices, to maintain it.

Trashiness: Americans can’t seem to get enough of it.
Whether it’s Courtney Love, the Playboy Mansion, Jerry
Springer or reality television, our society is obsessed with its
own “lowest grade” culture.

I’m told that history repeats itself. When I was 9 years
old my grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, visited my elementary
school. He showed my classmates a photo of himself taken after his
liberation from the Dachau concentration camp ““ he weighed
barely 90 pounds and had lost his wife and son.

This quarter, I’m taking two science classes.
They’re not necessarily difficult ““ but they’re
science classes. And, to put it mildly, science has never been my
forte.

Today we need to pay attention. And not only because of the
inauguration of the 55th U.S. president. All college students
should take note because George W.

I worry too much about money this time of the year. There are
tuition and housing payments, loads of groceries and school
materials to buy. And then there are textbooks ““ overpriced,
marked up due to “bonus” CDs, study guides I
don’t need and destined a couple months later to be sold back
at shamelessly low prices.