Palin, Fiorina insubstantial; Nader contemplates animal cross-dressing; Chuck Norris offers thoughts on "Black Belt Patriotism"; memo from the American Right: knowledge, expertise overrated, unpatriotic.

In a move that shocked millions of California students, the UC Board of Regents voted to raise tuition 19 percent and threatened to increase tuition and fees, or what Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi called "student taxes," by 30 percent next summer if there are cuts to the education budget because of the war.

In the United States, we've come a long way environmentally; however, anthropocentrism still pervades our society.

As I walked to the metro from my summer class at Stockholm University in Sweden, my classmate casually asked me who I am voting for in the American election this fall. My diplomatic answer is always that I am a Swedish citizen, even if I am very patriotic toward the America I moved to at the age of seven months. So my voting powers are void and my candidate preference is limited to a spoken opinion, rather than a cast vote. "Well, I'm rooting for Obama … from a distance," she responds.

Conservatives have a lot to learn from Ron Paul, at least when it comes to his pull among young voters. Paul was able to garner a massive Internet following that bred a bevy of YouTube videos and other promotional columns to form the foundation of his campaign. It amounted to free publicity, spurring donations in excess of $30 million. Obama's ilk took the right cues, tapping the Internet's myriad caches of free liberal publicity. McCain hasn't done badly on the Internet either, but more is certainly in order.

For nearly a year, representatives from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 have attempted to negotiate with UC officials for a fair contract for UC service workers—an attempt that has been unsuccessful thus far. However, it is not Local 3299's lack of effort that has made their endeavors fruitless but rather the misguided priorities of UC administrators.

Kate Berrini; Tanya Taylor; Matt Murphy; Spencer Thompson.

OLYMPICS: UCI men's volleyball coach John Speraw wins gold as an assistant coach amid tragedy and triumph.

ATHLETICS: Men's soccer, women's volleyball and men's water polo all record wins in the past week.

SOCCER: Kate Berrini's hat-trick propells the Anteaters past Weber State 3-2 on Friday at Anteater Stadium.

THE HYPOTHESIS: The sports program at UC Irvine is nuts.

THE ORACLE: It's a new year and a new season. Whether you are a freshman, a transfer or even a returning student, you might be picking up this newspaper for the first time. Many of us complain about the lack of excitement and things to do on this campus and in this city. Well, here I am. And here I am to make the case for UC Irvine Athletics.

OLYMPICS: UCI silver medalists come to the Student Center to share their expierences and show medals.

LEGISLATION: Congress passes first bill of hIgher education in 10 years, includes over 60 new provisions.