Opinion

Most of us at UC Irvine are familiar with pop sensations Rihanna and The Pussycat Dolls. Songs like "Don't Stop the Music," "Disturbia," "When I Grow Up" and "Buttons" are upbeat dance hits that not only have catchy lyrics, but also unique and creative music videos and dances that attract large audiences. The performance value and sex appeal that pop stars offer is often greater than their sheer musical talent. When we see stars don skimpy threads here in the United States, it often doesn't gain a second glance. However, when these singers perform overseas (such as in Muslim countries) it can often be the cause of controversy.

The new year brought about more than new resolutions in California. Starting Jan. 1, the governor put into effect 771 new laws concerning everything from vehicle safety to nutrition. Of those 771, 80 are changes to the vehicle code. While some of this legislation may be effective, most of these laws simply will not punish offenders harshly enough to be successful.

A few days ago, a girl who I knew peripherally through Hillel, a prominent Jewish student organization on campus, friended me on Facebook. Out of curiosity, I took a few minutes to glance through her groups' pages before replying. She had many of the standard ones that you would expect a third-year economics major to have: "Stop the genocide in Darfur," "Bring back the old Facebook layout" and the obligatory "Jenny lost her phone and needs your number!" What I didn't expect to find were groups entitled "The Palestinian identity is a propaganda device" and "Palestine=Jordan."

UC Irvine Alumni Association/Bank of America; Former UCI Professor, Richard L. Ballard, Passes Away

The United States military is an honorable institution with a long tradition of pride, honor and distinction. However, within the walls of this institution lies a darker legacy, one dealing with the unfair treatment of its gay and lesbian soldiers. Its current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy forces many soldiers to hide their sexual orientation, or face being ejected from serving their country. While promoted as a "compromise," this policy has seen the dismissal of nearly 13,000 soldiers for acknowledging – or outing – their homosexuality.

As California continues to reel during this economic downturn, the University of California has been one of the biggest victims of this financial debacle. Once again, higher education has been hit with budget cuts. In response, those who run one of the best public school systems in the country recently got together and discussed in length (read: desperately) the different solutions they could possibly enact, such as retooling UC admissions policies, in order to meet Governor Terminator's budget cuts.

UC Irvine's administration must unequivocally denounce the shelling of both the Islamic University of Gaza, one of the premier universities in Gaza, and the U.N. charter school. The latter bombing has resulted in as many as 50 deaths (almost all of them civilians and students) and is part of a larger act of Israeli military aggression that has claimed over 700 lives and injured thousands in the past 13 days. We also call on the Associated Students, the Associated Graduate Students and the UCI Academic Senate to introduce and pass resolutions condemning the murderous violence perpetrated on the students, educators and working families in Gaza.

When I went to the used car lot with my parents, gas was shooting well beyond $3 per gallon. To fill up a tank cost the equivalent of going to the movies seven times. I told my parents I wanted something with good handling and low gas mileage; they bought me an SUV.

ABC News recently reported that the United States ranks 15th out of 29 developed countries in terms of college degrees earned. While such reports may be telling when it comes to the educational opportunities offered in certain parts of the world, they hardly take into account the greater picture.

Sanjay Gupta; Media fixates on Obama's Daughters; WTF PETA?; Bush the Younger builds fiction career.

Robots! Pot! The CIA! Chris Matthews!

Earlier this year, Christine Lindstrom, director of United States Public Interest Research Group's Higher Education Debt Project, told members of the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit that "our research has documented that students are targeted, indeed, bombarded by credit card company solicitations, in the mail, on the phone and while they are walking across campus."