Opinion

Prop 2's goal is to give farm animals in California enough room in their cages to turn around, lie down and stretch their limbs. This is a moderate, reasonable step toward making farming in California more humane.

When you restrict access to contraceptives, you affect the foundation of strong families. According to a recent National Public Radio report, nearly 750,000 teenagers will become pregnant this year and three out of every 10 American girls will get pregnant at least once before they hit their 20th birthday. That's a lot of teen pregnancies.

Proposition 11, if passed, will transfer redistricting powers from California's legislature, a body of mostly incumbent politicians, to an unelected, independent 14-member commission. The commission would establish districts for the Board of Equalization, state senate and state assembly. However, the state legislature will still retain the power to draw congressional districts.

With America's recent economic downturn and decline in morale stemming from, among other causes, foreign policy failures in the Middle East, the last eight years have been reason enough for the majority of Americans to have a lack of faith in the executive branch. For this reason, Americans need a change and that change is Barack Obama, the best choice for this country's next president and the New University editorial board strongly endorses his historic candidacy.

Despite all the frills there are to living in Southern California, one issue that cannot be denied is the state government's apathy toward pedestrians who are outside of its most metropolitan areas.

I love meat. My affection for barbecue lies on the border that separates obsession from creepy. The sizzling noise of a cooking cow is on my iPod. I tell you this so that when I explain that I support Proposition 2, also known as the Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act, it is not because I think those delicious meals on four legs need our protection. Proposition 2 needs to be passed purely as a matter of public health and safety.

Proposition 2 is a veiled attack on corporations and the farming business. Ostensibly to protect "animal rights," the proposition's central "reform" is an increase in the size of animal pens by 2015. The reality is that such a requirement is too costly and defeats the causes it purports to defend.

Proposition 3, the Children's Hospital Bond Act, is one of those important initiatives. Children's hospitals treat the most serious and deadly diseases and conditions, including cancer, heart defects, diabetes, sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis. The number of children who need care in California is growing, but the space and equipment to treat them are not.

Imagine this: You have just been arrested for drug possession by a police officer. You are surprised, scared out of your mind, afraid of receiving a long sentence and are running out of options. Proposition 5 wants to give you two solutions: rehab in exchange for prison or a shortened sentence based on a new set of criteria for punishment. Sounds nice, right? Wrong. In accordance with Proposition 36, Proposition 5 will continue to allocate spending on rehab programs for convicted drug users. According to a UCLA study done on Proposition 36, many of the drug users on parole either have never showed up for treatment or failed to finish their programs. Almost $460 million a year would be set aside for these already faulty programs with Proposition 5, and with California's increasing deficit and the nation's unstable economic standing, this is not the best investment.

One of the most important propositions on the ballot this year is Proposition 4. If passed, it would require parental notification and a waiting period when a minor wishes to get an abortion. The law would also have exceptions that allow another adult relative to be notified in lieu of a parent when there may be abuse in the home. Under the current law, a girl of any age can get an abortion without parental notification or consent.

In the real world, parental notification laws do not work because they cannot solve family problems or build better communication within families. If Proposition 4 passes, instead of communicating with their families, many pregnant, scared teenage girls will seek unsafe, illegal abortions or do something even more drastic.

Drug use has always been a controversial issue in California. Over the years, questions have been raised about legalizing marijuana and what kinds of treatment or punishment the state should offer to certain types of drug offenses. Proposition 5 is an initiative that should seem familiar to us. In the 2000 election, Proposition 36 was passed, which sought to institute a drug diversion program that rehabilitated people convicted of non-violent drug possession crimes. According to a study by the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Program, taxpayers received $2.50 for every dollar they invested in running the programs set forth by Proposition 36, proving its effectiveness. Thus, it saved the state money that would have been spent on incarcerating non-violent inmates.