Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category
Muskingum’s a ‘University’ Now
If you hadn’t heard yet, “Muskingum College” is now “Muskingum University,” as the Times Recorder reported. If you haven’t already, you’ll be receiving correspondence from the college at some point with the new name. Muskingum President Anne Steele also has released a statement discussing the name change.
Changing a name, in that respect, is expensive. Think of all the different things that have the word “college.” How is all of that being paid for? We’ll try and find out after we all return.
Muskingum administrators first indicated their interest in name change last October, when the B&M covered Malone’s name change. Additional stories from local media sources can be found here and here.
Oh, the hypocrisy…
I’m writing a blog this week to get Josh Chaney off my back, so there! It’s funny though, that I’m blogging - especially after my editorial in the Black and Magenta this week that discusses my disdain for digital media. I feel like computer screens are taking away the words on paper that I have fallen in love with.
So anyway - I hate to blog, but I love to blog. I love the instantaneous of it, the ease, and the freedom. It’s like free verse poetry - I’m not constrained by rules, meter, and rhyme. I can write about what I want, when I want. Yet, I hate it because it is slowly but surely taking away the relevance of people like me - writers who want to get paid to write, who are trained in writing, and who take pride in their skill and the need for it. It takes away Sunday mornings with the paper, scanning the headlines while drinking orange juice and eating a cheese omelette with salt and pepper. It takes away the writer’s stress of a print deadline, the smell of the stacks of paper to be delivered, the smudges of ink on your fingertips, the gloss of a magazine cover. It takes away what I’ve wanted to be and what I’ve trained to be for four years. I hate it.
Yet here I am, using the very thing I hate to tell you that I hate it. I am a hypocrite, but it is so easy.
Online dating as an alternative to dating at Muskingum College
(This post is in response to Opinion Editor Sarah Dwyer’s editorials about dating life at Muskingum in the March 13 and March 20 editions of the Black & Magenta.)
Hey, Muskies. Don’t limit yourself to this small pond of dating at Muskingum College. Some people find their partner in college; some don’t.
I highly recommend OkCupid.com. It’s 100-percent free and includes fun, personal quizzes. I met the woman that I love through this site by answering a ton of personality questions and then searching for best possible matches within a 25-mile radius of my hometown. I studied the woman’s profile and sent her an IM, which I recommend over shooting a stranger an e-mail first. A few days later, she sent a message to my inbox.
Gradually, we got to know the most personal details about each other, so when we finally met, it was as though we had known each other better than some of our own friends and family members had known us.
If you’re looking for a real, committed relationship, you owe it to yourself to check out OkCupid.com. Because online dating is predominantly, although not entirely, text-based, it forces you to connect with someone on an emotional, rather than superficial, level.
If you’re still interested, follow this link. Happy hunting!
The race for NBA MVP
Audra Wayco
Every NBA season, one guy stands out as the NBA’s most valuable player. Last season, Kobe Bryant got the award as he helped lead the Lakers to the finals, with the second best record in all of basketball, only to come up shortagainst Boston. This season is a little different. There are dominating teams in both the Eastern and Western Conference.
The race for MVP continues to tighten. In the East, the Celtics and Cavs are in a close race for the best record in the conference. Even after the Celtics won a championship, the Big Three are still out
there trying to prove they can win another one. The Cavs have been a surprise this season. LeBron James continues to put up high numbers, and is pushing hard toward trying to win a championship for Cleveland.
The race for MVP in my opinion comes down to three players, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade; three of the most dominate players in all of the NBA. Some people have argued Bryant leads the race. Considering his team, as of this day, has the best record. Those who argue for Bryant also give him credit since the Lakers have swept both the Cavs and the Celtics in their regular season meetings. While other people argue, this is the year James should win the MVP title.
I’ve heard arguments that Wade deserves the award. He is
helping to lead the Heat to the playoffs, with basically very little help from the rest of his team. When defining the words “Most Valuable Player,” one would think that would be the player that means the most to a team, that without him they would falter. That definition isn’t necessarily true. Having one of the top records is a big factor in deciding which player gets the award. Though
Wade, probably does deserve the award, he, like James last
season, will most likely get snubbed because of his teams
record.
While the Lakers and Cavaliers continue to battle for the best record, you can bet James or Kobe will be in the top vote, when sportswriters and broadcasters decide who is the 2008-2009 MVP. I might be wrong, but the one thing I do know is that neither one of these players mind if they get the award or not, they’re determined to get to the NBA Finals. What a game that would be.
Socialism: What Does That Really Mean?
What’s in a word?
A few professors asked me to consider a story on the definition and usage of the word “socialism.” If you have any access to the world outside Muskingum College, you might know the word is being thrown around using various definitions.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition, “socialism” is:
- Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.
- The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which collective ownership of the economy under the dictatorship of the proletariat has not yet been successfully achieved.
Obama and his massive spending plans that have, in part, purchased shares of stock in companies like AIG, have aided the fire in terms of worry and fear of a socialist society.
It’s an interesting topic. Hopefully we’ll have a story on it next week. Until then, what is your definition of “socialism?” How do you feel about the ways the word is being used?