Share: More than a decade after Al-Qaeda tore down the World Trade Center and massacred almost 3,000 people, Islam is still viewed by many with fear and suspicion. Islamophobia—the dislike and prejudice against Islam and Muslim people—is on the rise in the United States even as the nation progresses toward becoming a more tolerant and accepting society. Follow:
Nationwide health care subsidies do more good than harm
The Supreme Court’s decision to not vote in favor of the plaintiff in King v. Burwell is a major victory for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The 6-to-3 ruling to uphold the ACA means that the federal government is allowed to provide nationwide tax subsidies. Low and moderate income Americans who would have previously struggled to buy health care can now afford it.
Religious Freedom Restoration Act the New Jim Crowe
Share: Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and the Freedom Fighters valiantly fought for the civil rights of African-Americans living in a society where racism and prejudice had deemed them second class citizens. Then, the nation deliberated over whether it was right and fair to deny service or give lower quality service to someone based on their skin color, a highly superficial characteristic. Now with the signing of the Religious Restoration Act in Indiana, the nation is drawn back to the same …
Freedom of Speech Not Entirely Absolute
Share: Although freedom of speech appears to be a straightforward and agreeable issue on the surface, it has been proven to be a great conundrum for both the government and private citizens. The most recent complication comes from the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SOCV), who wanted to finance and support a Texas license plate carrying a picture of the Confederate flag. The United States Supreme Court presided over the lawsuit last week in which the Texas SOCV sued for the right to display the flag. …
Controlling welfare not so well
Share: In an attempt to lift the people of Kansas out of poverty, Governor Sam Brownback has signed a bill limiting where welfare money can and cannot be spent. Follow:
EDITORIAL: Why should the campus respect the board?
Relentless with their brash yet divisive decision-making, the Board of Trustees went ahead and voted in Dr. Rajen Vurdien as president of the college, a move that has sparked outcry from faculty, including a vote of No Confidence from the Academic Senate.
Editorial: Another board blunder
The decision has been made and Fullerton College’s Rajen Vurdien will be the next president of PCC, but the Board of Trustees’ choice wasn’t the one the campus needed.
Terminally ill have right to die with dignity
Share: “My dream is that every terminally ill American has access to the choice to die on their own terms with dignity.” These were the words of Brittany Maynard, a terminally ill brain cancer patient who decided to end her life through medically-assisted suicide under Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. With the publicity of her story, Maynard created a dialogue about terminally ill patients’ right to end their lives peacefully on their own terms. Follow:
Sticks and stones: words do hurt
Share: The popular magazine Rolling Stone, in a daring and striking article, “A Rape On Campus,” set their ambitions high to create an impact with an emphatic story while spreading awareness of sexual assault at a college. However, with such great ambitions and an attractive story, Rolling Stone didn’t watch their steps carefully and ended up running into a pole along the way. Follow:
Editorial: Shared governance fumbles with Brown Act
After debates and confusion, it has been decided that the Academic Senate and shared governance leaders will participate in training sessions to clarify which bodies are subject to the California Brown Act. Although this is a step in the right direction, it also exposes how little administration and shared governance bodies understand about the Brown Act.