Opinion

We need a renewed focus on CAPS

By Emma Wenninger · Tuesday, Dec. 9,2014 8:58 p.m.

As this semester ends, I find myself continually reflecting on a few things. The Indiana Daily Student ran two pieces about student well-being and sexual violence on campus that were insightful, but filled me with a sense of frustration and hopelessness. Even in my classes people expressed anger.

So long, farewell

By Casey Farrington · Tuesday, Dec. 9,2014 8:57 p.m.

I don’t feel qualified to write one of these, a “goodbye column.” I need to be older, wiser.

Dead week is anything but

By Elisa Shrack · Tuesday, Dec. 9,2014 8:57 p.m.

The week before finals is supposed to be free of any major exams in order to give students free time to study for finals week.

The pleasure is mine

By Tracy Johnson · Tuesday, Dec. 9,2014 8:56 p.m.

The representation of sexual pleasure in pornography is often skewed and offers an unrealistic representation.

Not so humanely raised after all

By Natalie Rowthorn · Monday, Dec. 8,2014 7:11 p.m.

Imagine a chicken farm in Who Knows Where, Middle America, where an abundance of healthy, happy chickens are endlessly frolicking about in the open air, pecking and scratching about to their hearts content.

We are in danger of losing the person

By Cameron Gerst · Monday, Dec. 8,2014 7:11 p.m.

This will be my last column of the season. I thought I would end with a somewhat alarming, somewhat conspiratorial thought I have on the state of our world.

California's law is the revenge of revenge porn

By Jordan Riley · Sunday, Dec. 7,2014 6:58 p.m.

Thanks to California’s law banning what is termed as Revenge Porn, a recent conviction will hopefully lead to the end of the trend.

The privilege of being white

By Michael Homan · Sunday, Dec. 7,2014 6:58 p.m.

There’s been so much discussion around race relations recently that I thought I would impart an interesting concept introduced to me within the past week. So many people seem to be focusing on African American problems and injustices, how the legal system could be tweaked to work against minorities.

Expecting justice

By Sarah Kissel · Sunday, Dec. 7,2014 6:57 p.m.

In this country, women are left at a distinct professional disadvantage by their physiological ability to become pregnant and give birth. Of course, this disadvantage is entirely unwarranted; not all women become pregnant or give birth, and those who choose to become mothers are not made less capable, intelligent or professionally valuable by their decisions.

Mo' money, no problems

By Lucas Burch · Sunday, Dec. 7,2014 6:57 p.m.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the importance of having a part-time job on campus.

IU mental health facilities need support

By Jessica Karl · Thursday, Dec. 4,2014 9:52 p.m.

There are 46,416 students that attend IU. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), more than 25 percent of college students have been diagnosed or treated by a professional for a mental health condition within the past year. At IU, there are a total of 20 professionals working for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the service recommended for students that are experiencing signs of a mental illness. Out of those 20 individuals, there are 17 therapists and three psychiatrists. If the CAPS professional faculty equally delegated 25 percent of IU’s student population, each professional would be responsible for helping 580 students that are affected by mental health. That is like being a professor of a class of 580 students. That is absurd. The lack of funding and help for individuals in need of a mental health program at IU isn’t something that’s well known or even talked about on campus. Over the past few years attending IU, I’ve slowly realized that these services are much needed and should be more attainable on campus. College is a pivotal time in our lives.

Pretty punny

By Joshua Allen · Thursday, Dec. 4,2014 9:51 p.m.

Last week, the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, which is in charge of regulating media in China, issued an order banning puns, saying “that puns could mislead young readers and make it more difficult to promote traditional Chinese culture.” (http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-china-bans-puns-20141203-story.html) They said that, much like every form of media and any mildly Western idea, it corrupts the traditionalism that China is trying to maintain.

The Sony scare

By Stephen Kroll · Thursday, Dec. 4,2014 9:51 p.m.

Sometimes the biggest fall hardest, and corporations are no exception. Last week, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. was hacked, their servers crashed, and data was stolen and leaked, including personal and corporate information and files of upcoming Sony movies.

Race is my reality

By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez · Wednesday, Dec. 3,2014 7:34 p.m.

Following the grand jury’s decision to not indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for the death of Michael Brown, experts and amateurs alike have analyzed the issue from countless perspectives. Although I also possess an opinion about the legality surrounding the grand jury proceedings, I will not delve into the mechanics of the death of Michael Brown, as others with more expertise and sophisticated prose have done so.

What is up with start-ups?

By Riley Zipper · Wednesday, Dec. 3,2014 7:33 p.m.

We already know how terrible everyone’s favorite ride-sharing service Uber is. From kidnapping women to threatening to dig up dirt on predominantly female journalists, it’s clear that responsibly drunk twenty-somethings who need to get home should instead call up the original ride-sharing service: a taxi. But yet another tech startup has come under fire this week. Online real estate database Zillow has been accused of subjecting female employees to “sexual torture.” A California lawsuit describes plaintiff Rachel Kremer’s experience at Zillow as disturbing and yes, even torturous. According to the lawsuit, Kremer’s male supervisors sent her pictures of their penises, ranked her according to her breast size and demanded sexual favors in order for her employment to continue. Kremer was afraid that if she didn’t comply with their inappropriate advances she would be terminated.

Optional fees must stay optional

By Andrew Guenther · Wednesday, Dec. 3,2014 7:32 p.m.

On October 24, 2014, the Indiana Daily Student ran an article about a legislative resolution the IU Student Association Congress was considering.

'Hands up, don't shoot'

By Lexia Banks · Tuesday, Dec. 2,2014 10:20 p.m.

“Hands up, don’t shoot” became the unifying cry of every Ferguson protester after 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot by police officer Darren Wilson. Whether marching down the streets of Ferguson, MO or around downtown Indianapolis, you’ve heard the phrase or seen in online, read it on T-shirts. You could also read it on signs displayed on City-County councilmen’s seats during the Aug.

Who are you calling 'politically challenged?'

By Emma Wenninger · Tuesday, Dec. 2,2014 10:19 p.m.

A few weeks ago a student organization called Politech, based out of Texas Tech Universtiy, went out on their home campus to see how politically and culturally savvy their students were in a video called “Politically Challenged: Texas Tech Edition.” The video quickly went viral, with upwards of one million views on Youtube.

Good cop, bad cop

By Casey Farrington · Tuesday, Dec. 2,2014 10:19 p.m.

I’ve spoken to an on-duty police officer maybe three times in my life. Each time was a traffic stop. Outside those 15 minutes, my primary understanding of the police comes from television.

The growth of chick lit

By Tracy Johnson · Tuesday, Dec. 2,2014 10:17 p.m.

I’ve been known to be a bit of a book snob. My literary roots (i.e. my major is English and all I do is read) have given me some sort of complex where I think certain books are beneath my interest. Much of my scorn has been directed toward popular series like The Twilight Saga, The Hunger Games Trilogy, The Fifty Shades Trilogy, and the like. I find myself instinctively rolling my eyes whenever these books come up in conversation. I’m not exactly sure what it is about these books that I find so off-putting, but I think it has something to do with the commercialization and the appeal to the mainstream. But my real enemy in the world of books has always been chick lit.