Spring Break
Every freshman that comes to Drexel hears about the University's grand schemes to improve student life. Unfortunately, few students get to experience significant change before the end of their time at Drexel. They weather construction noise and blockades, only to leave before new buildings are complete; they stomach freshman year at "the Hans," and for the next three or four years choose to eat off campus or at lunch trucks because there are few palatable, affordable dining options on campus.
Dusty American history books, which nowadays go largely untouched, hold uncomfortable events such as: The Trail of Tears, anti-Irish Sentiment, anti-Semitism, Jim Crowe laws, xenophobia and the McCarthy Trials - to name a few. We have a history of hatred and a habit of discrimination.
I am not going to try to convince you one way or the other about abortion or gay rights. I do, however, believe that these lifestyle choices and their consequences belong to the people who make them. I've heard from too many intended voters this election season that they chose their candidate because of their view on either gay and lesbian rights or abortion.
Students choose Drexel for a variety of reasons, from being able to stay close to home, to scholarships, to wanting to be in a city environment. Philadelphia is notorious for many things - its sports teams, the "Rocky steps" at the art museum, the Liberty Bell.
CNN reports, "McCain faces uphill climb," Gallup reports, "Obama Retains Significant Lead" and Kansas City's The Star raves about Obama showing the bigger lead; all of these comments are based on the Gallup poll. Every significant news media outlet bases its predictions on Gallup and other polls as if the information they provide is a guaranteed foretelling of the future.
Sara White Sophomore, Environmental Engineering In the United States it seems that one is more likely to idolize a basketball player charged with rape than a presidential candidate. Have we gotten our ethics mixed up, or is it just that we have no reason to look up to our candidates? It seems as though candidates are all like Barbie dolls: They may come in a different sex or race, but once you examine them for a while you realize they are all made of the same thing.
