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(11/24/13 8:15pm)
One day, as I was riding my bike to a 7:30 a.m. class, I hearkened back to the end of my first semester. It was freezing cold by Arizona standards, and I passed a girl whom I saw most mornings on my way to that class, clad in roughly the same attire I had seen her in the first week of class: daisy dukes and a belly-revealing shirt.
It made total sense to me. I mean, why dress practically when you could dress comfortably? In fact, maybe University officials could consider implementing a ban on tops that pass below the waistline and bottoms that pass the fingertip rule test.
Banning appropriate clothing seems just as reasonable as banning, oh I don’t know, smoking on campus or those dangerous and irresponsible bicyclists: Shame on those two-wheeling blockheads for running over those innocent pedestrians.
I don’t know about you, but I just feel super motivated to give the right of way to a “bro dog” strutting in the middle of the walkway, oblivious to everything but the Vine he’s intently watching. Of course, I understand why that Vine just can’t wait. He won’t be able to use his iPhone in class, because such objects are strictly prohibited by every class syllabus’s code of conduct.
Speaking of appropriate conduct, ASU needs to do a better job of promoting STD prevention. You know, why would anyone want to wait to have sex with just one person? That concept is so outdated. Why bother abstaining when there are $0.50 condom dispensers?
Besides, it’s not like students have a choice. According to one student, “Sometimes you just happen to be naked.”
It makes me wonder, how does that happen? It’s not as if local bars provide incentive to over-consume alcohol. No, I’m sure they’re doing their part to promote responsible drinking. It would just be totally irresponsible to offer dollar drinks on a Wednesday. Could you imagine such a fiasco?
Then again, it makes total sense. Why be an engineer and bust your tail when you can be a communications major and get plastered on a Wednesday night? Seriously though, there just aren’t enough credible degree options out there.
I think ASU could really bolster its image if it would offer more degrees that are tolerant of everyone’s capabilities, especially those who suffer from the recently discovered disorder: laziness.
Not everyone was born with the work ethic gene, so it’s only fair that we accommodate those folks and make sure they feel included. We wouldn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings.
Plus, while they’re at it, maybe they could add some more required classes.
I think I remember a 100-level sociology course going something like this: “F-bomb. I really value your education. F-bomb. I don’t want to impose my beliefs on anyone. F-bomb.”
What a can’t-miss that class was. I’m serious. There were clicker points for attendance.
As I wrap up my time at this University, I’m trying to think of some serious advice I could give, and only one thing’s coming to mind: "Bro! You gotta one strap it!"
Just don’t take me too seriously. That's not what ASU culture is about.
Reach the columnist at mrrich2@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @cshmneyrichard
(11/14/13 10:00pm)
As an economics student and a believing Christian, I have often found myself conflicted as to how I ought to balance my educational influence with my theological influence.
(10/29/13 8:00pm)
In an Oct. 24 article in the Phoenix New Times, freelance writer Michael Lacey criticized Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, for removing the Anti-Defamation League’s sensitivity training from Diocesan schools for what Lacy termed “abortion politics.”
(10/20/13 10:28pm)
On an early summer night just a few months back, a group of friends and I piled in my car and headed down to Mill Avenue. Our intention? To offer rides to any incapacitated individual we might find, despite the fact that the car was filled to capacity.
I was clad in a green, miniature golfer-adorned onesie as we set out in search of adventure. Little did I expect to be recognized by a classmate in an LSAT prep class I was taking at the time. I think she was more surprised by the onesie than the offer of a ride home.
So why do I tell this story, you may ask? In a word, community.
In college, students crave to be a part of a community — something bigger than themselves.
Many college students join fraternities and sororities or other clubs, in search of an environment where they can make an impact and establish a sort of “second family,” in a sense.
Recently, however, incidents at some of the University’s Greek organizations and others across the nation have landed individuals and the groups they represent in hot water.
For Greek life as a whole, this only furthers the perception that fraternities and sororities are hotbeds for drunkenness, compromising behavior and sexual impropriety.
I don’t want to condemn the Greek community outright, as such behavior is not limited to those institutions, but the events at our university and others like it illustrate an unfortunate reality.
When young individuals leave the comfort of home life, they look for something onto which they can latch. Free from parental supervision or any kind of accountability system, many jump at the chance to engage in the lifestyle of drinking and carousing.
A report by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism states that nearly half of college students report binge drinking within the last two weeks.
I’ve been known to enjoy a few brews on the occasion, but what purpose does this kind of behavior serve? Camaraderie and good times are all things that I believe are paramount for a college student to enjoy. Is getting drunk to the point where one loses their innards or has no recollection of the previous night’s events necessary to achieve the beneficial elements of college life?
Over the course of my college years, belonging to the ASU branch of St. Paul’s Outreach has provided me with a group of men and women who care about my long-term, not just short-term, happiness and know how to have a good time.
The college years are the most formative in a person’s life. Without a good community, the formation can often be negative. By seeking out individuals who desire your true happiness, however, this needn’t be the case.Reach the columnist at mrrich2@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @cshmneyrichard
(10/09/13 12:30am)
Atheist Friedrich Nietzsche once stated, “He who has a why to live for can endure any how.”
The ability to believe in something is a fundamentally human characteristic, one that separates us and elevates us above non-rational creatures.
In a recent interview with prominent atheist Eugenio Scalfari, Pope Francis pestered the journalist regarding belief in a transcendent being.
“You, a secular non-believer in God. What do you believe in? You are a writer and a man of thought. You believe in something; you must have a dominant value,” Francis said.
This is a question every individual asks oneself and no doubt repeatedly asks oneself throughout the course of existence.
As such, every person must at some point provide an answer for that question which runs through the vein of what it means to be a human being.
Without belief there is no hope, and without hope, existence becomes meaningless and despondent.
In his book “Man’s Search for Meaning,” psychologist Viktor Frankl chronicled his time in a concentration camp, wherein he observed the varying psychological states of the prisoners, their responses to suffering and their extraordinary ability to persevere.
Frankl himself spoke about how he dreamed of being reunited with his wife once he was liberated and how that gave him the strength to endure some of the worst evil imaginable.
This real longing for something good signifies a greater longing for the Good.
An old priest whom I know once said that we are not human beings participating in a spiritual experience; rather, we are spiritual beings participating in a human experience.
Hence, Francis’ response to Scalfari’s claim that he does not believe in the soul: “You do not believe in it, but you have one.”
As such, one can place hope in two things: the material and the immaterial.
The visible is quite obvious. What is just as obvious is that experiences will pass.
While it is good that I look forward to enjoying a football game in the company of friends, to place all my hope in this experience would be insane. I would be empty and unfulfilled.
I would say, and so would Francis, “The world is criss-crossed by roads that come closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good.”
Surely, this Good must be better than all the earthly experiences we could imagine, because it is an experience that never loses its brilliance.
So, while it is certainly good to enjoy those human experiences which bring happiness to our lives, how much better would it be to place our ultimate belief in that which never expires?Reach the columnist at mrrich2@asu.edu.
(09/24/13 1:23am)
As a culture, whenever we think of dangerous addictive practices, there are a few usual suspects that come to mind. Drugs, alcohol and gambling, just to name a few, can create addictive consumption patterns that harm the well-being of the individual and society at large.
(09/03/13 9:53pm)
Whenever I hear Macklemore’s "Same Love" on the radio, I am continually amazed by the incredible quality of the song. The sheer musical beauty is enough to make its listener tune in and relax as the piano, violin and trumpet waft across the dial.
(04/26/13 10:16pm)
Perhaps you’ve read the details of the Kermit Gosnell trial, which sounds like something straight out of a "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" plot.
(04/13/13 12:00am)
Recently, a German family fled their homeland for America because of persecution for choosing to home-school their children.In Germany, all children must attend public school or pay a fine.In this particular case, the children were forcibly taken to school on one occasion.
(03/29/13 12:00am)
This Easter Sunday, Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, the foundational moment of the Christian faith. It is the culmination of Holy Week, the final leg of the 40-day Lenten road. During the six weeks of Lent, Christians seek to draw closer to Christ through prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Ironically, this time of sacrifice is one in which Church attendance swells significantly.
Rob Clements, Director of the All Saints Catholic Newman Center at ASU, said that attendance at Mass during Lent is greater than “any other time in the year.” Because church attendance increases during certain seasons in the liturgical calendar, some churchgoers who only attend on Christmas and Easter are labeled "CEO," or “Christmas and Easter Only.” This reveals a deeper truth about human nature, beyond the humor in the phrase itself.
(03/08/13 3:38pm)
In the very near future, the College of the Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church will convene inside of the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope.
(02/08/13 1:00am)
I think most people would agree that our mental health care system is beyond messy.
(01/24/13 10:53pm)
Two years ago, I attended the Youth and Young Adult Rally for Life at ASU.
(01/10/13 11:21pm)
At some point in our lives, each one of us will be confronted with the question: Who am I, and what is my purpose?
(11/29/12 11:43pm)
Reality can be a tough pill to swallow. The fact is there is not a more certain reality than the perpetual mediocrity of the Arizona sports market.
(11/16/12 1:22am)
Four years ago, President Barack Obama ran on the platform of hope and change, a progressive mantra that defines his liberal ideology. As Paul Gigot wrote last week in the Wall Street Journal, “In his more candid moments, Mr. Obama has said he wants to be the progressive version of Reagan, that his goal is ‘fundamentally transforming’ America.”
(11/02/12 12:05am)
During the United States’ 276-year lifespan, the people have spoken. This underappreciated privilege — the right to speak and be heard — is a fundamental feature of our American republic.
(10/18/12 11:33pm)
Last week’s Vice Presidential debate between Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden was indeed “historic,” as moderator Martha Raddatz stated. It not only pitted two Catholic individuals against each other, it pitted two ideologues regarding the role of faith in the public square.
(10/05/12 12:00am)
History is fraught with the hero character.
(09/20/12 10:58pm)
What is the common good?