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(08/22/14 2:57am)
There is a lot of pride in the Sun Devil community, and the events of Welcome Week have done a great deal to instill that same pride in our incoming students. From a Fall Welcome concert featuring Mac Miller, to Taylorfest, and Tiki Luau, it is evident that we’ve done a great deal to welcome our own. But while ASU was putting on impressive events to greet its enthusiastic student body, a quieter reception was being held in the neighborhoods surrounding our Tempe Campus. In coordination with Tempe Police Department and the City of Tempe, ASU organized a Welcome Back Walk. Although absent of pomp and glamour, this welcome spoke the loudest to us.The three-day event involved Tempe police walking through neighborhoods heavily populated by students, and sought to establish a connection between ASU students and their neighbors. In doing so, the officers became vessels of an increasingly important conversation about how ASU students and their neighbors should interact.Although enamored with Maroon and Gold, ASU students may find it difficult to be involved with the neighbors around us. After all, in a sea of students who share our majors, clubs, fraternities, sororities, intramural team, etc. it seems almost silly to branch out to people who may be older than our parents. So, we’ll ask the reader a question: What is the place of ASU students within the Tempe community? For the sizable portion of ASU students who reside in houses in the neighborhoods surrounding ASU, this question is paramount.Considering how deeply involved all of us are in college life, it’s easy to become insular. It’s easy to forget that, despite ASU’s immense influence on Tempe, we are simply a part of this city. We must remain conscious that our student body maintains a different lifestyle from many of the residents of Tempe.We’re mostly 18- to 22-year-olds with a penchant for staying up late, being loud and occasionally being reckless. Our neighbors are parents with kids who need to get to bed, elderly folks who enjoy quiet nights every now and then, and folks who simply aren’t OK with dozens of cars pulling up in front of their home or the house-party across the street.We can’t simply ignore that. The main objective of the Welcome Back Walk was to facilitate a communication between residents that have largely been grouped into “ASU students” and “Not ASU students”.The steps taken by Welcome Back Walk present an opportunity to start working towards mending this disconnect. Most residents are reasonable people, and all know what it was like to be young. If they are informed of intentions of a party over the weekend, more likely than not, they will be receptive towards ensuring the night is safe for the community.If communities surrounding ASU are to maintain a level of respect and tolerance, it starts with us.Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
(08/01/14 4:00pm)
Thousands gather to look at the latest in video games and comics, October 12, 2012 at the NY Comic Con held at Jarvis Center. Jose Rosado, 29, takes a photo of a character from "Gears Of War 2" on sale at the Gear exhibit. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/MCT)Boo to buying textbooks. With three weeks left prior to school beginning, students are now having to pony up their cash or credit to buy those books we're not going to read anyway.Bravo to a panel about women's representation being scheduled right before the Marvel presentation at the San Diego Comic Con, forcing people to sit through an hour-long presentation about the importance of women in media to keep a seat for learning what's next in Marvel.Boo to political ads. Primaries are less than a month away, which means that from now until Aug. 26, every street corner will be plastered with obnoxious ads touting how different our state office candidates are from President Barack Obama and each other. Bravo to former WWE champion Bryan Danielson, who caught and subdued an alleged burglar at his Phoenix home. Danielson and his wife saw the man and another suspect as they drove into their carport, and he chased them and held one suspect, 22-year-old Cesar Sosa, until police arrived.Boo to Phoenix Suns P.J. Tucker, who was arrested in suspicion of “super extreme DUI” in May. Tucker, who signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract with the Suns last week, was arrested after being pulled over by a Scottsdale police officer on May 10. His blood alcohol content was .201 at the time of the arrest, but was later determined to be .222 after a blood test.Bravo to the Phoenix Mercury. While the Diamondbacks are still struggling and the Suns are dealing with players' off-the-court problems, the WNBA team is on a 15-game winning streak.Boo to the NFL for its lax penalty on Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Rice for only two games next season after a video surfaced of Rice getting into a physical altercation with his now-wife and dragging her out of an elevator.Bravo to ASU alumna Alexa Rogers, this year's Miss Arizona. Rogers does plenty of volunteering and is now in the running for Miss America.Boo to bringing a gun to an airport. Dr. Peter Steinmetz, a doctor at Barrow Neurological Institute, was arrested Friday for bringing a loaded assault rifle to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Steinmetz said he was at the airport only to get a cup of coffee.Bravo to not having to go back to school yet. While ASU’s fall semester doesn’t begin for roughly another three weeks, students in the Queen Creek Unified School District have already began their classes. Enjoy the summer while you still can.Want to join the conversation? Send a letter to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters to 300 words or less and include your University affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
(07/31/14 4:00pm)
Dear reader,
(07/25/14 4:00pm)
Bravo to Marvel introducing a black Captain America and a female Thor. Diversity is something desperately needed in the comic book industry, and Marvel is leading the charge, unlike its competitor, DC Comics. We're excited to see how the new iterations of these beloved superheroes play out.
(07/23/14 4:00pm)
This past week, 298 people from more than a dozen countries lost their lives when a missile struck a passenger plane near the Ukraine-Russia border. More than 600 died as Israel prepared to launch its ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.The loss of any human life is devastating, and the mindless violence that's consumed our media coverage is hard to stomach. Whether it's hearing about the extraordinary bad fortune of the Australian family who lost relatives on both this Malaysia Airlines flight and the airline's plane that went missing in March or seeing pictures of Palestinian children torn apart by Israeli shells, it's enough to make us want to ignore real news and focus on the latest Beyoncé/Jay-Z breakup rumors.However, that doesn't work. As people, we owe it to our fellow humans to help in whatever ways we can, even when those tragedies are happening across the world and don't affect anyone we know.As news of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17's crash broke on Thursday, President Barack Obama was preparing for a speech on infrastructure in Delaware.He briefly acknowledged the growing tragedy, saying, "Before I begin, obviously the world is watching reports of a downed passenger jet near the Russia-Ukraine border. And it looks like it may be a terrible tragedy. Right now, we’re working to determine whether there were American citizens onboard. "That is our first priority. And I’ve directed my national security team to stay in close contact with the Ukrainian government. The United States will offer any assistance we can to help determine what happened and why. And as a country, our thoughts and prayers are with all the families of the passengers, wherever they call home."Obama went on to continue the speech about improving the country's economic infrastructure, and that was that. While it's highly unlikely that the plane was shot down by anyone other than pro-Russian rebel groups, the White House has been careful to avoid saying anything other than that Russia was instrumental in "creating the conditions" that led to the plane being shot down and nearly 300 civilians dying.The latest and most violent outbreak of fighting in the Gaza Strip has created similar political strife as the U.S. tries to balance tense relationships. Secretary of State John Kerry, who's now in Cairo to try to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas, caught flak from Fox News for commenting that Israel was conducting "one hell of a pinpoint operation," a comment on the country's insistence that it was conducting a limited strike. The U.S. is in a tough place when it comes to taking action in world conflicts, as it often ends up acting as the world's policeman. When it comes to things like spying on allied countries, we should stick to our own backyards. However, incidents like the shootdown of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 or the current fighting in the Middle East demand involvement from both states and non-governmental organizations even if no member of that state or NGO was directly affected.Want to join the conversation? Send a letter to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters to 300 words or fewer and include your University affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
(07/18/14 4:00pm)
Boo-ravo to monsoon storms, which caused damage to power lines, traffic signals and trees on Monday. The storm also resulted in flooding in some areas, posing hazards for motorists. Despite the damages and hazardous traveling conditions, a monsoon storm is always a welcome sight to watch and enjoy from a safe area.Boo to increasing violence between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. According to USA Today, hostilities continued on Tuesday after an Egyptian-sponsored truce, which Hamas rejected, failed to take effect. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of 194 people and at least 1,400 wounded from Isreali airstrikes on Gaza as of Tuesday, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel saw its first casualty on Tuesday after a mortar shell hit a volunteer delivering food to soldiers.Bravo to a new bit of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." When a fan asked for more Buffy, creator Joss Whedon responded with a cute cartoon drawn on a napkin of Buffy shoving a stake into a vampire with a speech bubble over her head that says "pun!"Boo to the trainwreck that was DashCon, a fan-run convention for Tumblr users that took place July 11-13 in Schaumburg, Illinois. On the first day of the con, a misunderstanding between the venue, the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel, and DashCon administrators caused DashCon to unprofessionally appeal to its conventiongoers, many of which were young teenagers, for donations to raise $17,000 lest the convention be shut down. On the second day, many of the convention's main guests, most notably the popular podcast group Welcome to Nightvale, walked out due to other financial issues.Boo-ravo to the death of the titular character of Archie Comics in Wednesday's issue of Life With Archie. While the death of Archie, a staple of American comics since 1941, is shocking, it also makes a powerful political statement because he ends up taking a bullet for his best friend, Kevin Keller, the first openly gay character in the comic's universe.Boo to a loss of a potential starter for ASU football. Would-be junior college transfer linebacker Darrius Caldwell will not be able to enroll at ASU next fall because of academic reasons. The Sun Devils were looking at Caldwell to replace Carl Bradford at the Devilbacker position.Bravo to a unified Germany for winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup. With a 1-0 win over Argentina after a goal by Mario Gotze in the second half of extra time, Germany earned its first World Cup championship victory since 1990, when it was playing as West Germany.Boo to a new MTV reality show. Following such programs like “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” will be the new “Virgin Territory” in which teenaged virgins either try to lose it or discuss their decision to keep it until marriage. As a reminder, MTV used to play music.Bravo to The Arizona Republic for its series on immigrant children. The Republic has been on top of covering the transportation of unaccompanied migrant children to holding facilities in Arizona, and the package "Pipeline of Children" showcases the larger story. Want to join the conversation? Send a letter to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Anonymity will not be granted.
(07/17/14 4:00pm)
A decade ago, Sun Devils cheered on football captain and record-setting quarterback Andrew Walter.
(07/16/14 4:32pm)
Almost a year and a half ago, we reminded you, the reader, that we are “big fans of change.”
(07/16/14 4:31pm)
The following press release was issued by ASU Student Media and The State Press on July 16, 2014.
(07/11/14 4:00pm)
Boo to Yankees fan Andrew Rector suing the Yankees, the MLB and ESPN for defamation after video footage of him sleeping was aired on television and posted on MLB.com. The suit is not only ridiculous, it’s embarrassing — far more embarrassing than getting caught snoozing at a baseball game.
(06/25/14 4:30pm)
What do you picture when you think of an adult who still lives at home with their parents?For many, it conjures up an image of a stereotypical loser, the man-child who's still playing video games in his mom's basement, groaning when she interrupts by coming downstairs to do the laundry.For students on the cusp of graduating, it may bring about a sense of panic — please, dear (insert deity here), let me find a job so I don't end up there.But to Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a psychologist quoted in this week's New York Times Magazine cover article, these adults aren't giving up by moving back in with mom and dad: They're creating a new economic plan.The magazine's story, "It's Official: The Boomerang Kids Are Here to Stay," glorifies this shift in culture that's seeing more and more college graduates move in with their parents post-graduation.It's also completely wrong.It is harder to make it economically in the U.S. than it was when our parents or grandparents graduated from high school or from college, if they went. As the Times points out, graduating into a recession has negative effects on people throughout their lives, and the American workforce is inundated now with many highly educated people competing for relatively few jobs.However, the key word there is competing. Getting a good job and cracking into the top 20 percent of wage earners takes hard work, and that can't be accomplished by sitting at home and relying on a parental safety net.Staying at home during college isn't necessarily a bad thing, nor is going home after it if you don't have a job lined up out of school. Both are more financially sound than racking up thousands of dollars in student loan debt or other bills. However, it should be a stop on the journey to financial independence, not the final destination.It can be easy to forget sometimes, but (with the exception of the few preteen prodigies running around campus), we're all adults. College can provide a safety net and a gradual transition to the real world, between the University effectively acting in loco parentis and parents continuing to assist many students with their financial needs, but it doesn't last forever.In the end, it comes down to American virtues of independence and rugged individualism and other buzzwords that wouldn't sound out of place in a Chevy ad. Whether you're working your way through this summer or taking it easy back at your parents' place, take some time to appreciate what they've done for you, and then think about how you're going to take care of yourself.After all, if Sting's kids aren't going to see any of their rock star dad's money, we don't have any claim to our parents' everlasting financial support.Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters to 300 words and include your university affiliation. Requests for anonymity will not be granted.
(06/18/14 4:30pm)
ASU's and Starbucks' joint announcement Monday that Starbucks employees would receive discounted bachelor's degrees from ASU Online seemed like a shining beacon of a new era in education.Starbucks would fully reimburse its employees for online classes they take as juniors and seniors at ASU and provide partial scholarships for students taking freshman and sophomore credits. Even better, once they graduated, these employees would have no commitment to the company — they can walk away with an almost entirely free bachelor's degree.However, like all good things, this deal has its downfalls. The program applies only to online classes, not in-person ones. As The New York Times reported in 2013, study after study has shown that online courses have significantly higher failure and withdrawal rates.Online classes, the studies say, work best for "highly skilled, highly motivated people" — your college professor or CEO taking a Massive Open Online Course on the side. There are certainly many highly skilled, highly motivated people working as baristas, but how many of the 70 percent of Starbucks employees CEO Howard Schultz said would use this program will have the time and motivation to power through one of ASU's condensed online courses?ASU Online expects students to spend six hours per week per course credit for each 7.5-week session (while most on-campus courses are given in the full 15-week C session, online classes are primarily offered in the 7.5-week A and B sessions). That's 18 hours a week for one regular three-credit class, on top of 20-plus hours at Starbucks and possibly a second job or raising a family. Starbucks, though, won't reimburse students until they've completed 21 credits.Online classes also pose a barrier for those who don't have access to computers, as one employee brought up during Monday's presentation. He wanted to do the program, but making minimum wage or slightly above at Starbucks wouldn't pay for a computer. The nonpartisan think tank Pew Research Center found in September that 15 percent of Americans don't use the Internet at all, while another 9 percent is only able to use it outside of home. Many of these individuals were unemployed or working in minimum wage jobs like food service.The Starbucks College Achievement Plan is a step in the right direction toward eliminating some of the exclusivity of education, which Schultz, ASU President Michael Crow and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan all cited as goals. However, it also ignores the plight of Starbucks baristas who already attend ASU. The Tempe campus has four Starbucks locations, and the Downtown and West campuses both have one. Food contractor Aramark licenses these stores, along with all dining locations on the four campuses, which means the students who give peers their frappucino fix each day are technically not employed by Starbucks. For the students who work on campus, this new deal is as bitter as straight black coffee.Tip your barista next time you stop at a campus Starbucks. They're not getting any help from their company.Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters to 300 words and include your university affiliation. Requests for anonymity will not be granted
(06/18/14 12:45am)
Boo to terrorists. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an al-Qaida splinter group, has gained control of two Iraqi cities including Tikrit and its second-largest city, Mosul. It is also believed that the militant group will try to take over Baghdad, which is roughly 100 miles south of Tikrit.Bravo to President Barack Obama for signing an executive order banning workplace discrimination at federal contractors. While some say Obama is using this move to drive fundraising from LGBTQ donors, we applaud this as a step forward for human and queer rights in the U.S. Boo to Slingshot, an app released Tuesday by Facebook's incubator, Creative Labs. The app is similar to Snapchat, though there's one rule that doesn't apply to Snapchat's Wild West. In order to open a "sling," one must first send a picture in reply. We have two words for Facebook's new app: Snapchat forever!Bravo to the season finale of "Game of Thrones." The series' murderous streak kept up with its bloody prior episodes and thrilled fans everywhere — including a record number who decided to pirate the episode.Boo to the Starbucks and Einstein Bros. Bagels in the Memorial Union closing for the summer because they're switching locations. Where will summer students get their conveniently located coffee, cake pops and bagel sandwiches now?Bravo to the U.S. 2-1 win over Ghana in the World Cup. Ghana has defeated the U.S. in the previous two world cups, and revenge is sweet.Bravo to former President George H.W. Bush, who celebrated his 90th birthday last Thursday by skydiving. Bush, who has skydived eight times now, landed with a red, white and blue parachute. Now that is the definition of 'Merica.Boo to the deaths of Casey Kasem and Tony Gwynn. Kasem hosted radio countdown shows and voiced Raggy ...er, Shaggy, in the Scooby-Doo franchise, while baseball Hall of Famer Gwynn played 20 seasons with the San Diego Padres. Both will be missed.Bravo to President Barack Obama for caring about the ocean and its inhabitants. Obama announced his intentions on Tuesday to create the world’s largest marine sanctuary in the south-central Pacific Ocean, The New York Times reported. Obama is following in the footsteps of former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, who both used executive power for the sake of protecting the ocean.Boo to the 20th anniversary of O.J. Simpson's trial and the media frenzy that followed. As the Washington Post reminded us last week, it's because of that trial that we have the Kardashians. Thanks a lot, O.J.Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters to 300 words and include your university affiliation. Requests for anonymity will not be granted.
(06/13/14 4:00pm)
Boo to Donald Sterling, the racist flip-flopper. The 80-year-old owner of the Los Angeles Clippers decided not to sell his team to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and will instead pursue a $1 billion lawsuit against the NBA. The NBA banned Sterling for life in April and fined him $2.5 million for racist remarks he made in private to his girlfriend. Bravo to President Barack Obama for signing a memorandum which, upon approval of the Secretary of Education and Congress, would make it easier for people to pay off student loan debts. The proposals would allow federal direct student loan borrowers to cap their loan payments at 10 percent of their income, among other actions that would support borrowers.Boo to the alleged Miley Cyrus car thieves being from the Valley. Naomi Charles, 21, and Tylor Scott, 19, were arrested in connection with the theft of Cyrus's 2014 Maserati Quattroporte on May 5. The two attended McClintock High School.Bravo to Nintendo for showing off several titles with playable female characters at the Electronic Entertainment Expo on Tuesday. From Zelda, Impa and Midna in "Hyrule Warriors," to Bayonetta in "Bayonetta II," to May in "Pokémon Omega Ruby" and "Pokémon Alpha Sapphire," to a variety of favorite Nintendo heroines in the upcoming Super Smash Brothers installment, it's great to see women be acknowledged within the video game industry.Boo to the car wreck that put comedian Tracy Morgan in the hospital with multiple injuries and killed fellow passenger James McNair, another comedian who performed under the name "Jimmy Mack." Our best wishes to Morgan for a full recovery.Bravo to the announcement that there will be three Avatar sequels released in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The 2009 blockbuster was bound for a sequel (it is the highest-grossing film of all time), but nobody expected three. Production for the sequels will begin this year. Also, Sigourney Weaver is returning from the dead from the original film to play a different character in the upcoming sequels.Boo to recent spouts of violence in the U.S. and overseas. In the past week, there have been three major shootings on the West Coast. A shooting at Seattle Pacific University resulted in the death of a student, a shooting at an Oregon high school resulted in the death of a student and the gunmen and another shooting in Las Vegas resulted in the deaths of two police officers, a bystander and the two attackers. On Monday, five American troops were killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan during an operation. In Pakistan, a terrorist group attacked the Jinnah International Airport on Sunday, killing 36 people.Bravo to online gamers who helped nab one of two armed robbers. Two men broke into an apartment in Tempe where a woman was playing an online video game early Monday morning. Her fellow players watched the whole thing via a video feed and contacted police, leading them to her apartment and helping catch one of the men who was still inside.Boo to the holding of more than 1,000 unaccompanied migrant children in Nogales, Arizona. The children, who include pregnant teens and a sick infant, have been transported from Texas to a makeshift facility in the southern Arizona town, where many are sleeping in plastic containers and haven't showered for up to 10 days, according to The Arizona Republic.Bravo to "The Fault in Our Stars," which grossed $48 million in its opening weekend. The tearjerker is a faithful adaptation of young adult novelist John Green's 2012 love story about two teenage cancer patients.Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
(06/12/14 4:30pm)
Cesar Chavez is running for Congress.
(06/06/14 4:00pm)
Bravo to Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendoline Christie being cast in the upcoming Star Wars film. The two actresses will bring more diversity to the historically white-washed, male-dominated franchise.
(06/04/14 4:00pm)
ASU baseball's season came to a heart-wrenching end on Saturday in San Luis Obispo, California, as the team's junior right fielder, Trever Allen, struck out looking with the tying and winning runs on base.
(05/30/14 1:00pm)
Boo to the "Batman v. Superman" logo. The movie's logo is a terrible combination of the two iconic logos that looks like it was made by a Photoshop novice.
(05/28/14 4:00pm)
Sometimes, good things can come out of tragedies. For instance, the Amber Alert system, which sends notifications through television, radio and the Internet when a child is kidnapped, was created after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was abducted and murdered.
(05/23/14 4:00pm)
Boo to the Phoenix VA Hospital for delays in treating veterans and bad accounting of treatment and veteran's health. Whether officials were manipulating the numbers to "meet performance goals" or not, the VA system must take care of our service people.