Spring is in the air, and it’s a beautiful time to be on campus. As you’re settling into your final quarter of the school year, many of you are applying for summer internships and finalizing your plans to study abroad, while others may be getting ready to graduate and start a career … and wondering [...]
In 2008 Steve Pappas lost the 3rd District Supervisor seat to Doreen Farr by a slim margin. Disgruntled by the two-to-one majority that the student population of UCSB and Isla Vista gave to Farr, Pappas began a lengthy appeal process which aimed to invalidate all I.V. votes due to what he declared was improper voter [...]
As a UCSB student, you are going to graduate with a degree from an esteemed research university and will be able to get any job you want … or so you think. Many of us have all the qualifications needed for a job, but are not hired because we fail to effectively market ourselves to [...]
Have you ever woken up one morning and realized you’re the hipster? My friends talk about how they hate the self-involved hypocrisy of these types of folks. But every day I feel like more and more of us are formulating our own stubborn opinions about music, television, pop culture and the like. For example, I [...]
Another year has gone by, and once again Floatopia was successfully banned. That’s three years now, which in my opinion is pretty damn depressing. As a third-year student, I got here just in time for it to be banned, which is how I would imagine it would feel like being Charlie in “Charlie and the [...]
As everyone has heard by now, the viral marketing campaign KONY 2012, made by the nonprofit company Invisible Children, has recently come under intense scrutiny in the media. Most coverage of the massively successful 30-minute video has been extremely negative, criticizing the video’s questionable message and Invisible Children itself. As a San Diego native, where [...]
Hey man, why you looking so nervous? I know you’re not used to seeing guys with skin like mine anywhere other than on ESPN or in the news for some crime. But don’t be scared, homie; I’m not here to hurt you. Clearly, I’m no seven-feet-tall basketball stud who could stare down on [...]
It’s a pretty familiar refrain among college students: “It doesn’t matter if I vote or not. Our votes don’t make a difference; nobody cares if I vote.” The thing is, guys, you’re wrong about all of it. Yes, your votes matter; yes, they do make a difference and yes, people care whether or not you [...]
My team and I are in outreach on the streets and are deeply concerned about the number of homeless people, including families, entering into our parks, city dwellings, hospitals and beaches. More new faces, who were formerly housed but now cannot afford local rents, have also poured into their cars and our parks. We are [...]
I would classify myself as a homebody. When given the option, I will choose to watch a good movie and enjoy a glass (or bottle) of red wine over walking the dirty streets of Isla Vista to search for a party. In fact, I secretly take pleasure in soberly going to the liquor store at [...]
I have a problem with the inclusion of a Consult a Christian column, but not because I want to suppress the Christian position in favor of championing atheist, Jewish, empiricist, Rastafarian, secular, Muslim or Shinto opinions. I will argue with the Christian views and disagree with their position, but defend to my death their right [...]
It isn’t difficult to make friends in Isla Vista, but this place is so much like a dream that it makes it hard to tell who your real friends are, as opposed to fake friends that only want to know you because you live oceanside, throw great parties or have a useful connection. On Saturday [...]
Only people ignorant of the true history of addictive drug use blame the drugs for the tragedies connected to drug addiction. Checking newspaper archives from 1880 to 1909 reveals the fact that no one was robbing, whoring and murdering to get drugs when addicts could buy all of the heroin, morphine, cocaine and anything else [...]
I’m writing this because in 2008 I lived in I.V. and most current students weren’t here. In 2008 Steve Pappas lost to Doreen Farr in the race for 3rd District supervisor by 2.27 percent. He lost the student vote by more than 2:1. Citing his gut feeling that he should have gotten more votes in [...]
Regardless of your views on the Bible, I think most readers would agree that without context, interpretation of any text loses most of its validity. I’d imagine that we all have experienced that awkward moment when our text message is misinterpreted or taken out of context. “But that wasn’t what I said!” “I don’t really [...]