As summer rapidly approaches — my third year at the University coming quickly to an end — I thought I’d take a look back at this past year before moving onto the next.
This year has been filled with oddities and fun times — from ASUO drama and entertaining Republican debates, to Occupy Wall Street and sprints to Agate Hall.
I’ve enjoyed upper-level classes, long work hours, and lots and lots of writing. I’ve had some crazy conversations with homeless people, fallen asleep only twice in class and still, somehow, managed to get lost in the EMU at one point. I went to Gateway Mall@@http://www.gatewaymall.com/@@ for the first time and saw a really weird body suspension show at WOW Hall.
All things considered, this year worked out pretty well. The journalism department dealt with its scattered placements like a pro. The University memes page is a hit. The Ducks won the Rose Bowl.
Next year looks to be quite different. Increased tuition (predictable), smoke-free campus, new journalism building, new Emerald. And, less locally, things might change radically.
The presidential election is November 6. The United States might get its first Mormon president, or re-elect its first black one. The election year is bringing to a head many issues that normally progress much slower: gay rights, abortion laws, internet anonymity, marijuana, health care, church and state, immigration, you name it. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to write about most of these issues this year, during the time when the waves of protests, online activism, and younger generation involvement began to stir up a usually apathetic age group.
Even now, some interesting things are in the works. A federal appeals court @@checked link@@deemed the Defense of Marriage Act — a law which excludes same-sex couples from the same rights as heterosexual married couples — unconstitutional, and the matter will most likely be brought to the Supreme Court. Connecticut just became the 17th state @@checked@@to legalize medical marijuana, and Detroit may vote to legalize @@checked@@its nonmedical use in August. The founder of MegaUpload,@@http://mashable.com/follow/topics/megaupload/@@ a file sharing website that was taken down by the U.S. Department of Justice for copyright infringement earlier this year, recently filed to dismiss @@checked@@the charges against him. And Google has just introduced a tool @@checked@@that might help users in China sidestep the Chinese government’s search engine censorship.
Things are constantly happening, and this year and next are going to be tumultuous in the political world. Not all of these changes will affect us, but some of them will, so it’s good to keep an eye out. Everything from the Internet to contraceptives seems to be a piece on the board that is the Republican-Democrat debate. Whether you’re right, left, in between, or outside the box, I would suggest keeping up with the murmurs and arguments surrounding the topics that are important to you.
It’s been a pleasure sharing my views with this campus, and while I may not continue to write opinions about politically hot topics in the Emerald, I definitely plan on continuing my research and discussions. In this last moment we have together, I give you my fondest (though temporary) farewell and urge you to run off into the sunset with enough knowledge to add to the conversation.