Iranian students will revolt, just not soon

By Andrew Hammond / May 2, 2006

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series on the prospects of democracy and American action in Iran. A question that has been repeatedly asked since the overthrow of the shah and the establishment of Iran’s theocratic regime in 1979 is: When will the regime fall and democracy rise? Notice that didn’t say...

The case against Coca-Cola is not clear-cut

By Aaron Chaiken / May 2, 2006

Recently, some University of Chicago students have begun to attach themselves to the new movement calling for the boycott of all Coca-Cola products on university campuses. While I am confident these activists have the best of interests in their hearts, the students of this University have the right to hear both sides of this important...

Bring ROTC Back to Campus

By Maroon Editorial Staff / April 28, 2006

Given the attention that military presence on campus has generated, now, more than ever is a time to examine the University’s stance on ROTC. Like the rest of America’s elite private institutions, the U of C has, with dubious moral clarity, not allowed ROTC to hold classes on campus since the Vietnam war. Justifications have...

Send a message: Take Coca-Cola off campus

By Miranda Nelson / April 28, 2006

In Wilmington, Delaware on April 19, Coca-Cola held its annual shareholder’s meeting. And this year, just like the last, the meeting was surrounded by protesters. Coca-Cola has come under increasing fire for its human rights abuses, with recent articles detailing the situation in The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Nation, and in Business Today, a...

Laziness vs. sleep: The eternal battle rages

By Leila Sales / April 28, 2006

It’s midnight, so I announce to my roommate Laura, “I’m going to bed.” “Good idea,” she says, heading for her room. “Me, too.” An hour later, while foraging in the kitchen for Lucky Charms and smoked salmon, I run into Laura, who is sewing buttons onto a T-shirt in the design of a swan. “I...

Retain American values, keep the estate tax

By Gwen Smuda / April 28, 2006

The House has just voted to deprive the American people of more than one trillion dollars over the next 10 years in fiscal revenue, and the Senate may not be far behind. Bills to repeal the estate tax, a tax on the net assets of deceased Americans, have already passed that will phase out the...

United States ought to swallow its pride and deal with Iran diplomatically

By Ryan McCarl / April 28, 2006

Americans and their representatives are right to be nervous about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the fanatical pronouncements of its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, the threat that Iran’s nuclear program poses to American security has been greatly overblown, and talk of war as a solution to the problem is unrealistic and ill-advised. Every state makes mistakes...

Race and the Core

By Maroon Editorial Staff / April 25, 2006

Racial tension has come to the forefront of discourse at the U of C and its peer institutions across the country this year. The discussion resulting from this tension has been beneficial, but if a group of students at this University is able to skew this issue to the point of dramatically changing course offerings...

SG: Leadership, not politics, is what we need

By Barney Keller / April 25, 2006

We’re in the middle of the annual Student Government (SG) elections. Of course, if history is any guide, you probably don’t notice or care. Out of the 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled here a year ago, only about 1,300 actually managed to vote, a turnout of less than 10 percent. But this time around,...

Sports pundits must stick to what they know

By Patrick Burke / April 25, 2006

The recent Reggie Bush scandal has fortuitously given sports pundits something more scandalous than Keith Hernandez’s sexist remarks or the proper nickname for Lebron James in which to indulge. This scandal undoubtedly gives broadcast sportswriters the opportunity to engage in that empty investigative journalism they seem to love so much. Trey Wingo’s interview with Reggie...

Vote For Change

By Maroon Editorial Staff / April 21, 2006

Every student government (SG) election seems to be characterized by a comically small number of participants and an apathetic student body that sits by to watch the spectacle. The fact that half the parties running this year are joke parties reflects on the perception of SG on this campus. But regardless of the Moose Party’s...

Ryan’s accomplishments belie his downfall

By Samuel Rosenberg / April 21, 2006

As I walked into one of my classes on Monday, I noticed a student reading aloud the guilty verdict of former Illinois Governor George Ryan. It was not what she was reading that got to me but the fact that she was laughing hysterically. I am no legal scholar, nor am I a lawyer, but...