Opinions - The Spectrum

OPINION

Star-Spangled Disaster

By MAX KIMBAROW | Feb. 8, 2011

"O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?" After watching the news, SportsCenter, or YouTube, you must already know that Christina Aguilera botched our national anthem on our country's biggest stage, Super Bowl XLV. But how many of you actually heard her screw up when she did? My Super Bowl "party" knew something was wrong, but we still had to rewind the anthem ? God bless DVR ? twice and pull up the lyrics to see exactly how badly she butchered it.

OPINION

A Page 3 Column About Page 10

By Andrew Wiktor | Feb. 7, 2011

Preface: This may seem a little backward since you probably haven't gone through the entire issue yet, but bear with me as this column will refer to page 10 of today's issue.

OPINION

GOP Proposal On Greenhouse Gases Goes Too Far

Feb. 7, 2011

Ever since the Republican Party regained control of the House of Representatives, President Obama has moved to the center on several key political issues. There was his compromise on upper-class tax cuts, and his controversial Wall Street Journal op-ed, in which he stated that he supported deregulation in many important areas. At the time that the op-ed was written, The Spectrum published an editorial in support of the move.

OPINION

Increase in Spending Encouraging

Feb. 7, 2011

Ever since the economic crisis of 2008 started, economists have been looking to determine the exact moment of complete recovery. This was never truer than the study published last September, which declared that the recession had ended in June 2009. This study was met with skepticism on both the left and the right.

OPINION

A Smoking Ruin

By Michael Tyson | Feb. 3, 2011

It was 1996, and while many of the readers of this column were starting kindergarten, I was beginning the first year of my first attempt at college.

OPINION

Help! I Can't Think of a Facebook Status!

By Luke Hammill | Feb. 3, 2011

This article is satire.

OPINION

"Mubarak Should Step Down, but U.S. Shouldn't Force Him"

Feb. 3, 2011

For the past week now, the biggest news story has been the revolt in Egypt. Protestors have been gathering in the streets calling for the resignation of Egypt's longtime president, Hosni Mubarak. The story has taken many twists and turns.

OPINION

Responsibility For Bullying Lies With Parents

Feb. 3, 2011

Anyone who uses the Internet on a regular basis is aware of the bullying that can occur within its realms.

OPINION

Americans Need to Lighten Up

By Amanda Jonas | Feb. 1, 2011

Americans are eating themselves to death, and cable television is inviting us to watch. Not that I am complaining. My roommate and I have about five shows that we regularly record on DVR.

OPINION

MTV Series Crosses the Line

Feb. 1, 2011

MTV has never been a haven of moral high ground. From Johnny Knoxville's painful antics on Jackass to the juiceheads of Jersey Shore, the network has a long history of glorifying behavior that would not be advised in real life. In spite of this, MTV never did anything that crossed the line of human decency.

OPINION

Florida Health Care Ruling Purely Political

Feb. 1, 2011

For the past two years, health care has been one of the most volatile subjects in this country. As the Tea Party movement rose to prominence in 2009, many angry town hall meetings were held about the subject, during which shouting was the order of the day. Then, when the health care reform bill ? known by conservatives as "ObamaCare" ? was passed in March of 2010, it continued to be a lightning rod for political debate.

OPINION

An All-Star Act of Futility

By CAREY BEYER | Feb. 1, 2011

What could be more entertaining than watching the best players in the world team up in an all-star game? Anything. Every year, professional sports leagues hold all-star games to entertain the fans with what should be the best competition possible.

OPINION

Dr. Feelgood' Part of Much Bigger Problem

Jan. 30, 2011

Last week saw the arrest of Dr. Pravin V. Mehta, a Niagara Falls doctor nicknamed "Dr. Feel Good," who was known to illegally prescribe substances. In a span of two-and-a-half years, Mehta prescribed over three million doses of powerful painkillers such as hydrocodone, and oxycodone.

OPINION

Data Mining Not a Major Issue

Jan. 30, 2011

In recent weeks, a lot of fuss has been made about data mining, in which popular websites like Facebook and Google sell off information about their users to corporations who are looking to gain information about potential consumers. The general idea of data mining is simply to give corporations an idea of what people on Facebook and other social networking sites are interested in.

OPINION

Free Work Pays

By Andrew Wiktor | Jan. 30, 2011

Internships are useful. BOOM! (That was me blowing your mind.) Well, hopefully not, but I'm going to spend the next 2,000-something characters writing about how an internship I had can be used to generalize why working for free in a recovering economy isn't as backward as it may sound. This past summer, I was a Consumer Frauds Representative at the Attorney General's office in downtown Buffalo.

OPINION

Letters to the Editor

Jan. 30, 2011

Most Americans agree: Our Federal Drug Prohibition, aka The War on Drugs, is an ongoing calamity, colossal failure, and a national disgrace.

OPINION

Restrooms Have Gone Down the Toilet

By Michael Tyson | Jan. 27, 2011

Any student that has attended the University at Buffalo for more than a couple weeks and has heeded the call of nature at least once can agree that the bathrooms here are in a sorry state. I have been at this school for three semesters now, and I am appalled at how the flagship school of the SUNY system keeps up the places that every member of the student body, faculty and staff must visit. I can understand paper towels on the floor and occasional toilet over-flows.

OPINION

United States Should Keep Distance in Egyptian Protests

Jan. 27, 2011

In the wake of the overthrow of the Ben-Ali regime in Tunisia, and Yemen's calling for the exit of longtime president Ali Abdullah Saleh, revolution certainly seems to be in the air lately. In the past week, that sentiment also seemed to be true in Egypt.

OPINION

Uganda Killing Should be Condemned

Jan. 27, 2011

In 2010, Uganda became established as a hotbed of homophobic sentiment. From the infamous YouTube video in which a Ugandan minister condemns and mocks homosexual acts, to the proposed legislation that would make homosexuality punishable by death, Uganda has to be considered one of the least gay-friendly countries on earth. That became even truer late last year, when a Ugandan publication calling itself Rolling Stone published a list of Uganda's "top homos," and called for them to be executed. Naturally, this list was met with outrage.

OPINION

I'm Not a Dirty Player

By Luke Hammill | Jan. 27, 2011

Playing a sport is a great way to relieve stress and keep those competitive juices flowing. That's why, every weekend, I play beer pong. Some people play for the glory, and some play for the buzz that comes with defeating an opponent.