Jonathan Weiler
SDSU Student

Currently, The U.S. House of Representatives is trying to reduce the deficit, and they’re asking students to bear the load through the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (H.R. 609). This bill, by some estimates, would cut $11 billion from the federal student loan program. However, it would also raise the maximum Pell Grant by $200 … over the next six years. That’s not even enough to keep up with inflation, let alone the rising cost of college. This Republican bill is going against the very nature of the Higher Education Act as it was established in 1965. Then, the goal was to increase access and affordability of higher education. Now, as the Republicans would have it, higher education seems to be a treat left for the rich. I rely on federal aid. My sister, a freshman, relies on federal aid. And my brother, who is still in high school, will also need aid. However, if this bill passes, if education is abandoned in order to balance the budget, my brother and sister may have to look elsewhere for support. Congress, in proposing this bill, is gambling with the very future of the nation. They seem to forget that without their own education, they would not hold their offices today. They would not have been successful. This country needs educated individuals to keep it running and we, as college students must make our congressmen and congresswomen realize that, or else they will forfeit the future of America. For more information visit www.studentaidalliance.org.

Derek MeyersPolitical Science and English Major

This piece is in regards to the riots and the UPD’s reaction thereof. The supposed “riots” were ridiculous and callow, and I am sure the UPD were unnecessarily strict, but that is the function of the UPD.

During the two years I lived in Hansen Hall, there were several rooms busted for alcohol. The first time I ever heard of a room being raided was because the students involved had walked past the RA’s room with open beers in their hands. The sencond time was because UPD officers glanced in a window, and saw the students inside drinking alcoholic beverages.

If you are underage and drinking, be smart about it. Close your blinds and doors, try to at least hide the fact that you are drinking. Don’t go walking on campus either. Call a friend and have them be a designated driver for you.

I don’t agree with the fact that they hand out so many parking tickets, but that’s part of their job. Whether it gives them a power trip, of if they just really enjoy their job, the fact is this: it’s their job. They don’t create the rules, they just enforce them. If we all parked wherever we wanted too, everyone would be inconvenienced. Yes, there are not enough parking spaces for students on campus. However, that’s the university’s fault. Don’t kill the messengers; go to the university with your complaints.

Oh , and make sure you research your FaceBook data before publishing it.

Jason WesterbergElectronics Engineering Major

Enough Already!

I attended the annual Cavorts on Friday night. After glancing at the program, I realized that Clint Weckwerth, the Cavorts winner for the last two years, was ONCE AGAIN playing “The Piano Man.” Clint walked on stage and then before he proceeded to play, said something like, “This is the reason that people came tonight.” This comment frustrated me. Cavorts is supposed to be a talent show, not a concert where it is tradition to play the same song. I am shocked that he would want to play the same song again. However, what shocked me even more was the fact that he claimed the first-place prize of $200. I couldn’t believe, along with some of the other students around me, that he won. Surely, I thought that the judges would not let him win for the third year in a row playing the SAME talent. Even despite the fact that “The Piano Man”: is a great song, it wasn’t as good as let’s say, Micah Wetzel’s original song. In concluding, I would like to suggest to the Cavort’s Committee for next year: do not allow people to do the same talent as they did in previous years. During auditions, that should be a major criterian. It is supposed to be a TALENT SHOW, not a show where people that are good at playing one song can continue to win when there are other people with clearly more definite talent.

Laura BakkerSeniorFamily and Consumer Sciences major

Dear Editor,

I am writing this letter in response to the recent coverage of mild “500 person riot” which recently took place at the SDSU.

I , as well as many others, felt that this riot was not given proper justice.

Anyone who took part in this riot has to laugh at how the media watered down this situation. The truth is that an estimated 3,000 people came together for a common goal of wreaking havoc on campus.

Things were destroyed, and the riot was on the verge of getting out of control. Many students had one of the most fun nights of their college careers, and they simply want the truth of their adventure told. Why is it that the media is so adamant about blowing out of proportion anything that would put a bad name on the country, such as focusing only on the negatives in Iraq, while not mentioning the progress that is being made. Yet at the local level, they down play any event which might damage this university’s reputation? Why does the media have this double standard of protecting the city, yet condeming the country?

Adam LarsonBrown Hall