Opinion

Writing in an era before political correctness, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels described unwarranted faith in electoral politics as “parliamentary cretinism.” Stricken by this disease, politicians and their constituents imagine that “the whole world, its history and its future are directed and determined by a majority of votes.” Under the influence of this chronic disorder, […]

It’s that time of the month. No, not THAT time, you pervert. Rather, that time of the month we court the “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” topic of sex. I use air quotations because I just overheard a girl yell out, in mathematical terms, an account of a certain late-night dalliance –– “subtract clothes, divide legs, add a bed […]

Imagine there’s a student at UCD who plays guitar. He starts performing around town and builds up a pretty good following. Upon graduation, instead of going to law school as planned, he decides to take a break to pursue his first love, music. One year becomes two, then five. His band extends its reach beyond […]

I want to apologize for what happened last week. I’m referring to the yelling preachers that preached condemnation for three hours on the Quad. I am asking for forgiveness on behalf of Christians who don’t portray God’s love accurately. I hope you will not attribute a lack of love from humans for a lack of […]

Question. Well, a few questions. Who is “The Man”? What makes a man part of “The Man”? Can we get a new name for this dubious Man that doesn’t make me feel like I’m a cog in the Iron Giant? Although the occurrence of phrases like “sticking it to The Man” and “The Man is […]

During the UC Regents meeting this week a group of students from UC Riverside under the name “Fix UC” are proposing the UC Student Investment Proposal, a model aimed at reforming the current financial system of the University of California. The plan proposes that students defer their tuition until they get a steady job, when […]

What if the magic pill to easier studying was the food that you ate? In most cases, diet will directly impact the key variables to successful learning — namely, mood, energy and brain health. If these are on your list of resolutions, look to what you eat. When midterms begin, you may find yourself cutting […]

Between the fields of psychology, linguistics, sociology and computer science, there are at least 10 theories on the evolution of humor. “Relief Theory” is my favorite. It posits that we laugh to release tension. In this way, humor is a kind of homeostatic mechanism for regulating fear. If this is true, we may get a […]

Have you ever lent a complete stranger hundreds or thousands of dollars, trusting them at their word they’re going to pay you back? Before you answer no, also ask yourself if you have a bank account. If the answer to that second question is yes, then that’s exactly what you have done. We all know […]

Cuts. Everywhere you look in our University of California system, programs, staff and services are being cut. Our schools are being forced to increase class sizes, reduce student enrollment, raise tuition and eliminate programs and financial aid. The UC system is recognized as providing the highest quality of education to thousands of California students every […]

No more cough syrup for you! That will be the law of Davis if the city council enacts its alcohol ordinance, which empowers cops to detain students walking down the street who they suspect are a) under 21, and b) aren’t even drunk, but might have been drinking. The cops can detain those students and […]

There was a time, long ago, when irreverence was king on campus. God, stodgy professors, WASP heritage and tradition were easy prey for the deliciously subversive revolutionaries of the ’60s and ’70s. The dusty orthodoxies of time and tradition, the doctrinaire insistence on uniformity, the stale consensus of culture –– those were gone forever. Or […]