Opinion

I'd like to say a few words about the environment. Now that the election has run its course and mass media outlets are experiencing a fire-sale for obscure minutiae to cover, it's time to remind ourselves of the unimpeachable importance of maintaining our global habitat.

Since Wednesday morning, UC Davis undergraduate students have been able to log on to elections.ucdavis.edu to cast their ballot for ASUCD Senate candidates. Senate elections take place every fall and winter quarter to determine the makeup of the 12-member body that is responsible for approving the association’s $10.7 million budget, initiating new projects and monitoring ASUCD units such as the Coffee House and Unitrans.  Students have until Friday at 8 a.m. to make their selections. 

Partisanship aside, our generation made history this election. I don't care if you're Democrat, Republican, Green, Peace and Freedom, or as indecisive as I am when my friends and I are trying to decide where to go for dinner … Generation Y: we did good!

Something I've noticed since last Tuesday is that everywhere I go on campus, there's someone talking about the recent election. The fact that a presidential election is still generating this much buzz and conversation a week after it's over says something important about how involved our generation was in this election.

Congratulations you unpatriotic, terrorist-palling, fake American, Islamic Marxists, you did it. You just elected Louis the Sixteenth.

For those unfamiliar with the analogy, some history: King Louis XVI was the guy who got his head chopped off during the French Revolution. He didn't sow the seeds of that revolution, or even really incite it. No, that honor belongs to his predecessor, Louis XV, who left the nation with atrocious poverty, soaring food prices, appalling inequality and an incestuous elite composed of the idle rich and fanatical religious conservatives. Add to that a foreign policy which exceeded the military's ability to maintain the empire and, most importantly, a massive national debt which led to an unprecedented financial crisis, and it's no wonder that in the last years of his rule, Louis XV said, "Aprés Moi le déluge," which roughly translates to, "You're all fucked now."

Hate is an extremely strong word. In fact, I believe that out of all the words created to show dislike, hate is the most powerful. Think about it. Abhor, detest, spurn, disdain, loathe. None of them portrays an aversion to something like "hate" does.

When most people think about philosophical conversations they imagine stoners pondering their existence as they pass the bong. Philosophy is as rigorous and objective as the logic that structures it. Because of the precise nature of philosophy, a lot of philosophical conversations DO end up sounding like stoner conversations. Take for example this philosophical exchange - Q: "Does god exist?" A: "Yeah dude, I totally feel his energy every time I chill with my bros."

In the end, the conclusion to the election was exhilarating and inspiring in equal measure. For some, euphoria, jubilation and passion persisted; for others, a sense of redemption, justification, nostalgia and even disappointment prevailed.

But while the results provoked an astonishing range of emotions, what should not be lost and must not be denied is that there has been a tremendous, remarkable, even epic transformation in America.

The election is officially, like, so five minutes ago, but before the media refocuses on the things that are important (photographing Lindsay Lohan's crotch, for example), I wanted to reflect on the experience of living through what was surely a defining moment in American history. Some are stoked and others want to move to Australia. Such is the result of an electoral field day.

Early voting allows voters to begin casting their ballots days or weeks prior to an election. In Yolo County, early voting began on Oct. 6 and continued up until Nov. 3.

This year the different early voting polling places - notably the Memorial Union - noted a much higher turnout than in previous years, with lines of people constantly wrapped around the MU.

UC Davis Transportation and Parking Services has undertaken a project to replace lights in parking structures with bulbs that are more efficient and fixtures that detect motion.

Welcome to the day after. As you read this, you will know the results of a historic presidential race I can only assume at this time. I could make some stock comments about "the American journey continuing" or a ready-made quip about "our experiment with democracy," maybe even lay on a little Lincoln-quoting (I was thinking "dogmas of the quiet past") to further inflate the moment past its due, but even on the eve of a probable liberal ascendancy there remains an unchanged truth of which we must oft remind ourselves.

The homeless. They are told, "Get a job, you bum!" How exactly does a "bum" go about getting a job? Just curious. Most college students I know can't get a job and they shower every once in a while. "Go to McDonald's, they're always hiring!" Don't you think a person who has resorted to sleeping on the street has ever tried to get a job at a McDonald's? Assuming that all homeless people are even mentally competent to do so. One-third of the homeless population is mentally ill. Yeah, I bet that looks great on a resume.

For the past eight years the presidential leadership of the United States has been sorely lacking to the point of nonexistence. The country has been led - or left - to plunge in a downward spiral embarrassing to both citizens of the country and the world. Whether or not George W. Bush can be blamed for all the circumstances that have led to the country's current condition is debatable. What is not debatable is that Senator Barack Obama is the presidential candidate most able to rejuvenate and inspire our country.