Collegiate Press Roundup

We present our weekly review of selected student columnists and opinion writers. Although it’s mid-August, a number are on the job. This week, they offer contrasting views of campus sustainability policies, assess the presidential aspirations of the governor of Texas, complain about corporate intrusion into a state’s legislative process and lament the impact of rapid construction on campus.

1. A summertime staffer for the U of M’s Diamondback sees political motives behind the recent arrest of a veteran activist.
2. Whatever its noble goals, a writer for the Michigan Daily thinks that the U of M sustainability movement has become jaded by its smug affluence.
3. At the same time, a colleague at the PSU Daily Collegian argues that sustainability is a moral, social and economic imperative, and offers some practical tips on what individuals can do to contribute.
4. The recent debt ceiling agreement in Washington was necessary and the responsible thing to do, say the editors of the Minnesota Daily. But it would also be nice if Congress would stop running up the tab.
5. Large-scale construction is rapidly changing the face of the University of Oregon campus, and a reporter for the Daily Emerald doesn’t like the permanent changes that come with it.
6. A student complains in the Daily Pennsylvanian that the University’s plan to “diversify” the faculty is discriminatory, and arouses a storm of comment.
7. As Texas governor Rick Perry announces his presidential candidacy, a political columnist for the Daily Texan notes that he’s hard to nail down on certain issues.
8. This year’s Princeton Review college rankings have just come out, and the editors of the WVU Daily Athenaeum aren’t impressed. They rest on some very soft data, and should be taken with a grain of salt.
9. As his university braces for the arrival of returning students for the Fall semester, an IU townie anticipates with some misanthropist venting in the Daily Student.
10. Although a writer for the KState Daily Collegian is sympathetic to the struggle of American Muslim women for greater equality, she doesn’t believe that it is a matter for the federal government to address.
11. UC Berkeley students form a legitimate community within the local municipality, and an opinion columnist for the Daily Californian thinks that political boundaries must be re-configured accordingly.
12. Corporations are writing some the bills proposed in the Iowa legislature, and the editors of the Daily Iowan say that’s got to stop immediately.