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Breaking News: The French Win a War

February 5, 2013 by Jeffrey Robin

Since I don’t expect that many of you would have noticed (and for good reason), I have a news flash for you: The French have actually won a war. Okay, maybe it wasn’t really an actual war, and the...
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HPV, Alcoholism, Allergies… We’ve Got It All

February 4, 2013 by Mferris

Q: Apparently, HPV is rampant among college students. As a female, I’m afraid of getting it and then developing cervical cancer. How can I protect myself against contracting HPV? Is the Gardasil vac...
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Minorities May Not Rule, But They Still Deserve A Say

February 1, 2013 by Travis Vail

Why do atheists try to exert so much influence on public opinion if they know they are a minority? In brief, you don’t need to be in a majority to have principles worth sharing. Whether or no...
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Moving Forward Is Hard When You’re Always Looking Left or Right

January 31, 2013 by Mark Strong

Two years ago, I traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in a youth leadership conference. Over the course of a week, I had the privilege of exploring our nation’s capitol along with a group of ...
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Come One, Come All! The IV Housing Circus Is Back In Town

January 30, 2013 by Maya Salmon

With Community Housing Office (CHO) as your ringleader, you won’t get “clowned” during the Isla Vista housing shuffle. Here are some dos and don’ts regarding choosing roommates, finding a plac...
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Some Fruit Just Shouldn’t Be Labeled: Why You Can’t Name, Frame or Slap a Sticker on Sexuality

January 30, 2013 by Luc Gendrot

This week I think I’ll talk rather seriously about labels, how stupid I think they are and the definition of sexuality. I apologize in advance, dear readers, for the lack of witty one-liners. I tend...
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[Left Said] President Obama: Master of Rhetoric and the Status Quo

January 29, 2013 by Michael Dean

Last week President Obama gave liberals the speech they wanted to hear: His rhetoric was lofty, historically conscious and unabashedly progressive. Now that the goose bumps have settled, however, we w...
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[Right Said] Obama is Back and More Liberal Than Ever

January 29, 2013 by Jeffrey M. Robin

Just in case you missed it or decided not to tune in, the president made another bluntly polemical campaign speech last Monday. No, the 2014 midterm elections haven’t already started (yet). I am, of...
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Sergeant Signa Is A Jerk. …And Other Information Any Card-Carrying Isla Vistan Should Know

January 28, 2013 by Mark Signa

Yes, I know it is hard to believe, but I am a jerk. Actually, it should be another more descriptive word, but this is a family-friendly newspaper. Well, except for on Wednesdays. By the way, the Opini...
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Hats Are Changeable; It’s The Head Beneath Them That Stays With You For Life

January 27, 2013 by Ben Moss

I learned the difference between dissociative identity disorder and role-play in my first year at UCSB. My freshman roommate, who declared in psychology during Zero Week, went a long way to help me un...
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Drugs and the Divine: Could Spiritual Transcendence Be Only A Pop, Drop or Toke Away?

January 25, 2013 by Michael Roe

“Turn on, tune in, drop out”: this six word catchphrase coined by the psychologist Timothy Leary is most closely associated with the drug counterculture and progressive social transformation of th...
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Call it Agnosticism, If You Like — All I Know Is That It’s Wonderful

January 24, 2013 by Mark Strong

Disclaimer: I think it’s important to note that I use the proper noun “God” in reference to the preexisting, visualized God of various world religions, and the improper noun “god” in referen...
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Bite Me: Sink Your Teeth into the Wonders of Kink

January 23, 2013 by Hayley E.

Gather round, gather round, one and all. Today our topic is one of much excitement: kinky sex. But before we get there we must take a peek into my past, so you can understand how I have suffered for t...
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[Left Said] US Immigration Policy: Drawing the Line Between Who Gets In and Who Doesn’t

January 22, 2013 by Michael Dean

Irony comes cheap in the United States. Amid the reactionary uproar defending the Second Amendment, many voices of the right avidly pointed out that no small number of what we have come to know...
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[Right Said] US Immigration Policy: Drawing the Line Between Who Gets In and Who Doesn’t

January 22, 2013 by Jeffrey Robin

Though I haven’t held such a position, I imagine that being a professional advocate for immigration reform must be one of the most frustrating jobs in the world. When he was first elected in ...
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