We present our regular sampling of student journalists and editors, some of whom are staying on the job through the summer. This week's columnists take a look at possible alternatives to final exams, the complexities of friendship, the ominous implications of a recent Supreme Court decision, the need to get rid of Indiana’s priggish blue laws and the Obama administration’s desire to get more people a college education.
1) In the final edition of UC/Irvine’s New University for this academic year, a sophomore columnist argues that final exams shouldn’t weigh so decisively in the calculation of course grades. He suggests some alternatives, naturally.
2) The editors of the Minnesota Daily think that a local proposal to require that all official municipal services be conducted in English is not a good idea.
3) The president of Penn’s undergraduate assembly offers some practical suggestions for improving the day-today campus culture in the Daily Pennsylvanian.
4) A features columnist in the Auburn Plainsman analyzes the varieties of friendship among undergraduates, and wonders why it’s so difficult for girls to be nice to each other.
5) A regular writer for The Stanford Daily finds the campaign techniques of the National Marriage Boycott similar to fashion advertisements.
6) At nearby UC Berkeley, a writer in the Daily Californian sees the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Christian Legal Society vs. Martinez as a major threat to free speech and free association for student groups on campus.
7) The Harvard Crimson reports the conclusion of a local review panel that race was not a significant factor in last year’s controversial arrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and commenters react.
8) A Daily Princetonian regular offers some thoughts on alumna and Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan and the daunting Senate confirmation process she’s currently navigating.
9) A staff columnist for The Dartmouth says that the College’s Sophomore Summer isn’t nearly as bad as a student colleague asserted in last week’s edition.
10) Writing from home for the UCLA Daily Bruin, a regular op-ed contributor describes the bleak prospect of finding a summer job in California, and ponders the long-term consequences of that reality.
11) At IU Bloomington, the editors of the Daily Student urge state lawmakers to repeal the Hoosier State’s antiquated blue laws.
12) As he anticipates summer vacation from the University of Kentucky, an op-ed writer for the Kentucky Kernal argues that the Obama administration is mistaken in thinking that a college degree is the thing for just about everybody.
