Editorials

In this election, Democrats were often guilty of the blind partisanship for which they often criticize Republicans. A vote for Nader - the real "Change" candidate - represented a vote for the person over the party.

And we lost. The reins of government have slipped from our hands, but so what? It’s the other party that believes that hope, happiness and prosperity flows outward from Washington. We know better.

Governor David Patterson’s budget directive to freeze special revenue generated by state agencies, including Stony Brook, is unjustified and damaging. But at the same time it illuminates the limits Stony Brook has reached as a state-run institution and forces us to think outside the box when plotting its future.

College students and activists have made a mistake in Barack Obama—he’s not the candidate he first appeared to be.

Young primary voters gravitated to Obama unlike other Democrat nominees in the past....But we haven’t really received a new candidate and Obama is starting to look like the same old politicians that have alienated young voters for generations.

This past Monday, the College Republicans executive board and I had the opportunity to go out to dinner with the scourge of Stony Brook, Ann Coulter. And surprisingly, I had a good time.

Clearly, forcing children to work for meager wages is not an ideal situation. People have devoted their lives to ending such practices, and countless rallies and protests have supported their cause. What I am about to say will shock some of you. This public outrage, this moralistic whining about civic responsibility and giving children a chance- it’s all completely misguided.

In recent weeks, the major controversy on campus has been the administration's proposal to reconstruct the main entrance to West Campus, a move which they claim would make that junction safer and less confusing, but which critics claim would irrepairably damage the greenery and tree growth which separates West Campus from Nicolls Road. Additionally, the fact that students, staff and faculty were largely ignored during the planning and decision-making process has left a bitter taste in many people's mouths, and rightly so.

For years, Stony Brook Day in Albany has been an annual tradition, bringing together students and faculty for a unique opportunity to speak to their elected Legislators about issues that pertain to students and higher education in general, as well as an opportunity to get out of the classroom and take a one-day trip.

It was merely two days ago that the Independent published an editorial summarily criticizing Governor Pataki’s 2005-2006 Executive Budget. We found the budget to be woefully remiss in recommending the elimination of funding for the Education Opportunity Program; in effectively cutting the Tuition Assistance Program by forcing students to borrow against it; and implementing a system of annual tuition increases that would every year substantially raise the cost of a college degree for younger generations.

History does repeat itself. At least, that's the conclusion one could come to by examining Governor Pataki's recently proposed 2005-2006 Executive Budget, which is full of bad news for SUNY and CUNY students.

Stony Brook University: 1,100 acres. 22,000 students. Over 50 degree programs. Over 200 student-run clubs and organizations. Not very many parking spaces. Our university is obviously a hectic place, and at any given time, lots is going on. However, a common complaint that many students have about the university is that there isn't much happening on campus. In most cases, what this really means is that there are things to do, but not that many people are taking advantage of what is being offered.