Opinion

Recently, Wall Street’s largest banks have been wallowing in or near the brink of bankruptcy. Assuredly, the ramifications of these collapses will bitterly affect average Americans. Last week witnessed bankers and their agent in Washington, Henry Paulson, request a staggering $700 billion from taxpayers.

In 2000, voters took to the polls and decided the fate of America for the next four years. By a very small margin, George W. Bush was elected president of the United States, but not after a whirlwind of argument, recounts and court decisions. Ever since, I have heard outrage over the alleged unconstitutionality of having the courts decide the election.

Well the first week of school is over and my college life is back to business as usual. I’m procrastinating in all my classes, binge drinking on the weekends, flirting (unsuccessfully) with girls and doing a good job at making an all-around ass of myself. But this year feels different to me.

With the many questions a topic like global warming raises, one of the most persistent ones is this: Who will be most affected by global climate change? A study released last year in the journal EcoHealth identifies the most at-risk populations, and as it turns out, we have far greater concerns than simply the retirees in Florida.

Whether or not you agree with their views – whether you find their politics inspiring, infuriating or amusing – one thing is certain: we need more candidates like Ralph Nader in our nation’s political dialogue. Stopping at Cal Poly last night as part of his California university tour, Nader spoke passionately to a packed auditorium about the problems with America’s current two-party political system.

Let’s face it: textbook prices are freakishly high, but they don’t have to be. There’s always the song and dance about publisher prices and the economy, but the truth is, there are plenty of ways professors can make it easier for students to get cheaper books each quarter.

This past Friday night I spent four hours conducting a ride-along with the San Luis Obispo Police Department. From 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., Sergeant Sean Gillham and I patrolled both the residential neighborhoods south of campus and the downtown area. I had no idea what we would encounter and found out that there really is nothing like experiencing the late-night patrol first-hand.

Welcome back Mustangs! I hope all of you had a great summer and I offer a special welcome to all new Cal Poly students. You’ve chosen a great institution. I know this from my many visits to Cal Poly over the years, and from the close working relationship I have developed with President Baker and many of the University’s professors and students.

There has never been a better time to panic, run shrieking into your car and drive home. School is back. For an entire three months, the population has dreaded this day. Student leaders have called an emergency meeting of the student government to assess the possibility of postponing the school year to next year.

If you’re a casual reader of national media publications then you are probably fairly aware of the recent buzz being generated about issues like sustainability and global warming. Even for us sustainability nerds, the constant onslaught of cookie-cutter articles and Leonardo DiCaprio’s lambasting about the environment can frankly get, well, annoying.

Nearly two and a half centuries ago, the founding fathers of this nation risked their lives so they might one day live in a state of freedom unparalleled in history. They risked their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to repel the oppression of the most powerful country at the time.