Are Cal Poly students smarter than fifth graders?

Do you ever sit around thinking about what it would be like to time travel Michael J. Fox-style? Of course, hippies would travel to the 1960s, intense drug users would line up to go to the Disco Bloodbath of the 1990s and entrepreneurs would go to the Gold Rush of 1848.

Years after hurricanes devastated parts of the U.S., help still needed

After the devastation by Katrina and Rita in 2005, many students, including some from Cal Poly, spent their breaks helping to rebuild. In following years, their numbers dwindled as the images of the destruction fade and are replaced by problems involving wars, economy and environment.

Don’t be “that guy”

Brace yourselves. I have chosen to venture away from defining a single word and have expanded to describing a short phrase: “that guy” and the feminine derivative “that girl.” Our generation has created this title to honor our most intoxicated colleagues and to ensure only those absolutely hammered receive this title, I have complied a list of signs to let you know which of your friends qualify1.

The dreaded April 15th

When a third candidate of Obama’s administration is caught not paying taxes, it’s enough to make you wonder. If people earning that much money can’t even figure out how to pay their taxes, how is the average American supposed to?

Taxes have been a part of American history since colonial times and yet we still can’t seem to get it together.

The subtle evolution of the Republican party

President Obama told Anderson Cooper on Tuesday that America has lost one million jobs in the past two months. Because of the California budget crisis, the state of California has paid their employees in IOUs and we at Cal Poly are facing a spike in our registration fees.

Obama: The Next FDR?

With layoffs being reported every day, this is shaping up to be one of the biggest economic downturns since the Great Depression. Although I would prefer not be part of the media hysteria that contributed to the current recession, the economy’s accelerating downward spiral makes the topic difficult to avoid.

Let all smokers be judged equally, famous or not

Oh, how we like to bring our heroes down. Forget his eight gold medals in Beijing, forget the fact that just five months ago we were parading him around as a national icon, a superhuman athlete and an Olympic story for the history books. In the eyes of the righteous, all of that glory is now overshadowed by the looming image of our hero taking a bong hit.

An open letter to a congressman

Dear Representative,

The following words are written on behalf of the remaining men and women of our country that believe in the sanctity of law and the God-given rights enumerated to all in the U.S. Constitution. Though you have undoubtedly received letters in previous years requesting handouts, favors and preferential treatment from your constituents, this letter is different, this letter is unique, this letter is just.

Cal Poly should ‘focus the nation’ all year

Will Cal Poly prepare you for California’s growing green collar economy in solar, wind, cleantech, nanotech and biotech? Cal Poly “graduates in several majors will be prepared for sustainability-focused careers,” according to the Draft Strategic Plan for 2009 through 2014.

A double dose of the Mondays

You know the feeling: the weekend has come to a close and the alarm ringing on the bedside table is a constant reminder that maybe drinking on a Sunday night was not the best of ideas. You open your eyes and the thought of the impending day of classes is almost enough to make you want to pretend that all of this is just a horrible, very realistic dream.

The shoes heard around the world

People used to duel to resolve their grievances. One man would hit the other with a glove, rules were set and everything was carried out quite politely despite the savage nature of dueling.

Nowadays, it seems that people would rather throw a shoe at world leaders to get their points across – even if it doesn’t work.