More Guns, More Problems
It’s official. The Senate has failed us. Gun-control legislation aimed at curbing the tide of gun violence was always thought to be a long shot, with a slim chance of ever passing the House of Representatives and its Republican majority. Unfortunately, this still seems to hold true: The bill may never grace the floor of the lower house of our government. The reason? In the United States Senate, 46 is a big enough number to block legislation. Even when 54 vote in favor of common sense gun regulation. The facts are these: Gun violence is a radical and upward trend…
Learning to Learn: Being Pre-Life
I had forgotten how difficult it was to be a freshman. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t even begin to quantify how often this year I’ve found myself wistfully daydreaming about my first year at Emory — the classes were easier, and the obligations were almost nonexistent. I probably spend more time reminiscing on my first year than most do, given that I work as a sophomore advisor in a first-year residence hall. Every other week, I overhear a conversation that reminds me of how good it was to be a freshman. At least, that used to be the case….
Letter to the Editor: RHA Response to the Wheel Editorial Board on Elections
To the Editor: I write in response to The Emory Wheel editorial board column entitled “Our Opinion: Cheating in RHA Pres. Election is Disappointing.” I would like to respond to this editorial as a member of the RHA Executive Board, as well as clear up what I can only describe as a gross misrepresentation of the RHA election procedure perpetuated in your editorials. Very simply put, you have the timeline correct. There was an election, a run-off, a challenge, an appeal, another election, a challenge and an appeal. This process was a learning process for RHA — we have never…
More to do Than Gun Control Legislation
Our country is still experiencing the equivalent of three Newtown tragedies a day, with an average of 85 gun deaths daily. But we’re finally seeing a bit of sensible gun control legislative activity both nationally — especially in favor of universal background checks for gun purchasers — and in some states. However, much more needs to be done in order to reach the “Nirvana” of eliminating almost all of these deaths. In 2010, there were about 31,000 gun deaths (11,000 murders, 19,000 suicides and 600 unintentional fatalities) in the United States, immensely more than in most other countries worldwide. In…
Moving Forward With President Wagner
The contention over President Wagner’s comments praising the Three-Fifths Compromise in the winter 2013 edition of Emory Magazine has partially subsided. We can all agree that his statement was insensitive, misguided and detrimental to the Emory community. President Wagner’s comments also lacked historical perspective. As a United States history major with a particular interest in the civil rights movement and the struggle for African-American equality, I was stunned that President Wagner would reference the infamous Three-Fifths Compromise, a stain on the nation and the cause of the bloodiest war in American history, to advocate for compromise and inclusiveness. President Wagner’s…
Diversifying the Word ‘Diversity’
There is no denying that demographics are rapidly changing in the United States. It is common knowledge that by 2050, America will be a majority-minority nation. Globalization has made the notion of Mayberry a relic of the mid twentieth century and this shift is irrevocable. But with the benefits of a “melting pot” society come certain issues which demand serious consideration. “Diversity” is a word often thrown around by politicians and in the media. Along with the word “community,” it is ubiquitous on college campuses and the idea of diversity is institutionalized in campus organizations and offices. Emory is certainly…
Our Opinion: Not ‘No Confidence’ Does Not Equal Confidence
Faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences have rejected a motion of a “no confidence” against University President James W. Wagner. The vote was 201 to 133, with 60.2 percent of the faculty voting against the motion of “no confidence.” We at the Wheel believe that this process deserves a nuanced analysis of small but important semantical distinctions. The 39.8 percent who supported the “no confidence” motion may not be a majority, but it does reveal a very large number of faculty who feel Wagner is no longer fit to lead. The 60.2 percent of those who chose…
Our Opinion: Cheating in RHA Pres. Elections is Disappointing
We at the Wheel are glad that Kadean Maddix was named the Residence Hall Association (RHA) president due to many unfortunate, yet preventable, events that unfolded over the course of a long election process between candidates Akshay Goswami and Jessica Simon. Following a general election in which neither Akshay Goswami nor Jessica Simon achieved a majority of the vote, a run-off election occurred between Goswami and Simon, where Goswami ended up winning the re-vote. After this happened, Simon accused Goswami of cheating, and he was disqualified. However, Goswami appealed the disqualification and was granted another re-vote, where Kadean Maddix was…
Hungry and Feeling Corporate
It’s something we do daily, often without thinking about it. Everybody likes it, but some people do it better than others. Humans have done it as long as we have been around, and without it, we would all surely die. Of course, I’m talking about eating food. In the modern United States, however, food production and consumption have become increasingly linked to corporatism and consumerism — with implications that may be huge. For the better part of our existence, the primary concern of humans was either finding or growing enough food to survive. Historically, we live in a unique age:…
Voting for Courageous Inquiry
If you’ve spent any time here at Emory, you’ve probably had a couple of phrases hammered into your head from repetition in Emory press releases, campus signage, and promotional materials. Phrases like “courageous inquiry” and “ethical engagement” are presented as the cornerstones of Emory’s “mission”. Our own Vice President Gary Hauk even co-edited a book in 2010 entitled Where Courageous Inquiry Leads: The Emerging Life of Emory University, where according to Emory Magazine, Hauk explains “Emory has endured because of the virtue and stamina of individual men and women who knew where this courageous inquiry should lead.” More recently, President Wagner authored a…
