Columns

Your senate appreciates the input you made Tuesday, Nov. 3. We successfully held our first Monthly Open Forum to which different students came to do the talking.

At some point, we all ask ourselves: “If I could have a super power, what would it be?” We then usually come up with some ability that sounds like it would be fun to employ for a weekend and subsequently go about the day.

You, as a member of “Generation Y” (born from the late 70s to early 90s), are probably familiar with the term “video games” and with consoles trying to win your loyalty and money, such as the Nintendo Wii, XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 – this probably isn’t anything new to you.

Say you were to take a poll around campus: What is your favorite and least favorite day of the week? I think it’s safe to assume that many would respond with Friday or Saturday as their favorite with Monday as their unfavorable choice.

Not much, if you’re a conservative hoping for a breath of fresh air. Most people don’t follow these things very closely, but off-year elections can be a good indicator of public sentiment. Chris Christie won the election in New Jersey for governor.

Sex plays a significant role in our society. This is apparent when one notes the tremendous attention the topic receives from religious organizations, educational institutions and the media.

Student Senate continues to forge through the year, tackling issues as they come up. We wanted to inform the students with what exactly we have been up to in the past month, so let’s take a look!

As we enter the second half of the fall semester, I am still amazed by the new things I discover each day at Luther. Whether it be stuffed cabbage balls in the caf or rain boots as a fashion statement, it’s pretty great to continue to be surprised every day.

Recently, I learned of a new, daily activity being carried out by a group of first-year wrestlers: posting. Referred to by some as “the greatest sport at Luther College,” posting is simple. Like clockwork, at every meal—breakfast, lunch, and supper—they claim their table in the middle of the dining room and eat whatever’s being served up that day. After this, it’s time to kick back, relax, and do some good ol’ fashioned people watching.

This week, Emily brings us a lesson in British euphemisms. Expand your vocabulary, and happy wording!
Queue, n. A line of people waiting for their turn at something. “Is this the queue for the toilet?”

v. To join a line of people and take part in their waiting. “We should queue for the movie at about 11:30 if it starts at 11:45”.

Warning: this column contains language that is neutral and redundant. Its bland and insignificant meaning may offend certain individuals with tight schedules, those unable to understand sarcasm and the illiterate. Reader, discretion is advised.

Are we good? Should I add that it contains 499 words? Would you feel more comfortable knowing that this column is printed in black on recyclable newsprint? Before I dive in to what this column is really about, be warned that reading it could contribute to farsightedness.

This column is also linked to decreased academic and work performance, as it is of virtually no intellectual value.

One of the prevailing themes in the American educational system is the belief that children should be educated to enable them to live autonomously. Autonomy, it is supposed, allows the country’s youth to build their own destinies, to do great things, to live the American dream (to have a white picket fence, an SUV and 2.3 children). While at first glance this seems like a good idea, I’d like to explore it for a few minutes.

If the end goal of education is to enable children to live a life of flourishing, then autonomy is paramount in the development of this life. It is evident that a flourishing life is a life intrinsically interested in happiness. Marriage, financial security and meaningful work are all institutions which are usually associated with a life of flourishing. There is no coincidence here; these things are esteemed because they make us happy. Nobody wants to be lonely or hungry. Even if flourishing manifests itself in self-sacrifice or martyrdom, the element of happiness, or at least the hope for it, must be present. How could someone sacrifice a part of their life and consider it flourishing without a better (happier) future in mind? It follows that insofar as autonomy facilitates flourishing, it must also facilitate happiness. While this is a compelling reason to advocate education geared towards autonomy, I don’t believe that forcing circumstances which foster autonomy is an ethically justifiable imposition for any authority to undertake, let alone the government.

The Luther College women’s cross country team captured the St. Catherine University Invitational team championship on a chilly morning in St. Paul, Minn. Luther’s top seven runners all finished in the top 11 from the field of 73 runners.

As a student of computer science, I feel as though I have a certain responsibility to be critical of the field when circumstance requires it. As fate would have it, I’ve been unable to position myself near other computer scientists lately without hearing algorithms, data structures and the like referred to as good and even beautiful.

As I sit staring out the window at the gray sky and falling snow, I am both amazed and disappointed by this sudden downturn in the Iowa weather. First, it was a chilly, cloudy summer and now we have snow in October?