MADI MCGUIRE | OPINION COLUMNIST | mjmcguir@butler.edu This election season has been hectic, to say the least, and seems to be the topic of many college students’ conversations. The presidential election is certainly important, but Indiana residents have even more with which to concern themselves. Gov. Mike Pence accepted the Republican vice presidential nomination. This…
How to manage college, friends and this crazy election year
Cartoon by Maria Rapisarda MARIA RAPISARDA | ASST. OPINION EDITOR | mrapisar@butler.edu Growing up, my parents told me there were four things you do not talk about: money, sex, religion and politics. Obviously, I outgrew this rule quickly and began to ask all of my friends in high school their views on religion and politics.…
STAFF EDITORIAL | Respectfully Agree TO Disagree
Last week’s election and the entire year’s campaign cycle absorbed people’s interest people across the nation. A tidal wave of posts took over social media outlets. Voters and non-voters alike took to message boards, walls and Twitter feeds to air their unfiltered opinions. Some veered into disrespectful, uncivil speech. While freedom of speech is a…
Voting laws may cause problems
When sophomore Nicole Lennon considered registering to vote in Marion County for the 2012 election, she was taken aback by Indiana state voter identification laws. Lennon, who is from Michigan, does not possess the proper identification to vote in Indiana because she does not have an Indiana driver’s license or passport. Indiana’s voting laws require…
OPINION | Voter ID laws place a limit on real voters
Voter identification laws have taken a main stage in debates this year. In a nation where voter participation is consistently very low, any restrictions on voting need to be examined carefully. In 2006, Indiana made national news for enacting one of the first in a wave of voter identification laws. The law requires potential voters…
OPINION | Anger over politicians’ words should spread to Congress’ actions
“Even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” This remark made by Richard Mourdock, Indiana’s Republican Senate candidate, during a recent debate highlights major misperceptions of rape within our culture. His comment was the most recent in a litany of insensitive statements politicians have…
OPINION | Students should get more political
Butler University students need to recognize that the Student Government Association does much more than entertain students. Students can and should do more to make their college experience the best it can be. This cliché does not simply refer to concerts and extracurricular activities but also to activism and making the university a better place…
OPINION | CFV forum marks shift in political discussion
Three weeks later, chalking about abortion has left an indelible mark on Butler University’s communal conscience. The event prompted the Center for Faith and Vocation to host a public forum for people to discuss the chalking and civil debate in general. The CFV’s event, “Big Questions: Respecting Differences,” marks what could be a significant shift…
OPINION | Voting is a right every student should exercise
While the 2008 Presidential Election marked the second-largest group of youth voters in voting history, the conversation regarding the youth vote for the 2012 election has been mum. And even with the large youth turnout, 18- to 24-year-olds still marked the smallest voting group in the 2008 election. As a student body and demographic group,…
OPINION | More free political discussion will liven campus thought
While people across the nation find themselves embroiled in political debate, Butler University locks itself out of the conversation. The campus lacks frank political discussion. Current policies block funding to overtly political student organizations on campus. This moratorium on public debate harms student experience and scholarship. Students on both ends of the political spectrum think…