Upside Down
By Bernardo Motta I have been talking and writing about the weirdness of never seeing the students of our college openly making a demonstration or protest for or against anything on our campus. When I first heard of the march for justice entitled “The Valley Hoodie March,” in memory of Trayvon Martin and led [...]
A plea for higher drop-out rates
Vandalism on Campus By JJ Krehbiel Last weekend something occurred that did not suit me. Maybe “not suiting me” is too nice. It didn’t settle with me. No, still not harsh enough. It greatly irritated me. Still beating around the bush. Last weekend something occurred that made me wish Bridgewater had higher drop-out rates. [...]
El jefe speaks: A word about change
By President George Cornelius Much has been written and discussed about change recently. Over the past two years I’ve discussed change in the context of the College, its strategic plan and external forces that are impacting higher education today. I have nothing new to say about that subject presently. But before moving on at the [...]
The downfalls of standardized testing
By Carina Botterbusch I recently took my senior comprehensive exam for my Sociology major. Although this test no longer has any weight in determining graduation or Latin honors eligibility, it is still used by the department to estimate effectiveness of the faculty in teaching core and common courses. This is done by comparing scores [...]
On childish antics
By Danielle Norris I’m all in favor of occasionally acting like a kid. I’m a big fan of watching cartoons in my pajamas on Saturday afternoons. I know many BC students occasionally enjoy coloring books or finger painting. But there’s a difference between acting like a kid and acting like a child. Acting [...]
Grow Up Already
By Cassandra Brown Editor-in-Chief Editorial for 4/12 When you go off to college, you start a new life. College is usually known as being the gap between schooling and the “real world” of finding a career path. You become more independent than you have ever been before because you are on your own. In some [...]
The Reality of Kony 2012
By Kelsey Byard By this point, it’s a safe bet to say that everyone and their mother has either watched or heard about the viral sensation that is Kony 2012. The twenty-nine minute, fifty-nine-second video circulated by Invisible Children is about Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which kidnaps [...]
The Positivity of Negative Rights
by Carina Botterbusch February 17th to 19th, I attended the Fifth Annual International Students for Liberty Conference (ISFLC), which was held at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. It was an incredible experience, primarily because there were over 1000 students, alumni, staff, speakers, and presenters, all of whom shared a common bond: an interest [...]
It’s a mediocre night for Oscar
By Nicholas Davies “So tonight, enjoy yourselves because nothing can take the sting out of the world’s economic problems like watching millionaires present each other with golden statues.” -Billy Crystal Sometimes I don’t know why I subject myself to watching the Oscars every year; no matter how long I try to convince myself [...]
Beware of broken speech
By Corely Tweedy Welcome back students, faculty and staff. I hope everyone is well rested and rejuvenated for these next few weeks. Before I begin, I must offer my disclaimer: this week’s topic is more lecture than instruction, but I feel this topic warrants discussion. Anyone who has ever taken an Introduction to [...]
Sunbeams through the fog
By Bernardo Motta “At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he [...]
“In God We Trust?”
By Chaplain Robbie Miller As I was driving through Harrisonburg one day, I noticed a sign along the road that boldly declared In God We Trust. By itself, that declaration of trust is not particularly remarkable since it appears on every coin and the one dollar bill I usually have in my wallet. [...]
Reforming General Education
By Carina Botterbusch At Bridgewater, students must take a total of twenty-one courses (sixty credits, plus two to six additional credits of lab work) to fulfill their general education requirements, in addition to their major field of study, which consists of thirty to forty-eight credits. Adding a minor does not leave much room for [...]
Sleek, slimy, creepy crawlies
By Danielle Norris During spring break, I visited Virginia Beach. I had never been to the city. I was most excited about visiting the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. I love aquariums. I find fish really calming and I was looking forward seeing new sea creatures. My boyfriend Drew and I left our hotel [...]
Combat against contraceptives
By Kelsey Byard Abortion has been a hot-button issue for politicians since the 1973 decision of the Supreme Court in “Roe v. Wade,” which legalized abortion in certain trimesters of a woman’s pregnancy. It seems today that politicians have taken one more giant step into the realm of privacy, arguing over what a woman [...]
Correct expressions
By Corely Tweedy “It is very useful, when one is young, to learn the difference between ‘literally’ and ‘figuratively.’ If something happens literally, it actually happens; if something happens figuratively, it feels like it is happening. If you are literally jumping for joy, for instance, it means you are leaping in the air because you [...]
Rumor has it…
By Corley Tweedy Over the course of time, institutions must change to remain competitive in their field—this is true for businesses, schools, religious organizations, etc. This year at Bridgewater, we have seen many changes, and I feel that changes will continue to come upon us. Over the last few weeks of this semester, [...]
Public TV: Struggling to survive
By Cassandra Brown One of the main purposes of Public Broadcasting stations (PBS) such as WVPT in Harrisonburg is to provide education and public service to the community. Last April, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, McDonnell’s proposal to cut nearly $1.7 million, half of in state support for educational programs provided the Public [...]
The Disney-fication of Sportscenter
By Jeremy Batka Before school everyday growing up, I used to watch my favorite TV show, Sportscenter. The show was simple and a.m.azing, it showed highlights of nearly every single sporting event that occurred the day before,and it even included multiple hockey and soccer highlights. However, nowadays, Sportscenter is to sport highlights as MTV [...]
On politics
by Zach Shifflett Tensions grow between United States and Iran Even before the last American soldier had withdrawn from Iraq in December, a new hot button issue was creeping up in the Middle East. Iran, whose relations with the west have been tense for decades, has reportedly been making advances in its nuclear program. [...]
Lonely acts of dissent
Critical Encounters By Bernardo H. Motta “Dissent is the native activity of the scientist, and it has got him into a good deal of trouble in the last years. But if that is cut off, what is left will not be a scientist. And I doubt whether it will be a man. For dissent is [...]
Life
Critical Encounters By Bernardo H. Motta A young adventurer traveled around the world in search for enlightenment. After a few years, he went to a mountain in the Himalayans following the directions he received from an ascetic in Goa, India. According to the ascetic, the wisest man on Earth was a Zen Master who [...]
Students campaign to eliminate bottled water at BC
By JJ Krehbiel Merely decades ago, the idea of buying water might have seemed ridiculous. Why would anyone pay for something that is freely accessible from the faucet? Today, bottled water is a product that is widely sold on the global market, but a group of Bridgewater College students are trying to change that. [...]
Cinderella Students
Senior Ball under review By Cassandra Brown and Erin Pampe We seniors at Bridgewater do not take the concept of Senior Ball lightly. Senior classes before us know this feeling. As graduation day looms closer, we’re excited for our final night of going out and celebrating together as a class. Senior Ball is a tradition—a [...]
