Opinion

After an emotionally-charged and educational first DePauw Dialogue, many students, faculty, and staff are asking: What’s next? in terms of campus-wide education and commitment to inclusion and diversity.  Previous discussions of the Multicultural requirement (“M”) as an addition to DePauw’s graduation requirement list brings about important issues of both ethical and social concern.

With the recent announcement of details regarding DePauw University’s Day of Inclusion activities, some in our community have questioned whether cancellation of school and requirement of attendance is warranted for this large-scale community discussion and day of learning. On DePauw’s intellectually driven campus, it is important to analyze the ethics involved with such a decision, … Continue reading "Ethics of School Cancellation – Day of Inclusion"

Officials at Brown University have ruled that the fraternities Phi Kappa Psi and Sigma Chi “created environments that facilitated sexual misconduct” at fraternity parties. Brown University isn’t the first college where stories of sexual assault at fraternity parties have made national news. There was the situation with the Rolling Stone University of Virgina incident which resulted in a … Continue reading "Decreasing Sexual Assault: Should Sororities Host Parties Too?"

This Guest Scholar post was written by Rebecca Schindler, professor of Classical Studies at DePauw University.  Seven thousand years of history in the Middle East is on the brink of being wiped out. The on-going civil war in Syria and the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have placed the region’s … Continue reading "Conflict Antiquities: Is there a Future for the Past?"

This post by Dr. Jeff McCall was originally published by The Indy Star on December 26, 2014.  Journalism enters dangerous territory when reporters look to tell “stories” that are more dramatic, more sensational and more confrontational than what is provided by real life. Rolling Stone magazine found this out with its recent, misguided story about sexual assault … Continue reading "The Rolling Stone UVA Rape Story Debacle"

This post originally appeared in the Indy Star on December 15, 2014. The nation struggles to explain why violence is so much a part of its daily experience. Senseless murders. Sports stars committing domestic violence. Perpetrators playing “knockout games” on public streets. School principals dealing with widespread bullying. The causes of violence are many, complex and difficult … Continue reading "Cultural implications of media violence norms"

Due to recent campus controversies, DePauw University’s administration is in the process of deciding upon an additional distribution requirement to the curriculum. If passed, they will call it the “M” credit for “multicultural”. This new addition would not affect the current students at DePauw, as it would have to be ‘grandfathered’ into the curriculum for … Continue reading "The “M” Requirement: Building Bridges"

Shopping hangovers are just as real of a threat at this time of year as the drinking ones. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just behind us (but Christmas still ahead), it can seem once again like everyone’s busy typing denouncements of consumerism with one hand while grabbing sweet deals and swiping plastic with the other. Amidst … Continue reading "Consumerism, Capitalism, and Personal Identity"

As the Ferguson trial unfolded these past few weeks, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was what the great men who built our country foresaw. When they wrote the Constitution, edited the Bill of Rights and boldly sent out the Declaration of Independence, their world was much different from ours. Many of them believed … Continue reading "Reflections on Ferguson and Campus Climate at DePauw"

I have been a student athlete for as long as I can remember. From personal experience, it is not an easy task. Learning how to balance schoolwork with a regimented athletic schedule places a lot of pressure on a person. Not only must a student athlete excel in the classroom in order to keep grades … Continue reading "Student-Athletes: Expectations and Responsibilities"

Hypocrisy is the practice of claiming to moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform. Hypocrites are usually disliked and seen as lacking moral fiber. Many people claim that nothing annoys them more about a person than hypocrisy. I believe this is because we as a race dislike criticism and to … Continue reading "Hypocrisy: The Universal Trait of Mankind"

Among my friends, I would be one of the first to readily admit one thing: I love dogs. Pugs, specifically. My personal allegiance to my family’s dog aside, pugs are one of my favorite animals. If I need to take a break from studying or writing a paper, chances are decent that I’ll log on to … Continue reading "An Unhealthy Obsession: Pugs and the Demand for Cuteness"

The other day I picked up an article from The Wall Street Journal that caught my attention for many reasons. I have always personally struggled with the concept of genetic testing. On the one hand, I think it is an amazing feat. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis would grant me the ability to check and make sure my … Continue reading "Genetic Testing: A Right Not to Know"

As any college student knows too well, cold winter weather signals the beginning of an annual rat race that permeates the university experience – brace yourselves…it’s internship application season. Over the next few months, students across the nation will be scrambling to land a job for the summer. They will plea for nepotism from friends … Continue reading "The Trouble with Unpaid Internships"

For most men and women in Greek chapters, flower-ins were a part of their first experiences in Greek life. The purpose of a flower-in is, in general, to allow new member classes from each fraternity and sorority to meet each other and bond. This is supposed to unite the Greek community as a whole, but … Continue reading "What’s the deal with flower-ins?"

Last month, Prindle sponsored a visit from Conflict Kitchen, a restaurant in Pittsburgh that exclusively serves cuisine from countries with which the United States is currently in conflict. So far, Conflict Kitchen has featured cuisine from Iran, Afghanistan, Venezuela, North Korea and now, Palestine.

It must be something in the air. Indiana is not known for its air quality or green policies, and the state’s capital is no exception. Despite a bill passed this year to increase Indiana’s recycling to fifty percent, the current Indianapolis recycling proposal doesn’t look like it will conform to this new goal.

Former CBS correspondent Sharyl Attkisson is either a paranoid kook or victim of one of the most heinous government abuses of a reporter in American history. Either way, the rest of the journalism community should be jumping into action to determine the truth. Sadly, it is not. Atkisson claims in her new book that the … Continue reading "Is Sharyl Attkisson a victim of Obama administration?"

As the outbreak of Ebola enters its seventh month, the ethical dilemmas facing the world continue to increase. While the issue of experimental treatments remains unresolved (see my previous post on the topic), new problems have entered onto the stage. Treatment of Ebola in America, the media’s response, and the treatment of health care workers … Continue reading "The Ethics of an Epidemic"

Guest post by Anthony Baratta, Sustainability Director at DePauw University.  Check out the Office of Sustainability on Facebook and Twitter. Soulja Boy CDs, broken office chairs, flip phones, jean shorts, used plastic forks, Capital One junk mail, and homemade Christmas gifts from ex-girlfriends. What do these items have in common? No one wants them. Technological … Continue reading "Envisioning Zero Waste at DePauw: Where do flip phones go to die?"