9.3% Tuition Hike... you've got to be kidding

University of Colorado's newly appointed president Bruce Benson is wanting to raise tuition for in-state students by 9.3%. This increase would be effective starting next year. This means about a $500 increase to all students tuition. Statistics from a 9News article say that, after this increase, our tuition would have increased by 25% since 2007. That's ridiculous. Tuition is already difficult enough for students to pay. If this trend continues, tuition will be outrageous in a couple more years.

Read CU president Bruce Benson seeks 9.3 percent tuition hike

Don't mess with Texas...

Photo: Courtesy of FOX News

Two weeks ago the Yearning for Zion Ranch was raided by Texas police. The ranch, found to be a polygamist colony, was home to over 400 children that were taken into police custody. Police received an anonymous phone call from a young girl in the camp who reported abuse. Currently the mothers of the children are trying to gain custody of their children from the police. However, police are still investigating whether abuse was prevalent at the compound.

So far, reports say that young girls were taught that sex is OK at any age and many started having children as soon as they were physically capable of doing so. From video that I've seen, and articles that I've read, this way of lifestyle seems so tremendously disparate from U.S. society. I would never think that there are secret compounds like this in the U.S., it simply would not have crossed my mind.

It is very interesting to watch the videos and read the stories to further understand this situation. It seems that if you grew up in a polygamist society, you would not want to give up those values and you would never think that that lifestyle is in any way wrong. It is difficult for our mainstream society to impose our laws and regulations on people that simply are living in their own society. It's an interesting learning experience to see how differently lives can be shaped, even in the same country. We will have to follow this developing story to see how the government decides to react.

CNN's coverage of this story has been very detailed.
I would recommend this article Witness: Teens at ranch said any age OK to marry

I would also recommend FOX's article Polygamist Sect Wives Give Birth as Early as Age 13, Investigator Testifies

Italian Government Shift

I have a couple of friends living in Italy for the semester. They have been telling me how different the U.S. government is from the Italian government. Italy just had elections for parliament, which came three years earlier than expected, mostly because the leftist government had collapsed. Now, Berlusconi and the right are back in power.

Also, for the first time they have an absolute majority in the Senate and the Chamber of deputies so, my friends say, things "might actually get done in Italy."

However, Rome's local government is having a election soon between Rutelli, from the Partito Democratico, and Alemano, from Alleanza Nazionale, which are a far left party and a far right party. This shift in recent Italian politics should be interesting to follow. For more information on this political makeover check out the International Herald Tribune.

Albright and O'Connor

This week two very distinguished women are visiting the CU- Boulder campus. Tonight, former U.S. Secretary of State and UN ambassador, Madeline Albright, will be speaking at the Coors Events Center. When Albright was appointed President Clinton's Secretary of State in 1997, she was the first woman to serve in the position. She also, at the time, was the highest-ranking woman ever in the U.S. government. Albright will be discussing the role of the U.S. on the international stage today.
Doors open at 6:30pm and Albright's speech will begin at 7:30pm.

Also, tomorrow April 17, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will be speaking on campus. O'Connor was the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice O'Connor was well-known during her tenure because she was often the swing vote in many profound cases that went before the Supreme Court. Not only is she speaking on campus tomorrow but she is also being presented with the Stegner Award. This award, given by CU's Center of the American West, represents achievements that westerners have accomplished in their professional lives.
The event starts at 7pm in Macky Auditorium tomorrow.

Tickets for these events can be purchased at the UMC Connection for students. And tickets for the general public can be purchased at ticketswest.com

The Papal Visit to the U.S.

Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the United States this week and is stopping in New York and Washington D.C. I went to Italy for Spring Break this semester and was able to see the Pope twice. It was amazing how close I got to him, as you can see from my picture.



I am a new Catholic and am constantly learning more and more about the faith. I was watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart today and he was covering the Papal visit to the U.S. I think the Papal visit can help revitalize the American Catholic Church, as is the intention of the trip.

I love The Daily Show, and I love this funny assessment that Jon Stewart made to portray President Bush's reaction to the Papal visit.

Dr. Phil Bails Out Teen... WHAT?

On Saturday, the Dr. Phil Show decided to bail a Florida teen out of jail who was charged with assault that was caught on videotape. The show bailed out the teen for over $30,000. The show wanted to guarantee an exclusive with the teen for an upcoming episode.

This tactic seems so unethical to me. To interfere in a situation in this way, is not just a strategy to have an exclusive, it's an unethical story setup. After taking heat for this decision, the show decided not to continue with the story because their choices did not coincide with the show's policy. I just don't really understand what would go through the producer's minds. Talk shows, like Dr. Phil's, are meant to analyze situations and give advice to guests; however, to invade in a personal matter and get involved in the judicial process blatantly crosses the line.

To read more details about this situation, you can find an article at FOX News

The Colbert Report

One of my favorite shows right now is Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. Every single show that I watch, I am never disappointed. NEVER disappointed. And that is a pretty difficult task for a show to accomplish.

I also feel that shows like this are gaining power in their ability for political persuasion. Most voters my age will appreciate the political criticism and satire of the show. It seems that the show could be very persuasive in political action. And I think that politicians have caught on to this as many spotlighted politicians are going on the show to gain popularity with Colbert's demographic, which is definitely my generation.



This week Colbert on his show has interviewed Jesse Ventura, Madeline Albright, Jeff Gore, an individual who is trying to retire the American penny, and Robin Wright, a knowledgeable woman on the wars that have occurred during the history of Iraq. For a very funny show, these are some pretty serious guests each week. However, Colbert's interviews are always very hilarious and his guests need to be prepared to be in a joking mood in order to gain the audience's favor.

It is an important strategic tactic for politicians to appear on the show because if they can be good sports and be comedic with Colbert, they can gain tremendous appeal with viewers. This appeal can absolutely, and I think it will, cross over into their political lives and their success.

Conference on World Affairs

This week is the 60th annual Conference on World Affairs held on the Boulder campus. The conference holds several panels each day with esteemed participants who discuss a large variety of global issues, from politics to celebrities and music. Roger Ebert is the one participant who holds the record for 37 consecutive years attending the conference.

I decided to check out some of the panels for myself and see what they were like. This morning I attended a panel entitled Republicans: It's my party and I'll cry if I want to. The discussion was moderated by former Colorado congressman and CU grad Bob Beauprez. The participants in the discussion were included the president of Strategic Advantage International, Daniel Odescalchi, an editor for the New York Post, Robert George, and Washington policymaker, Mike Franc. The discussion centered on the upcoming election. Odescalchi cited opinion polls that backed his prediction that Republican presidential candidate John McCain will win the presidency. The panelists also took questions from the audience. One audience member asked the panel to speculate who they think will be John McCain's running mate. Mike Franc projected that Condelezza Rice will be McCain's vice president if elected; but Odescalchi and George quickly disputed that idea.

Later in the day, I also attended a discussion called Iraq: We'll Pull Out in Time. Honest. The panel allowed for very intense discussion of the state of our troops from Septemeber 11th to today. Director of the Drug Policy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C, Sanho Tree, answered students' questions about the damage the war is causing on Iraqi families.

If you've missed the panels so far this week, don't worry. There are still dozens going on for Thursday and Friday, all during the day. To find the schedule of discussions and to find out what panelists are participating simply visit www. colorado.edu/cwa

The Recycling X-Games

If you were at the Boulder campus today you would have noticed a big event going on at the UMC. CU's Environmental Center ran an event called the Recycling X-Games. This event gave students a fun way to learn about the importance of being environmentally conscious. The event included a Recycle Pong tournament in the UMC Fountain. Big recycle bins were set up to mock beer pong and students competed by throwing bags of cans into the bins. The event also had a phonebook shotput, where students competed by throwing phone books as far as they could. The next event was the dumpster dive. Students had to see how much recycled goods they could save from a dumpster in the shortest amount of time. They also had setup a recycled art and fashions stand. Students were able to make fun things out of materials like CDs, floppy disks, and old computer cords, among other things.

Overall, the Recycling X-Games were a hit with students on campus today. From what I witnessed, students really enjoyed participating in these events and had a great time. The Environmental Center has many events going on throughout the semester. To look at their schedule of events simply visit their website at ecenter.colorado.edu

The Honolulu Advertiser

Because I am, let's just say, "mildly obsessed" with Hawaii and everything Hawaiian, I closely follow the largest state newspaper The Honolulu Advertiser. I've read the paper for years because I've greatly enjoyed reading it on the beach throughout the 17 times that I have been there. I visit their website nearly every day to keep up with what is going on in Hawaii. I always enjoyed the articles that I found on the website; however, I felt that the homepage was always very VERY overwhelming. It was mostly red font on a white background with story titles listed in a column next to one rotating set of pictures and headlines. However, the numerous listings of articles and format made the website a little more difficult to focus on comfortably.

Within the last couple of weeks, I was shocked to notice that the website, which hasn't been changed since I can remember, had altered its format completely. It has improved tremendously. The colors have changed to blue, yellow, and white which are definitely more calming and inviting. Also the font has changed from red to brown and the number of stories posted on the homepage has definitely been minimized compared to how it was.

This drastic website change made me realize how much website aesthetics can influence the desire to stay on that page. It is vital that any news organization, print or broadcast, continuously update their website. A website should never be static, and if more calming, easier-to-read formats can be discovered, they should be utilized. It definitely changes the way that people read the entire page and respond to it. So I commend my favorite newspaper on these much needed changes!