The phrase “financial aid” should be self-explanatory: it means providing funds where funds are lacking. But the government does not view “aid” in this manner since they tax graduate student fellowships, abstracting money from an award whose purpose is to increase money for students. Read more...

The current issue of Time magazine has a picture of Osama bin Laden on the cover. Beneath it is a question, “Why can’t we find him?” Well, because he’s hiding. Read more...

Augusta National Golf Club has the legal right to define their membership policies however they see fit. Unfortunately, in excluding women, they are using this right in a manner that is morally wrong. Read more...

UC San Diego recently decided to “check up” on the integrity of its applicants. No doubt it was a long and troublesome process. However, even more troubling were the results, which ultimately ferreted out 17 phonies. Read more...

My skin is too dark, too light, too brown, or not brown enough. My nose is too broad, my lips too full, and my hair is too thick, too thin or too nappy.” If you’ve thought any of those thoughts, or said any of those phrases, you are a victim of a disease that has plagued African Americans and other cultures for the past two centuries, what I call “skin-coloritis.” Last week, I was handed a student survey that asked if I liked being dark-skinned and if I would rather date a dark-skinned or light-skinned woman. Read more...

Great strides have been taken at the University of California to reform admissions policy to make it accessible to more students. But unless the university wants to teach them in an overcrowded environment with strained resources, it’s going to have to find a way to pay for it on its own. Read more...

Jorge Magdaleno’s Nov. 14 Viewpoint submission, “GPA mania sucks fun out of college” initially caught my interest because of its title and potential to be humorous. Read more...