Vanderbilt University welcomed its newest department over the summer with the creation of the Office of LGBTQI life. The administration hired Nora Spencer as the first director of the office, housed in the K.C. Potter center next to the Women's Center. Spencer's hiring and the creation of the new office are among a large number of policy changes that Vanderbilt is instituting to make the university more supportive of its LGBTQI students, staff, and prospective community members.
On August 23, as news of Obama's "It's not you" talks with potential running mates aired, speculation on Sen. Obama's second-in-command narrowed. By 3 a.m., the Democratic Party had a VP candidate. "Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee … Spread the word!" declared a text message distributed by Obama's campaign, a message later confirmed by an email from Obama himself.
To the astonishment of many, Republican Party presidential nominee John McCain announced Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin as his running mate on Aug. 29. Before Palin became Alaska's first female governor in 2006, she served as mayor of Wasilla, a city with around 7,000 residents, from 1996 to 2002.
Young adults aged 18 to 24 are consistently underrepresented in voting populations. Only once since 1972 have more than fifty percent of youths voted in a presidential election. Still, some groups are saying that this year is going to be different. CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, has released several reports measuring the youth vote in various presidential and congressional elections.
The government of Sudan has backed genocidal action against civilians in the Darfur province since 2003, which the U.S. government acknowledged in 2004. Accurate statistics are hard to come by, but it is estimated that hundreds of thousands have died from the violence, and as many as 2.
Sometimes learning about the problems of genocide, rape, and torture can make student activists feel helpless. However, with STAND, a campus anti-genocide coalition, students can raise awareness, lobby for change, and even help those affected by genocide. STAND was founded as an organization to raise awareness about Darfur, and its title previously stood for "Students Taking Action Now: Darfur.
There was a certain air of optimism during President George W. Bush's annual State of the Union address in 2005. As members of Congress saluted with fingers ink-stained in solidarity for the recent free elections in Iraq, there is no doubt that he and his cabinet were enjoying a rare moment of satisfaction with the condition of the war-torn nation.
