My surplus of pens and pencils  meant virtually nothing to me before I took a trip with the International Marquette Action Program (IMAP) to Belize over Christmas break. I expected to be exposed to injustice and poverty. I hoped to be able to offer some help. I anticipated feeling frustration toward God and government. I did not expect to find value in pencils.

Our group worked in a small village in Southern Belize on the Guatemalan border at a school which serviced 240 students in six classrooms with eight teachers. The classrooms were sparse, their supplies limited. There were no computers, let alone textbooks.

But there were pencils.

Every day, each student would head to school with a writing utensil in hand. That was it — a single school supply. The first day we were there, a little boy named Orlando approached me. His grimy hands were tightly clutching his dull pencil as he looked up at me with his huge, bright eyes. His gray shirt had a tear in the middle, patched with a piece of green string. He was wearing bright orange shorts, but his feet were bare.

Our friendship was immediate. He told me he liked my shirt — a shirt I had brought with the intention of leaving behind. In return, I asked him where his shoes were. He looked at me inquisitively, then shook his head.

Orlando did not have shoes. He was not sad about it, it was just his reality: he went to school every day with one pencil and no shoes.

The inequality between us was unearthed by one blasé comment from a 21-year-old white woman to an 8-year-old Mayan boy.

Luckily, Orlando ignored my arrogance and continued to hang out with me, but our differences only became more evident. At one point, his pencil dropped, and he scrambled to pick it up, as if it were his most prized possession. He examined it carefully, the way one does when one’s iPhone falls, to ensure no damage was done.

It occurred to me — the pencil was his most prized possession. This boy had a shirt with a hole in it, a pair of shorts, one pencil and no shoes. I, on the other hand, have an insane amount of pencils waiting for me at home, along with about 30 pairs of shoes, 50 shirts, six pairs of jeans, dozens of dresses and sweaters, at least 20 scarves and one floppy hat which I have worn only once.

While Orlando goes to school barefoot, I wear a different pair of shoes nearly every day. I live my life more like Madonna than Orlando — I am living in a material world, and I am a material girl. It is a first-world luxury to want more than we need, but the imbalance between the privileged and those without is just as evident in America as it is in Belize.

Being aware of this is the first way to effect change. It does not mean that Orlando or every child like him will suddenly have shoes and several writing utensils. It does mean that you read this, that you thought about it and that you might appreciate your shoes and
pencils more.

This updated policy for undergraduates is more specific than previous RWAR/SAP approaches at Marquette but still allows the university to place students on academic probation, academic dismissal and college academic alert, which is a “registration hold,” or a hold on your bursar account.

Most of the university’s current academic policies and academic probation standards have not changed because of this update. If students fail to meet SAP standards, they will first be issued a warning. If they fail to comply with the standards, their financial aid eligibility is put on probation. And if students do not meet SAP standards for a third time, they will lose all eligibility for financial aid.

Financial aid eligibility can be reinstated during the probationary period if a student stays in school and raises her grades while paying without financial aid. We appreciate that this policy gives students time to improve in classes and offers motivation if financial aid is taken away temporarily.

Under the old policy, students had to complete 67 percent of their student credit hours or lose their financial aid eligibility — this has not changed. However, under the new policy, the Office of Student Financial Aid and the Office of the Registrar will monitor cumulative GPAs each term. Students with 18 credit hours or less are expected to maintain a GPA above 1.5, and those with more than 18 credit hours must maintain a 2.0. If students fail to meet these requirements, they will be “RAWRed” and lose financial aid eligibility.

All of this is a long-winded way of saying students now need to keep up their GPAs so they do not lose financial aid– a policy we agree with.

Previously, the only GPA requirements were a 2.0 cumulative after two full years of attendance or junior status, or else the student was ineligible for financial aid. As the new policy applies to all students, including freshmen and sophomores, it forces everyone to be accountable for their academic work.

While we understand not everyone with GPAs of less than 1.5 or 2.0 are slacking on their studies, some students may be. If those students are not going to take school seriously, they should reevaluate why they are at Marquette in the first place.

Additionally, sometimes students — especially in their first year — are not quite ready for college. We believe the new policies encourage them to take time off between high school and college in order to prepare for the rigors of higher education, which would help them academically in the long run.

We also acknowledge that students do not always struggle because they are not trying or are not ready for higher education. Life happens, and students can go through emotional or psychological issues that affect their academic performance, which would hinder their SAP standing. However, Marquette has many resources for students in this situation, such as counseling and academic advising, and the SAP regulations encourage them to utilize these resources.

The new policies promote giving financial aid to serious students, and we commend that. Students who work hard to meet SAP standards should receive the financial aid necessary to help them finish their education. Why take away financial aid from serious students?

While the changes to the RWAR and SAP policies are not drastic, we think they are necessary to encourage students to be more invested in their studies. The policies also ensure financial aid is distributed fairly. We all struggle in college at one point or another, and motivation to keep going is necessary to succeed and, ultimately, graduate.

1. Race is a social construct that has been institutionalized. Race is a concept that was created out of the blue by Europeans during their colonial conquests of the Americas to justify their domination and oppression of the original peoples of the continent. Unfortunately, these made up arbitrary categories have now been institutionalized into our everyday lives and affect everything from education, to legislation, to employment.

2. Language has the power to separate and dehumanize, so use it carefully. You become a human individual thanks to language because through naming, you become one amongst billions. Conversely, language has the power to take that humanity away. Using the n-word for African Americans, or the i-word for undocumented immigrants, or the c-word for women, or the f-word for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters dehumanizes them. Once a person is dehumanized it allows for that person to be brutalized without moral remorse, something that should never happen. People within those groups can chose to use those words with each other because they understand the struggle that comes with being part of that group, but if you are not part of the group don’t use offensive, dehumanizing language!

3. Don’t ascribe negative terms to already struggling peoples or places. Here unfortunately I must turn to Ms. Gamble’s tips. Her third tip reads “Explore ‘bad’ neighborhoods” and after reading her last tip, “Watch your language” it becomes sadly ironic. The neighborhoods she is talking about are NOT bad. Yes, bad things happen there, but not because the people living there, including myself, are bad. Continuously ascribing negative terms to already struggling people causes internalized oppression. If we continuously tell someone that people that look like them or live where they live are bad, they’ll start thinking that maybe they’re bad too and this shouldn’t be happening. And no, the quotation marks do nothing to alleviate the harm the words within them cause.

4. Differences should be acknowledged and surpassed. Race doesn’t exist but we are culturally and physically different. Humanity is at its best when it acknowledges that someone is different and yet is able to look beyond that and love and respect that different person as a fellow human being. Colorblindness is not what we should strive for because there is nothing humanly amazing about blurring everything to make one color. We have different skin colors and eat different foods and go to different churches, but we shouldn’t be afraid of these differences. It’s hard I know, but let’s be brave, let’s be courageous and let’s free ourselves from the fear that paralyzed our parents.  Let’s acknowledge that we are different but love each other despite that. Only then will the foundations of race — fear and hatred — begin to crumble.

Maricela Aguilar

Senior in the College of Arts & Sciences

Or how about when you’re headed to class and you pass a former classmate walking alone in the opposite direction, and you make eye contact from far enough away that you could easily pretend you hadn’t. Now you’re unsure if you should say hello because you don’t know if he recognizes you, so you walk along anxiously until you pass him.

Meanwhile, he just went through the same train of thought and neither of you have any clue.

I’m not sure which is worse: trying to play it cool when someone doesn’t remember you, or trying not to seem like a big fat pompadour when you’re the one who doesn’t remember. They’re both unnerving.

I have a friend named John who never has to deal with this situation because he has a memory mega-vault just for remembering names. John is not a creepy guy in any respect, but be warned that even if you don’t know John, John knows you … and possibly your parents.

Part of John’s gift is that because he knows everyone’s name, everyone remembers him. It’s a valuable communication skill, whereas we normal people have to be dreadfully fake half the time.

Just imagine if you had the ability to say the right thing to the right person all your life — or even just for one day.

Communication is fickle, and often subliminally manipulative, whether we know our intentions or not. Even Punxsutawney Phil has no idea what’s happening on Groundhog Day.

Most of the time we don’t think twice about our interactions with others, but we’re certainly interested in playing our cards well.

When we mix what we want to say with what someone wants to hear, there’s a fine line. Now, I don’t mean fine as in“normal,” or “OK.” I mean fine as in “Dayyumm that is fiiiine.” You know how that sounds.

That line is desirable for our self-presentation. We like to think we’re really good at reaching it, and it starts with humoring people.

Think of it this way; suppose you’re in class during syllabus week, and somehow your surname is Ricci even though you have absolutely no Italian heritage. The professor comes to your name and proclaims, “Ree-chi, a fine name from the land of Italy.”

He’s wrong, but you don’t want to show up your new professor after his elaborate display of approval. “How’d you guess?” slips out of your mouth, and now you’re in good shape with this guy — all you have to do is keep up the act for one meager semester.

But what are you really doing?

We humor people because they don’t know that they are wrong, and it’s not worth it to us to correct them. That’s what it comes down to: we realize what we’re doing, but we play along anyway.

While humoring people is a nice way of putting our pride aside for someone else, deep down we might be doing it to look good by holding onto the idea that we’re always right and would rather not argue.

Humoring people all the time could mean you never have genuine conversations, crossing the line from being nice to being patronizing.

I hope I’ve put this up in the air for you think about. I’m not making any suggestions, and here’s why:

Our minds routinely play tricks on us because we think everyone else sees things as we do. In all those awkward situations when you’re worried about what everyone else thinks about you, do you know what they are doing? They’re thinking about themselves.

We’re not always egocentric in the way we act, but since no one else can think for us, we’re egocentric in the way we think. That’s why remembering names is so
difficult.

Communication is dangerous. Maybe people who pick on Comm majors should watch their backs.

Just a few days before, the New York Times reported an explosion at an iPad factory in southwest China that killed two people and injured a dozen more.

People are dying so we may have the privilege of playing “Words with Friends” until our thumbs are exhausted. What a wonderful world.

For decades, Apple has kept information about its manufacturing process far from the reach of public hands. It’s been acknowledged that the company outsources massive amounts of jobs to China, but few outsiders have actually stepped foot in those factories for a glimpse of working conditions.

In a recent episode of NPR’s “This American Life,” host Mike Daisey visited an Apple factory in Shenzhen, China, with 34,000 workers, many of whom were mere teenagers. One worker died at the factory after clocking in a 34-hour shift.

While deaths are not the daily norm, brutal labor environments are. According to the New York Times, excessive overtime, crowded spaces and swollen joints from long periods of standing are part of the job description. Just two years ago, 137 workers at a factory in eastern China were injured after being ordered to use a toxic chemical to clean iPhone screens.

Reports of these conditions come as a shock to many of us who have remained loyal to Apple products since our iPod Mini days. It clashes with the wholesome corporation’s image, best upheld by Steve Jobs himself.

When his self-titled biography became a best-seller and shrines were erected across the globe following his death last October, it became abundantly clear that much of the world had fallen for more than just the Apple CEO’s vision: they loved him, too.

“When I hire somebody really senior, competence is the ante,” Jobs once said. “They have to be really smart. But the real issue for me is, are they going to fall in love with Apple? Because if they fall in love with Apple, everything else will take care of itself. They’ll want to do what’s best for Apple, not what’s best for them, what’s best for Steve, or anybody else.”

Apple executives have known about the exploitation of workers in their factories, but say their desire to improve working conditions conflicts with supplier relationships and fast production. According to the New York Times, this past quarter was Apple’s most lucrative yet, with $13.06 billion in profits on $46.3 billion in sales – a number that could have been even higher, executives said, if overseas factories had been able to produce more.

Though it’s the goal of every corporation to make the most money possible, Apple seemed to stand primarily for quality. Doing “what’s best for Apple,” consumers were led to think, certainly meant the use of non-toxic cleaners and eight-hour shifts. Doing “what’s best for Apple,” we thought, meant preserving life in a number of ways: Both for the Apple consumers – who store their photos and documents on their devices – and, in a more literal sense, for the people who manufacture them.

Over the weekend, I heard Suzanne Rosenblatt speak in Milwaukee. She’s been performing her poem “Government of the Corp, By the Corp, For the Corp” for years, but its last line is particularly resonant concerning Apple and similar problems.

“Blame the corps, the corps, the corporations, the greedy rogues with the bottom line,” she says, “who ignore the corpse, the corpse, the corpses left behind.”

Planning your college agenda is not an easy task. You have to make sure you take all required classes, have time for lunch and, if you are lucky, avoid the instructor who received a horrible review on ratemyprofessor.com.

By the end of the first few weeks of the semester, you are well aware of whether you love or hate your schedule. Regardless of what you think about this semester, you hope that next semester you get an early registration time, but know to some degree you’re at the mercy of the system.

Let’s pretend you are a freshman who plans on studying abroad spring semester of junior year. You plan the entire first two years of college preparing for it, just to discover the fall prior that one of your required classes is only offered the semester you will be overseas — an issue which could have been prevented with better communication.

Or maybe you really love music and find your senior year that you can actually register for the History of Rock ‘n’ Roll class before it fills up, only to discover you have to take your capstone class during that same time slot. Wouldn’t you have liked to avoid these situations by being asked about what classes you actually wanted
to take?

Another example: This is the first semester that the “Culture of Language” anthropology course has been offered in almost six years. It may not have the highest student demand, but anthropology majors and minors would probably like to know that this is a now-or-never course for them, before registering for classes. If they did not sign up for it this semester, they may never get another chance.

We at the Tribune think there may be a way to ensure that more students are happy with their schedule: a university-administered class survey.

Such a survey would allow students to express their interests in various classes and could also include a schedule that explains when certain courses are offered, if not available every year. Obviously class requirements would be set outside the constraints of this survey, but it would be able to show which classes are more desired by students, allowing Marquette to plan for more professors to teach certain courses or offer the class more frequently.

We know that a university-administered survey would not fix every class conflict, but it could resolve many of them. Since his inauguration, the Rev. Scott Pilarz has stressed the importance of incorporating student input into making administrative decisions. Under his presidency, the university established a new Finance and Review Committee that actually allows for students to attend meetings and voice their opinions.

We greatly appreciate being given the opportunity to express our opinions to the people who ultimately make the decisions. If students can continue to value this new sense of responsibility, we hope it can expand into decisions about the curriculum. With tuition steadily on the rise, it is safe to say that the majority of students would rather get the most out of their education by paying for classes which interest them.

This year, people without a valid Wisconsin driver’s license or identification card, U.S. passport or U.S. military photo ID will be required to have an official voter ID to cast a ballot. This means students will no longer be allowed to use a Marquette ID to vote in Wisconsin.

Many people are opposed to this new law and some find it cumbersome and even unconstitutional. If you are completely against the voter ID law or do not understand it, you may decide to simply not vote.

This is potentially the worst political decision you could make.

It is your responsibility as a citizen to educate yourself about this new law, not simply ignore it. In fact, this year is the first time the majority of Marquette students will be able to vote in the presidential election. Why would you not exercise your right to vote just because you “don’t understand the law” or “don’t have time” to get a voter ID?

In reality, it is not a very long process to get your new ID. All you have to do is go to Union Station and fill out an application for your MU voter ID card (a process that takes a whopping two minutes). After you pick up your ID, you must bring an Account Activity Report (found on Checkmarq) to voter registration. You must also bring the report to the polls on Election Day to verify your enrollment at Marquette. Sounds easier than you thought, right? We think so.

If you complain about past, current or potential politicians, do what you can to make a difference and voice your opinion. If you do not vote because it seems too complicated, you are adding to the belief that this generation does not care. Do not let this new law deter you from exercising your civic duty.

“I don’t drink soda.”

“I don’t drink coffee.”

“I don’t drink bacon fat.”

We create these principles because we like to feel a sense of control, whether we stick to them or occasionally falter.

Of course, you’re more likely to do things around your peers that you normally have principles against, like eating junk food, watching Teen Mom or cursing. But that’s just an issue of discipline.

The principles we hold strongly are the ones we know are just, like not cheating in relationships. Most people also refrain from hand-to-hand combat with babies because they embrace a principle of avoiding fights, even if they’ll always win because babies don’t know the first thing about cage matches.

We access our principles for proper justification, but sometimes we rely on them too much. When that happens, all we have left to defend our position is to say, “It’s the principle of the matter.”

I don’t care that she forgot it was my birthday. It’s the principle of the thing so I want an apology.

I don’t care that he won $500 dollars and truly wants to split it with me. It’s the principle of the matter, so I can’t accept
the money.

I don’t care that buying a foreign car would save me on gas, money and maintenance. It’s the principle of the thing, so I buy American.

Ego is a stupid thing. When the principle itself becomes the reason for making or not making a decision, that’s when we need to wise up. It’s just bad logic, like saying it’s OK to litter because birds will use the garbage in their nests.

If we abandon this principle-principle, we can escape our self-inflicted headlock. Let me demonstrate.

In 2010 I went downtown to see a band I like. Since the band wasn’t very popular and I decided to go last minute, I couldn’t find anyone to join me. Or so I tell myself.

Now, a lot of us hold the social principle to avoid going to events alone because that’s totally lame. Just ignore it. If this sounds like one of Bridget’s columns from last semester, don’t worry — I’m agreeing with her. Still, this happened to me long before her story, so I had no idea what I was getting into.

There I was going alone to that concert, only to defy a few more thwarting principles along the way.

The band I came to see was the middle of three acts. I can’t explain how the rest of the night progressed the way it did, but after the opening act finished, I found myself hanging out with the band in the back. When some girls came up to us, we had been shooting the breeze long enough to the point where the bass player started pretending I was part of the band.

Then sure enough, when the band I came to see showed up, I was front row. Sure enough (again), I ended up hanging out with that band too.

By the time I left, it was so cold that I was freezing my buns off.

Right on cue, a random girl with her boyfriend yells something cheeky to me about the girls who were talking to the the band and me. I normally wouldn’t talk to strangers, but I was on a roll this night so I said, “Do you want to give me a ride home?”

I also typically don’t get in a stranger’s car late at night, but I scored a ride straight to my apartment.

The point is, be safe, but don’t let principles hold you back. If we let them take over when better sense should, we need to question who we think we believe ourselves to be.

That sounds puzzling, but look, if I walk by an empty bag on the sidewalk and say, “I’m not picking it up because that’s somebody else’s job,” who do I think I think I am? That’s no typo. It’s principles, people.

On Monday, a Marquette University News Brief alerted students that next year’s tuition would rise once again — to $32,810, with room and board increasing an additional 3 percent.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama and his speech writers were hard at work on the annual State of the Union address to Congress and the country — an address which took special notice of the expense of higher education.

In the speech on Tuesday, President Obama said Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, student loan interest rates will double in July unless Congress passes a law to prevent it and the number of college work-study jobs must be increased in order to allow more students the opportunity “to earn their way
through college.”

But, President Obama said, increasing student aid is not enough. If college tuition keeps rising, or “skyrocketing,” as Obama so accurately put it, a college degree will simply be unattainable for many.

Already, Marquette is a reach for most students, and the result is a rather elite class of students — at least in terms of our parents’ wealth. The majority of Marquette students are from high to middle-income families, from nice neighborhoods with nice things. Students often complain about the lack of diversity, but with tuition being so expensive, expecting diversity from a socioeconomic perspective seems like a pipedream.

In a letter written to parents announcing the additional expense, University President the Rev. Scott Pilarz said, “affordability, accessibility and debt loans among students and parents remain the university’s primary concerns.”

Indeed, more than 90 percent of Marquette students receive some sort of financial assistance. Yet the value of an incoming freshman’s degree is going to be at least $128,000, plus the hundreds of study hours she put in to making her education meaningful.

Granted, a Marquette degree is a good one to have, and a university such as this is expensive to operate. Professors deserve good salaries and students deserve nice places to live and learn — not to mention, we demand it. The education and degree Marquette gives in return for our one hundred thousand dollars is probably worth it. That’s what I keep telling myself on my way to graduation, at least.

The annual increase, however, is a bit disconcerting. Even though this year’s is only about a 4 percent increase, it translates into more than $1,000— a significant amount of money.

Perhaps significant enough to deter some students from accruing such expensive loans.

It’s an incredibly frustrating reality both the President of the University and the President of the United States hit us with this week: To obtain valuable higher education, we have to pay the price — an expensive debt which could follow graduates for years.

While we’re earning our degrees, we’re also spending thousands more on our education than previous generations. And unless something drastic happens, our children will be spending even more — a frightening thought. Even if Marquette keeps increasing $1,000 annually, in thirty years, it will cost more than $60,000.

I just gasped.

Obama put colleges on notice: “If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury – it’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.”

President Obama is right. Something needs to be done — or else a college degree will become even more exclusive. Our nation will become less educated and good jobs more difficult to come by. If the cost of college continues to increase, our nation will not prosper — it will flounder.

Unless you’re a freshman or transfer student, you are probably well aware of such tuition increases. If you’re not paying a cent for your college education, you may not care. The truth is, most students do care – a lot. However, if given the chance to voice your opinion on the matter, would you?

The revised tuition rates were part of the budget process handled by the new University Finance and Review Committee. Unlike the former University Budget Committee, this new board plans to provide meeting minutes online in addition to allowing for graduate and undergraduate students to sit on the committee.

These changes will make the university’s budget and the process behind it more accessible to Marquette students, a chance for us to finally give opinions, ask questions and — hopefully — get the answers we want regarding the cost of our college education. We must take that chance.

We at the Tribune consider the opportunity to impact Marquette’s financial decisions one we cannot neglect. If we let this occasion slip by unnoticed, we will likely never receive a similar chance in the future. No matter how much you complain about the tuition hike to your roommate, significant other or parent, nothing will change unless you address the people who directly influence the decision.

The real question is, how many students are willing to put forth the time and effort? Do yourself, and future generations, a favor, and count yourselves among the students numbered in the answer.

While the CSC has established some great programs in the past, the e-Mentoring program, which officially began this semester after a trial run in the fall, stands out as a particularly useful opportunity. Through the CIRCLES e-Mentor network, undergraduates are connected with alumni in their areas of interest, regardless of whether those alumni live in the Milwaukee area.

We think this is a great resource for students to connect with a large number of alumni from the convenience of campus.

Importantly, the mentoring also requires students to use the career networking site LinkedIn, and fill out a complete LinkedIn profile before participating. The LinkedIn groups are tailored to specific interests, which allow for a more helpful mentoring process.

The mentoring programs offered by the CSC, including e-Mentoring, are one way for alumni to give back to the Marquette community other than, or in addition to, fundraising or being involved with alumni chapters. We understand that especially in the current economic climate, all alumni may not be able to give back to Marquette financially as they would like; however, all alumni can mentor current students.

According to the CSC, while mentors do not provide job opportunities, review resumes and business proposals or interview students, they do allow students to develop a relationship with someone in their field who is able to offer advice in a timely manner and give a variety of communication options.

Other mentoring opportunities are already available through certain colleges on campus, such as the College of Business Administration’s Mentor Program, the Diederich College of Communication’s Mentoring Program and the College of Nursing’s Project BEYOND.

The College of Business Administration’s program is cosponsored with its alumni association and pairs junior-level students with business professionals in the Milwaukee and Chicago areas annually from September through April.

The College of Communication’s program is also a collaboration with its alumni association, pairing students in the college with professionals selected by the alumni association board in various communication professions.

Project BEYOND in the College of Nursing invites registered nurses to share expertise with undergraduate students to provide direction within the health services profession.

While these programs are helpful for business, communications and nursing students, the e-Mentoring program gives similar opportunities for all students, no matter their major.

With such mentoring programs, Marquette encourages students to seek help with a career search or for general advice about a field of study. However, many fields are overlooked or undermentored, especially those in the College of Arts & Sciences. We implore the CSC to especially encourage mentors in unconventional career paths or for students who do not have defined careers choices after graduation, such as those studying foreign languages, international affairs, biology or other majors.

We’re lucky to have the Career Services Center’s help in addition to that of individual colleges. Such opportunities to network with alumni who are willing to help and genuinely want to see undergraduates succeed in their field is not something available to every college student, and we should take advantage of that, both online and off.

Thirty nine years later, every Republican presidential candidate is working to reverse the outcome of Roe v. Wade.

Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have all signed a Personhood USA pledge declaring that life begins at conception and, therefore, that abortion is wrong even in cases of rape or incest. Each candidate’s economic platform proposes to eliminate Title X family planning programs, like Planned Parenthood.

Furthermore, if elected, these men would block federal FDA approval for almost any new contraceptive, terminate insurance coverage for existing contraception and appoint Supreme Court justices who support the overturning of Roe v. Wade, among other things.

This year, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed several consequential bills restricting reproductive rights. If America’s next president is a Republican, these bills will likely become laws.

State legislatures are also taking action against reproductive rights, but they are doing so at a much more rapid pace.

According to Kate Sheppard, political staff reporter for Mother Jones’ Washington bureau, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is close to unraveling the state’s progressive and comprehensive sex education program, the Healthy Youth Act, which teaches students “‘the health benefits, side effects and proper use of contraceptives and barrier methods’ in discussion of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.” In place of the Healthy Youth Act, Walker hopes to institute an abstinence-only sex education program.

Simply put, this plan will explode in our faces. Teenagers will remain sexually active but with fewer resources and diminished knowledge.

“A study released in 2009 by the state’s Division of Public Health found that 45 percent of Wisconsin’s teenagers said they were sexually active,” says Sheppard, “but nearly 40 percent of them said that they had not used a condom the last time they had sex.”

Similarly, a government study from this year interviewed 5,000 teenage mothers from 19 different states who had unintended pregnancies. About a third who didn’t use birth control said the reason was they didn’t believe they could become pregnant.

“This report underscores how much misperception, ambivalence and magical thinking put teens at risk for unintended pregnancy,” said Bill Albert, a spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Parts of Republicans’ agenda may be admirable (reducing unwanted pregnancies, for example), but numbers all across the board show that their methods result in failure. Rates of teenage pregnancy remain high in poor, urban areas, and rates of STI contractions are currently at epidemic levels.

The numbers also reveal that the bargaining of reproductive rights doesn’t just affect women: It affects everyone.

Amelia Zurcher, director of Marquette’s women’s and gender studies program, says that from a disease standpoint, “boys need (comprehensive sex education) just as much as girls do.”

Similarly, anti-choice laws silence not only every woman, but the “partner, family, doctor or religious faith” who may wish to aid in her decision, said Sheppard.

Abortion and birth control have been pegged as “women’s issues,” but that’s just one more thing we’ve gotten wrong when it comes to reproductive rights. The GOP wants to rescind our constitutional rights by controlling the choices we make about sex and our bodies. That hurts every American in a number of ways.

Fortunately, this isn’t the guaranteed fate of our country. President Barack Obama, who will run for re-election, said Sunday that he remains committed to defending reproductive rights.

“As we remember this historic anniversary (of Roe v. Wade),” the President said, “we must also continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.”

It deserves to be known that these efforts benefit every man and woman who loves those daughters, too.

We’ve heard it all before, but is the Marquette curriculum really doing enough to equip its students with the necessary tools to evoke positive change?

The University Core of Common Studies enforces the Jesuit ideal of receiving a well-rounded education; or, at least, it attempts to. All students are required to take classes in nine knowledge areas: rhetoric; mathematical reasoning; theology; human nature and ethics; science and nature; individual and social behavior; literature and performing arts; diverse cultures; and histories of cultures and societies.

It’s no secret that loopholes exist allowing for some classes to fulfill the university’s requirements, although there are other courses available that could be more appropriate. With ambiguities such as these, we at the Tribune believe that it’s possible students may not be as educated in some areas as the Core of Common Studies would like to suggest and we believe civics is one of those areas.

A recent federal report claims students’ understanding of civic learning is declining. Civics encompases U.S. history, politics, democracy and diverse cultures. As a high school graduate, you were probably required to take some sort of civics or government class before college. But let’s be honest: How seriously did you take the class? How much do you remember about the United States’ government? Do you consider yourself well educated about current political issues?

Assuming you didn’t retain much from a U.S. history course you took when you were 14, the only aspect of civic learning clearly implemented in the Core of Common Studies is the diverse cultures requirement, which is broad enough that a student can easily omit civic knowledge.

One of the most important points of the Jesuit education is to be a well-rounded individual, and without a good understanding of civics this seems impossible. There are a wide variety of political classes available to Marquette students, some of which can be used to satisfy core requirements, but they are not mandatory. Due to the current political climate, we believe that it’s pertinent for students to take a politics course at Marquette.

You don’t have to be a political science major to need to understand political issues, because politicians are not the only ones affected by legislative decisions. Teachers, social workers, businessmen, doctors and many other professionals are all affected by political decisions being made today. Future teachers and social workers need to have an understanding of collective bargaining and union rights. Businessmen need to know about the economy’s past, present and future situations. Doctors must educate themselves about upcoming changes in healthcare reform.

Civics is also present in all four Marquette pillars. The pillars of Leadership and Service are clearly represented in government. Excellence, although not always demonstrated by politicians, allowed for this nation to be founded on a sense of achievement. While not every Marquette student has the same faith this university was built on, they should all have faith in their political system.

Many people who are not politically active by the time they graduate college tend to remain uninvolved and uneducated about current political events. If we are expected to  “Be The Difference” but lack adequate knowledge of this country’s issues and operations, how will this country be successful? How will any individual student be able to succeed after college?

Certainly, we may find jobs after graduation and lead comfortable, stable lives without ever truly understanding the present and past of our country; but, Marquette does not seek to merely make us comfortable, stable adults. If Marquette truly wants to transform us into men and women for others, a proper education in civics needs to be more than available to students — it needs to be mandatory.

Tuesday, the first day of classes for my last semester of college, was more stressful than my first day of college three and a half years ago — because I had no idea which classes I was taking.

I enrolled more than a month ago. Yet  I woke up Tuesday morning with only a vague hope of my graduation status. I knew I needed five classes to graduate with a double major in journalism and political science. I also knew that somehow I had managed to mess that up.

On Monday night, I discovered that one of my scheduled classes did not count for what I needed it to. I had room in my schedule but not enough classes to fill it with, meaning I would be one class shy of graduating with my two majors.

Cue banging head against nearest wall.

Since Checkmarq is an internet server, it did little to console me. I knew I needed human help to solve my dilemma, or at least to be sympathetic when I learned my degree would be different than what I planned for.

For some reason, meeting with professors always makes me very anxious. I feel incredibly sophomoric when I request a meeting, always anticipating the absolute worst. By the time

I arrive at office hours, I have worked out a whole scenario, which usually goes like this:

Department Chair:  Hello you moronic second semester senior, how can I help you?

Me: Could you look at my schedule and make sure that I will graduate in May?

Department Chair: If you cannot figure it out yourself, then you cannot graduate, you fool!

In such fantasies, I always end up weeping.

Obviously, the real meeting went much smoother. My advisers were more than willing to meet with me to talk about options to ensure a May graduation, but I still swapped classes four times in the past three days.

My double major involves two colleges on opposite sides of campus, so my ever-helpful advisers do not know each other or the other college’s requirements. This –– combined with my complete incompetence regarding Checkmarq and the outdated class numbering system in my class bulletin –– meant my class schedule was flipping around more than the halftime show gymnasts at Monday’s Marquette basketball game.

I have been using Checkmarq for eight semesters now. I should be able to figure it out, I know. My impending graduation should not be held in the balance because I read Checkmarq incorrectly. With my ineptitude at managing my scholarly pursuits, I understand if you have no sympathy for me.

Luckily, the department chairs did have sympathy.  Apparently, this is a common issue: mandatory classes in opposite colleges with conflicting times and a lack of alternative options leave many students scrambling to meet their graduation requirements. Professors are asked to give permission numbers which means larger class sizes, and students are dropping and adding classes left and right. Syllabus week is a total mess.

Marquette’s size is beneficial in that we can have smaller classes and personal advisers. It is outstanding that Checkmarq outlines graduation requirements and that advisers have access to that. Yet the size of our university also means that only a few classes are offered every semester, and these classes have a limited number of spots.  This means that students have to be accountable for their academic planning and success.

That said, it’s great to know that when — not if — we falter, we go to a university where there’s someone to help when we ask.

Our natural reaction to a new year is to feel that the old one slipped through our fingers. It’s just how our conception of time works. Then, we make new commitments for the current year, promising ourselves we won’t let this one get away.

As for me, my New Year’s resolution is to have a New Year’s resolution. See how that works? I’ll check that off right now.

I’m not sure how 2012 showed up so soon anyway, but if the world ends this year I actually want to have accomplished some meaningful things in my last days. Yet here’s the kicker: if the world doesn’t end, I think I’d still enjoy having a special 2012. I hope you do too.

So what does that take? I’m glad you asked.

It takes figuring out what you want, prioritizing and then getting after it. Hard.

Our motivations come and go, but our time — especially in college — is finite. This means we have to do more than just join the annual pack of people who flood the Rec Center during syllabus week only to fizzle out at the first sight of homework. That concept of motivation is nothing new, but neither is the discipline necessary to surpass that figurative first week.

If squeaking by doing the minimum is your modus operandi, that’s a shame. If not, join me and hope to have a bunch of meaningful experiences before you skedaddle.

Here are several things I promise you won’t regret doing before you graduate. Some of them will seem painfully obvious, but if you pretend that this is your first time hearing them, your ego won’t interfere with good advice.

Spend a summer in Milwaukee. This is a summer town, and there’s nothing like it. We always say being at college would be amazing if we didn’t have classes, so get a summer internship. But even if you take classes over the summer, it feels like you aren’t.

Take advantage of the lack of real world responsibility. Think of it this way: if you’ve always wanted to dye your hair platinum or something, you can do it now. You might not be able to do it later (if it looks awfully non-presentable for the real world).

Keep changing roommates. You learn a lot about yourself when you live with someone new, and that’s valuable. This doesn’t mean it’s bad to live with somebody for a long time, but doing so can make you feel too comfortable, for better or for worse. I can’t tell you how many times my roommate of three years has choke-slammed me in his imagination. I can tell you how many times he’s choke-slammed me in real life. It’s four.

Skip class when it just makes sense. If missing one class means you can study a little longer for a test you’re paranoid about, do it and don’t regret it.

Stay single. Time feels longer.

Explore a new interest/hobby. If there’s a subject you’ve always had a peculiar curiosity for, like astronomy or the Civil War, take a course in it even if it’s unrelated to your major. It’ll reinvigorate your thirst for learning, even for your major.

Study abroad. I didn’t get the chance to because I made up excuses why I couldn’t.

Talk to your professors. Don’t ever pretend that they’re out to get you. Go to their office hours “just because,” and you’ll see what I mean.

Read my column. Sometimes I’m serious, but mostly I just try to provide something that’s fun to talk about, and fun to read. I won’t be here in 2013, but remember, the only difference between 2012 and 2013 is this magic moment happens to be in 2012.

Ask yourself if it’s time to make the most of right now.