Opinion

I love the beach: Running, biking, swimming, sitting, sleeping there, is Metta (beyond) Therapeutic (shout out to my boy Metta World Peace). The soft sand when it falls between your toes, the sound of the waves, the caress of the ocean, the colors of the sunset, are all purely amazing.

Imagine that you are an 18-year-old boy, and have decided to start dating the 16-year-old girl you really like. As your relationship gets serious you both decide to take your relationship to the next level and become sexually active.

Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, cheated on his wives. The romance began with his high school teacher; they married, she got cancer, then he ran to his mistress. His mistress developed multiple sclerosis while he begged for an open marriage, but she was the wiser, so he fled to wife number three.

With news of LGBT victories such as the recent overturning of California Proposition 8 and the nearly ratified gay marriage bill in the state of Washington, it is easy to forget that there are still strides to be made and issues to address on behalf of the gay community nationwide. For several years, the focus of gay rights has been primarily centered on adults; whether it is pushing for marriage laws, healthcare protections or adoption rules. Though these legal decrees in regards to the LGBT community are of the utmost importance on a political scale — as they should be — the protection of the younger gay population deserves national attention.

When one thinks of McDonald’s, quality and health are not exactly the first terms that come to mind. However, we knowingly consume their food on a level at which even the likes of Jabba the Hutt would be incapable of surpassing. We are all guilty. We choose to eat McDonald’s despite our understanding of the consequences.

If employment is supposed to be free of all discrimination (against race, color, gender and so on), then how is it fair that people can be fired from their jobs just because they are pregnant? If a woman is in the final months of her pregnancy, she can be fired or forced to go on leave solely because of the fact that, in a matter of weeks, she will be giving birth.

Starbucks announced recently that they will be begin selling beer and wine in select stores in Southern California by the end of this year. Is this a little surprising? Yes. A little strange? Not really. But this move does have a lot of people turning their heads.

There is nothing more visually striking and expressionistic than art in its many forms, including performance art, which was sprawled before the eyes of UC Irvine students and staff last Wednesday afternoon when a group of students put on a performance on Ring Road in protest against what is being seen as a crime against the public education system in the state of California. On Ring Road, just outside Langson Library, a throng of spectators gazed in amusement and curiosity at a lone student lying facedown on the path who was clad ominously in all black and donning a UCI sweatshirt.

As with any large group of people, the students and faculty of UC Irvine have a wide range of interests, with some people paying great attention to issues that are of little importance to others. One common interest across campus, however, is the increasing budget cuts and subsequent reduction in class size and quality of education.

When I saw the trailer for Liam Neeson’s latest film, “The Grey,” I was immediately enraged by what I saw. Wolves in the wild, tearing people limb from limb in the snow? Are you kidding me? Do filmmakers not have an ounce of compassion in their bodies these days?

Much like Venus rising out of the sea foam in a half shell, miss Lana Del Rey arrived on the music scene in a flurry of hype and over-eager buzz, the creation of music industry gods and magicians.

In most articles, I try to write with a certain audience in mind. That being said, I usually carefully craft what I say, as to elicit the best response. In the case of this article though, I’m not going to sugar coat things. I’m just going to be brutally honest. I really don’t feel bad for ex-convicts who can’t find jobs.