Opinion

In my adventures as a ram, a highlander and finally an anteater, I have always tried to keep my head up or at least intact. That being said, the universities where I have held these various titles have not always made this easy.

Imagine a world where you buy a parking permit at the beginning of the quarter and you never receive a ticket. Sounds reasonable, right? You pay to park on campus, thus, you are allowed to park on campus. That is how America works.

Recent economic developments have forced humanities departments across the country to defend their positions more fiercely than ever. With the market turned south and funding pulling a Houdini, money needs to be redistributed in higher education. Many institutions have chosen to cut humanities first because of its perceived lack of practical application.

Freedom of speech is recognized as a human right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United States Constitution. UC Irvine also recognizes that students have the right to express themselves and their opinions. Section 30.10 of the Administrative Policies of UCI states: “The University is committed to assuring that all persons may exercise the constitutionally protected rights of free expression, speech, assembly and worship.” So why do the UCI administration and Anteaters for Israel (AFI) constantly try to prevent the Muslim Student Union (MSU) from expressing their political beliefs?

On September 22, 2005, my mom dropped me off in Mesa Court, helped lug my stuff to my new dorm and, bless her heart, probably said, “whew,” and pantomimed the sweat off her brow.

So after five long years, this is what it comes down to. I’ve got about two more weeks before I graduate, and find myself tossed into the post-graduate world. I have to say that I’ve had an eventful time here at Irvine. The school definitely lives up to its reputation, as the campus I leave behind looks quite different from the one I entered as a freshman. I like to think that I’ve had a pretty encompassing experience here. I’ve lived in Middle Earth, Campus Village, Vista Del Campo Norte, Stanford and was eventually forced to move back home for a year and taste commuter life, so I’ve encountered varied aspects of the school that many may never know.

When looking back at my past four years at UC Irvine, I find myself wondering how it flew by so quickly. Another four years have slipped through my fingers forever. But whether I’m ready to accept it or not, my inevitable future has arrived.

California likes to think it’s the coolest state. We do everything better and sooner. Our vehicle emission standards are tougher, our beaches better. We funded stem cell and other cutting edge research while the other states were still debating whether intelligent design ought to be taught in schools. Until Proposition 8, we were one of the best states for gay and lesbian couples to live in. We were using “green,” “sustainable” and “organic” before they became ubiquitous. Our buzzwords are better than yours. California isn’t just in the future … we are the future.

Student with Airsoft Rifle Apologizes to Campus

The battle over marijuana took a significant turn as the Supreme Court left California’s Compassionate Use Act, which allows the use of medical marijuana, intact by refusing to hear a suit filed by the San Diego and San Bernardino counties. Local officials in the two counties would not allow their residents to use cannabis as part of their treatment plans and had hoped that the United States Supreme Court would support them. Now, the counties must distribute cards allowing for medical marijuana use.

Driving from Irvine to Los Angeles is hardly an enjoyable experience. Even when traffic is light, it is tough to make the drive to L.A. in an hour, and when there is rush hour traffic, one can generally kiss a big chunk of an afternoon goodbye.

At around this time two years ago, the presidential elections were underway. I was rooting for my candidate Hillary Clinton, as I thought she would be the easy shoo-in for the job. Well, we all know what happened — “yes, we can.” It was quite the interesting experience to follow the campaign through its longevity, even though it was only on TV.