Author Archives: Amber Bissell

Credit card debt will destroy our generation ““ yet we’re welcoming it with open arms. Maine Senate Democrat John Nutting blames the credit card companies for our financial insecurity. Early this month he introduced “An Act to Protect Young Consumers,” which would require people under the age of 21 to obtain permission from a parent […]

It’s funny that most UCLA students I talked to only heard about Cdigix when the company announced its services would be canceled. Cdigix, a program that attempts to entice students with free legal music downloading, is failing in part because of the paradox it presented ““ the ability to download free files to a computer […]

The federal government has found a new way to invade our privacy. As of January 2006, a new amendment quietly placed onto the Violence Against Women Act allows the government to collect DNA samples from anyone under arrest. People don’t even have to be guilty of a crime to have DNA collected, but by having […]

In some communities struck by Hurricane Katrina, only one in five families has a new home after its old one was destroyed in August 2005. That’s pitiful progress for a year and a half. President Bush missed the memo and failed to mention recovery regarding the hurricane-ravaged southern states during last week’s State of the […]

Genetic screening challenges the natural order of human life, as parents all over the world now have the disturbing option to customize their children. Earlier this week, the UCLA Center for Society and Genetics presented its fifth annual symposium, “The Genetic Marketplace: A Citizen’s Guide to the Genomic Bazaar,” to explore concerns regarding advances in […]

The other night, I treated myself to a chai tea latte at Bruin Café. I swiped my order and retreated to the tea counter to be served. The wait was extraordinary, so I prepared myself. I wasn’t too annoyed, knowing that in the near future I would have my caffeine. A cafe employee approached me […]