Author Archives: Ilana Fried

This quarter, I’m taking two science classes. They’re not necessarily difficult ““ but they’re science classes. And, to put it mildly, science has never been my forte. Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers remarked last week that “innate differences” between men and women may render some females less qualified for the scientific and engineering worlds. I […]

Today we need to pay attention. And not only because of the inauguration of the 55th U.S. president. All college students should take note because George W. Bush has made some big promises to us. Last Sunday, for instance, when Bush addressed students at Florida Community College in Jacksonville, he explained that as a nation, […]

I worry too much about money this time of the year. There are tuition and housing payments, loads of groceries and school materials to buy. And then there are textbooks ““ overpriced, marked up due to “bonus” CDs, study guides I don’t need and destined a couple months later to be sold back at shamelessly […]

Some, such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, view the recent closure of South Los Angeles’ Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center as dangerous for the inner city community it is meant to serve. Others, including Thomas Garthwaite, director of the county Department of Health Services, see it as timely and, ultimately, necessary. The real question is […]

I was baffled when Sen. John Kerry conceded in November. But I wasn’t confused regarding why Kerry thought there was no way he could take Ohio. What baffled me was how conservative the United States has become. Bush appeared to grab his second term so easily despite debate blunders, a shabby economy and a problem-ridden […]

Last Monday, the Memphis City School Board officially banned spanking in public schools. No, you are not reading a reprint of an article from 40 years ago. Spanking as school punishment, evidently, is not only alive but still thriving in parts of the United States. For years, students across Memphis, Tenn., were actually spanked with […]

Finally, the Laci Peterson trial is over. Almost. Now that Scott Peterson has been convicted for the murder of his pregnant wife, Laci, he’s preparing for his Nov. 22 sentencing hearing. Legal experts claim Peterson will be spared from execution. After all, Californians typically favor jail time over capital punishment. But, no matter the outcome […]