Department of Justice

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February 1, 2012

CLASS DISMISSED: Rising tuition a manageable obstacle

With plans to increase our student body and expand the campus with new facilities, our tuition must be raised in order to afford the increased operating costs incurred by this growth.

I imagine that other state universities are following suit with plans to expand and improve their campuses, therefore, as students, we are set to foot the bill.

On a brighter note, federal aid and Bright Futures Scholarships are not the Alpha and Omega of financial aid.

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January 25, 2012

CLASS DISMISSED: Recent death reminds about dangers of hazing

In 2008, the Chad Meredith Act made hazing a felony in Florida in hopes that organizations, Greek or non-Greek, would stop this dangerous practice. However, the brutal death of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University drum major Robert Champion reignited a heated discussion on the merits and dangers of hazing. In the midst of this discussion, I truly hope our University is never on the darker side of it.

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January 12, 2012

CLASS DISMISSED: Teacher auditions demand performance

The Washington D.C. school system is implementing an audition component in its search for teachers. A potential hire must teach a lesson while a 360-degree camera records the reactions of a group of students under their watch.

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November 23, 2011

CLASS DISMISSED: Penn State scandal a lesson in abuse

To the readers, I plead with you: if you ever see any sexual abuse, especially that of a child, do not stay silent. Protect the correct party and say something so the abuse will stop, the abuser can be held accountable and the victims can begin to heal.

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November 8, 2011

CLASS DISMISSED: Student loan bubble is escapable

Although a college degree is still valuable, it simply is not worth its weight in student loans. “A degree is an asset whose value can change over time,” writes the article’s author, Justin Pope. “Borrowing to pay for it is risky, and borrowing is way up. The stakes are high. You can usually walk away from a house. Not so a student loan, which can’t even be discharged in bankruptcy.”

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October 27, 2011

CLASS DISMISSED: FCAT scores: one step forward, two steps back

I have always posited that failure of the FCAT is linked to failure to teach. Even with specialized classes and curriculums that tend to “teach for the test,” one too many students still fail it. Unless the actual standards of teaching improve, raising the passing standards will do nothing to improve the FCAT passage rate, and will do everything to make it even worse.

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September 28, 2011

CLASS DISMISSED: International students a valuable asset

Brooklyn Middleton’s advice to study abroad for graduate school goes both ways. When international students come to America, they too can have a positive impact on their new home and reap many rewards from living abroad.

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August 31, 2011

CLASS DISMISSED: Abstinence-only sex education futile

In October 2010, journalist Evan Smith asked Texas Gov. and current presidential hopeful Rick Perry about the effectiveness of abstinence-only sex education. Although the footage of this video is a bit old, renewed interest in Perry after his announcement of entering the 2012 presidential race has caused it to become popular again. Perry’s difficulty in justifying abstinence-only sex education in Texas points to a larger struggle to reconcile the merit of this method in our country overall.