Crazy scenarios gain viewers The new season of MTV’s show “Jersey Shore” starts this week, and I can’t explain how excited I am. The chance to laugh at the trials and tribulations of the people on this show have made it become the new Thursday night tradition for a ton of people — including myself.
Tour shows ability, strength Steroids: check. Players returning from retirement to win championships: check. Severe injuries: check. What sport could contain all of these entertaining aspects and be broadcast during this time of year? Cycling.
Soccer World Cup proves all athletics can evoke emotion, pride Although the United States women's national soccer team may not have declared victory over its Japanese opponents in the thrilling World Cup final, the players have certainly won a much larger battle for the popularity of women's sports. In a world dominated by men's sports, the task to propel the other gender's competitions onto television screens and into hearts of millions has been difficult until now.
Alternative ways to prevent fires What better way to celebrate our independence than setting off multicolored explosions? This is the essence of July Fourth. I would argue that without the fireworks something would certainly be missing. People who usually picked up their fireworks in states like South Carolina and Florida are now finding them increasingly difficult to buy. Thanks to bans being placed across the country prompted by severe droughts, people were forced to go out of their way to purchase fireworks in the states where they are still legal.
Alternative locations unsafe During my time at USC, I’ve spent most of my summers in Columbia taking classes. Summer comes with its fair share of stigmas, and excessive partying to celebrate an absence of learning is certainly one of them. Even with a full plate of classes to weigh me down, I’ve always looked for ways to define my summer experience and make sure it still feels like one. Five Points has been a haven for students like me at USC to drown their worries with a cold glass of Columbia Nightlife since they can’t take a long vacation without the threat of failing. However, with the introduction of a larger police presence and more summer bar raids by police officers, bars that used to be bustling with activity are finding large crowds increasingly rare. While I do enjoy the increased safety, I think that the raids do a lot more harm than good.
Politicians dishonest, fake Rep. Anthony Weiner, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Sen. John Edwards are just three of the most recent political figures caught in sex scandals. As their pictures continue to be plastered on every channel, some may question why these scandals actually matter. Since scandals of this nature deal with the personal lives of politicians instead of with their actual jobs, defenders may argue that scandals hold no relevance to their campaign. As Weiner’s supporters argue, “It’s just sex.” However, I disagree with the idea that these scandals aren’t dangerous and don’t interfere with their ability to create and pass laws.
Social media site simply uses Facebook’s status updates I’ve been a fan of Facebook since my freshman year of college. The ability to keep up with friends, chat, organize events and share the next viral video you hope entitles you to enough “likes” to show up in “top news” has always intrigued me. However, this new social media craze has really gone over my head. Now, when I get on Facebook, I’m bombarded with links and jargon from other social networks that require me to join them in order to figure out what the heck is going on. So over the weekend, I took the plunge and created an account on the latest social network — Twitter. If you haven’t visited or heard of Twitter, it’s a site that basically strips Facebook of all its useful functions. It encourages members to indulge in, what I’ve come to find, as Facebook’s most worthless asset: status updates.
American efforts to democratize Middle East inefficient and wasteful Only a month has passed since news of Osama Bin Laden’s death made headlines and already the United States has taken on another hefty slice of military intervention in other Middle Eastern countries.