16 Oct 2013
Posted by etcetera 
On Oct. 1 — the first day of the 2014 federal fiscal year — the U.S. government entered a partial shutdown after Congress failed to pass a spending bill in an effort to delay the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This resulted in the suspension of a number of services and the furlough of more...
Read more → 16 Oct 2013
Posted by etcetera BY KAMETRA LOUD, REPORTER Single men and women everywhere regularly browse online dating sites in search of companionship. So it’s no wonder why advertisers stay in the business of selling love. Commercials showing men and women holding hands, hugging and smiling constantly pop up on the Internet....
Read more → 02 Oct 2013
Posted by etcetera 
We pride ourselves on being a green campus. We have special stations for filling empty water bottles, numerous recycle bins and even a small wind turbine. With dozens of recycle bins scattered across the college and a student body of more than 14,000, we have the potential to recycle thousands of cans,...
Read more → 02 Oct 2013
Posted by etcetera BY EMMA HAHN, REPORTER My best friend has bad breath. He is furry and cute, and he loves to chase squirrels. Yes, my best friend is my dog Toby. I got my dog about six months ago from the Mesquite Animal Shelter. His owners left him there because they didn’t have time to care for him. He was matted,...
Read more → 02 Oct 2013
Posted by etcetera BY JUSTIN DAVID TATE, LIFE & ARTS EDITOR My dad was a strong presence in every room he entered. With a booming laugh and tall stature, he was a gentle giant, bear-hugging everyone at least three feet off the ground with each introduction. Billy Ray Tate was a Baylor Bears defensive end in the early...
Read more → 02 Oct 2013
Posted by etcetera By Trenton Blackshear “Oh my God, I just can’t stand looking at that centerpiece being crooked. This is totally going to set off my OCD.” “Don’t worry, I just lose my cool sometimes. I’m probably just a bit bipolar.” I’m quite sure that most of us have either heard or said some variation...
Read more → 02 Oct 2013
Posted by etcetera BY BILLY DENNIS, OPINION COLUMNIST The biology classroom remains the last great hope against the powerful forces of religious indoctrination. Our children’s education is being threatened by a small yet dedicated group of troglodytes in Austin trying to sneak creationism into biology textbooks. Creationism...
Read more → 18 Sep 2013
Posted by etcetera 
By Billy Dennis, Opinion Columnist Every time I hear someone repeat a conspiracy theory, it makes me question my stance on torture. Be honest, whom would you rather waterboard, 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or billionaire birther Donald Trump? Conspiracy theories allow many people...
Read more → 18 Sep 2013
Posted by etcetera 
By Billy Dennis, Opinion Columnist The Kennedy assassination Theory: All of the various conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy have one thing in common — Lee Harvey Oswald was not the lone gunman. Most consider Oswald to have been a patsy set up by the U.S....
Read more → 18 Sep 2013
Posted by etcetera 
The majority of college students are adults — that’s common knowledge. What fewer people seem to realize is that as adults, we must be responsible for our actions. However, far too many students are caught up in what is often their first taste of true independence to focus on the academic aspects...
Read more → 18 Sep 2013
Posted by etcetera By Keturah Jones, Reporter The concept of piggy-back rides never made much sense to me. It seemed lazy for a person to jump on my back and rely on my strength and hard work to carry them where they wanted to go. Why couldn’t they stand on their own two feet and walk like everyone else? There...
Read more → 18 Sep 2013
Posted by etcetera By Kristen Dixon, Reporter There is so much more to bullying than just the words and actions used against another person. Bullying can affect someone’s entire perspective. This is exactly what happened to someone very close to me. In 2009, I was in high school. I had friends and goals. So did Hunter Layland....
Read more → 18 Sep 2013
Posted by etcetera By Caitlin Piper, Opinion Editor It seems that we can hardly go a day without hearing someone mention a social media website, whether it’s the half-audible remark of a passing stranger or an in-depth debate on the effects of technology in our psychology class. It’s clear that our society has a love-hate...
Read more → 08 May 2013
Posted by etcetera 
A 2008 survey of incoming students at institutions of higher education determined that less than half were prepared for college-level courses. This lack of college-ready students has led to a boom in enrollment for developmental math, writing and reading courses. Many of the students in those...
Read more → 08 May 2013
Posted by etcetera By Ana Nunez Dining out at least once a week is inevitable for most college students. We tend to eat out when we are bombarded by tasks that leave us with no time to cook a proper meal, when we don’t know how to cook or simply when we get a craving for a specialty item we could never make on our own. However,...
Read more → 08 May 2013
Posted by etcetera By Floyd Clifton I was under the impression that we the people run our government, and our needs, wants and ideals come first. However, I have noticed that big businesses have more of a say in our day-to-day lives than we do. If you take a moment to look at the political atmosphere, it is apparent...
Read more → 08 May 2013
Posted by etcetera By Lawanda Mckelvy Back in February, I attended one of the Black History Month events the college hosted. There were several African-American students congregating right outside the library, but they had no interest in taking five steps to come in and attending the event. Many African-American youth...
Read more → 08 May 2013
Posted by etcetera The Math Spot was founded eight years ago because math and developmental math students demanded more tutoring time. Students expressed the need to visit with their instructor, but they could not meet during their office hours. Students also pointed out that the LAC (Learning Assistance Center) was always...
Read more → 24 Apr 2013
Posted by etcetera 
With parking lots as crowded as Eastfield’s, one would think drivers would be more mindful of their surroundings when entering and exiting their parking spots. However, recent events are showing this is often not the case. There have been 13 reported hit-and-run incidents on the main campus since...
Read more → 24 Apr 2013
Posted by etcetera BY CAITLIN PIPER Whether it was a disapproving stare at my plate of nachos or a PETA sticker slapped inside one of my school notebooks, my vegan sister was always sure to voice her opinion on my diet in the most passive-aggressive way possible. wwI wasn’t the only one experiencing this. While she was never...
Read more → 24 Apr 2013
Posted by etcetera By Danyelle Roquemore Our campus is an eco-friendly place, or at least it tries to be. Even though the administration promotes a greener campus, a large portion of the college community isn’t making any effort to help out. When I lived with my mom, we always recycled. She made my sister and me wash...
Read more → 24 Apr 2013
Posted by etcetera By Keturah Jones It’s almost 11:15 p.m. and I’m finally arriving home from a long day. My feet hurt and my back aches from rehearsing dance moves for the college’s production of “Hairspray,” in which I play the role of Motormouth Maybelle. I have math homework due at midnight on mymathlab....
Read more → 24 Apr 2013
Posted by etcetera By Claudia Guerra One evening as I was cleaning up the aftermath of dinner with my 1-year-old, I asked my husband to get her bath ready. I was expecting him to get the bath started, go into the bedroom and turn on the TV without actually helping me bathe her. To my surprise, he picked her up and carried...
Read more → 10 Apr 2013
Posted by etcetera 
YOLO — You Only Live Once. Those words seem to be plastered on every Twitter and Facebook page these days. The meaning is obvious: you should do whatever you can to live life to the fullest, because no one lives forever. But too often people abuse the term, cheapening its worthwhile message by using...
Read more → 10 Apr 2013
Posted by etcetera By Anjulie Van Sickle As I watch and listen to the young lady holding her Bible, screaming at the top of her lungs about fire, brimstone and hell, I am rather ashamed. I’m ashamed because I, too, profess the same faith as she does. But unlike her, I am not as hot-tempered. As she preached, more...
Read more → 10 Apr 2013
Posted by etcetera By Taylor Wallace I love Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” It was my coming-of-age novel, realistically portraying parallels to my high school years. The book was written for a mature audience. However, a film adaptation of the novel was released last October with a PG-13...
Read more → 10 Apr 2013
Posted by etcetera By Ginny Morris I recently watched a segment on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” where an interviewer asked people on the street, “What do you think of President Obama’s decision to pardon the sequester and send it to Portugal?” The question purposely made no sense, but some people who apparently didn’t...
Read more → 10 Apr 2013
Posted by etcetera By Kametra Nickerson- Loud Many people can identify with different verses from the Bible, regardless of whether or not they are religious. In the book of Proverbs there is a verse that says, “Death and Life are in the power of the tongue.” This verse reminds me of the many trials I have faced...
Read more → 13 Mar 2013
Posted by etcetera By Claudia Guerra When my daughter was born, I wasn’t prepared for all the changes that followed. You have to be able to take a lot when you’re a new mom, and that includes knowing what advice to accept from others. Since day one, my mother has been a constant nagger about what I should and shouldn’t...
Read more → 13 Mar 2013
Posted by etcetera By Enrique Morales I am a music addict. I love my addiction for the pleasure it brings, yet I hate it for how much of my time it consumes. Because of this constant listening, I can recall any song after enough exposure to it. I can play all the songs I want in my mind, without an iPod, cellphone...
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