Bravo to the end of the semester. We still have finals week to stress about and get through, but we’re ready to take a break from school. Spring 2010 has definitely had its ups and downs, but we’re glad to see the tail end of the semester go by. The one thing we might miss? Springtime weather. The temperature is already starting to rise and, by the time graduation rolls around, we expect soaring highs. Still, we would brave several months of dry heat over essay exams any day.
Boo to the college students’ ball and chain — the unavoidable unpaid internship. While the number of internships is rising, the legality of unpaid positions is questionable at best. Standards set by the federal government show that interns must, among other things, receive training similar to that of an academic institution and their work must not immediately benefit the company. Basically, the company shouldn’t be raking in loads of cash for work you do for nada. But many companies aren’t meeting these standards, according to a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute. So before you sign your life away in the name of “professional experience,” check to see what you’ll be getting in return — what internship employers often don’t want you to know is that your time is worth something, after all.
Bravo to the ASU football team. The football team recently welcomed its newest Sun Devil, 3-year old Kyle Oden. Kyle has a pediatric brain tumor called Neurofibromatosis that has already left him nearly blind in one eye. The team adopted him through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, and now Kyle has his own locker in the ASU locker room, complete with his own personalized nameplate and jersey. Often we hear about athletes in trouble, but this is one case in particular where the ASU football team stepped up and did an amazing thing. Welcome to the Sun Devil family, Kyle. Boo to a Mississippi school for cutting a student out of its yearbook. Officials at Wessen Attendance Center refused to allow Ceara Sturgis, an openly gay 17-year-old student, wear a tuxedo for her yearbook photo, an outfit usually reserved for males, according to the Associated Press. But it didn’t stop there. Sturgis enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union to appeal the decision, but when the yearbook came out, not only was there no photo of Sturgis — any reference to her was missing entirely. Mississippi isn’t looking so great; another high school recently banned a lesbian student from bringing a same-sex date to prom. High school is a formative experience, and cutting one student out of the yearbook to prove a point or attempt to revise history is just shameful.
Bravo to Police Chief John Pickens. With nearly a decade of work at the University, the head of ASU Police has overhauled the department. Pickens has added Tasers to the police arsenal, changed methods of transportation for officers around campus and even added the department’s first K-9 unit. That’s just the beginning of the impressive changes Pickens has led, and he’s done them with a “spirit of philosophy of community,” said Jay Spradling, assistant police chief. Pickens certainly deserves a shout-out for his work to keep ASU safe.
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