Bravo to ASU breaking enrollment records that both fill the campus malls with sweaty bodies and jam up the Blackboard traffic. Freshman-to-sophomore retention rates have also climbed to 83 percent — almost a 10 percent rise since the mid-2000s. While it’s possible this could be linked to taking Facebook breaks while writing those 10-page papers, as a recent study published in the Journal of College Student Retention suggests, we’ll give at least some credit to the University for this one. (But think of all the networking possibilities that the 70,400 students enrolled at ASU could do for your blog, club and other self-promotion.) Props to the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and the College of Nursing and Health Innovation for drawing the most sudents.
Boo to the first "Sparky Stampede" of the school year. Led by Sparky and several ASU cheerleaders this “march” to Sparky’s Game Day tailgate was another attempt to get students motivated for the game. The only problem is that students didn’t show up. Heat, thirst for beer or maybe just other tomfoolery kept them away. Whatever the case, phase one of the "Sparky Stampede" could easily be labeled as a failure, but we can try again this week.
Bravo to the one-year anniversary of the Post-9/11 GI Bill that has given hundreds of veterans the opportunity to proudly sport the red, white and blue beneath the maroon and gold. It’s been nine years since the fall of the Twin Towers, and since then thousands of Americans have given their lives in the name of preventing future attacks. After years of sending troops on long tours and asking them to leave their families to protect this nation, its freedom and that of suppressed areas in the Middle East, we can only hope they return with every door wide open for them. Though still in its infancy, this law appears to be doing just that.
Boo to pyro-pastor Terry Jones of Gainesville, Fla., and all the attention and confusion he has instigated. Jones got the media all hyped up on the latest anti-Muslim craze with his recently deflated intentions to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11. After siphoning worldwide attention and bringing more bad press for a proposed Islamic center a few blocks from ground zero, Jones said he conceded under the impression that the “ground zero mosque” would be moved at his whim. Then he said he was “rethinking” that decision, since he had no confirmation that the mosque would actually be moved. After a confusing day of mixed messages, we really just want the hysteria and intolerance to cease.
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