Boo to Groupon’s insensitive Tibet commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. “The people of Tibet are in trouble. Their very culture is in jeopardy,” the narrator of the ad said. The next line of the ad? “But they still whip up an amazing fish curry,” the narrator said. The people at Groupon lure their viewer in by presenting a real plight. Then, for good measure, they try to sell you on Groupon by letting you know that there are discounts for Tibetan food. Sure we enjoy Tibetan food and good deals, but not at the expense of human rights.
Bravo to earth and space exploration junior Jim Cromwell, who spent several weeks in Utah over winter break simulating a Mars mission. While on the mission each member had to do their own research. Cromwell took panoramic pictures of the simulated environment and compared them to satellite images to help get a better understanding of how the Mars landscape looks based on satellite images. It’s amazing when a student has such an understanding of their field that they are able to make a splash on the national level even before they graduate.
Boo, once again, to Arizona … this time for suing the federal government. Gov. Jan Brewer and Attorney General Tom Horne announced Thursday they filed the suit on grounds that the federal government has failed to secure the border. This is a countersuit to the federal government’s case against Arizona last summer over Senate Bill 1070, the state’s controversial immigration law. The results of that lawsuit so far have all but invalidated SB 1070, so Arizona is striking back. Confused? We are too.
Bravo to ASU Police and the Coalition for Mall Safety. The police and coalition teamed up recently to consider new safety rules for traveling around campus. Ideas include placing some restrictions on bikes and skateboards on campus to a complete bike ban. Partial restriction ideas include a ban on all bikes, skateboards and other ways to get around campus from the busiest hours on campus, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bike lanes are also on the table, but seem less likely. Whatever the outcome, we’re excited to see reform on the way. Hopefully it comes before we’re all run down by those renegade bikers.
Boo to the end of the "Guitar Hero" video game series. "Guitar Hero" gave a generation hope that we may indeed be rock stars one day — even if it is only for a couple hours on Friday and Saturday nights. This means that "Rock Band" has won out. While we appreciate the game, the music game genre of video games has suffered a brutal loss this week. Activision, the maker of the games, said it was no longer profiting from the series of games. This is a lose-lose situation. Game developers get laid off and video game fans lose one of the cornerstone games of the industry.
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