Bravo to J.K. Rowling — just in general. Earlier this year, it was reported her status as a billionaire was downgraded because she gave so much to charity (and paid her dues in high British taxes). This week she told "60 Minutes" she doesn't regret it and feels indebted to a system that helped her when she "fell on hard times." And she released a new book! It was the number one book on Amazon — before it was even released. "The Casual Vacancy" should keep all the Harry Potter fans from crying over the fact that the Second Wizarding War is complete.
Boo to the people in ASU shirts who, in a photo that's gone viral and circulated through multiple media outlets, posed a baby doing a keg stand. Not only does it make ASU look bad in general, but it also reaffirms the notion that the University is a "party school." A child drinking, even if it’s posed, is never cool.
Bravo to six students at Cornell University for effectively trolling The New York Times. The Times published an article Friday detailing the decline of the bar as an initial meeting place for college students and the rise texting instead. (As if we didn't already know this.) Six students photographed and found in an Ithaca, New York bar do not match listings in the Cornell student directory despite identifying themselves as such. The writer and her editors dealt with it swiftly, but in the age of the Internet, everyone figured it out pretty quickly.
Boo to the death of the panda cub at the National Zoo on Sunday. Panda conservation is challenging, as the species is stubborn and lazy when it comes to reproduction. Not the first animals that need help from doctors to get pregnant, the fate of these species lies within the hands of humans, and the death of the cub is a huge disappointment for animal conservation specialists.
Bravo to National Voter Registration Day registering nearly 200,000 new voters. Voting is incredibly important — especially if you're a protester on Hayden Lawn. It's amazing that so many new people will have the option to have their voices heard both in the presidential race and in local elections. P.S. You can still go to nationalvoterregistrationday.org/register-to-vote to register. (And how to request absentee ballots if you're out-of-state!)
Boo to the ASU network services outage Thursday. The University did a good job of keeping students and faculty updated and getting everything fixed within the day, but this was just one more in a string of network issues in 2012, starting with January's blackout. How many unexpected issues have to come up before we figure out how to keep our web and computer services working? On the bright side, we're all relieved with homework extensions.
Bravo to student government leaders for nearly universally leaving the Associated Students Association because of their concerns that ASA is not adequately representing ASU's students. The presidents of the Tempe, Polytechnic and Downtown campuses all resigned their roles on the organization's Board of Directors during the past month, while the West campus president refused his position at the beginning of the year. The campus presidents' united stand demonstrates solidarity against the organization, which prohibited them from speaking out against any ASA policies, including some that benefited UA and NAU and not ASU.
Boo to Gov. Jan Brewer’s chief of staff attempting to get a position with the Arizona Board of Regents. The revolving door typically involves businesses and positions in politics, which is almost easier to stomach than a decidedly partisan politician interviewing for the presidency of one of the most far-reaching organizations to serve the University. Let’s keep ABOR as non-partisan as possible.
Bravo to the return of the real NFL referees. While the full-time officials were locked out due to a labor dispute, fans became frustrated and angered at their spotty replacements, notably the way the temporary refs handled the controversial outcome of the Packers-Seahawks game. The real officials called their first game Thursday night featuring the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns. Fans enjoyed the refs’ debut, but it’s only a matter of time before everything goes back to normal and the real officials will be blamed for everything.
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