Opinions

For many Furman students, the specter of a high acceptance rate inspires irrational, unjustifiable fear. Although the acceptance rate cannot be officially calculated until after students have committed to Furman later this spring, the university received a lower number of applications than anticipated.

The first female president in Furman’s long history, Davis represents the possibility of change, of both treasuring and moving beyond a complex past, and of creating an institutional structure in which categories like race, gender, and sexuality are not barriers to achievement.

After winning the school’s first Southern Conference Championship in seven years, Furman’s football program has continued getting better with talented acquisitions on signing day. Twenty-two players have officially signed with the Paladins, including eight skill position players.

Tucked in the YWCA building off Augusta Road is one of the offices of the South Carolina Victim Assistance Network. Established in 1985, SCVAN has provided “immediate and holistic” services to victims of assault, kidnapping, human trafficking, rape, domestic violence, and other crimes.

Furman has just announced its 12th president, and her name is Dr. Elizabeth Davis. That’s right, a ‘her.’ While everyone is praising Furman for hiring a female and rejoicing that we have a new president, I’m waiting to find out who she is, both as an individual and as an academic leader.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has become, for many Americans, a tired issue. The law has been a flashpoint for national debate since the election of Barack Obama in 2008. No matter how tired we are of hearing about the law, it is important to remember what we were promised when it was passed in March of 2010.

There is no arguing that Greenville is a beautiful city. A walk down Main Street to Falls Park on the Reedy or a bike ride on Swamp Rabbit Trail are wonderful escapes from campus life. As a high school senior, the city of Greenville was a major selling point when I was choosing a college. Now, as a Furman senior looking back at my past four years, I can say I have fully explored everything the city has to offer.

By now you may have watched Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl commercial, a 60 second ad of girls of multiple ethnicities singing “America the Beautiful” in their native tongues. If so, you may also know that many people have tweeted negative comments about the advertisement, accusing it of being unpatriotic and disrespectful, demanding that the song be sung only in English.

While many students use partying as an opportunity to let go of their inhibitions and have a good time, our inhibitions also serve an important purpose. Many fail to acknowledge the dangers that arise when alcohol meets poor judgment. Between 20 and 25 percent of women will experience an attempted or completed rape during their time at college.

Small talk. The short, terse answers are the essence of a first impression. And first impressions stick. They cling onto you until a deeper friendship is formed. Unfortunately, small talk for me and many other international students is rather stressful.

Our generation has grown up with a very different set of ethics when it comes to consumption of cultural products like music, photographs, and movies. In our internet age, these commodities are instantly and freely available. As a result, we tend to value these items less.

Over the past few years, Furman has added a number of minors and concentrations, programs that allow students to study a particular topic or subject without committing to the extensive course load of a major. The newest of these concentrations, the Humanities interdisciplinary minor, gives students the ability to construct their own plan of study.

Do you use Snapchat? I used to use the popular smart phone app. But after some careful thinking, I decided that it was harmful to my mental health.

At the end of the holiday break, the student body received an email from Tom Saccenti, Furman’s police chief, updating students on changes in the regulations for mopeds on campus, which require that moped owners attend a two-hour seminar, and outlining specific penalties for moped-related infractions.

On Feb. 2, 1965, Joseph Vaughn became the first African-American undergraduate student to enroll at Furman, along with three African-American graduate students admitted to the university’s graduate education program. This realized the policy approved by Furman’s Board of Trustees the year before and reaffirmed immediately prior to Vaughn’s enrollment — racial integration.

Every day, thousands of people get out of bed, do a full day’s work, all without making any money. This internship culture — in which people are compelled and even required to work in the hope of intangible rewards or advances in an uncertain economy — is detrimental to both individuals and to our society at large.

Three weeks ago, we acted on our own behalf as concerned students disappointed in our beloved university for bringing such a divisive speaker to campus to celebrate such a historical event. Three weeks ago we protested the Rev. Jesse Jackson outside of McAlister Auditorium during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement.

This past summer, Furman’s new website officially went online, and has since received mixed reviews of the way in which it presents this university. Some claim that the new and improved interface is sleeker a presents a more coherent, more accessible, and more compelling picture of the university to prospective students. Others have criticized the website for flaws in presentation, arguing that the new website prioritizes form and appeal over depth and content.

Ask any of your artistic friends about their conversation with their parents explaining why they want to “do art” for a living. Many will tell you that, in trying to convince their families that art is a viable and meaningful pursuit, they were met with hostility or concern.

At its best, virtual technology connects people and simplifies basic tasks. At its worst, virtual technology can separate, regulate, disconnect, and complicate what should be simple tasks. Now, during the three-year review of Furman’s use of the program, is the time to move Furman’s utilization of OrgSync from the latter end of the spectrum to the former.

The Shi Center hosted its annual Arbor Day event this past week to celebrate and provide service for the many beautiful trees on Furman’s campus. Traditionally, Arbor Day has been a day of service, the most popular way of celebrating and showing appreciation for trees being to plant them. This year, Furman was able to do just that and so much more.

The First Amendment right to freedom of speech is one of our most important values as Americans. This right is what two Furman students cited when asked to step back from the front steps of McAlister Auditorium before the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s address on Wednesday night. Representing a controversial conservative student group on campus, the two students arrived early to the Cultural Life Program to pass out a replica of the official Furman University event program.

Choosing which college to attend should not be a simple and straightforward decision. There is so much information to process in determining the worth of a college that no one can reduce that value to a single number or percentage. Median SAT/ACT scores, founding year, professor to student ratio, percentage of freshman who return — these numbers are all subject to interpretation.

Major changes have taken place in the Dining Hall since last semester. Besides the new choices of food, nutritional information is now available and displayed for some of the meals. Although not always the most reliable source of information, the app “CampusDish” allows students to see what will be offered that day in the DH, along with estimations of nutritional content.

What should be the role of athletics on a university campus? This question is important in the context of both recent developments on Furman’s campus and in higher education generally. This past weekend, Furman played LSU’s football team, a nationally-ranked program with two BCS championships in the past 10 years. This question about the role of athletics is one of the many questions that Furman students, administrators, staff, faculty, and alumni must confront in achieving a vision for Furman in uncertain and volatile times.