GOOD GRIEF: Perfecting the student-professor relationship

You heard it on Accepted Candidates' Day; you read it in all of the glossy literature you took home after your first, second and fifth campus tour; you may even be one of the esteemed individuals placed in the privileged position of relaying it to doe-eyed prospects, but you still question it — "it" being that inescapable, uniquely Villanovan notion that professors here are more than classroom figures.

THE WAY I SEE IT: Cell phone upgrades hinder independence

New models do just about everything, not necessarily a benefit

I have an iPhone. Before that, I had a hot pink Motorola RAZR that I thought was pretty cool. Needless to say, once I had made the switch and gotten over the loss of buttons — trust me, it was difficult — I realized that my new phone was the equivalent to Superman, if Superman were my own personal assistant.

THE HOT BUTTON: Words, subconscious dialect shape perception of reality

Do our words shape reality, or does reality shape our words? That's the question a professor proposed to my communication class the other day. At first I thought the answer was simple: Reality occurs, and then society puts words and names to it in order to communicate ideas.

EDITORIAL: Wireless problems must be reported

If you live on campus — or even if you don't — you've probably noticed the less-than-ideal state of the University's wireless performance over the past month or so. Between multiple prompts to enter student credentials and many laptops' occasional inability to detect any of the two University networks, students are understandably agitated at their lack of connectivity on a supposedly wireless campus.

MIND AND MATTER: How to avoid complacency

Complacency. Dictionary.com defines it as "a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc."  It's an easy thing to fall into.

RABBLE, RABBLE: Fake news: first step to an informed public?

A generation regarded Walter Cronkite as the most trusted man in America, and so his passing in 2007 left a void. Who then do Americans turn to for reliable news? Many news anchors possess an agenda and degrade themselves to caricatures to increase ratings, at the expense of distorting the news.

THE HOT BUTTON: Think before you post

"Jumping off the gw bridge sorry."  Is this what the world has come to? A kid posts his suicide announcement as a Facebook status, but only after his private sexual encounters were secretly recorded and posted on the Internet via webcam. The explosion of the Internet and related technologies are typically regarded as phenomenal and extremely beneficial.

BRICKS TO BABEL: Emerging from ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's masterpiece, "One Hundred Years of Solitude," was hailed as the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be mandatory reading for the entire human race. With his use of magical realism, metaphor and shimmering imagery, Marquez essentially compresses centuries of Latin America's turbulent history into the fatalistically recurring narrative of a fictional town named Macondo.

EDITORIAL: Students and local commerce

Right down the street from campus, we have begun to see tangible evidence of the toll the economy has taken on the town, most notably in the scattering of empty storefronts along Lancaster Avenue.  It's difficult to gauge how much student spending contributes to local commerce, according to an article in "The Annals of Regional Science," which offered an explanation for the problem of accurately determining how the expenditure of college students impacts a local economy — namely, the great variance in student spending patterns.

BRICKS TO BABEL: One little box could revolutionize energy

Small nuclear reactors combine energy efficiency of larger plants with increased safety

Around 1.5 million people, or more than a fifth of the world's population, have no access to electricity. A billion more have only an unreliable and intermittent supply of electricity. Of the people without electricity, 85 percent live in rural areas or in areas on the margins of cities where extending energy grids would be expensive.

RABBLE, RABBLE: For government, trust is earned, not assumed

Every movie about Nazi Germany includes two things. First, there is either a book burning or a casual statement likening a book burning to a cocktail party. Second, the clichéd, "Show me your papers!" (which is exclusively said as an exclamation) is often repeated in the same scene.

EDITORIAL: Core curriculum reduced at last

Recently, the Villanova School of Business's core curriculum underwent some significant changes, beginning with the class of 2012. At the time of the change, it had been 12 years since the core was last restructured. Now, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is preparing to revamp its notoriously rigid core curriculum for the first time since 1988.

(IT IS) WHAT IT IS: Participation in break trips sets Villanova apart

One downside to having a break trip program as well-established as Villanova's is the inevitability that interested participants must be somewhat competitive to become involved.  The application process requires legitimate reflection about your desire to serve, as well as a time commitment extending beyond the actual week-long break.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

  As a concerned alumnus, I am sincerely disappointed that The Villanovan failed to run a fact-based news article on the rumored football move-up to FBS discussed in Kerns' "University expansion should align with mission" piece in last week's issue.

GOOD GRIEF: I give a damn about our reputation

I was quite certain upon the submission of my Common Application that I wanted to be a communication major. The decision to pursue this field was, and is, something I take seriously, because it is something I reap joy from. Charge me with foolish optimism, but I find it logical for people to pursue paths (in the undergraduate realm or elsewhere) that concern what they want, what they love or could learn to love.

THE XX FILES: Deconstructing the problem of hate speech and slurs

Dr. Laura Schlessinger said it. Several times. On air. To a caller, in fact. And we flinched each time the clip played on the news program's loop. We squirmed in our seats, even though we were far away from the studio, because we've been told of the word's bitter foundation in times when blacks were subjected to outward violence and disingenuous laws that not only made their second-class status permissible but also incontestable — an accepted and normalized societal arrangement.

EDITORIAL: For rugby, time to return and redeem

Rugby is now officially recognized by the University, and along with that recognition come several important privileges. Perhaps most importantly, the rugby team may now compete here on campus in Villanova Stadium, which will allow them to draw far better support from the student body than when they were forced to play games off-campus.

EDITORIAL: Speculation shouldn't overshadow season

With the future viability of the Big East conference in doubt, Villanova began exploring the feasibility of a move to big-time college football.  No, we're not talking about the events of the last week, although the above passage certainly fits.

EDITORIAL: Speculation shouldn't overshadow season

With the future viability of the Big East conference in doubt, Villanova began exploring the feasibility of a move to big-time college football.  No, we're not talking about the events of the last week, although the above passage certainly fits.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

  As a concerned alumnus, I am sincerely disappointed that The Villanovan failed to run a fact-based news article on the rumored football move-up to FBS discussed in Kerns' "University expansion should align with mission" piece in last week's issue.

BRICKS TO BABEL: How to cure a terrorist

Factors behind radicalization must be recognized

  Is it possible to deradicalize a terrorist? Saudi Arabia's Care Rehabilitation Center located in Riyadh claims it is. The innovative and highly expensive Saudi rehabilitation program has been extraordinarily successful at reintegrating convicted terrorists into society through religious education, psychological counseling and support for finding a job.

MIND AND MATTER: Day of Service success seen beyond single event

  Two days from now, over 4,000 members of the Villanova community, both on campus and around the nation, will gather together and then go out into the community for the fifth annual St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service. As was indicated in the video message promoting the Day of Service sent out a few weeks ago, the event began as a part of the inauguration festivities for the University President and has developed into a major celebration of what Villanova does   as a community, as well as a reminder of the University's greater aspirations.

(IT IS) WHAT IT IS: Don’t just work for the weekend

  Probably the most appealing thing about a weekend is the intoxicating freedom from routine that it brings. It is a pervasive Villanova habit to fill the weeks with work and productivity and the weekends with play.  The weekends are liberating because we are free to enjoy ourselves with friends, catch up with family and indulge in the things that we  love to do.

BRICKS TO BABEL: How to cure a terrorist

Factors behind radicalization must be recognized

  Is it possible to deradicalize a terrorist? Saudi Arabia's Care Rehabilitation Center located in Riyadh claims it is. The innovative and highly expensive Saudi rehabilitation program has been extraordinarily successful at reintegrating convicted terrorists into society through religious education, psychological counseling and support for finding a job.

THE WAY I SEE IT: Upholding constitutional rights in the age of terror

  I was studying in London this summer when the debate began on whether their government could or would implement the burka ban. Since I generally struggle to get my daily intake of news on the national level, I was unaware that French Parliament had already implemented this in January of this year.

EDITORIAL: Hope amid bleak job market?

  While a few, such as senior Dan Kelly, who recently took home the title of World Series of Poker champion and a hefty sum, may already have some degree of post-graduate financial certainty, most of today's college seniors will enter an exceedingly difficult job market without that same security.

THE WAY I SEE IT: Stressing over the modern career search

  So you have completed your spotless résumé; you have carefully constructed a format that succeeds in limiting your life to one page but gives the impression that you, the well-rounded student in question, have done it all. You are proud of your numbers but know that the words are just as important, and they must be perfect.

EDITORIAL: A goodbye to our seniors

As final exams, term papers and graduation approach, we'd like to use some space here to thank the seniors who have dedicated their college careers to this publication before — and even after — passing  it on to us in January. In addition to the countless writers, photographers and copy editors who have shared their talents each week to make The Villanovan possible, we must bid adieu to the senior editors who have, each in his or her own way, made an indelible impact on this paper.

EDITORIAL: Concert not the answer

We are tired of writing about the end of NovaFest, and we are sure you're tired of reading about it. But the anti-climactic fizzle that ended the NovaFest anticipation last weekend merits comment.  If there is any lesson to be learned from last weekend's spring concert, it is that a concert is not the best forum for a spring social event at this University.

SENIOR COLUMNIST: 116 articles, 2 handshakes and a desk

When this issue hits campus, I will have written 116 articles. Already in the books are 24 sports sections and one magazine. There were hours upon hours of work in preparation for all of this. Yet, when it's over, what I will remember most are two handshakes and one circular desk.

MIND AND MATTER: Irish poets visit campus

Thirty of the 31 Augustinians who have held the presidency of the University bear names that appear to be of Irish origin.  That link notwithstanding, the first Augustinians to come to this country were from Ireland, and their confreres founded this institution.

SAY ANYTHING: The grave danger posed by 'sex addiction'

Let's talk about sex.  Are you having it? Do you wish you had more? Do you think about it too often?  If you answered yes to any of these questions or are a male human, you may be suffering from the dreadful ailment that is sexual addiction.

NOT FOR NOTHIN': True meaning of college revealed

The morning I left for Villanova, or really just the end of the long night before, my friends posed the question, "Amy, are you ready for college?" I looked at them sitting on the floor of my room, crouched on my bed, and said, "Well, sure, I just need to throw a few things together, right?" We picked up things from the floor of my room, grabbed some underwear, socks, hangers, my electric keyboard, a few pens, running shoes, a lucky shot glass and a sleeping bag.

HEARTS OF OAK: Senior's parting thoughts

About a year ago, I was sitting on a picnic table in Solitaire, Namibia, a town that 12 people regularly call home. In a place so small that the daily news is written on a large chalkboard, to say that everyone who lives there knows one another's name would be a slight understatement.