Daily Utah Chronicle
University of Utah
“Law change exposes male-based culture”
The controversy over President Obama’s new contraception law reveals a flaw in our society — we live in a patriarchy.
On Friday, Obama announced a compromise on his administration’s new contraception rule in order to accommodate religiously affiliated employers. The new rule moves the responsibility of paying for and providing contraception from employers to insurers.
Obama’s accommodation is reasonable. It shows he is self-aware, humble and apt to listen and learn. It is also good politics, as it defuses the sort of hot-button, culture war controversy conservatives love to exploit.
Whose business is women’s sexual and reproductive freedom? As in most cases, it’s appropriate to invoke Lady Gaga. We look to her song “Scheiße.”
Scheiße is translated most literally as “shit.” The first line of Scheiße is, “I don’t speak German but I can if you like.”
The word “you” references men, implying that the pressures of patriarchal society are such that women feel a constant need to please and appease men in order to feel worthy, purposeful and valuable. Women are at the mercy of male decision-makers and the society in which we live is still predominantly patriarchal, as reflected by Obama’s accommodation of the Catholic church, whose hierarchy is strictly male.
Gaga continues, “Put on a show tonight, do whatever you like. Scheiße, Scheiße, be mine; Scheiße, be mine.” That women assume inferior roles and are made to “do whatever” men ask is the implication here.
Although Obama’s decision was mostly sound, the problem is the culture in which that decision was made — one where men with a regressive conception of power influence an issue of female freedom so that the president is forced to change his mind. That culture is what needs to be rethought.
— Jake Rush, Feb. 14 issue
CU Independent
University of Colorado
“College, Cardio and Carrots: Losing the weight in college”
When the freshman 15 turns into the sophomore 20, the junior 30 or the senior 50 — you’ve got a serious problem on your hands.
During college, we’re so focused on feeding our minds that we can ignore what we’re feeding our stomachs. And before you know it, your weight can slip out of control. That’s what happened to me.
Personally, weight has been a life-long battle, except for a brief point in high school where I dropped tons of weight magically due to unhealthy methods like skipping meals and dehydration. But when college came, I gained significantly more than those dreaded 15 pounds.
As the years went on, I noticed the problem getting worse. But my excuse was always, “I’m too busy to deal with that right now.” With a full plate of classes, internships, extra curricula and a social life, weight loss was not my biggest priority.
It all came to a boil when I realized that my weight was affecting my everyday life, which was a first for me. I’ve always had friends, never been teased and avoided all physical activities that might result in embarrassment. Last semester, I noticed that my dress size had ballooned to 3XL. I would pause to catch my breath after climbing a small flight of stairs. I was eating out every day. And worst of all, I had trouble fitting in the desks in lecture halls.
It was a “how did I let this happen?” kind of moment. …
Symbolically, college might be the perfect time to reclaim your life. As you transition to adulthood, you leave behind a younger, more naive self. You might as well leave behind that weight you never want to see again.
— Amanda Moutinho, Feb. 7 issue
Daily Bruin
UCLA
“Proposition 8 overturned”
The church bells aren’t ringing yet for same-sex couples in California, but a federal court of appeals ruled Tuesday that Proposition 8, the ballot measure banning same-sex marriages, was unconstitutional and should be repealed.
By a vote of 2-to-1, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided to enforce the ruling of the now-retired U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker who struck down Proposition 8 and concluded that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marriage.
Tuesday’s ruling, however, did not seem to consider the federal right of same-sex couples to marry, referring instead to the violation of the 14th Amendment, which says that no state law may limit the rights of it citizens.
Should the case be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court as it is expected to, however, I would wager Proposition 8 will likely be found unconstitutional again, albeit not by unanimous decision.
With the Ninth Circuit’s narrow focus on the violation of the Constitution by a Californian ballot measure, even if the case isn’t appealed further, the impact would only apply to California and not change federal law against the recognition of same-sex marriages under the Defense of Marriage Act.
Regardless, should California become yet another state to recognize same-sex marriages by state law, it would certainly move forward, if not increase, the momentum started with New York’s removal of its own marriage laws in June of last year.
By next year, expect to hear wedding bells in the California air.
— Lucas Bensley, Feb. 8 issue
