This week we brought attention to the human element in the immigration debate, handed out kudos to the Occupy Wall Street movement and reflected on the importance of ousting the Lord’s Resistance Army. Meanwhile, the rest of the Pac-12 offered thoughts on overworking yourself, incredibly horrid discipline actions by parents and the hypocrisy of the anti-abortion activists.

The Stanford Daily

Stanford University

I’ve been working at a clothing store at the Stanford Shopping Mall for the last three weeks. (I won’t say which one, because that would start us down a path that inevitably leads to “Sorry, I can’t get you a discount.”) I’ve loved working with the staff and managers there, but the job definitely has its difficulties. I’ve had to learn colors. While I’ve mastered the standard Crayola eight pack, most of the female customers are operating with the deluxe 256 pack. (Them: “Excuse me, this dress is violet, and we were looking for it in periwinkle.” Me: “Uh …it looks purple. But I’ll go look for … a different purple.”) … But the hardest thing about working in retail so far has been quitting … Every time I thought about quitting (which is a gazillion times while folding shirts for eight hours), all of these voices appeared in my head to talk me out of it. “You’re just being weak. Plenty of other college kids are working while going to school.” “Tough it out. You just need to prioritize your time better.” “You need to make money. Don’t be a quitter.” I kept buying into these voices … It’s impossible for me to do and be everything to everyone all the time, so I need to stop pretending like I can.

— “Do’s and Doo-Doo’s: How to be an amazing quitter” by Chase Ishii

State Press

Arizona State University

As a parent, it’s pretty much a guarantee you’re going to force your kids into participating in a few unwanted family activities, such as summer road trips or family game nights. You justify your actions with lectures of “family bonding” and the “you’re going off to college soon” mantra. It’s OK, your children will eventually get it. Stuff like this is a normal part of growing up, and at some point, they’ll come to miss it, just like you did. That is, unless that forced family activity turns into being brutally beaten for two hours in a sword fight with your “Renaissance fighter” father, against your will, all in the middle of the night. And that is exactly the kind of “family bonding” the 16-year-old stepdaughter of Fremon Seay, 38, had to endure … So why exactly did Fremon Seay brutally force his daughter into unfair combat, with his apathetic wife as an audience? Discipline. “The couple told officers they punished the teen for going to a party without their permission,” reported MSNBC. Right, because that behavior is completely unprecedented in teenagers. After the initial beating, Seay, who I remind you is a 38-year-old, 300 lb. brick wall of a man, was reported as saying, “Now that you’re 16, we can fight. Go put on your armor.” I’m pretty sure that logic wouldn’t fly even in the most “ye olde” of Renaissance-era courts.

— “Father injures teenage stepdaughter in two-hour swordfight” by David Sydiongco

The Daily Evergreen

Washington State University

Denying a pregnant woman facing medical complications risks both the life of the child and the mother. If an individual has designated himself or herself as a “pro-life” supporter, they cannot be selective about which life they are supporting. By advocating strictly in favor of the unborn, by taking away a mother’s voice, an individual is not ultimately advocating for what is in the best interest for both lives at stake. At that point, you begin to measure the value of one life against the next, and frankly, it is not your job to play God. Whether you are “pro-life” or “pro-choice,” there is no denying the blatant inconsistencies and, frankly, contradictions the American public is creating. More than half of the United States votes “pro-life,” yet, according to the Washington Post, “only about one-in-ten (11 percent) Americans hold a ‘consistent ethic of life’ position, opposing legalized abortion and capital punishment,”… Being “pro-life” cannot simply be designated to “in favor of life only for unborn children.” Supporting life by jeopardizing another is not being “pro-life.” It is being sacrificial with the rights of others. You completely disregard the value of life and render your position discreditable. The broad-based American public has no problem with committing a criminal to death, or sacrificing the life of a mother, but it advocates for the unborn.

— “Most ‘pro-life’ supporters are hypocrites”

By Taylor Kowalski