What we call the beginning is often the end

And to make and end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.

(T. S. Eliot, Little Gidding)

Last week I turned 22 and next week I will hand in the last essay of my undergraduate career. If, like me, you’ve followed the general timetable set forth by the modern education system, then these two events have occurred reasonably near each other for you also. Of course, some of you will be 21 or 26 or 45 when you walk across that stage, shake hands with the president, and giddily grasp that fake diploma.

After the Fraser Health Authority decided we had too much arsenic in our water, Trinity Western University was forced to give students as much clean, tasty water as they could handle. I moved off campus this year, so I was kind of miffed that I missed my chance to drink water at TWU that didn’t taste like goose poop.

Peter Schultz

First of all, circumcision downright looks better. It’s trim; it’s clean cut. We males get our hair cut and faces shaved for the same reason that we get circumcised. We, the circumcised, look good not only for ourselves, but for the opposite gender. I ask all of you males: do you want your wife traumatized on your wedding night at sight of that hideous serpent-style look you’ve got happening down there? Don’t be a shmut! Get it cut!

Who wants to have a slimy, bacteria-festering environment on the tip of their penis? It’s a haven for body sweat. And fungus. And STDs. AIDS would be severely reduced in Africa if circumcision was administered.

One of my favourite musicals is the Disney classic, Newsies. In this film, Jack ‘Cowboy’ Kelly and his band of turn-of-the-century paperboys print a single page that seeks to revolutionize child labour laws.

This idea has always fascinated me. The thought that the printed word can bring justice and reveal truth; the power of a page to change the world.

Last weekend I attended the Associated Collegiate Press conference in Portland, Ore., and learned that such printed pages are quickly becoming obsolete. I was shocked to find that over a third of the seminars offered were directly related to online news media.

Guilty pleasures – we all have them, and even more so, we all want to have them. I must admit that while I have many, perhaps the “sinful” indulgence that sits highest on my naughty list is my obsession with the now defunct television show, Sex and the City.

With the series having gone off the air in 2004, I am one of those completely unoriginal bandwagon-jumpers who latched onto the series when available in TBS rerun and DVD format only. It’s not that I didn’t know the series existed while airing on HBO, it’s that I originally chose not to watch it for moral reasons. Featuring episode titles such as “The F*** Buddy” and “Politically Erect,” as well as the guarantee to see a bare breast or two almost every episode, I decided the show was completely inappropriate for a young Christian female to watch.

This weekend, those of us taking Paul Rowe’s class in Globalization and Governance had the opportunity to experience a Model United Nations. Each of us adopted the role of an assigned country and met on Saturday morning to discuss the topic of “Peacebuilding,” with the intent of allocating an imaginary $100 million to the most deserving countries. As a firm believer in the potentiality of the United Nations to make a positive difference in the globe for the betterment of the developing nations, the whole experience was full of letdown, frustration, and disappointment in the international regime that I have been so intent on championing.

What does Simon Cowell have in common with Heather Mills? How are Pamela Anderson and Fall Out Boy similar? While these celebrities may be very different in terms of personality, they all agree on one thing: animals have rights.

In an interview, the usually cold-hearted Cowell said that he finds the fur trade disturbing, especially the way that dogs are skinned alive. This puts Cowell in alliance with hundreds of animal rights groups around the world. One of the taglines of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the activist group at the forefront of the animal rights movement, is that “Animals are not ours to use.”

In the years before I came to Trinity Western University, I promised myself I would avoid student debt at all costs. This year I will break that promise.

In high school, I worked as much as possible and saved every dollar I could for my education. While this drive instilled the discipline necessary to achieve what I thought I needed, I have realized now that reaching that goal would cause me to shut down my dreams.