As his college days come to a close, Mike Wacker '10 considers what it takes to make an impact on the Hill.

The Student Assembly's attempt to eradicate discriminatory practices in student groups' leadership through Resolution 44 represents a clear repudiation of the First Amendment, according to columnist Mike Wacker '10.

In the wake of the horrendous sex abuse scandal which has afflicted the Catholic Church, criticism of Catholicism in its current form has exploded. Certainly much of the criticism comes with good reason, but simultaneously, one can sense that some critics seem to have a few other motivating factors behind their critiques of the Catholic Church, factors unrelated to the scandal itself.

Sun columnist Peter Finocchiaro ‘10 and New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd have both written on this scandal. Given the topic of these columns, you would expect that if you removed any content not directly related to the sex abuse scandal from them, the columns would contain almost nothing. But instead of nothing, you would find a laundry list of complaints about Catholic doctrines or beliefs, complaints often made outside the context of a sex abuse scandal.

I have noticed a buzzword culture at Cornell. If you want to grab attention on this campus, the easiest way involves attaching a word like sustainability, diversity or transparency to your cause. Even if your idea is half-baked or has little to do in practice with said buzzword, simple patronage goes a long way.