1. Which is the better way to improve our public education system?
A. Throw more money at the problem.
B. Legislation enacting a voucher program.

2. How should the government best handle Social Security?
A. Place a greater tax burden on employers to cover costs.
B. Replace the current system with personal accounts.

3. Which best describes your feelings on the current tax system?
A. Taxes should be raised to fund more government programs.
B. Taxes should be cut to allow people to keep more of the money they earn.

4. Which best describes your choice as the better form of government?
A. A more centralized system.
B. Giving individual states more power.

5. Which should be a greater priority for the government?
A. Raise taxes and increase welfare.
B. Reduce the deficit and national debt.

6. How should the government handle issues of national security?
A. Have a focus group and ask the world for permission to defend our nation.
B. Maintain a strong military and bring to justice those who wish to do us harm.

If you answered more B’s than A’s you might be more conservative than you think. Conservatives believe in a strong military, smaller government and greater personal responsibility. Our country offers great opportunity to those who are willing to work for it. As a Conservative my greatest hope is that in her future, as in her glorious past, America will again appreciate and respect the achievements of her citizens. Conservatives recognize society is at its best when others accomplishments are viewed as incentives to succeed, lifting Americans up as far as their dreams will take them.

Below is a list of the 2006-2007 academic year student government officers and information on how to contact them:

President of Student Government
Amanda Kis
E-mail: Kisa@mville.edu
# * # * #
Chair of Finance Board
Andrew Berman
E-mail: Bermana@mville.edu
# * # * #
Vice President of Academics
Wilma Gonzalez
E-mail: Gonzalezw@mville.edu
# * # * #
Vice President of Student Affairs
Tiffany Pierce
E-mail: Piercet@mvillle.edu
# * # * #
Vice President of Finance
Angel Ramirez
Ramireza@mville.edu
# * # * #
Public Relations Chair
Sergio Gonzalez
E-mail: Gonzalezs@mville.edu
# * # * #
Secretary
Sophy Bonnet
E-mail: Bonnets@mville.edu
# * # * #
Senior Class Co-President
Chris Leo
E-mail: Leoc@mville.edu
Senior Class Co-President
Nicole Vourliotis
E-mail: Vourliotisn@mville.edu
# * # * #
Junior Class President
Kristina Cherubino
E-mail: Cherubinok@mville.edu
# * # * #
Sophomore Class President
Megan Ford
E-mail: Fordm@mville.edu
# * # * #
Freshman Class President
Amanda Minck
Mincka@mville.edu
# * # * #
Athletics Representative
Ikechi Okoronkwo
E-mail: Okoronkwoi@mville.edu
# * # * #
Academic Representative
Gabriel Mejia
Mejiag@mville.edu
# * # * #
Finance Board Representative
Phillip Berg
Bergp@mville.edu
# * # * #
Finance Board Representative
Frank Furbacher, Jr.
Furbacherf@mville.edu
# * # * #
Commuter Representative
Valerie Lopez
Lopezv@mville.edu
# * # * #
Community Service Representative
Danielle Flynn
Flynnd@mville.edu
# * # * #
International Student Representative
John-Paul Cheluget
E-mail: Chelugetj@mville.edu
# * # * #
Residence Hall Representative
Daniel Parzow
E-mail: Parzowd@mville.edu

Every day when we go to the cafeteria to have breakfast and/or lunch, a smiling face always welcomes us at the door. Every one of you knows whom I am talking about, Rosa. I have the pleasure to say that I interviewed the sweet Hispanic woman at the door of the cafeteria who swipes our ID’s on a daily basis. Her full name is Rosa Roldan and she is originally from Lima, Peru. She came to the United States in 1991 and has only returned to her home country once after arriving in the United States, in 1995. She started working for Flik on the Manhattanville Campus in 1997, by reference of a friend who used to work here. Ever since then she has been here to welcome us to the dining hall with her smile.

When it comes to family, Rosa has three children: two sons, Jose Luis and Luis Humberto, and a daughter, Rosa Maria, who have given her the gift of six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. It is common to see her great-grandson on campus when her daughter comes to pick Rosa up from work a few times a week. Rosa is divorced from the father of her children since 1990. During her spare time, she likes to spend time at home doing chores, reading and getting together with her family that lives here in the States. Her favorite pastimes are watching soccer and basketball on television.

Concerning Flik, she is the official Benziger Dining Hall cashier, where her duties include swiping our meals into the system to make sure it is registered. After working on campus, she heads off to her second job where she works at MasterCard from 6:00 to 10:00pm. When I asked if she liked Flik food, she responded the following, “I love the food they make here, especially the soups. Those soups are very delicious to me.” When I asked her about the students here on campus, she answered that she gives out love to all of them and that when graduation comes around it makes her very sad to see a large group of good kids go.

I find it fascinating how years after years a person has so much love to give at her workplace as Rosa does. On your very first day here at the ‘Ville, one of the primary rules we all learn is to never ever forget to say “Hi” to Rosa at the door. She has become a key person to all Manhattanvillians alike, from alums that come to visit to prospective students that are interested because of the school’s scenic landscape.

After nearly a month of waiting, I finally saw Oliver Stone’s newly-released film World Trade Center on September 7, 2006. Having read numerous reviews of the film (the good, the bad, and, very rarely, the ugly), I felt as if I already knew what to expect. While I was not surprised by World Trade Center, the film still takes its place among Stone’s best works, like Platoon (1986), JFK (1991), and Nixon (1995). It also leaves viewers with a seemingly age-old message that is every bit as powerful as it is undeniable: freedom is not free.

World Trade Center tells the story of New York City Port Authority officers John McLaughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena). McLaughlin, a 21-year-veteran of the Port Authority, and Jimeno risked their lives to evacuate people from the Twin Towers as they collapsed. The officers were subsequently trapped inside the rubble for hours, until rescuers were finally able to pull them out. During those hours, many of their fellow officers succumbed to their injuries. The story of McLaughlin and Jimeno is a true tale of heroism in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity.

World Trade Center begins with McLaughlin and Jimeno waking up and saying goodbye to their families on the morning of September 11. At first it seems to be an ordinary day, and a beautiful one at that. However, once the first hijacked airline collides with the North Tower, the Port Authority officers are dispatched to the scene. By the time they arrive, they already learn that the South Tower has been hit as well. The officers run inside in a gallant rescue effort.

Eventually, the Towers give way and collapse, trapping Jimeno and McLaughlin (along with other officers) underneath the rubble. From here, World Trade Center deals with their struggle for survival, coupled with the traumatic experiences of their wives and children. By the time Jimeno and McLaughlin are rescued, they have sustained injuries that, in real life, continue to affect them to this day. Nevertheless, they survive, and at the end are forever immortalized as two of the many heroes of September 11, 2001. The Twin Towers, suffice to say, are no more.

Many critics and moviegoers have charged that World Trade Center (as with United 93) has been released too soon. While this is understandable, I believe that World Trade Center could not have come at a better time. It is our duty as Americans to look back and remember. The images, though, still remain fresh in our minds. As the World Trade Towers collapsed, a massive dust plume enveloped the surrounding vicinity. Through the plume, it was impossible to distinguish Black, White, Indian, Latino, etc. from one another.

All that could be seen were hundreds of people fleeing the scene, most of whom helped one another escape. For that moment, at least, they were all the same. These became the defining images of this tragic, catastrophic event. America had at last become (and at least in the ensuing moths) united. World Trade Center goes beyond these images. Five years is an appropriate length of time for us to recapture that feeling of unity that defined America in the hours, days, weeks, and months following 9/11.

Above all, five years is also an appropriate length of time for us to see (or for some, revisit) the story beyond the headlines. Freedom, as stated by politicians and ordinary Americans time and again, is not free. Sacrifice is, at times, a necessity. Thus, it is not only appropriate, but imperative, for Americans to look back and appreciate the sacrifices that John McLaughlin and Will Jimeno made for the freedom which we often take for granted.

Name    -What We Are
John Kerry-Goverment
Kate Beckinsale-Movies/model
Steve Nash-Athlete
John Forbes Nash-Scientist
Curtis James Jackson III-Celebrity(50cent)
Russell Crowe-Celebrity
Anna Kournikova-Celebrity
Tiger Woods-Athlete
Ben Bernanke-Government
50 Cent-Celebrity
Marc Kirshner-Scientist

20 PEOPLE TOOK POLL
80% knew John Kerry
80% knew Kate Beckinsale
0% knew John Nash BUT 100% knew Russell Crowe Russell Crowe played John Nash in A Beautiful Mind.
0% knew Curtis James Jackson III BUT 100% knew 50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III is 50 Cent’s real name.
60% knew Anna Kournkiova
100% knew Tiger Woods
10% knew Ben Bernanke
0% knew Marc Kirshner
30% knew Steve Nash
Least known group was the Scientist.
Most known group was the Celebrity.
The Athletes group was known only by those involved with sports .
The Government group was known only by those majoring in political science

In recent years Latin America has been going through an interesting stage in its development. This is manifested in the rise of left wing governments in countries like Venezuela and Chile. This resurge of socialism in Latin America is been widely debated on whether it would response to the necessities and economies of the countries it has taken root. However, it should be clear that both countries represent a very different type of socialism. The former is of the populist type, and it doesn’t advocate free market economy and usually has controversial relations with the US. The latter is quite the opposite, it sits in a social-democratic platform, and it’s a strong advocate of free market economy and most of the time has amiable relations with the United States.

In Venezuela, much controversy has risen because its charismatic leader, Hugo Chavez, has publicly declared that he is an enemy of the United States and that he intends to reunite Latin America thus fulfilling the dream of Simon Bolivar, Founding Father of Venezuela. The fact of the matter is that Chavez, despite his public statements condemning Bush and the United States, hasn’t altered trade with the United States, and continues to be one of the main trading partners of the United States in the area of the Americas. During the general assembly meeting in New York City, Mr. Chavez did not waste the opportunity to attack the US. His allegations were extremely ridiculous, pledging that Bush is the devil and inciting Americans to read Chomsky’s Hegemony or Survival, a book that criticizes American foreign policy.

In spite of how ridiculous Chavez might sound often times, it is important to at least know who he is, what exactly he intends to do, who is supporting him and who is against him. The reason for this is evident: Chavez rules the country with the largest reserves of oil in the Western Hemisphere. His oil exports to the United States continue, and he has been widely criticized for basically giving away free oil to countries with small economies like the Dominican Republic and Cuba. But a more interesting fact about Chavez is that he is intending to form an alliance along his homologue from Brazil, Mr. Lula da Silva, with Arab countries and Iran, the latter being an enemy of the United States. This alliance can create many discrepancies in organizations such as OPEC and the OAS, the latter mainly because countries like Colombia and Peru have opposed this alliance, which they consider frivolous and pointless.

For students and faculty at Manhattanville, it is a duty to be familiar with this interesting character, for the reasons expressed above, and because of the strong Dominican and Latin American presence in Manhattanville. Because of the popular support Chavez enjoys in Venezuela, Americans and Latin Americans would continue to see Mr. Chavez and his populist government for a while, so I exhort Manhattanville students to take a look at this man and what he means for Latin America at this stage of its development.

The Estate Tax is a perennial hot button issue every election cycle. Some of you may know this tax better as the “Death Tax”. The Death Tax is a tax levied on an individual’s family after they die. It is a form of double, and in some cases, triple taxation. Basically, the government evaluates the size of an individual’s estate once they have died and taxes their savings. Currently, if an estate is valued at 2 million dollars or greater the estate is subject to this tax of close to 50%. This will hold true through 2008. Under the provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 in the year 2009 the exemption rate will increase to 3.5 million. Finally, in 2010 the tax will be wiped out for one year. In 2011, however, the exemption rate will return to the 2001 rate of 1 million dollars. It is my personal opinion that this is an immoral tax that hits families at their most difficult time. It penalizes small businesses and those who are responsible enough to save.

In the spirit of investigative journalism, I asked around our campus just to see if students had any thoughts on this issue. Come to find few people realized that they knew about this tax; the problem existed in my questioning. I didn’t refer to it as “The Paris Hilton Tax”. Phrased “properly”, things started to click. The left has really done a great job of completely distorting this issue.

Now I would like to get away from ideology and focus on the meat of the issue. A lot more of you may be affected by this tax than you realize. Did you know that the term “estate” refers to all assets that an individual holds? That includes savings and property. So, let’s say in this crazy housing market that all of a sudden your home is worth a nice chunk of change. Sounds good, right? Let’s say this is the case for a hypothetical single parent family living in 2011, nothing having been done about this tax. All of a sudden tragedy strikes. Your mother dies in horrific car accident. As you are trying to cope with your loss, you are confronted by your mom’s lawyer who wants to talk about finances. Your mother was responsible; she had a retirement plan which she has been contributing to for 20 years and is now valued at nearly 300 thousand dollars. She also had a savings account, some small investments and a checking account, which all together valued 80 thousand dollars. Your house was appraised at 620 thousand dollars. To make it simple: 300K + 80K + 620K = 1 million = subject to the Death Tax – 50% = 500K = Paris Hilton? But wait, there’s more. If you decide to actually live in your house you will owe property taxes not to mention all the other fun bills parents pay. By the way, let’s hope your mother didn’t have any outstanding debt, because her estate will be covering that. Now I am not a math major, but it seems to me that the numbers just don’t add up.

It is true; this tax will not affect you or your family if you are not slightly well off. My only objective in the article is to get you to think. Just think about whom you consider to be “the wealthy” in our country. My guess is the phrase “the upper one percent”, the name Donald Trump, big business and of course those evil CEO’s will be the first to come to mind. Unfortunately, those are not the ones that are truly hurt by reckless politicians who seem to think they know what to do with our money better than we do. Believe me, when I say Paris Hilton and the super rich are not the ones who suffer, they know how to cheat the system. She and Teddy Kennedy probably have safety deposit boxes right next to each other in the Cayman Islands. They are not the ones hurt; it is hardworking professionals, small business owners, and real families who will suffer. These are families that you know, families that you care about and possibly your own family. It is a sad day when hard work, success and commitment to ones children are maligned on the floor of the Senate Chamber. I have seen first-hand a father’s commitment to his child and witnessed the blood, sweat and tears that allows for the truly selfless parent to reach their ultimate goal of making their child’s life better than their own. In my estimation these individuals are the most underappreciated amongst us.

On Wednesday, September 13, 2006, a Free Speech Alley debate was held between Paola Ortega-Joa (2007) and Andrew Berman (2007) in Spellman Lounge. The debaters and participants were discussing whether or not deporting several thousand illegal immigrants would create new jobs for Americans who want them.

Illegal immigration is as much a moral question as it is a political one. The United States is a nation which prides itself on multiculturalism, and rightfully so. This is one of the many reasons that I am proud to have been born here: there is no such thing as an ethnic American. Individuals representing distinct ethnicities and religions are [and should be] welcomed in this country.

Indeed, I am inclined to argue that many Americans have the tendency to underestimate their country. In short: they tend to forget how well immigrants of all stripes and their descendants acclimate into American society. Over the centuries, these have included Chinese, Italians, Poles, Irish, Pakistanis, Latinos, and numerous others.

The question of blending in is not the quite the hot button issue here that it has become in European countries. Immigrants have proven, time and again, that they can assimilate into America, as America has proven that it welcomes them. However, that does not mean that the United States can withstand unrestricted immigration. Most of the participants in the debate (myself included) opposed mass deportation as the desired solution.

Still, any realist would recognize that the United States, like other countries, must keep its borders secure. That, of course, is one of the myriad lessons of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The threat of terrorism, though, is but a small part of the problem. By far the greatest concern with regards to immigration is the stress “opening the floodgates” would put on America’s economy. That could (and in some cases, already has) lead to tensions between citizens and immigrants.

So, if mass deportation is not the desired solution to the problem of illegal immigration, then what is? In my opinion, it is legal immigration. Before the Free Speech Alley meeting, I didn’t realize just how long it took for applicants applying for US citizenship to actually obtain it. Paola, though, revealed some startling statistics. It takes non-students and families, on average, around seventeen years to become US citizens; seventeen years.

Inevitably, this finding led me to ask Paola a rhetorical question: ‘What about five years or even seven?’ If the time it takes for an applicant to become a United States citizen were reduced, so too would the number of illegal immigrants. It is what I call “the legal solution to illegal immigration.” This way, it would be easier to immigrate to the United States. It does not mean that America should discard its immigration laws. Illegal immigration is (and will remain) just that- illegal. There is, of course, the need for immigration quotas, which must be clearly defined by lawmakers.

While I am certainly not one to define this number, I believe that the issue of illegal immigration is one that, until recently, was not spotlighted by our elected officials. The truth is, it has been only one of many such issues (namely the Katrina debacle, the dangers of oil dependence, global warming, the threat of Iran and North Korea, and the stabilization of Iraq and Afghanistan) that have been passed over, if not minimized or deliberately avoided in public discourse. Our leaders, both Republicans and Democrats, need to show that they deserve our votes. They must be both able and willing to tackle those issues that will prove to be the true test of our history. Creating a pragmatic, effective solution to the problem of illegal immigration would be a very important step.

Usually the word alley brings connotations of fights, ill will, and filth, and in this case, they’re still appropriate, except for the filth comment, and the area was comfortable and well-groomed. No, no one was actually injured during last week’s discussion of immigration reform at Spellman Lounge’s own Free Speech Alley, yet who knows what could happen at the next meeting.

There was no raising of hands or classroom formality at Wednesday’s meeting, where Andrew Berman and Paola Ortega-Joa debated several aspects of our nation’s current issue with immigration from two different political perspectives. Andrew, the editor of this Conservative-friendly newspaper (in case you didn’t get the play on words “Right World View”), took what you could say was the “Republican” side, while Paola took the corner as a “Democrat”. But this did not play out to be your stereotypical political debate. They had no voters or constituents to convince, just a circle of people lounging around while enjoying the free pizza and soda. It was less about arguing and much more about spreading ideas and different thought processes.

The floor was opened with statements concerning illegal immigrants and what they mean to the American economy as whole, and the local economies of places where a larger portion of illegal immigrants live. Shelley Parker, from New Mexico, pointed out that they were crucial to the success of crop growing in her area, due to the lack of a motivated workforce willing to do those jobs. There was a fairly strong consensus around the room that it should be easier for people to obtain citizenship status, or to even be allowed residential status, which was an insanely difficult process for several students in the room. Since we all seemed to agree on this open-ended conclusion, Andrew challenged Paola and the group by asking just how many people should we let in because, frankly, the American economy can not withstand the strain of an extra twenty million people, which is the proportionate amount of immigrants from Mexico that would come to this country if the chance was there, according to a poll referenced by Andrew. He was right, we do not have those kinds of resources. But to come up with a number without mountains of statistics was impossible.

The fact of the matter is, in retrospect, all immigration to this country is just a chance for people to make a better life for themselves. It used to be that if you showed up at Ellis Island, you were given a slightly different name and an I.D. and you were good to go. This is not the same country that had such an open door policy. America then seemed to have limitless and tamable potential, and it was a younger, more flexible era.

Now I am not saying which is better because that’s impossible. It is simply not the same, and we need to pass legislation that best represents our capabilities and our desires as a nation. Until we do the research and come up with irrefutable numbers that point to something, what that legislation should be is pure speculation.

Yet several of us at the meeting had our heads curtailed around the fact that Andrew (theoretically and sarcastically) said that 100 million Chinese could just come at any time without a specific number of allowed immigrants. A handsome young freshman responded that while it was imperative that a number of reforms should be made, we cannot just decide them here, in the lounge of Spellman Hall at Manhattanville College. Well, we could have, but I highly doubt the President would listen to us. Well, back to myse…this young student. He said that we all agreed on the idea that change should be made to the current policy of the United States, but we were just arguing semantics. After a few minutes of recapping what was discussed, we all went our separate ways.

We all had the opportunity to speak our minds and share our own experiences for the betterment of our fellow classmates. The topics are usually announced a handful of days before each discussion, and the debaters are chosen within the same time frame. I ask that you drop by next Wednesday for the next discussion and the next opportunity to state your opinion. Until then, I bid you adieu from ‘The Lion’s Den’.

After settling into your dorm, beginning classes and working on assignments, you’ll likely want to escape such pressures and relax for a couple of hours. Sometimes it’s nice just to sit back and concentrate on the drama in someone else’s life for a while.

Beginning in Albuquerque, New Mexico and ending in Redondo Beach, California, Little Miss Sunshine is about the Hoover family whose daughter, Olive, seven, has a single dream: to win the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant in California. The only relatively normal per- son in a family of six, Olive (Abigail Breslin) is taught her pageant talent by her enthusiastic, heroin-hungry, potty-mouthed grandfather. She works hard to make her parents proud. Her father, Richard, (Greg Kinnear) is an overly cheerful, go-getter motivational speaker and her mother, Sheryl (Toni Collette), is an overworked and stressed suburban mother trying to keep her family together. Olive’s brother, Dwayne (Paul Dano), is a steadfast Nietzsche follower who has taken a vow of silence until he achieves his goal of becoming an airline pilot. He communicates with others, when he decides to he wants or needs to, via his notepad. Sheryl’s brother, Frank (Steve Carell) is, as he states, “the country’s most highly regarded Proust scholar.” Recently released from the hospital after attempting suicide, Frank is also dealing with the breakup of his relationship with his boyfriend, who is now going out with Frank’s rival, and comes to the Hoover house to recover.

Traveling with their trusty Volkswagen bus (which is as dysfunctional as the family itself), the Hoovers share laughs tears, curses, arguments and the unconditional love of family as they drive through the southwest United States with Olive’s dream as their sole intention. Little Miss Sunshine has met the approval of movie critics across the country, some of them here at Manhattanville. “[It] is my new favorite movie. It was beyond amazing,” says a senior female. “I read some reviews and saw the commercials on television, but I didn’t think I’d really like the movie. My girlfriend took me to see it. It was pretty funny,” says Tommy, a sophomore.

If you’ve ever thought your family was abnormally odd, prove yourself wrong and see Little Miss Sunshine. You’ll love it.