OPINION
September 19, 2013
Transgender people Whiners abuse need equal rights too prof rating site By Jessica De Soto CityStyle Co-Editor
Pretending to live like someone else for your entire life can leave you mentally and emotionally isolated and distraught, especially if you’re transgender. Being transgender in our society can cause conflict with closed-minded people. However, that shouldn’t really matter anymore because every human should be treated equally. Gov. Jerry Brown passed the Assembly Bill No. 1266 this year,
which grants equal access to restrooms based on gender identity and not biological gender, allowing transgender people rightful gender identity and aiming to reduce bullying. The law will also give transgender people the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities such as sports without fear of discrimination and prejudice. The law will go into effect on Jan. 1. Even though California laws prohibit discrimination in education, transgendered students have still been excluded from the priv-
ilege because of who they are, according to a statement by the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Although times will change, people still won’t agree with the law and we will see an uproar of chaos. Some will be outraged because they feel that a transgender person is a sex offender and they might use this stance as an opportunity to take action. As with any law, there are many ways for people to cheat the system and take advantage of the situation. However, there is no point in denying equal rights to someone who chooses to be different, especially in today’s society.
Eliza De La Flor/Viking
Carson Street, the new Vegas Strip By Madison Salter Staff Writer
Trying to cross the street from the T Building to the north part of the LAC has become a huge hassle due to flier-crazed people. Simply waiting to cross the street in peace does not exist. Instead, people are constantly bombarding students with fliers or trying to get students to sign a petition. Walking down the sidewalk is reminiscent of walking down the Las Vegas Strip being handed business cards for hookers.
It’s annoying to me to get from point A to point B while someone stares you down uncomfortably, tossing fliers in your face. I do not understand how these people get mad when we don’t accept the fliers. They should try being more polite to us as we walk by. My latest adventure of trying to cross the street involved being hassled by a woman trying to get me to register to vote. Why would I give my personal information to a woman wearing a sports bra and oversized track pants? How do I know she’s not going to sell my
By David Stephens Opinion Co-Editor
RateMyProfessor.com is as popular as fried food at a fair. Everyone knows about it, most of us indulge in it and some of us are left saying, “What the heck was I thinking?” RateMyProfessor. com is a website that many students use to plan their schedules. Some of my classmates have gone as far as delaying completion of their certificates or degrees because they didn’t want to take a class with a particular professor based on low scores on the site. Personally, I use ratemyprofessor. com as a guide, but not as a definitive deal-maker or breaker. I have had professors who had amazing reviews such as “the best professor I have ever taken” or “I will take every class they teach, even if not needed.” Yet, when I take the class, the professor might be good, but I do not find myself wanting more. Sometimes, they are even not so good. Then the opposite is true. I have seen reviews about professors describing them as “the worst instructor to ever teach” or “so disorganized and uninvolved.” But when I take the class, I think the teacher is great. The question here is, what sort
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of mentality are the reviewers in when they leave a review? One key element that needs to be considered when searching through the website is the author. Many people procrastinate, turn in horrible work and late assignments and do poorly on tests, but when they get an unsatisfactory grade, they run and bash the teacher on the site, saying they were “too hard” and “did not care about student success.” These students aren’t rating, they’re ranting. Too many great teachers are being bashed on the site while other teachers who give an “easy A” with no critical thinking or college skills required are being praised. If you are in school to skate by, get easy As, not comprehend what you are learning and just doing it to stay busy or to get a worthless piece of paper, then base your schedule solely on what a small population of students think about a teacher. However, if you are in school to learn, make yourself marketable in the work force and want the best instruction money can buy, then use the site as a guide, but know the reviews may not be accurate. Be wary of reviews that may have been written by lazy or unmotivated peers. Heck, even the “hot or not” feature has lied a few times.
information? It’s one thing if these people were credible representatives from an organization. However, I believe many are not. They are just regular people passing out more junk. The crosswalk vermin just create more litter on campus. They may be on the sidewalk, which is considered public property, but their trash ends up on campus. Students should not have to deal with the daily harassment before arriving to class. Yes, it is their job to distribute fliers, but we hope they can do it more respectfully. Morgan Mayfield/Viking
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