TSA violates legal rights
On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I had the fun and exciting experience of going through the TSA’s enhanced security checkpoint. Overall, it was an uneventful experience, but, I still have some problems with it.
On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I had the fun and exciting experience of going through the TSA’s enhanced security checkpoint. Overall, it was an uneventful experience, but, I still have some problems with it.
Recently, a friend showed me a website, birthornot.com, created by a Minnesota couple, Pete and Alisha. Pete and Alisha have been married for about 8 years, and are expecting a child. On their site, they post news about their pregnancy, including updates on doctor visits and current ultrasound photos. This site is also a poll in which web-users can vote on whether Pete and Alisha should keep or abort their unborn child.
Dilemma
Recently, I was taking a test, during which we were not allowed to use calculators. This is an upperclassman-level test, so the professors are fairly trusting. I noticed that a friend was using a calculator, which, as I have said, was not allowed on the test. Based on my discussions with him/her prior to the test, I am certain that this was totally an honest mistake on his/her part.
What should I do in this particular situation, and what is ethical in the general case?
–Witness of Unintentional Cheating
Thanksgiving break is a great time to relax and hang out with family and friends. Of course, it is also the season to gorge on delicious food. After falling into a food coma, many people are ready to wake up bright and early the next day for Black Friday. Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving, stores bring out some of the best deals of the season on almost everything. Doors open as early as 3 AM to a crowd of eager shoppers. Interesting things are known to have happened on Black Friday, so Minds at Mines wanted to know what Mines students did on the busiest morning of the Christmas shopping season.
There’s this little article in in the Constitution of the United States of America called the 4th Amendment. This little article goes something like this, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized”. Maybe the definition of “unreasonable searches” has changed in the past 200 years, but it seems that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) violates the 4th amendment every time a law-abiding citizen walks through a security checkpoint at any major airport in the United States.
At 6:30 in the morning, most people are still sleeping. At 6:30 in the morning at this time of the season, even the sun is still sleeping. But, at 6:30 in the morning, Senior Ben Zywicki’s isn’t observing the inside of his eyelids. His alarm clock wakes him up and encouragingly nudges him out the door for his daily jog. This ‘jog’ consists of over six miles and has greeted the cross country runner every morning for five years. And as his career winds to a close, his hard work has begun to pay off.
In an unprecedented move, the student body government is passing a petition around campus asking for the cancellation of all finals this semester. “To fritter away so much time on standardized testing,” the petition reads, “is to degrade and demean the immense creativity and passion that learning should entail.”
Colorado School of Mines football fans can be delighted by the performance of their team in 1912. This week, ninety-eight years ago, the Orediggers, then known as the Miners, defeated Pomona College in Claremont, California. The Oredigger’s 13-0 underdog victory came only moments after they arrived in California! The team experienced a sixteen hour delay due to the wreck of a freight train, preventing their train from passing through. Ultimately, in spite of not being able to practice in California, the Orediggers triumphed in the fourth quarter to the delight of a small fan base of transplanted Coloradoans.