Why do we thank each other? Despite different cultures using the term in slightly different contexts, some thanking more frequently and readily than others, I believe that thanking is more than just a social norm that our parents have taught us to uphold.
Most people, including myself, have wondered (and stressed) about why they are here, what they are “supposed” to be doing, and how to just get by.
We commonly utter the phrase, “power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” We are no strangers to political double-talk and hypocritical rhetoric, acknowledging that people with power will do whatever they can to maintain that power.
On a campus with such a population that includes artistic prodigies, soccer stars, and that quiet person permanently parked at that third-floor Olin study carrel, it is sometimes difficult to know how to connect with everyone.
We’ve come to the point in the semester where the first wave of assignments has hit us full force.
Throughout our years in college, we are taught to think critically and analyze everything to the utmost extent. Skepticism is encouraged, and idealistic tendencies, while fostered to some extent, are mostly set aside for the hopeful believers in utopia.
Studying at Wesleyan has raised questions for me about the type of education people receive and the implications of that education.
In choosing classes for the fall semester, we not only set our daily schedules, but also decide which questions will provide the framework through which we will confront new ideas.
This week, both in International Politics and during Wednesday night’s lecture on the First Amendment delivered by Jack Balkin, I encountered numerous examples of situations in which individuals behave in accordance with their perceptions as if they are objectively true.
I recently took part in an exercise in a government class in which everyone in the class split up into small groups and pretended to belong to one of six countries.
Throughout the course of human history, people have wondered what, if anything, we should be striving towards. Are there certain values that we should work to solidify? Or should we aspire to do only what we feel like doing, regardless of personal values that may come into conflict with our transient desires?