I have to preface this with an admission: I don't watch a lot of MTV. Ever since the network played its last music video circa 1998 and switched to the inane-reality-show-aimed-at-teen-girl genre, it hasn't been up there on my TV priorities.

I've thought about this column for a long, long time. I thought about it when I first took over as editor-in-chief two years ago, I thought about it after my first year was up and I've thought about it many, many times in the recent months as graduation grows closer. I had a really dramatic opener in mind: "The following ____ (number of) words are four years in the making." Cheesy? Yeah, a little. True? Well, yes.

On Tuesday, I happened across an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education that, for a very obvious reason, caught my attention: "A University Examines Underlying Problems After Racist Incidents." The subhead: "At Oregon State University, a predominantly white college, it seemed as if relations among different groups were harmonious - until the campus newspaper published a drawing of a person in blackface."

Two weeks ago, a hefty package arrived (electronically) on Capitol Hill. It was the president's proposed $3.1 trillion budget, his last before leaving office.

Criticism is nothing new for me. In this job, you quickly learn to have a thick skin, as you find that you generally get reamed out far more often than you get encouraged or praised.

Want to roil hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people across New York state? All it takes is three words: SUNY tuition hike.

So here's something you may not have known: All it takes to ignite a media firestorm and draw national attention is two words (refer to the headline). Just make sure it's in all capital letters and a font 30 times bigger than this.

So this newspaper that you're holding in your hand: How long do you think it's going to be around for? 25 years? 50? Will we have physical newspapers when we're (gasp!) all over 70 (and the hill)?

The familiar feeling of being back at Geneseo for another semester has recently gotten me thinking again about something that's troubled me for most of the three years that I've been a student here. And while it might seem inane to some, the implications of it, I believe, are at least worth considering.

I hate to admit it, but I'm genuinely tempted to start off this column with the obligatory, "Wow, this year sure has gone by fast," largely because openings have never been my strong point. But I have to be honest; this year hasn't gone by fast. Not by a long shot.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have happened upon one of the most interesting yet difficult questions that I have dealt with throughout my year as editor in chief. The issue relates to our letters to the editor page in the Opinion section. Letters to the editor have traditionally been a mainstay of any newspaper's Op/Ed section, as they serve the important purpose of allowing individuals not directly involved with the paper to offer their opinions on issues, either directly reported on in the paper or not, and have those views presented to the reading audience.

With the 2008 presidential hopefuls well out of the starting gate, few public figures have gathered as much attention as Barack Obama. The hype machine's in full swing, especially, I've noticed, among college students. But I'm not jumping on the bandwagon quite yet.

This semester, The Lamron took a relatively big step, the positive results of which you currently hold in your hand. We began working with a new printer and switched to a different stock of paper, which undoubtedly makes the paper look better and makes the photos stand out significantly more than they had before.

In my life, there is little that irks me more than modern society's obsession with celebrities. Everywhere I look the evidence of the problem is rampant. Take the supermarket isle: crammed with trashy tabloids and People and In Touch magazines trumpeting everything from Nicole Ritchie's latest weight gain, to Ashton and Demi's romance, to most recently, the shocking divorce of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline.

It was really only a matter of time, and now it's official: Wal-Mart is moving into India. According to an article that appeared in The New York Times on Monday, Nov. 27, Wal-Mart, in a partnership with Indian cell phone company Bharti Enterprises, plans to open hundreds of stores in the country's exploding market.