Geneseo touts a strong tradition of highlighting student achievement within and beyond academics. The Geneseo mission, as stated on the school website, is devoted to nurturing an “enriched life” in its students through “a rigorous curriculum and a rich co-curricular life.”

The current state of the economy affords a job market that is less than ideal. As a result, people have been turning to innovative ways of making ends meet – for instance, Rochester, N.Y.-based Jackie Samuel, who created a business out of professional snuggling. That’s right: professional snuggling. Unconventional? Sure. Immoral? Hardly.

As amusing as I found watching Vice President Joe Biden’s comical facial expressions and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s weak attempts at appearing sympathetic throughout the vice presidential debate, the event added little more than secondary advertisement for the presidential candidates.

Former Gov. Romney’s blunder calling 47 percent of Americans “victims” has left many outraged. True, his comment was hardly the smooth politically correct line one would expect from a presidential candidate. Despite his poor choice of phrasing, however, Americans need to recognize the truth in Romney’s words.

Outsourcing of goods is far from a new idea. What is new is the outsourcing of surrogate pregnancies, particularly to India. Outsourcing is a commercial venture that, for better or worse, cheapens the cost of products and increases jobs overseas. The same applies for outsourcing surrogacy: It cheapens human birth and degrades motherhood from a familial position to a lucrative business.

The Republican Party is well on its way toward the final decision for a presidential candidate. In just a few months, the entire nation will be the captive audience to the traditional faceoff between republicans and democrats. If only that weren’t the case. The allegedly multiparty political system of America fell into an unofficial two-party system long before now.

Tradition is a basic part of culture. Consistently hitting snooze three times before finally rolling out of bed; having Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November; initiating new members into Greek organizations; these are all some form of tradition.

Apple Inc.’s gradually growing domination of the technological market is nothing new. MacBook’s, iPods, iPads – it seems every new product the powerhouse company develops is the thing to beat for all its competitors. For as wonderful an option as Apple products may be, they must remain just that – an option, rather than the rule.

Everywhere you look on campus people are walking with their heads down, face glued to cellphones, paying no attention to their surroundings. It’s rare to see a group of friends at Mary Jemison get through lunch without every person whipping out their cellphone in the middle of conversation. There’s a time and a place for pulling out your phone – and it is not anytime, anywhere.

Geneseo is steadily establishing itself as an undergraduate liberal arts school that can compete with the higher-priced private universities. The college is known for an increasingly selective admittance, resulting in classes made of the top percentage of high school graduates and some of the most involved students around. The problem with so many wonderful things all packed into one small school? Our egos are getting a little ahead of us.

Breaking into the job market post-graduation can present a daunting task and gaining the experience necessary to even be considered can seem impossible. That’s where internships come in handy.

The country has been whirling with proposed legislation cutting access to contraceptives, particularly the free resources provided by Planned Parenthood and even prescribed pills covered by health care providers.

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements are giving way to individualized plans for education standards in 10 states with more following close behind. On Feb. 9 the Obama administration offered the waivers in exchange for states forming their own standards and education reform plans, which will not have to meet the 2014 deadline of NCLB. This change couldn’t have come soon enough.

The Susan G. Komen group, a big name in breast cancer research funding, announced a decision last week that they would no longer financially support Planned Parenthood. This decision – essentially a deathblow to free breast cancer screenings – was met with nationwide protest and was revoked later that week.

The Republican Party primary race is heating up, sparking arguments across campus on which candidate is the most promising, who is spouting which policies and who is involved in the latest scandal.

The United States has a certain international reputation as a self-ordained law enforcer. Our country has a habit of sticking our nose into other countries’ business and declaring things fit or unfit. Most notably we pour endless amounts of money and troops into the Middle East. I’ve seen a slight pattern in the lucky nations graced with our aid – the presence of oil.

There is a strange sense of detachment from the rest of the world in a college town – as if we live in a bubble with the "real world" waiting beyond. It's like we live in a parody of this thing called real life; in our world the community is populated by a nearly uniform age group, where work takes the form of school on weekdays and weekends are a whirlwind of activity that doesn't end until the hazed early hours of the morning.