Notes from Senegal

I know that it is a little presumptuous for someone to assume that their time abroad is somehow worth an entire article in the school newspaper, but as an opinion writer, being presumptuous (if not a tad pompous) is almost essential. A bit of background before I begin, I am in Dakar, the capital city of the West African nation of Senegal for the semester. This is my second time in Africa, as I spent about five weeks in Ghana when I was 16 doing an exchange program for the summer. If you know me personally, you probably already know that fact as I have had a tendency to use it as a defining moment of my life and explaining my basic personality and other idiosyncrasies. This trip started sometime around my sophomore year at Brandeis, when I decided that if I had to learn a language, the best way to go about it would be to force myself to experience it first hand through a study abroad program. Seeing that I am also an African and African-American Studies major, going to the Francophone nation of Senegal (which is also the only other stable country in the region) simply made sense.

‘Truth’ campaign is anything but truthful

When you were in middle school, you probably had some lame, pathetic program that tried to convince you not to smoke tobacco. Though these initiatives come in various different names, some school official or perhaps a police officer probably told you about the horrific and dire consequences of smoking cigarettes. They probably portrayed the tobacco companies in a negative light, illustrated their use of half-truths and propaganda, and demonstrated the evilness of these companies. As I look back on these programs, I realize that they were really horrible themselves. The anti-tobacco supporters are the ones using lies as they hyperbolize the effects of smoking. These advocates cause more harm as they inundate young minds with misleading information and disrupt the capitalist system. Though the political correct position seems to support these valiant efforts to curtail underage smoking, Id like to relate that theyre not all good. Their initiatives are unhealthy, their tactics are propagandistic, and the tobacco industry isnt all that bad to begin with.

Wake up and smell the violence

What is it about American society and violence? Why is it that were all so enamored by and fascinated by it?

Recently, I read a book titled Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo depicting the lack of attention which society pays to violence and was amazed at how true to life the themes of this book are regarding our fascination with violence. It seems that we, as a technologically-obsessed country, have become so anesthetized to violence, and view it as such a normal part of everyday life, that its commonplace, maybe even a little fascinating, rather than horrifying.

Construction exacerbates access issues for disabled

Despite actions being taken by the University, the campus is far from easily accessible for those who are operating wheelchairs, say students. With several construction projects underway, wheelchair users say they are struggling to navigate campus with growing numbers of pot holes on the main road and moving detours.