Politics
Dustin Lance Black Speaks: Pasadena City College Officials Created ‘Toxic and Dishonest’ Atmosphere
Apr 30, 2014 The president and board of trustees at Pasadena City College thrust their school into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons recently with a political and public relations debacle involving PCC alumnus and Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.2014 National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award: Online News
2013 High School Graduation
Jun 7, 2013
At World’s End and Back Again
Jun 6, 2013 On this sun-dappled afternoon, class of 2013, I want to make a suggestion. Take out your iPhone. Text a friend at a graduation ceremony elsewhere. Chat with your relatives. Amuse yourself. In the meantime, let me address a group with far less time than you, but perhaps a longer attention span at this particular moment -- my own cohort.
Commencement
May 24, 2013
This Is Water: Fishy Advice From David Foster Wallace
May 15, 2013 A viral video adaptation of a commencement speech given in 2005 by the hugely influential late American author reaches for a healing vision of a common humanity amid the relentless crushings of a capitalized and corporatized society.
The Triumph of Progressivism: Graduation 2013 and 1968
May 14, 2013 Many of you soon-to-be college graduates are determined to make the world a better place. But many of you are cynical about politics. “What chance do we have against the Koch brothers and the other billionaires?” you’ve asked me. “How can we fight against Monsanto, Boeing, JPMorgan and Bank of America? They buy elections. They run America.”
Grads of 2012
May 22, 2012
Snob
May 8, 2012
Happy Graduation, Suckers
May 23, 2011
The Rise of the Five-Year Degree
May 20, 2011 The average length of time spent earning a bachelor's degree has been steadily rising among American university students for the past 30 years, and the change is not entirely explained by a consideration of part-time and returning students, an economist says. (more)