Less than one week before the final exam in my Zen Buddhism class winter quarter, I marched up to my professor, handed him a sheet of paper to sign, and told him I was dropping the class. Read more...

Columnist Matthew Kennard has discovered the root of discrimination, prejudice and stigmatization of gays and lesbians across the world ““ or so he claims. Kennard’s theory that the homophobia in our country emanates from people of faith (“Celebrate same-sex marriages,” June 2) is simply immature and reckless. Read more...

California’s coastline is under attack. Certain members of the U.S. Congress are attempting to remove key offshore drilling prohibitions and open our coast to oil exploration. Read more...

It’s often said that the best anthropological study of the United States by a European is Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1835 classic “Democracy in America.” Granted, the eminent French political thinker and historian probably didn’t spend an inordinate amount of time downing cheap vodka from Rite Aid, bumming around on the beach, blowing stupid amounts of cash in Las Vegas, and getting arrested in Tijuana, but I’ll try my best to follow his noble example and offer some insightful final thoughts on this great country that I have in many ways fallen in love with. Read more...

Internet porn is the drug of the new millennium, it’s the new ecstasy, and it’s only one click away. For some, it’s as addictive as heroin, leaving addicts and their loved ones with a list of sexual and psychological difficulties. Read more...

The University of California has over $131 million invested in companies doing business in Sudan, a country whose government is responsible for rape, disease, starvation and possible genocide. Read more...

The season where high school kids explore UCLA is back. I love to watch them, wide-eyed and hopeful. “Look,” they whisper, “college students.” “Look,” we think, “high school students.” In a way, they’re right to gawk. Read more...