Cryptic legends and nostalgic traditions go hand in hand with the university experience. Greased poles and ham hocks aside, the present incarnation of the University of Saskatchewan has little to offer in this regard. Where have all the monocles gone? What ever happened to Latin, gargoyles and parchment?

If you look at who has the wealth and the power, it’s university graduates. And it’s been that way for a while. You would think all these well-educated people could turn the world into a utopia, but a peaceful and prosperous world seems as distant a dream as the flying car.

Oscar night: a time when all the best and brightest of Hollywood look up at the stars and wish for the chance to get their hands on that precious statue. So what do the Oscars mean? Every year, all they do is enrage people. Some say that the Academy is out of touch with cinema, some say it is flooded with arthouse sensibilities, and some say it doesn’t have enough arthouse sensibilities.

There are a million and one reasons why we might decide to quit before God fires us: on the principle of self-awareness, to prove a point, to end our suffering. It is this final motive that tends to evoke the most compassion.

When Stanley Weir wrote his patriotic poem in 1908, it started as such: “O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love thou dost in us command.” Over the last hundred years, however, there have been numerous tweaks to the language, leaving us with “sons.” It’s time we revert to the original gender-neutral version.

According to Senator Nancy Ruth, the federal government’s choice to abandon possible changes to the national anthem is “another example, for me, of hatred against women.” I’m going to respectfully disagree.

A leaked memo from Dick Cheney reveals the myriad ways in which the Republican party is trying to undermine Barack Obama. Did Obama deflower one or more of the Jonas Brothers? Maybe, maybe not.

On Feb. 18, someone on Twitter reported that Gordon Lightfoot was dead — which meant, as these things often do, that suddenly dozens of media outlets around the world, worried about being caught off guard, quickly picked up the story and ran with it.

The Sask Party is proposing a cut of educational assistants by 75 per cent over the course of the next seven years. This position was created in an attempt to integrate children with special needs into the classroom setting while ensuring that both the special needs student and others in the class could be educated in an optimal learning environment.

Stray pubic hairs that end up in urinals and on toilet seats are seriously gross. Shave it, wax it, trim it, tie it — whatever you decide to do, just don’t let your nasty pubes get all over the place.

On Feb. 15, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana announced he will not seek a third term. His speech was a disappointing and disheartening reminder to those of us trying to hold out hope for a more bipartisan America.

What is one thing we are exposed to, without fail, every single day? Food. The wonderful, tasty, wholesome, crispy, spicy, tangy, cool, chewy, hot, nutritious, satisfying, and delicious foods we enjoy day in and day out. March is Nutrition Month in Canada.

We are bombarded daily by different forms of media, from traditional sources like television and print to the modern Internet. What we consume and how we engage with media has great effects.

Ottawa is a relatively small place compared to some of the more popular cities in Canada, like Vancouver or Montreal. However, you ignore the sights and sounds of our nation’s capital at your own peril.

In past years, television commercials have reminded us that February is Black History Month. However, with the Olympics occupying so much media attention this year, commercials and shows reminding us about black history have been scarce. Not to blame the Olympics, but it is important for people to remember what, exactly, Black History Month is about.

The university’s recently released Learning Charter sets out learning goals for graduates as well as the roles students, faculty, instructors and the administration all play at the U of S. However, certain parts of the charter, which was drafted with little student input, are troubling.

Since coming to office, the Stephen Harper Conservatives have sought to break with Canada’s consensus stance on the Middle East, developed since the birth of Israel 60 years ago and held to by governments of both conservative and liberal stripes over the years.

As much fun as your all-inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta was, you can’t claim that you were in Mexico.