Journalism – like law and politics is absolutely fundamental to our American democracy and subsequently to our pursuit of the promise of equality.  For a democratic state cannot exist without a free press just as it cannot exist where the government is not required to prove guilt and where there is no competition between political factions. My desire to make my life about the struggle for equality and social justice is what draws me to these fields and it has been an honor to serve as the Virginia representative for MTV’s Emmy Award-winning Choose or Lose Street Team ’08.

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On this, the week following the 4th of July, I, like many Americans, can’t help but think about our country, and more specifically – our democracy. In 7th grade I received extra credit for memorizing the Declaration of Independence. It’s a long document, and although I didn’t get very far, I can recall the words to this day.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

This is perhaps the most well known statement in America’s political documents and is considered the foundation of our democracy.


Our country was founded on the premise that all men are created equal, and yet I can’t help but wonder if this is actually true.

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President George W. Bush made the GI BIll law on June 30. He had previously said he would veto the bill. Please check out:

In polls new US military recruits list “money for college” as the number one reason they joined the military. And it’s no wonder with college costs rising more than 40 percent in the past five years paired with a flailing economy that is leaving many young people and their families without homes – without jobs. In a country where education is a privilege and not a right young people are left with few options if they cannot afford the privilege of attending a university. Yet without a college degree their prospects are dim and the cycle of poverty that they grew up in is likely to continue since high school graduates make only half of what college graduates make.

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Although the Democratic and Republican primaries are now over, Virginia will likely enjoy a great deal of attention from the presumptive nominees of both parties in the months before the general election. With the opportunity to now focus on the general election and his rival Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has set his sights on states which are being considered “purple” in the general election. A purple state is one which is considered to be up for grabs for both the Democratic and Republican parties; and could vote either way. Also termed “battleground states” and “swing states”, Virginia will likely be one of the most sought-after purple states for the upcoming election in November.

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According to a 2007 report by the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) half of the abortions performed in the United States are performed on women under the age of 25. And of the reported abortions, 80 percent are for women who are not married.

I’ve known a number of young women who’ve had abortions, two of them are very good friends of mine. They are complete opposites in many of the most important ways; perhaps the only thing that these two women have in common is that they are my good friends and that they both underwent the same medical, emot...

“But I can tell you [at] the moment I am struggling on the bare necessity [of] food and water,” confessed Jesse Coe, a recent graduate of Virginia Tech who received his degree in International Studies over the weekend.“It sucks even after college I am still struggling and I have a higher education diploma.”

Coming from a family with a single mother who he says “doesn’t have any money to spare,” Jesse realized early-on that if he wanted to go to college he’d have to find the money to pay for it himself.

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No doubt many of you first learned of Virginia Tech one year ago, after the massacre that took the lives of 32 of our students and faculty as well as the gunman. It was the deadliest shooting in US history and our immobilizing devastation was felt around the world as the nation joined us in mourning this unspeakable loss. Today is the one year anniversary of the tragedy, and April 16 is as much a part of our lives today as it was a year ago. It will be with us forever.

It will be with us forever, and yet what we remember of April 16 will change as the years pass.

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Check out my latest video!

Ever wonder why college students often get a bad reputation with their community? Well on April 5 your Virginia Street Team reporter, Sabina Thaler, joined the students at Virginia Tech as they set out to fight that “Animal House” image by participating in one of the school’s largest community service projects: The Big Event.

Check it out here:

College students giving back