While some of you may have been studying for finals or putting in work at a job, the rest of us were captured by the entertainment tank called the Jersey Shore that steam rolled all of us as it became one of the highest rated shows on MTV. If the names “Snookie” and “the Situation” don’t ring a bell for you, I don’t know whether to suggest that you thank your lucky stars or immediately watch back episodes. I would like to recommend the latter for our fearless leaders in Washington D.C. Besides GTL (Gym, Tanning, Laundry), a motto that as a black female I strictly adhere to before going out, there is much to be learned from these self proclaimed guidos and guidettes.

Admittedly, I'm not the best person to write an opinion piece of this issue. Reason being: I just can't grasp any of the opposing arguments prohibiting gay people to serve openly in the military. Logically, none of them make sense to me. There have been talks of repealing the law since Obama took office, but Congress still can't seem to pass any legislation striking down the rule once and for all. It's absolutely ludicrous that the Unites States government would place limitations and regulations on certain people based on sexual orientation serving in the military. It just doesn't make any sense that efforts of these men and women are good enough to protect the United States but the people that they choose as partners are not.

Tuesday night's "The Politics of Lady Gaga" event, sponsored by the Columbia Political Union, brought out a sizeable crowd for a rainy weeknight. Judging by attendance throughout the entire event, free food wasn't the only draw to the event. We were all there for our Gaga fix.

The event was a discussion of Gaga's video "Telephone" with the panelists Bryan Lowder, Jason Bell, Lauren Herold, and the audience. The night started off with opening remarks by each of the panelists, within which each of them outlined what they thought the greater significance of the video/Gaga was, if there was any, and how they would frame that within politics.

This semester, Columbia's branch of Amnesty International has chosen the closing of Guantánamo Bay as its focus campaign.

On January 11, 2002, the United States established its prison camp for suspects in the "war on terror." The camp, which encompasses a portion of the United States Navy's base at Guantánamo Bay, situated in the southeastern region of Cuba, functions as a joint military prison and interrogation site. The detention sites include three camps: Camp Delta, including Camp Echo; Camp Iguana; and the now defunct Camp X-Ray. The prison contains individuals who were taken into custody in Afghanistan, Bosnia, the Gambia, and other nations, and who are suspected by the U.S. government of being involved with al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Last Monday, Amnesty International held an event at Riverside Church to kick off their campaign called Deadly Delivery to fight the deplorable rates of maternal mortality both in the US and around the world. The event was a panel which included Larry Cox, the Executive Director of Amnesty International USA; Dr. Jennifer Dohrn, Assistant Professor at Columbia University School of Nursing; Silvia Rosario Loli Espinoza, Executive Director of Amnesty Peru; Yves Boukari Traore, Executive Director of Amnesty Burkina Faso; and Brima Abdulai Sheriff, Director of Amnesty Sierra Lone.

This campaign is part of a larger goal of Amnesty International's which is to draw attention to healthcare as a human right. While healthcare as a human right as been a point of advocacy for activist groups for a long time, it has shifted into the spotlight recently with the health care reform legislation debate. It is the question of if the ability to keep yourself and your family healthy with proper access to health care should be a reflection on ability to pay. In other words, should health be a luxury or a right afforded to every human being by their governments?