This truly has been a semester of changes for our campus.  PUC has welcomed new athletic directors, new coaches, and the promotion of the Honors Program to an Honors College.  It has also bid adieu to numerous campus faculty and staff in response to the controversial budget cuts laid out by the Senate Budget Committee.

  Just because something does not kill you does not mean it makes you stronger.  If something does not kill you it may leave you crippled, maimed, scarred, or otherwise incapacitated for the rest of a painful life.  I have never been a fan of the phrase, but I understand the message behind it.

  Chances are that if you go to PUC, you have heard about the current budget woes that have seen many classes and professors get cut. My major, English, has been hit especially hard. The immediate reaction would be to blame the administrators, but really, what can they do? They just do not have the money.

  When I went to Munster High School, other students would snicker every time they heard me or one of my friends say that we were going to Purdue Calumet. Since then, many of those people have either dropped out of college or did not go in the first place, so I feel as though I got the last laugh.

  In my five years here, I have never seen our institution this dry. By dry I mean there seems to be little to no life in the campus anymore.  I remember the days when we used to have free massages in the SULB concourse, free food all the time AND a homecoming dance.

  The Issue:  Administrators look to the future of “persistent full-time students” Our Stance: Removing the “backbone of Purdue Calumet” cannot be a good idea The budget is in, the funds are allocated, and current PUC students feel as if they are paying the price.

  This past Wednesday I found myself standing with my coworkers, huddled around a table taping bands made of black crepe paper to our arms. It was the best we could do on short notice, but it felt right. It’s a common practice, usually reserved for solemn occasions.

The Issue: Kenneth Pettigrew speaks of finding himself while on country-wide bike journey. Our Stance: More students should take the time to find themselves.   How many of us have had goals of what we wanted in life?  How many of us, while growing up, knew exactly what we wanted to be, how we wanted to get there, and what life would be like once we achieved it?  While in high school, how many of us knew exactly what college we were going to attend, what classes we would take, what degree we would earn, and what job we would get with that degree?  It is a safe bet to say that most of us have, at some point in our lives, have known exactly what we were going to do.