Danny Glover, who was slated to be the speaker for the Berkeley general commencement will no longer attend the ceremony, instead choosing to stand in solidarity with the unions picketing the school. UC Berkeley fails to pay its janitors a living wage.

I totally support Glover’s decision, but have to wonder why he accepted the invite in the first place. As a senior graduating next Wednesday, I can’t help but feel slightly punished when I know that my peers at other equal institutions get to have awesome speakers while we don’t because of a system-wide strike. The UC system should have dealt with its unfair practices long ago, like maybe after Fabian Núñez rejected last year on the day of the ceremony. Or ideally before that, like maybe never initiating the practice in the first place.

Do you agree?

This is soooo my favorite news story of the week:

Disney is now allowing gay couples to hold commitment ceremonies in the magic kingdom. In this article, a reverand attributes the decision to financial reasons, given that Disney can make an additional $1.5 million per year with a mere 1 commitment ceremony per week. (The average package goes for $28,000.) I don’t really buy that argument, because it would save Disney a lot of problems if it just left the issue alone. What do you think?

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Will money win you the race?

• The Cal State University faculty authorized a strike this week due to stalled contract negotiations. Contract negotiations have been ongoing for over twenty months. CSU faculty, on average, are paid less than community college professors and in some cases less than high school teachers. Their salaries have been rising at a rate lower than inflation. Not to worry, CSU executive salaries continue to rise; in some cases, they are paid as they leave. Want the breakdown? The CSU faculty strike will be the first CSU strike ever and the largest university strike in US history.
• In similar education news, we forgot to tell you last week that the UC Regents voted to raise student fees in accordance with the UC Compact. Remember four years ago when fees were almost half of what they will be next year?
• John Edwards’ wife’s cancer has returned. Edwards is staying in the race.
• Al Gore lobbies Congress to take action to prevent (further?) global warming. Rep. Joe Burton remains convinced that global warming does not exist.
• Karl Rove, among others, has been subpoenaed.
• In more important news, it seems that the key to success is a British accent.

Just when it seems like the Bush Administration can’t take another hit, a scandal erupts. It seems like no laws were broken, which begs the question, is there a problem?

Has anyone noticed the recent trend of backlash directed at those fighting global warming politically, but not in their actions?

Both before and after the Oscars, Al Gore was criticized for his documentary An Inconvenient Truth—not merely for content, but for the way he raced around the globe in his jet in what can only be classified as environmentally unsustainable.

Similarly, during the elections last year, California Gov. Schwarzenegger was criticized for driving a Hummer while simultaneously supporting anti-emissions policies.

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John McCain has officially declared his candidacy for President in the 2008 Election, and some have wondered whether “his age may be Mr McCain’s biggest handicap. If he won the presidency, he would by then—at 72—be the oldest man ever elected to the White House.”

I think it’s more likely that McCain’s unpopular stances on issues, especially his support of sending more troops to Iraq, would overshadow concerns about his age in the minds of voters. What do you think?