In some ways, my journey towards living a life true to Santa Clara's values has seemed like a long one, but other times it feels like a crash-landing. I did not choose Santa Clara for its Jesuit values, but those values have become perhaps the most life-changing aspect of my time at the university.

Overall, Santa Clara, even as a Jesuit University, is an accepting place for its LGBTQ community. However, Santa Clara could do more. The LGBTQ community  remains relatively closeted and behind the scenes.

The race for liberal democracy continues in the Middle East, and repressed voices are being heard—its anyone's guess what happens next.

Handling power tools, wood and construction equipment was an exercise in humiliation. While working, my dad and his carpenter friend had a field day with my incompetence. "Your college education can't help you here" and "all that money towards college and you can't _____" are temperate examples of what I had to endure.

This week I asked fellow seniors and recent graduates to give advice to the current freshman class.

I put together the following responses as my way of giving back.

The 112th congress is off to a roaring and productive start.  A little over a month into the first session and so much is being accomplished — please note my sarcasm.

Revolution in Egypt. Regime change in Tunisia. Headlines and conversations highlight these events as the changes the Middle East has been waiting for, but it's possible that the concept of Egyptian liberal democracy  may deflate just as quickly as the hype that surrounded Iran's "Green Revolution" last year.

Valentine's Day represents nothing more or less than an affirmation of existing conditions. Unfortunately, a one-day-only validation cannot create a relationship.

If the roses are already red and the violets are already blue, Valentine's Day does little more than act as the daily confirmation of a healthy relationship. If they aren't, this particular holiday could very well hurt the situation.

WikiLeaks is no more the arbiter of what we should and shouldn't know than our boring old government, and a no-leaks-barred see-for-all carries its own risks, for better or worse.

It has come to the attention of the Multicultural Center that there have been misunderstandings about the direction taken with Igwebuike's cultural show titled MLK Night 2011 – "Reclaiming Our Voice: The Journey of a Road Less Traveled." The purpose of a cultural show is for a specific cultural club to illuminate their traditions and struggles. There are nine cultural clubs that focus on the ethnicities they represent, and there will be eight more cultural shows throughout the year.

When expressing a thought as a feeling, by using "I feel" in place of "I think," we abandon the risks of conviction for the safety of suggestion. Our fear of being wrong prevents us from standing behind our ideas. Instead, we offer our ideas as feelings and avoid discussion about the merits of those ideas. In doing so, however, we lose a valuable opportunity to express our ideas and have them be examined or tested.

On Saturday night, approximately 450 Santa Clara students dressed in an array of plaid and neon filed onto seven buses parked off campus near Lafayette Apartments. A short bus ride to Palo Alto and the mob of buzzing people made their way into Club Illusions for a Leve1 experience. The occasion, Don't Bring Sand to the Beach II, is the second annual event put on by Leve1 Events, a self-described "off campus student organization founded by current Santa Clara University Students . . . dedicated to bringing unforgettable events with the most talented artists."

The amount of school spirit displayed around the time of the game was amazing. I was so excited to see my fellow peers enthusiastically supporting their team, wearing the Ruff Rider shirt with pride, and even shouting "We Bucked the Zags!" at 3 a.m. outside my window. However, that Saturday, a mere two days after we beat Gonzaga, when the men's basketball team played Portland, there were barely any students in attendance.

I don't claim to be an expert by any means — Heck, I haven't been doing it for that long — but I would like to imagine that the coping strategies I've stumbled upon in an attempt to maintain my sanity in my long term relationship, might just be helpful for the other strong yet foolish individuals who have decided to traverse the great wilderness that is long-distance relationships.

I got two things out of Jared Loughner's shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords: President Obama can work an audience, and people in the United States have a talent for mass hysteria.

Anybody, regardless of major, can be an entrepreneur. Just ask Andrew Mason, the music major who started Groupon.com. All it takes is passion, devotion, and hard work. Use the resources given to you and you just may find yourself ahead of the game in the business world.

The Dream Act would provide deserving people the opportunity to serve the place they call home, or better themselves with an education. In my mind it is a no brainer that it should be passed.  In the end, the real question is, and should be: Illegal immigrants, are you SURE you want to live with us?