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Saturday, May 26, 2012
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Jason Byas

opinion columnist

Jason Lee Byas, philosophy senior, began writing opinion columns for The Oklahoma Daily in fall 2011. He is vice president of both the Society of Undergraduate Philosophers and the OU chapter of Young Americans for Liberty. Jason has lived in Norman his entire life, and his main interests include friendly arguments, drinking inordinate amounts of coffee and reading books unrelated to his courses.

Recent articles

COLUMN: Why not use drones to catch people ignoring the smoking ban?
May 8, 2012  |  5 comments
We all have reason to thank OU President David Boren for the smoking ban. Though most of us are legal adults, we are still but children, doomed to wander lost in the fog of our own foolishness.  READ MORE
COLUMN: Strict gun control laws won’t address dangers of police abusing power
April 18, 2012  |  5 comments
Racism will still exist even if George Zimmerman is found guilty in the murder of Trayvon Martin. The argument of gun control has grown since the murder of Martin; however, restricting these laws will not end racism or prevent police from acting on ingrained racist impulses. READ MORE
COLUMN: Invisible Children makes war crimes invisible
March 14, 2012  |  4 comments
The “Kony 2012” video has certainly inspired “slacktivists” on Facebook, but it does more harm than good by masking war crimes and promoting imperialism READ MORE
COLUMN: Disparity in reactions to people breaking laws reveals biases
March 2, 2012  |  1 comment
Many people mourned excessively for Whitney Houston, but paid no attention to the horrific deaths of Honduran prisoners three days later. Such arbitrary reactions show ignorance, and should be reconsidered in a larger context.  READ MORE
COLUMN: Students focus on Ron Paul as presidential candidate-to-be
February 13, 2012  |  3 comments
If there’s any Republican college students support, it’s Ron Paul. The 12-term Texas Congressman has dominated the 17-24 age group, capturing 48 percent of it in Iowa, 46 percent in New Hampshire and 41 percent in Nevada, with similar results in other states. READ MORE
COLUMN: Intellectual property is theft
January 31, 2012  |  8 comments
Recently, college students and others who visit Wikipedia on a daily basis were met with a 24-hour blackout. The blackout in question was in protest of two pieces of legislation related to the Internet, the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act.  READ MORE
COLUMN: Empathy must be crucial to foreign policy
January 19, 2012  |  2 comments
At a Republican primary debate in South Carolina, Ron Paul was booed for suggesting Americans should look to the Golden Rule in foreign policy decisions. Much can be said about the reaction that came from an audience primarily made up of self-identified Christian conservatives, but there’s another important aspect to the incident. READ MORE
COLUMN: We citizens should seek as much info as possible
December 6, 2011  |  0 comments
I understand the disappointed reaction to our loss in Stillwater. However, I don’t understand why, for many students, it was the most upsetting occurrence in the last couple of weeks. Something much worse than losing a football game — or even losing an entire season (or the football program itself) — was within inches of happening, and no one seemed to care. READ MORE
COLUMN: Separate schools, public values
November 30, 2011  |  1 comment
New York recently passed a bill mandating comprehensive sex education throughout its public schools.  READ MORE
COLUMN: Selfishness a misunderstood concept
November 29, 2011  |  2 comments
Don’t kid yourself this Christmas by pretending that gift-giving is some selfless endeavor. Or, at least, I hope it isn’t.  READ MORE
+ more stories

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