How to question your way to a successful life

2012: Tú, only better

How do you define success? Chances are that your definition isn’t the same as mine or even the same as your best friend’s. How you define success is as individual as you are and it creates your map. Once you know where you want to go, you can map your route

But defining your destination and mapping it out are only the first steps. Life is not so simple that we can’t expect twist, turns, and bumps in the road. Those twist and turns mean that we must review the path each day to ensure that we’re on the right track. We can do this by asking ourselves some important questions each day.

Religion belongs in the home, but what about the House and Senate?

by Maitri Pamo

You have seen them: signs stating “Dios bendiga este hogar.” Their popularity is a testament to the overwhelming adherence to religious faith that characterizes the Latino experience in the U.S.

The last published report by the Pew Hispanic Center on the subject found that only 8 percent of Latinos identify as atheist or agnostic. In the overall population of the country the Pew Center found that despite a changing social panorama, most individuals still report some sort of religious preference.

What it takes to get into college

For many students, dreams of college never become a reality. Sometimes, even when they are able to get the right grades and test scores to gain admission, they aren’t able to make it to graduation.

Introducing: The first ‘foldable’ car

On the heels of demand for more efficient, more compact, motor vehicles, researchers have created the first ‘foldable’ car. Of course, this isn’t a vehicle that can be stashed in a backpack or toted off by hand, but a car that folds inward, saving space in already cramped areas.

Death to Fidel and Chávez! Long live Fidel and Chávez!

by Hector Luis Alamo, Jr.

Throughout present-day Latin America, no two leaders are bestowed with so much fervor, equal parts adoration and animosity, than Fidel Castro in Cuba and Hugo Chávez in Venezuela.

The socialist, anti-imperialism policies they exhort make them the scourge of the Western world; their totalitarian attempts to prolong their regimes fuel opposition within their own countries.

Shifting identities: Hispanic or Latino?

by Adriana Villavicencio

In 2011, the Los Angeles Times made it official: The term [Latino] in virtually all cases is the appropriate choice over Hispanic. In response, readers chimed in with personal preferences, public attacks, and historical explanations going back to the Aztecs.

Over the last few decades, these terms have become contentious as politics change and identites shifts. Below is a primer on the terms themselves and reasons they manage to elicit such emotion.

Latino Social Media Don’ts

by El Guapo

An extensive new study funded and conducted by The Daily Refried research department has unearthed some revealing facts about Latinos, technology, the internet, the blogosphere, and social media.

First, after some digging we discovered that contrary to popular belief, Latinos were early adopters when it came to social media, and, in fact, may have been well ahead of the curve in many capacities.

Joran van ver Sloot and the end of the Natalee Holloway media circus

by Eric Jude Cortes

When you saw his pasty pale-skinned face, your eyes became glued to TV. You debated his innocence as if he was O.J. Simpson. Blowhards, from Nancy Grace to me to Dr. Phil kept track of his every movement.

He is Joran van der Sloot, and ever since his high profile role in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway came to light, the mere mention of his name could directly lead to production of a Dateline NBC Special. But to those who have shuddered at the amount of media attention given to a double-murderer there is hope, as two recent events spell the end of Joran van der Sloot’s time in the spotlight.

Digital DNA to prevent cheating on the SAT exam

Photo: Stony Brook University

Names on a page. That’s all students are when they take the SAT and ACT tests. Depending on the name, you won’t be able to tell if the student is supposed to be a boy or a girl, or even what they look like. This was one of the reasons that some students were able to pay others up to $3,600 to take the test for them.

Start now!! Guidance for procrastinators

2012: Tú, only better

by Luna Garcia

The saying goes No dejes para mañana lo que puedes hacer hoy; but tomorrow always seems like a better day to get anything done.

If you find that you avoid attending obligations promptly and give different excuses (like “I work better under pressure”, “I like things last minute”, “I just cannot find the right time to do it”, “something came up”) to postpone your duties, you may have a procrastination problem. Isolated incidents do no harm, but if you do this often, you have fallen into a damaging pattern of behavior.