Top Ten Stories of 2008
The most popular Campus Progress stories published last year: Rachel Maddow, Late Night Shots, and The Weather Underground.By Campus Progress
January 2, 2009
1. Rachel Maddow sat down with us for an interview before she got the highest-rated show on MSNBC. [Five Minutes With: Rachel Maddow]
2. Now that fall shows have been broadcasting regularly, it’s hard to remember that the Writer’s Guild of America threatened our favorite shows this year. We caught them at their funniest, performing a skit before Congress during the strike. [Video: State of Their Union]
3. The Vagina Monologues has become a staple on college campuses for Valentine’s Day as means of raising awareness about domestic violence. But as one writer argued on our site in 2007, the play does little to break out of racial stereotypes, allotting a few “marked” roles for women of color. But this year, Washington, D.C. produced a version of the play cast entirely with African-American women, including The View‘s Sherri Shepherd. [Vaginas of Color]
4. Bollywood is known for producing its brand of musical romances, but the evolution of the films has sparked some controversy between traditional Indians, who believe the “Westernized” affection should never be public, and more modern audience members, who just see the increased kissing, hugging, and even suggested sex scenes as part of the evolution of the industry. [Bollywood: Kiss Kiss Hug Hug]
5. Hey, did you know that silver can of Coors you’re holding is actually a symbol of anti-gay, anti-union, right-wing sentiment? Now you do. [The Dark Side of Coors Light]
6. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert may have gained notoriety during this election season, but one writer asked if we should forgive them for crossing picket lines during the writer’s strike. [Are Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Scabs?]
7. “America’s Fastest-Growing Coked-Out Republican Hill Staffer Douchebag Invite-Only Web Community“ called Late Night Shots has become infamous enough to get its reality TV show. We can’t wait to not watch it. [“The OC” comes to D.C.]
8. Graffiti is awesome! So says a new “academic” book on graffiti that comes off as more of a fanboy’s ode than an actual contribution to the subject. [Writing on the Wall]
9. The debates over gender pay equity and college affordability have largely existed separately, but they shouldn’t. With more women attending college than men and college debt piling higher and higher, these two issues should be talked about together. [Not-So-Equal Pay Day]
10. Everyone’s favorite former radical-1960s-protester-turned-domestic-terrorist this year was Bill Ayers, but The Weather Underground had more than one member, and Mark Rudd was willing to sit down with one young activist and talk about what he learned from his radical past. [The Lessons of the Weather Underground]
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