In a world where technology becomes obsolete only a few months after it hits the shelves, how long will it take for the shiny new President to become outdated and out-of-touch?

Last week the White House held an online town hall meeting, inviting Americans to submit their questions and concerns for the President’s consideration. Overwhelmingly, the question most frequently asked was: “With over 1 out of 30 Americans controlled by the penal system, why not legalize, control and tax marijuana to change the failed war on drugs into a money-making, money-saving boost to the economy? Do we really need that many victimless criminals?”

From the looks of it, you’d think the devil was invited to speak at the University of Notre Dame’s graduation commencement ceremony. Then again, maybe some people believe he is, though I bet even Rush Limbaugh would find this a bit extreme. For commencement and graduation, most universities invite a distinguished individual to address the graduating seniors in order to provide them with words of wisdom and advice for the future. Who better for the task than the President of the United States? I am therefore bewildered that President Obama’s scheduled speech has been met with such defiance and outcry.

Last week, President Barrack Obama appeared on The Tonight Show to make us laugh over issues like the financial crisis, the burgeoning deficit, the energy crisis, the dubious future of American prosperity and, of course, to give us the latest gossip on the impending presidential dog.

(Laughter and applause … )

Obama wasn’t an ordinary late night TV guest. First, he is the sitting President of the United States — the first to ever appear on late-night TV. Second, he wasn’t there to promote a new movie, TV show or book. Rather, as soon became apparent, he was there to promote the economic agenda of his administration.

Last night, the Cornell Cinema did not screen a new film or an old classic, but rather a compilation of clips of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign accompanied by a personal presentation by the current White House videographer, Arun Chaudhary ’97. The Cornell alumnus, who was the director of field production for Barack Obama during his campaign, spoke of his experiences filming the then-presidential candidate, the thousands of clips he recorded and how his work evolved as Obama’s campaign spread across America.

During his lecture, Chaudhary emphasized the importance of “new media” and how the recordings that he and his team created helped introduce Obama to the public.

As departments across the University make cuts to their annual budgets to offset a $200 million budget shortfall, Weill Cornell Medical College is reaching deep into its pockets to scrounge more than $2.6 million — a sum that the University truly does not have to spare.

This exorbitant payment will be handed over to the U.S. government in order to resolve charges brought against the medical college for filing fraudulent claims in order to secure millions of federal research money from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. Unfortunately, this incident was not an isolated one for Cornell. The University has spent millions in the past to cover up similar charges of fraud surrounding research funding.

When I think of Spring Break, suntans, piña coladas and MTV pop into my mind. However, this year was a little bit different, and not because Mexico is swarming with kidnappers and armed drug-dealers. I spent my spring break at home in Orange County, California — a place that used to look a lot like Spring Break year round, or that was the perception anyway. Unfortunately, the OC has not one, but several “reality” TV shows that seek to expose the so-called fabulous, carefree lives spent day in and day out in the surf and the sun. When I came home last week though, something felt different.

Barry’s presidency hasn’t begun as smoothly as his faithful flock had hoped. Even before Inauguration Day, then President-elect Obama had to continually nominate and rescind nominations for his not-so-thoroughly vetted cabinet candidates (Do you know the fourth nominee for Secretary of Commerce’s name?).

From the outset of his presidency, Obama has faced a once-in-a-century economic challenge from collapsing industries integral to the American economy. This administration’s so-called bailouts of sub-prime borrowers, America’s big three automakers and the Wall Street fat cats who stole and swindled investors have faced scathing criticism across the board.