This summer I had the opportunity to work at The National Review in New York City as the NRO Development Intern.  The internship was a great experience because it gave me the opportunity to not only improve my web development skills but also to meet and get to know the amazing writers and staff at The National Review.

The internship consisted of coding new components for the NR website with PHP, jQuery, and Ajax on a Drupal framework.  The internship challenged me to learn new web development techniques and apply them in a real-world environment.

I’ve never spent an extended period of time in NYC, so being there for the summer was exciting.  I lived near Union Square and spent most of my weekends kayaking on the rivers and harbor around Manhattan.

I am very grateful to have been able to work at NR and meet the great editors, writers, and staff of the nation’s top conservative magazine.  It is an experience that has played an important role in my college education and is one that I will never forget.

A counseling student at Augusta State University (ASU) unjustly faces expulsion for expressing her religious beliefs. According to a lawsuit filed by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), student Jennifer Keeton will face expulsion for expressing her religious beliefs regarding homosexuals and transgendered people. She will be expelled unless she completes a “remediation plan,” which would require her to expose herself to homosexual culture and write reflection papers in response.

To justify its actions, ASU cites the “American Counseling Association Code of Ethics,” which prohibits counselors from discriminating against clients based on their sexual orientation. At issue here is not the code itself, but rather that ASU is applying it in a grossly unconstitutional manner. Keeton did not discriminate against a client. All Keaton did was express her religious beliefs regarding homosexuality, an act entirely protected by the first amendment.

We applaud the ADF for taking on this case. ASU, as a government agency, cannot possibly justify using the Code of Ethics to deny someone’s right to free speech. Considering no act of discrimination has taken place, the only reason ASU punished Keaton is because she expressed beliefs that officials found politically incorrect.

If ASU challenges the ADF’s lawsuit in court, we expect them to lose handily. ASU would be well-advised to follow the University of Illinois and immediately reverse its unconstitutional punishment. Any other action or inaction is detrimental to constitutional democracy and religious liberty.

The University of Illinois has wrongly fired Dr. Kenneth Howell for sending an email to his class explaining why homosexual acts are not permitted under Catholic doctrine,  in a class about – wait for it – Catholicism! Apparently, explaining and agreeing with the Church’s position on homosexuality, “violate[s] university standards of inclusivity,” according to an associate dean at Illinois.

This case, which has been rightfully taken up by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, the Alliance Defense Fund, and others, is clear-cut. A public university cannot fire a professor for exercising his rights to academic freedom and free speech. Dr. Howell, as a professor, should be free to choose examples to explain tenets of Catholicism to his class. While Illinois could use the quality of Dr. Howell’s teaching as grounds to fire him, an adjunct professor, the school did not address this issue in his firing. Such an argument would be especially dubious because Dr. Howell has won four teaching awards during his tenure at Illinois. Illinois obviously chose to fire him for expressing politically incorrect beliefs.

Even if Dr. Howell’s email was not related to his class, Illinois still could not fire him. As a public university, Illinois is bound by the first amendment and thus cannot fire a professor for expressing his religious beliefs. The first amendment confers Dr. Howell with the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. These rights entitle Dr. Howell to email his class and express his views. Even though critics have come up with fancy “arguments” claiming that Dr. Howell’s “preaching” is not protected, even “preaching” is a legitimate exercise of one’s first amendment rights.

As if the case against Illinois could not be any worse, Dr. Howell was fired without formal accusations being brought against him nor any hearing in which he could defend himself. Such an action violates Dr. Howell’s due process rights under the fifth and fourteenth amendments.

The University of Illinois would be wise to spare itself further humiliation in the court of public opinion and the court of law. It should therefore reinstate Dr. Howell immediately with back pay, a full apology, and a stated commitment to academic freedom, the first amendment, and due process.

Elise Anderson, deputy managing editor, is currently working for the Republican National Committee as an Eisenhower Intern. By working in the communications/press office, Elise is putting her journalism and writing skills to good use this summer.

Elise adds the following comment:

“The program has been a great experience so far and every Wednesday we have a guest speaker come talk to us and answer any questions we may have; speakers have included Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and Representative Aaron Schock of Illinois. Hearing their stories and learning from their experiences in Washington and elsewhere have been incredibly unique to the ways I have spent my past summers, so I am trying to make the most of the remaining time I have in the program. I am loving my time in DC, but I am eager to get back to Boston and start working on The Observer!”

Editor-in-Chief Jesse Naiman has written another article puslished on National Review Online. This article concerns efforts to erase a $4.2 billion deficit in Virginia and sheds light on those who question whether deferring payments to public employee retirement systems is a legitimate tactic to balance a budget.

The article goes on:

When Virginia’s fiscal year ends on Wednesday, the state’s budget will be in the black, says Republican governor Bob McDonnell: “We turned a $4.2 billion deficit into a surplus, demonstrating good fiscal management on our part.” Elsewhere, the budgets of state and local governments are in such bad shape that President Obama has proposed spending $50 billion to bail them out.

How did Virginia succeed where so many others have failed? And are its gains authentic, or merely the result of budget gimmickry, as certain critics allege?

Shortly after McDonnell’s election last fall, outgoing Virginia governor Tim Kaine — the current chairman of the Democratic National Committee — announced a budget shortfall and proposed to close it with $2 billion in spending cuts and another $2 billion in tax increases.

Because of the timing of his election and Virginia’s legislative session, McDonnell had to work with the budget Kaine had prepared — but he also promised to alter it fundamentally. “I made clear that I would not accept tax increases,” he says.

McDonnell’s opposition to tax increases wound up enjoying broad bipartisan support. When Democratic state delegate Robert Brink introduced a bill to implement Kaine’s proposed tax increase, the chamber voted against it by a margin of 97 to 0, with Brink abstaining. “The Democrats did work well with us,” says William Howell, speaker of the Virginia house of delegates.

Democrats were also pleased with the results. Charles Colgan, president pro tempore of the Virginia senate, praised the efficiency with which the legislature passed the budget: “I thought it would be six months at first, but it only took one extra day.”

The budget, which covers fiscal years 2010 and 2011, trimmed 11.5 percent from spending on K–12 education and cut health-care funding in part by reducing Medicaid eligibility and cutting Medicaid-provider-reimbursement rates. These moves are expected to save almost $311 million over two years. McDonnell also took a 5 percent pay cut, and members of his cabinet took pay cuts and reduced the size of their staffs.

The Virginia Education Association (VEA) opposed the education cuts, preferring a tax increase. “Our income taxes in Virginia rank 41st out of 50 states. Can you rank this low and still have good schools, good universities, good roads, and good public safety? Probably not,” says Robley Jones, the VEA’s chief lobbyist.

Tucker Martin, the governor’s communications director, counters that spending on K–12 education has grown by 55 percent over the past decade while student enrollment has risen by only 7.6 percent. Moreover, he says, “education spending accounts for 39 percent of all general-fund budget growth over the past decade.”

On June 14, McDonnell said that Virginia’s tax collections have been stronger than expected — enough to give the state a surplus of about $138 million when it closes the books on its current fiscal year this week. Yet some critics have said this is an illusion, made possible only because the state deferred payments of $720 million to the Virginia Retirement System (VRS), the institution that administers state employees’ pension plans.

Frank Keegan, a national editor at the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, questions Virginia’s promise to repay the $720 million to the VRS with the promised 7.5 percent interest. “If they don’t have the money this year, how will they have the money plus the 7.5 percent interest to pay it back later?” he asks.

Deferred payments may compound the problem of underfunded pension plans. “Anyone who says they are fully funded is probably lying or doesn’t know what he is doing,” says Edwin Burtin, an economics professor at the University of Virginia and a member of the Investment Advisory Committee of the VRS for 16 years. “This is a bipartisan sham. Both Republicans and Democrats are responsible. No one wants to confront the real situation. The situation is truly that bad.”

McDonnell’s team insists on the soundness of its approach. “We turned a $4.2 billion deficit into a surplus, which is a noteworthy achievement,” says Martin.

Virginia officials also claim that pension reforms will save money over time. These reforms include a requirement that new state employees must contribute to their pensions, and instituting a so-called “rule of 90,” meaning that an employee is eligible for retirement when age added to years of service equals 90. The previous rule stated that an employee must be at least 50 and have served for at least 30 years.

Keegan called these reforms a “step in the right direction,” but he said they do not address the fact that the budget is still not balanced.

McDonnell plans to use the surplus to award Virginia state employees a one-time 3 percent salary bonus, because they have not received a pay increase since 2006. This bonus is expected to cost $83 million.

Steve Slivinski, former director of budget studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, believes McDonnell should reconsider. “I would advise the governor not to spend the surplus,” Slivinski says. “He should keep spending under control and allow spending increases of no greater than population growth plus the inflation rate. He might also want to cut taxes, and even give the surplus back to the taxpayers.”

A diverse collegiate environment consists of students, faculty, staff, and administrators of various backgrounds, experiences, beliefs, and worldviews. We at The Observer believe that a diverse community in this regard is ideal. True diversity exists when people of various backgrounds, experiences, beliefs, and worldviews intermingle and offer each other new perspectives on the world.

We believe that we both contribute to and benefit from this diversity. As Boston College’s newspaper dedicated to upholding traditional and religious values at BC and beyond, we contribute to the campus’s diversity with our unique viewpoints. We also benefit from engaging with those who do not share our values. This engagement allows for both parties to benefit from one another and even permits our audience to hear multiple sides of an issue and decide with whom they agree.

This is precisely how we view our ongoing debates with the ALC and others regarding race issues on campus. We offer our view that affirmative action is counterproductive, unnecessary, and discriminatory. However, our critics on these issues do not see us as offering a distinct viewpoint, but rather one that must be corrected. For example, some argue that criticizing affirmative action is ignorant because it shows a lack of education on race issues.

Calling someone’s political opinion “ignorant” and one that “must be corrected” because you disagree with it conflicts with our vision of diversity. This is a problem we anticipate with the proposed freshman diversity seminar. We fear that if improperly implemented, it will teach one set of views on race, class, gender, and sexuality issues as “correct” and others as “incorrect.” This class may increase the number of AHANA  and GLBTQ students at BC through its potential as a public relations tool, but it has the potential to drive a stake through the heart of developing true diversity at BC.

We hope the students working on this proposal take our concern to heart and consider what we believe to be the true meaning of diversity.

As passionate as Sports Editor Kaitlin McKinley is about sports, she is also dedicated to fighting cancer and advocating for cancer victims in any way that she can. Her relentless efforts to help those inflicted with this horrible disease has led her to not only be an active participant in BC’s annual Relay for Life, it is also why she has chosen to intern at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Kait has this to say about her work:

“I wanted my summer internship to integrate my two passions: sports and childhood cancer. As the editorial and creative services intern in the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) communication department, I found the perfect fit for me. The Jimmy Fund Clinic of DFCI, deals strictly with pediatric patients. My little sister has received treatment there for 10 years, and I am eternally grateful to their dedication to cancer research. When I was given the opportunity to work for this organization, I was elated that I could in some way contribute.

“My main job is to be a writer for one of DFCI’s publications, called ‘Inside the Institute.’ It is published every two weeks like The Observer. It is distributed in all DFCI buildings, as well as all satellite campuses in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. I attend news meetings, generate ideas, interview doctors, patients, staff, families, and partners of DFCI. I write several articles for each issue and assist in editing. The articles are about groundbreaking research in cancer, fundraising events, patients’ stories, profiles of doctors, nurses, researchers, and other integral employees, and other cancer related issues.

“The Jimmy Fund is the official charity of the Red Sox and as an intern, I’ll be able to work on events such as the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-telethon, a two day event at Fenway Park, and Fenway Fantasy Day, where people can support the Jimmy Fund by paying to play at Fenway.

“I’m excited to learn more this summer about editing and writing, skills which will be valuable in my last year as sports editor of The Observer. Part of the interview for my internship involved sending them several pieces of writing from The Observer and they were impressed with the writing. The Observer is a wonderful paper and has been a great experience for me these past two years. I’m excited to be writing for another great publication now, and I look forward to returning to The Observer in the fall when football season kicks off with the return of Mark Herzlich who is a cancer survivor.

“I also will be participating in the Jimmy Fund Walk in September, which is a 26.2 mile walk along the Boston marathon route. My team is in honor of my sister, Maddy, and in memory of my cousin, Drew. I started fundraising last month. You can visit my personal page here. I want to raise as much money as possible for DFCI in their search for a cure to all cancers.

“Although unaffiliated with Dana Farber, I participate in Relay for Life every year. The team is again in honor of my sister, Maddy, and in memory of my cousin, Drew. We consistently raise a lot of money for cancer research and have received the top team award before. Each walk is a rewarding experience because every little bit of money helps move one step closer to finding a cure.”

Kait is yet another Observer editor who successfully put the skills she learned from the publication to good use for a good cause this summer. Her dedication to bettering the lives of others is a testament to the compassion of Observer editors, a trait that many of our editors show through their passions.

Editor-in-Chief Jesse Naiman has been profiled on CampusReform.org today. Campus Reform, a subsidiary of the Leadership Institute, is an organization dedicated to providing resources for conservative activists on college campuses.

The profile details both Jesse’s work and more importantly that of The Observer.

It goes on:

“One in particular, Jesse Naiman, is a rising senior at Boston College and is the current editor-in-chief of the campus conservative newspaper, The Observer. This summer, Jesse is interning at the acclaimed conservative news source, National Review, through the Collegiate Network’s Internship Program. (You can see some of Jesse’s stories here and here.)

“Jesse’s newspaper is affiliated with CampusReform.org’s Campus Leadership Program, and he had good things to say about the experience. ‘CampusReform.org is a great resource for conservatives that feel marginalized, and [they help you] know that you’re not the only one out there. It’s important to speak out for conservative ideals and for fundamental values that make our country great,’ he explained.

“With Jesse as editor, The Observer devoted its time to promoting conservative ideals and doing hard-hitting investigative work. In the 2009-2010 school year alone, The Observer revealed how a politically-connected union enlisted ALC support in violation of its already generous contract; called for the release of the student activity budget; and opposed a request to have a mandatory class for all incoming freshman concerning race, gender, and sexuality.

“The Institute on Political Journalism also took notice Jesse’s investigative journalism and named him the Runner-Up for the 2010 Robert Novak Collegiate Journalism Award.

“Jesse got involved with The Observer in his freshman year when a friend sent him a Facebook message to invite him to join. Eager for an outlet for his opinions on campus issues, Jesse joined The Observer as junior staffer. He continued writing for the paper and was eventually named editor-in-chief.

“Numerous opportunities have come Jesse’s way because he joined a newspaper his freshman year, stayed dedicated, and sharpened his skills.”

Jesse and the rest of The Observer staff will continue to work vigorously to defend traditional political and religious values at Boston College and beyond.

The Observer will run a series of blog posts detailing the summer activities of its editors.

Former news editor Megan Rauch will be the executive editor in the spring semester when she returns from Germany. Megan is working for the Boston affiliate of PBS this summer. Meg’s work highlights her passion for helping her community as well as The Observer staff’s commitment to fostering diversity.

When asked to describe her job and her summer plans, she offered the following commentary:

“Because I was concerned about missing BC too much while I’m studying abroad at Heidelberg in Germany in the fall, I decided to live near campus.  I am interning at WGBH, the Boston affiliate for PBS.  I work for two of the shows: Basic Black and One on One with Maria Hinojosa.

“The former is a live weekly show during which four prominent African Americans from the greater Boston area participate in a round table discussion about issues pertaining to the black community. For this show, I compile packets of information for the guests about the issues we’ll be discussing on the show.  I’ve researched a broad range of topics so far, including the black family, the Moynihan Report, black fathers, poverty, birth control, and education. During the tapings, I participate in the live online chats with viewers and share some of the information I’ve learned about the different topics.

“One on One is an interview show that focuses on the Hispanic community and minorities.  Maria Hinojosa interviews everyone from politicians to celebrities to authors.  As an intern, I also do research  about upcoming guests for the show.  Most recently, I prepared a 40 plus page packet for Maria and the production staff about Francisco Goldman, a Guatemalan-Jewish author, whose latest book, Who Killed the Bishop: The Art of Political Murder, about the torture and killing of a Guatemalan bishop, generated a lot of controversy in Latin America.  I compiled another packet about Soshana Johnson, the first black female soldier taken as a prisoner of war.

“In my free time, I have begun training for the Frankfurt, Germany marathon, which takes place at the end of October.  I am also enjoying making use of my new library card for the Newton Free Library.”

We wish Meg the best of luck this summer. We will miss her dearly in the fall, but we are looking forward to her safe return in January!

On National Review Online, Jesse Naiman explores the possibility of North Korean soccer player defections, and finds out that such a feat is impossible.