Boston College students share how technology plays a role in their lives.

Filmed by Lauren Rever.
Edited by Meghana Kuthyar

Newt Gingrich, whose campaign has recently been gaining steam despite initial criticisms and a history of personal scandals, has further set himself apart from the pack with the release of his new immigration plan. His “10 Steps to a Legal Nation” lays out a more concrete and feasible plan than any of the other Republican candidates so far. The plan, which is clearly articulated on Gingrich’s website and has been alluded to throughout recent debates, pursues reform of the current visa system and immigration policies.

Firstly, Gingrich’s plan seeks to grant an attainable path to legality for those who “have deep ties to America, including family, church and community ties.” To determine who exactly fits into this category, the plan proposes a “citizen’s review” council which will formally judge each individual and determine his or her access to legal status. On his website, Gingrich argues that the unique efficacy for his plan lays in its ability to “distinguish at the human level”.

For those who are not determined to be of legal status, the plan calls for dignified repatriation. It also calls for the quickly deportation of criminals and gang members.

The “10 Steps to a Legal Nation” would enact serious reforms of the visa system which often encompasses long, arduous processes that discourage valuable individuals from entering the U.S. The plan calls for less onerous requirements when obtaining visas for tourists, highly-skilled workers, and job-creators as it would aid the economy.

In relation to Mexico specifically, the plan calls for stricter border control accompanied by a mutually beneficial program for guest-workers. Gingrich suggests temporary legal status be granted to immigrants who come to the U.S. to perform necessary labor. Instead of the present online verification system, he supports the use of outsourced biometric cards issued by a reputable company with strong anti-fraud credentials such as American Express. This system would maintain accountability of the guest-workers while providing them access to crucial labor.

Gingrich’s plan also offers an amended version of the DREAM Act in which immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally in their childhood have the opportunity to gain legal residency or citizenship. However, this proposal differentiates itself by mandating that such access to legality would not later be made available to the parents of such children.

With these stricter and well-defined measures, Gringrich concludes that more severe sanctions be placed upon those who violate immigration law as more attainable paths to legality are made available.

Gingrich’s plan comes at a time when immigration is quickly coming to the fore of political consciousness in the upcoming presidential election. While Gingrich has been quick to lay out such a clear and plausible program, most of the other candidates have yet to give the issue serious thought or attention. It has instead been used as ammunition particularly against Mitt Romney who has continually flip-flopped in regards to immigration.

Despite its centrism and practicality, Gingrich’s immigration plan has been criticized heavily by right. The other Republican candidates, for example, have censured it for rewarding undue amnesty and consider it too soft. Although its terms are likely to displease conservative Republicans, the plan might gain Gingrich national tract if he were to secure the nomination.

At this point, it may not be unreasonable to believe that Gingrich will need such centrist appeal as recent polls have suggested that he has become the Republic frontrunner. According to a recent Rasmussen poll, Gingrich is even narrowly defeating Obama 45 percent-43 percent.

Despite the rocky start of his campaign, Gingrich’s new immigration plan may just be what gives him the boost he needs to become a lasting contender in the presidential race. The Daily News agrees that, “Given Gingrich’s long-standing reputation as an ideological flamethrower, his kinder-gentler immigration posture softens his image somewhat.” Still, with initial primary polling merely a month away, he must move quickly if he is to capitalize on this opportunity for more widespread appeal.

Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Herman Cain was born in 1945 in Memphis, Tennessee. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia with his mother, father, and brother. In 1967 he graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in mathematics. After graduating from Morehouse, Cain worked for the US Navy full-time as a ballistics analyst while simultaneously working towards a master’s degree in computer science at Purdue University.

After receiving his master’s degree in 1971, Cain worked in both management and business analysis for a variety of food service companies including the Coca-Cola Company, Pillsbury, Burger King, and Godfather’s Pizza where he was President and CEO from 1986-1996. He also served as the president of the National Restaurant Association, a lobbying group for the restaurant industry, beginning in 1994. Cain was the board chairman for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in the early 1990s. Most recently, Cain hosted his own local radio talk show in Atlanta.

Although Cain has never held political office himself, he has been active in national politics for over a decade. Most prominently on his list of political achievements is his public challenge to President Clinton in 1994 during a televised town hall meeting over the effects of proposed healthcare reform on business. This crucial exchange with the president led Newsweek to name him one of the most influential opponents of the plan.

Cain later served as an advisor during Bob Dole’s 1994 presidential campaign. He also entered both the 2000 presidential election and the 2004 Senate election in Georgia but failed to gain the nomination. In 2010, Cain gained popularity and recognition by speaking at various Tea Party rallies and releasing well-received content on the internet.

Cain entered the 2012 presidential election on May 21, 2011. Although at first a clear underdog with little expectation for broad appeal, Cain has become a major contender for the Republican nomination. Although Cain’s support is most consistent within the Tea Party demographic, he has been voted the frontrunner in a various Republican straw polls since late September.

Among Cain’s most prominent political platforms is his 9-9-9 tax plan which would replace most federal taxes with a 9 percent tax on business transactions, personal income, and sales. This plan would eliminate the payroll tax, capital gains tax, estate tax and most federal tax deductions while maintaining federal excise taxes.

The 9-9-9 plan has received both harsh criticism and wide appeal. For example, Reagan Treasury official Gary Robbins estimate that the 9-9-9 plan “will expand GDP by $2 trillion, create 6 million new jobs, increase business investment by one third, and increase wages by 10 percent.” Various Republican individuals and groups have also voiced their support for the plan.

Criticism for the plan also runs rife, however. Paul Krugman of the New York Times, for example, argues that the burden of the 9 percent business tax will fall directly on wages. Additionally, research by the Tax Policy Center suggests that the 9-9-9 plan will raise taxes for 84 percent of Americans while providing tax cuts to the wealthiest households.

Another piece of Cain’s campaign that has caught widespread attention is a recent web advertisement. The ad features Cain’s campaign manager, Mark Block, praising Cain’s views and potential to the camera. Ultimately, he takes a long drag on a cigarette as Krista Branch’s pro-Tea Party “I am America” plays in the background. The ad concludes with a close-up of Cain as he smiles slowly to the camera.

This unconventional advertisement has become a web sensation and has raised many questions about Cain’s political tactics. Analyses attempting the make sense of this eccentric ad have resulted in various conclusions. Henry Kissinger purportedly hailed the smoking scene as being “brilliant” while James Carville opined that Block was “drunk or stoned”.

Some have criticized the ad for condoning smoking while others laud the move as a subtle homage to older, blue-collared voters who may be smokers themselves. Regardless of however one chooses to interpret this strange advertisement, it has undoubtedly drawn attention to Cain’s campaign.

Most recently, Cain has received attention with the resurfacing of 1990s accusations of sexual harassment brought on by former Nation Restaurant Association employees. Cain originally denied the allegations, citing them as attempts to smear his image.

However, it was later discovered that two women did file formal complaints at the time and received $45,000 and $35,000 respectively to leave the organization and keep quiet.  Neither woman has spoken publicly or released her identity in relation to the case.

With both and good and bad publicity in the last month, Herman Cain’s candidacy is proving to be an unorthodox yet increasingly popular one. As the competition between Republican candidates forges ahead, it will soon become evident how these early campaign efforts will affect Cain’s chances of finally cinching the nomination of his party.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

WHAT I WOULD HAVE TWEETED WHILE ABROAD IF I HAD A PHONE (Part 3):

• Minister of Sound is not doing his job very well.  It’s bloody loud in here #OhItsANightClub #ThisIsBecomingAPattern
• Only 1 and a half pounds for ALL THESE CHIPS?!?!? #DontTellMeWhatThatIsInDollars
• Puttin’ the burger sauce on the chips #Winning
• Oh my god these chips are so effing good #BTWThatsWhatTheyCallFries
• 9 AM lecture after a night out #FreshmanProblems
• Basketball trials… find out if I make the squad today #FingersCrossed
• After a grueling 2-hour session… I’VE MADE THE TEAM! #HardWork #Focus
• After another grueling 2-hour session… the team is making me drink! #ThisWillEndPoorly
• As long as every bar in the UK sells snakebites and nobody in America has heard of them #TheRevolutionIsAFailure
• Foam party at an Australian rugby bar!!! #DontAsk
• My induction got moved to a room that doesn’t fit us all because the professor couldn’t turn on the lights in the original one #GreatSign
• Neon paint party tonight… I hope no one gets paint on my @Rihanna t-shirt #ISoundLikeSuchAGirl #IDC
• The guy with “Medic” on his t-shirt outside the club gave us the wrong directions home #WasHeEvenADoctor?
• @TinieTempah got his picture in the National Portrait Gallery… hope he doesn’t blow in America til I get back so I can impress my friends
• There’s like 6000 paintings in the National Gallery and I’m totally uninterested in all of them except Leonardo da Vinci’s
• @BostonCollege is hooking us up!  Free tour, free fish & chips, free cruise, free Tower of London #BestPartIsRubbingItInDukeKidsFace
• Trying to club in London on a Saturday night is #impossible #CherishYourSaturdaysBC
• Watching a football match in a pub is worth it just for the drunken hooligans’ reactions to the goals
• NANDO’S CHICKEN IS THE SHIZNIT
• Watching Be Kind Rewind for film class tomorrow… #Nice

Cheers!