19. April 2010 by student.

Lee county Florida is currently facing its own hunger crisis. This is the same county in which we go to school at. The area in which FGCU is located may not look like they are in need of much. There are fancy developments and northerners all over, you would think money was all around us. The truth is that out side this small area, and in the rest of Lee County children and families are going hungry. 66% of students receive free and reduced lunch, this means that more than likely this is the most food these children will get all day.The Harry Chapin Food Bank supplies food to the families of southwest Florida in an effort to suppress the hunger problem. This food bank feeds 20,000 people per month. Food stamps may help some but there are still people going hungry. Applications for food stamps has increased 150% in the past two years. The economy is to blame for this drastic increase in hunger needs. Lee county had the countries highest foreclosure rate, and a high and increasing unemployment rate. Although Harry Chapin has tons of pounds of food in its warehouse there is not enough man power and volunteers to separate and hand out this food. There is also not a central database for all of the food banks and smaller pantries in the area to keep track of stock and clients. If there were a system to keep track of this information then more people could be feed. Another shocking fact is that Harry Chapin Food Bank can convert 1 dollar of cash into 6 dollars worth of food. People who are not starving need to continue to donate money and more volunteers need to come forth and donate there time to the bank.

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19. April 2010 by student.

We can all observe social inequality throughout the world as well as within this country. Perhaps we should all take a moment and try to find the root cause(s) of this inequality. Some would argue that this inequality is the result of differences in ability, intelligence, stamina, communication skills, etc. That the reason one can observe inequality within human society is the same reason one can observe predators and prey within the animal kingdom. Some were born to eat while others were born to be eaten. This is the classical argument that the individual with the Darwinian worldview will likely make. Also, that it is only practical to allow a certain percentage of the global population starve to death and/or receive inadequate medical care and nutrition. As the world is becoming increasingly overpopulated primarily by third world populations that cling to religion and antiquated thought processes. While the industrialized nations are reproducing less and less.

     We can conclude that these views are held by much of the scientific elite based upon the writings of Arthur Jensen, Charles Murray, and the continued activities of institutions such as the Pioneer Fund within the western world. As well as the Pioneer Fund’s continued funding of studies within universities as well as Ivy League universities across Europe and North America. These groups and individuals are acknowledged and supported by some of the wealthiest and most educated within western society.  They propose very simply that inequality is based in genetics and that it would be pointless to try improving the environments of the impoverished because they are inherently defective and incapable of keeping up with modernity. 

  It only works to the advantage of the tyrants of the world to keep people hungry and desperate. If they  were to become empowered and capable the current caste system as we have it would become threatened. Even within a society that spouts off about “freedom” constantly, people fail to realize that that “freedom” very often becomes the “freedom” to oppress and discriminate domestically and abroad. That “freedom” was born of rugged frontier individualism that gave your great grand-pappy the “freedom” to pull his six shooter faster than the other cowboy.

    So I conclude that it is within the best interests of everyone to consider the root causes of social inequality at home and around the world. To seriously think about how we can end unnecessary suffering and oppression. To reflect on those thought processes within ourselves that encourage it, wherever we are. To focus on improving the condition of your fellow human being, before some firebrand demagogue comes along and rouses the hungry and impoverished of the world to march on and destroy civilization as we know it.

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19. April 2010 by student.

People don’t know that for Europeans, there are only ways they can become a U.S. Citizen: 1. Invest $250,000.00 in an American Bussiness 2. Get Married to a U.S. Citizen and 3. Own a bussiness in America that employs ten Americans.

If you can do none of these, there are other ways to get in the country. There is something called a Student H-1 Visa. This visa takes anywhere from 1 year (if you’re lucky) to five years. This visa will never lead to a Residential Alien Status (or anything above that like a Green Card) Once you attain the visa, you can move over, spend money renting an apartment, buying groceries, helping the economy… the only thing you are not allowed to do is work. Many American students work their way through college just to make ends meet.  At FGCU, our two rates for tuition for out of state students has sky rocketed: For Undergrad Non FL Citizen No differential, it is $653.20 PER CREDIT HOUR, and for Undergrad Non FL Citizen Differential it is $658.94. That is almost $2,000.00 per class! First off to me, it seems as if they are exploiting Non FL and non US citizens. But how is one student supposed to survive here if their parents can not pay for them to come here? Isn’t America Supposed to be the land of the free where you can start from the bottom and work your way up? Should these students be punished if their parents can not afford to send them to the country they’ve always dreamed about?

A lot of people think about population control when discussing the immigration issue. Yes, over populating could potentially be a social and economic problem. But, despite that, I do not think Europeans, or any other immigrants should be treated with this harsh judgements.

Let’s say for example, A man moved from England to America to go to school. He fell in love and married an American Girl. The first thing the Man has to do is file two different types of paper work. .Just to give you an idea of how extensive this process is, here is a little information on part of the Application: There must be two passport photos for the husband, and two for the wife. You must insert the photos in order within the paper work. But before you do that, you must write the persons name on the back of the photo, put it in a plastic baggy, write “Photo of Sally” (or whatever name it would be) on the front of it, then staple the baggy to a blank piece of paper. After you get all of your paper work done, you enclose them each with a check. Many checks totalling over $1,000.00 for the government to process your papers. They will send your papers back even if you sent them to the same building, but sent one to the wrong department.

Now, this man’s brother would also like to move to America. He is a lawyer, and wants to transfer his law degree to American law, and then be able to work and live in America. But the Man’s brother has to go through his own separate process. The fact that the man is married and living here means nothing.

 I know all this because I know an English Immigrant. He came to America with a warm spirit but is now struggling to make ends meet because he can’t work. He had savings… but spent it all on living expenses. He wants to be able to live here and work here..  have a life here. And he has paid the price and done the paperwork. He is just waiting for the one day that the government will declare him worthy enough to be an American Citizen. He had to go through all of the processes and the paperwork, even though his father used to live in America and obtained a green card when he was young. I think many people are not aware of how strict our immigration system is. There has to be another way to keep hold on the population while not destroying the dreams of people who want their American Dream. When we have people jumping the borders that our society made in the first place just to get to America to make a better life for themselves, you know they are desperate. They would rather risk their LIVES than continute living in their country. Would you risk your life to live in the land of “opportunity?”

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19. April 2010 by student.

According to the American Heart Association, 1 in 3 children are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. The habits that lead to overweight children normally lead to becoming overweight adults. American is composed of the most overweight people, but we always have the wide variety of fast food restaurants. The availability of quick unhealthy meals is a large contributor to high scale numbers and disease. Increased body weight causes type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and asthma. Poor eating and exercise habits can effect anyone, but African Americans and Hispanics are twice more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than Caucasians.

In addition to the physical health issues, a study in California suggests that children that are overweight or obese do poorly on standardized tests. Those children with high body mass indexes and low fitness levels did not meet the 2003 CAT math or reading standards. These children are not only at risk of illness but also of academic failure as well.

Some suggested causes of childhood obesity are low self esteem, poor eating and exercise habits, and genetic disposition. Today our generation is at risk of dying before our parents, but the home environment is not solely to blame. One third of elementary schools do not offer recess at all. Generally because they don’t have an area for the children or the school may feel it’s a waste of time. The lack of physical activity at a young age is setting the platform for poor fitness habits as the child gets older. Schools also offer an assortment of snacks in the vending machines that provide little to no nutritional value. In order to combat the obesity levels, schools should provide healthier lunch choices and recess or P.E. classes. The American Heart Association offers programs like Jump Rope for Heart which promotes raising money for heart disease and physical activity to lower the risk of heart disease among children in elementary and middle schools. With lower body weight comes higher self esteem and according to the California study higher test scores.       

Cites used.: http://www.healthiergeneration.org/about.aspx?id=3439

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WKR-4Y7NP22-8&_user=3279442&_coverDate=05%2F31%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000060172&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=3279442&md5=f74dbc6be0774338c7ac4702417422f1

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19. April 2010 by student.

Just this morning I was listening to the radio and the were talking about how games like “Farmville” and “CafeWorld” are taking over peoples lives.  I did not really think anything of it, because I am a victim of playing these games also. 

            *The were discussing about a family that was just in the news.  This couple had a baby in real life but they also had a baby in one of these Facebook games.  Well they were so focused on the Facebook game that they neglected to take care of the real child that they had.

We usually hear about how video games affect children, and how they are taught violence and all those types of things.  This time it is about how the parents are paying to their games more then there children.  We are becoming a society were we are more into out Facebooks and Twitters and are not interacting with anyone person to person as much as we used to instead we are using technology to communicate and keep ourselves entertained.

              *Families gather around the dinner table 40% less then they did in 1965. 

When I was growing up we sat at the dinner table and had meals every night together and discussed how all of our days went and what was new with all of us.  Since we were a busy family it was a good time to just talk and catch up with each other.  Since I have came to college and my sisters have grown up we are lucky to have a sit down dinner once a week.  We would rather sit around the T.V. and eat while we watch T.V. then sit at the table.  I think this alone is a good example of how relationships are changing with the times of technology.  It used to be a privilege to watch T.V. while eating but now it is just a given that that will get to happen. 

           *Americans on average have only 2 close friends, where a decade ago used to have 3 close friends.

This is also showing that we are using technology to much and are not having enough time for our friends and keeping in touch with them.  Yes, we can still communicate over the Internet but it isn’t as personable and it is just more if they are online you have time with them to just catch up quick and are most of the time distracted while trying to talk to them via the Internet.

I think Americans should try to spend less time using technology and we should do the old things that we used to like just go stop by a friends and see how they are doing our country could be a lot more friendly if we start acting more like we want to see people.

The facts in this page are taken from the website: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Unsettled+World+of+Today’s+Youth+How+Technology+Is+Affecting+Our+…-a01074009636

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19. April 2010 by student.

Silent Spring

By: Rachel Carson

My thoughts and analysis.

“The history of life on Earth has been a history of interaction between living things and their surroundings.” This statement, which opens up the first chapter, made me realize a lot of things about my environment that I don’t think I realized before. When one thing works in harmony with another, it seems as though things run relatively smooth. As I read on I learn a brief history of how life came to be on earth, followed by a few anecdotes to explain how one species to the next survive and adapt to certain changes around them.

DDT is mentioned for the first time. DDT is a pesticide accused of causing much harm to our environment. Carson goes on to talk about all the downfalls of DDT, such as its spending deficits, and ultimately its damage to animals and plant life in our ecosystems. Quail Dieldrin is another poison that Carson mentions, and according to her records, in a single experiment at Sheldon, a now beetle-less community in eastern Illinois, Quail Dieldrin has had about 50 times the damage DDT would. After this astounding find, she goes on to talk about just how much the community suffered from a huge loss of biodiversity.

The human price is one topic that Carson seems to focus on, after all of her research on the actual effects of DDT and other poisons. She makes it clear that we have emerged from an age of intense industrial advancements, especially with chemicals. I liked when she made the comparison of years ago, mankind being concerned with the cure of smallpox, and now she says we have a whole other world of health problems that humans need to be concerned with. The new environmental problems, as she calls them, have been created by radiation in all forms. A never-ending cycle of pesticides and chemicals that engulf our atmosphere. Certainly I need to be concerned with the things Carson is describing, because like it or not, they will be problems that my generation will have to face.

In Silent Spring, Rachel Carson does an incredible job of showing the harmful effects of DDT and other pesticides on our environment today. Reading through the book, I realize she makes some very valid points. Chemicals are not something to be played with, and Carson illustrates this with all of her examples and in depth descriptions of experiments held in favor of her argument. She mentions biologists, doctors, chemists, and environmentalists to make clear her point that we need to wake up and realize the harm we are causing. At the end of the last chapter, she makes note to the “Control of Nature” which she sees as a human arrogance to our surroundings. Life has a way of catching back up, and in the long run, all these chemicals in our world might not be so worth it if we don’t use them sparingly.

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19. April 2010 by student.

Lately, it seems as if our culture is somewhat defined by social networking.  We follow celebrities on Twitter, learn about new bands and artists through Myspace, and “tag” thousands of pictures of friends on Facebook.  Statistics show that Twitter, Myspace, and Facebook are the top three most popular social networking sites right now.  While they make connecting with friends and family all over the world very accessible, they can also create new problems for society, such as addiction and computer/stalking assault.  It is sad to say that an addiction to social networking nowadays is not rare.  Facebook has more than 60 million users, with an average of 250,000 new registrations per day.  Myspace has more than 110 million users around the globe.  1 out of every 4 Americans has a myspace.  With high statistics such as these, it is no wonder there is more cause for addiction and stalking.  Myspace and Facebook in particular allow for easy access to profile pictures, and pictures of family and friends.  Some tips to stay safe while using social networking tools are to always set your profile on private and make sure you do not have any photographs that can be viewed publicly that were taken in a recognizable setting, which would make it easier for an internet stalker to find you.  Therapy groups and clubs are also becoming more popular for social networking addictions.  More and more college students are avoiding textbooks for networking sites.  Many users of these sites say that “they simply cannot get enough.”  Maria Garcia is a nurse. She tells Action News that on average, she goes to bed at about 3 a.m. and gets up two hours later. But it’s not her work with patients that’s depriving her of sleep. “I do feel as though I’m very much into Facebook,” Garcia said. “I’m very much addicted to it. I spend about four hours in the morning, I go to work and then about three or four hours at night.” Medical health professional, Dr. Garbley said, “With all the money these social networking sites make it wouldn’t be a bad idea for them to carve out a little money for education, treatment and addiction warnings.” 

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19. April 2010 by student.

Yes, the school system has its flaws. But there are many people working hard to find better solutions for these problems. The thing is, to pay a teacher based on what his/her students recieve on mandatory tests is ridiculous. This would mean the teachers are going to have to focus more of their time on teaching students what is on the exams, instead of what they should be learning. “In recent years, we’ve been told Florida’s made great strides to improve the quality of education and raise student achievement,” said FEA President Andy Ford. Last year, a record number of ‘A’ grades were achieved in our public schools. So why go this route? Another factor is that low-performing students will be displaced in the academic world because teachers would not want that to affect them. This bill will hurting not only teachers but students in the end.

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19. April 2010 by student.

Ever since I was a little kid my mom always taught to put myself in other peoples shoes. She always told me not to make fun of other people. As I grew up I saw this happening around me and I did not understand how some people can be so cruel. When your in middle school or high school, you think popularity is the biggest thing you have to deal with in your life. And some do not care what they have to do to get it. Lately, I have been hearing a lot of stories about kids commiting suicide because they were bullied, made fun of, or beat up. While I think that suicide is not a solution to any problem, some dont see it that way. And when others are degrading you or hurting you, it will only increase the probability of that being the outcome. I just can not understand why make fun of others who are not the same as you? Do you do it because everyone else is doing it? Have you ever thought that instead of making fun of someone, you should stand up for them? It may be hard for some to do, but the outcome maybe much better that way, you may even save someones life. “Bullying in schools is as old as any problem that plagues schools, and yet it is one of those cases that receive the least amount of attention. The air of denial is sometimes so pronounced that some schools brand themselves as “bully free” institutions. In the end, these downplayed incidents leave victims traumatized and scarred for many years while the culprits gain more confidence to continue with their evil deeds.“

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19. April 2010 by student.

The media is a big part of most American’s daily lives. If a young girl turns on her television, she is most likely going to see skinny women, without any flaws, on commercials or shows. That will not help the image she has of herself and will make her want to strive for something that is unnecessary. It takes a really strong person to love themselves completely. But it is better to reach for that goal, than to view your imperfection so strongly. Being healthy is one thing, but most girls in this day and age are developing illnesses such as bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa because they are made to believe that they are not skinny enough. “Magazines for teens blast girls with urgings to maximize their “hot” looks while promoting the virginal ideal. These mixed messages may well be destructive and in part responsible for the rising numbers of teens starving themselves.“-Sheila Gibbons

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