2. February 2012 by student.

Natural Family Planning Week: hidden traps of cohabiting (2008). http://www.therecord.com.au/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1900&Itemid=27. A majority of first marriages are preceded by cohabitation. In this picture, couple see cohabitation as a kind of trial marriage where they get an opportunity to see how well fit together before making a legal commitment.

Many adults choose to cohabit before marriage for a variety of reasons.  For some, according to Cherlin (2010), cohabitation serves as way of avoiding commitments.  For others, cohabitation is a way of finding a spouse or serves as an alternative way of being married (p. 230-232).  According to the Census Bureau, cohabitation has become so widespread that it has almost doubled since 1990.  As the number of people who are living together increases, the number of people who are getting married decreases as well. Many would expect that since married couples who live together prior to marriage would have a lower divorce rate than couples who did not.   However, living together actually increases the divorce risk. I learned that for some, cohabitation is an alternative way to of being single and does not involve a legal commitment. For others, it is a stage in the process of finding a spouse.

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9. December 2011 by student.

I think school choice is great in lee county. At the moment they are trying to get rid of it. Due to long bus rides. some students are on the bus for up to an hour each way. witch is causeing the county lots of money on gas. there are many schools in the discrict to choose from. I think you should be able to pick from the three closest schools to your home. taking away the choice of what school you want your child to go to could cause alot of issues. there might be better programs at one school, that their child might need. If we want to keep our kids off the long bus rides. they need to be in a school close to home. if a parent only gets to choose from one school they might take that as discrimination. certain schools have special programs for children with needs. 

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9. December 2011 by student.

Gay Marriage is a controversial subject in the US today.  Many people are involved in the debate for or against it however I have no interest in being involved in the decision and the out come does not matter to me either way although I definitely have no desire to fight for gay marriage.  With that being said gay marriage is worth discussing because it is such a big deal in the US and for the fact that so many people are passionate about it.

The main arguments for gay marriage are

-gay marriage is a matter of justice

-marriage is a civilizing influence

-acceptance of everyone

The main arguments against gay marriage are

-marriage is for raising children

-the argument that if we allow gay marriage it is a start down a bad road of accepting more and more once frowned upon  things

-religion forbidding gay marriage

-gay marriage is wrong by definition

As I said before this issue does not mean a lot to me but I recognize its importance to others but what business would I have talking about it without at least expressing some of my opinion. The thing that makes the most sense to me is that sex primarily for pro creation and that is impossible for same sex couples. If you take away the aspect of it…. well we all love our friends and dont marry them. To go even further into my opinions, gay marriage is against my religion but not everyone follows my religion. The main thing for me is I doesnt bother me either way and no you cant have my help in your fight.

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9. December 2011 by student.

 In 1998, gay marriage was not largely a social issue.  Somehow gay marriage became a threat. And, by 2004, many states had passed resolutions making it illegal. they needed to do so specifically because the possibility of legal gay marriage had gained support for the first time in (recent?) U.S. history. People shouldnt get jugded or discriminated due to their choice of interest. When you have some states it being legal and others not, it creates conflict. a great example of how social “problems” are socially constructed. Why should it be ok in one state and not another. The United States is a whole.

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9. December 2011 by student.

Unemployment, is one of the main social problems we are faced with everyday, and a few steps can be taken to help create more jobs. One of my first ideas is to limit class sizes. If you limit the size of classes in public education you can not only create a need for more teachers, but you can also increase child attention, making actual learning go up.

Another idea is to increase the avilibilty of child programs in the parks department. By increasing this, you will create more jobs to after school helpers, and tutors, and you will also be helping kids get outside, and interact with eachother that will reduce child obesity.

Jobs could also be added by emphasising, and preserving the historical landmarks. Tourists love to see the history behind a city, and if you have people to lead tours, and help upkeep the matinence, you are creating a need for more jobs, and pumping more money into the ecnomy.

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9. December 2011 by student.

Child obesity: Stefan Pfeffer

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9. December 2011 by student.

Gender is an important part of today’s society. Since the time we were four we knew whether we wanted a “girl” toy or a “boy” toy from the golden arches. Many people feel pressure to conform to what society views as feminine and masculine. I think the media uses gender to it’s advantage in a negative way. All little girls grow up and want to be Cinderella or Snow White and be rescused by this handsome and usually rich prince. Little boys watch these movies and are forced to believe that’s how men should act. One of the most handsome and desirable men in Disney is Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, he was “handsome” and rich and the epitime of a manly man. Women flocked to him even though he was a jerk.I think these ideals are handed down and can kind of shape the culture for children today. Children don’t have a lot of positive role models and I think it’s a major social problem that needs to be addressed soon before we breed more “helpless” girls and “mean” boys.

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9. December 2011 by student.

Many issues in our society are discussed with much concern. The constructive conversation on solutions and causes of social problems may be discussed. One, social issue that we have in our society that isn’t talked about as much or rather when the topic is brought up, the disgust is there. Some might say they are not human beings or they are extremely sick? The sick part too many psychologist is true. What is this sickness that causes issues in our society? Pedophiles are a problem in our society that must be regulated, because of the damage it does to children. Now, many of you might feel sick to your stomach, because the thought of the actions of a pedophile is unfathomable.

            What is a pedophile? Many people’s idea of a pedophile is slightly incorrect, because of change of definition and misunderstanding of these people. One misunderstanding that many people have is linking pedophiles and predators. According to Dr. Herbert Wagemaker, a certified board psychiatrist describes a pedophile as a person having sexual desires with children. These children have to be prepubescent for the person to be considered a pedophile. If the child isn’t prepubescent then the person is considered a predator. A pedophile in most cases would completely mentally and physically cut him/herself off from the child when they reach puberty.  Also, according to many psychologists this is considered a mental illness.

            The harm to the child being manipulated by the pedophile may serve psychological issues for the rest of their life. The children subjected to this abuse may also suffer from relationship issues and become an abuser themselves.

            There has been a solution to the problem such as, tracking pedophiles, raising awareness, and even chemical castration which doesn’t work, because the relation that most pedophiles carry is based on power. This power trip comes from manipulating a child into sexual behaviors. A system of sex offenders from predators to pedophiles is another solution. The links below provide some substantial reading material if you want to know more.

http://www.cpiu.us/statistics-2/

http://www.sexlaws.org/node/3987/print

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9. December 2011 by student.

Gambling addiction is a serious problem that destroys millions of lives every year. Pathalogical gambling is no less dangerous than a drug or alcohol addiction. Gambling addictions have the power to strip individuals of everything they hold dear, including morale as well as will to live. Serious cases of gambling addiction can have wide spread and devastating effects on the both the addict and their loved ones. A gambling addiction can start just like any other addiction. Just like drugs or alcohol it all begins with one high. Only with gambling that one high is just one win. The progression of gambling addiction can vary greatly depending on several factors. One part of how a  gambling addiction seems start is based towards the kinds of games played. Many people who play more strategic and what they call skill games like poker tend to move at a much more slower rate than those who play quick, immediate gratifying games like slot machines or video poker. These players will progress at a much faster pace normally. Gambling addiction has 3 main stages. They are the winning stage, the losing stage, and the depression stage. A gambling addict will experience these three stages through they’re progress towards pathological gambling. The winning stage of gambling addiction is often considered to still be “fun”. Gambling begins to be a part of life as the gambler starts to enjoy the high or escape that gambling gives to them. The gambler also begins to talk about his or her gambling experiences more often, as winning streaks, or a big win become justification for more gambling.The behaviors we see of someone in this first stage are small subtle signs of a decent into a compulsive gambling addiction. The losing stage of gambling addiction is when problems begin to become more obvious and the euphoria of winning has now begun to diminish. The depression stage of gambling addiction is the stage when the gambling addict sees more extreme depression and anxiety. This comes from mounting financial pressures and continued gambling loses. The gambler will become increasingly isolated from friends and loves ones and they will be desperate to have a change of luck with their gambling. While gambling may have been the escape to begin with, once it has become the very source of depression and anxiety, many addicts begin to drink or abuse drugs as an “escape” from their first escape. It is at this point everything becomes the equivalent of a nightmare. My solution to this problem would be the obvious. If we know someone we think has a problem it would be best to address it during the winning stage. Although the signs may be subtle if we have any inclination of a problem it would be best to address it then. Casinos should also be aware of repeat customers, people who show up everyday and do not know when to stop. Although there are hotlines for help a great way to regulate this would be to have casino security head and dealers know what they are looking for. For families this can be very hard to point out because everything seems great if the person comes home winning. Generally in dog tracks and casinos it is normally a very family environment in the sense that everyone knows the dealers and the security heads because they are always rotating tables and positions. These employees must be made aware of how to search out a pathological gambler and know when to tell them it is enough. Giving month long suspensions could help with people who refuse to listen as well as working with other local casinos. Suicide is a very serious issue and for it to come from something so minute as gambling I feel like it is safe to say casinos could be taking much bigger steps to helping moderate this social problem.

Michael Simons

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9. December 2011 by student.

Last week Chicago Newscaster Robin Robinson did the world a favor and told us that Santa wasn’t real. This as you can imagine caused uproar the size of Texas. What the big issue was that she said Santa didn’t exist and this could’ve offended parents and upset their children. I’m ok with that. It’s understandable that you want to maintain your children’s innocence as long as you can. But the part of this tale that really “grinds my gears” is the fact she had to apologize on air after she had made what she felt was a true statement that had validity. Granted the forum might have not been the best choice but the point being why sorry? What did her saying sorry do for anyone? Did the children’s belief of Santa return once those words were uttered? Did mom and dad get to skip that potentially awkward discussion? I was happy when my mom told me the TRUTH. Truth is an important thing and for someone to fill their children’s head that a make believe man, comes down the chimney and drops off presents when in reality its mom and dad working two jobs and saving money to put presents under the table. BTW Ms. Robinson’s statements were made during the late news (9:45pm to be exact), we all know how many young children are up sitting up watching the news at that time.

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