It’s the Great Government Shutdown, Charlie Brown!

Oh, the Great Pumpkin… I think it’s fair to say it’s a lot like compromise in the government at the federal level. Elusive. The U.S. is in day 14 of the partial government shutdown because according to NBC News’, Tom Curry, “Republican say Democrats are seeking to undo the spending limits, or sequester, that Congress and President Barack Obama agreed to as part of the 2011 Budget Control Act.”

Both Republicans and Democrats are steadfast in their beliefs. It seems as though no one is willing to compromise.

If the federal government decided to default on its debt it would set us back economically. Already, realtors are seeing nervousness within the home buying industry.

Currently, the government shutdown is impacting individuals who hold government jobs and benefit from government programs and funds.

Marie Claire U.S.A. said that the shutdown is putting domestic violence victims at a greater risk. Some 2,000 shelters in the U.S. rely on funds from the Family Violence Prevention Services Act, Violence Against Women Act, and the Victims of Crime Act. Without this money, shelters are having a hard time caring for women and their children.

According to Glamour, “9 million women and their children receiving benefits through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (also known as WIC) could lose them “in a week or so.” In Utah, about 65,000 women have already lost these benefits. Women enrolled in the program are living near or below the poverty line, and rely on the WIC to for the most basic of needs.”

Can’t these examples help spur our government towards a remotely bipartisan decision?

Not even Linus and Sally made it waiting for the Great Pumpkin. At some point, even they had to go home.

Campus Quirks

(Post for JN 412)

1.) My Dysfunctional Starbucks Relationship

I’ll just come out with it. I’m in a committed relationship with Starbucks. Sorry hipsters, but I’m not ashamed. The only problem is, Starbucks is also in a relationship with a thousand or so other college students and they all enjoy our big, new, fancy Starbucks at the Ferg. To those unlucky enough to have arrived at said stomping ground only to see the line inching towards the SupStore, have no fear (and please, dear God, do not go running into the grimy embrace of Java City). This lover’s quarrel can be easily remedied. If you want your green straw coffee fix without the line during a weekday you have to be there exactly at 8 a.m. No, I’m not kidding. 8 a.m. is a sweet spot. Show up at 8 a.m. and you’ll have missed the early class people, and few college kids e are awake at 8 a.m. if they don’t have to be. The other option? Show up at night, say 7:30 p.m. You might be up till 4 a.m. painting your walls, but you’ll have had avoided the line. Is this logic irrational? I can’t say. Perhaps love really is blind.

At Starbucks at 8 a.m., as per usual.

2.) Squirrels Gone Wild 

I’m not a zoologist by any means, but I’ve noticed a pattern amongst campus “wildlife” and it’s the absence of the “wild.” Our squirrels are one step away from winning the National Dog Show, they’re so tame. Yesterday, I think one walked to class with me. He was listening to his iPod so I couldn’t really be sure, but I think he was.

I think everyone has silly squirrel stories, especially on campus. I think talking to people about their “squirrels gone wild” stories would be pretty funny. One time freshman year, I actually saw a squirrel jump out of a trashcan with a whole hamburger in its mouth. I didn’t even know squirrels ate meat, but apparently they do. 

3.) Give Norts a Chance

Nike shorts, norts, tempos, scoop shorts, they’re all the same thing and they’re here to stay. Should we shake our heads at the masses of sorority girls wearing running clothes when the last thing they’re doing is running? I think we should take a collective break and cut norts some slack. Why? They’re amazing, that’s why. You get a select four years where wearing a ridiculous uniform is somewhat okay. I’m fully supportive of taking advantage of it. If you’re lost on the norts appeal, let me help you out. I’m getting out my soapbox.

They come in a ton of colors and prints. Yes, please.

They dry super quickly.

If you are ever chased across campus, you’ll be prepared to move quickly. Practical.

They are the breeziest pants ever. DISCLAIMER: You do have to wear underwear with them. This is non-negotitable.

4.) Tuscaloosa’s Midnight Funk 

If you’ve ever been outside at night in Tuscaloosa, chances are you’ve smelled the odor I can only describe as tar and misery. Seriously though, what is that smell? In 2011 an asphalt company in Holt had to clean up its act because people were complaining about the smell. It’s sort of funny because for some reason, this smell is only detectable at night, but it’s AWFUL. It’s also way more noticeable the closer you get to Moody and that end of campus, but it’s practically daily.

Delving into Campus Substance Abuse

(Post for JN 412)

The article from today’s CW that I choose to expand upon is “Health center offers range of services for student needs.”  This article didn’t relate too much new information to me. Instead it just listed some of the services offered at the Student Health Center. However, there was one piece of information that stood out to me because I didn’t know the SHC even offered this particular service and that’s the substance abuse specialists. This article stated that the SHC hired two new specialists so they now have three to better help students. I would be really interested in going more in depth in that direction.

I would try and talk to the new substance abuse specialists and see how they have been making the transition into the SHC. I’d also try and talk to the first specialist to try and see why they had to hire two more people. It sounds like this is a popular service. How many patients do they usually see? Do they work in tandem with the counseling center on campus or are they independent from them? I think this would be interesting to explore.

To further that subject it would be interesting to see how the University deals with people facing substance abuse. Do people stay in school and see these specialists or is it more common for people to leave school and come back? I would imagine the number one substance being abused on college campuses is alcohol, but it would be important to find out if that was true. Is seeing a substance abuse specialist something that can be recommended after a Judicial Affairs hearing?

I think in order to further the newsworthiness element of this column, you’d have to look into how other universities are dealing with substance abuse as well. It would probably be best to look into nearby schools like UAB, Montevallo, UAH, Auburn, and Samford.

Not Dead Yet!

Recently my Facebook page has been flooded with articles ruminating on what looks to be the imminent death of the New York City Opera, a house that has been open since 1944 and is famous world-wide for commissioning and celebrating new American operas.

In September, NYCO announced a desperate fundraising plea for 20 million dollars. $7 million needed to be raised by the end of September to keep the current 2013-2014 season afloat. The board even opened a Kickstarter campaign asking backers for $1 million. As I write this, there are 14 hours to go and only $287, 015 has been raised.

Sadly, the end of NYCO seems all too near. It’s a very sad day for opera and it speaks to how long-time mismanagement can run a company into the ground.

New York City Opera was founded by Mayor La Guardia in 1944 on the principle that every one should be able to afford to go to the opera and they should be able to see the most interesting works available. NYCO has championed new operas with world premieres like Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land, Anthony Davis’ The Life and Times of Malcolm X, and Mark Adamo’s Little Women. It launched the careers of legendary American singers like Beverly Sills and Joyce DiDonato.

If NYCO goes, it’s not just an opera house that dies. Opportunities for composers, singers, and designers will die right along with it. It is one of the major houses in the States. To see it go is very sad.

The line, “Not dead yet!” is sung by the character  J. Howard Marshall II, Anna’s elderly husband in Anna Nicole. This past Saturday the company performed Anna Nicole for what could very possibly be the last time. Tenor Robert Brubaker told The Wall Street Journal that as he sang the line, he wasn’t thinking about his character, but rather New York City Opera.

“I have to confess, tonight, I was thinking about City Opera, and I hope and pray it’s not dead yet,” said Brubaker.

The clip below is of famous soprano, Beverly Sills (1929-2007) singing The Willow Song from Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe. Sills sang this role at New York City Opera in its New York premiere. It seems to be a fitting farewell piece for the company that gave us all great opera for so long.

(Post #4 for JN 325)

A Forum for Opinions

Should magazines maintain separate editorial pages?

I don’t think so. Personally, I go to magazines for opinions, specifically opinions of professionals. Be it food, beauty, or business, specialized magazines often mix opinion in their pieces. I don’t think this is an ethical dilemma. We simply can’t use the same ethical standards for judging newspapers and magazines. Now I know that sounds controversial, but let me explain.

To use the old cliche, it’s like apples and oranges. Both are fruits, but you expect different things from each. They look different. They taste different. The apple isn’t terrible for tasting like an apple and not an orange. It’s okay.

The same can be said for magazines and newspapers and opinions. Both mediums deliver similar content, but in very different styles. I think it’s fair to say that most readers expect newspapers to be an unbiased source of news. Magazines are very different creatures. They’re a forum for experts to impart their knowledge and advice. It would be fairly impossible for most consumer magazines to exist without opinion peppered throughout their pages. If every magazine had to label opinions as opinions we’d simply have niche newspapers with glossy photos.

For example, Allure Magazine posted a little piece this morning on “The Five Best Beauty Looks of the 2013 Emmys.” Nowhere do they mention it’s the opinion of Grace Clarke, Allure’s assistant editor. Her byline is just listed at the top as it would in any other story. The whole piece is based off of one person’s opinion, but it’s okay. It’s understood that this is an opinion. Who’s to say Tina Fey looked better than  Mindy Kaling? Pieces like this are so typical in magazines, whether it’s Golf Digest or Allure. Readers know this going in. They’re seeking those opinions. Newspapers are expected to deliver content differently which is why opinions are labeled as such.

(Post for JN 412)

Snaps for Change

“It must be hard to be greek right now.”

I heard this from one of my professors last week and it immediately made me uncomfortable. It’s no secret that the University of Alabama has been in the center of a media firestorm after The Crimson White published “Breaking the Final Barrier” on September 11, an article that revealed segregation in Panhellenic sororities and highlighted alumnae who refused to offer bids to qualified black women during formal recruitment this past fall.

The story was picked up by TotalFratMove.com, al.com, CNN, The New York Times, etc. You get the point. I don’t think I have ever seen so many follow-up stories in The Crimson White about any one subject as I have for this one. It was and IS a huge issue.

I found it to be very stressful because it doesn’t reflect my values or the values of the organization I am a part of. That part has been hard, but the more I thought about it, the more I refused to be someone who didn’t wear their letters to class for fear of being questioned by a reporter or for fear of what people thought of me.

Am I uncomfortable being greek?

No.

I am proud to be a part of a Panhellenic community who is finally catching up with what my organization accomplished in 2003. I am proud to be a part of a group of women like Melanie Gotz, the Alpha Gam who spoke to The Crimson White. These women are standing up for what’s right and long overdue.

As of this morning, six minority women have accepted bids to Panhellenic sororities through the C.O.B. process (continuous open bidding) already and these numbers are expected to grow. Panhellenic encourages women of all ethnicities to consider going through C.O.B. It’s a far more relaxed process than formal recruitment. There are no door songs or required dress codes. PNM’s (potential new members) get the chance to meet chapter members at laid-back sisterhood events.

I certainly understand hesitancy after all that has transpired, but I encourage women to think about recruitment and membership not as a consolation prize, but a chance to really make a difference. The media firestorm will die down eventually, but a lifetime in a greek organization is something you will always have.

(3rd post for JN 325)

“WWYW” Moment & The Closing of Campbell Barracks

“Where were you when?” moments. We all have them. My grandparent’s WWYW moments include: Pearl Harbor, D-Day, and John F. Kennedy’s assassination. My parents remember the day John Lennon was shot and the day the Challenger fell from the sky. Our moments differ. My clearest and most vivid WWYW moment is September 11, 2001.

Unlike most of my friends in the States, I was not sitting in my 4th grade classroom. I was at home. Home for my family was Campbell Barracks in Heidelberg, Germany. It was my little brother’s 7th birthday. My mom was watching TV in our living room and told me one of the Twin Towers had been hit. I was confused. I didn’t even know what the Twin Towers were, although I quickly found out. (We spent the majority of my childhood overseas in Germany. For years I knew way more about European history than I did American.) Soon after that we got the news about the Pentagon. Military bases were forever changed.

Our quad was on the very edge of Campbell Barracks. My bedroom window looked out on to one of the gates that divided the American side from the German side of town. After 9/11 we had armed guards at the gate every day checking IDs and cars. They rotated times, but we got to know the soldiers. We even brought them food during Thanksgiving. I don’t think I fully grasped why they were there until years later, but I knew felt safe with them there.

Our quad was at the first intersection in this photo, first on the left.

Last week I got an e-mail from my dad with perhaps one of the saddest things I’ve seen in a long time, the closing of Campbell Barracks. On September 6, 2013 Campbell Barracks closed its doors for the last time and was returned to the Germans. This wasn’t a surprise. It was announced in 2010, but it still felt like a huge blow. Just listen to the residents in the NY Times video above. To people who lived there it feels like home is gone. It brings on a myriad of emotions for me. As a senior in college, it feels like a permanent closing of my childhood. This base will always be a part of one of my major WWYW moments and although it sounds dramatic, but it’s devastating to know it’s gone.

(Post #2 for JN 325)

The Joys of Parking Woes

Once during my freshman year of college I walked three miles in three inch boots traveling to and from the Bama Theatre from Rose Towers, my dingy dorm which (fortunately for this freshman class) no longer exists. I had to go support the Gamma Phi entry in Miss Sorority Row, a psuedo-pageant for sorority girls and their respective philanthropies. Anyways, treks like this were pretty standard for me freshman through junior year. I was car-less, which in a town like Tuscaloosa, is how shall I put this? Miserable.

When I got my car this summer I was over the moon. Gone were the days of three mile hikes. However, what I quickly discovered was how jaded I was from not having a car and not facing the nightmare that is UA parking.

Oh, I heard about it enough. The CW editorial board manage to pull together some scathing pieces against UA Parking and I’ve heard the horror stories from friends. I park in a lot that’s nearly adjacent to where I live so I’m lucky in that regard, but I have to scope out parking while the Million Dollar Band is rehearsing for opera rehearsals and it’s dicey. The headline above the fold in today’s CW is, “UA Oversells passes for efficiency.” Wait, what? Is this serious or seriously inconvenient?

Surprisingly enough, from this article it sounds as though parking isn’t as much of an issue as students typically gripe about. Sales have decreased from previous years although enrollment has increased. The CW acknowledged that lots can get quite crowded, and they specified that between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. tend to be the worst on campus. I agree with that. One only has to try and get on the Crimson route, a Crimson Ride bus that stops at the Coliseum and one of the larger parking lots on campus to realize it’s crowded.

Crimson Bus

However, at the end of the day I really do think UA Parking tries to get it right. Are parking prices too expensive? Yes. Should there be more spaces? Yes. At the same time, students and faculty should try to be early to avoid the inevitable hassle. Parking is trying to get it sorted. I had hope when I read about the new lot they’re building that Chris D’Esposito, Director of Parking Services seemed so proud of. Expansion is a slow process, but the University is trying and for that I think they deserve some credit.

At the end of the day, I’ll do just about whatever UA Parking wants me to because I’m glad I have the chance to even get to deal with them. This girl is just glad she’s no longer walking three miles in heels.

The President’s High Wire Act

(Post #1 for JN 325)

The conflict in Syria that has been slowly burning for the past two years has exploded into international news recently due to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad allegedly using poison gas to kill 1,500 of his own people a little over two weeks ago. President Obama has since called for military action against Syria, citing their use of chemical weapons being over the “red line.” The President turned the decision to Congress who will be voting as early as Wednesday, according to the latest news from U.S.A. Today on what action the U.S. should take in Syria.

Photo by Kristoffer Tripplaar from thedailybeast.com

The President’s decision is one that confuses people and simultaneously makes sense. Obviously a President gassing his own people is cause for serious concern, but Americans are also extremely worried and agitated by the idea of getting involved in another Middle Eastern quagmire of violence. An article from CNN this morning quoted the President comparing the situation in Syria to WWII.

“The people of Europe are certainly familiar with what happens when the international community finds excuses not to act,” said President Obama.

On Sunday, U.S.A. Today released a poll of Congressional members whose votes have started to come in. As per usual, President Obama is facing a lot of resistance in the House. According to the poll’s findings, Democrats and Republicans alike have been voting not to take military action. This decision to enter into military action, which many are firmly referring to as “war,” runs contradictory for a president whose campaign promise at the beginning of his presidency was to get the U.S. out of conflicts in the Middle East (Afghanistan and Iraq).

Some unusual and conflicted supporters have been coming to Obama’s aid. One in particular is Senator John McCain who although supportive of intervention in Syria, has spoken out against the President’s handling of this issue. He even warned of a presidential impeachment in a recent radio interview.

The Time is Right

(This is blog entry #2 for JN 412.)

In “A Saner Approach on Drug Laws” the New York Times Editorial Board continued a conversation the United States has been having for years about federal and state level drug laws. They brought to attention the Justice Department’s announcement issued last week that urged states to use a “trust but verify” approach to their legalization of marijuana. This is especially newsworthy and timely for several reasons which brings up the first major point in chapter two.

Richard Nixon, U.S. President from 1969-1974

Since Nixon famously declared a “war on drugs”  in America in 1971, the United States has been legislating drugs for decades. Last year, both Washington and Colorado legalized recreational marijuana, causing a stir throughout the U.S. How could those states hold these laws and still obey federal laws that prohibit the illegal use of marijuana? This editorial was interesting in that it used timeliness to build upon this huge issue that has amassed so much press over a long period of time. Reading it was like reading through a timeline with the most recent events at the beginning.

Our book has a subheading titled, “The Combo: Look, Backward, Look Ahead” and this editorial does an expert job of accomplishing that. At the very end of the piece they bring up two new bills that are currently going through Congress that deal with drug-related sentencing. The New York Times ventures, “The nation’s costly and misguided conduct of the war on drugs has not been fixed, but a solution is drawing a little closer.” That sentence closes the piece, and manages to look forward and keep readers invested in the outcome of this saga.

I believe this was a very wise topic to write about. It’s a hot topic issue which is constantly bringing in news to the paper. It was not a particularly passionate appeal, but it did have an element of reassurance to those who have been following the decisions Washington and Colorado just made.