E-Cigarette Use Doubles Amoung Students

Week #1 Article #1
1. Tavernise, Sabrina (2013, September 5). E-cigarette use doubles among students, survey shows. The New York Times.

2. Category of problem: Human Heath

3. Level of problem: State and National

4.The article concerns: The potential for e-cigarettes to become a path to smoking among young people who otherwise would not have experimented.

5. Why this is important to individuals/families OR How does this affect individuals/families?
        E-cigarettes are shown to be less harmful than smoking regular cigarettes but it is being exposed to kids as young as junior high who have never smoked real cigarettes but are curious about these, which could become a gateway to smoking real cigarettes. Also, since E-cigarettes are a newer tobacco product we don't quite understand the long term effects of these products which could potentially be hazardous for long term health.

6. My input:
     I am kind of on the fence about this topic because there are both pros and cons about this topic. For me, the pros consist of that there is no tobacco in these products which makes it a lot healthier to smoke because your basically just inhaling and exhaling flavored water vapor which is way less harmless than all the nasty ingredients that are in real cigarettes. Also, I know a lot of people who were smoking packs of cigarettes a week and they switched to the E-cigarette which is actually helping them quit, rather than going cold turkey, because they have something less harmful to smoke on every once in a while when they are craving it. On the other hand, it is being exposed to all age groups of people, and these young kids are thinking "Oh cool a new gadget, I wanna try it." Some of these kids never even tried a real cigarette, but by trying the E-cigarette it might potentially make them wanna try the real thing next. Also, who knows that in years to come it won't cause more health problems, it's something that hasn't been around for a very long time so we don't necessarily know the long term effect yet. Overall for me, the problem isn't the E-cigarette itself, it's the fact that it is a potential gateway to conventional cigarettes, especially to younger kids.




http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/health/e-cigarette-use-doubles-among-students-survey-shows.html?ref=health&_r=0

New Law for Tanning Salons

Week #1 article #2

1. Jody Serrano (August 30th, 2013) Minors Can No Longer Use Tanning Salons Under New Law. San Marcos Mercury

2. Category of problem: Human Health

3. Level of problem: National and State

4. This article concerns: New laws restricting minors from indoor tanning beds

5. Importance/affect on families/individuals: 

The impact of this article for families and individuals is that the laws are now in affect as of september 1st. These laws restrict all minors (age 17 and younger) from using indoor tanning beds. Many people may or may not agree to these laws but non the less they are final and are to be followed.

6: My Input:

This article talks about how in ealier years minors could tan with parental concent. A lady by the name of Cheri Huber explains her history with tanning. She used them from the time she was sixteen years all the way until she was fourty years of age. She stopped tanning when she found out she had melanoma skin cancer. She mentioned that she wished she was more aware of negative effects of tanning prior to having cancer. For many years the federal government has tried to impliment certain requirements such as visible warning labels in tanning salons. Many states even required parental concent to tan if the customer was under age. The new law is named senate bill 329. This bill updated the one prior to it saying that minors sixteen and a half to eighteen years of age must have a parental concent of approval in order to tan in a salon. The new law states that minors will no longer be able to tan at all. One of the main reasons behind this new bill being written was that tanning indoors before the age of 18 would increase cancer risks by 85%. This is a large percentage.
In 2009 World Health Organization classified tanning beds as Carcinogenic. This is a scary thought. Many people, including myself, are paying to potentially have skin cancer. Usually, you try to prevent or avoid these types of things from occuring. As a tanning bed user, this article does put in perspective for me what I am doing to my body. Just like with every thing, there is a reaction for every action you take. I have been tanning in a tanning bed off and on for 10 years of my life and thankful I have yet to receive much harm. I say much harm because I have noticed more sun spots and many more freckles since I began tanning. I absolutely do connect them with tanning in a salon bed. I hope that this is a wake up call to many and that if you are using the salon beds you will be cautious of the harm it can cause.



http://smmercury.com/2013/08/30/minors-can-no-longer-use-tanning-salons-under-new-law/

Does financial aid ultimately increases tuition?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/03/the-tuition-is-too-damn-high-part-vii-is-government-aid-actually-making-college-more-expensive/

Week #1 Article 2

1. Matthews, Dylan. (2013, Sep 3). The Tuition is Too Damn High, Part VII —Is government aid actually making college more expensive? Washington Post.

2. Category of problem: education

3. Level of problem: national level

4. The article concerns: The question whether federal aid given to students brings an equal increase in the tuition that universities charge.

5. Why is this important to families/individuals OR how does it affect individuals/families?

     This is important to families and students because eventually they may revise the financial aid system. This may or may not work in the favor of the students (who the aid is supposed to benefit). If every time pell grants are handed out or increased, there is an equal increase in the cost of tuition, then we have a problem. Tuition may get so expensive that it prevents those not eligible for pell grants from attending the same institution.

6. What are your views on the issue/policy?

     I get financial aid and pell grants, and I like getting most of my college paid for, so there’s that. I don’t think the solution will ever be to end government funding for higher education, I hope. On the other hand, if I had a better idea, I would state it here. I admit I am ignorant in economics. But I’m not the only one, the economist's views about this issue are all opposing. I read the comments readers made and some of them were informative and some were funny. I will end with a quote that I saw in a comment box from Bluetosphere, he said “Ignorance is knowing nothing about economic theory. Profound ignorance is having a graduate degree in it.”

Should 'under God' be removed from the pledge? Some say yes. What do you say?

Week #1 Article 1

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/04/us/massachusetts-pledge-of-allegiance/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

1. Conlon, Kevin. (2013, Sep 4). ‘Under God’ under review in Massachusetts. CNN.

2. Category of problem: children

3. Level of problem: state level

4. The article concerns: Massachusetts atheist group sets out to have the words ‘under God’ removed from the pledge of allegiance in schools.

5. Why is this important to families/individuals OR how does it affect individuals/families?

       If the atheists can pull this off then there will have to be some announcement made in schools where teachers say “we don’t say this anymore children, this is how we recite the pledge of allegiance now….” That alone will lead to questions and curiosities brought up by the young not yet molded minds of the children and this is an opportunity to fill their head with what you believe and how you should treat other people’s beliefs. Parents may be forced to explain to their children that not everyone shares the same beliefs and that’s okay.

6. What are your views on the issue/policy? 

      When I think back about my young school days, I always remember reciting the pledge of allegiance every single day, whether I wanted to or not. It meant nothing to me as a child. Now I would like a do-over. I would like the opportunity to say the pledge again. I think that we should start saying it in college! I would love that opportunity so that I can remain seated and be one of the kids “ostracized” by my peers. 

Teen dead, more hurt in Texas high school stabbing

1. Graczyk, Michael. (2013, September 4). Teen dead, more hurt in Texas high school stabbing. Austin American Statesman.

2. Category of problem: School aged children

3. Level of problem: State Level

4. The article concerns: Spring, Texas (Houston area) fight outside of local high school that escalated into the death of a 17 year old student as well as stab wounds to others. 

5. Why is this important to families/individuals or how does it affect individuals/families? This definitely affects the individuals who were involved in this tragic case, as well as the families of these individuals. The superintendent of the school district (Draper) stated, "every parent sends their child to school believing school should be one of those safe haven places." In regards to this, I believe that, too. School should be a "safe place" for children to go to, but nowadays, fights, as stated in the article, are getting worse.  Families, parents especially, are scared for their children's safety and even the individual (student) are scared for their own safety as well. Text messages from children were sent to parents asking them to be picked up because of the severity of their terror. Parents were not even informed in a timely manner, which reflects poor actions on the school's part. Parent's should be kept informed on their children's safety, and if children are scared to attend school, this is a huge problem! 

6. What are your own views? Something should be done to make fighting more controllable in their district. This is not the first time that fights have occurred at that school, so maybe the district should research different districts who have had the same problem with fighting and see what they did to fix it. I do believe though that there is only so much punishment and reprimanding that the school can do to the students who are involved in these incidents. Actions and punishments should go back to the parents or people responsible for raising the child, but in most cases, this is less possible, which causes more problems. Students entering high school should be required to take some sort of course on fighting, so that they can be more educated on the serious harm they could do to somebody and be educated in what the consequences are when you are involved in such altercations. 

http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/education/at-least-1-injured-in-stabbing-at-high-school/nZmQw/

For workers and the economy, autumn could be scary!

Week #1 Article #1 

1.  Jim Tankersley. For workers and the economy, autumn could be scary 
(September 3, 2013). Washington Post 

2. Category of problem: Social Economic 

3. Level of problem: National 

4. This article concerns: Individuals and families  face expensive gas prices everyday. 

5.  Importance/affect on families: This will highly affect families because the expensive price of gases causes a burden on families because they need a means of transportation to get around to their daily routine and families are are forced to pay more for utility bills, groceries and many other things because gas prices have increased over. 

6.  My input: I personally feel the economy is getting better slowly but surely! Gas prices have increased in the past few years. As a college going student and working part time to pay bills, filling up twice a week for gas can add up pretty fast. Unemployment has increased and welfare is up, I feel the government should increase funding for government programs and one way we can do so is fixing the tax code. The reason why gas prices have gone up is due to deregulation and we can fix this by allowing government agencies to regulate laws. 

In conclusion the economy is improving slowly but it is not as strong as it needs to be to allow the working middle class to not live paycheck to paycheck. We can improve this by having low gas prices, adding more quality jobs, lowering inflation to have a stronger economy for the people!  

The U.S. economy looks headed for a rough autumn, with slowdown threats looming from the housing market, the Middle East and Washington.

Oil and gasoline prices are rising and could shoot up further if Western countries launch military strikes on Syria, pinching U.S. consumers who do not have much disposable income to spare. The housing recovery, which has been the economy’s hottest spot for the past year, is showing signs of cooling as mortgage rates rise.In Washington, the Federal Reserve could be poised to start winding down its latest round of monetary stimulus as soon as this month. Congress and President Obama appear set for another series of down-to-the-last-second fights over funding the government and raising the nation’s debt limit to ensure the United States does not default on any interest payments.

It also looks increasingly likely that Democrats and Republicans will allow the federal budget cuts known as sequestration to persist for another year, even as the economy is showing more strain from the sequester this year.

“Unfortunately, we seem to be entering another of those periods of elevated risk,” economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch wrote last week. Researchers at RBC Capital Markets sounded even more bleak. “Just when you thought the U.S. economy was ready to break out of its lackluster 2 percent growth pace that has dominated the recovery,” they wrote, “reality hits.”

More economic turbulence would be particularly tough for poor and middle-class American workers, who are still struggling amid the historically weak growth following the recession. The typical worker’s income has fallen since the recession ended more than four years ago, and the economy, still far from full employment, is creating far more low-paying jobs than good-paying ones. Polls show that workers remain discouraged by the economic picture, with more than half believing the United States is still in recession.

This summer, economic forecasters were becoming more convinced that growth was accelerating and the job market was healing more quickly. Rising stock prices and declining unemployment raised investor expectations that the Fed would deem the economy strong enough to begin tapering its stimulus program, the asset purchases known as quantitative easing, in September.

The new wave of pessimism set in last week. A run of disappointing economic data led forecasters across Wall Street to lower their expectations for fall growth. The Commerce Department reported that personal income fell in July; so did orders for durable goods. Although the housing market continues to improve from its recessionary depths, several key indicators — including new home starts, new home sales and pending sales — have flashed signs of weakness.

Some economists expect U.S. growth to fall short of the Fed’s predictions for the year, and they expect the Federal Open Market Committee to delay tapering until December at the earliest. Such a delay could roil financial markets.

Fiscal policymakers are likely to provoke a much stronger reaction from markets if they defy expectations in their budget negotiations. For now, most investors and forecasters seem to expect a lot of bluster from the White House and Republicans, followed by an eleventh-hour agreement that avoids a government shutdown or debt default. Market indicators show little sign of investors betting on default.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/for-workers-and-the-economy-autumn-could-be-scary/2013/09/03/26448f9e-118a-11e3-85b6-d27422650fd5_story.html

The College Effect

Week#1 article #1

Jenna Johnson (August 30, 2013)Schools Trying New Strategies to Battle College Drinking. Washington Post

Category: College students effected by  drinking and alcohol issues 

Level: National

Article Concerns: College drinking and what schools are attempting to do to make a safe environment.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/schools-try-new-strategies-to-battle-college-drinking/2013/08/29/44919708-e011-11e2-b2d4-ea6d8f477a01_story.html?wpmk=MK0000205




Impact:
            This clearly impacts most college students and their families. It is an on-going issue that needs to be recognized and assisted.

Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post wrote this article named "Schools try new strategies to battle college drinking". First, she brings up multiple examples of party situations that are taken too far. She starts out by setting the scene in a local bar at the University of Virginia. It was the day of graduation for the many Virginia students. They were celebrating their accomplishments into their final hours of being a U Va. Student. Jenna explained how everyone seemed to be taking the party to the extreme. Everything was going wild. People started to black out and get way out of control. She also brings into the picture another party at Boston College. It is pretty much the same story. Bring drinking and drugs seemed too rampant. Next she talks about Frostburg State University and their recent efforts to change what the President of the university (Gibraltar) calls, "the drinking culture". He mentions the title "college effect" in relation to the drinking associated with college kids. At Frostburg State they have put fourth many efforts to change the ways of student life. They have created non drinking activities for students and even started full slate Friday classes to persuade students to stay in more on Thursdays nights. All students at Frostburg are required to take and pass and online class of alcohol awareness. The school even deals with the underage side of drinking. They say that if caught underage drinking, they make you take alcohol education courses as well as having a letter sent to you parents with notification that you have broken the law and will receive consequences for it.

Response:
            As I read this Washington Post article, it has brought a number of thoughts to my attention. College and drinking seem to go together all too well these days. And come to think of it, I am not sure I have ever been to a party during my college days when there wasn't alcohol involved in some fashion. Coming from a small town with one high school my point of view on these types of matters has dramatically changed over the past 5 years. This article brought up some of the biggest issues about the dangers of partying and the commonality it seems to have with college students.
Being in college and reading this article, I do recognize a lot of the issues that have been brought up. The many questions of why students have taken to alcohol, drugs, and partying so much are still to be answered. It is not fun to see all the bad things that can occur from over usage of these substances. Illness and even deaths occur every day and a large number of those are affiliated with college students. These kids have not even been in the "real world" yet. They are on average 18-23 years old.

This article really hit home for me because I have known a few too many kids that lives have been taken due to the improper use of alcohol. At this age, I know how easy it is to just over look what happens and feel like you're invincible, but reality is we are not.

            I like to hear about the steps that schools and administrations are taking to help with the problems most college age students are dealing with. I hope to see an effect from these changes for the better. It is hard to change the ways of young people that think they have control of everything, but it is good to see that these issues are at least being noticed and someone is trying to do something about it.

-Bobcat17