Gay Rights Rebuke May Change Approach

By Weichung Yuan


They had far more money and volunteers, and geography was on their side, given that New England has been more accepting of same-sex marriage than any other region of the country. Yet gay rights supporters suffered a crushing loss when voters decided to repeal Maine’s new law allowing gay men and lesbians to wed, setting back a movement that had made remarkable progress nationally this year.

Maine, with its libertarian leanings, had seemed to offer an excellent chance of reversing the national trend of voters rejecting marriage equality at the ballot box. Instead, it became the 31st state to block same-sex marriage through a public referendum.

At a time when gay rights activists believe that President Obama is not treating their agenda as a high priority, the Maine loss has left them asking who their friends are. At stake, they say, is not only same-sex marriage, but the military’s ban on openly gay service members and the federal law banning same-sex marriage.

State legislatures had been viewed as new allies in the fight for same-sex marriage after lawmakers in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire approved such bills this year. But now, with Maine voters dealing a rebuke to their Legislature, it is far from clear whether elected officials — including the president — will risk political capital on gay rights.

Tuesday’s defeat is also likely to further splinter a movement that has been debating the best tactics for success. Some prominent gay politicians last month skipped a gay rights march in Washington, questioning its purpose, which emboldened some of the younger advocates at the march to call for a new generation of leaders.

Some advocates said they were unimpressed last month when President Obama signed a law against gay hate crimes but offered relatively restrained remarks. They questioned whether it was time to take a more confrontational posture toward Mr. Obama, who benefited during the 2008 campaign from a surge of votes and donations from gay men and lesbians.

In Maine, advocates had stuck to a familiar path: using their own personal stories, they tried to persuade voters that gay people were no different from their straight neighbors and deserved equal treatment under the law.

Now, many will argue that that approach is not enough. Some are already pressing for more aggressive tactics, like speeding up a ballot measure to reverse California’s ban on same-sex marriage next year, instead of taking more time to build support. Others want to focus on swaying federal lawmakers to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which Representative Barney Frank, the nation’s highest-ranking openly gay politician, has called foolish at this point.

“The state-by-state strategy that looked clever a few years ago has run its course,” said Richard Socarides, who advised President Bill Clinton on gay issues. “The states that were easy to get have been gotten.”

This year, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont joined Massachusetts and Connecticut in allowing same-sex marriage, but only through court rulings and legislative action.

The tactic of using personal conversations to press for marriage equality will not be abandoned after Tuesday’s resounding vote, and several advocates said that, if anything, the defeat called for more such conversations around the country.

Evan Wolfson, executive director of the national gay rights group Freedom to Marry, said the loss in Maine underscored “the fact that we need to continue those conversations and make ourselves visible as families in communities.”

He added, “It shows we have just not done it long enough and deep enough, even in a place like Maine.”

But opponents said that given Maine’s “live-and-let live” mentality, the results were especially strong proof that same-sex marriage was not gaining acceptance.

“It interrupts the story line that is being manufactured that suggests the culture has shifted on gay marriage and the fight is over,” said Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, the conservative Christian group that is leading the charge against same-sex marriage around the country. “Maine is one of the most secular states in the nation. It’s socially liberal. They had a three-year head start to build their organization, and they outspent us two to one. If they can’t win there, it really does tell you the majority of Americans are not on board with this gay marriage thing.”

Voter turnout was higher than expected in Maine — perhaps 50 percent, officials said — but not nearly as high as in last year’s presidential election, which drew record numbers of young people to the polls. Opponents of the repeal sought to mobilize college students, who tend to support same-sex marriage, but the outcome suggests they might not have succeeded.

The next battlefields are New Jersey and New York, whose Democratic governors were pressing lawmakers to pass same-sex marriage bills by the end of the year, and California, where voters approved a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage last November. Gay rights groups there are likely to seek a ballot measure reversing the ban by 2012. A federal lawsuit challenging the prohibition is scheduled to go to trial in January and is expected to make its way to the Supreme Court.

In New Jersey, Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s loss on Tuesday to Christopher J. Christie, a Republican who opposes same-sex marriage, dealt another potential blow to the movement. Mr. Christie has vowed to veto any same-sex marriage bill that reaches his desk, but Mr. Corzine could still sign a bill into law if the legislature approves it before January.

The City Council in the District of Columbia also appears poised to pass a same-sex marriage law, although opponents are seeking a referendum that would ask voters to ban it.

A more long-term, complex question is whether gay rights supporters can reverse the constitutional bans on same-sex marriage in some 30 states that have enacted them since 2000. The outcome in Maine reinforces voters’ reluctance to endorse same-sex marriage, which national polls echo, though the gap is narrowing. And supporters acknowledge they would much rather avoid ballot questions.

“They tend to marginalize the group that is being targeted and inflame people’s passions in a way that is at best divisive and at worst terribly cruel,” said Jennifer C. Pizer, marriage project director for Lambda Legal, a national advocacy group. “Our founders did not intend to allow a majority to take basic rights from a minority.”

Still, a group in Oregon announced Monday that it would seek a repeal of a constitutional ban there, perhaps as soon as 2012. Oregon voters approved the ban in 2004, and gay rights groups have been quietly building support for a repeal.

But in general, supporters are more likely to focus on states with statutory bans on gay marriage, which legislatures can reverse without voter approval. One such state is Washington, where preliminary returns from Tuesday’s election showed voters approving an expansion of a domestic partnership law that would give gay couples more state-granted legal protections.

Opponents of same-sex marriage said the outcome in Maine should make lawmakers in other states nervous about endorsing it.

“We’re already hearing in both New York and New Jersey that they are noticing what’s happening here,” Ms. Gallagher said. “Do other politicians really want to enter this particular culture war given all the stuff they are going to have to defend in the next election?”

An earlier version of this article misstated, in one instance, part of the name of the law that bans federal recognition of same-sex marriage. It is the Defense of Marriage Act.

A version of this article appeared in print on November 5, 2009, on page A25 of the New York edition.

Soft drink versus Government

BY JianLong Wen

Soft drink, fast food, candy and other high calories food are what contribute to the rising of the American average weight. They also increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and etc. It has become an important health issue even catch president Obama’s attentions, forcing him to put a tax on sugary drink.
Tax is always the best solution whenever government encounters “mess” like this. Yes, it would definitely solve the problem, temporarily. Moreover, sugary drink and fast food are “legal drugs”, people could not just quit that easily. Beside, these fast-food companies would always come out with new product to tempt people. The advertisement of these sugary drink change more rapidly than the promotion of famous artist’s album. They make the ads interesting and popular among teenagers and adult, most likely to brainwash them. Since people could not resist the temptation, eventually they would get addict to the food. With many supporters, rising tax would only in result of widespread discontent. Our government should imitate these companies. They should make the interesting ads of healthy food on news, print news and broadcast to capture people’s attentions. More, they should help to create new product on healthy food; make it “natural sweet” as those sugary drink. Most importantly, they should open more field on these food, import different kind of food, giving people more option. Soon, people will forget those soft drinks.
Tax on sugary drink would help people to consider the government is limiting their choices. Its actions would only lead to its people to question and doubt itself.

Don't Panic its just Swine Flu

Every few years there is an outbreak of some kind of disease, which often creates a major panic among the citizens of New York as well as other parts of the US. Swine flu has had a similar effect on New Yorkers. Even thought WHO declared it a pandemic on June 11, 2009, most of the cases of H1N1 flu have been quite mild. Although there have been numerous swine flu related deaths, this virus is not as deadly. It has the symptoms of seasonal flu and can be cured with seasonal flu medications. Most of the victims who died had some other medical complications besides the flu.

Swine flu vaccines have just hit the market and many people have already taken the vaccine, all around the world. But the reliability, effectiveness and side effects of this vaccine is yet to be unearthed. Vaccines contain agents of the disease itself, which helps the immune system to ward off any further damage if the subject comes into contact with the virus from any outside source. Even though the government is encouraging people to take swine flu shots, it is not at all necessary to do so. Only people with severe medical conditions should take the swine flu vaccine. Healthy people do not need the vaccine. The vaccine can cause severe side effects in the future, as has been the case with many other vaccines. Swine flu is not worse than seasonal flu and it can be cured with or without any form of medication. If we eat healthy and maintain a healthy lifestyle, our immune system will be strong enough to fight many disease causing viruses.

The rage against H1N1!!

By: Alan Siegel


What is all the gossip pertaining to the new and improved H1N1 vaccine? Doctors have spent huge portions of their lives trying to be rid the world of the Flu. Has it all been a waste or have they discovered a prevention plan.
The flu shot has been around for decades and continues to prove itself to be useful, but many concerns have arisen after the 1976 epidemic. A total of five hundred cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome were reported amongst the forty five million people vaccinated for the swine flu. The Associated Press recently published an article discussing the people’s concerns about the safety of the vaccine. According to this article published September 27th 2009, the government has started a system in which its sole purpose is to track possible side effects of this new vaccine. The system will differentiate true side effects from false claims and public propaganda.
Health authorities hope to vaccinate more that half the population in just a few months. With this large increase of vaccinations, there is a great deal of concern regarding the vaccines overall safety. Many people who have had vaccines in the past, continue to try to portray themselves as victims, stating that the medications caused them to get sick by lowering the immune system. Before blindly believing these “victims,” we must question those people demanding recognition and decipher the truth from these false claims. We must force them to ask themselves the following extremely important question: what was the real cause of their illnesses? Was it the flu vaccine or the double value sized super burger with fries and a coke from the night before!
At the end all of the day it all comes down to one question: is the vaccine safe or not? Yes, safety comes first and that is why monitoring systems have been created. Harvard Medical School scientists are investigating up to 50 million people with vaccination registries around the country, to see whether people visit a doctor in the weeks after their flu shots and why. Another monitoring system is being followed by Johns Hopkins University. They will continue to directly e-mail at least 100,000 vaccine recipients to track how they're feeling, focusing on the smaller complaints that wouldn't require a doctor visit. If anything seems connected, researchers can call the patient to follow up with detailed questions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also prepared take-home cards. These cards tell vaccine recipients how to report any suspected side effects in the nation's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting system.
Don’t get me wrong, sore throats and occasional headaches will always be around, but that doesn’t mean that they has been caused by a vaccine in the past. It is critical that organizations like the CDC continue to research and monitor the progress and safety of these vaccines.

MY study partner!!

It is a very well known fact that misery loves company. As midtrems and finals appoach I can tell you from experience that when you know someone somewhere is pulling an all nighter just like you or struggling that write research paper like you are, it just makes work all the more easier and stress free.

It is a very well practiced traditions for students to get together and study and this long tradition still stands because it has been proven to work over time and time again. You will learn and understand the concept of diffusion and how to work out trigonometry better when you work it out with friends and they explain it to you in a way that teachers can't.

It helps to know others are going through what you are going through. It helps to know your not stupid for not understanding something in class because the truth is half of the class didn't understand it either. when you know you have the supoosrt and understanding of your classmates, it will encourage you to make that trip to the professors office and ask questions. It will give you the will power and the drive to want to understand and explain it to your friends. It just makes learing all the more better.

It is a sad, proven, helpful(in this case) fact that misery loves comapy...

By: Staicy Prasad

Who to Root For

As a Mets fan my biggest baseball fear of the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies squaring off in the World Series is becoming a reality. I know I have to make a decision of whom I will be rooting for. After a significant amount of time thinking about it came up with some rational ideas and decided I had to be pulling for the Phillies to be winning it all, again.
For as long as I remember the Mets biggest rivals have been the Braves. In my early baseball years I would watch as Mike Piazza and Chipper Jones would square off and it would get intense. In 1999 the Mets even faced the Braves in a playoff series, which had some of the most amazing plays ever happen in them such as the “grand slam single”. Over the past few years the Mets and Phillies have seemed to be making a new rivalry with players from each team bad mouthing the other through the media. All though this seems like a heated rivalry truth be told it is not that big a deal due to the constant beating on the Mets the Phillies do. In my heart of hearts I will never hate any player on the Phillies the way I loathe Chipper Jones. So in reality the Braves are the Mets real “bad guys”.
Although the Phillies may not be as bad as the Braves do not get me wrong I still hate them with a passion of 1000 fires. Last season I had the tragedy of watching them celebrate as they won the World Series. Since that day I have heard the gloating of the Phillie fan and it is not pleasant. If the Phillies repeat and win it again these fans will have nothing more to me to say they already said it all, but if the Yankees win it they to will have all that to say to me and I will have to hear it from both corners.
Last but not least my favorite reason of why I will be rooting for the Phillies comes from my respect of the game. If the Yankees win this years fall classic what will that say for small market teams such as the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals. These teams cannot hold on to their big time stars due to the high demanding salaries of these players. These teams have to rebuild every few years just to stay competitive and be a moneymaking organization. The Yankees on the other hand this past off-season alone spent close to 400 million dollars alone on 3 players. The core of there team and most of there best players came via the free agent market, at least the Phillies core players are home grown and brought up through the system.
As you see this matter is no joke to me. Baseball is the love of my life and this has been the worst year for it in my life arguably ever. To salvage some sort of happiness I will leave with this. LETS GO PHILLIES!!!!!
by Sean Hack

what do you think of high-tech communication?

According to one study finds that 37 percent of teens felt they wouldn't be able to live without a cell phone once they had it. This study also shows that a cell phone has interfered their life. Now, people like to use high-tech communication. they think this is convenient that you can contact person anywhere, especially cell phone.In my opinion, cell phone breaks my privacy because it can call me anywhere. And it only a tool. People use it to contact person. It has multi-function for attracted consumer; therefore, it is very expensive. Another study that the risk of accident was nearly five times higher than normal when a person was on the telephone before the accident. It is as dangerous as driving drunk. It also effect person health. A study measuring the link between cell phones and mental health found that teens who used cell phones the most were more likely to be anxious and depressed. Some research people use cell phones for long time. It would cause brain cancer. Mayber people said they wouldn't be able to live without it. We could suppose if the time went back two decades people how to live. I like to enjoy my own space. I like quiet life. I don't allow the cell phone to disturb my life. What do you think about this?

Simmons's death --By English 110 Chen Jin

"Simmons", a synonym for spring mattress in people's memory, are suffering from bankruptcy.
The current owner of the Simmons said,"Mattress Industry has been overwhelmed by the economic crisis." However, the investment company who purchase Simmons in 2003, has about 77 million dollars of profits in their pocket now. According to the disclosure of the former president Helier who was forced to resign, none of these private equity firm prepared to long-term business brand, and their idea is how to achieve profit maximization. The world's most well-know mattress company was resold by 7 times in last 20 years, it has become the most explicit interests of the toys in the capital markets.
In 2003, Thomas H · Lee Brothers, Inc. ( "THL") used 325 million dollars acquisition of Simmons, while undertaking a 745 million dollars of corporate debt. The following year, Simmons through the issuance of corporate debt financing to THL issuing 137 million special dividend. In 2007, Simmons once again borrow 300 million dollars, of which 238 million for dividends; thus, it borrowed money of 375 million dollars, as dividends distributed to their own, it became the compensation when they used their own money to buy Simmons, and then count the money on sat. Alleged that the revenue of Simmons company during the tenure of its president is 40 million dollars. Wall Street investment banks collected profits from the debt-ridden company too. Because it helped to arrange the transaction and made these transactions possible by the sale of the bonds, they receive millions dollars in profit. In the last few years, a variety of private equity fund owners received about 750 million dollars benefits from the Simmons. This is not a coincidence. Capitalists behind the operation push the Simmons to debt-ridden step by step.,
The cold of Financial Crisis rush bedroom. After 7 times bankruptcy protection, Simmons company, the 133-year-old "cash cows" was drained the last drop of milk, then it died. The commented that,"So many people can get so much money from an insolvent company. We have to say it is a legend in the moment of the financial environment."
When we mention the "Simmons", everyone is too familiar with it. However, know that "Simmons" is not just a mattress company even a century-old shop. Know more about it is its bankruptcy what may happen to other "Simmons" tomorrow .....

Halloween is one of those rare holidays I have come to truly enjoy. There is no other holiday that captures the mystique and pure delight that comes from totally cutting loose from your identity and in the process exploring the creative side of your brain. Other holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter… all have their elements of fun, but tie too many other elements to them to be care-free while partaking in the holiday festivities.
Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving are all guaranteed family reunions and by that definition alone are partly cumbersome. Instead of just enjoying the spirit of these holidays there is always that pressure and expectation of good behavior and an almost clairvoyant ability to choose “the perfect gift” (most likely for someone you have not even been in contact with for the entire year prior). There are also many religious/traditional aspects that must be tended to that are not exactly the embodiment of a day trip to Great Adventure.
Halloween on the other hand totally flies in the face of conventional holidays. It is the only one I know of that is predicated on scaring the living daylights out of any and everyone in the name of fun. There is no expectation of family gatherings, coming from all over the country and gathering around the pumpkin. On the contrary, this is a chance to differentiate yourself from your family and not be burdened by the social conventions of respect/kindness that are the staples of behavior otherwise. Pranks and jokes are welcome on this day and are mostly met with giggles and smiles.
No matter what religion, nationality, and gender… everyone in the community takes part whether by handing out candy or decorating their houses into eerie dungeons or frightful castles of doom. Growing up the familiarity and kindness I received on this holiday was great and there was no fear of receiving bad candy… not that my mom did not go through the batch with forensic accuracy. It is a holiday that immediately transports me back to my first costume. You know the little plastic mask with the rubber band affixed by two industrial staples along with the plastic onesie that I used to pull over my torso to become Rainbow Brite or the like? I can still smell the vinyl now!
As an adult Halloween has a whole new exciting aspect to it as well. It is a real interesting dynamic for 20 something’s like myself. There are all of these guys that throughout the year are all stiff and unassuming… and then on Halloween they come out of their shells. They become the rock singer or sports star they idolize and for one night really take on a persona they would be better off adopting in their everyday life. The confidence this holiday inspires is not limited to the boys either. Along with my girlfriends, I find myself dressing in outrageous and daring outfits than I would ever dare attempt wear on a normal day. I feel a little less constricted by what people think of me on that day…. What could be better?

Jazmin Triguero

My "Hollywood" Life

by: Monica Louie

When I enter the office at work or go on my laptop at home, I find myself going on two websites, Facebook and people.com.  Many people today are concerned with how others live their lives instead of paying attention to their owns. We have become so consumed with the way the media portrays life that we try to conform our own life to fit their stereotypical image.

Turning on the news channel we see the latest breaking news following Michael Jackson’s death. But how does his death affect our lives. It is nice to know, but not to spend two weeks worth of news on it. There are more important topics to focus on that have more of an impact on our lives, like President Obama’s healthcare acts and the war in Iraq. The front cover of the newspaper shows Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ marriage ceremony but what does this have to with the crisis in Iraq, where are fellow American soldiers are risking their lives to save ours. They cover up the real everyday events with stories of love and lust. The media in a way is telling us how to live our lives, and unfortunately it does this by displaying all the events of our icons daily life.

We have become so accustomed to trying to fit in to the stereotypical life of Hollywood and the media, that we forget what are the truly the important things in life. We want to know what are the latest trends, relationship and legal status of celebrities that we loose focus on whose life is who. This is not only true for the lives of Hollywood celebrities but for our Facebook friends. We are constantly checking to see what are friends are up to, who are they dating, which party they are attending instead of actually spending time with our real friends, focusing on our studies, and all the other events that have an impact on our lives.

My only advice is that you should live your life the way you want to. Not the way the media, Hollywood, or your friends tell you. Do what you feel is the best and don’t let nothing stand in your way. We have to break the stereotypical image and build our own individual and unique image.

Global warming

Global warming


Global warming is one of the serious issue for the earth and the environment scientists are really concerned in that warming problem. Global warming is about the rises average temperature of earth surfaces. Everybody be aware of global warming causes and effects. For the global warming, mainly responsible the industrial country and they crate a lot of carbon die oxide by participating the various kinds of industry which are through out lot of carbon die oxide, affects the stratosphere. As a result the direct heat comes from the sun warming the earth. Another serious problem is that petroleum products are used heavily in motorcar and others power machines and produce carbon mono oxide. This gas is destroy the atmosphere layer which is protect the gamma light from the sun. but for the mono oxide gas, the atmosphere can not filter the heat and day by day the earth gets warmer. The green house gas is also liable for the warming of earth. The “CFC” gas is also responsible for warming issue, used heavily in aerosols, refrigeration and air condition machine. This “CFC” gas makes a hole in the upper level of the atmosphere and that’s the dangerous causes that the sun light came through directly to the earth. The methane gas is one of the second issue to raise the temperature of the earth which is derived from sources such as rice paddies, bovine flatulence, bacteria in bogs and fossil fuel production. These are all principle problem that makes the earth warmer and through the whole world in an uncertain situation.
The effects of global warming are terrible that science technology can not protect the problems. For the warming the north pole ice sheet going to be melted and sea water levels increases, as a result the low land in the earth flooded permanently. The natural disaster like hurricane attacks the sea shore area and destroys millions of dollars and lives. The forest lives are destroys for the global warming and also can causes forest fire and burn the thousand arcos forest. The amount of oxygen may decline in the ocean that affects the ocean life. There are lot of effects for global warming, not so well for the human and other habituate in the world.
Syful azam

how music can affect us

by xuyang sun
Maybe music is the only thing that everyone in the world is familiar with, although some people are not aware of that. It can be as simple as the sound of rain, or a certain rhythm that come out from the corner of a street. Till now, we have created so many different types of music, as pop music, blues, jazz, rock & roll, and rap. Each one of them has a unique style. I don't have a favorite type. I listen to music as long as it moves me. Music can be so affected to us that it can easily change our life.
Different types of music can have different effects on people. Music can be a close friend when you feel lonely. Sometimes music can even make you cry. There are always a bunch of people who are crazy about music. It is not always the same way. Some folks scream and pass out in a singer’s concert; some folks go to an opera every Saturday night. In a concert, such music has so strong rhythms and beats can make people pop their heads. And in an opera, music is like a whisperer telling you an interesting story that can deeply stick to your soul.
There is a white rap singer, Eminem, recorded a song “Stan” in 2001, which according to a true sad story about a fan wrote him several letters, and expected him to write back, but he didn't because he didn't receive the letters. So that fan suicide by having a car accident in the highway and his pregnant girlfriend in the back of the car. It is a sad story. I think it is one of the evidences that shows music can affect people. His music is full of violence and discrimination, which somehow reflect his own sad childhood. Some people who also have a sad childhood listen to his music can find something in common and even change their own characters and do something stupid
There are also many good ways that music can affect us. As a matter of fact, I believe that today most of music encourage us to get rid of bad mood. When I was in the library alone, bored and exhausted, I usually listen some music. It always helps me get happier and kill time. Even though sometimes music has negative effects on me, I think it is the last thing to get rid of. Music makes my life wonderful. It can make me strong and give me the courage to get through the bad times.
the end

It’s not for you, it’s for you.

By Tianlong Li

Since the so-called unprecedented and long expected detection of the magnetic monopoly, which to be honest I have absolutely no authority and only least acquaintance with, there’re those folks trying to posture themselves as a reaction to the scientific development, who could be rejoicing the spark of digging the world, or doubting its prospect, mainly focused on personal perspective. For the latter, it’s in a nutshell just a denial- “It’s not for me, so I don’t care.” I’m not suggesting everyone felicitating the discovery of that strange particle, immerging oneself into the vision that all of us are going to enjoy anti-gravity transportation and urban space travel agency due to the development all bumped profoundly by our little friend’s visit, which is just going too far and deserving a seat in science fiction, whereas the inhospitality upon the particle, which is virtually showing how materialistic people are nowadays, is the issue we should raise.

Yes, it’s not for you, but it’s for YOU, which is including you as its mere fraction.

Such sophisticated development and obscure terminology, by which civilians find them confronted with unending search and decryption once they intend to know how the development could affect them, often present a mysterious idea and get conveyed in form of straightaway paraphrase e.g. the adaption of to a simple nuke and the clone technology which at its beginning is a boring deciphering process. It’s totally understandable for people to have biases on those and have some conceivable possible prospect for them to evaluate the enigma. However it’s not a reason and never an excuse to blame the scientists for using funds and not making us better off immediately.

Demanding instant welfare from laboratorial experiment is as materialistic as waiting for eggs from the biddy just breaking out of the egg. And this behavior is thoroughly strengthened by contemporary social value judgment, which could be elaborated as maximizing the profit at all possible ways and minimizing the cost at all acceptable choices, inarguably driving most people to seek predictable profit and judge on thing’s value, despite only by their own opinions and self interests. The inconsistency between applied theory and laboratorial trial exists all the time, from when the Homo sapiens were trying to set fire, after they had seen the fire from lightning and been inspired, for thousands of years until they actually drilled on the block. Application takes time and calls for patience for people, no matter whether it’s about a doohickey or astronomical assumption, which though by the evolution and process of civilization speed up timely and requires less frictional work. Irony as it is, the faster a newly discovered thing could be applied, the more eager people would expect for overall academic projects. Aryans waited for centuries for first iron-smelt sword, Chinese watched for decades for the Great Wall and Americans held their breath for years while expecting the first TV after the Bell labs for their first time transmitted moving images from Washington, DC to New York City. Now even a momentary patience, is going to be evaluated into currency-based by people and judged.

What happen to the society is happening to everyone inevitably. One’s impossibly avoiding the surrounding reaction and being affected under current snappish social intension, which making the deterioration of concrete academic research steep and sharp, in terms of materialistic project having short term outcome as well as exploiting the embedded work to yield benefit. Undertaking to deeply think over the recondite development, while I’m suggesting that it’s not required to have direct prospect, is hard to achieve and asking for more than patience, but definitely doing the good, in regard to the aggregates other than single fragment. The consciousness of putting more attention to what really promote the civilization and what is becoming more crucial to the society, serves to us as a whole, causing the ripple effect for everyone within us and bettering off the entire group, which is as far-flung as the application process itself, but far more fundamental and universal across the eras and zeitgeists.

Other than fullfilling physical needs or soothing mind fuzz,things like quantum research are nigh impossible to benefit you intuitionally, but hardly possible to value less than a popslice or beefsteak that might benefit you more directly. It shall be for you, ergo you should be for it.

Smoking should be prohibited on college campus.

Everybody knows the dangerous effects of smoking. It causes different diseases which can lead one’s life to death. A website quitguide.com gives a horrified statistic “Smoking kills approximately half million people per year in U.S. … Of these an estimated 10% are people who die of disease due to secondhand smoke”. Smoking should ban in college campus, because smoking cigarettes is harmful for smoker’s health and it also affect non-smoker too.
Smoking cigarettes is harmful for health. People who smoke are more in danger to get common cold and flu. Smoking cigarettes for many years produce smoker’s cough and bronchitis. It has been establish that smoking cigarettes is the main cause of lung and throat cancer. Women who smoke during pregnancy have greater chance to deliver weak babies who have breathing problem at birth and throughout their lives. Smoking cigarettes destroy smoker’s health.
School is a place of learning. Students comes school to learning. They learn not only from text books but also from surroundings. Smoking in college campus, influence others to smoke. College freshmen are immature, they are affected by smokers. Because, some of them start smoking and rest of them are affected as a secondhand smokers. Non-smokers who suffer asthma or other breathing problems feel uncomfortable and nausea if anybody smokes in front of them. Smokers should have the right to smoke, but it is not reasonable is that right is harmful to others.
School should not privilege any bad habit. In Queens College outside of every buildings have ashtray for smokers. It encourages smokers to smoke and pollute the college campus. So, college authority should not privilege smoker to smoke in campus and make the campus healthier smoke free zone.
Towhidwr Rahman

Are you for or against? (pro or con)

On October 5, 2005 written by Stephenie Meyer “Twilight” was published. The following 3 books were published within the next 3 years. By now 17 million copies of this book series have been sold. The movie based on the first book was shown in the theaters in 2008. It looks like the book caught a lot of attention from the audience and became very popular all over the world. But there are people who seem to constantly deny all the advantages of this infamous series.
Why are some people so aggressive when they come across the “Twilight” thing? Criticism is good, but one should know where to stop. If the book were that bad, 17 million copies would not be sold. If some critics think that the plot of the book is pointless or they just do not like the characters of the movie, or anything else: these things do not give them the reason to say that either the book or the movie is bad. When you criticize a book or a movie, you should pay attention to the target audience and give your grade based on it. People should look at a book or a movie with the eyes of the target audience and answer the following question: if a book or a movie would be of interest to the audience and why. Moreover, you should base your opinion on a lot of different characteristics, for instance, the way a book is written, what benefits it brings to the target audience and so on.
The target audience for the book “Twilight” is teenagers, especially young girls. Thus men or adults, I think, should not say that the book is bad only because they do not see the point of it. If they cannot stop from criticizing, they should put themselves in the shoes of teenagers. I am the one of those people who read all 4 books and saw the first movie. And I see the positive influence on teenagers in it. This book is unlike other contemporary teen novels: its protagonist does not have sex. Also I do not see any problems in the fact that a teenage girl falls in love with the romantic story, which this book depicts. It is not a secret that teenagers dream of something unreal, fairy, and romantic. My opinion is that the fact the main characters are vampires does not make any difference. Who said to all the critics that, if we are used to the stereotypes that vampires are something devilish, it is not right to represent them in the opposite way? Why do they think that it is not possible? Let us take the example of a Halloween party. Look at all these costumes: most of them are connected to evil, but even kids wear them. When a kid takes on the baleful costume of Monster T, the monster stops representing the evil. Here is the question: why do not we say that monsters are supposed to scare people, and therefore kids should stop wearing such costumes?
And what if people love this book due to the romantic story depicted in it, or because Robert Pattinson stars in the movie, or due to some other reasons. I believe, if so many people have found the reason to love this book, it has its moments. And people, who negatively treat the book, just have not answered the question: who is the target audience of this book and what benefits the audience gets from reading it?

Kostenkova Margarita

The Wars put US in Poverty

Poverty is something that should have never been considered existed in American’s dictionary. Even until today it is hard to believe that Americans have been undergoing some very hard time on their economy since entered 21st century.

Then, the Iraq war---It started from the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001 which lighted the flame of this war. This attacked killed 2,974 people in the towers, 246 passengers and 17 still missing today. George W. Bush saw this attack as a terrorist threat and started plans of war. He did this not only for revenge but elections were in three years and this will protect his seat in the White House. On March 20, 2003, the attack on Iraq started; meanwhile, Americans at home were suffering from the massive lost of jobs and unable to pay their mortgages. Still today, no one knows when this war will end and millions of dollars are used everyday to fund this war. According to the newest update on Cost on War, $927,447,772,812 is the amount of cost on both the Iraq war and War in Afghanistan since 2003 till today (November 2, 2009). However, if the government has recognized the severity of poverty back in homeland, they would have save a countless amount of cost they have spent on some meaningless wars.

At last, if there is anything that least government can do to rebuild their trust form the people is to let troops recede from the Wars and focus on finding more efficient ways to recover the economic crisis.

Chen Yang

CUTTING TRANSPORTATION FOR PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENTS WOULD BE IRRESPONSIBLE

The number one solution to the New York City budget crisis suggested by the Independent budget office, to eliminate funding of transportation to all private school students,would be an irresponsible decision. Cutting transportation to private school students is a slap in the face to many good tax paying citizens and would cause a major safety hazard on the busy and sometimes dangerous streets of New York. The elimination of public transportation could greatly endanger both the lives of those private school students and have a ripple effect and in turn endanger many other New Yorkers. In addition, if this plan is implemented, many of the parents who send their children to private schools may decide to send their children to public schools which could cost New York City even more money than the anticipated savings. Further, parents who send their children to private schools also have a right to see some of the tax money that they pay into the educational system.

If there was no transportation for private school students, parents would have to look at other options, which could endanger those children and many other New Yorkers. One of the other main options would be for parents themselves to drive their children to school. This would bring more cars onto the roads at rush hour ,causing traffic jams and would inevitably cause an increase in accidents. Some parents might be forced to consider allowing their children to walk to school. This is a great safety risk as some of these children might be very young and might be forced to walk far distances on their own. An additional option would be for parents to send their children on public transportation which can be dangerous for young children especially when they cross through unsafe neighborhoods and busy intersections. Cutting transportation would increase the number of car accidents and force parents to put their children in a dangerous situation for lack of a better option. Why should the safety of public school students be anymore important then the safety of private school students?

Cutting transportation for private school students as a way to decrease the budget crisis might in fact increase spending as parents may switch their children into the public school system. The parents who send their children to private schools in New York City are on average no better off economically then those parents who send their children to public school. This can be due to the fact that most private schools in New York City are religious schools and therefore parents are sending their children for religious purposes and not because they want to send their children to an expensive private school. These parents, who are not wealthy, may therefore decide that without transportation, it is too much of a hassle or might cost them extra in paying for their own buses, and may decide to switch their children to public schools. This would cost New York City more money as the city would have to pay for the education of more students. If the city decides to cut transportation for private schools as a means of decreasing the budget crisis they may find themselves with an increase in deficit as they may be forced to spend more money on all the new students who could be added to the public school system.

New York City taxpayers, even those who send their children to private schools, have a right to see some of the tax money set aside for education ,used for their children. As of now the federal government uses taxpayer money to give private schools money for textbooks. The federal government has no problem with giving money and services to private schools and until now neither did the city. Private school parents pay into the system with their taxpayer dollars and are supporting the public schools while they see little done with their money through the failures of the new York city public schools. As of now one of the few services that the private school parents see their money put to work for their own children, is the free transportation. Without the city providing transportation many good taxpaying citizens who send their own children to private schools would become fed up with a system that ignores their children, and the cities responsibility to safely transport all the children of New York to schools.

It would be irresponsible for the city of New York to cut transportation for private school students as a means to decrease the budget deficit. This would cause more harm than good as it would cost New York City money as public schools would grow beyond capacity, it would be a safety hazard as their would be more accidents, and cause many taxpayer to get very upset at a system that ignores their children in private schools. The city of New York is no more responsible for children who go to public schools than for children who go to private schools, as the safety of all the children of New York should be a priority.

Malka Hirsch

Violent Video Games

Do the violent video games have any connection to the increased aggression found amongst teens today? Well, researchers believe that violent video games may be the leading, if not sole, cause of increased violence found amongst kids and teenagers.

Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine did a study on the affect of violent games on their players. They divided 44 adolescents into two groups and had them play either “Medal of Honor: Frontline” (a very violent video game) or “Need for Speed: Underground” (a non-violent video game). Each child played either one of the games for 30 minutes and then had an MRI of his/her brain taken. The MRI of the children who played the violent game indicated an increase in emotional arousal as well as a decrease in self-control and attentiveness—an overall negative impact. However, the children who played the non-violent game were not found to have the same negative effect on their brain. This study shows clearly that the violent games are affecting the way the kids think and act for the negative.

In addition to that, according to two studies appearing in the April issue of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, playing violent video games “can increase a person's aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life.” Researchers say that violent games leave a far worse impact on their players that violent movies do on their watchers. The reason for that is because the interactive games make their players extremely engrossed and feel almost as if the game is a real episode in their life.

Another study conducted on college student showed the extent to which these violent games control the lives of teens who play them. The researchers compared the violent game playing habits and delinquency of two hundred and twenty-seven college students. "We found that students who reported playing more violent video games in junior and high school engaged in more aggressive behavior. We also found that amount of time spent playing video games in the past was associated with lower academic grades in college," said psychologist Anderson, Ph.D.

The fact that violent video games are immensely influencing the behaviors and minds of the kids and teens for the worse cannot be denied. If these studies only indicate the short-term affect these games have, than the long-term effect can only be much worse. Therefore, it is evident that action should be taken to minimize the use of violent video games amongst kids and teenagers

By: Regina Murdakhayeva

Music, Ignorance, and You

Music and radio have always been important parts of American culture and society. The past century has possibly brought the most radical changes in music history. We have seen huge diversity in surfacing musical genres over this time, such as the beginnings of blues, jazz, pop, hip hop, and rock and roll just to name a few of the hundreds of categories and subcategories. A person's musical taste, if any, has obviously always been a matter of preference. One listens to something, and decides if this is right for them or not at that time.
In recent years, musical taste has become no more than adapting to time for many people. I find it hard to appreciate something that has absolutely no value other than its birth in a very recent year. If one listens to most “current” radio stations, they play nothing more than “top 40”, flavor of the year songs. This is not an attack on certain musical genres or calculated assault to change your personal tastes; it is a way to think of ignorance and variety in regards to music and yourself. At my place of work, there is a colleague of mine who listens to only “current” and “new” music stations. Another colleague of mine came into work one day wearing a t-shirt of a “classic” rock band, specifically which band is arbitrary. The former colleague asked the latter, “Do you like them? Their old, how can you listen to that? Get with the times.” It makes sense for someone to appreciate music on the basis of personal preference, but not just because something is new. It is ignorant to like a new idea just for the sake of change. Its humorous to listen and watch people that can be complete hypocrites. Time is a completely irrelevant factor in decision to like music. Yes, we change what we like all the time, but that is because what our taste in everything changes as we age. If I were to say for instance, that I do not like Frank Sinatra because his music is outdated or just old, with the same logic I could argue that I do not like democracy because it is old. A person close to me changes the music on her portable music player approximately every two months. I thought the reasons for which could have been the possibilities that she gets tired of the repetition or just has constantly changing tastes. When asked why she does this, she claimed that “they”, whomever “they” may be, do not play many of the songs anymore on the radio or at popular dance clubs. This is very hard to follow because how can one base enjoyment on popularity or presence in society. This is like saying that a film is no longer worth viewing once it's out of theaters.

By Dillon Tener

Health care workers Must be Vaccinated

by Moonjo Kim

We feel at ease to hear that it is now available for vaccinations for swine flu. However, with vaccine production lagging, we are encountered with another issue. Who should be in first priority of getting the vaccines? Should it be children? Or pregnant women? Or health care workers?

State officials say that first priority for the swine flu vaccine should go to two groups consider especially high risk: some 252,000 pregnant women and some 6.4 million young people (between the ages of 6 months and 24 years). Agreeing to this, Governor David Paterson of New York and his health commissioner have suspended requirements to get vaccinated for all 882,000 health care workers because there are only expecting four million doses of vaccines, which isn’t enough to cover most vulnerable groups. However, they are all wrong. Saving the vaccines for vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women may be a generous act but also an act of taking a risk not thinking beyond.

Let me explain. Making the shots mandatory for all health care workers is important as of many reasons. If these health care personnel become sick when they are needed, who will be there to help patients out? Health care workers need to be there to help patients and to make effort in persuading people to get vaccinated. Also, if they are not vaccinated, there is a chance that they may work while contagious and infect vulnerable patients, which is worse. It can cause more complications and even deaths.

These reasons should be take in considerations to make the vaccinations mandatory for health care workers. Even though the federal government has placed health care workers among the highest priority groups to get vaccinated, it is not enough!

Our belief is that health workers must be vaccinated and be required to do so because of their wide and continuing contact with already vulnerable patients.

Living Where You Learn

As a Queens College student and a newly resident at the Queens College dorms, I have experienced many changes between my previous semesters at Queens College, and this semester of Fall 2009. The on-campus dorms create a sense of relaxation on campus for all students especially for those who would normally commute to school. I personally commuted last year from Rockland County to Queens College every day of the week. The drive took about one hour without traffic and the costs of gas and tolls were around eighty-five dollars per week.
The 506-bedroom dorm stands proudly between the Queens College Library and the FitzGerald Gymnasium. As advertised, every room comes fully furnished with a kitchenette, living room and two bathrooms. The kitchens are complete with a full size refrigerator, stove, oven, microwave and sink. The Summit also offers fitness, lounge, media, and laundry facilities on several floors.
Many students have problems finding parking and getting to class on time every day due to traffic. Prior to this fall semester, I had to wake up at 6:00 AM in order to make it to school in time for my 9:15 AM media class. The luxury of living on campus is the assurance that one can wake up a half hour before class begins to still make it on time.
Besides for the fact that the dorm is conveniently located on campus, students are encouraged to participate in many on campus activities such as; game nights, karaoke nights, on campus formals and parties, and volunteer work. Being a part of the Summit allows students to become more involved socially as well as having four great years in college.
As a resident and student at Queens College, I would recommend the Summit, or any other college dorm, to anyone interested in becoming part of a community where they learn for the future while enjoying the time they spend now.
L. Petlin

The Issue of Poverty in America

By Maria Limandri

People might think that poverty is the last thing to occur in the United States of America -the land of opportunity, where people come fulfill their hopes and dreams. But it is a shame, should the government of America admit that they too can experience poverty? Let them allow having an excuse that nothing is perfect. Everything is possible. However, we all know that we can achieve the 0 poverty in our country, if everyone will work at it out together. How the poverty is being measured in the United States of America? The United States Department of Health and Human Services says that there are two slightly different versions of the federal poverty measure. One is the poverty threshold which is used mainly in Census Bureau for statistical purposes, and the other one is the poverty guidelines which are basically for administrative purposes. But the US government does not really understand that the only thing this policy of measurement can do is give us knowledge about figures and recoded data of how many could pass yearly in the poverty line according to the standards that they have set. And that is just it they have set these standards and we have no idea what they are based on. They never realize that the poverty measurement has nothing to do with poverty itself and how to totally demolish the poverty problem in the United States of America - the land of opportunity.
As a citizen, all I can say is that since we are in the land of opportunity and this is where people come to make a better life for themselves and their families we should not have such a high rate of poverty. We are supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world and we have such a poverty rate and we cannot seem to correct it is very discouraging. If we all worked together and created a safety net for this problem I believe this problem could be fixed. Yes, it will take some time and effort, but we are Americans and we pull together in times of need and we make things happen and we can fix such a serious issue that affects us all socially.

Manage yourself to succeed in life

By: Rehana Masood.

On 20th of October 2009 at 4 pm I was studying in Queens College Library. Susan Doyle, another student, was studying in the same table with me. She was observing me frequently, and after a few minutes asked me – “you are studying seriously but you look very nervous, why?” I replied– “I have an assignment which is due in an hour” She asked me “why didn’t you do this before?” I replied - “I have a lot of work and I am busy most of the time which is why I couldn’t get to manage the time to finish this assignment.” And then she told me – “Don’t manage your time, manage yourself.” I was surprising to hear her comment - to manage yourself. Normally we hear that if you don’t manage your time you cannot succeed in life but for the first time I heard that you have to manage yourself.
Here is the argument is – how to manage myself if I don’t manage my time? Susan Doyle explained to me that everyone has different goals and responsibilities. You have to remember that your time is your life, and you will have to face good times and difficult times in varying degrees. First, think what your goals are and keep a positive attitude so that you can reach your goals. She also suggested ‘don’t waste your time’; drive yourself to manage a to-do list. You can feel which is most important stuff first then you can arrange what you are not doing, making plans that will be helpful to you. If you be honest with yourself you can track and analyze your time so that you can see where your time is really going.
I agree with the point – “manage yourself to get succeed in life” and I do manage myself by organizing my activities. I have to take care of my family, cook, manage other activities and on top of that I am a student. Every day I try to manage my time and schedule time with friends and family. Finally, planning time lets you find what is left to do and it can lead to better and effective way of self- management.

You and I are the Same!

Technology sure is wonderful. Back in the old days, people used horses to travel. Now we have cars that can run many times faster than horses. We can even go to space. I am positive that people from that past wouldn’t even imagine that such a thing is possible. How the human civilization has advanced is really fascinating.

What I really admire is how our means of communication have been developed so that in a few clicks, you can actually send a mail across the vast lands and oceans separating one person to another. People used to travel for months trying to deliver a message, and now we have pocketsize computers that can send a message in an instant.

I will always be in awe of how we have progressed through time to make things more efficient and convenient. However, there is something that I don’t approve of about us. Despite the capability to communicate with one another by use of technology, we still haven’t learned how or what it really is to communicate. It is actually ironic.

When are we going to learn how to settle our differences? Aren’t we all human beings? With intellect and will, we are at the top of the food chain and we are superior over the rest of animals. And yet, when we have opposing opinions or cultures, we still end up like lions fighting over a single prey. We growl at each other, we scratch each other and we even kill each other like animals controlled only by instincts.

On going wars in the Middle East, the constant struggle of Palestinian Arabs against Israeli Jews, seems like it will be an endless turmoil that will always plague news and world history. It is not only in the Middle East but everywhere in the world. We have civil wars and conflicts going on everywhere even in our own homes and relationships.

At the root of those conflicts is our pride. Because of pride, it has become hard for people to admit mistakes and to reconcile differences. It seems as if we prefer conflict than peace just to prove that we have our pride. With regards to the struggle between the Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews, they are in conflict because they want the land (now named Israel) to be theirs (either Jews or Arabs) and theirs alone. Can’t they just split the land up and live peacefully? Unfortunately not! It is because of pride.

We have advanced our ways to communicate and yet we haven’t developed our ability to accept and understand each other. We are all human beings. Regardless of culture, race, nationality, language or appearance, we are still all the same in nature. We are advanced animals with intellect and will who have progressed tremendously from early homosapiens but current conditions in human civilizations makes one realize that we are still primates when it comes to understanding each other as fellow human beings. It will remain as such until the time we learn how to put our pride aside and accept one another.

By Joe Gallegos