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(04/25/12 7:29pm)
Sitting down to write this last column is bittersweet. While I am equal parts terrified and excited to begin my life outside the doors of Mercer undergrad, I will truly miss the friends I have made here, the memories that will remain in my heart and the lessons that I am sure will stick with me forever.
Passing through the gates of Mercer four years ago, I had the same feeling. I was terrified of having to share a room for the first time in my life.
But I learned to love Dowell 207 and my roommate, she taught me the first great lesson: no matter if you are having the worst day possible keep smiling, be yourself, and people will love you for it.
General Chemistry 1 started off truly brutal for me. Dr. Kiefer I am sorry for bawling in your office but your astounding faith in my abilities as a student has allowed me to never give up, even when the road seemed impossible and I am truly grateful for your seemingly unending patience with me freshman year.
Which brings me to lesson number two: never give up and never be afraid to ask for help. Your professors are here to teach you and they will go out of their way to help you succeed.
Getting around Macon was a true challenge for me the first few months here, who am I kidding I still have trouble navigating around the streets of Macon. Lesson number three: I advise all students to invest in a GPS of some kind, or even just a map.
I have endured my fair share of relationship drama in my time here at Mercer, and while I regret a few of my past love interests, those relationships have taught me a truly valuable lesson: boyfriends and girlfriends will come and go but true friends will always be there for you.
I made the mistake once of shutting one of my best friends out of my life because of a guy, it was a terrible mistake and I am very thankful my path has lead me back to her. Thank you for being a true friend and accepting me for all my faults, you know who you are.
My parents were surprised and concerned when I came home with the decision of becoming a Journalism and Media Studies major.
It was apparent on their faces they were worried about my future job prospects and urged me to also undertake a more promising degree to add to future jobs.
While I do not regret my second major, Journalism truly makes me happy and I am glad I stuck with it. This brings me to lesson number five: do not let anyone change your mind on which subject you choose to pursue a degree in.
This is your life, you will only get one and you deserve to be happy with whatever career choice you choose to go after.
I have learned to love this campus as my home. While I hate the cockroaches and the fearless squirrels, Mercer is a great place and I am so glad I chose to go here.
To my professors, past and present, thank you for your knowledge, thank you for your patience and thank you for never doubting me.
To my friends thank you for always being there for me, thank you for dealing with my drama and thank you for never letting me down.
Mercer, thank you for being my home these last four years, and thank you for all the lessons you have imparted on me, I will not soon forget them.
Mercer students, it has been an honor being your Opinions Editor this past year.
This section has had its ups and downs, its fair share of drama and a whole lot of love. But thank you for continuing to read my crazy columns and thank you for making this last year a truly memorable one.
I will miss the staff of The Cluster so much. You have truly become like family to me and I love you all and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for you.
Comments or questions about this column can be emailed to opinions@mercercluster.com
(04/11/12 7:06pm)
As I sit down to write this column, I am astounded by how much backlash certain articles that ran in my section in the last edition have received. Most notably Gene Mitchell’s article about students’ call to run for SGA and Bryson Jones’ article about Body By Visalus.
While these articles have shot the Op-Ed section’s viewing on The Cluster’s website through the roof, it has also brought to my attention the power of anonymity, and what a destructive power that is.
I was appalled by some of the comments that I came across while on mercercluster.com. It would take up the majority of this page to write all of the comments that both offended and disgusted me, but here are the ones that stung the most.
“I feel really bad for you. And feel bad for all the other poor students who just wasted 5 minutes of their lives reading such an uneducated and biased article.”
“You made yourself look stupid amongst hundreds of college students…”
“SGA is great and I loved taking it serious, but at the end of the day there are much bigger things to worry about, like apologizing and trying to rebuild all the relationships that you just ruined... Do yourself a favor and transfer.”
“I vote to rename this article: ‘Come on Mercerians, it’s about time to (finally) give SGA a reason to make me resign!’”
“Opinion articles written with a condensing tone will only make you look like a douche bag.”
My mouth fell open when I read the majority of these comments. I know that Mr. Mitchell’s article about the candidates for SGA elections was seen as harsh by some.
But at least he had the balls to pen a name to his article, whereas the majority of these comments were written anonymously with a fake name.
The truth is, if mercercluster.com made it mandatory for people to put their name on their comments — like many Op-Ed sections require in order to submit a letter to the editor or comment on their websites — then most of the people who submitted these comments would not have done so.
The only reason they felt safe enough to write these scathing comments are because they could hide behind an opaque screen.
Yes, they got out their loathing words, but in the light of day no one would know it was they who wrote the comments and they would be able to get away scot-free.
No person who wrote any of the negative comments on either Jones’ article or Mitchell’s would have come up to either student in person and said the words stated in any of these comments.
People feel safe when they are able to hide behind a curtain of anonymity and that my friends is the only thing that motivated the men and women who wrote such classless comments on the two articles.
Mercer students, if something that was written in this section offended you badly enough to the point where you deem it necessary to try and publicly humiliate other students, then it is my opinion that you should stand by your words and put a name to them.
I know that I will most likely receive some backlash for this column. Will people talk about it in private? Probably. In public? Maybe. On mercercluster.com? Most definitely.
But hiding behind anonymous names no person will ever be able to decode is spineless. I invite the people who will choose to negatively comment on this article to do so publicly, and if not to my face then do me the honor of knowing your identity.
Questions or comments about this column can be sent to opinions@mercercluster.com.
(04/09/12 12:19pm)
For the first time, The Cluster staff has chosen to endorse one of the two tickets running for Student Government Association president and vice-president.
After listening intently to the debate and conducting interviews with both presidential hopeful Mollie Davis and her running mate Joshua Lovett, and presidential hopeful Dalton Turner and his vice-presidential running mate Justin Robinson; The Cluster editorial review board has decided to endorse Senators Davis and Lovett for SGA election.
This was a hard decision as both campaigns have demonstrated the necessary drive and passion that are vital to holding the title of SGA president and vice-president. However, in the end, the review board felt as though only one ticket has shown that they have done and if elected will continue to do, the research and work in order to best serve Mercer’s student body.
While both tickets had very strong platforms, it was made clear that only Davis and Lovett were able to back their initiatives up with numbers and research instead of excitement.
Davis and Lovett’s jobs programs for students will be of great benefit to current and future Mercer students and their third-party funded athletics incentives program will boost long-term student attendance at sporting events and will give this school a stronger sense of school spirit.
Davis and Lovett are making the contacts and doing the legwork for their initiatives before the fact, and this sense of certainty and drive resonates throughout their platform making them the stronger candidates to hold this office.
During our interviews with both tickets, the vice-presidential candidates were asked if they would vote against the president if the president’s ideas went against either their better judgment or morals. Only Lovett said that he would.
This showed the board both Lovett’s passion and his commitment to the betterment of the student body instead of a commitment to primarily serving his president.
While the positions have many responsibilities, both Davis and Lovett are involved just enough on campus to represent the diverse student body but not enough to disallow them the time to fully dedicate themselves to the executive positions and their necessary duties.
Davis and Lovett have shown that they are capable of holding these offices and it is the belief of the editorial board that they are better prepared to keep unity but not lose the variety of opinions that the Senate and Executive Council may have.
We wish both tickets luck in the upcoming election, but we believe that Davis and Lovett are ready to build the future of Mercer and SGA.
(03/28/12 8:00pm)
So who has heard about the Trayvon Martin case? That might be more of a rhetorical question seeing as how everyone seems to have heard about it.
Anyway, for those of you who have been hiding under a rock here is what happened.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old high school student, was walking home from a local convenience store in Florida when he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watch chief. Trayvon was armed with only a bag of skittles and a bottle of iced tea.
While some African-Americans are making this out to be an issue of race, and I do not doubt the fact that there is a race issue here, I think another key issue is the fact that Zimmerman is claiming he shot Trayvon in self-defense, that he has not been arrested, and that there is a law in the state of Florida that allows an individual to use deadly force against another if they are in fear of their personal safety.
This Stand Your Ground Law basically states that if you fear that someone is about to kill or injure you in a public place and you are legally armed, you can use deadly force to save your life without fear of a murder charge.
I understand that law and I think it was passed with good intentions, to stop muggers, rapes and random acts of violence. My problem is that this seems to have been a random act of violence on Zimmerman’s part, not Martin’s.
Martin was walking through a gated community coming home from the convenience store when Zimmerman saw him. Zimmerman called the police and was told not to confront Martin, but to wait until help arrived.
Zimmerman then proceeded to get out of his car and confront Martin. It was after this that Zimmerman shot Martin. I just do not think this can be called self-defense.
Self-defense should be when someone attacks you, not when you confront them.
Not only is Zimmerman claiming self-defense when he confronted Martin, but Zimmerman was in violation of numerous Neighborhood Watch regulations including the rule that states “it should be emphasized to members that they do not possess police powers, and they shall not carry weapons or pursue vehicles.”
It seems to me that Zimmerman is a control freak who either took his self-appointed job way to seriously, or someone who likes to view himself as someone with a lot of power. This “power” went much too far to his head and because of it an innocent teenage boy is dead.
Zimmerman needs to be charged in this case. He shot and killed someone after he was told not to confront him.
From what reports indicate Martin was not causing any trouble. He was minding his own business, talking on the phone to a female friend and was confronted and killed for no reason.
To those who may speak to the stereotype that it was an African-American youth who looked as though he did not belong and this is the reason Zimmerman chose to attack him, I think that is still no excuse to gun someone down in cold blood.
Murder is still murder and the facts that have come out seem to indicate that there was more of a claim to self-defense for Martin than for Zimmerman.
Zimmerman needs to take responsibility for his actions and if he is not, then the law should take responsibility for him and should punish him in ways according to his crime.
We as Americans should learn to not judge others by the color of their skin. But this distrust and stereotyping might have cost this young boy his life.
Justice needs to be served in this case and I am counting on the state of Florida to make it happen.
Comments and questions about this column can be sent to opinions@mercercluster.com
(03/14/12 8:51pm)
Who has heard of the Rush Limbaugh scandal revolving around his brutal slander of third year law student Sandra Fluke on his radio show?
I had no idea about it until yesterday, showing how extremely behind I am on American news, or what counts as news these days.
I was helplessly unaware of the situation, and personally it is something that I wished I had remained ignorant to.
For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, here is the scoop. Sandra Fluke is a law student studying at Georgetown Law in Washington D.C.
She wished to testify before a congressional panel in support of the movement to have insurance companies cover the cost of contraception, a movement that President Obama is backing.
In a move that gives every right-leaning individual, public and private alike, a bad name, Limbaugh attacked Fluke and her character on his national radio show calling her a “slut” and a “prostitute” because of her beliefs about contraception and who should have to pay for it.
First off, let’s start with the fact that first amendment or not, there are just some things that should not be covered under free speech and this is one example of such speech.
Women, no matter who they are, what they have done or their line of work, should never be subjected to cruel name calling by anyone.
When did it become okay for a man, or anyone for that matter, to take it into his or her own hands to publically abuse, embarrass and shut down a woman who is exercising her right to free speech and stating her opinions about a political matter.
Why is it in our day and age that words like slut, whore, prostitute, etc. are not only used but are socially acceptable?
When did it become okay for words that degrade and embarrass women to be used in everyday conversations?
I know contraception is a hot ticket item.
I know it is frowned upon in many religions, cultures and societies and I understand that everyone has their own right to choose what they do and do not accept, but no matter what your view on birth control pills and other forms of contraception, no one should stoop to levels as low as what Limbaugh did.
He was stating an opinion, I understand that, but the way in which he went about professing his beliefs is not acceptable.
Fluke’s mere support of contraception and the idea that its cost should be covered in full by insurance companies does not make her a slut, nor does it make her a prostitute.
As far as anyone is concerned, and as far as he knew, Fluke did not engage in any acts that would allow her to fall into the category of either being a slut or a prostitute.
But in reality, why does it matter?
Should a woman’s personal life be allowed to be speculated upon and discussed just because of her support of contraception?
I have news for you Limbaugh, she is not the only woman in America that supports contraception and is not even close to the only woman that uses it, does that mean that every woman who either supports or uses birth control is a slut as well?
Women should be allowed to choose if they wish to use contraception without any stigma that they will use that contraception to sleep around.
Using or supporting birth control does not mean that you are a prostitute, Limbaugh’s actions and words show exactly the stupidity and ignorance of some Americans and he should be ashamed of himself. But I doubt he is.
His little slap on the wrist was that he lost close to 100 advertisers, but his show will go on.
We all as humans should treat each other with mutual respect and common decency.
Limbaugh’s attack on Fluke was in no way close to respectful, and that is wrong.
When did America go from a place where differences in ideas and beliefs were accepted, and change to a place where differences of opinion were stamped out and their believers degraded?
Comments, questions, rebuttals or concerns about this opinion can be emailed to opinions@mercercluster.com
(03/14/12 7:54pm)
As a freshman at Mercer I was not interested in how many things there were to do in Macon. Let’s face it I was the girl who got extremely lost on the way to Target and who could not find Wal-Mart for the first month of school.
As a sophomore and junior I cared more about the downtown nightlife than I cared about the daytime activities Macon had to offer.
It was not until this, my final year at Mercer, that my eyes were opened to the many attractions Macon has to offer.
While this awareness came about mainly due to my internship at the Macon-Bib County Visitors Center and Convention Bureau, it is time that Mercer students know the extent that the city they have come to call home offers them.
Let’s start with the fact that Macon is the Cherry Blossom Capital of the world and has the international Cherry Blossom Festival every year in March.
Just these 10 days alone offer Mercer students a variety of free concerts, access to local vendors, shows and food that can keep you busy any day of the week.
Macon is also home to the largest selection of African American art, culture and heritage in the south, but this does not even come close to covering the vast amount of history that Macon has to offer.
We have a whole historic district with dozens of homes that truly show the heritage and culture of Macon.
Macon has the world’s largest collection of Allman Brothers memorabilia in the world at the group’s once home, the Big House. But the musical history does not stop there, from Little Richard and Otis Redding to Jason Aldean, Macon has a very rich musical history.
More than that Macon holds a treasure chest for the nature lover. The Ocmulgee National Monument and Heritage Trail gives access to the only reconstructed Native American earth lodge in North America, while also housing Civil War battlefields as well as ample picnic space and hiking trails.
Macon also is home to the Ocmulgee River and a beautiful river park that borders the river, a great place for a run or leisurely stroll. Hint, hint boys it is also a very romantic spot for a special picnic by the river.
Sports lovers will be in heaven at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the largest state sports hall in the United States. You can walk down the Hall of Fame and see major names like Jackie Robinson, Evander Holyfield, Nancy Lopez and John Smoltz.
That is not even half of what Macon has to offer. So I challenge you Mercer students to not fall into the trap I did.
Macon is too great a historical and cultural paradise to leave unexplored.
Do not be like me and be ignorant to what the city holds. There is more to life than dancing every night at Asylum, hanging out at The Hummingbird, or eating at Waffle House.
I used to think that there was nothing to do in Macon and that it was an extremely boring place, but it is in fact the opposite.
You might do a good job of hiding the attractions that Macon offers from yourself, but it would be doing yourself a big injustice if you left Macon without exploring what it has to offer.
So start early freshmen, or if you are getting a late start like myself know you still have a couple months to explore the city you have called home for the last three years.
It is never too late to go exploring. You might be surprised at what you find.
Comments or questions about this column can be sent to opinions@mercercluster.com
(02/22/12 9:53pm)
It was announced before Christmas last year that Mercer and local media were coming together to create a Center for Collaborative Journalism.
As a follow up to that, the director for Mercer’s new Center for Collaborative Journalism was announced this week.
Tim Reagan-Porter is the President and CEO of Paste Magazine, formerly a print medium that was taken fully online in 2010.
I do not care why Reagan-Porter wanted this job, but I am so happy that he has taken it. This is a huge step for journalism in Macon, one that was sorely needed.
As one of Mercer’s Journalism students who has been involved in the program for the last four years, I am extremely proud to welcome this new Center and Regan-Porter to Mercer.
This Collaborative Center is going to have a huge impact on the Journalism and the Media Studies program at Mercer, and while I wish I could have the opportunity to reap some of the benefits of the new program, I am so proud of Mercer for going after the grant from John S. and James L. Knight Foundation that has allowed this process to begin.
Coming into Mercer I knew I wanted to major in Journalism, but at the same time I knew I needed a backup plan incase my dream of being a journalist failed.
So many people have expressed concern for the journalistic field, “Newspapers are dying.” “The world of journalism is converging more and more.”
It is like a song stuck on repeat, the field of journalism is dying.
But this new step for Mercer is stating the opposite. I was scared to put all of my eggs in the Journalism department at Mercer. Not because of bad teachers or a bad program, but because it seemed as though Mercer did not even believe in its own school of Journalism.
The staff for both the Journalism and Media Studies Department consists of three professors. They are all great and I have learned so much from every one of those professors. But I could not help feeling uneasy about how little Mercer seemed to care about Journalism.
If my undergraduate university did not even seem to care enough about journalism to hire another professor, how would the rest of the country view a degree in journalism? The thought kept my stomach in knots.
But now it seems as though current students and prospective new students have less to fear.
Hopefully, this grant and the process of bringing together Mercer’s Journalism and Media Studies Department, the Macon Telegraph and Georgia Public Broadcasting to build a collaborative center will allow new students passionate about journalism to feel more comfortable putting their eggs in the journalism basket and it is about time.
This Center will allow students to interact with thriving media in Macon. The new labs will give them opportunities to work with mediums they would have never been able to work with in Mercer’s old Journalism school.
Furthermore, Reagan-Porter’s knowledge and expertise will hopefully give students the extra look into the profession that they need to succeed.
Mercer needed this boost to the Journalism and Media Studies Departments. Not only will the Center attract prospective students interested in journalism, but it will be able to give them a leg up in the media world.
I wish I could be around to see the Center take shape and be a part of the piece of history that is being forged right now. But thank you Mercer for finally putting stock in journalism and media. We appreciate the vote of confidence.
Comments and questions on this issue can be emailed to opinions@mercercluster.com
(02/08/12 9:41pm)
Mercer Law alumni and New York Times best-selling author Steve Berry visited Mercer Law School Friday, February 3 at noon to speak to law students, staff and fans alike.
Berry is the author of nine best-selling international suspense thrillers including The Jefferson Key, The Paris Vendetta and The Templar Legacy. His most recent novel, The Columbus Affair, is set to be published this May.
However, this speech was not a stop on a book tour, Berry and his wife Elizabeth came back to Macon as part of the Historic Macon event celebrating Macon native, Sidney Lanier’s 170th birthday.
When Berry walked into Classroom A of the law school, fans were excited, law students were intrigued and both law professors and Berry were nostalgic.
“I remember this room well. My first day in Professor Cresswell’s Matter of Course class I was sitting in the back of this room when he asked me what a matter of course was. I didn’t know and he nailed me to the cross,” said Berry.
“I never forgot that, and I never let it happen again,” laughed Berry.
Mercer Law Professor Harold Lewis gave a memorable introduction to Berry’s speech saying “This is not the Steve Berry I remember.”
“I remembered a first-year law student who I called on while teaching a Civil Procedure class to read aloud the federal rule of civil procedure x. Berry answered ‘I don’t have that rule with me, and you don’t have yours either,’” said Lewis.
After his introduction, Berry spoke to his audience of law school memories and how his time at Mercer Law helped shape him both for his future as a trial lawyer and as a novelist.
“I had to write one brief for Professor Lewis and when I got it back it looked like someone had died on it. There was red on every page, and Lewis told me to go back and rewrite it. I remembered that,” said Berry.
Berry then delved into the difference between legal writing and fiction writing, a difference that took him quite a bit of time to understand.
“When you write legally you are constantly repeating yourself, but when your object is fiction you only say it once. The difference is legal writing is meant to be persuasive, fiction is meant to entertain,” Berry said.
He told his audience that it took six years to break himself of legal writing, adding that his first seven books were written while he was still practicing law.
During that time he was rejected by publishing houses 85 times, but never gave up.
“On that 86th time it worked, a little book called The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown brought back the international suspense thriller genre and the only reason I was still there when this happened was because I didn’t quit,” said Berry.
Berry’s speech was followed by a question and answer session where audience members picked his brain.
It was revealed in this session that the idea for The Jefferson Key was born in Mercer Law School during an assignment for a Constitutional Law class.
“Article One Section A of the Constitution deals with letters of Mark which says that America can hire pirates to go out, pillage and plunder other ships if the U.S. gets a cut. I knew then that I wanted to write a book about that,” said Berry.
When asked how to approach a jury in a trial, Berry told the audience “The number one key to holding a juries’ attention is to appear like you know what the hell you’re doing.”
“I never went into a court room unless I knew more about that case than anyone else. You need to be more knowledgeable about that case than any other person,” said Berry.
“The life of a lawyer is that no one will come see you unless they have a problem. That is your life, learn to try and resolve it as best you can. I loved it, but I never want to do it again,” added Berry.
Berry concluded by saying how great it was to come back to Macon and by telling his audience to never give up. “I sent out 400 letters pleading for an agent; one took me.”
After the speech Berry invited his audience to come out for a book signing in the lobby of the Law School. Here students and faculty alike discussed Berry’s words of wisdom.
“It is exciting having Berry back here. It’s a different person. He is the same in basic ways, but he is an entirely different person that I did not know about. It’s exciting,” said Lewis.
Mercer student Joseph Batts thought hearing a Mercer Alumni speak was a great experience. “It was really cool,” adding that Berry’s advice to writers was interesting and helpful.
(02/08/12 9:36pm)
It was announced this week by District Attorney Greg Winters that he will be seeking to try seven Macon teenagers as adults in the case of the rape of a Northeast High School student in January.
The accused include two fifteen-year old students and a fourteen-year old student who were charged in the rape of a special needs student in the boy’s bathroom on January 19, 2012.
It was released last week that arrest warrants were issued for Greg L. Watkins, 17; Antonio Deaundry Jackson, 18; Jimmie Lee McKnight, 17, and Ashley J. Clark, 17, for the rape.
While it is customary for children under the age of 17 to be tried in the juvenile court the prosecutor of the case has the choice to try juveniles charged with certain serious crimes as adults.
Because of the heinous nature of the rape that occurred, Winters is choosing to try all seven teens as adults.
I’m sure that some back lash will be heard about the choice to try these students as adults in the court of law, especially by family members and friends, but Winters has the right idea and is correct in his choice.
I can understand that some people would view trying a fourteen-year old or a fifteen-year old as an adult to be wrong.
But in this case it couldn’t be more right. Rape is a brutal, violent crime that should never take place, especially a rape that involves seven violators and a disabled student.
Something this serious and disgusting should never be allowed to happen to anyone, and for the sake and the peace of mind of the victim in the matter I think the children should be tried as adults.
It is said that defendants need to be able to understand the extent of their crime and also understand why it is that the crime is wrong.
In this case you have seventeen- year-old students and a legal adult, plus two fifteen year-old students and a fourteen-year-old.
These students are completely capable of understanding the magnitude of their crime, and in my opinion if they are capable of raping someone, they are capable of dealing with the consequences of their actions in an adult court.
All of the teenagers charged are completely capable of knowing the difference and choosing between right and wrong.
No matter what the circumstances of the rape, whether it was just a random act of violence or a gang initiation, whether it was a female who was raped or a male, these students are capable of knowing that rape is wrong, violent, and is a crime for a reason.
If they are old enough to be able to choose to rape someone, regardless of gender or motivation of the crime, then they are old enough to deal with the sentences that will be imposed on them if they are tried and found guilty as adults.
I think it is horrible that children can be capable of committing such a crime, but unfortunately, and apparently, nowadays children are capable of doing just that.
The rape they committed was wrong and disgusting, but it would be even more wrong to try them in a juvenile court and release them after a few years served to go back out and rape again.
An adult sentence will hopefully teach them that rape should not and is not tolerated in our society.
I feel for their families, but for the sake of protecting other students and children, these seven teens should face a harsher sentence than can be brought about in juvenile court.
They have brought it upon themselves.
Comments, rebuttals, questions or concerns about this column can be emailed to opinions@mercercluster.com
(01/25/12 9:50pm)
Like many other students at Mercer, when I go home for school breaks I work a part-time job for extra money and to stave off boredom.
I work at a chain grocery store where day after day I ring peoples’ groceries up. It was through my experiences working at the grocery store that I started to notice something odd: food stamps and the number of families that use them.
Georgia residents who qualify for food stamps, which are now called Electronic Benefit Transfer cards or Georgia Compass Cards, can buy pretty much anything they want with their EBT cards as long as it’s food.
This includes cakes, Red Bull, Monster and candy bars; everything in the store is open to them, except hot foods from the Deli.
Now I am not saying that a lot of families do not need the financial support that the EBT programs gives to them, but when you see a 14-year-old boy come into the store to buy an eight-pack of monster, some Cheetos and a Snickers bar and pays for his purchase with what I’m assuming is his parents EBT card, you start to wonder.
How many families who are on EBT actually deserve and need that money, and how many of those families could afford the food that is given to them but waste that money on other things: for instance a new Ford F-150 pickup truck, a nice set of fake nails or Hollister clothing?
Those are just a few of the things that I have seen in my two years at the store.
How many people need the money to buy food, and how many people are capable of holding down a job and supporting their families but choose instead to live off the government while they sit at home on their lazy butts?
Another thing I don’t understand is why parents who cannot afford to have more children, have more kids anyway.
There is something that one of my managers said to me that I will never forget: “You shouldn’t have more kids than you can parent.”
I agree, but I want to take it a step further. Americans should not have children that they cannot support.
One accidental baby that a family cannot afford is one thing. You didn’t realize it was coming, and babies are expensive. I get it: you need some financial help. I’m perfectly okay with that.
But when it gets to that second child and you still cannot afford that baby, you can’t tell me that it was an accident.
You already had one baby; you know how they are created. Why not do the smart thing and not have unprotected sex to save yourself from the financial hardship of another child?
Condoms are given out for free at government health clinics, and women can get birth control for free from the same clinics. Why not take advantage of that?
Why bring into the world another helpless child that you cannot take care of? What parent would choose that life for their child?
Well here’s an answer that shocked me: the more children you have that you cannot afford to take care of, the more money the government gives you every month for your EBT card.
If you have a five person household and qualify for food stamps, you get about $700.00 for food every month. Just add three more people to your household and you get $1058.00 every month for food. Every additional member of your family gets you another $147.00.
Families are having children that they cannot afford because they will get more money from the government. That is extremely wrong.
It might just be me, but in order to prevent people from abusing the food stamps program, I think that the process to get the cards should be more in-depth and that the government must limit the items that an EBT card can buy.
Instead of being able to purchase every food item in the store, EBT cards should be able to buy the essentials: meat, dairy, whole grain foods, pastas, etc.
Energy drinks, candy, anything that has enough sugar to make your children bounce off the walls should not be allowed under EBT.
The government needs to crack down on the EBT program, especially on the families who use innocent children to fraud the program.
Let’s face it, with the financial trouble the government is in right now, they cannot afford to be wasting any more money. Let’s start by fixing the EBT program.
Questions, comments, concerns, or rebuttals about this column can be emailed to opinions@mercercluster.com.
(12/07/11 11:30pm)
In Breaking Dawn: Part 1, yes I saw Breaking Dawn, the two star-crossed lovers straight out of a sci-fi Romeo and Juliet are given yet another set of obstacles to over-come.
In this installment of the popular series we see the marriage, honeymoon and the resulting child of Bella and Edward Cullen.
I enjoy reading the Twilight books and so as a fan I really wanted to see this first installment of the final book in theaters, but I must admit I was not blown away by the film.
I have always thought that Kristen Stewart was the worst choice of actress to play Bella Swan and this movie did little to change my mind.
While her facial expressions did seem to branch out a little in this movie, Stewart still has the same knack for delivering her lines with a pained look reminiscent of constipation on her face, hardly making her seem like a girl who is in love with anything but a toilet.
Her lack of conviction and bad acting skills are exacerbated by the pure talent of those around her.
It may just be me, but Robert Pattinson truly outshines Stewart in this installment — and that has nothing to do with the fact that he sparkles in sunlight — even Renee, Bella’s rarely seen mother, out performs Stewart in the film.
Taylor Lautner plays a love sick, jealous werewolf perfectly throughout the film and I was entranced, even though his shirt stayed on a great deal more in this film than either of the previous two.
But moving on, the dialogue in the movie was decent at best, snore-worthy as worst. In fact the most fun the audience seemed to have during the screening was the scene of wedding toasts whose slight comedic relief threw the audience a few laughs before we were thrown into the ever-present werewolf versus vampire feud.
The drama continues throughout the rest of the film with everyone but Bella and Rosalie wishing to abort the half-vamp fetus. How the characters are going to do that without seriously harming Bella escapes me.
Anyway, the majority of the film shows Stewart’s character struggling through a pregnancy that is slowly killing her.
Her child is sucking out all the nutrients in her body which is altered to a state in which every bone in Stewart’s body is visible.
Stewart looks like the campaign poster for anorexia awareness except for the baby bump and no one can figure out what to do except Jacob Black who suggests the should be obvious answer that the child probably drinks blood.
The next scene graces us with the image of Stewart drinking blood through a straw, an image I could have lived without seeing.
The next truly disgusting scene we are blessed with is the birth of the vampire baby. Stewart’s back breaks with an awful crack that makes you squirm as the scene continues on to show, in graphic detail, Edward slicing open his wife’s abdomen with his teeth and extracting a baby covered in blood and mucus.
As impossible as I think half-vampire babies are, I have to admit that the child playing Renesme Cullen is adorable, probably one of the highlights of the movie, although I do wish they had cleaned her off a little faster.
Cute babies aside, there was no need for such a disgusting portrayal in the movie, this isn’t Saw and my gag reflex wasn’t completely prepared for it nor was I prepared to see Taylor Lautner’s character cry, which did more to break my heart than the death of Stewart.
All in all, the movie was slow to pick up, lacking in good dialogue and action, and a little gross. Thank you Summit Entertainment for ruining yet another book for me.
(12/07/11 10:23pm)
The holiday season is now upon us. Meaning, as if life was not stressful enough already, you have presents to buy, food to consume, traffic to contend with and potential News Year’s resolutions to make.
While winter is not exactly my favorite time of year, I like being warm rather than freezing certain body parts off when I walk to class. Christmas is also one of my favorite holidays.
Yes, it might have a lot to do with presents, but that is not the only factor that makes Christmas number one on my holiday countdown chart.
When I was younger, I admit, it was hard to look past the mountains of presents under the tree and the hankering to know exactly how Santa got down the chimney. I was jaded. Christmas was not about family to me, it was about how many cool new toys I got to play with or show off to my friends, and how many toys in the Toys R Us Big Book that my parents did not buy me.
It was not until my freshman year at Mercer that I realized what Christmas should, and now does, mean to me.
I realized that all the time I lived at home I took my family for granted. We have arguments like every family; my siblings get on my every last nerve, and sometimes I just wanted to scream because I was so annoyed. Life was truly awful.
After moving away from that and going back home I started to notice that the fighting did not matter all that much anymore, and that my siblings magically seemed to be okay. I figured it was just because I had not seen them in so long, that those feelings would come back.
Alas, they did not and it took me a little while to figure out why but during that time I realized that my family is my family and I need to not take them for granted.
Yes I still cared about getting what I asked for on Christmas, but then I looked at my parents who were sitting there watching us. I realized something in that moment.
My parents did not care if I got them a present.
They did not care at all if they got anything from any of us, they cared most that they had their entire family back together again for Christmas.
They were smiling not because they liked watching us open our presents, but because they were grateful we were all there.
I realized coming home that Christmas is not about presents, it is about so much more than that.
I do not care if my parents cannot get me exactly what I want anymore, because I know that I am lucky enough to have a family that loves me and who is grateful just to have me come back home every year for Christmas.
That is truly what Christmas is all about. Not the gifts, but the togetherness and the love that flows throughout the holiday.
So this year, and I know it will be hard, do not pick fights with your brothers or sisters.
Know that your family’s main priority is not to drive you crazy with their bickering.
Know that your parents are not trying to make your life miserable, and realize that what you have many others would give anything to have.
Your friends and romantic interests can come and go.
Presents can shrink, break or get lost, but your family is bonded to you for life.
So try to look past the material things this Christmas and focus on the things that truly matter.
(11/16/11 11:36pm)
The football scandal that rocked Penn State last week warrants discussion.
Not only was longtime football coach Joe Paterno sacked due to a “cover-up,” but so was the university’s President Graham Spanier.
The question here is what should have been done, and was the action taken the right choice?
Of course there are probably hundreds of different responses to this, but let us just start with the facts.
The fact that former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky could sexually abuse and molest little boys is disgusting.
The fact that Penn State officials and higher ups knew about this abuse and did not go to police is disgusting.
The fact that Paterno knew exactly what was happening and let it go on, regardless of the fact that he told his boss, is disgusting.
Why didn’t anyone in this situation think it pertinent to go to the police when the knowledge of this child abuse came into the open?
What kinds of people are employed at Penn State?
Yes, Paterno is 84 years old and was going to retire at the end of this football season and that fact that he was fired before he could coach the last football game of the season is sad.
But you know what’s even sadder?
It is the fact that he did nothing while his assistant football coach raped little boys.
I feel bad for the guy.
It must be hard to deal with the fact of getting fired right before your last football game, but why on earth would you sit by and let your former assistant get away with sexual abuse.
Paterno should have reported that abuse to police back in 2002 when Mike McQueary told him he had seen Sandusky rape a young boy in the locker room showers.
He knew for almost 10 years and did nothing about it but report it to his boss.
According to Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, Paterno met his obligations under state law when he reported the abuse to his boss.
Yet when it became clear that nothing was being done about the situation, Paterno had the moral obligation to go to police and stop the abuse.
Through Paterno’s, school officials,’ and McQueary’s silence and cover-ups, a child molester was allowed to walk free and abuse more children for close to 10 years.
So yes, it is a complete tragedy that Joe Paterno was fired the week before his final football game. It is a complete travesty.
Let’s just overlook the fact that through his silence he cost numerous boys their childhood innocence and subjected them to a monster who should have never been allowed to set foot near them.
Oh and for those of you who say that the university did do something about the abuse.
I forgot they did do something.
They banned Sandusky from bringing children into the football locker room and they took away his keys.
They should be given a medal for that. It totally worked.
They completely did everything in their power to keep him from molesting more young boys.
Joe Paterno is not Jerry Sandusky.
He did not rape or sexually abuse young boys, but his assistant coach did and he did it under Paterno’s watch.
So in my opinion, Paterno deserved to lose his job.
He may have fulfilled his obligations under the law, but he still sat by as more boys were abused.
I’m sorry if I do not feel sorry for someone who enabled a child molester. That’s not in my nature.
Personally, a job is not that much to pay for what Paterno covered up.
Maybe those who disagree and those Penn State students who rioted in the streets in outrage at Paterno’s dismissal should realize that there are more important things in the world than football.
Maybe like making sure innocent children are kept safe from the clutches of child abusers, rapists and molesters.
Comments, opposing views, concerns and questions about this column can be emailed to opinions@mercercluster.com.
(11/02/11 9:08pm)
Reality television shows do exactly what they were made to do: entertain viewers. But there seems to be some controversy over the issue of reality TV shows that question the affect they can and do have on American youth.
So the question is, are reality television shows detrimental to American children and teenagers? Or better yet, should they be stopped from airing on national TV because of these negative effects?
Television stations are chock full of reality TV shows like Teen Mom 1 and 2, 16 and Pregnant, I Used to be Fat, Extreme Couponing, Survivor and Jersey Shore just to name a few. While some of these shows have no questionable material in them, large portions have messages that can be detrimental to young children.
Teenagers and even pre-teens these days seems to have an affinity for shows that appeal to a younger audience, like Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant, and while some teenagers can watch these shows and purely see the entertainment value in them, others may see these shows and think that teen pregnancy is glamorous and may lead to fame. This is a truly detrimental mindset for a 15-year-old girl.
Then there are shows like Jersey Shore. Entertaining? Heck yes, I love watching the show and getting a laugh off of Snooki or Pauly D. However, I am a 21-year-old college student and can see the humor in the situation and not a young teenager who may see the excessive alcohol intake and partying and think that it’s “the cool thing to do.”
So in my opinion the shows are extremely entertaining and I like to watch them, yes even Teen Mom.
However, I can see the point that some parents are making about the negative influences that these shows have on children. But what can be done about this?
Do reality television shows that can have a negative impact on American youth need to be removed from the airwaves? Some parents and activists would say so, but if this were to occur would that not be seen as a violation of free speech?
Television is not included under the provisions of the First Amendment, and while there have been laws passed that address the formation of television and some of the content of television shows, there are some Americans who would view a removal of reality television shows from the airwaves to be a violation of our free speech rights.
While this could be contested they do have a point. Television shows that are aired have passed ratings inspections and their time slots are handed out in order of their content.
Shows that are not suitable for young audiences are given air times of 10 p.m. or later.
So what is there to do? In my opinion, keep the reality shows.
While some of them do give a negative message to young children, to the intended target audience these shows do exactly what they are meant for: to entertain.
If parents or activists have a problem with the messages that television shows send to children there is a very simple answer: block those channels from your cable settings or prohibit your children from watching the shows.
There is a television rating system for a reason and that reason is to warn parents about the content of the show before it begins.
If you see that a show is rated MA for mature audiences or TV-14 for audiences over 14, listen to the ratings and stop your children from watching it.
The first step to keeping negative influences from affecting a child is the parent. If you refuse to stop your child from watching it then you are to blame, not the reality television shows or the companies that produce them.
Comments, questions or concerns about this column can be sent to opinions@mercercluster.com.
(11/02/11 8:47pm)
October 8 was both a happy and a sad day for Mercer Students for Life. The organization hosted Mercer’s First Annual Pro-Life Leadership Conference in the Connell Student Center from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., but less than two hours later a fatal accident occurred involving four conference attendees.
At approximately 8:20 p.m. near Damascus Road outside of Gray, GA, conference speaker Kortney Blythe Gordon — a 28-year-old Field Director of the Students for Life of America — and her unborn baby of five months, Sophy Joy Gordon, were killed instantly when Gordon’s car collided head-on with another vehicle.
Two of the three passengers, Ginny Stone of Pregnancy Support Services, and Leo Buckle, a senior from the University of South Carolina, were transported by ambulance to the Medical Center of Central Georgia where they were placed in the Neurological Intensive Care Unit.
Jon Scharfenberger, a 22-year-old recent graduate from Ave Maria University and new Director for the Pregnant on Campus Initiative — a program specifically designed by Students for Life of America to help pregnant women attend colleges throughout the United States — was airlifted to the hospital due to severe injuries.
“Jon was saying the Our Father as he pulled himself out of the crumpled car, as a sign of fortitude and faith,” said Martha McAdams, a conference attendee and student at Georgia Health Sciences University who witnessed the accident and rushed to help.
The accident was the worst crash seen in Gray in over thirty years. “There was nothing left of the front of the car,” said volunteer fire chief Ronnie Malcolm.
Senior Megan Hamrick, former president of MSFL and current Wilberforce Fellow for the Students for Life of America, stayed with the survivors as she had interned with Scharfenberger and was a close friend of both him and Gordon.
Craig McMahan, Mercer’s minister, John Dunaway and Father David Kwiatkowski, a priest at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church, visited and prayed over the survivors.
Wednesday, Oct.12, Mercer Students for Life held a memorial service in memory of Gordon and her unborn child and in prayer for all of those affected by the impact of the crash.
Pro-life groups around the country mourned the loss of Gordon and her unborn child, while others organized prayer chains for the passengers, particularly Scharfenberger as his condition was the most critical of the three.
After a brief period of sedation, Scharfenberger’s doctors removed the sedating medication in an attempt for him to breathe on his own, but this attempt failed.
While Scharfenberger’s condition improved for a short while, as he was responsive to stimuli and could cough and gag by himself when prompted, his condition worsened as his body began to fail him.
The doctors believed that a 72-hour induced coma would help to stabilize him.
While in the coma, Scharfenberger spiked a fever of 108 degrees, and although the fever was reduced to 101 degrees, his vital signs crashed.
On Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 9:40 a.m. Scharfenberger died with his mother, father, sister and Hamrick by his side.
“Their passion was incredible, and so were their hearts. I can only hope [one day] to be the advocates they were for such an important cause,” said Stephanie Jensen, Treasurer of MSFL, in remembrance of Gordon and Scharfenberger.
“[Kortney and Jon] were an inspiration to everyone who met them, and they will continue to inspire [others] even though they have moved on beyond this world,” said MSFL member Melissa Plyler.
Gordon and her unborn child were laid to rest in Matthews, N.C. Scharfenberger was buried in Warwick, NY.
Ginny Stone and Leo Buckle are both expected to recover fully.
The Pro-Life Leadership conference featured 10 national speakers representing life-affirming organizations across the United States, including Students for Life of America, the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, the Human Life Alliance, the Alliance Defense Fund, the Network of Politically Active Christians, the Black Pro-Life Coalition, Crossroads and Pregnancy Support Services.
The conference attracted over 50 attendees representing Mercer, the University of Georgia, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Kennesaw State University, Auburn University, the University of South Carolina, Georgia Health Sciences University and Aquinas High School.
Mercer faculty members showed support by hosting speakers and attending the general sessions of the conference.
Conference topics ranged from the teaching of Pro-Life Apologetics to working with pregnancy help centers and adoption agencies to make a positive change within the community.
“The pro-life conference was outstanding. It was so great to see so many [fellow] students so passionate about helping women and saving lives,” said Jen Tyra, Vice President of MSFL.
“Not only was I deeply impressed with the excellence of the presentations and how inspiring and practical they were, but I was intensely proud of the hard work our MSFL members put into making all the necessary arrangements: reserving the venue, printing the program, providing food, lodging, decorations, and providing welcome bags for the presenters. The external co-sponsors were so pleased that they want our MSFL to host another regional next year,” said John Dunaway, faculty advisor for MSFL.
Clarissa Price was a contributing writer for this piece.
(10/20/11 12:19am)
A dentist appointment over fall break served as an eye opening experience for me this year.
As if my hatred of the dentist was not enough, when I climbed into the dentist’s chair the dental hygienist asked if I was in school and what year.
When I told her I was a senior she asked what my major was and where I wanted to move when I graduated.
My response was, “I will move to wherever there is a job opening for me.”
She chuckled and proceeded to tell me how hard it was going to be to find a job in the journalism field.
My understanding of how much a dental hygienist knows about the job market for journalists aside, I could not help but think that she had a very valid point.
But what are my choices? What if I can’t find a job? I could choose to go to law school for the next three years in hopes that by then this whole dilemma will be solved.
I could fill out a Fulbright application and pray that I get it. But none of those options are certain.
So here I am a senior in college, both looking forward to my last year at Mercer and dreading the fact that the U.S. unemployment rate is still over 9 percent with no guarantee that it will decrease any time soon.
What does this mean for me? For my graduating classmates? For every other graduating senior in America? For the thousands of college graduates and unemployed already looking for work?
I have no idea, and quite frankly it scares me senseless that my future is so uncertain.
So now instead of planning my future around where I want to live or my family, I am planning my future around wherever I can find a job.
It occurs to me how unfair this is, not only to me, but to every person searching for a job in this economic downfall.
But the question remains, what can anyone possibly do to combat the ever increasing unemployment rate?
My first thought leads to our Congress. Are our representatives and senators truly qualified to pass legislation about the unemployment rate?
Let’s look at the job they are doing with settling on the national budget as a starting point. That indecision and greed really makes me worry about the future of our country, let alone the unemployment rate.
Are they really the ones that we should be trusting with these matters when they are not the ones struggling with the bad economy and the dismal job market?
They are employed after all.
My next thought goes to President Obama’s State of the Union Address, when Obama proclaimed he wanted to create jobs for approximately 100,000 new math and science teachers.
I recall thinking, “Did he really just say that, when there are thousands of teachers out of work already. Let’s focus on finding jobs for them instead of focusing on 100,000 new math and science teachers.”
So is Obama truly qualified to be in charge of finding solutions for our unemployment problem?
I am still unsure about that one.
So here’s a wild and crazy thought, why not let the people struggling with the job crisis be a part of developing the solutions.
How much could it hurt our already high unemployment rate for the government to ask the people they serve if we have any useful ideas for solutions?
They may just find that someone who is removed from the drama of the political world and is more focused on the economic world could have truly beneficial ideas.
I know that it’s an insane idea that will never happen, it is a dream after all, but I cannot help but think that maybe, just maybe, someone who has actually lived the unemployment crisis may have a better insight into the matter than congressmen.
But then again, I am just a lowly college student.
What does my opinion matter anyway?
Comments, questions or criticisms of this column may be sent to opinions@
mercercluster.com.
(10/05/11 2:04am)
It is time to take stock of our lives as Americans and face the question that has plagued our country for centuries: what should we do about immigration?
Let us take it a bit further. What should we do about illegal immigration?
Well, it seems that Alabama has a new plan to take on the question of immigration. This plan includes anti-immigration laws that require Alabama police to act as immigration enforcement agents by demanding proof of legal status from anyone appearing to be foreign.
The laws also require public school officials to check the legal status of students and their parents before allowing children to attend public schools.
All in all, the new laws will limit access to housing, utilities, schools and employment to anyone who cannot produce the proper documentation proving that they are either American citizens or legal immigrants.
While the Alabama law may be taking the question of immigration a bit too far— I mean, some of the provisions are downright racist — the new laws definitely shine the spotlight on the issue of illegal immigration.
It cannot be denied that thousands of illegal immigrants are crossing our borders every year. From Cuba, to Mexico, to Latin and South America, there are plenty are immigrants flooding into the United States.
There have been numerous reactions to this problem over the years. In the early 20th century, when thousands of Irish and Chinese immigrants came into the country, the solution was to contain the problem with separate ghettos.
Now, when there are thousands of immigrants coming into the county from Mexico, among other countries, the solution is to tighten border security in an attempt to stop the immigration indefinitely.
Regardless of if this approach is actually working, I wondered why this immigration is even an issue.
Yes, illegal immigrants are “stealing” American jobs. Jobs that no American would choose to do in the first place, might I add.
Yes, most of them do not speak English, and yes, some of them are abusing the housing and federal aid systems.
But aside from all of that, are those things truly the real problem that most Americans have with illegal immigrants? Or is there another issue that goes straight past their job status to an issue of skin color?
Would Americans react the same way if the immigrants were coming from European countries?
Why do illegals from South American countries get more attention and action than illegals coming in from Canada?
Could it be because Canadians look like the majority of us? Could it be that they speak the same language as us? Could it be that they blend in with us?
Is the reason that illegal South American immigrants get such negative reactions because they stick out? Would we even care if they came in illegally if they were white and spoke English?
Somehow I do not think so, because then, how would Alabama police know who to stop and from who to demand proof of status? We would all look the same.
I think the reason that illegal Hispanic immigrants get so much attention is because they cannot blend in with us; they stick out like a sore thumb.
That fact that this racial discrimination is still present in our society is disgusting. When are we going to finally look past the issue of skin color and see that every person is truly a human being that deserves respect, regardless of the color of their skin or the language they speak?
This is America; aren’t we supposed to be a country that embraces difference, not shuns it?
Why can we not accept Hispanic immigrants like we have accepted European immigrants?
I think it is high time to remember that the Civil Rights battles have already taken place and equal status has already been gained.
Stop judging based on skin color alone, and if the problem truly is that of illegal status, crack down on all illegal immigrants and not just ones who look Hispanic.
Comments, questions, concerns, or critcisms about this column can be sent to
opinions@mercercluster.com
(09/21/11 11:03pm)
The numerous headlines recently made due to the issues of how homosexuality should be discussed and handled in the school systems of Anoka, Minnesota, can hardly be turned a blind eye to anymore.
Conflicts between advocates for gay students and rights and conservative Christian groups can be ignored no longer.
This July, six students brought a lawsuit against Anoka school officials, stating that the officials have failed to stop continuous anti-gay bullying and that a district policy that forces teachers to remain “neutral” on issues of sexual orientation has resulted in nothing but oppression, silence, and a destructive stigma.
The harassment of gay students has been unchecked throughout the school district, including a large section of Michele Bachman’s Congressional district.
Conservative Christian groups are demanding that the schools avoid any positive descriptions of homosexuality as normal, warning school officials against any surrender to the “homosexual agenda” of recruiting students to an “unhealthy and abnormal lifestyle.”
The issue is made even more unnerving by the eight student suicides that have taken place in the Anoka school system in the last two years. Whether anti-gay bullying was to blame for these suicides is disputed, but four of the eight students were experiencing issues of sexual identity and gross harassment by peers.
Many would think, why is this an issue being brought up in this paper? We are nowhere near Anoka, Minnesota; there is nothing we can do.
Yes, we are not in Anoka and may not be able to help the fight there, but the problems of anti-gay bullying go beyond the boundaries of Minnesota and delve straight into the heart of the issue of human rights.
Does not every person, regardless of sexual orientation, gender or race, deserve the same rights? I thought that in American society “all men are created equal.” Or was I mistaken?
The anti-gay harassment of homosexual students and adults, not only in Anoka, but also throughout the United States, is a sick portrayal of American citizenry at a low point.
We are all humans and as such all deserve to be treated with the same common courtesy and decency as others. Just because a person is a gay man or a lesbian does not mean that they are not normal.
If normalcy could actually be defined, we would all be in a whole heap of trouble, because no one is truly “normal.” As such, we are all worthy of the same respect and should be shown that respect regardless of the gender of our sexual partners.
Homosexuality is not an epidemic and furthermore cannot be changed or “cured” no matter how hard groups try to rid children and adults of the proposed “unhealthy and abnormal lifestyle.” So we should all aid in the attempt to stop such ridiculous and harmful actions.
Mercer has had its own battle with anti-gay groups. While Mercer’s sponsorship and allowance of homosexual clubs such as Common Ground on campus may not have been the only factor leading to the break between Mercer and the Southern Baptist Conference years ago, it still contributed.
As students at a university that made such a stand for gay student rights, we as Mercer students should feel some obligation to not overlook the instances of anti-gay harassment and bullying around us.
Every citizen has a right to basic human decency and respect. We should not make the assumption that just because a man chooses another man as a partner, or vice-versa, that the man is any less human that we are.
Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered citizens are people and should not be subjected to bullying and harassment by fellow peers.
Conservative Christian groups who have taken a vendetta against homosexual students should be embarrassed of themselves.
Does it not say in the Bible something along the lines of, “Judge not, lest ye be judged?” Shame on you.
Comments, questions,
concerns or criticisms on this column can be sent to
opinions@mercercluster.com.
(09/21/11 11:01pm)
The recycling bug has bit at Mercer. What with Trayless Tuesdays in the cafeteria to cut down on water waste and the newly implemented dorm recycling containers located outside the lofts, freshman dorms and the apartments, Mercer is abuzz with recycling programs.
In fact, just last week the Environmental, Health and Safety Office and Heather Bowman Cutway announced to Mercer students that in an effort to reduce the amount of waste Mercer sends to the landfill, our Student Government, Students for Environmental Action, HOD Environmental Concerns Committee, National and the Physical Plant department have teamed up to expand recycling at Mercer even more.
Plastic bottle and aluminum can recycling containers are now available in numerous locations across campus.
Knight Hall, Tarver, Ware, Wiggs, the Science and Engineering Building and many more buildings now all have containers for aluminum recycling and more than half of the newest recycling locations also offer containers for plastic disposal.
I am in full support of the new recycling program, just as I was in full support of the biodegradable to-go boxes the cafeteria changed to last year, even though the silverware packets were devoid of salt and pepper.
The problem is not with the recycling program. My problem has to do with the new green, reusable to-go containers that first made their debut last year.
My issue is not that the containers are reusable, or that they are to be turned back into the cafeteria staff or the machine located across from the vending machines in the Connell Student Center to be washed and then given back out.
The problem is not that the cafeteria is trying to be environmentally friendly by minimizing the amount of trash produced by Mercer every year. That is something to be proud of. Way to go Mercer for trying to minimize our environmental footprint.
The problem is the addition to the to-go containers. The fact that students are now forced to either pay $3.50 to be able to use the to-go containers or be forced to eat in the cafeteria.
While $3.50 is not an absurd amount of money and in most other circumstances there would be no reason for complaint, the fact that students now have to pay not only for a meal plan—which, let’s face it, are a bit expensive—and a to-go container if they wish to take the tasty cafeteria food anywhere besides the cafeteria premises is ridiculous.
Freshmen and sophomores already pay well over $2000 a semester for unlimited and 14-meal-a-week meal plans.
A ten-meal membership costs close to $1500 and even the least expensive meal membership, the 40-block meal plan, costs $375. These prices are crazy.
That means that every time someone with a 40-block plan goes and eats at the cafeteria, it costs them approximately $9.37 per meal.
The prices only increase from there.
But now, instead of it being free to take food from the cafeteria, as it was the first three years of my career here, it now costs an extra $3.50 to buy a container for the food to go into.
All I am saying is that we already pay enough for meal plans at Mercer, so shouldn’t we be able to take the food we already pay outrageous prices for anywhere we want to take it for free?
Is it not too much to ask that we be provided containers instead of having to buy the containers?
And if the prices for the reusable containers are a necessity, why are they not included in the prices that we already pay for meal memberships?
Students should not be surprised the first time they go to the cafeteria wanting a to-go box with a $3.50 ransom.
Students should be able to take the cafeteria food anywhere they want for no charge.
Get rid of the mandatory price or add it into the meal memberships because any additional costs Mercer students have to pay out of pocket for trivial things should be cut out.
Don’t we already pay enough?
Comments, criticisms, rebuttals and issues about this opinion can be emailed to opinions@mercercluster.com.
(09/21/11 10:28pm)
A group of eight Bibb County officials made it known in early September their plan to ask local legislators to make county elections nonpartisan.
The officials included Bibb County Solicitor-General Otis Scarbary, Probate Judge William Self, District Attorney Greg winters, Sherriff Jerry Modena, Superior Court Clerk Dianne Brannen and Coroner Leon Jones.
The group is hoping for two more signatures from Civil Court Judge William Randall and Tax Commissioner Tommy Tedders within the coming weeks.
The eight county officials who signed the resolution made it known to legislators and the press that they believed their jobs to be apolitical and so neither should their elections be political.
The proposed resolution would change the face of Bibb county elections by once and for all removing any suggestion that the elected jobs are done in a Democratic or Republican way.
If this resolution is agreed upon by local legislators, it will be turned into a bill that will be ushered through as local legislation in spring 2012 to make the 2012 county elections independent of party.
Officials are hoping that this resolution, if passed, will eliminate conflicts of interest and appeared conflicts of interests.
Sherriff Modena also made known that an association of Georgia sheriffs has been pushing for statewide nonpartisan elections since the early 2000s.
Modena stated that nonpartisan elections will allow for more focus on the elections and keep better focus for officeholders because the officials will work for the people, not for their political parties.
This decision came on the heels of Macon’s mayoral elections that took place over the summer.
Macon’s race for the mayoral election began in June 2011 with the announcement that the mayoral ticket would include four Democratic candidates and one independent write-in.
Qualifying for the partisan candidates for the election ended the first Friday in June. The five member ticket set the stage for the primary mayoral election that took place on July 19.
Macon’s last mayoral race took place in 2007, but much has changed in Macon since the last election, including the economic recession that hit the United States hard and Macon voters stood curious as to how the new candidates would deal with these issues.
This year’s mayoral ticket offered both old and new faces, including Macon-Bibb County firefighter Paul W. Bronson, Georgia Senate minority leader Robert Brown, write-in David Cousino, former Mayor Jack Ellis, and current Mayor Robert Reichert.
Brown hoped to persuade Macon’s voting public to choose him with promises to attract businesses to the east and south sides of town, including downtown.
Brown said the main issues he hoped to work on included decreasing crime, working on the civic-infrastructure and “belt-tightening in city government.”
Cousino made it known that he was not one of the “good ole boys” of local government and chose to work on waking up Macon’s unregistered voters to spur his election numbers.
Former Mayor Ellis’ campaign centered on crime, job creation and community revitalization; while Mayor Reichert focused on economic revitalization and passage of an urban redevelopment plan.
In the July 19 runoff it was Reichert who stood victorious, beating Ellis by a narrow margin of votes.
Reichert said later that if he had known the margin of victory was so close, he would have spent more time campaigning and more time away from his mayoral duties.
With that said, Reichert has begun focusing on mending the rifts that local elections make within the community by re-establishing connections with local ministers who backed Ellis.
With the proposed resolution of nonpartisan elections looming overhead and Reichert’s second term as mayor, Macon’s political climate is heating up.