Promoting Prostrate Awareness

http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/03/27/us-usa-urinals-pennsylvania-idINBRE92Q10C20130327

Are you a die-hard video fan and hate to break away to shower, eat, or go to the bathroom?  Guess what?  If you live in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs' Coca-Cola Park has installed urinal video games to play while you "Pee". 
 
The game is hands-free and is played by directing your urine left or right and although there is only one game to pick from, which consists of riding a snowmobile and hitting penguins along the way, it occupies your time and has pop-ups promoting prostrate awareness and to have a screening.

These games have been set up in the UK, but it is the first in the US, and will be shown next week at a promotional minor league baseball game.

A ''hands-free'' video game for sports fans taking a bathroom break is seen at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs' Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania March 27, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Lehigh Valley IronPigs/Handout

People do come up with strange ideas, and I guess this is one of them.  I wonder if it will catch on or go down the drain.

I guess anything for a buck, but I sure would hate to be someone on the cleaning staff....what will they think of next!

Achievement: Product of educators or localities?

http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/19/report-to-close-achievement-gap-fund-schools-by-need-not-zip-code/

The above article presents the argument of a report which indicates that redetermining the way in which schools are funded might eliminate disparities between "students who live in affluent neighborhoods and those in high poverty areas." Yet, even with effective funding, effective teaching is still more crucial.

Such disparities between the privileged and the underprivileged in society are no secret. Unfortunately, it is difficult for the underprivileged to fight back without weapons, and thus, poverty is a cycle that effects all walks of life for those captured by it.  The article above indicates that schools are primarily funded by property taxes, meaning that better neighborhoods have better schools because property taxes in such areas tend to dwarf those in worse neighborhoods.

Furthermore, worse neighborhoods attract less adept teachers because they have lower salaries, higher crime and ironically, schools which the teachers themselves would not want to place their own children. Indeed, funding is important.

I agree, bridging the gap between affluence and deficiency requires funding. Before that can happen, however, there must be a shift in the societal mentality that more is best. Forty-four ounce big gulps are only a fraction of a dollar more, so why not get one, right? More money results in greater happiness, no? Certainly, abundance has a strong correlation with achievement, but it is not determinant. Real efficiency takes effort. Until we as a society learn to take the route that is most useful with the least, and not fastest, we will never change poverty in education, I think.

Millionaire living small

In this world we think of millionaires living the good life and always being eccentric. The life that this particular millionaire is living is a splitting difference of the one that he was living when he had just acquired his fortune. Graham Hill has chosen to live a more modest, less wasteful life. He only lives in an apartment that is 402 square feet. For anyone that is reading this article they are probably thinking like me. I thought,” why would this millionaire totally downsize from his huge house and lavish lifestyle that he had before?”. He states that his lifestyle was too wasteful and it was just about collecting things. He states that the true real meaning of life was to find happiness in the things that aren’t material and that matter the most. After his change surprisingly he says that he feels totally okay with the decision that he has made and wouldn’t change anything. He enjoys feeling like he is in control of his own money and that it doesn’t control him, not rule his life as it does others. Fame and fortune was no match for Graham Hill as of today. If you were a millionaire would you give up living in a nice neighborhood with lots of rooms and lavish things? Or, would you rather compromise and have a little bit of the lavish lifestyle along with values and people you love along the way with you? Most people would say that it isn’t a choice what you do after the money, that the money chances you. Graham Hill is an example that it isn’t true, and people could handle their money for the better.

http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/03/21/17401107-living-with-less-tech-millionaire-downsizes-to-420-square-feet?lite

think twice. conserve!

The other day when I was at work I got to thinking about our usage of water and our awareness or lack there on a daily basis. I work at the gym in school and one of our faucets in the women’s locker room was broken and there was a continual steam of water coming out of it and not like a drip either this was a baby stream of water flowing out of this and when one of the custodians passed by I asked her about it and she said it had been like that for a little over an hour and no one had come in to fix it so I wondered if we would have been put under more pressure to fix things like that if we paid the bill. I remember when I lived on campus I was very reckless when it came to turning off lights and conserving water and all of that and I know from my experiences with my friends that still live on campus they are the same way. Even though as students living on campus everything is already included in our bill I would like you guys to stop and think for a second how much does that affect our environment if we all continue this mentality because it is more difficult to be aware of how much you are really using. Last year we had a speaker come in to St. Mary’s to talk about this very subject and how our water usage was affecting the surrounding communities. He was a farmer from a small town outside of San Antonio and he was mentioning that because the demand on our water supply is so great that towns like his were the ones that were being deprived of water, and although  I don’t remember fully what his argument was he did talk about how it a big city like San Antonio really has an impact on the rest of the counties surrounding this area. A school like ours is already going to have a high demand for utilities like that because of the amount of people that are here but I encourage you to think like as if you were at home and your mom was getting mad at you for a high bill, that makes you simply aware of how much you use. An even better way to remember this is if you have ever been through a natural disaster when you lose all sorts of running water because in that situation you realize how much it is you really need and how much is just for luxury.  I’m NOT saying go all out and not shower but even if it’s just for a day take a look and see how much water you are using, it might make you reevaluate some of your daily routines.

http://www.saws.org/conservation/

Black Youth Project

http://www.blackyouthproject.com

For my post, I am reviewing not an article, but an entire website. This website is a combination of articles that promote black youth to become civically engaged. I thought this website was not only a good idea, but also an innovative idea to try and get the younger generations to become more involved in the world around them.

This website has several articles all dealing with the world and issues that we as people have the ability to affect. As youths, we often do not feel like the world issues do not apply to us. We are in our own world worrying about our boyfriends/girlfriends, or the next party, and what is the best song on the radio. I’m not sure why, but we as young people do not take the outside world too serious. This website is especially designed for youth to inform them on what is going on and to help them care about the issues today.

Not only does this website target youth, but it is applicable to the African American population. I myself am not African American, but I do understand what it is to be a minority targeted negatively by media and authority. This website gives the black community the confidence and knowledge to act in the community.

I think this site is such a great and effective way for those in the world to gain the confidence they need to be civically engaged. 

Fight the Frack

"Fracking," has become a new hot topic in the world of environmental hazards. For those who do not know what fracking is, it is the the occurrence of fractures in rocks where companies drill for oil or fossil fuels. The biggest consequence from this is that harmful gases are seeping into water systems; so much so that some faucets while turned on, can have their water literally be set on fire. Recently, however, a new light has shed on this dreadful issue. In an unexpected alliance, major environmental companies along with oil companies are teaming together to tackle this problem. They have combined their efforts and developed fifteen standards for oil drilling and handling. Some of these newly formed standards involve drill regulation, water recycling services and of course an eye on damage control. One flaw from this however, will be an increase in spending from these oil companies; spending that may trickle down to us with increased oil prices. As much of a "flaw" as this may be, I would rather pay a small percentage more for natural gas than have a sink that produces flammable water. My favorite part of this article, very similar to my last blog, is the fact that large, wealthy corporations are utilizing their resources for the benefit of society. To have an environmental "hippie" group work hand in hand with "big money" oil industries is simply awesome. We need more corporations to follow suit in positive communal efforts in order to kick start a new era where companies more about us, and less about the money we give them in exchange for their services. Below is the link to the article to read more on the topic. I have also included a youtube link to a video that shows the consequences of fracking, showing how a woman is able to light the water from her sink on fire.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2013/0321/Energy-firms-environmentalists-agree-on-fracking-standards?nav=92-csm_category-leadStory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LBjSXWQRV8

Civic Engagement in Community Colleges

http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/philanthropy/21873-tiny-foundation-big-idea-foster-civic-engagement-with-focus-on-community-college-students.html

In this rather lengthy article, there is a lot of interesting information that basically boils down to one statement: This organization, the Rappaport Family Foundation, helps out and encourages community college students to become more civically engaged in their communities. Throughout the nation, community colleges are almost forgotten about, even though they comprise of the majority of students currently in college.

I feel as if this article is very important because community colleges are forgotten about and are almost looked down upon just because they are not large campuses or extremely accredited. Encouraging civic engagement in smaller community colleges can also improve the ethics of the students at these colleges, because some community college students go into school already as at-risk students for dropping or not using their full potential. Also, community colleges are very common among large cities. For example, there are many community colleges here in San Antonio in different parts of San Antonio. If each community college helped out more in their part of the community, San Antonio could thrive and in the long run, possibly even decrease the high school drop out rate.

This article also discussed many positives about being civically engaged in communities, which reminded me a lot about the St. Mary's mission. Here at St. Mary's, we are always civically engaged through service and being informed on social issues on various scales through events such as the President's Peace Comission. I feel that St. Mary's and it's students benefit highly off of doing service and being informed citizens, and civic engagement in community colleges can have a similar effect.

Ultimately, this article proves a good point and I feel it is an idea that can benefit not just universities, but cities and other organizations. Being civically engaged makes for better citizens and students, and also provides many other personal benefits to the people involved.

Change the way you think about charity!

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This weeks blog post was inspired by an video/bio link http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong.html?utm_medium=on.ted.com-twitter&utm_content=addthis-custom&utm_source=t.co&awesm=on.ted.com_hTvR&utm_campaign=&source=twitter#.UUeCOjnDZow.twitter

posted by @cammilleN

The topic of discussion for speaker Dan Pallotta was our view of charities and how it is “dead wrong”. I think those words are what drew me to this video. It is a video posted on the www.ted.com website, which is a nonprofit organization that is “devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading”. I use those words directly from the website because they are the most accurate. If you have never visited this site please do. You are sure to find something that will interest you in regards to innovations and ideas.

Watching the video I realized that I had the same thought process Mr. Pallotta was speaking against. We expect charities to make a difference but we don’t want them to spend any of the donated money on building the charity itself. We expect all of our donations to go towards the cause not the organization. This way of thinking is old and outdated and Mr. Pallotta gives several point and examples in his presentation to prove this. What’s worse is they all make tremendous sense. If we expect these charities to reach a larger number of people we have to allow the charities to use some of the donated money to grow, expand and advertise.

I know that sounds crazy but think about it. If you see and ad for a restaurant in town you might try it just because its new, or even an old restaurant that has new food. If you never hear or see any advertisement about a local charity how are you going to know they need donations or volunteers? The more information that is in the consumers view the more attention the organization gets. The more attention an organization gets the more money it receives. We all know this to be true. Why then do we feel so negatively when charities spend money on advertising and fundraising? Politicians spend billions of dollars on these two same things yet we don’t get as upset. Why have we gone this long with this same thought process?

Mr. Pallotta speaks from experience; he created the multi-day Breast Cancer events and the AIDS Rides that bring in millions of donations each year because he invested money into advertising and fundraising. I can see his points very clearly and I have changed my thought process on how I view charities. I am going to start looking at what charities get done instead of what they spend money on.

Changemaker Central

Arizona State University (ASU) has opened Changemaker Central, a collaborative space on each of their four campuses where students can meet with like-minded individuals who want to make a difference. Changemaker Central is a student-run and staff supported organization. The students invite budding entrepreneurs and activists to their meetings and listen to their ides, pitches and dreams, and direct them to relevant resources. They support students at all stages of their process.

            The way this program got started, was that students leaders at ASU saw hundreds of fellow students put their passion in various social causes. These students were inspired by everything around them and turned that inspiration into action. Not all of their ideas could be turned into action since the necessary tools were difficult to obtain. Through student demand, Changemaker Central was opened and provided the accessible tools for activism and entrepreneurship.

            The students at Changemaker Central have developed five simple steps to inspire social change:

1. Believe- you must see yourself as someone who can make a difference
2. Commit- It takes more than just an innovative idea to make a change. Once you have found that thing you are passionate about, commit to your cause and to seeing it through.
3. Connect- Few people can do everything by themselves; it often takes a team of diverse individuals to make an idea come to fruition. Connect with other individuals who have a  passion for the same cause you do
4. Implement- MAKE IT HAPPEN.
5. Repeat- Do it again. Success rarely comes the first time around. Even if one idea does no work that does not mean another idea will have the same results.

I thought this was a great idea in helping student’s ideas take shape and form social action. ASU saw that their students were passionate and set up this program to allow the students to flourish their ideas. The program has already had several successful student ventures, some even earning national recognition for their social impact. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2013/02/19/5-steps-for-transforming-student-passion-into-social-action/

Gas prices

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/drivers-face-high-gas-prices-us-oil-boom-18784605

Prices of products are usually dependant on supply and demand which everybody is familiar with but what if the supply is plentiful and the demand is down and the price still does not go down.  This is precisely the problem with today’s gas prices. At almost four dollars a gallon you would think there is a shortage around the world in crude oil but there isn't. Right now the US is producing more oil than it ever has and has picked up its production fourteen percent producing almost six and a half million more barrels than just a short time ago. Do the oil companies think the general public is ignorant to the raping of our wallets? Maybe it’s that they don’t care at all for US citizens and profits are all they care about.  Demand is at an all time low having been reduced by over eight million barrels. This has caused the automobile industry to come out with more fuel efficient cars as well as electric cars.

One of the arguments as to why the gas prices are continuing to rise is the demand for oil in other countries. As these countries grow so does their demand for oil and gas and as such the prices will continue to go up. The US now is exporting gas and diesel to these countries because they are the highest bidders for the product. To me, this seems wrong as the companies should remember its citizens here on the home front. Also, what about our financial standings and the little money people have to spend to boost the economy. Where and when is the government going to step in a take the public into consideration?

I personally think there needs to be high tariffs put on any products coming into the US as well as have very little go out to the rest of the world. We can sustain as a nation and prosper if we don’t allow outside influences to control us. This is how we started in the beginning and it worked so why have we gone away from a system that worked? Here is the answer; GREED!

Approaching Bullying in a Different Way

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/05/18/students-use-flash-mob-to-spread-anti-bullying-message/

The majority of the nation knows that bullying has become a big issue in schools. It has gotten out of hand, that there have been cases where children have committed suicide. It even has the capability to create psychological problems in children. In order for this to stop, students and teachers have taken initiative in trying to solve this conflict. Most schools are doing the basic, which includes making posters, and having a discussion with the students. Teachers tell them that they should notify the principal. What I found amazing about this article is that the students at Blackhawk Intermediate School are also trying to solve this issue, but in an uncommon way.

The students from Blackhawk Intermediate School have changed the lyrics from the song Dynamite by Taio Cruz. Instead, they have included a powerful message about preventing bullying. This is something that they have been working on for eight months. What caught my attention the most was that all of this was commenced by the students. The students performed the majority of the work. They came up with the words and even included some dance moves. This shows how strongly they feel about the topic.

I hope many people get to see this video and share it with others. It is important that bullying stops. We need to regain control of schools again, and make sure that the students feel safe and secure. Nothing is worse than going to a learning environment everyday and not feeling out of harm’s way. 

What is Civic Engagement

 

People have their different meaning and interpretations when they hear the word “Civic Engagements.” Some people believe it is means to an end, but according to the article from IPCE, this is not really true. It’s more defined from a series of definitions revolving around a democracy. The definitions that they provide were:

1.       A democracy in which people have a good understanding of the government and how it operates, as well as having access to the information about issues regarding policy that affect our everyday lives.

2.       A democracy with a good flow of information and communication between people and officials who run the government.

3.       A democracy that uses more modern day tools and technology that help create a more responsive government and discuss social issues regarding policy.

The article also explains that civic engagement has two meanings, based on the individual conducting the event. If it was an individual themselves, they might think of something like giving back to the community in volunteering or voting, but as for a group, civic engagement can mean group discussions, public demonstrations, or developing strategy to take on a social issue. Some people may even refer to an actual university being considered a group organization (Like St. Mary’s!!) who gives back to the community in different forms such as public discussions, presentations and of course volunteering.

All in all, civic engagement is different to each individual who considers themselves socially active. There are different forms as explained in this article, it just all depends on the results that come out of it. If the community is involved, then there has been as sense of social change due to civic engagement. There really is no correct answer, just as long as people see a change in the community.  

http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/ipce/interior/civicengagement.html

Same-Sex Marriage

http://articles.cnn.com/2013-03-01/politics/politics_same-sex-marriage-shift_1_gay-marriage-marriage-debate-civil-unions

Same sex marriage has become more supported since 2001, according to Pew Research Center polling. When Obama announced he did not suppose same-sex marriage, he disappointed many of his supporters during his first term. Then during late February, Obama announced that he is now in support of same sex marriages. Vice President Joe Biden was already in support of same sex marriages; so when Obama became a supporter, polls showed that many Americans then became supporters as well.

Obama wanted to be on the right side of history when it came to same sex marriages and I believe that many people need to do the same. I do not see why people look down on same sex marriage. A marriage is about people being in love; it does not matter what sex they are. I chose this article because this is what my group is doing our project on. But not only that, I have seen many supports of same sex marriages now than when I was younger. To me a couple is made up of two people that love each other, but notice that I did not point out a certain sex within the couple. We are all humans, we are all made to be happy, we are all made to love; you really cannot help who you fall in love with.

I have an uncle that has a partner and honestly I love it. They have been together for almost thirty years now, but they are not married. I asked them if they ever wanted to get married and it hurt when they both said yes, but they could not. I hope that now that Obama has become a supporter of same sex marriages, there will be more states that will legalize it. 

Solar Energy

A fourth grade class in North Carolina took their science class into a whole different level.  This elementary class did not only study about alternative energy resources, but actually got hands on with their studies. This fourth grade class actually raised money to buy their classroom its own solar powered panel. The children of this class have set a goal to raise $800 but have already reached $2,700 and are now trying to reach $3,000 in order to produce as much as 1kw of clean energy for their community.

Now what would happen if more schools, not just elementary begging to grasp these types of projects.  “We believe in the power of sun” is the slogan the fourth graders have been using to help them reach their goal, now if they can do it, we now know that we too have the opportunity to reach cleaner and safer energy. With the power of the internet and kickstarter ( the worlds largest funding platform for creative projects) these fourth graders have now made a difference in their community.  

I believe if more professors like the one in this class, who is Aaron Sebens, actually give their students the opportunity too do projects like these, students will actually learn more about solar energy, and be able to make a difference in their community. What this class has done is a perfect example and motivation for many other schools and I hope that other schools begging to take these types of projects into consideration in order to teach their students new things while at the same time producing clean energy. 

http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/fourth-graders-crowdfund-solar-powered-classrom.html

Enlightenment Age

            I decided to write about this article even though it does not specifically talk about social change because it talks about how we can be in the age of Enlightenment due to society’s understanding and new ideas to overcome those issues our society is facing today. It is fascinating to know that people are becoming intellectual and interested on tackling those thousands of issues that we as a society are facing and have been facing for a while. In this article they give the example of Fixes (which explores solutions to major social problems) (http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/category/fixes/). Fixes asks questions in order to see what people think we can do about the issues we have out there, and they are very impressed by the way people have responded to these questions. Now, we do believe that even those intractable issues/problems can be fixed and/or changed.  It was shocking for me to believe that today, we are more alert as society and more willing to make a change.

According to this article, we tend to let our emotions, group identities, and unconscious drives guide our behavior. Therefore, we tend to think and solve problems unconsciously just for the fact that we understand and are capable of feeling and letting our inner behavior take over. Changing the context of something can definitely increase our chances of making a change because our behavior would react in an unconscious way; that means, we will do what our “inner instinct” wants us to do which most of the time leads to compassion and the need of helping others. Another factor that can be what’s making a difference and putting us in the “Enlightenment age” is the fact that we have the resources to do so. All the information and technology we can gather nowadays allows us to be more alert and more connected to the world.

            Like David Bornstein stated on this article “The upshot is that we’re now in a better position to recognize what works and what doesn’t in a variety of areas — like which methods to reduce child abuse and prevent unwanted teen pregnancies appear most effective, or what studies tell us about how to improve the teaching of math or writing, or which police tactics are most effective at reducing crime”. We as individuals and as a society, as difficult as it can be to believe, are increasing the chances of having a better society, a better world, and even better citizens.

The link to the article is here:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/17/social-changes-age-of-enlightenment/

Children’s Theatre of Charlotte appoints Adam Burke as artistic director | CharlotteObserver.com

Let's congratulate Prof. Burke :)
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte appoints Adam Burke as artistic director | CharlotteObserver.com

Child's Play

http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/324
Who says making a difference is only for adults? We often hear of a plethora of adults, whether regular citizens or even Presidential Candidates talk about the different ways we can collectively affect the condition of the environment or the society as a whole. However, this article makes it known that age is truly just a number. Regardless of the scale or degree that one may desire to affect a social situation, said people come in all ages and sizes. These kids from Baltimore have come together with a collective ideal to help their situation and that of generations to come in their area. Their larger objective goal was to help pay off a house that their community and its children could ultimately use as a community cultural center. The group didn’t simply begin for that one single motive; they have been extremely active in a different number of ways, such as helping fix broken down areas of the neighborhood and helping build new facilities. Their area in Baltimore, one that is rather notorious for its gang affiliation and drug scene, has unfortunately captured the lives of numerous children as it may have seemed to provide an aid in their misfortune. However, their improvements were incredibly transient and did negatively impact the lives of the suitors. The children in the group that intends to make a difference realized the realities and decided to step up. Its kids like these that provide a sliver of hope to what we hope to accomplish, not as a city, but as a nation