Man Up and Go Greek

As school starts up for many students, students are bombarded with clubs and activities to join and are usually asked to join within the first days of arrival at school. Out of all the different clubs and activities to join, there is one activity that jumps out the most; Greek Life. Many students believe that Greek life is just one big party; which is why I’m typing this blog. Before I make my case for Greek life, I am fully aware that rush is over and that the only other time to try and rush is next semester. With that said, let me make my case. Too often students stereotype fraternities into the image given from the hit movie Animal House. The truth is that no one would ever consider rushing a fraternity if people partied that much. Students do not see the numerous library hours put in night after night or the physical training done at six in the morning at the recreational center. Students also never see the plethora of community service work done by all of the fraternities. All students see is the party that got busted for a noise violation. People seem to think that with fraternities, grades will slip and lead to college doom, while nothing could be more false. Fraternities require a minimum of a 2.5 grade point average at the least. While that is the University’s requirement for grade point average, most fraternities themselves raise that standard. I could counter any other argument against going Greek so let me end this with a challenge. I challenge any student in the University that has any interest to go Greek next semester to rush. I promise whether it is a fraternity or sorority, there will be one house that fits you best to your preference. Just remember, a fraternity is supposed to help you, not hurt you! If any Greek house is detrimental to your grades or health, then it is not even worth staying around for, so go somewhere else. Remember my challenge and good luck next semester.

--Orgasmo

Food!

The first thing I did when I found out I was living on the Evansdale Campus was to find out what places there were to eat close by. I had a few friends that went to school at WVU already, and they said that Towers was the best place to eat because they had the best food. They told me that the food was better than all of the cafeterias on the Downtown Campus too. I was looking forward to eating there from now on. When I started goin there everyday, the food seemed like it was repeating itself. Also, it just seemed to get nastier each day. Everyday now when I think about eating, I think about the food my mom cooked back home. I miss her food. Has anyone else came to this conclusion? Does anyone else miss the food from back home yet?

-- LB

Nursing Majors

As a freshman pre-nursing major, I find it very frustrating that I maynot even get into the School of Nursing at WVU. It’s extremely difficultto get into the nursing program here. Out of our entire nursing classonly about 40% of the students will get into the School of Nursing. Ibelieve the actual number of students is somewhere around 80. What aboutall the others? What if nursing is the only thing that we want to do?Many people dream of being nurses since they were little. We don’t wantto change our lifelong dreams just because a program is too difficult toget into. Everywhere you’re always hearing that there is a nursingshortage. In my nursing class, we learned that by 2025, the shortage fornurses could reach 500,000. If we are that short on nurses, why can’tmore qualified applicants get into the nursing programs? Does anyoneelse find that absolutely frustrating?

-- AW

Social Lives Without Booze?

I'm not a big drinker at all. It just makes me sick to my stomach when I do. I feel like that is all that there is to do here. Most of the time I just go to the rec center so I don't feel bored or feel miserable. My friends are always like you need to go out and get your mind of work and your boyfriend; and I agree with them but I don't want to go to parties or clubs all the time, once awhile is enough. I don't find any fun with people wanting to or being "trashed", mostly because I end up taking care of everyone. Where I am from yes people party but there is so much to do, the beach is 5 min. away and New york City always has something entertaining to do. I just want to know what else is there to do here?

-- BG

Poor Transportation!

As we all know, WVU is a very spacious campus. Most people will have a variety of classes uptown, as well as the same amount downtown. Trying to find parking downtown can take forever and can be expensive. Also many freshmen don’t have a car at the campus. So this leaves a lot of kids riding the PRT. Yes the PRT helps you from having to worry about things like getting a parking ticket, but the stress caused from the PRT makes you feel like it’s just as bad. Most mornings I have to leave for class forty-five minutes early just to try to catch the PRT at a time that it is working. Even then it is still broken sometimes. The line of students waiting to get from one campus to another seems like it lasts forever. Then when you are finally about to get on the PRT, after you are late for your class, the door opens and the sign shows a completely different PRT station than what you need to go to. The busses run everyday, but those fill so fast, it seems impossible to ever make it on one. Tons of students are late for class everyday, even when they have gotten up on time, or even earlier than usual. Then they walk into the class after missing half of the lecture all because of the poor transportation at this college. Does anyone else agree that the college needs to try to work on some new ways of transportation, or have the PRT problems solved?

-- EB

Study Habits

I always find myself studying the night before for about a hour andcramming the hour before. So far I've done alright on my test but not asgood as i want to do. I usually can't focus during those times because iprocrastinate way to much or too attached to my cell phone. Any tips ongood study habits? Or ways to cover material the best?

-- AC

Tired of Schoolwork

I don’t know about anyone else, but I am tired of homework and tests. It’s only half way through the semester and I feel like I’ve been working forever! Some classes don’t even have mid terms; they are the average of your test grades. So, if you did badly on one test, there goes your midterm grade. There is so much work for every class and I swear that every teacher thinks that their class is your only class. I sit down and try to get all caught up on my homework, but the next day I get the same amount. It’s a never ending cycle. Does anyone else feel this way?

-- CO

Catching a Bit of Homesickness

When you first come to college you’re excited and anxious. A new place with new faces is a cure to any hometown drama. The first two weeks were filled with fun activities & figuring out this new place you call home. Now that the true colors of college are beginning to show is when people or at least me start to have problems. My family and friends keep telling me that this is normal and that it will come to an end but I just don’t see that. I’ve thought frequently about transferring next year or even next semester. I often wonder, am I the only one that feels like this? Out of my friends, that seems to be the case. I’m hoping I’m not the only one, but when in this state of mind, it’s hard to be optimistic. School is becoming harder and harder each day & the stress just keeps piling on to the point of being extremely overwhelmed. I’d love advice if someone has it!

-AM

Cheerleading: Sport or Not?

Whenever people are asked whether cheerleading is a sport or not, there is usually 1 of 2 answers, yes or no. Now dont get me wrong, I'm not just going to say it is because I have cheered my whole life. I have reasoning behind what I believe. I can see where people can be mislead by the "sport" aspect of it. Many people/students only see the cheering part of cheerleading. They are just a group of girls/guys screaming and shouting for a particular sporting event. Wrong. That there isnt exactly what people consider a "sport" quality but there is so much more to cheerleading than that. What people do not see however, is what happens behind the scenes. If you have ever been to a cheerleading competition then you probably know exactly what I am talking about. Cheerleaders pretty much commit their whole lives and free time to blood, sweat, and tears. They throw away their weekends and evenings to having from anywhere from 2-6 hour practices just to make their 2 minutes and 30 seconds on the competition floor count. They need to have perfectly timed tumbling and sturdy, stiff builds. Not many people are able to pull a tuck out of no where or be tossed yards in the air. I to this day have yet to meet someone who has been able ot jump into cheerleading and be good at it without having years of experience. Its one of those talents you have to work hard and learn over time. I think cheerleading is one of the stereotypical instances where people need to take a closer look before they judge. What do you think?

NH

Freshman 15?

Ever since I started high school, I've always heard about people gaining the "freshman 15" in college. I don't think that it's very true at all. Maybe it's different for me because i live at home, and still have home cooked meals every now and then. But I also go out to eat an awful lot, and I've determined no change in my weight. Maybe it will happen later in the year but as of right now i feel that it doesn't apply to me. As a lot of you may know, being a student at WVU causes you to walk.. A LOT! It seems almost impossible for anyone to be gaining weight while on campus. Does anyone else feel like this? or do you think I'm wrong and feel it's easy to gain the rumored "freshman 15?"

BW

How Many Engineers Does It Take....

Years ago, when the new University Town Center was first being built, myfather said that he was glad that his construction company hadn’t gottenon that job. I was confused, because I thought that it would have beena good job for his company, but he went on explaining, and then Iunderstood. He told me that they were building the shopping center onbackfill, and that eventually it would all start to sink, maybe evenslide down the hill. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. EveryoneI asked about it said that it was a rare possibility that it wouldactually happen, and if it did it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Just the other day, I opened up the Dominion Post to find an articlethat proved my father right. The parking lot of the Target is alreadybeginning to sink, and the store is suing the company that put it down. Now I see why my father was glad that his company didn’t get that job. But, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Stores in other locations have had to torn down completely and builtback somewhere else. Tell me, just how smart is it to build on landthat you know isn’t going to hold what you’re putting on it?

SP

Adjusting to College

For many of us, coming to college is a time filled with anticipation, anxiety, and stress. Packing up everything you’ll need for the next year to leaving friends you’ve had for years can be nerve racking. Then comes August, where you can’t wait to start and move in. The first weekend is always a fun time to go out with your new friends and explore the new area. And then, classes start. Now that we’re really getting into the semester, work is piling up very quickly with many things due on the same day. I know that I have a lot of assignments due throughout the upcoming weeks and it really helps me to schedule when to get them done. Time management is always the first thing teachers tell you is important to do in college and I never believed them. However, now I do. I often find myself wishing there were more hours in the day to get everything done and procrastination definitely does not help. So, what are some other ways to make the adjustment between high school and college easier? How do you deal with the tons of assignments, tests, and papers that are due?

JF

College Minors:

To choose or not to choose..study a certain subject in college can be very overwhelming, but what about studying two subjects? Many people in college not only have a major, but a minor as well. People that do this usually major in an area with a large income and a stable career and minor in an area they have passion for. I, for example, am majoring in Nursing because it is a very stable career with a nice income, but that is not where my heart is. I love musical theatre! I'm really considering minoring in musical theatre. So when it comes down to it should you major in something that is gonna give you lost of money, but spend your life not as happily as you would if you were doing something you love? Or would you rather study something you love and not live so lavishly later on in life?

DD

Long Distance Relationships

Everyone has different views of long term relationships. My main problem with this is college students. I have heard of so many couples of breaking up after high school because, they are both going to different colleges. My girlfriend the other day told me about how people were planing there break ups because of college. I know that long distance scares everyone but when it all comes down to it, do youreally want to leave that person? In some cases it is a way to get away from another person, but I feel strongly that if both partners are willing to make it work then everything will be fine. Sure you are going to have your bumps in the road but that's life and you will get over them. For example I have been dating my girlfriend Colleen for a little over a year, and she is now attending the University of Cobleskill in upstate New York, and I am down her at West Virginia. Since day one we told ourselves and each other that we were not going to let college end what we have going. So we said are goodbyes and like I always say goodbyes are never forever, and I will see her in about a month from now. Sure it is hard being 600 miles away but there is no stronger bond then love. Real love not the teenage puppy love that everyone has. That leads me into asking, how do you all feel about long distance relationships whether your in one or not?

-- RS

And Now For Something Completely Different

With all that has gone on during the football training camp,
pre-season,and week one action: Tom Brady getting hurt, Brett Favre
leaving the Packers, will the Giants be able to ride the momentum to
another consecutive Super Bowl win, how about the Colt's horrible loss
to the Bears, or will there be a chance in hell that my hometown team
the Browns will win it all... probably not. But I still wonder who does
everyone have as their Super Bowl picks?

-- AG

On Overload

This past week and this current one as well students are finding themseleves crammed with enourmous amounts of work to do. That being the combination of tests, homework, reading, studying, going to class, papers, etc... It seems like each teacher takes the class he or she is teaching as if its the only class the students have and when you have say 5 of those teachers the work load easily piles up. On top of all this school work we have lives too, other things that need to be done. For example I play a club sport which takes up 4-5 days a week 3 hours a day. Yes it is my choice to attend this but its something i love doing and im not giving it up anytime soon. Also our social lives are important as well. If not we mine as well live in a hole and have a one-tracked mind based on school.The point is the work builds up way too much and drives us to the point of stress. What are some ways to solve this? Can it be solved or are we going to have to shut up and find a way to deal with it. No one was to be placed in a point of stress and right now if your not stressing i envy you because you must know something i dont.

-- SM

Just Park It!

I recently read in the Dominion Post (Morgantown’s local newspaper) a headline that read “WVU Dorms Are Full”, dated August 10, 2008. In this article the assistant vice president for enrollment management estimated nearly 28,000 students to enroll in courses for the 2008 fall semester. It was also estimated that 5,000 of those students would be freshman, most of which would be required to live on campus. It also goes on to say that we have the ability, with the temporary leased spaces the university acquired, to house about 5,800 students. Eighty of which were waiting on housing assignments. So when the proper authority realized they have more and more students being accepted to WVU they decided it was time to build more housing. They purchased Summit and Fieldcrest Halls, building Lincoln hall and leasing the Pierpont apartments. They are also building a new honors dorm on Grant Avenue, adding 350 extra spaces for the fall of 2009.

An astounding 51% of students currently enrolled at WVU are from out of state. That leaves 49% to be in-state students but of that 49% I wonder how many are from Morgantown? Now having filled you in on a little school statistics, nowhere in any of the newspaper articles I’ve read, the construction I have witnessed, the traffic I have sat in, did I see or hear of parking spaces being added on campus to accommodate the rising number of students they are worried about housing. There is plenty of over priced “Decal Parking Only” lots downtown on campus. But very few paid parking options for students who must drive to class. I have been downtown 30-40 minutes before a scheduled class and have been late to that class for the sole reason of searching for parking. Doesn’t it only stand to reason that if you are trying to bring more students to this University you should expand the parking options? Anyone out there that commutes to school via their car know of any secret parking?

-- M

Military Family Members

My brother is in the Marines. Growing up, he was never the type of guy you'd think would go into the armed forces but after a semester in college he decided that the military was the better choice for him. He is currently in LA for schooling but in a few months he will have his stationing orders. He thinks he'll be stationed in San Diego but my dad and my granddad think otherwise. I've never been close to my brother, we had very different personalities. He was more on the punk rock side and I was a preppy cheerleader. I'm proud of my brother for making it through basic training but it's hard for me to be proud of him for going. He went as a last resort after dropping out of college. I feel like now we have less in common; I am completely against war and after basic training he is a new person with new beliefs on the government. I feel like the more he is involved with the military the more and more we'll grow apart.

-- Krys

Motivation/Inspiration

For most new college students freshmen year throws us into a new world where responsibility for our actions is solely ours. In order to achieve our educational goals we have to be determined and find inspiration. When we were at home we had our loved ones to push us to do our work and check on our progress but along with our new freedom comes the need for inspiration. Inspiration can be hard for new students to find when they are without their friends and family so how do they do it? Is one source of inspiration more meaningful than another? Is it better to be inspired by the achievments of others or by someone in your life who believes in you? Is inspiration necessary for success? How have you found inspiration/motivation?

--LM

Teen Pregnancy

When I think of a topic that can typically spark a conversational debate the topic of teen pregnancy comes to mind. I took a little time to research the facts today about teen pregnancy and I found the following quite interesting. Research shows that one in five girls have had sex before the age of fifteen and almost half (forty-six percent) of high school aged teens in the United States have had sexual intercourse at some point. Six in ten teens that have had sex for the first time wish they hadn’t. Approximately one in seven sexually experienced fourteen year old girls report having been pregnant. Half of the pregnancies in the US each year are unplanned, that equals about 3 million each year. I always find the pressure on young teens to have sex interesting. The pressure can create unwanted bad first experiences and could ruin the life of a teenager when he or she must face the consequences. I feel bad for the youth that do have to go through that tough pressure because I can’t imagine being faced with the choices and sacrifices that come with being pregnant as a teen.

-- Anon

Olympics and the Age Rule

I’ve always been a huge fan of the summer Olympics. I could never really get into the winter Olympics because of the excessive amount of figure skating but that’s besides the point. Anyway this year I was watching the women’s gymnastics competition this year and there was alot of talk about the actual ages of the Chinese team. The official rule on age limit to compete in the Olympics as of now is the athlete competing must turn 16 in the year that the Olympics are taking place. So even if the competitor was 15 when it took place if they turned 16 bythe end of the year it’s still legal. What I want to know is if this rule should really be enforced. Personally I think the rule is kind of stupid. The Olympics aresupposed to be a competition between the best athletes in the entire world. Whether or not the athlete is 12, 16, or 40 shouldn’t matter at all. If a 12 year old kid has the ability to compete on a international level and take home the gold why should anyone deny them that opportunity. I am bitter that the US lost to a team that could have illegal members on the team but I still think the rule shouldn’t exist.

--CG

Lowering the Drinking Age--Two Opinions

Recently the dominion post printed an article about lower the drinking age to 18. I personally dont think it would matter because underage drinking happens all the time. I do however think that by lower the drinking age, there will be many more drunk driving accidents because at the age 18, many people believe they are unstoppable and think they can still drive when intoxicated. I'm not saying we shouldnt lower the drinking age, my only question is will it increase drunk driving? What do you think?

HJB


A movement to lower the drinking age to 18 is taking steps in many communities and states across the country. College presidents from about 100 different universities are coming together to ask lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18. They believe that the current law is encouraging dangerous binge drinking among college campuses. John M. McCardell, former president of Middlebury College in Vermont said, “It does not reduce drinking. It has simply put young adults at greater risk.” I think the age restriction has not eliminated kids under 21 to stop drinking; it has only caused them to hide it. Not allowing people under 21 to buy liquor or drink at bars/ public places, has not stopped them from doing it just raised the drinking behind closed doors. In 1984 the legal drinking age was raised to 21 to stop people under this age from drinking all together. But 23 years later we have to ask ourselves why are people under 21 still drinking?

--AN

College Level Work

College work can sometimes be hard or easy depending on the class you have. Now a days a lot if not all of your classes have work for you to do online. This is ok if its a little bit, but my opinoin is if i wanted to go to college online i would have done besides of living on campus. The reading is what i think can either make or break a student. For example there can be alot pages to read in a chapter and that can take a way from your time to have fun and express youself. What do you think of school work on campus?

-- JC

The Pinch at the Pump

WOW! It is very crazy to me how high the gas prices have become. For awhile it seemed as if everyday I went down the road they were rising. West Virginia seems to be one of the highest states too. Am I right? I know that when I went to Maryland this summer it was .20cents cheaper. Being that I am a communter, the gas prices will definitely be affecting my wallet more than ever this year. The worst part too is that we are all college students so our cash flow is definitely lower than normal. At the rate gas prices are rising, I hate to see how high they will become in a few years, maybe even months. I mean will the price of gasoline ever become lower, or will we be paying this high price for years? I hope something changes.

--Hamilton

Courtesy

Why is it that in like 1950 if you were to see a complete stranger and
say hello and ask them how there day was, it would be completely
acceptable. But if i were to see someone in the elevator or walking
through the hallway of my own dorm hall and say hello, i get looked at
like i am a crazy pedophile? what has this country come too when
someone cannot even be courteous to one another without being
frightened for our lives. it just completely bamboozles me that being
friendly is basically looked down upon. has anyone else ever been
mistreated due to the fact that our world has gone completely nuts?

i heard this story once and whether it be true or not it touched me and
changed me for the rest of my life:

One day this man who had been down on his luck and just couldnt catch a
break and his life was basically going downhill. he couldnt stand it
anymore. he decided to take his life by jumping off a bridge in his
city. in the note he left he had said i will turn around and come home
and put up with everything and live my life if just one person would
smile at me and say hello. well i guess no one had stopped to smile or
say hello or no one would have ever found that note.

people have a set routine for their lives and just keep repeating their
same cycle over and over again and then they die. never going outside
there comfort zones and experiencing this beautiful miracle we have
right in front of us. and believe it or not it is the only thing we can
ever truly control.

-Gina

Broken Promise?

Recently Gov. Manchin made a proposal to turn the Promise Scholarship
into a loan if a student leaves the state of West Virginia after
graduation. this is a terrible idea by the governor. the state simply
doesn not have the job opportunities to try and force people to stay
in the state at the moment. people are forced to leave and find work
elsewhere to better their way of life. i personally plan on staying in
the state after i graduate. if this proposal was in place right now
and i planned on moving out of i state, i would turn the
scholarship/loan down. i wouldnt want that burden later on just
because i left west virginia. i just do not think that turning the
scholarship into a loan is a good idea.

--JR

When is it time to let go?

Taking the step of beginning college is a milestone in every person's
life. Moving away from home should be an indication that we are now
able to live on our own and make decisions for ourselves....right? One
would think this, but in a lot of cases I feel like sometimes it is
hard for parents to realize this. In my household I am the first born
child. I am the lucky child who gets to experience the whole "growing
up" process with my parents first. I was the first child who had to
deal with rules on dating, driving on my own at night, allowing certain
curfews, and many more of the steps parents have to take as their child
becomes an adult. Now that I am away living on my own, I feel like my
parents are having a hard time treating me like I actually am. Maybe
it is because I am the first born child and I am the first to go away
to college. Or maybe it is because I am the only girl child and they
feel as though they need to protect me. In any case, I am growing up -
I'm wrapping up my first year of college. They are going to have to learn
to let go. Does anyone else feel this way? How do your parents treat
you? ... When is it time for them to let go?

-- EG

Summer 2008

Now that summer is almost here. YAY!!!!! Has everyone thought about
what they are going to be doing this summer? Jobs? Taking a couple
classes? Do nothing? (man does that sound good) Or is everyone just
concentrating on the last couple weeks of classes and also the most
important thing FINALS!? Even though it seems like summer is still far
off, because of those 5 finals that you have to get done with
first,and that English 101 portfolio thats due. We still need to be
thinking about this summer. If you going to working you need to be
looking and putting in applications before others get there first. Or
sign up for classes, so you can get the best times. Whatever you plan
to do this summer, you need to get on the ball and do it now, so then
you won't be stressing over it coming the middle of May. But whatever
you do, hope its the best summer yet for everyone!

-- EC

DORM FOOD

Being a freshman at WVU, they nicely made the requirement that we have
to live in dorms. Along with this nice rule came this one: live in WVU
dorms, you must purchase a meal plan. Even if one has no intention of
eating off the meal plan, they still have to buy it. How is this fair?
Not to mention that when touring WVU on orientation they trick you
into thinking the food is good by treating you at Hatfields, where it
just happens to be good food that does not count for your meal plan
except for breakfast. The food they serve in the dorm cafeterias for
the most part is not that great, and the things they make that are
decent are not always the healthiest. They always have pizza and
French fries, and than wonder why this and beer make freshman gain the
freshman 15? You would think that with all the money from the meal
plans there would be really good tasting food. Also the ‘meal times’
that work with your meal plans aren’t that convenient and a lot of
meals go to waste.

I know I can not wait to have my own place where I can make my own food and
buy my own groceries and less money will go to waste.


BL

First Year Almost Up...

Our first year of college is almost over. Its amazing how fast it has gone. I know with it coming to an end means its one step closer to being completely on our own. With that said I know I am really nervous and scared to move on with all this. Am I the only one? I sure hope not. Thinking about buying our own houses, working a full time job, making payments on our own is definitely something i tend to think about. Even if some of us go to graduate school, it is so close and it will end before we know it.

Whereupon One of Your Fellow Classmates Rambles On

What is up with people and elevators? Living in a dorm myself I come and
go almost daily and the one way I make it to the 10th floor is by the
common use of the elevator. Seriously, an elevator is the one place
where your personal space does not matter at all. The door opens and
people get in on the first floor. Probably about 5 people get into this
legally 15 cap silent shrine of destiny that rises everyone up to the
vertical limit of their so called "rooms." When the transport ship stops
on a another floor and more people come in, everyone makes room even if
there is none. "Oh sure come on in so we can be a centimeter from
touching each other." Its hot/humid, you are basically face first into
the hair of the person in front of you. 9/10 it is a morning class and
its anywhere between 8-11 am they haven't showered or showered within
the last few days. The stench is unbearable and does anyone say
anything? NO ! This is how A.D.D we college students are. We ALL STARE
AT THE
lil LIGHTS THAT POP UP FOR THE FLOORS. We are in a elevator we are
either going up or DOWN. Seriously people do we think that we are going
to Texas or China" Do we have to look up to see if we are going to the
right place? We KNow where we are going! All you need to do is look up
ONCE!. Or count the beeps do some math in your head maybe that will keep
you away from A.D.D .

So no one talks in elevators. We are all silent as mice in this death
contraption of texting and A.D.D. What are we as a human race coming to
that a simple conversation of "hello how are you" or "The weather is
nice outside" People aren't open anymore no one wants to talk to anyone.
We all have places to go, people to text, and showers (that we aren't
taking). NO NO i dont understand people in elevators its just plain old
weird. We lose are personal space , our minds, and our lives just using
this simple transit up and down...up and down.


~john M.

ARE WE SAFE

With the upcoming 1 year aniversity of the Virginia Tech shooting, I was begining to think are we really as safe as we think we are. I began to think about what kind of things have been done at WVU to ensure that the students here are really safe. Sure we have to check people in after nine and we lock all of the side entrances but what is going to happen in case of an emergency. After the Virginia Tech incident and most recently in my home town at VCU, I believe that every college and university has to re-evaluate their emergency action plan because now we know it is possible that we might be faced with same ordeal. I just want some reassurance that we are really safe here at school and if not what kind of precautions are the university, the university police, and the students of WVU taking to keep Morgantown a safe place to be.

-- Pickle

A good waste of a million dollars

I have been trying to figure this out for the longest time and I really have made no progress on understanding the reasoning for it. Why would the university spend a million dollars to put a bridge across the road that is so far away from the mountainlair that none of the students will ever really use. They spent a million dollars making a bridge that is basically useless. The reason for traffic being backed up so bad downtown is mainly due to the area in front of the mountainlair. The students always just want to walk in front of every car coming and going becuase it is a crosswalk. Yes that is the legal way to look at it, beucase every single car has to stop for any pedestrian in a crosswalk. This leads to us sitting in traffic for twenty minutes at a time just getting from the rusted musket to the mountainlair during busy times of the day. I just really dont see why they would spend all that money to put a bridge there when if they would have just made a walkway in front of the mountainlair it would have been used much more often, and also solved a large part of the traffic problem here in Morgantown. If anybody can make me see the reasoning, please try. -Nate

Obama; a racist?

As you probably have heard Barrack Obama a candidate for President in 2008 has been placed in hot water recently for his affiliation with Trinity Church of Christ in Chicago. Why does anyone care if he went to church? Well this isn’t any typical church. This church is stuck in the 60’s, literally! It is founded on James Cone’s Liberation Theology which he expressed in his 1969 book “Black Theology and Black Power”. Well what so wrong with this theology? This view is just an excuse for racism. In Cones book he tells blacks that they must “destroy the white enemy” and preaches that God and Jesus are solely black Gods and everyone who is bad to blacks are the devil’s. Hmmm, interesting view for a presidential candidate. But It gets worse, his church published the Hamas (A terrorist cell in Israel and Palestine) Manifesto in their weekly church bulletin! They also gave a life time achievement award to Louis Farrakhan; one of America’s most racist anti-Semitics. Not to mention the church wants God to damn America, thinks the government invented AIDS to harm blacks, calls the good ol’ US of A the KKKA, accuses the government of giving black children drugs, and stresses “black family-community- culture” over all else. Replace black with white and you have the KKK creed practically. The fact of the matter is this preacher, who has since retired, has been the mentor of Obama for over 20 years (Obama admitted this) and Obama even dedicated his book to the pastor. In 20 years with a man who is so loud about his racism there is no way Obama couldn’t have known about it. So now the question is Obama a racist or just complacent with black racism? Either way I don’t care! This is unacceptable, disgusting and the fact the Americans seem to be ok with this!?!?!? After Huckabee was eliminate Obama was someone I was considering, but I dont care if your white, black, orange or purple racism is racism and Im not voting for someone who stands idly by for 20 years and yet talks about change. - Birds of a feather...

Hasn't Helped Us At All!

I cannot wait until Gov. Manchin is out of office. I didnt like the idea of him getting into office in the first place but at the time no one really knew of any opposing candidates. I used to say he has done nothing since he has been in office but the more I think about it the more I realize he really has. The catch is it has all upset the residents of the state. The first strike was making our state slogan "Open for Business." Are we hookers?! That probably did not help the view of the state. Finally he changed it back to Wild and Wonderful but only after millions of state resident complaints and the state legislation still had to do it themselves. And then he decided that he was going to make the Promise scholarship only if the students who used it stayed in the state for two years after graduating college. And he was going to chase down all those students who had already used it and left. That made me personally mad. Yes, I do not plan on leaving the state but many people do. There is nothing here. He has run everyone out rather than pull them in. I'm not asking for big cities because the country side is what I love about the state, but if you want people to stay in the state you need to be able to supply them with jobs. And to do that you have to give the businesses a reason to come here which obviously he is failing at. Hello!...Manchin's own daughter works for an out of state corporation. Milan Puskar does help the university but his corporation headquarters is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Now I read that he is repremanding West Virginia businesses for where they hold their business meetings. What does that matter?! If the company has a business meeting but cannot find a suitable place in the state to hold it at the time that they want it, they should not be told to change the date of their meeting just to stay in the state. That's a load of crap. That kind of nonsense is what runs and keeps businesses out of West Virginia. Joe Manchin has done nothing but hurt us and now that I am able to vote I am pleased to know that I can be a part of hopefully getting him out of office. Hopefully in November we will be saying goodbye to Joe as well as George.-FeFie Burma

Does the thought of suicide ever cross your mind?

The very thought of taking my own life is enough to enough to send chills down my spine and make me nauseous. I have personally never had to face such an issue and for that I’m very thankful, but the truth is there are extremely high numbers of college students suffering from depression. Just recently a person on my floor tried to commit suicide, an optimistic, attractive, intelligent, “has it all together “person. Just because I am not suicidal I ignore that the problem exist, but after this unfortunate incident it got me thinking. Are these football loving, beer drinking, blue and gold wearing, and hard working WVU students sad? I sure hope not! According to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention 1 in 3 American college students have seriously considered suicide and it’s the second leading cause of death in people from the ages of 18 and 24. Although you might not think you know anyone dealing with these issues chances are you do and these people need help (and yes help is out there). So please if you or someone you know is thinking about it, get them help. I do not want anyone to experience what I and the other people on my floor had to witness and go through.

-- Anonymous

Political Lobbying

Virtually everything requires some source of funding and politics is
one of these things. In order for a politician to have a chance at
success in any race he/she needs money. As a result there is no
shortage of organizations willing to "give" politicians money for
their campaigns and in most cases these donations aren't out of
altruism. Consequently politicians might feel indebted to these
people/organizations and end up making crucial decisions based on that
rather than the greater good. This could be the source for many
problems such as, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
So should there be measures to monitor and/or prevent
such "arrangements" from being made?

E.

See You Monday

Even allowing extra time for response, less than a dozen of you responded to the post. So, I guess that means that most of you don't mind having class on Monday. Since I sent out an email beforehand explaining that this was based on participation and only two people responded after that, I'm assuming that means you have to be back in the swing of things anyway, so it doesn't make a difference if I canceled or not. So, in that case, I'll see you all on Monday. I'm switching up activities so that we do the boxing activity Wednesday. Monday I'll be going over the prompt and letting you take a look at sample MGRPs so you have an idea of what this project looks like. If you have travel problems, you need to try to let me know beforehand. Otherwise, stay safe and don't come back embarrassed.

Oh, and if you were curious about what participation looks like, here is an example of how it's done. The students here posted their own blogs about it, and over half of both sections responded. So they got the time off.

See you Monday.

-- JG

Oh, and Baker, that's a top notch response! That one almost had me. If your classmates had been more responsive, that would've won the day. :)

Make Me An Offer I Can't Refuse...

So, as we were talking about in class, possibly--POSSIBLY--I might give you the Monday after Spring Break off (March 31). I'm still on the fence about this.

On the one hand, my most favorite activity of the semester is scheduled for that day, and I want to make sure I have great attendance for it. So maybe it would be in my best interests to let you have that day off and do the activity Wednesday. Also, you've been working pretty hard lately. Maybe you deserve it. And maybe, just maybe, I kind of like you all. So maybe I'll do it because I like you.

But on the other hand, maybe you have tests and things due that day anyway, and you have to be in other classes. After all, in the "real world", if you took vacation time and then phoned your boss to say, "Nah, not going to be in on Monday," the results would probably be unfavorable. Maybe I'm not teaching you important "life skills" by giving you that day off.

Convince me.

--JG

WVU Still The Right Choice?

When I made the decision to come to WVU I hardly knew anything about
it.Sometimes when I am stuck inside the tiny dorms, because of the
rainy cold weather and think of home as I eat the nasty cafeteria food
I wonder if I should have gone to another college.Then I snap out if
it.Do you feel you made a mistake by coming here? If so why, if not
why not? Are you going to transfer?

-- Baker

"How Fast Can Your Car Go?"

Thinking back to when I was a sophomore in high school I can remember
when everybody would turn 16 and come to school in their new sweet car.
I'm from a pretty nice area where everybody has at least $250,000 homes
and all the parents each have a nice SUV. They then go and buy their
kids a brand new 8 cylinder car. I think it's crazy that these kids
have these cars that can reach max speeds in seconds. They are probably
the reason all the kids have so many accidents. I heard numerous
stories about two guys deciding to race and how the one kids car was so
much better and faster then the others. I know it can be fun to race
and see how fast your car can go but don't you think that maybe you
should first become a decent driver before attempting it? I think that
parents should only be allowed to buy their teenagers four cylinder cars
until they are at least 18 so that when they attempt to reach max speed
at least it's not as high a speed as cars kids are driving right now can
go up to. It'd probably help reduce the amount of accidents.

McCleese

Are We the New Hippies?

Is history repeating itself? I think so. When you look at the world
today, I think that our generation is a lot like the hippie generation
of the 60s. We're in a war that a lot of people in the country
disagree with. They had Vietnam. We're fearful of terrorism,
thinking that it could strike at any time. They were afraid of
Communism and the Soviet Union. A lot of our generation doesn't trust
the government. That generation didn't trust the government. I think
that our generations share a lot of similarities.

-- Reed

Stealing Common Everywhere

I have heard many stories of how people get things stolen from them in
different places all around the world. It disgusts me to hear this
because it is unnecessary and unfortunate that it happens. Last night
my friend got his wallet stolen at Club Z. I would have never of
thought that someone here in Morgantown, WV would do anything like
that. My other friend got his wallet stolen in New York City and had
to walk 40 blocks to get back to Penn. Station to use his train ticket
which was the only thing that wasn't stolen. I have also had friends
in foreign countries have their passports stolen from them without
them even noticing until hours after it happened. There are gypsies in
some countries that rely on pickpocketing to survive which is very
sad. I just wish that no one would steal and be content with what they
have. We are guilty of this and we are the ones who can stop it.

-- Sinclair

The Touchy Subject of Religion

Why is it that people can't be tolerant of others religious beliefs?
I always thought that part of religion is being able to accept others
opinions and be respectful of them. Especially in other countries when
people are killed all the time for their beliefs. Here at WVU, its
definetly not taken to that extreme, but there is still a kind of
tension that forms when people are around others of different views.
Personally im christian and most of my friends here arent, yet we get
along fine. I never understood why people let their religious views
affect who they allow into their lives.

--Marsh

Americans Too Quick to Stereotype

Someone call 911, it’s 9/11 and the world trade center is falling. The Islamic extremists have achieved a sinister scheme.

Three Years later, I got a Muslim Jilabiah as a birthday gift so I decided to wear it out that day to show off to my friends at school. At first, when I got to the Dairy mart everybody was staring at me; I thought my outfit was the reason so I felt like a celebrity, smiling back to grimaced faces and standing upfront like a Soldier. On my way to school I noticed a policewoman following me all around, apparently she had been stalking me. Finally, she stopped me and asked why I was dressed like Obama. How ironic I didn’t know she meant Osama till she said something awful about the Muslim I could barely recollect. I was interrogated for a few minutes then she asked me to go back home and change my outfit. The rest of the day, I felt embarrassed, and I felt like the American community totally ruined my birthday; No one allowed me a lengthy conversation; they all tried to make it as brief as possible all because I was dressed like a Muslim. Some will say the Muslim deserves whatever treatment they get because majority of them support the extremists but why do people classify innocent Muslims as al Qaeda?

Traffic and Parking in Morgantown

If you are a student living on evansdale it is the hardest thing to try and drive downtown to a class. Yeah I know most of you say take the PRT but you always can't do that. It is only a two minute drive downtown but during the day it can take you anywhere from 30 minutes to an 1 hour to make it downtown. You have to leave extremely early to make it to class on time. This begins to become a pain after awhile. To top it all off once you get downtown you have to drive around forever looking for a parking spot. I think instead of building all these knew apartments downtown they should of built a huge parking garage. This would of been a lot more useful than the Moutaineer Plaza.


--cb

Life, the Universe, and Everything

Where does our essence of morality come from? Our natural inclination
to know that certain things are bad while others are good, do we
gradually come to learn "values" or are we naturally gifted with a
inate ability to decipher between right and wrong OR is there no set
moral basis, is morality circumstantial? if so how and what steps do
you go by to figure out which circumstances would change the commonly
held view? Basically why do people believe certain things are wrong
and right and how do we know who is correct?

-- Gum

Hot House!

Global warming is a very serious problem in the world today and has slowly been increasing its severity for the past century. Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earth?s air and oceans. There are many causes and effects of global warming, some more severe than others. Some causes of global warming include: energy use and production, chlorofluorocarbons, agricultural practices, changes in land use, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, deforestation, carbon in atmosphere and oceans, permafrost, the tundra, and climate change. Effects consist of rising sea levels from increasing global temperatures, the increase in the intensity of extreme weather events, the change in amount and pattern of precipitation, and changes in agricultural yields, glacier retreat, and species extinctions. Although the many effects and outcomes of global warming concern most people, the causes and reasons for global warming is what people should be focusing on in the world.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is collected from power plants, emitted from cars, secreted from airplanes, and also released from buildings. Roughly forty percent of the United States? carbon dioxide emissions come from coal and the burning of fossil fuels. Nearly twenty percent comes from the burning of gasoline in cars and trucks.

Global warming cannot really be prevented or stopped now because it?s almost too late, but it can be slowed down. If the world population cared enough about the future, we might be able to do something about global warming. There are not enough people in the world worrying about global warming today. It is a big problem and people need to recognize it.

-- Northcutt

One of the Oldest Debates is Still a Debate...

Abortion is a topic very commonly discussed when looking at pros and
cons. Personally I don't think abortion should be an option for
anyone except those who are victims of rape. I feel like a mother
should not be allowed to punish her unborn child for something the
child had nothing to do with and no control over. Yes i understand
that sometimes the condom breaks or something goes wrong - but if two
people feel they're responsible enough to have sex then they should be
responsible enough to take on the responsibilities of a baby; and if
that means getting pregnant, then so be it. The fact of the matter is
that a mother is terminating her child's life because she doesn't want
to have to deal with the consequences of her actions. This isn't fair
at all to the unborn child, who obviously has no say in the matter.
Rape is probably the only instance in which I think abortion should
even be considered. If a woman is raped against her will - not asking
for any kind of risk of
a pregnancy - then she should be able to make the choice of what to do
with her body.

Becca Thomas

How High Will It Go??

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's our gas prices! To no one's surprise our gas prices are sky high and are continuing to rise. With the information I have gathered from economic studies, oil companies are acting as monopolies by merging together. The 5 major oil companies (BP, Exxon Mobile, etc) are controlling the oil supply so it doesn't live up to our demands. If the oil companies continue to do this, by the year 2010 we are going to be paying a little over four dollars for a gallon of gas. As you may know, monopolies are illegal in the United States; also the United States is not a complete capitalistic nation. I think it is time for the government to intervene and bring the gas prices from the sky, and back down to earth’s surface. Jordan Jones

When Is Being a Top 5 Party School A Bad Thing?

Very often when I go out to Frats or house parties it seems like
people are looking for trouble. Over the past weekend random people
have attempted to start fights with friends of mine over dumb things
like the line for the keg. What is the point of this? Coming from
Philadelphia I know that it is not worth it to get into a fight over
something as dumb as who gets their beer cup filled first. The past
night my neighbor was pushed down a flight of stairs at a house party
for accidently breaking a window. These actions are negative for all
parties involved. I think many of the students at WVU can say that
they or someone they know have been in a situation where trouble has
been started due to a miniscule event. I believe that the frat
atmosphere does encourage an attitude of many males attempting to
assert their toughness. Part of this could be due to the melting pot
that college creates. Many people from different places and most of us
are proud of where we come from. Overall I would like to see more of the students at WVU at with maturity in these issues and realize that all of us have a lot to lose.

-- Greenwood

WVU Unsafe During Bad Weather?

Even though the weather has been okay these last few days, I
think we all can agree that within the last month or so the weather
has been bad several times and can get bad again before winter is
over. I am sure that I am not the only one that has had their rounds
with the sidewalk on the days with bad weather. The news channels do
okay with predicting when the weather will be bad, so you would think
that WVU would pay attention to that and try to have the sidewalks
salted and/or cleared for us. I understand that it would be hard to
salt all of the sidewalks in Morgantown, but you would think they
would salt all of the main sidewalks downtown by the Mountain Lair and
such. Also, the janitors for the individual resident halls should salt
the walks outside the halls.
I understand not shoveling the sidewalks but salting the walks
the night before or the morning of a snow or ice storm would make
things a whole bunch safer. I have nearly fallen twice and my friends
have fallen several times too. These sidewalks are crazy when the
weather is bad and I just wish WVU would take some precautions to help
their students feel safe when they are walking on the sidewalks that
are on steep inclines and such.

C.Fowler

This is what our world is coming to?

I love how on our televsions these days the only thing that is on is
how Heath Leadger died and how Lynn Spears is giving her baby to her
mother and how Lindsay Lohan is in rehab again.... but did you ever
think that there is more to our world than that... that there is more
going on in our lives. What about the genocide in Darfur that is
happeneing? Did you even know about it? or that it only takes three
dollars to save someones life there? Instead of watching the people
that the youngsters of the USA look up to, the so called "celebs"
throw their life away.... why don't we start wondering about the
people that are having their lives taken from them? Why don't we stop
throwing our money away on alcohol and drugs and try to help people
that have nothing?

--Flea.

The Benefits of Legalizing Prostitution

Because the practice of prostitution occurs regardless of it's
legality, and the CDC spends millions of dollars annually to treat
prostitutes, I feel that we should legalize prostitution. This will
save the country money in numerous ways. If prositution is legal, a
liscense will be necessary to have to be a prostitute. To aquire a
liscense you must have mandatory checks for STDs, greatly reducing the
spread of diseases, and therefore the need for treatment. Seeing as how
the checks for STDs are much less costly then treatments, and this
system has worked well in other countries. I feel that we, the U.S.,
should legalize prostitution.
-Vitamin L

*Waving*

Hey, there, new crew!

I just wanted to say welcome to the blog, have a look around, and I am already way impressed that some of you have started responding. I'm looking forward to a great discussion on Wednesday.

See you then.

Until then, here is the very first post ever, sort of explaining the raison de'tre of the blog: linky

And here's one on the Freire article we're going over in class on Wednesday: Freire discussion. See what those who've come before thought about the subject...

--JG