This book taught me, above all, to have respect for others. I admit that at times, I, like everyone else, can be judgemental. It is a flaw that I think everyone suffers from at some point in their lives. Now when I look down the steet and see a garbage collector or when I go to a restuarant and see the waitresses, I think of the hardships that they might be going through. When we take our annual vacation, I will always think of the struggles that the person who nade up the room might have currently. My opinion is not like everyone else’s. I don’t believe that there have to be certain people do these types of jobs. It is unfortunate that that is all they can qualify to do. Education plays the biggest role. But, the major problem today is the cost – for this necessity, schooling. Look how much it costs to go to St. Rose to get a GOOD education. It is crazy!

“CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire announced plans Wednesday to become the first state to offer the new cervical-cancer vaccine free to all girls. Beginning in January, the vaccine against the human papilloma virus, or HPV, will be provided to girls ages 11 through 18 as part of a state program that offers various immunizations to children at no cost.”

For those of you who are unfamiliar with HPV, it is virus that is becoming quite the epidemic. There is a commerical for HPV that is shown frequently on television. Cervival cancer may develop in some women but not in others. Just recently I was informed of the new vaccine but was immediately told the major drawback: it is only available for those girls or women who are abstinant, or did not practice sexual activity. Society has become more and more promiscuous. The age of first sexual experience has lowered dramatically. Nine years of age is the earliest that one can recieve the vaccine. I think that this is definitely reasonable. Who is having sex at nine years old? In my opinion, all girls who are eligible for this vaccine should get it as soon as possible.

The article stated at the bottom:

“Some say giving the vaccination to 11-year-old girls is a license to promiscuity.” Although some people may think this is true, I could not disagree more. It is not protecting against AIDS! It is giving girls the chance to decrease their chances of getting cervical cancer. It will save many lives! What do you think?

BOSTON — If there are college kids at your Thanksgiving table, don’t encourage them to gobble so much. New research suggests that the typical student leaves the holiday weekend as stuffed as the turkey, gaining more than a pound during the short break.

I thought this article was so interesting! Not only did it pertain to the time (Thanksgiving), but it was a study done on college students! The article even stated the common need for homemade food – this is something I’ve definitely been having a problem with. The cafeteria food, in my opinion, is a C-. Most of the time I’m sick after eating it, so I tend to stick with the basics: bagel, cereal, sandwhich, etc. It’s no wonder us college ‘kids’ are gaining a pound or two when we go home, we’re deprived of GOOD food for months at a time! Besides, isn’t Thanksgiving known for feasting and eating as much as possible?! The main theme of the holiday is food!

Holly Hull is the nutrition scientist responsible for making this experiment possible. She and her colleagues at the University of Oklahoma in Norman weighed 94 students the week before Thanksgiving and within a week of their return to classes (a span of roughly 12 days). The results were as follows: students gained an average of 1.1 pounds. That translates to an extra 320 daily calories, “which would be about a slice of pumpkin pie per day,” she said.

Although I found this article interesting, it didn’t really “speak” to me. I don’t really know what the big deal of 1.1 pounds is? The study was unique because of its focus – strictly on college students – but it has obviously been done before.

LONDON— Amid all the dire warnings about the AIDS pandemic, researchers announce some good news: Young African women report they are increasingly using condoms with their partners.

The Lancet is the British journal that published this new study. Eighteen different African countries were studied from 1993 to 2001. The study was composed of 132,800 women 15-24 years of age and the changes in their sexual behavior. Although the topic of the study was not focused on abstinence, there were still some (rare) rates that changed (very little). As for condom usage: it more than tripled! From 5.3% in 1993 to 18.8% in 2001. Obviously, this percentage is not high, but the increase is noteworthy – hopefully a trend that will continue to occur. So far, there has been an average increase of 1.4% per year.

“It’s not rapid enough, but if that increase continues or even accelerates, it’s bound to make a dent on HIV transmission” – John Cleland, a professor at London’s School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who conducted the study along with Dr. Mohamed Ali of the World Health Organization. I believe this statement is true – though it isn’t rapid it is definitely making an impact.

A student at Lagos, Princess Chukwuma, compared condom usage and an insurance policy: “You don’t know about men,” the 24-year-old said. “Maybe they go with other girls behind your back and you can’t tell.” This is not the first time I’ve read anything like this, but every time I do, I am saddened. How is this so? We can only hope that this pattern will not spread — even to the U.S. What ever happened to faithfullness? Abstinence? Moreover, what has happened to this world?

Also, I noticed later in the chapter Ehrenreich mentioned smoking cigarettes. Did she always do this? I thought when she worked as a waitress and the others smoked she did not join? These were the only questions I had so far, and since I have read more than half of the novel, I think that’s pretty good. The word usage and language are easy to comprehend, in my opinion. But I think this should be the case since it is a book that people of all education levels should be able to read.

I like that when Ehrenreich explains her movement from one state to another, and one job to another, she uses much descriptive detail. She makes it easy for me, the reader, to put myself in her situation. The part that I thought was described best was the house cleaning job. She really involved other people and their difficulties. She also depicted the boss well. I got the sense that I would never want him as my manager, either. All in all, this has been a pleasure to read, and I’m thinking of passing it on to my mother and father for their imput. I look forward to finishing it in the next couple of days!

BRIGHTON – The police department has recommended felony charges be filed against a female high school teacher accused of having an inappropriate sexual encounter with a teenage student.

Carrie McCandless is a twenty-nine year old that has been teaching at Brighton Charter High School for more than six years. On Wednesday, however, the school board voted to terminate her contract. She was both a Social Studies teacher and a cheerleading coach. Since last month, McCandless has been under close watch and investigation. The most shocking bit of information in this article: her husband is the school’s principal, Chris McCandless. Brighton Police say she is accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male student. 9NEWS has confirmed the alleged incident took place the last weekend in October during a school camping trip in Larimer County.

Although I cannot recall specific cases, I know that this seems to occur more and more. Since I am an education major, I know all of the time and dedication necessary to recieve a degree. It is a shame that people are willing to waste years of education and money on a meaningless ‘hook-up’ with a student. What goes through their mind? It is scary to think that one day I will be sending children of my own to school one day – and such a teacher could be theirs. I am going to follow up on this news story to see the definite punishment for this crime.

Another one of Bordo’s points: “women’s sexual appetites must be curtailed and controlled, because they threaten to deplete and consume the body and soul of the male.” (197) This goes along with Bordo’s additional statement regarding women: they should only “Indulge a little.” Is this necessarily true? I disagree, at least in today’s day. I eat as much as I want, whenever I want and I don’t feel like I am being judged or in any way think that I should be eating less. Everyone should truly do what they want, eat what they want. The closing of her article mentions the concept of ‘gender equality’ and ‘eating realism.’ I hope that, in the future, we can all see past this large issue. I agree with some of the posts that I have already read on this topic. I do not think that eating right and exercising ultimately equals a tone, fit, and desirable body. For some people, this is impossible.

OSLO, NORWAY— A police bomb squad raced across Norway by helicopter Thursday to investigate a mysterious, wired package that turned out to be a discarded Halloween prop left behind by a young man who had dressed up as a suicide bomber.

I thought this article would be appropriate because it involved Halloween. When I first read it, I was shocked by the reaction of bringing in Bomb Experts. Then I realized the magnitude of the situation – all precautions should be made. We should expect the worst, but hope for the best. Do anything in our power to prevent the tragedies that have happened in the past. Thus, when the package was found (with wires sticking out of it) at 9:00AM, the driver did the right thing. He called the Bergen police department. The ‘bomb’ was located outside of a student dormitory, Alerk (Bergen). It was necessary to evacuate this dormitory and the closer area- just in case.

As stated in the article, the bomb made ”national news.” Obviously the creator of the bomb (his name was withheld) did not intend for this to occur. It was merely a part of his halloween costume – intended for detail, not threat. I think he did the right thing by calling the police after he heard about the incident. As of now, he is not being charged with anything, but this may change. In my opinion, I do not think it is appropriate to take action against the boy. What do you think?

Much of the debate that took place was about presidents and their past, present, or current contributions and their meaning to the people. This type of information was shown through dialogue – with a main character, Jack. Lindquist gained her position at the bar by arguing a different position or view point from other individuals. A quote that I found intriguing is one by Erving Goffman (it pertains to the others’ performances), “….agreement is stressed and opposition is underplayed.” This is specific to society and culture today. In many occasions, people do not contradict one another or form their own opinion on a subject or matter. Instead, they agree with others no matter the circumstance to avoid confrontation of any sort. I shamefullty admit that, at certain times, I am one of these people.