The Best Post

The award of the best post of the Third quarter goes to Obesity in America, which was published earlier this March. The reason it won the award is because it was a well rounded post. It covered a pressing topic, obesity, that relates to discussions we have had in class. An interesting graphic is displayed at the top of the page, and is explained in the post. Also, I used information and discuss an article from the New York Times. Then to finish it off I ask the readers a question. Disappointingly there were no comments.

The Junior Theme

When the topic of one's junior year of high school is discussed, it is almost always referred to as the most "important" and "hardest" year of high school. And supposedly the biggest part of junior year is the notorious Junior Theme. Personally, as a junior, this year has not been much different academically than the previous two. The fourth quarter has begun, and our American Studies class is only now starting the Junior Theme. Although the assignment varies from class to class, the JT is not nearly as scary as it is made out to be. It is not much more than the average paper, just given more attention. The essential question I ask then is, why is the Junior Theme built up to be such a big deal?

I know of one reason why the Junior Theme is thought to be so important. It is the name itself. The title "Junior Theme" suggests that the selected topic is the theme of our junior year. Also, there are few other assignments that every student in their junior year completes, and none with term "Junior" in the title. This is just one reason the Junior Theme is important, what are other reasons why the Junior Theme is such a big deal?

Time to Let It Go

As I was perusing through the news I found an article about the recently infaous Tiger Woods. Previously this year it had been revealed that Tiger was having multiple extramarital affairs. Tiger apologized last month for his actions. After a hiatus from golf, he announced recently that he will return for the Master's tournament. Just when everyone thought the whole thing would be over, one of Tiger's alleged former mistresses came forward to the public. Veronica Siwik-Daniels, a former pornography actress, released supposed text message conversations between her and Woods. Siwik-Daniels said, "I would be open to a telephoned apology from Tiger, but I really feel that I deserve to look at him in person, face-to-face, in his eyes, because I did not deserve this." I was surprised to read this line. What did she not "deserve"? She knew that she was having an affair with a married man.

Personally, I was hoping that this whole Tiger Woods scandal would be over. He is an extraordinary golfer and this is hurting his career. It is not the first time something like this has happened and will not be the last. Although I am posting about this subject, I am disgusted about the amount of information that is released about people's personal lives in our country. And how entertained and interested the public is in these matters. What do you think about Tiger Woods? How much privacy does a person deserve?

Advertising in America

Here in America, advertising is something that is part of our everyday lives. Whether we realize it or not, advertising is everywhere. Its on television, billboards, buses, trains, and even on people wearing t-shirts. This is nothing new, advertising has been a big part of America's history and has been around longer than you and I. In The Great Gatsby the giant eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg watch over the land of ashes from a billboard. Today, advertisements for Verizon Wireless and McDonalds can be seen a countless number of times while driving down the highway.

Recently I have been paying closer attention to advertising, and I have noticed that different companies target different crowds with advertisements. For example, beer companies often sponsor sporting events. I almost always see commercials for Budweiser or Miller Light while watching a football or baseball game. Why is this? It is because people watching sports generally drink more beer.

Although commercials can be entertaining, advertising can also be annoying. It is near impossible to go on the internet without seeing an ad on the side of the page, and ads often pop up on the screen in new windows. This gets on everyones nerves. Furthermore, my email inbox is always full of spam advertisement emails. Advertisements appear in daily life in a number of other ways. How does advertising affect you? What would a world be like without advertising?

The 17-year Old King

As juniors in high school, many of us are 17 years old. While we are busy focusing on homework, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba, who is also 17 years old, is the King of the Tooro Kingdom of Uganda. Oyo has been King since the age of three. Uganda has a president who is the main leader, but Oyo still has responsibilities and makes decisions that affect over 2 million people. He oversees efforts to raise money for health and education, and starts programs to increase cultural pride. Subjects give him cattle and kiss his feet while he is on the throne.

Despite all this, Oyo still manages to do things that other teenagers are doing. He plays video games, listens to rap music, and reads the Twilight book series. He hangs out with friends and watches his favorite socccer team, Arsenal. He goes to a private school, but has body guards following him around all day. Due to this it can be hard to fit in. Afterall, he is a king. But as I said before, he has been king since the age of three and had no choice in this decision. What do you think of Oyo? Would you want to have the responsibility of being King?

Article about King Oyo

Obesity in America

Often when I have an extra dollar laying around and I am driving in my car I go to the drive-thru at McDonald's or Burger King. There I can get a double cheeseburger for only one dollar. This, I realized, is the source of America's Obesity.

America's food system causes millions of Americans to be overweight. According to the Surgeon General, two out of every three Americans are overweight or obese. Obesity significantly increases the risk of other health problems and death. The reason for all these extra pounds is that healthy food is more expensive than unhealthy food. For example, a salad costs more than a Big Mac, as shown in the graphic above. The government makes recommendations to eat healthy food such as vegetables, but spends the majority of its money for food production on meat and dairy, which are high in fat.

Healthy food can be found at grocery stores and upscale restaurants. The problem is that the food there is much more expensive than a fast food restaurant. As a result, the rate of obesity among poor people with low incomes is quite high. The poor neighborhood of South Bronx in New York has one of the highest obesity rates in the country, as talked about in this article from the New York Times. Poor people often work more jobs with longer hours, and do not have as much time to exercise or grocery shop. Furthermore, there are fewer grocery stores in poor neighborhoods. Even at the existing stores, organic food is significantly more expensive than processed and packaged food. In order for the health of our country to improve, the government has to educate Americans to make smart eating choices, and more importantly to have healthy food available. How do you think the problem of Obesity in America can be solved?

Womens Sports

We recently had a class discussion about women's vs. men's sports. The conclusion was that women's sports do not receive as much attention as men's because they are not as exciting. Well, fans got what they were asking for the other night in NCAA women's basketball. Baylor's Brittney Griner punched an opponent in the face. The video can be seen here. This incident created an outrage, no one expected women to be punching each other. On the other hand, men fight all the time in sports, and it is almost expected for fights to happen. Why is this the case?

It is because of the physical anatomy combined with society's views of men and women that cause women to be inferior in sports. Men are overall bigger and stronger than women, it is a known fact. This advantage of strength and size allows for men's games to be more competitive and entertaining. In addition, the focus of women as a whole in our society is not to be strong and athletic, but to be pretty and skinny. Until these obstacles are overcome, women's sports can not be compared to men's.

Cutting Back on Education

The recession is causing our nation to cut back on a lot of things, but there is one thing I thought would not face major budget cuts, something that is vital to the future of our country. This is education. It turns out that I was wrong. Schools have been affected nationwide, but California and the poor neighborhoods of Los Angeles have been hit especially hard. One L.A. School in Watts had to lay off half of its staff, with more to be laid off this summer. About 2,000 personnel have been laid off Districtwide. One class in this same school has had no less than ten different teachers throughout the year. Surely not much can be accomplished under these circumstances, how would you feel if every time a teacher was about to learn your name a new teacher came the next day? Due to these setbacks in the education budget, student's learning is limited.

Luckily, I am not the only person who thinks what is going on in these schools is wrong. While these L.A. students along with others suffer, not much has changed at New Trier. The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, is trying to stop this unfair education. They filed a lawsuit, alleging that the teacher layoffs are a constitutional violation of these inner city students right to an education. The neighborhoods in which these schools lie are full of poverty and gang violence. Without the children of these areas receiving a proper education, there is little chance of the neighborhoods improving.

Liberal= Smarter?

Recently I read an article that suggests political, religious, and sexual behaviors are linked to intelligence. Liberalism, atheism, and male sexual exclusivity, it states, are associated with a higher IQ. The average person with these traits has a higher IQ of 6 to 11 points, which is significant but not drastic. At first I thought this was odd, because these are the opposite traits of our early ancestors. It turns out that this is exactly the reason why these things lead to a higher IQ. Intelligent human beings desire to be elite and superior than other human beings, and these beliefs set them apart from the crowd.

Traditionally human ancestors have cared most about the survival of their offspring and those closest to them. On the contrary, liberals are more concerned with total strangers. This goes against evolutionary patterns, showing that those who go against old ways are more likely to be intelligent.

Also, atheists contradict religion, a part of human life since ancient times. New studies suggest that religion does not help humans survive, but gives them a reason for their paranoia. Not being involved with any religion allows humans to further speculate on life, studies say.

Lastly, male humans historically have had many sexual partners to reproduce as much as possible. Again, having only one partner goes against what humans have historically done.

Although this general trend may be true, surely every liberal or atheist is not smarter than every conservative or religious person. Personally, I am Catholic and more conservative than liberal, but I can see why this study may be true. As the article states, "the data should not be used to stereotype or make assumptions about people," no matter what their views are.