My Blog

Title:  Aid workers suffer mental health crisis

Source: CNN

Summary: Aid workers witness many horrific things. The are the first responders and some of the last to leave. They get kidnapped and killed. They become traumatized. Yet they do not have much support when it comes to handling the mental damage done after such events.

Reaction: I believe this is a big problem. How can we expect to fully help other people when we can’t even help those who have to help those in need? Aid workers are traumatized by what they see and experience- being the first there and the last to leave-yet they have no way of healing themselves. They commonly brush it off, thinking it not a serious problem, but it is. They don’t get much time off, buzzing from assignment to assignment with little-to-no break between. They commonly get stuck in other places due to the environment they are put in and people with which they are staying. They have few ways of getting help for their mental health, which is damaged because of their job in the first place. As long as these problems remain, then Aid workers are not able to fully help others.

Topic: Double-Standards Women Have to Deal With

Title: Be pretty, but not too pretty: Why women just can’t win

Source: The Washington post

Summary: Women can’t win in today’s society. They deal with multiple standards that they will never be able to fulfill to a ‘T’. Women have to take charge or be called docile and weak- but not too much charge because then they are bossy and pushy. Women have all these roles they are supposed to fulfill but it’s impossible for them to do so. For women, there’s no win-win or even win-those situation; there’s no in between for women.

Reaction: I agree with this article 100 percent. Women have countless standards that they have to meet but will never be able to.They have to be this, but not too much of this. They have to do this, but not too much of this.They have to think like this, act like this, talk like this, dress like this- but never too much of whatever this happens to be. And then, when women raise their voices to try and point out this problem, people hit them with the ‘why should it matter?’s. People say to just stop worrying about it- why cater to them? Their opinions don’t matter, right?- yet that’s impossible. In a world where a person is judge constantly and people rarely look very far past the surface, a woman can’t just ignore it. It’s in their faces, in their ears, in their heads constantly: “You are so ____!” “That’s not very ladylike!” “You are so bossy!” “I bet she slept with the boss to get that job!” “She’s so cold!” “She’s so emotional; I guess she’s PMS-ing.”
In a world where women are told to stand up, but not by too much, it’s hard to ignore the comments made by just about everyone.

Topic: A recent shooting at an Arizonian college kills one, injures three.

Title: Four Delta Chi fraternity members shot — one fatally — at Northern Arizona University

Source: The Washington Post

Summary: At Northern Arizona University, a recent shooting at one of the dorms injures three students and kills one. The violent act was suspected to be committed by 18-year-old freshmen Steven Jones. However, Jones seems not have a reason to have shot the four students he did, but the seem to simply be victims of opportunity. But life goes on in Flagstaff, Arizona. The university is now secure and safe once again.

Reaction: I am shocked at this news. Shootings have become a major problem within the U.S.; however, most shootings are reserved to high schools, theatres, or stores. Rarely are colleges the place of these violent acts. The amount of shootings is increasing dangerously fast, and the range of the attacks are expanding. This is a problem that needs to be controlled and fixed. Otherwise, nobody will be safe anywhere.

Topic: The one-child band in China is lifted because of concerns about population and economy.

Title: China lifts one-child policy amid worries over graying population

Source: The Washington Post

Summary: China, which previously banned couples from having more than one child, is finally allowing a slightly bigger limit of two.  After realizing that the limit was going to have eventual detrimental effects, China officials finally changed this law.  However, the damage might have already been done

Reaction:  I think this is a fantastic thing. Perhaps the world may be already over populated, but it’s unfair for them to be the only ones to be limited. The one-child ban could cause a lot for problems if it had not been lifted when it had. Hopefully, the issues caused can be fixed.

World impact: China might not be the whole world, but what happens there does affect most of the world. China is huge trader with most countries around the world. If they have problems with their economy or other issues, it plays a part in how they interact with other places. This  has already been predicted to cause some problems. If these problems come to pass, then the whole world might need to help out.

“My mother was a school principal. A lot of times she worked until 8 pm, so my grandfather would always pick me up from elementary school and help me with my homework. He loved to help me with school because I was his first grandchild to get an education. He especially loved book reports. He always insisted that we decorate the cover of the report in case we needed an extra bump in our grade. If it was a Halloween book report, he’d make a witch out of toilet paper and straws. He always told me that it was his dream to see me finish college. But the day before I graduated high school, his hand started shaking and he dropped a bowl of cereal while we were eating breakfast. It turned out he had a major stroke. He was minimally responsive after that but we kept him on life support. We thought if we prayed hard enough and believed enough, he would recover. He held on for a few years. I ended up going to the Fashion Institute of Technology, and I’d stop in every once in awhile and tell him about my grades. Toward the end, he grew very sick and blind, and his body was rejecting food. I finally graduated from FIT, and I brought him my graduation photos. Even though he couldn’t see them, I described the graduation to him. He died that night.”

To put it simply, I found this woman’s story heart-wrenching. It reminded me how time is limited and how spending time with your loved ones can be easily changed. But, despite problems that are presented, a person should love the people they care about no less and fight for them-just like this woman and her grandfather did. Despite her busy schedule, she still took time to visit her ailing grandfather. However, she wasn’t the only one fighting, evidently. It equally warms my heart and makes it hurt that her grandfather held on to life long enough, fighting constantly, to-in a way-experience her graduating. He fought to see her accomplish something she had been trying to do since elementary school.

From the day she graduated high school to the day she graduated from college, they were both fighting for themselves and for each other. That’s what loving someone means, in my opinion.

A three-week computer shut down after a recent hack is causing the yearbook class at Leaguetown High School the need to rent computers so that they can finish the yearbook. The school board is holding an emergency meeting to vote on this issue on February 6.

Before the hack happened, the yearbook class was actually assured they would finish in time, which makes the issue of getting computers even more dire.

“We were confident this would not be a problem,” junior and editor of the yearbook Alexis Zavia said. “In fact, before this computer hacking problem, we were ahead of schedule.”

This fact makes the truth about the little chance of receiving a yearbook in time even more detrimental for the school and seniors alike. Yearbook Day is a major day for seniors.

“Yearbook Day is one of the highlights of senior year,” Reggie White, a senior, said. “Yearbook Day is more popular than prom.”

However, if the yearbook class is able to rent computers-for an admittedly cheap price-, it could possibly be the 22-year-long-tradition’s saving grace.

“If the board doesn’t approve the $500 expenditure, I am not sure what we will do,” the yearbook adviser Rodney Stephens said. “I am hoping for the best and crossing my fingers.”

Topic: racism
Source: Global Issues

Summary: Racism is everywhere. People are constantly racially profiled, which is damaging. Certain events cause a boom in racism- 9/11, elections, etc,. People are even killed because of racism.

Reaction: I think this article is completely right. People are made fun of, discriminated against, and refused jobs because of racial discrimination. Falsely accused of crimes, becoming nothing but punchlines, and told they are scum because of a person’s race is extremely wrong and hurtful. This is a huge problem in today’s society. It can destroy a person’s life.

World impact: Racism takes place everywhere, not just the United States. It has been recorded all across the globe. Racism can occur in any region, and is just as damaging. Russia, the United Kingdom, Australia, even Canada- they all still contain heavy racism, along with others. It’s nearly impossible to stop such a world-wide problem, one that has festered for centuries, but it might be possible to make it better. Or to at least make a few more people understand that race, or background, shouldn’t really matter.

#1

Due to “phenomenal test scores” over the past three years, RHHS, starting Monday, September 28, will begin to have an open campus lunch policy for all students but freshman, in addition to  giving an extra 10 minutes for their lunch break.

#2

To protest the upcoming construction of a second Super Wal-Mart within only 75 miles, Rock Hill, in fear that this addition will hurt local businesses, has started a petition and will be having a town meeting on October 18.

#3

Because of his genius-level intelligence, Napoleon Dynamite, a 6th grader this year, might be moved up into RHHS under (the Saluda Trail’s principal) Mr. Fred George’s order, since it might help Napoleon be better prepared and get into medical school earlier- supposedly.

#4

A survey released by the Child Abuse Prevention Center in Baltimore reports that there are 2.7 million child abuse cases per year. Not only that,  but three to four children  die every day due to neglect or abuse, half of which are under one and 79% of which were among children under 5.

#5

As a result of a lit cigarette left on a sofa, $76,000 in damage was caused to Kathy Mahoney’s house  in Los Gatos, and she sustained minor burns on her hands and feet. However, after the firefighters arrived at 3:30 a.m., they managed to extinguish the inferno in only five  minutes.