Are you sure that's natural?

Last month, a very popular restaurant based in Denver that sells Mexican food across the United States posted a video on YouTube has raised controversy amongst its seven million viewers. This restaurant is known as Chipotle. The animated three minute and twenty three second short film consisted of a scarecrow farmer that moves to the city to find a job. When he gets there he comes to realize that many of the things that are labeled “All Natural” and “Farm Fresh” are nowhere close to being natural. The animals are given chickens are given different types of injections to make them twice as large, and the cows are hidden in dark places completely opposite of their natural habitat. However, the consumers of these “natural” foods are completely oblivious to what is happening behind the scenes and continue to support and buy food from these companies and businesses. But don’t just take my word for it… watch the video for yourself:

Now how exactly do you feel after watching that? Do you feel like you have been lied to or taken advantage of? I’m sure however you feel is far from honesty. At the end of the film, the scarecrow went and discovered new ways to not only help the people, but also his environment. If he could do it by himself, why can’t we all come together and make a change? I’m sure it won’t be simply that easy, but once we start the world of food evolve leading us to a much better future.

                Currently, the most disputed part of the debate is the genetically modified organisms- also known as GMO’s- in foods. Last year, Chipotle became the first national company to post on their website which items on their menu contain GMO’s, soon after that, Whole Foods and Ben and Jerry’s followed. Because of this, consumers are becoming more interested in what exactly they are eating, which does not seem illogical at all. Chipotle decision to list this is a good start to changing the way we eat.

                Many companies have lacked using all natural products because of the costs. It would be more expensive and time consuming. This is the same issue that consumers face with making the choice between buying fast-food and buying items to cook a home cooked meal. The healthier option not only costs more money, but also costs more time. However, what they don’t realize is that the time and money they are saving now through buying fast-food will hurt them in the future.

Lady Liberty is Back in Business!

 

 

                  As we all know, the government recently shutdown. Due to this shutdown, all national parks, federally owned museums, and landmarks such as The Statue of Liberty in New York were also closed. Because of all of these places being temporarily closed, thousands of people have been losing their jobs. Although the last time we had a government shutdown in the United States in 1995 it only lasted for twenty one days, the people who are currently out of work will not be receive compensation for the time the government is shutdown. From this, we can tell that the percentage of unemployment in the United States will rise changing a few things in our nation.

                However, it is not the end of the world! Some places are opening back up, allowing the workers to return to their jobs and customers to do what they do best! On Saturday, October 12^th, The Statue of Liberty reopened! Whooo! Many tourists traveling to New York were disappointed when they discovered that they would not be able to visit the famous landmark, but after it was reopened, happiness fled the air. One tourist even stated that “It’s more than just a creator of economics and a creator of jobs. It is probably the most profound symbol for freedom and democracy, certainly in this country, but possibly around the world.”

Nearly 4 million people visited The Statue of Liberty in 2011, generating around $174 million dollars in economic activity. From these statistics, we can conclude that is completely illogical to have it shut down for even just a short period of time. Lady Liberty is a vital and necessary part of keeping our economy where it needs to be.

With the reopening of The Statue of Liberty, many other landmarks, such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado have also been reopened. All it takes is one domino to start a chain reaction, and New York- as always- was definitely a trendsetter in this fabulous occasion!

Coumo announced on Friday the state will pay about $61,600 a day to keep the Statue of Liberty opened, which is A LOT of money, but when you think about how much money they will profit from the people who will travel from all parts of the world to see it, it is obviously worth it!

 

 

A teacher’s troubling account of giving a 106-question standardized test to 11 year olds

Jessie B. Ramey, who teaches women’s studies and history at the University of Pittsburgh, recently became baffled after administrating a one hundred and six word reading diagnostic exam to her class of eleven year old students. The test consisted of the things such as students picking one of five pictures that corresponded with the sentence Ramey previously read aloud. Ramey herself even admitted that it took her several tries over a course of a few days to finally discover the correct answer for some of questions, so how are eleven year old students supposed to choose- or guess in many cases- the correct answer on their first try?

Ramey reminded the students before they began their test that it was just to see where they were academically and that it would not in any way affect their grades, but they should still try their hardest to do it correctly and give one hundred percent of their effort towards presenting their best work. However, these standardized tests are not always the best thing in testing a students learning ability; many students suffer from test anxiety and do not do well on them.

Ramey noted that during the test, many of the students became disinterested and began to call the test “stupid”. The question is: Are the children right? Are these standardized tests “stupid”? Many people can agree that you cannot test a student’s intelligence by leaving them to answer hundreds of questions for long amounts of time. Some people will argue and say that they test the student’s ability to focus and commit to an assignment, but people have different techniques of learning… such as visual and verbally.

The main problem facing these standardized tests is that the scores received from them are often what helps colleges determine whether or not a student is accept in to their program. If a student is simply not a good test taker, this can ruin their chances of being accepted to a good college, therefore, possibly making it harder for them to get employed in the future. When people cannot get employed this raises the percentage of people living under the poverty line in our country. Because of this, many things will begin to change in our economy, such as health care, economic security, and economic stability.

In order to keep this from happening in our future, we only have one thing we really have to change… standardized test!

For Cicely Tyson and Kerry Washington, Roles of a Lifetime

Cicely Tyson and Kerry Washington, two very successful actresses, met up for brunch at a hotel in Upper East Side this previous week, ironically, no food was served because the workers did not want to “interrupt” “whatever [they] had going on”. They were right, what they had going on was an interview with Philip Galanes from The New York Times.

Tyson and Washington became close friends when Washington was asked to present Tyson with the Spingarn Medal by the N.A.A.C.P. Washington, like many other African-American children, grew up watching Cicely Tyson on television in movies such as Roots and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, so she was excited to share an interview with her.

Both Tyson and Washington are currently working, Tyson on stage as Mrs. Watts in The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote and Washington as Olivia Pope in the series Scandal. However, this is not the only thing the two actors have in common. Although the two grew up in different time periods under parents with different careers, both struggled with receiving acceptance of their decisions to pursue acting as a career from their parents. Washington’s parents were educators who, of course, wanted her to pursue something that would provide her economic security and Tyson’s parents (who were very religious) felt the same. Cicely Tyson’s mother even kicked her out of the house when she began acting, and they did not communicate for two years.

They say the odds of becoming a successful actor are the same as getting struck by lightning while simultaneously winning the lottery, so I’m sure at some point every actor’s parents have been concerned with their child going in to a field that does not promise success, but after they see them walk on stage for the first time, as Tyson’s mother did, they can’t help but say “Oh my, God!” Although it is a hard industry to make it “big” in, if you love it, you have the economic freedom to pursue it! Imagine if Meryl Streep, or Johnny Depp would have said “Oh what are the odds of me becoming a successful actor?”

Many actors become discouraged because they are constantly hearing things such as “Have fun waiting tables” or “That’s not realistic”, often forgetting they have the freedom to pursue a career in whatever they want, no matter what it is, well as long as it isn’t illegal. If you can dream it, you can achieve it!

The Mr. Fix-It of Greenwich Village

                Colin Ryan, a 62 year old man who was born and raised in Greenwich Village, has made a living off his entrepreneurship. He is a Vietnam veteran

who learned firsthand how difficult it is to find work after returning home from war.  Because of this he decided to become a self employed handyman or as some may say a freelance carpenter. He carries his tools almost everywhere with him and travels where he is needed, sometimes this means taking the subway to Manhattan or Queens, catching a ride Upstate, but most of his work comes right in the Village.

                In most states many people would not trust leaving a man like Ryan in their home to do repairs. However, in New York, Ryan’s costumers consider him very trustworthy. Many people hire him to do repairs such as adding a deck to their home and refinishing a wooden stairway. Ryan says that because the Village has always been his neighborhood, everyone knows who he is, which I’m sure helps him get tons of business! When you have known someone for a long period of time you tend to trust them when doing things such as fixing your home, and often would prefer to hire them over someone you don’t know. By hiring Ryan, they are not only getting repairs done, but also helping a friend out.

                Ryan also helps out young veterans who are returning home who may not easily be able to get hired, and older veterans. One of his customers,

Katya Salkinder, said that she liked Ryan because of his $25-dollar-an-hour rate and his stories- which I’m sure he has many of.                

                From this, I can say that Colin Ryan is a very well-rounded entrepreneur. Although he does not have a storefront, a website, or a cell phone that is always in service, he does have a stoop where he can often be found between jobs getting money for beer. His boldness to make a change and not wait around for someone to hire him after he returned from war and to create his own job is very inspiring. Many people would probably look at a man like Ryan and think he was up to no good, not realizing that he has made very wise decisions in his life that have led him to his career today. He says that he does “not need no pot of gold”, all he needs is enough money for cigarettes, beer, and subway fare. He does what he has to do to get by, and his lack of greed will get him far.

Google is investing twelve million dollars to help towards a solar energy project in Africa.  This is there first time investing money in Africa and these twelve million dollars are just a portion of the two hundred sixty million dollars that will eventually be invested.  The name of this project is the Jasper Power Project, which will be an advanced photovoltaic plant capable of generating 96 MW of clean energy for residents of South Africa. The goal of the project is not only to create renewable energy for the country but also to help provide long-term jobs and to help create economic opportunity.  By beginning this in South Africa, they will set an example for the rest of the continent eventually leading to all of Africa to be a greener continent.

Many people will benefit from this new energy project.  The people of Africa will be able to use these energy sources to fuel the electricity in their homes, which will run stoves, lights, internet, etc.  Therefore, it will help feed the people, and even help educate them.  With the help of the internet, they will have easier access to many resources they did not necessarily have before, thus eventually rising the percentage of literate people in the continent.  Once this percentage rises, they will soon be able to get jobs, which will help better provide for their families.  Once they have earned long-term jobs, this will eventually lead to lowering the percentage of people living below the line of poverty.

This new energy source that is being formed in Africa will not only benefit the Africans, but it will also benefit the people who have invested their money in to it.  Although two hundred sixty million dollars seems like a lot to invest, they will probably make a much larger profit. Once the Jasper Power Project has begun, it will eventually spread across Africa and then in to different countries causing Google to profit more and more.

Entrepreneurs are very important to economy.  Without new ideas, our economy would not grow.  Innovations, such as creating power projects to help create and conserve energy promote growth in many ways.  They solve many problems we are currently facing such as unemployment and education. If many of the things that were invented scores ago would have never been created, where would we be today?  I’m not exactly sure, and I’m not certain I would like to find out!

Marriage license denied for N.C. same-sex couple

              

               Over the past almost four years at Booker T., I have become an active supporter of gay rights. Growing up, I wasn’t aware of the gay community, I didn’t know of anyone in my family who was gay or lesbian, or my friends. Therefore, I wasn’t a supporter of it or against it, I was neutral. My parents never really discussed it to me so when I got to Booker T. it was easy for me to follow my gut and do what was right. I didn’t then and still don’t understand now what is wrong with two people loving each other. Love is love.

                When lesbian couple Amanda Hilty and Loraine Allen arrived at the Buncombe County seat of Asheville this previous week in North Carolina, they hoped to be leaving with their marriage license; however, they were denied it based on a state law that prohibits same sex marriage. This wasn’t their first time trying to obtain their license, it was the second. After Madison County register of deeds, Susan Rector, rejected them their license, Allen argued that it was unjust that she and her partner of thirteen years cannot get married in the state they have spent years living in. She also said that if they could not get married in North Carolina they would move to a state where they could, although they would prefer not to. If a man and a woman can get married there is no reason a woman and a woman or a man and a man should not also be able to also share this bond.

                Do these gay marriage bans violate the United States Constitutions equal protection clause? The 14^th Amendment forbids states to “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Therefore, don’t same-sex couples have the right to get married anywhere in the United States of America? Even if they do not as of now, the laws should be adjusted in such a way that this is possible for them. I mean the Constitution was written over 200 years ago, we as a nation should realize that times change.

 Different people walk the Earth now than then. It’s almost like if we decided to keep slavery because the previous citizens of the United States thought it was right. Times change, and so do our mindsets. It is almost 2014! Wanting to be married to someone you love should not be illegal. Love is love, and as Hilty questioned, “How can somebody deny love?”