Reading a newspaper in the morning is an essential aspect of American society. It is paired with the stereotypical view of a father reading the sports section while drinking coffee, while his child giggles over the funny pages.
However, this morning ritual is slowly coming to an end. Gone are the days of newspaper ink leaving traces on the fingers of readers. Gone as well is holding a tangible version of the news and having the ability to rip out a worthy article or circle a hilarious comic.
photo1Last Saturday, President Obama asked something of the University of California-Irvine class of 2014 in his commencement address: he called on young people to take charge of climate changeand force this issue past the current congressional standstill.
Every year, about 20 million American students go to college, paying thousands of dollars a year for a degree one step above a high school diploma, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Yet these students face an obstacle that prevails over homework and remains past graduation: student loans.
Student debt from higher education is an institutional problem in the country. Students are stuck in the expectation to attend college, even if this means emptying their wallets and breaking the piggy bank.
Living overseas, my parents often experience current events on a more personal level than those like me, who merely read about these events from a distance. When my folks visited Boston recently from their home in Indonesia, it was no exception.
As we caught up, my mother paused to read a Facebook status from a friend living in Thailand regarding the country’s recent military coup.
Up until last fall, my understanding of climate change had been a vague awareness of rising global temperatures and our impending doom, speckled with terms like “ocean acidification” and “carbon sinks.”
I had a distant, scientific appreciation of what climate change was, and what it could do, but thought very little of the impacts that would become our reality.
Over the past few years, Boston schools have hit a new high when it comes to admissions. Name the college and there was an applicant increase.
For the 2013-2014 school year, Boston University applications increased by 20.6 percent, Babson College by 18.45 percent and Harvard by 16 percent, boston.com reported.
While browsing my favorite source for green news, Grist.org, last week, I came across a headline that made me pause. “Chemical banned in Europe is probably on your apple,” it read, right under the week’s environmental news.
In the past week, young females have received a large amount of attention in the news, though not for the best, unfortunately. Over 200 schoolgirls between the ages of 12 and 15 were abducted in Nigeria in two separate kidnappings. Since then, protestors in Africa have sparked an anti-government movement while waiting for the government to find the missing students.
