In the spirit of absolution, I must make a confession – I absolutely love Grey’s Anatomy. If you are not a fan, this is a television drama about the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital and the team of brilliant, miracle-making doctors, surgeons, nurses and interns that, on a weekly basis, make the most horrid relational decisions imaginable. Ethical professionals living casually unethical lives that unfolds into absurd drama that is ridiculously addictive.
I can’t say exactly what draws me into such ludicrousness. Maybe it’s the alluring nature of watching other people in such a drastic light assures me a certain level of validity about myself. You could shrug your shoulders at that idea and say it is just fiction, but the same type of dramatic swill has permeated the medium of journalism – minus the fiction.
It is a familiar and disturbing formula – build up the celebrity, adore and admire the celebrity, ruin the celebrity, banish the celebrity. This all happens in a fashion that only journalism can construct. Celebrity journalists weave a story and a picture into a tale that ultimately, and literally, steers the course of a life. But unlike a show like Grey’s Anatomy, in real life, there is no closing monologue delivering a valuable and redeeming life lesson, just a real person that has been used up and condescendingly titled a “B-lister” or worse.
It’s empowering for people to see others torn down because it helps displace our insecurities. It seems innocuous because the end result of has-been celebrities’ lives has no direct effect on ours, but what happens when it does? What happens when it has the capability of swaying the course of our country? What happens when the wrong person is praised and the right person is ruined.
In an article in USA Today, Joe Saltzman writes, “All of this celebrity journalism may be sad and unprofessional, but hardly a threat to our way of life. Yet, when this same kind of mindset enters the political arena, the stakes are higher and there is danger in the game. Building up political candidates and then bringing them down is old hat. Today, the new wrinkle is the snide commentary within the news reports themselves. Major take-out stories in the national newsmagazines not only offer facts and figures about the candidates for president and governor, but decide which candidates are valid and which candidates are has-beens before anyone has voted.”
The celebritizing of American political figures is slowly fading from a cheap trend to a cultural routine. With institution of new mediums like YouTube and blogging, our leaders have chosen to simply go with the flow. Early in the campaign, in a reflection of Senator Barack Obama’s youthful and inspiring energy, the media began to label Senator John McCain as old. Late Night host David Letterman joked, “John McCain looks like a guy whose head you can barely see over the steering wheel. John McCain looks like the guy who thinks the nurses are stealing his stuff.” John McCain later went on Saturday Night Live and sheepishly made fun of himself.
Now that McCain’s young, vivacious vice-presidential nominee, Governor Sarah Palin, has taken the age factor away, SNL star, Tina Fey has unleashed a wave of SNL impersonation of Palin. Now The Hollywood Reporter is speculating that Palin will appear on SNL to spoof Tina Fey’s American Express commercial.
Since her acceptance speech, the media has been in a frenzy publicizing and critiquing everything from her looks to her ability to serve as vice president. Preceding the VP debate, there were copious amounts of discussions about whether she would be effective or be obliterated by democratic nominee Joe Biden.
Biased media outlets and fiery political pundits continue to pile on a slew of commentary about all of the candidates. Most people would say it’s harmless but the outpouring of rhetoric that flies over the airwaves and on television is overwhelmingly influential. It’s alarming to think that what the media says about our candidates might seriously influence what box Americans will check come November. Our culture has become a place where celebrities gain their fame more by what is said about them rather than what they do, the more our celebrity culture thrives the more it will become our nature to follow that formula with those whose actions matter.
The fictional stories of television are exactly that, fiction and the dramatic fabric that is weaved comes with an unsaid disclaimer – this is not real life. But any good thing, when abused, can cause harm. Our eyes and ears are entertained by it and when the same rise and fall drama infuses itself in real life it becomes unsettling. Real people have become the characters and journalists have become the writers. As an aspiring journalist it is troubling to know that others in my chosen profession are in the business of ruining lives; and they do this because it is exactly that… good business.
Michael Mancha is a Senior at Texas State University
Title: Extended bar hours will help modernize San Marcos
SAN MARCOS -- On Friday nights San Marcos residents can be found spilling out of the bars at midnight, many with a thirst unquenched head to Austin to enjoy two more hours of bar hopping.
On Nov. 4 residents of San Marcos will vote to increase on-premise consumption to 2 a.m. Currently, bars close at midnight except for Saturdays when they stay open until 1 a.m.
This will be the second chance for San Marcos residents to lengthen drinking hours. In 2002, the council ruled against extending bar hours.
With an upcoming local election and a Downtown Master Plan underway, San Marcos residents should vote to extend the bar hours until 2 a.m.
The Downtown Master Plan details the development and improvement of downtown San Marcos. Part of the San Marcos Downtown Master Plan to enhance the city should include lengthening bar hours. According to the City of San Marcos, if a non-binding referendum passes in November, alcohol could be sold until 2 a.m. every night.
The extended bar hours are important to the safety of Texas State students. The new law, that allows bars to stay open later, will encourage students to stay in San Marcos instead of driving to Austin, where bars stay open until 2 a.m. The extended bar hours will also help keep students who have been drinking closer to home and off Interstate 35. In a college culture alcohol is a large part of many leisure activities. When the bars close at midnight, most students are not tired and look to satisfy their urges at pesky parties or by driving down Interstate 25 to Austin and San Antonio.
According to Texas Department of Transportation, Texas continues to lead the nation in drunk driving traffic fatalities. During 2006, 1,354 motorists in Texas died in alcohol-impaired crashes where the driver had a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. It is important for San Marcos to help keep drunk drivers off the road, and by lengthening the city’s bar hours they will surely prevent students from driving to Austin and San Antonio to drink longer.
With record enrollment at the university, San Marcos needs to keep a standard with other college towns where bars stay open until 2 a.m., such as the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Many college students use the weekend to unwind and a 12 a.m. closing hours is not conducive to their lifestyle.
If students are able to stay at the bars later, it will deter them from throwing parties where underage drinking is more prevalent. Legal drinkers will spend more time in the bars than at parties. San Marcos can contribute to the effort to curb underage drinking by extending bar hours that would keep students of the legal drinking age at the bars, instead of at parties where minors drink.
The extended bar hours also offers San Marcos a chance to enhance downtown nightlife by providing musicians and artists a larger stage to showcase their talents. Bands will be able to play longer sets and book more shows.
San Marcos needs to modernize and be consistent with the economic development taking place, such as the $21 million Embassy Suites Convention Center. The extended bar hours will attract conventions and revenue to the city. To utilize the new Convention Center, San Marcos needs to market itself as a modern city, not an outdated city who closes early. The longer bar hours will partner with the new Downtown Master Plan in an effort to revitalize downtown.
San Marcos residents argue that the extended bar hours might encourage binge drinking. To deter binge drinking, it is the responsibility of the city to be diligent and train bartenders on laws against serving to intoxicated individuals.
San Marcos will become a hot spot with extended bar hours, attracting people from neighboring cities such as Kyle, Wimberley, Seguin and Lockhart to help boost the San Marcos downtown area and economy.
A defining trait of successful and attractive cities is a booming nightlife. With the appropriate nightlife, San Marcos will be able to attract more business downtown. If San Marcos hopes to grow and utilize the Downtown Master Plan, the change in bar hours is vital.
With all the improvements being made around San Marcos, a modification in the bar hours is necessary to enhance downtown and the city is ready for the change.
Holding back tears, I suddenly realized I didn’t know where I was going, barely knew who I was with and had no idea what to do next. As the train slowed, I took a deep breath and convinced myself I could handle it. I was 20-years-old studying in Spain, a country that was foreign to me in every sense of the word. While in Valladolid, Spain, I met two students and we decided to explore Western Europe for 10 days. On the third day of traveling, we boarded a train we thought was headed to Lake Como, Italy. When the train announced it was headed to an unknown town I couldn’t even pronounce, the panic was evident in all of our eyes. When the train stopped, we franticly gathered our belongings and our composure. I remember taking control of my fear and realizing that every problem has a solution. Fortunately, our solution was only 15 minutes behind. The next train that stopped at the station was headed to Lake Como, and we were back on track. My time abroad was filled with experience that tested my ability to cope with unexpected situations. Throughout the trip, I felt my confidence grow and learned to appreciate the life lessons that come with independence. The value of that experience is being more widely sought out by America’s youth. An increasing number of high school graduates are venturing to different parts of the world and taking “gap years,” a year working, volunteering or traveling in a foreign country, before college. Although gap years are a growing concept in the United States, they are established traditions in other countries. According to an article published Sept. 18 in USA Today, about 11 percent of the United Kingdom’s 300,000 high-school seniors take a gap year before enrolling for college. Similar to the United Kingdom, Australian students take gap years know as “going walkabout.” After graduating from high school at 18, I was expected to go to college and did not see any other option. Without knowing what I wanted to accomplish in college, I picked a major and stuck with it. However, I believe I would have benefited greatly from a gap year. After three years in college, I learned more about how to adapt to unique surroundings, deal with stressful situations and embrace new challenges during only two months in Europe. According to a 2005 MSNBC article, Dr. Fritz Grupe, founder of Mymajors.com, said up to 80 percent of students who enter college admit to not being certain of what they want to major in, and 50 percent of college students change their majors at least once before graduation. This kind of uncertainty could be reduced if students had the opportunity to take time abroad and weigh their options. Many students and parents are hesitant to the idea of a gap year because they are concerned about the financial aspect of it. In the USA Today article, Holly Bull, president of the Center of Interim programs, the first national gap year consulting organization, said the cost often runs from $10,000 to $20,000 for a year of fee-based programs and living costs. The cost of a gap year is equal to about one year of college at a public university. If students take a gap year, they are more prepared for college by having faced challenges, gained confidence and learned their strengths. In reality, a gap year could prove to be a practical solution for uncertain young adults. According to a BBC UK News article from 2000, the estimated 40,000 young people who take gap years are beginning to be more appreciated by universities admissions and employers. “Counselors are recognizing that there are many pathways to college,” said David Hawkins, director of public policy and research at the National Association for College Admission Counseling, in the USA Today article. “They see that, if properly vetted, these opportunities could actually help students succeed in college.” According to an article in The Daily Campus, the Southern Methodist University newspaper, gap year fairs were presented along with college fairs in seven metropolitan area high schools for the first time this spring. Many high school counselors are researching gap year consultation programs and promoting them to career-confused seniors. There are no available statistics to show the growing interest within the United States, but it is evident by the increasing number of gap year programs. Parents often fear a gap year will distract young people and make it more difficult for them to return to school. However, colleges are beginning to offer deferred enrollment since students who take gap years return focused, motivated and mature. Princeton University plans to formalize a “bridge year” program that includes students doing service work abroad before enrolling. According to Princeton’s Web site, Princeton’s working group decided to call the opportunity a ‘bridge’ year opposed to a ‘gap’ year to reaffirm the educational value of this program. The program will be offered to 2009 high school graduates accepted into Princeton. For a gap year to be as effective as possible, most consultants agree it should act as a bridge from high school graduation to a college career, not just as time off. Some structure may add to the learning experience. Many companies are now available to assist anyone who wants to go abroad and work, teach or volunteer. I have experience first hand the benefit of spending time abroad and encourage young adults to embrace the opportunity. Not only will it stimulate personal growth during a time of uncertainty, but it will also spark a lifelong interest and awareness of other cultures and worldviews.
Emmitt Smith spent hours each day practicing to get better. He was getting ready to perform for the weekly showdown he had grown accustomed to. Nothing would stand in his way. He had done this many times and knew what he needed to do to succeed. It was 2006 and Smith was getting ready to dance his way to a title. It was a title similar to one he had already danced to four years earlier. With an 11 yard run on Oct. 27, 2002, Smith set the NFL career rushing record at 16,728 yards. Smith had a far from easy road to setting that record. Even after his success at the University of Florida where he gained 3,928 yards and established 58 school records, Smith was still labeled too small, too weak and too slow to compete against NFL defenders. Many teams passed Smith up in the 1990 NFL draft. However, he did not get unnoticed by one team: The Dallas Cowboys. They traded up to take him at pick number 17. They had rated him their fourth highest player in the entire draft and had no problem selecting him 13 selections after their board said he would go. Smith wasn’t used that much at the beginning of his rookie season with the Cowboys having held out for the best possible contract until nearly the first regular season game. He didn’t play much until mid-season, but ended up with 937 rushing yards and was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press. The Cowboys knew they had something special and Smith, along with the likes of Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, helped the Cowboys win 3 Super Bowls in Smith’s 13 year career with the Cowboys. I personally know how amazing of a running back Emmitt Smith was. I have been a Cowboys fan all my life just like my dad. My grandfather has been a Green Bay Packers fan most of his life, but that’s another story. Growing up a good Baptist boy, I had to say I was too “sick” to make it to church a number of Sunday mornings, because the Cowboys played promptly at 12:15. I had to watch Emmitt Smith go through pre-game warm ups. From 1996 to 2006, my family and I traveled to Irving, TX to watch the annual Thanksgiving Day game the Cowboys hosted. That means I saw Smith play in 8 games in that time. Each and every time watching him simply felt like a blessing, none better than the 2002 Thanksgiving game where I bought a hat that read “16,728”. Every time I look at that hat, I think of that October day. It was simply remarkable watching Smith bust out into the open on that 11 yard run. It looked at first like he was going to go down, but he put his hand on the turf and kept his balance to gain the necessary extra yardage to break the record. Smith commented that he did not feel any doubt on that play saying, “Once I broke the line of scrimmage, I knew that had to be the one.” Even having no doubt about the play, you would think there would be a considerable amount of pressure on the running back. “The pressure was on the man above,” Smith said after rushing for 109 yards on 24 carries against Seattle and pushing the mark to 16,743 yards. “You’ve heard me say that He wouldn’t have brought me this far to let me down right now.” “So I felt no pressure. He showed up.” With all the egos in football, I find it hard to believe that a running back as great as Smith could be so humble to suggest that, true or not, he could not have ran every one of those yards alone. That just shows me the type of person that Smith is. He was very much so a team player and at the same time a great individual. It can be argued that Smith would not be holding that title if Barry Sanders had not retired early. It can be argued that someone else might have had a chance at the title if they were on a team with the Pro Bowl performing offensive lines Smith ran behind throughout his years with the Dallas Cowboys. No matter what those people say though, the title remains with Emmitt Smith. The numbers do not lie. Then it was Wednesday, Nov. 15th, 2006. Smith was performing in the final dance contest on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”. Smith and his partner, Cheryl Burke, received excellent scores from the judges, but their competition, Mario Lopez, got identical scores. From that point it was up to the fans to vote for the winner and Smith’s fan base voted him champion. Smith said he was going in to the competition with the attitude of having fun, learning his steps and just enjoying himself. That attitude made him the last man standing on “Dancing with the Stars” and that attitude helped him gain more yards than any other running back in NFL history.
What better way to celebrate the freedoms we are allowed in this nation than by trying to squash the rights of an American minority.
Across the nation as same-sex couples are celebrating their newly found right to marriage in certain states, staunch Christians and other interest groups are grasping at straws to reverse pro-gay marriage legislation.
Currently in California, hundreds of pastors are calling on their congregations to fast and pray for the passage of a bill that would ban gay marriage. They say that they are crusading to save the morality of America, and trying to cleanse the tarnish that gay marriage has caused the state of matrimony.
The amendments that conservatives are trying to pass would not only make gay marriage illegal, but in some cases nullify contractual agreements between gay couples regarding inheritance, powers of attorney, authority over medical decisions and even common property ownership.
The addition of such an amendment to the constitution would contradict the doctrine itself, seeing as how our country is supposed to keep a separation of church and state. By adding a law that is blatantly religion driven would make a mockery of the entire system.
Perhaps I slept through history and missed something, because I was under the impression that America was built to be a safe haven for people of all religions, beliefs and life styles. You know that whole thing about the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Maybe I dreamt it all, but I’m pretty sure the founding fathers meant what they wrote.
Groups that fight for anti-gay amendments argue that the founding fathers didn’t mean to allow gay marriage; had they been given the chance, they would have pronounced it illegal. Whether or the founding fathers would have supported gay marriage is not the point. The real thing to look at is the fact that they laid the ground work for freedom from repression and intolerance in this country.
Yet, groups continue to battle for their right to oppress.
Texas joined the fight in 2005 when the state was asked to vote on the Anti-Gay-Marriage Amendment. The Amendment was a pointless ploy to rally anti-gay sentiment, since gay marriage was already illegal in the state.
Ignorant efforts like these are the driving force causing a rift in America. Apparently freedom only applies to those attracted to a different sex than their own. Apparently gays are not allowed their own pursuit of happiness, or other civil liberties the rest of America is allowed to enjoy freely.
Anti-gay marriage legislation simply boils down to unequal treatment of people before the law. If this were any other minority group in America it would not be tolerated. If groups were pushing a law that forbade African-Americans, or any other ethnic group, from marrying it would never make it.
And some people might say this is different because homosexuals can choose whether or not they want to be gay. However, it does not matter whether they had the choice or whether they were born that way, they are who they are, and they’re not hurting anyone.
Still today, there are millions of groups and individuals out there crusading to violate the rights of their neighbors and friends – their fellow Americans. Why go so far out of your way to oppose someone else’s happiness? What could be so terrible about a same sex couple?
These anti-gay groups say that they are offended and outraged by the lifestyle that gays choose to live by. They say that it is an offense to their lord and their religion to have such “abominations” in the worlds.
Perhaps the Christian groups fighting for their anti-gay beliefs should take a better look at the bible. Jesus preached love and compassion, not hate and intolerance.
Just because the gay lifestyle offends you, does not give you the right to make it illegal. This is taking censorship a little too far. It all started with TV and has expanded from there. The conservatives didn’t like to see too much sex, or violence, or rough language, so those got removed. Now they want to take it to the street. It’s bad enough to try to censor free speech on TV, but it’s horribly wrong to try and censor life.
If it offends you so much, don’t look.
It offends me to hear people being so cruel and hateful to other human beings, but I’m not crusading to take away the anti-gay communities freedom of speech. I’m not trying to make them hide their opinions, or their life styles. And I’m sure the gay community is offended by the closed mindedness they are met with daily, but they’re not making anti-gay groups hide their affiliations.
It’s America. It’s called freedom. Accept it and move on.
5 comments:
Michael Mancha
MC4356F
10-6-08
Word Count – 827
The Paparazzi and the President
In the spirit of absolution, I must make a confession – I absolutely love Grey’s Anatomy. If you are not a fan, this is a television drama about the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital and the team of brilliant, miracle-making doctors, surgeons, nurses and interns that, on a weekly basis, make the most horrid relational decisions imaginable. Ethical professionals living casually unethical lives that unfolds into absurd drama that is ridiculously addictive.
I can’t say exactly what draws me into such ludicrousness. Maybe it’s the alluring nature of watching other people in such a drastic light assures me a certain level of validity about myself. You could shrug your shoulders at that idea and say it is just fiction, but the same type of dramatic swill has permeated the medium of journalism – minus the fiction.
It is a familiar and disturbing formula – build up the celebrity, adore and admire the celebrity, ruin the celebrity, banish the celebrity. This all happens in a fashion that only journalism can construct. Celebrity journalists weave a story and a picture into a tale that ultimately, and literally, steers the course of a life. But unlike a show like Grey’s Anatomy, in real life, there is no closing monologue delivering a valuable and redeeming life lesson, just a real person that has been used up and condescendingly titled a “B-lister” or worse.
It’s empowering for people to see others torn down because it helps displace our insecurities. It seems innocuous because the end result of has-been celebrities’ lives has no direct effect on ours, but what happens when it does? What happens when it has the capability of swaying the course of our country? What happens when the wrong person is praised and the right person is ruined.
In an article in USA Today, Joe Saltzman writes, “All of this celebrity journalism may be sad and unprofessional, but hardly a threat to our way of life. Yet, when this same kind of mindset enters the political arena, the stakes are higher and there is danger in the game. Building up political candidates and then bringing them down is old hat. Today, the new wrinkle is the snide commentary within the news reports themselves. Major take-out stories in the national newsmagazines not only offer facts and figures about the candidates for president and governor, but decide which candidates are valid and which candidates are has-beens before anyone has voted.”
The celebritizing of American political figures is slowly fading from a cheap trend to a cultural routine. With institution of new mediums like YouTube and blogging, our leaders have chosen to simply go with the flow. Early in the campaign, in a reflection of Senator Barack Obama’s youthful and inspiring energy, the media began to label Senator John McCain as old. Late Night host David Letterman joked, “John McCain looks like a guy whose head you can barely see over the steering wheel. John McCain looks like the guy who thinks the nurses are stealing his stuff.” John McCain later went on Saturday Night Live and sheepishly made fun of himself.
Now that McCain’s young, vivacious vice-presidential nominee, Governor Sarah Palin, has taken the age factor away, SNL star, Tina Fey has unleashed a wave of SNL impersonation of Palin. Now The Hollywood Reporter is speculating that Palin will appear on SNL to spoof Tina Fey’s American Express commercial.
Since her acceptance speech, the media has been in a frenzy publicizing and critiquing everything from her looks to her ability to serve as vice president. Preceding the VP debate, there were copious amounts of discussions about whether she would be effective or be obliterated by democratic nominee Joe Biden.
Biased media outlets and fiery political pundits continue to pile on a slew of commentary about all of the candidates. Most people would say it’s harmless but the outpouring of rhetoric that flies over the airwaves and on television is overwhelmingly influential. It’s alarming to think that what the media says about our candidates might seriously influence what box Americans will check come November. Our culture has become a place where celebrities gain their fame more by what is said about them rather than what they do, the more our celebrity culture thrives the more it will become our nature to follow that formula with those whose actions matter.
The fictional stories of television are exactly that, fiction and the dramatic fabric that is weaved comes with an unsaid disclaimer – this is not real life. But any good thing, when abused, can cause harm. Our eyes and ears are entertained by it and when the same rise and fall drama infuses itself in real life it becomes unsettling. Real people have become the characters and journalists have become the writers. As an aspiring journalist it is troubling to know that others in my chosen profession are in the business of ruining lives; and they do this because it is exactly that… good business.
Michael Mancha is a Senior at Texas State University
Title: Extended bar hours will help modernize San Marcos
SAN MARCOS -- On Friday nights San Marcos residents can be found spilling out of the bars at midnight, many with a thirst unquenched head to Austin to enjoy two more hours of bar hopping.
On Nov. 4 residents of San Marcos will vote to increase on-premise consumption to 2
a.m. Currently, bars close at midnight except for Saturdays when they stay open until 1 a.m.
This will be the second chance for San Marcos residents to lengthen drinking hours. In 2002, the council ruled against extending bar hours.
With an upcoming local election and a Downtown Master Plan underway, San Marcos residents should vote to extend the bar hours until 2 a.m.
The Downtown Master Plan details the development and improvement of downtown San Marcos. Part of the San Marcos Downtown Master Plan to enhance the city should include lengthening bar hours. According to the City of San Marcos, if a non-binding referendum passes in November, alcohol could be sold until 2 a.m. every night.
The extended bar hours are important to the safety of Texas State students. The new law, that allows bars to stay open later, will encourage students to stay in San Marcos instead of driving to Austin, where bars stay open until 2 a.m. The extended bar hours will also help keep students who have been drinking closer to home and off Interstate 35.
In a college culture alcohol is a large part of many leisure activities. When the bars close at midnight, most students are not tired and look to satisfy their urges at pesky parties or by driving down Interstate 25 to Austin and San Antonio.
According to Texas Department of Transportation, Texas continues to lead the nation in drunk driving traffic fatalities. During 2006, 1,354 motorists in Texas died in alcohol-impaired crashes where the driver had a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. It is important for San Marcos to help keep drunk drivers off the road, and by lengthening the city’s bar hours they will surely prevent students from driving to Austin and San Antonio to drink longer.
With record enrollment at the university, San Marcos needs to keep a standard with other college towns where bars stay open until 2 a.m., such as the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Many college students use the weekend to unwind and a 12 a.m. closing hours is not conducive to their lifestyle.
If students are able to stay at the bars later, it will deter them from throwing parties where underage drinking is more prevalent. Legal drinkers will spend more time in the bars than at parties. San Marcos can contribute to the effort to curb underage drinking by extending bar hours that would keep students of the legal drinking age at the bars, instead of at parties where minors drink.
The extended bar hours also offers San Marcos a chance to enhance downtown nightlife by providing musicians and artists a larger stage to showcase their talents. Bands will be able to play longer sets and book more shows.
San Marcos needs to modernize and be consistent with the economic development taking place, such as the $21 million Embassy Suites Convention Center. The extended bar hours will attract conventions and revenue to the city. To utilize the new Convention Center, San Marcos needs to market itself as a modern city, not an outdated city who closes early. The longer bar hours will partner with the new Downtown Master Plan in an effort to revitalize downtown.
San Marcos residents argue that the extended bar hours might encourage binge drinking. To deter binge drinking, it is the responsibility of the city to be diligent and train bartenders on laws against serving to intoxicated individuals.
San Marcos will become a hot spot with extended bar hours, attracting people from neighboring cities such as Kyle, Wimberley, Seguin and Lockhart to help boost the San Marcos downtown area and economy.
A defining trait of successful and attractive cities is a booming nightlife. With the appropriate nightlife, San Marcos will be able to attract more business downtown. If San Marcos hopes to grow and utilize the Downtown Master Plan, the change in bar hours is vital.
With all the improvements being made around San Marcos, a modification in the bar hours is necessary to enhance downtown and the city is ready for the change.
Increased Popularity of the American Gap Year
Holding back tears, I suddenly realized I didn’t know where I was going, barely knew who I was with and had no idea what to do next.
As the train slowed, I took a deep breath and convinced myself I could handle it.
I was 20-years-old studying in Spain, a country that was foreign to me in every sense of the word. While in Valladolid, Spain, I met two students and we decided to explore Western Europe for 10 days. On the third day of traveling, we boarded a train we thought was headed to Lake Como, Italy. When the train announced it was headed to an unknown town I couldn’t even pronounce, the panic was evident in all of our eyes. When the train stopped, we franticly gathered our belongings and our composure. I remember taking control of my fear and realizing that every problem has a solution. Fortunately, our solution was only 15 minutes behind. The next train that stopped at the station was headed to Lake Como, and we were back on track.
My time abroad was filled with experience that tested my ability to cope with unexpected situations. Throughout the trip, I felt my confidence grow and learned to appreciate the life lessons that come with independence.
The value of that experience is being more widely sought out by America’s youth. An increasing number of high school graduates are venturing to different parts of the world and taking “gap years,” a year working, volunteering or traveling in a foreign country, before college.
Although gap years are a growing concept in the United States, they are established traditions in other countries. According to an article published Sept. 18 in USA Today, about 11 percent of the United Kingdom’s 300,000 high-school seniors take a gap year before enrolling for college. Similar to the United Kingdom, Australian students take gap years know as “going walkabout.”
After graduating from high school at 18, I was expected to go to college and did not see any other option. Without knowing what I wanted to accomplish in college, I picked a major and stuck with it. However, I believe I would have benefited greatly from a gap year. After three years in college, I learned more about how to adapt to unique surroundings, deal with stressful situations and embrace new challenges during only two months in Europe.
According to a 2005 MSNBC article, Dr. Fritz Grupe, founder of Mymajors.com, said up to 80 percent of students who enter college admit to not being certain of what they want to major in, and 50 percent of college students change their majors at least once before graduation. This kind of uncertainty could be reduced if students had the opportunity to take time abroad and weigh their options.
Many students and parents are hesitant to the idea of a gap year because they are concerned about the financial aspect of it.
In the USA Today article, Holly Bull, president of the Center of Interim programs, the first national gap year consulting organization, said the cost often runs from $10,000 to $20,000 for a year of fee-based programs and living costs.
The cost of a gap year is equal to about one year of college at a public university. If students take a gap year, they are more prepared for college by having faced challenges, gained confidence and learned their strengths. In reality, a gap year could prove to be a practical solution for uncertain young adults.
According to a BBC UK News article from 2000, the estimated 40,000 young people who take gap years are beginning to be more appreciated by universities admissions and employers.
“Counselors are recognizing that there are many pathways to college,” said David Hawkins, director of public policy and research at the National Association for College Admission Counseling, in the USA Today article. “They see that, if properly vetted, these opportunities could actually help students succeed in college.”
According to an article in The Daily Campus, the Southern Methodist University newspaper, gap year fairs were presented along with college fairs in seven metropolitan area high schools for the first time this spring. Many high school counselors are researching gap year consultation programs and promoting them to career-confused seniors.
There are no available statistics to show the growing interest within the United States, but it is evident by the increasing number of gap year programs.
Parents often fear a gap year will distract young people and make it more difficult for them to return to school. However, colleges are beginning to offer deferred enrollment since students who take gap years return focused, motivated and mature. Princeton University plans to formalize a “bridge year” program that includes students doing service work abroad before enrolling. According to Princeton’s Web site, Princeton’s working group decided to call the opportunity a ‘bridge’ year opposed to a ‘gap’ year to reaffirm the educational value of this program. The program will be offered to 2009 high school graduates accepted into Princeton.
For a gap year to be as effective as possible, most consultants agree it should act as a bridge from high school graduation to a college career, not just as time off. Some structure may add to the learning experience. Many companies are now available to assist anyone who wants to go abroad and work, teach or volunteer.
I have experience first hand the benefit of spending time abroad and encourage young adults to embrace the opportunity. Not only will it stimulate personal growth during a time of uncertainty, but it will also spark a lifelong interest and awareness of other cultures and worldviews.
Dancing to a Title by Kirk Gholson
Emmitt Smith spent hours each day practicing to get better. He was getting ready to perform for the weekly showdown he had grown accustomed to. Nothing would stand in his way. He had done this many times and knew what he needed to do to succeed. It was 2006 and Smith was getting ready to dance his way to a title. It was a title similar to one he had already danced to four years earlier.
With an 11 yard run on Oct. 27, 2002, Smith set the NFL career rushing record at 16,728 yards.
Smith had a far from easy road to setting that record. Even after his success at the University of Florida where he gained 3,928 yards and established 58 school records, Smith was still labeled too small, too weak and too slow to compete against NFL defenders.
Many teams passed Smith up in the 1990 NFL draft. However, he did not get unnoticed by one team: The Dallas Cowboys. They traded up to take him at pick number 17. They had rated him their fourth highest player in the entire draft and had no problem selecting him 13 selections after their board said he would go.
Smith wasn’t used that much at the beginning of his rookie season with the Cowboys having held out for the best possible contract until nearly the first regular season game. He didn’t play much until mid-season, but ended up with 937 rushing yards and was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press.
The Cowboys knew they had something special and Smith, along with the likes of Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, helped the Cowboys win 3 Super Bowls in Smith’s 13 year career with the Cowboys.
I personally know how amazing of a running back Emmitt Smith was. I have been a Cowboys fan all my life just like my dad. My grandfather has been a Green Bay Packers fan most of his life, but that’s another story. Growing up a good Baptist boy, I had to say I was too “sick” to make it to church a number of Sunday mornings, because the Cowboys played promptly at 12:15. I had to watch Emmitt Smith go through pre-game warm ups.
From 1996 to 2006, my family and I traveled to Irving, TX to watch the annual Thanksgiving Day game the Cowboys hosted. That means I saw Smith play in 8 games in that time. Each and every time watching him simply felt like a blessing, none better than the 2002 Thanksgiving game where I bought a hat that read “16,728”.
Every time I look at that hat, I think of that October day. It was simply remarkable watching Smith bust out into the open on that 11 yard run. It looked at first like he was going to go down, but he put his hand on the turf and kept his balance to gain the necessary extra yardage to break the record. Smith commented that he did not feel any doubt on that play saying, “Once I broke the line of scrimmage, I knew that had to be the one.”
Even having no doubt about the play, you would think there would be a considerable amount of pressure on the running back. “The pressure was on the man above,” Smith said after rushing for 109 yards on 24 carries against Seattle and pushing the mark to 16,743 yards. “You’ve heard me say that He wouldn’t have brought me this far to let me down right now.”
“So I felt no pressure. He showed up.”
With all the egos in football, I find it hard to believe that a running back as great as Smith could be so humble to suggest that, true or not, he could not have ran every one of those yards alone. That just shows me the type of person that Smith is. He was very much so a team player and at the same time a great individual.
It can be argued that Smith would not be holding that title if Barry Sanders had not retired early. It can be argued that someone else might have had a chance at the title if they were on a team with the Pro Bowl performing offensive lines Smith ran behind throughout his years with the Dallas Cowboys. No matter what those people say though, the title remains with Emmitt Smith. The numbers do not lie.
Then it was Wednesday, Nov. 15th, 2006. Smith was performing in the final dance contest on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”. Smith and his partner, Cheryl Burke, received excellent scores from the judges, but their competition, Mario Lopez, got identical scores. From that point it was up to the fans to vote for the winner and Smith’s fan base voted him champion.
Smith said he was going in to the competition with the attitude of having fun, learning his steps and just enjoying himself. That attitude made him the last man standing on “Dancing with the Stars” and that attitude helped him gain more yards than any other running back in NFL history.
Brigette Botkin
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Freedom for All, Means All
What better way to celebrate the freedoms we are allowed in this nation than by trying to squash the rights of an American minority.
Across the nation as same-sex couples are celebrating their newly found right to marriage in certain states, staunch Christians and other interest groups are grasping at straws to reverse pro-gay marriage legislation.
Currently in California, hundreds of pastors are calling on their congregations to fast and pray for the passage of a bill that would ban gay marriage. They say that they are crusading to save the morality of America, and trying to cleanse the tarnish that gay marriage has caused the state of matrimony.
The amendments that conservatives are trying to pass would not only make gay marriage illegal, but in some cases nullify contractual agreements between gay couples regarding inheritance, powers of attorney, authority over medical decisions and even common property ownership.
The addition of such an amendment to the constitution would contradict the doctrine itself, seeing as how our country is supposed to keep a separation of church and state. By adding a law that is blatantly religion driven would make a mockery of the entire system.
Perhaps I slept through history and missed something, because I was under the impression that America was built to be a safe haven for people of all religions, beliefs and life styles. You know that whole thing about the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Maybe I dreamt it all, but I’m pretty sure the founding fathers meant what they wrote.
Groups that fight for anti-gay amendments argue that the founding fathers didn’t mean to allow gay marriage; had they been given the chance, they would have pronounced it illegal. Whether or the founding fathers would have supported gay marriage is not the point. The real thing to look at is the fact that they laid the ground work for freedom from repression and intolerance in this country.
Yet, groups continue to battle for their right to oppress.
Texas joined the fight in 2005 when the state was asked to vote on the Anti-Gay-Marriage Amendment. The Amendment was a pointless ploy to rally anti-gay sentiment, since gay marriage was already illegal in the state.
Ignorant efforts like these are the driving force causing a rift in America. Apparently freedom only applies to those attracted to a different sex than their own. Apparently gays are not allowed their own pursuit of happiness, or other civil liberties the rest of America is allowed to enjoy freely.
Anti-gay marriage legislation simply boils down to unequal treatment of people before the law. If this were any other minority group in America it would not be tolerated. If groups were pushing a law that forbade African-Americans, or any other ethnic group, from marrying it would never make it.
And some people might say this is different because homosexuals can choose whether or not they want to be gay. However, it does not matter whether they had the choice or whether they were born that way, they are who they are, and they’re not hurting anyone.
Still today, there are millions of groups and individuals out there crusading to violate the rights of their neighbors and friends – their fellow Americans. Why go so far out of your way to oppose someone else’s happiness? What could be so terrible about a same sex couple?
These anti-gay groups say that they are offended and outraged by the lifestyle that gays choose to live by. They say that it is an offense to their lord and their religion to have such “abominations” in the worlds.
Perhaps the Christian groups fighting for their anti-gay beliefs should take a better look at the bible. Jesus preached love and compassion, not hate and intolerance.
Just because the gay lifestyle offends you, does not give you the right to make it illegal. This is taking censorship a little too far. It all started with TV and has expanded from there. The conservatives didn’t like to see too much sex, or violence, or rough language, so those got removed. Now they want to take it to the street. It’s bad enough to try to censor free speech on TV, but it’s horribly wrong to try and censor life.
If it offends you so much, don’t look.
It offends me to hear people being so cruel and hateful to other human beings, but I’m not crusading to take away the anti-gay communities freedom of speech. I’m not trying to make them hide their opinions, or their life styles. And I’m sure the gay community is offended by the closed mindedness they are met with daily, but they’re not making anti-gay groups hide their affiliations.
It’s America. It’s called freedom. Accept it and move on.
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