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Nowstalgia: Bubble jugs not good bubble gum

By Hailey Bibbee | Oct. 1, 2014

I don’t know about any of you, but I loved bubble gum when I was a kid (I still do, actually). Whenever I went to the store, I had to have some form of bubble gum, and at Hubba Bubba was at the top of my list.

Meg Omecene

In The Know With Meg O: Wastefulness is seen beyond the dining hall

Oct. 1, 2014

I will be the first to admit that I was wasteful when I had the luxury of a meal plan.Shively’s mashed potatoes and brisket is bland today? At least there is always the dependable burrito station. Nelson breakfast not up to par? The salad bar and a cup of soup will do.When I could pick up whatever I wanted without having to pay per ounce, it was easy to throw out sometimes-untouched plates of food.And now that I have to buy all of my own groceries, I can guarantee that I would never buy bananas with brown spots on them.My thoughtlessness is an example of the overall wastefulness documented in a recent NPR article that details how nearly one-third of the 400 million-plus pounds of food sold in grocery stores are never actually eaten.According to the article, 10 percent of all food is wasted in grocery stores themselves because many people, myself included, equate brown spotted bananas with them going bad.After being sold, 20 percent of all food in homes goes to waste, whether it ends up going bad or tossed out at the end of dinner, the article said. And while 30 percent of food is thrown out, the USDA reported that one in seven Americans don’t get enough to eat.The article said that the main reason food is wasted is because grocery stores overstock their shelves. “It comes down to shoppers demanding stocked shelves,” the article says. Everyone can change their habits, and I know this is something I could change about myself. Something as easy as buying apples that aren’t the prettiest to ensure that someone buys it could go a long way. Or informing my roommates when something is about to go bad could help eliminate a lot of waste.Other ways to prevent waste is by using kitchen composters to eat all that cabbage that you bought with full intention of eating, or even bringing it to the community gardens.Maybe you could even eat a dry burger at Shively … but then again, I don’t want to suggest anything too crazy.Meg Omecene is a junior studying strategic communication and the public relations director for The Post. Email her at mo403411@ohio.edu.

Gabby McDaris

Red, Blue & You: NRA instills fear of gun control

Oct. 1, 2014

The National Rifle Association is one of the biggest political machines in America.Each year, the NRA spends millions of dollars in lobbying campaigns and this year alone has set aside $11.4 million for fall advertising, according to Politico.The group has 4.5 million members and has a large influence over the outcomes of elections. They air ads for Republican candidates across the country and have more of an impact on elections than people may realize.One of their most recent campaign ads is airing in Louisiana against Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu. In the ad, a woman is shown putting her child to bed and then texting her husband who is out of town, “Love you. Good night.” In the next scene, a man is shown breaking into the house, and then it cuts to a shot of yellow police tape.The ad ends with the narrator saying, “How you defend yourself is up to you. It’s your choice. But Mary Landrieu voted to take away your gun rights. Vote like your safety depends on it.”Gun owners have a certain level of paranoia, and the NRA knows all of the right buttons to push in order to turn this paranoia into millions of dollars.Ads similar to the anti-Landrieu ad help coerce Americans into thinking that the only way to keep themselves and their family safe is to arm themselves, and that anyone who supports gun control in any form is a threat to their safety.The main reason Americans purchase guns is out of fear. According to a Gallup Poll, 60 percent of gun owners have it for their personal safety.The NRA fuels the mindset in America that the only way to truly protect yourself is to be armed.The NRA will never accept or admit that the main cause of gun homicides and mass shootings are the guns themselves. After the Sandy Hook shooting, NRA President Wayne LaPierre blamed the shooting on a lack of protection at schools, saying “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”Time and time again the NRA has made it clear that they think the only solution to violence is more guns when guns are what created the problem in the first place.According to ABC News, “A study by two New York City cardiologists found that the U.S. has 88 guns per 100 people and 10 gun-related deaths per 100,000 people — more than any of the other 27 developed countries they studied.”There is a clear correlation between the two statistics and it is important for America to finally accept that throwing more guns at a problem will not make it go away.The NRA will never blame guns as the main cause of mass shootings and homicides because without guns, their organization becomes obsolete.Once the gun culture in America changes, the homicide rate will change too. The only way for this to happen is for the NRA to finally accept and admit that guns may be a major part of the problem and that scaring people into thinking otherwise will not have a positive impact.There is a fear and paranoia in America created by a pro-gun culture and in order for this fear to go away, the NRA will have to go away as well.Gabby McDaris is a freshman studying screenwriting. Email her at gm573913@ohio.edu.

Sophie Kruse | Gamer Girl

Gamer Girl: Technology weakening our social skills

By Sophie Kruse | Sep. 28, 2014

I think our generation is scared of meeting people face-to-face. I’m a journalism student, so I’m a little off this norm — I live for talking to strangers and hearing their stories. But I hear struggles from friends and classmates who despise these situations. Some people dread in-class activities because it means having to talk to people you don’t know.Don’t get me wrong, I love the tech advances that make communicating easier and I love being able to text my family when I’m at school. I even taught my grandpa how to text and his messages brighten my day. I love Snapchat, but I mainly use it to bombard my friends with dog pictures. And I’m a total social media junkie — I live on Twitter and Instagram.Oh, and don’t forget Yik Yak. What could make time between classes go any faster than hearing the secret thoughts of other Bobcats?But I like face-to-face interactions, too. Is there technology that will take us too far past the normal mode of interactions?When Google Glass was first announced, I thought it was pretty cool, but it scared me how integrated it would be in a user’s daily life. The Glass would assist with everything you did. To me, it seemed like there would no longer be the privacy of a one-on-one conversation, void of tech interruptions.As a student, you can now get a degree completely from online classes. You could get your entire degree without leaving the comfort of your home. Lots of professors utilize the clicker system, which allows students to participate without actually participating. Some media classes do Twitter discussion during lectures — essentially promoting students to be on social media during class times. I even have a class that does computer-graded essays to save the professor time.All these things are great and there’s no doubt that they’re all making our lives easier. But don’t underestimate the value of a normal, tech-free conversation with a friend, family member or better yet, a stranger. It’s something tech can’t beat.

Jordan Williams

The Good-isms: Campaign aims to make gender equality everyone’s issue

By Jordan Williams | Sep. 28, 2014

United Nations ambassador and Brown University graduate Emma Watson (known by many of us as Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter films) lit up news feeds recently with her Sept. 20 speech promoting the launch of her HeForShe campaign. The campaign invites men to voice their support for feminism and contribute to the eradication of violence against females and the dismissal of oppressive gender roles. HeForShe has already received a huge wave of support, with an array of men worldwide making pledges on the campaign’s website.The arrival of HeForShe brings about the dreaded question I face at least once a semester as a Women’s and Gender Studies major: can men be feminists? My gut reaction is always yes, but there is always the debate that men will never fully be able to understand what women experience in a lifetime. Watson addressed the misconception when she explained how men are also affected by gender stereotypes. She said men are often valued as lesser parents and suffer from personal struggle when they feel they are not meeting the ideals of how a man should act. Furthermore, why would anyone reject that application when feminism is just as vital as ever? If you are willing to support every human being, then welcome aboard, my friend! That’s the beauty of feminism; it is not just for one group, and anyone can become a part of it to make life better for everyone.Ohio University is infallibly on track to promote gender equality on campus, and the action has continued in a big way over the past few weeks. The Ohio University Women’s Center hosts an event called “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” which calls upon male volunteers to wear a pair of women’s shoes and walk a mile on campus “to raise awareness about the role men play in preventing sexual assault.” This year’s walk will take place on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 12 p.m.Emma Watson has been one of my favorite people in the universe for more than a decade, and I could not be more thrilled that she is using her visibility in the media to educate people and bring about some much-needed change. Watson’s speech has already proven to be a great step forward for feminism. Even under the cloud of online threats and harassment aimed at Watson for her activism, the campaign has grown stronger by the day. Watson has accomplished her goal of educating the world through her position in the United Nations and raise awareness of the importance of the movement for both men and women around the world. As Watson said during her speech, “It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals. We should stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by who we are. We can all be freer and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about freedom.”

Grant Stover

Nurturing OUr Nature: Beatle or Bobcat, You Can Make a Difference

By Grant Stover | Sep. 28, 2014

Paul McCartney, the former Beatle and renowned recording artist, launched the Meat Free Mondays campaign to help support the climate, personal health, end to animal cruelty, and, of course, our bank accounts.The musician has been an outspoken vegetarian for years, so it is no surprise that #MFMclimatepledge is catching fire. As a vegetarian, I’ve found the pledge rather easy, but the pledge should act as a call to all students that indulge in our animal counterparts. Not eating meat for even one day can make all the difference.Right now, our climate is failing and the biggest issue is that there seems to be nothing we can do in our everyday lives to change it. Choosing not to eat meat, whether all the time or once a week, can make a difference. Livestock production is a major factor in greenhouse gas emissions, and choosing not to eat meat can help lower gas emissions overall. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said we need to lower our emissions by 80 percent before 2050 to avoid catastrophic damage.Choosing healthier alternatives instead of eating meat can do so much to make you a healthier person. Meat has links to heart disease, cancer, strokes and other medical issues that could be avoided by simply lowering the intake of meat each week. By eating at the dining hall, it can be easy to eat what is available or maintain a habit, but there are many vegetarian options that are much healthier for such a crucial time period of our lives.Ohio University freshman Daniel Kington has cut meat and dairy out of his diet entirely. He said “burrito bars and salad bars are two of the best options in the dining hall. You have to be creative but that is what makes it fun.” Joel Nadler, another OU freshman, has also given up meat and dairy. He agrees with Kington, but has expressed concern with the dining halls. “Cutting out only meat is easier, but when it comes down to it, exclusive vegetarian dishes are usually not healthier alternatives,” Nadler said. “A big problem with vegetarian dishes is they are heavily dependent on sodium and cheese.”Animal cruelty is a very real and prevalent issue across the globe. I spoke to OU’s vice president of FoodMatters, Janice Brewer, and she said the organization spoke out in support of the Meat Free Mondays pledge.Brewer said there are options to buy humanely raised meat. She said “local, humanely raised and socially just meat is easiest to find at farmers market where the money you spend goes directly to the farmer.”Part of bettering our environment involves taking care of the other beings that inhabit it. Cutting out meat one day per week can dramatically change meat sales, which in turn can help the fates of these animals. If that doesn’t work for you, humanely raised products have the “Certified Humane Raised and Handled” label. So if you do buy meat, make sure that it is humanely raised.If you are currently on a, ahem, forced dining hall plan, then pricing of meat is not as much of a concern. To those who are not on a fixed meal plan, you might already know that meat is expensive. Cutting it out of your diet can save you money that could go to other expenses in a budget.I understand that it is a lot to ask of one person to cut meat completely out of their diet. I have been doing it for the past two years, and it can still be difficult at times. That is why the Meat Free Monday pledge works so well. It only requires one day for people to be a little more environmentally conscious, and if enough of us join we can make a lasting difference for a better world.

Bailey Breece

Societal Sexism: Looking at celebrities' leaked nude photos is a crime

By Bailey Breece | Sep. 25, 2014

Everyone is talking about “sex scandals” and leaked nude photos nowadays, and everyone has an opinion. Some people are willing to consider it the fault of the victim. “She shouldn't have taken the pictures if she didn't want people to see them,” however, is on par with “He shouldn't have been walking home at night if he didn't want to be murdered.”

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