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Jordan Williams

The Good-isms: Educational activists receives some justice

By Jordan Williams | Sep. 14, 2014

This week, something wonderful made its way into national news; one of my heroes (or she-roes, as I occasionally like to call them), Malala Yousafzai, was finally delivered some justice from the 2012 attack that brought her to the forefront of the international women and children’s education movement. On Sept. 12 CNN reported that all of her attackers were arrested at last.For those who are unaware of what transpired, allow me to summarize: Malala attended a school for girls (founded by her father) in her home of Mingora, Pakistan. Once a fruitful spot for tourism, this city’s prosperity gradually declined due to the increasing control of the Taliban. At the time, the Taliban was constantly terrorizing girls’ schools. At the young age of eleven, Malala gave her first speech, imploring, “How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?” Less than a year later, Malala posed online as a BBC blogger to let the the world know how the Taliban was taking over and denying the education of young girls.When Malala’s identity from the blog was revealed, she immediately became a target of assassination. On the morning of Oct. 9, 2012, members of the Taliban stopped the bus headed to Malala’s school. One man entered and demanded to know where Malala was. The other girls on the bus looked in her direction, and the man shot fifteen-year-old Malala in the head. She survived miraculously, and soon after her recovery, her role as a women’s and children’s education activist began.With the full knowledge that she could be targeted again any day, she never gives up what she started before she was even a teenager. She published her autobiography, I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban in October 2013, a year after the attack. Malala has been nominated for multiple national activism awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize. She has also developed her own organizations. Learn more at Malala.org and TheMalalaProject.org.I found it difficult to relate this topic to current happenings at Ohio University. However, when I read of the capture of Malala’s attackers, I just had to share her story. She is the epitome of what I want this column to be about. With Malala’s everyday fight in mind, let me say this: What I love about our campus in relation to this issue is that everyone truly does have equal opportunity. Just in the past couple of weeks, I have discovered countless organizations and honor societies for any student on campus from any background or anywhere in the world.From my own experience, I know that education is the most valuable thing that can be acquired. My education has always been of primary importance to me. Education does more than enrich your mind and future; it enriches understanding, compassion and the drive to be something more.Like Malala says, “Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.”jw719111@ohio.edu

Zander Myers - Culture Shocked

Culture Shocked: Camping still worthwhile despite challenges

By Zander Myers | Sep. 14, 2014

The following statement may disappoint some people, especially since Athens is such an outdoorsy part of the country, but I feel very strongly about it and I feel that it must be said:I hate camping and other extended outdoor adventures.I do not make this statement lightly, and I really wish I did enjoy outings like this, but my reasons are very legitimate. Every time I have gone on an outdoor excursion, something bad has inexplicably happened. On my first weekend camping trip in seventh grade, I forgot that my very first cell phone was in my pocket (which I had only owned for a week) and I went swimming in the creek. Naturally, my phone was ruined and I spent the rest of the trip freaking out and worried that my parents would think something awful happened since they couldn’t call me.All in all, things worked out, at least until the next time I took another outdoor trip. In eighth grade, my class took a rafting trip; a tradition that the eighth graders do every year. It was a week-long trip and everyone always described it as a very enriching, life-changing experience. I was fated to be the outlier, apparently. After two days of general information about raft safety, environmental etiquette and such, we finally embarked on the river. Everything about the trip was exciting until my raft capsized and I was trapped under the water in a whirlpool. Being the third day of the trip, I was in no mood to step foot in a raft the next four days. Maybe it was the near-death experience, but I was 100 percent done.These trips would lull me into a false sense of security where I thought that the next time would be different…but alas, it never was. So, I decided just to give up and remain indoors.These aren’t the only two stories about how Mother Nature does not enjoy my company, but I will leave you with this: please, no one ask me to go camping or hiking or whatever-ing with you, because if you have read this, then you already know how I feel about trips of this nature (see what I did there?).One lesson I have learned though, is that in spite of how bad travelling and trips can turn out, we still embark, we take the gamble and roll the dice.Zander Myers is a senior studying English. How do you feel about camping? Email her at am154312@ohio.edu.

Sophie Kruse

Gamer Girl: iPod classic still reins supreme despite being discontinued

By Sophie Kruse | Sep. 14, 2014

I received some really bad news last week.Apple announced on Sept. 9 that they’re discontinuing the iPod classic—the original iPod created with the largest storage space available on their devices.To me, this news was nothing short of heartbreaking. My iPod is one of my most cherished devices that I can’t leave home without. Currently, it’s in great condition, but now I’ll be living in fear that anything could happen to it because I won’t be able to replace it.The first generation iPod was released in 2001 and was capable of storing 1,000 songs—making it have a 5 GB hard drive.Before the iPod, I did all my listening on a Walkman—forcing me to carry around all the CDs I wanted to use around with me. It’s safe to say the iPod was a big step up for me.The first iPod classic I bought was the 5th generation, released in 2005, when my pink iPod Mini met its fate. I loved my first classic until its death, which was when I replaced it with the 6th generation—the one I still use.There’s something refreshing about using a simplistic device like an iPod. There’s no touchscreen or fancy features—just the standard click wheel, a ton of music and even a few videos, if that’s what your heart desires.The battery life on the iPod is insane—I feel I can regularly listen to mine for a week or two before I have to charge it again.The main reason I’ve held on to my iPod for so long, instead of making the “sensible” choice to moving toward listening from my phone, is the battery life factor. My phone is used so much during the day that I end the evening with minimal battery life left. I really can’t afford much more usage on my phone. I also like having the devices separated. There’s been many times that my iPod has saved me from many long evenings alone in Alden—but also saved me from the distraction of constantly looking at my phone when the song changes.It also holds a TON of music. My current iPod is 160 GB, and I have 18,500 songs on it. It might sound like overkill, but I love being able to keep all of my music on it and not have to worry about going through and choosing a few to have on my device.The other thing I hate about streaming through a phone is that the ad-free, unlimited streaming apps (be it Google Music, Spotify or Pandora) cost money. Sure, it’s a small monthly fee, but I’ll just stick with my trusty iPod—it never charges me to listen.Sophie Kruse is a junior studying journalism and is a staff writer for The Post. Were you sad about the iPod news? Email her at sk139011@ohio.edu or tweet her at @kruseco.

The Post

Cultural Anime-tions: Manga and anime are rich in culture and community

By Kirsten Lindsay | Sep. 9, 2014

When I told my mom that I had joined Ohio University’s anime club (dubbed JMAGE), and was also going to write about anime and manga, it was not without embarrassment and a bit of shame. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not ashamed of what I like. But I know her opinion of it: she thinks it’s immature, for kids. That’s what most people think.

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