Unemployment could kill your post-graduate dreams
So you’re a college graduate and you’ve just received that coveted piece of paper saying you’ve managed to make it through four-plus years in an institution of higher education. You can’t wait to stick your foot in the proverbial door and start shaking hands and making connections. Unfortunately, it seems this well-worn scenario will have to take a backseat for the time being. According to a report by The Los Angeles Times, the U.S. unemployment rate hit a five-year high of 6.1 percent this August, with 605,000 jobs sliced since the start of the year. The recent government takeover of failing home-loan giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac means only worse news for our economy, a topic that will have no lack of discussion during this topsy-turvy election season.
– Matt Wavrin is a media arts senior.
Don’t treat the Hoff better than us
I didn’t attend the landslide victory over Idaho two weekends ago, mainly because I didn’t want to be a witness to a football crime. But David Hasselhoff attended the game with his daughter, who is a UA freshman. Both watched the game from the ZonaZoo section, which got me thinking: Isn’t the ZonaZoo section the UA’s student section? According to the athletics Web site, the ZonaZoo section is reserved for students only, and “”guest tickets are not available in the student section.”” In fact, not even Family Weekend tickets are available in the ZonaZoo area. So, is David Hasselhoff a student? A quick check of the UA phonebook reveals he is not. Can my dad come to the games with me then? The simple answer is no. My dad simply isn’t famous enough or rich enough. I suppose that publicity trumps the rules, but it would be nice if the university didn’t blatantly disrespect its students – students who pay top dollar to be a part of ZonaZoo. To break the rules for one family is offensive and unfair. Truth be told, it makes me want my money back.
– Justin Huggins is a senior majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology.
No, I don’t want to send a numeric page
Here’s my inquiry. We all own cell phones, right? We all understand the purpose of voice mail, don’t we? The concept is pretty much universally understood, isn’t it? So why, in our supposedly fast-paced world, does every single voice mail message in the world have to include that maddeningly slow female voice intoning, “”Please leave a message after the tone.”” And why, after that, do we have to be told, “”To send a numeric page, press one””? When was the last time anyone sent a “”numeric page””? Then, if you’re really unlucky, you’re told that “”when you finish recording, you may hang up, or, for delivery options … “” By that time, I’d wager most of us have forgotten what we called about in the first place. Cell phone users of the world, for the sake of everyone’s sanity, please figure out a way to replace that message with a “”Simpsons”” sound clip or something.
– Justyn Dillingham is the opinions editor of the Daily Wildcat.
You don’t win friends with salad…
A recent report by WebMD has come out that might explain why obese individuals are more likely to contract diabetes. The report said that the majority of people who are considerably overweight share a common trait – they have “”sick”” fat. The study said that apparently when you consume a truckload of junk-food you end up “”stressing out”” your fat cells, which, according to Temple University’s studies, results in them becoming “”fatigued and dysfunctional.”” In plainer terms, eating a whole bunch of greasy, salt-showered fast food is bad for you. In fact, all of that binge eating actually tires your body out. The study linked “”tired-out”” fat cells to producing proteins that actually resist insulin. Though the report is very informative, it seems like common sense would tell people that too much Taco Bell in a week isn’t so great for you. It shouldn’t be a hard decision: good health or a triple-meat triple-cheese? So to all those who still don’t realize three double quarter pounder meals a day aren’t the greatest for your health: newsflash, WebMD said it, so it’s official now.
– Isaac Mohr is a journalism freshman.