“FDA trans fat ban is a good call”
by Leslie Rich

The Food and Drug Administration announced Nov. 7 that it is considering a ban on certain types of added trans fats in food. This will increase the quality of fast food and hopefully decrease the rate of obesity in this country.

Artificial trans fats, or partially hydrogenated oils, may be banned from all foods, which would help prevent “20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year,” according to the FDA.

The FDA’s job is to ensure that we are eating safely. If it isn’t achieving that, then the fast food companies can give you anything they want and call it “meat.”

The State Press
Arizona State University

Full article here.

“Reform the Vote”
by Marshall Watkins

Voter ID laws consumed much of the media’s attention in the run-up to last year’s presidential election, and with good reason. Changing the rules governing who can vote where and when has the potential to reshape the fundamental dynamics of American politics.

Voter ID laws would have a very real and a very pernicious effect on the 3.2 million Americans who don’t currently possess a government-issued photo ID.

Those Americans tend to be disproportionately poor, elderly or members of minority groups groups that tend, in other words, to lean Democratic come election time.

Such partisan intent risks framing voting as a privilege rather than a right, to the distinct detriment of the American political process as a whole.

The Stanford Daily
Stanford University

Full article here.

“Focus on high-demand courses in UC online education”
by Alexandra Tashman

Overcrowding in general education and lower division major classes is a common part of the UCLA experience, something we tacitly accept as one of the downsides of attending a university as large as ours.

The Innovative Learning Technology Initiative, a program established in January 2013 by then-University of California President Mark Yudof, seeks to increase student access to high-demand courses by offering them online.

While the initiative has the potential to decrease overcrowding, online education is not without certain concerns.

To accomplish the goal of decreasing overcrowding on a long-term basis, the initiative should be targeted toward general education requirements on all UC campuses.

The Daily Bruin
University of California, Los Angeles

Full article here.

“Online classes result in a large disconnect”
by Abby Beach

Online classes have shown to form a disconnect between the students and the material that they are learning. In a classroom setting there are in-class discussions, lectures, arguments, connections with teachers and emotions. By taking a course online, the personal connections, discourse and enthusiasm from professors are lost.

“The face-to-face environment captures the kinesthetic engagement in learning that often is not represented in online courses,” said Kassia Dellabough, director at the Office of Professional Outreach & Development for students at the University of Oregon.

Online courses may be the right fit for some, but do not prove to be beneficial for everyone.

The Daily Emerald
University of Oregon

Full article here.