Bye Bye Blogger

Sorry, but I will no longer be updating this account :(
But, you may now find me here: http://brittanyguilfoyle.wordpress.com/
Come follow me!

Moving to WordPress

Hello followers & random readers!
     Sorry for the lack of updates since December, but I was busy finishing my last semester of school and I've recently been dealing w/ some medical issues that have kept me away from blogging. However, I've decided to upgrade my blog (yay!). I'm currently in the process of converting all of my blog posts over to my new WordPress account! So, as soon as I'm all done, I will post the address of my new blog & deactivate this one. Get ready!

Connections and Changes

Hello blog readers!

I'm trying to do more in the way of connecting all of my social networks to make it easier for others and myself. So...

I just wanted to inform everyone that you can access more articles/columns I've written on this website: http://www.mytjnow.com/.

Also, you can find out more about me and the things I've done (my credentials) here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanyguilfoyle.

I'll be in the process of making great changes to my blog within the next month or so as well.

Until my next post, Happy Holidays! :)

Student Hero Newspaper Story

By: Brittany Guilfoyle

She takes a paintbrush to her canvas and finishes the last touches on the indifferent face of a young African boy. The powerful and motivational qualities of the painting characterize far more than just the boy, though, they represent the artist. Corinne Owens, daughter of Tim and Ruth Owens, hails from Summerville, S.C., and spends much of her time doing volunteer work in her hometown and in Rock Hill, S.C., where she is a senior at Winthrop University. At the age of 10, Owens volunteered for the first time when she helped build homes for Habitat for Humanity. Since then, a passion for helping others has only grown for the 21-year-old. Owens, an English literature major, works many hours throughout the week at The Limited in Pineville, N.C., but unlike many college students, she donates her free time to several good causes.

Establishing a legacy

As a student, she founded the Winthrop chapter of the African Awareness Coalition (AAC), part of the Progressive Student Network, and currently serves as the organization’s vice president. The AAC is a student-led organization that works to end social violence and conflict in Africa through political action, raising awareness and canvassing, according to Winthrop’s website. “In the past, we’ve (organization members) volunteered with and organized protests in Charlotte and we’ve lobbied in Washington, D.C.,” Owens said. “It’s really important for people to just know about what’s going on in Africa.” The AAC also uses the non-profit organizations Invisible Children and STAND to help inform others about the crisis in Africa; Owens said working for Invisible Children has been her best volunteer work experience so far. “I’m really passionate about their cause,” she said, “and anytime you really feel strongly about something, you’re going to enjoy it.” Last year, Owens became the 2009 campaign state director for STAND, based out of Georgetown, S.C.

Making a difference

She also works closely alongside Resolve Uganda, the organization More Than Me, which assists children in developing countries by getting them off the streets and into schools, and the Free People Free People organization, which rescues people from slavery and promotes freedom. For Owens, devoting her life to those in need is like a responsibility, she said. “I feel like we’re in this world for a certain amount of time,” she said. “If I’m a citizen of this community or of our world, being a part of it, I have to contribute.” And her achievements don’t stop there. Owens is a member of the Winthrop chapter’s Pre-Law Society and she works with Model United Nations. Her minor in peace, justice and conflict resolution studies also coincides with her membership in Amnesty International.

Enhancing lives near and far

At Winthrop, she serves as the community service chair for the sorority Sigma Sigma Sigma, where she contacts non-profit groups in Rock Hill and establishes partnerships with them. The sisters of the sorority then separate into teams and do volunteer work for these groups for a long-term, unspecified time period. Around the Rock Hill area, Owens volunteers at Safe Passage and has previously worked as a first-grade tutor at Oakland Avenue Presbyterian Church; she was a school youth adviser at Summerville Presbyterian Church in her hometown. Her love for working with people and for people drives her, she said, calling volunteering “one of the most rewarding experiences.” Owens is now in the process of helping to raise money for the Invisible Children Schools for Schools campaign that ends in December.

Looking ahead

As for her future plans, she said she wants to attend law school and work in public interest with the hope of advocating for children and eventually do legal work for a non-profit organization. “I want to volunteer the rest of my life; it’s what makes me happy, and I enjoy it,” she said. “So, it’s not really work; it’s a fun time.” Despite the fact some people may consider her a hero, Owens thinks otherwise. For her, volunteering comes naturally. “I don’t really think I’m a hero because I feel like I’m just doing what I should do and I feel like everyone else can do that as well,” she said.

Student Hero Slideshow: Corinne Owens

By: Brittany Guilfoyle

Student Corinne Owens devotes her life to helping others in need.

Owens, daughter of Tim and Ruth Owens, hails from Summerville, S.C., and spends much of her time doing volunteer work in her hometown and in Rock Hill, S.C., where she is a senior at Winthrop University.

This slideshow features pictures detailing the 21-year-old English literature major's work in a variety of the organizations and events she is involved with. These include:

• African Awareness Coalition (with the Progressive Student Network)
• Sigma Sigma Sigma
• Model UN
• Summerville Presbyterian Church middle school youth adviser

Additional organizations she volunteers for (not featured in the slideshow) include:

• Amnesty International
• Pre-Law Society
• STAND
• Resolve Uganda
• Invisible Children
• Safe Passage in Rock Hill
• Oakland Avenue Presbyterian Church first grade tutor
• Habitat for Humanity
• More Than Me
• Free People Free People

The slideshow mostly presents pictures from "I Am Abducted: Come to the Rescue," which Owens participated in on April 25, 2009. This activity, held in Charlotte, N.C., brought to light the issue of Joseph Kony's child soldiers in Africa.

Corinne Owens: Student Hero at Winthrop University

Corinne Owens

Winthrop Student Fights for Multiple Causes

By: Brittany Guilfoyle

Some people stop at nothing to help others, 21-year-old Corinne Owens is one of them.

Owens, a senior English literature major from Summerville, S.C., has spent the last 11 years of her life devoted to volunteering.

As a student at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., she founded the Winthrop chapter of the African Awareness Coalition (AAC) and now serves as the vice president.

Other clubs and organizations she is involved with include: Amnesty International, the Pre-Law Society, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Model UN, STAND, Resolve Uganda,

Invisible Children, More Than Me and Free People Free People.

Listen at: http://wugirl11.podbean.com/mf/web/w8q4cw/HeroPodcast.mp3 to learn more about Owens' life, what she does and what she plans to do in the future.

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South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was established to allow ordinary citizens to have access to information concerning government actions at many levels. The law guarantees every person the right to attain official documents and records and to attend government meetings. The General Assembly updated the law in 1987, 1998, 2000 and, most recently, 2003.

“The General Assembly finds that it is vital in a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner so that citizens shall be advised of the performance of public officials and of the decisions that are reached in public activity and public policy,” said Henry McMaster, South Carolina attorney general.

South Carolina’s FOIA is divided into sections that cover many different aspects of the law. First, it determines which government bodies are subject to the FOIA. If public funds support a body, or if a body expends public funds, then it is subject to scrutiny. However, health care affairs, medical disciplinary matters, case evaluations and peer reviews are “exempt” from the FOIA, according to www.scstatehouse.gov. Social Security numbers and student academic records follow under this category, too.

The FOIA applies to public records, which constitute books, papers, photographs, recordings, tapes and computer data that a public body has possessed, prepared or retained. But domestic security information and trade secrets are an exception. Any person may review a public item as long as it is not prohibited by other parts of the law. During business hours, certain basic records, such as meeting minutes, must be offered to the public on-the-spot wit

hout a written demand.

Citizens have the right to attend public meetings also. A public meeting is determined by if a quorum exists, which means there is enough people present to cast an official vote. This includes in-person meetings, social gatherings and conference telephone calls. If a quorum is present at a public business meeting, it should be op

en and announced to citizens and the media prior to its start, according to the official South Carolina FOIA code of laws.

Freedom of Information Laws exist that some people do not even realize:

• If a contract or property sale is being negotiated, these records may be protected from the public until after the deal is finished.
  
• The public may know the compensations of public bodies.
  
• If faculty members at state institutions of higher education file research records or collect data, they may be hidden from the public.
  
• Certain meetings regarding the investment of public employee retirement funds may be closed to the public.

“The best governments – state, county and community – offer the greatest access to their activities and records,” said John Shurr, chairman on the S.C. Press Association Freedom of Information Committee.

Sunshine Week, an annual nationwide campaign designed to encourage open government and freedom of information, recently ran from March 14-20. Numerous South Carolina media outlets and citizens participate in the event each year, which originally began in 2005. FOI laws are frequently called “Sunshine Laws” because they “let the light shine in on government meetings and records,” according to Shurr.

Check out this brief video for more information about Sunshine Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t2XNb6Zvrw

Obama Weighs in on Recession, Future

Many Americans today are familiar with the phrase "change we can believe in."

But what "changes" have President Barack Obama made since being sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2009?

He has tried to tackle numerous important issues, such as health care, education and the war in Iraq, but one of the main problems he continues to face has drawn much criticism from others - the recession.

When Obama began his first presidential term, the unemployment rate in this nation was 7.7 percent, compared to a now all-time high of 10 percent one year later.

What happened to the $787 billion economic stimulus bill that was passed into law back in February of 2009?

According to MSNBC.com, more than half of the seven million-plus jobs in our country have been eliminated since the recession began in December of 2007.

On the evening of Jan. 27, 2010, Obama will be giving his State of the Union speech, and some citizens are eager to hear what his next move will be concerning job losses in the U.S.

Republican Fears More Harm Than Good

In mid-November of 2009, Obama said, “The economic growth that we’ve seen has not yet led to the job growth that we desperately need.”

Some would consider this an understatement.

Senior Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, Representative Dave Camp of Michigan, rejects Obama's new ideas.

“What will help middle-class families most is creating jobs and reducing the unemployment rate, but these proposals won’t do either,” Mr. Camp announced. “Moreover, if these proposals are coupled with higher taxes or more mandates on small businesses, the President’s plan could end up making it tougher for middle-class families to find a job.”

Recession Impacts Americans

About 50 percent of Americans who are unemployed said the recession has been a "hardship" on them and caused major life changes, according to a recent nationwide poll of unemployed Americans conducted by the New York Times and CBS News.

In addition, only five percent of people said the recession has not had much of an effect on them. Twenty-two percent think the job market in their area will just get worse.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, said, "Americans are asking ‘Where are the jobs?’ But none of the proposals outlined by the White House today would, in fact, create jobs...It’s past time for the White House to scrap its job-killing agenda and work in a bipartisan way to create jobs for the American people.”

When will Americans see this "change" that we used to believe?

Obama to Reveal New Five-point Plan

Tomorrow night, Obama will explain a new agenda that could create more jobs for Americans and finally allow the economy to begin to heal.

The five key themes of this plan, according to politico.com, include:

• Nearly doubling the child and dependent care tax credit for middle class families making less than $85,000 a year
• Limiting a student’s federal loan payments to 10 percent of his or her income above a basic living allowance
• Creating a system of automatic workplace IRAs, requiring all employers to give the option for employees to enroll in a direct-deposit IRA
• Expanding tax credits to match retirement savings and enacting new safeguards to protect retirement savings, making it easier for families to plan for retirement
• Expanding support for families balancing work with caring for elderly relatives, helping them manage their multiple responsibilities and allowing seniors to live in the community for as long as possible

Maybe this time promises will turn into actions.

Crimestoppers Wants Deadbeat Parents

The York County Detention Center (YCDC) and the sheriff's department don't take unpaid child support fees lightly. They are always in search of York County's "deadbeat" parents, and, even citizens are encouraged to help in this fight for justice.

The YCDC Web site features a special section for the area's most wanted deadbeat parents, and it also provides information on how anyone can submit tips in hopes of bringing in these offenders.

If you know a deadbeat parent and would like to report him or her, Crime Stoppers is asking you to submit as much information you know as possible. Call 877-409-4321 to help, while remaining anonymous. You may be eligible for a cash reward.

To submit an online anonymous tip, click here to enter all information pertaining to a crime or wanted person.

Remember to keep the following questions in mind when entering information:

• How do you know about this crime?
• Did the person who committed the crime tell you about it?
• Do you know the name of the person who committed the crime?
• What does the person look like?
• Where is this person living or where does he or she hang out?
• When and where did you last see this person?

As of now, the number of York County deadbeat parents at large is 27 - two females and 25 males. These individuals owe anywhere from $3,619.22 to $105,699.64.

Please contact Crime Stoppers if you know any information regarding the following top three or any other wanted deadbeat parents of York County:

Tyrone Glover, 35, from Catawba, S.C., owes over $100,000 in back-child support. He was last seen on June 28, 2007, and also has a family court bench warrant for his arrest.

James Lee Johnson, 57, from Charlotte, N.C., owes $60,830.14. He was last seen on Jan. 1, 2001, and also has two family court bench warrants for his arrest.

Dennis Erby, 45, from Rock Hill, S.C., owes $51,303.24. He was last seen on March 22, 2007, and also has a family court bench warrant for his arrest.

York County Detention Center Protects Community

The York County Detention Center (YCDC) in South Carolina prides itself on keeping criminal offenders off the streets. Each year, hundreds of inmates pass through the YCDC and become confined to the inside of a cell. Listed below are mugshots and information regarding the 10 most recently arrested York County individuals (compiled from the sheriff department's Web site).

1. Terrice Milton Cherry, 23, was booked on Jan. 24, 2010. He is charged with driving under suspension and operating an uninsured motor vehicle (first offense). Cherry has also been booked three previous times from 2007 to 2009 for charges including: unlawful carrying of a weapon, probation violation, pointing and presenting firearms at a person and public disorderly conduct. He is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
2. John Frank Howell, 36, was booked on Jan. 24, 2010. He is charged with breach of peace. Howell was also booked once in July of 2008 on public disorderly conduct charges. He is from Hickory Grove, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
3. Damon Christopher Sumter, 36, was booked on Jan. 23, 2010. He is charged with driving under the influence (first offense). Sumter has no prior arrests. He is from Fort Mill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
4. Adam Kasey Martin, 20, was booked on Jan. 23, 2010. He is charged with malicious intent to personal property exceeding $1,000 (but less than $5,000), pointing and presenting firearms at a person and public and disorderly conduct. Martin was also booked once in May of 2007 for possession of marijuana (first offense), reckless driving and operating an unsafe vehicle. He is from Clover, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
5. LaKrystle Chinyere Caldwell, 26, was booked on Jan. 23, 2010. He is charged with speeding (over 10 mph but under 15 mph), transportation of alcohol with a broken seal in a motor vehicle, incorrectly displayed tag, giving false information and failure to maintain proof of insurance in the vehicle. Caldwell has also been booked five previous times since Oct. of 2001, on charges including: failure to appear, speeding, shoplifting, fradulent checks and commitment. She is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
6. Tarrance Antoin Barber, 38, was booked on Jan. 23, 2010. He is charged with shoplifting (third offense). Barber has also been booked four previous times from 2002 to 2009 for charges including: criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, assault and battery, failure to appear, kidnapping and burglary (first degree). He is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
7. Travis Quanta Foster, 28, was booked on Jan. 23, 2010. He is charged with burglary (first degree), armed robbery with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, assault and battery with intent to kill and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Foster has been booked three times prior in 2002 on charges of possession of crack, resisting arrest, possession of a handgun by a minor, failure to stop for blue lights and larceny exceeding $5,000. He is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
8. Ronnie Lamar Meeks, 28, was booked on Jan. 23, 2010. He is charged with possession of marijuana, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and possession of cocaine near a school. Meeks was also booked once in January of 2008 on possession of crack cocaine charges. He is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
9. Elder Exequiel Flores-Gomez, 19, was booked on Jan. 22, 2010. He is charged with holding for another agency. Flores-Gomez has no prior arrests. He is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.
10. Jaime Hernandez-Guerrero, 33, was booked on Jan. 22, 2010. He is charged with holding for another agency. Hernandez-Guerrero has no prior arrests. He is from Rock Hill, S.C. For his mugshot picture, click here.

Fiber to the Rescue

In the Western Hemisphere, especially in the United States, cardiovascular disease (CVD) rates continue to increase. It is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, along with cancer, which together make up 51 percent of all deaths, according to the 2009 Wellness Reports from the University of California at Berkeley.

The occurrence of this disease is partly attributable to unhealthy lifestyle patterns and diets that are high in saturated fat and sugar and are low in fruit, vegetables and fiber.

Studies Favor Fiber

Clinical trials, which evaluate the effectiveness of specific treatments for an identified medical condition, have proven that dietary habits affect multiple cardiovascular risk factors in both established risk factors (blood pressure, cholesterol levels and obesity) and new ones (inflammation), according to the American Heart Association.

In one meta-analysis, a healthy eating pattern was shown to reduce the risk of coronary death or nonfatal myocardial infarction (heart attack) when it was compared to an unhealthy eating pattern among men and women (mean age of 50) at the time of their dietary assessment, according to the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,” which often provides updates on the long-term effects of dietary patterns and the risk of coronary heart disease. A meta-analysis pools together the results of studies that have investigated a specific effect and develops a conclusion using the reviewed results.

Cohort studies, which follow a large number of people over a specific time period, have found a “consistent protective effect of dietary fiber on CVD outcomes,” according to “Cardiovascular Research,” a medical journal.

In fact, the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” reported that recent research in a national sample, conducted in the United States, has discovered a positive relationship between dietary fiber intake and inflammatory markers. Inflammation of the heart’s arteries, tissues or muscles can result in CVD.

Furthermore, a cross-sectional study, which determines whether any risk factors are present and can be associated with the development of a particular disease, analyzed the connection between dietary fiber intake and CVD risk factors in adult men and women. It concluded that those with the highest total dietary fiber intakes were associated with having a much lower risk of high blood pressure, which can foster CVD.

Watch What You Eat

Thirty-five grams of fiber is the recommended daily amount for men (25 grams for women).

Here are some fruits and vegetables that contain the most dietary fiber:

• Apples
• Bananas
• Oranges
• Spinach
• Artichokes
• Broccoli

In addition, saturated fat should be avoided and substituted with monounsaturated fat or polyunsaturated fat if possible. Saturated fat is found mostly in animal sources like red meat and whole milk dairy products. Fried foods, such as most fast foods, are cooked in oil that contains unhealthy trans fat; overweight people have more fat in their blood. These fats enter the bloodstream, form clumps and leave plaque on artery walls, which makes them narrower. High blood pressure and blood clots can result from this. Saturated fat also raises the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol that increases a person’s risk of coronary heart disease.

The article that focuses on the updated American Heart Association guidelines for cardiovascular health, Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter, advised people to limit their saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of their total calories, which is down from the suggested 10 percent in 2000.

Sugar has negative effects on the body, and the amount a person consumes in a daily diet should be restricted. Helpguide.org, a non-profit Web site, reported that in a year, just one daily 12-ounce can of soda, which is equal to 160 calories, can increase a person’s weight by 16 pounds; obesity is a risk factor for many different kinds of heart problems. Sugar, a carbohydrate, also fills the body with empty calories that lack essential vitamins and nutrients.

Discrimination Dominates Occupation That Reports on Discrimination

Newspapers often run stories about local and national diversity-related issues, but it’s within newsrooms across America where these issues seem to lie.

One-third of the U.S. population consists of people of color, but as of 2007, at least 392 newspapers had no minorities at all on their staffs, according to the article "Newsroom Numbers: Good and Bad."

Dori Maynard, president of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and a board member of the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, thinks newsroom managers should put as much effort into ensuring a diverse staff as they do coming up with creative story ideas.

"If we don't see much diversity of race and ethnicity in our personal lives," Maynard said. "it may be harder to take in our responsibilities to an increasingly mixed society."

Newsrooms Need Culture Shock

Many media researchers have identified what they consider a white-centered bias in the news, and according to experimental psychologists and human resources experts, hiring and promotion procedures may in fact "shut people out."

• The number of journalists of color within participating newsrooms has consistently stayed at approximately 13 percent for the past few years
• This percentage decreased in 2006
• Sixteen percent of online newspaper journalists are of color

The American Society of Newspaper Editors compiled these statistics.

Doomed Future?

Decreased circulation, increased publication costs and dwindled newsroom staffs have become the forefront problems facing newspaper companies today, but are managers really giving readers what they want?

"You're not going to grow your readership if you dismiss 30 percent of the population," Maynard said. "It just won't work."

Maybe, as an industry, we think that good intentions can make up for quantity, he said.

"An inclusive newsroom environment led to improved quantity and quality in news coverage of minorities," according to a recent study by researchers Ted Pease of Utah State University, Erna Smith of San Francisco State University and Federico Subervi of Texas State University-San Marcos.

Journalists can shift newsroom culture to reflect social reality if the right measures are taken.

Jessica Pickens - Fast and Furious

A video about drag racing...

Death Penalty Discriminates Against African-Americans

Capital Punishment in the United States, the most severe of all punishments, is unfair because it is discriminatory against African-Americans.

Fairness implies that any person charged with a capital crime offense, regardless of race, economic status or geographic location, will receive the same treatment under the law than any other person charged with the same crime, according to Diane Henningfeld, editor of "The Death Penalty – Opposing Viewpoints."

However, this is simply not the case in America.

It has been proven by various forms of statistical data that the death penalty defines race as a determining factor of who receives it.

Here are some shocking statistics, from editor Mary Williams, that prove the injustices of the United States' capital punishment system:

• Murderers of whites are four times more likely to receive the death penalty than murderers of blacks
• Since the death penalty was restored in 1976, only six white people have been executed for murdering a black person, while 112 black people have been executed for murdering whites
• More than 20 percent of black defendants who have been executed were convicted by all-white juries

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP), which is comprised of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Urban League (NUL) and 140 other organizations, complains that capital punishment is overwhelmingly reserved for racial minorities as well.

"We cannot be blind to the fact that actual executions have taken place primarily in the South and in at least a racially suspect manner," said Jack Greenberg, law professor at Columbia University.

Countless samples of statistical data and personal accounts support his allegation.

Race strictly disadvantages black jurors, black victims and black defendants.

For instance, in the 2002 U.S. Supreme Court case, Miller-El v. Dretke, a black Texas death row inmate, Thomas Miller-El, petitioned the federal courts to enforce the rule of Batson v. Kentucky, which prohibits racial discrimination in the exercise of peremptory challenges in jury selection. Miller-El claimed that Dallas County prosecutors engaged in a racially-influenced jury selection at the time of his trial in 1986 when they eliminated 10 out of 11 competent black panelists. Fortunately, prosecutors announced in July of 2005 that they would pursue a new trial. This information is compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Another U.S. Supreme Court case that fought racial discrimination was the notorious 1987 McCleskey v. Kemp case in which Warren McCleskey, convicted of armed robbery and murder, argued that the death penalty was racially bigoted.

In addition, a number of reported inaccuracies transpire in the U.S. capital punishment system involving African-Americans.

Errors in death penalty cases occur much more frequently in states with higher proportions of African-Americans than in states with fewer African-Americans, according to James Liebman, a professor at Columbia Law School.

"I think blacks get harsher sentences than whites and are accused more," said Samantha Furtick, a 20-year-old junior and graphic design major at Winthrop University. She is a capital punishment advocate who is actually aware of and admits that faults exist within the system.

“If I declare there is a racial issue at hand or there isn’t a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have,” said Peggy McIntosh, a scholar of women’s studies at Wellesley College and the author of "White Privilege." Her personal generalization reinforces the notion that Caucasians have superiority over African-Americans in society, which even extends to the courtroom.

To me, it is no coincidence that black defendants are much more likely to be executed than white defendants. The truth is that those who commit crimes against African-Americans are penalized less harshly than those who commit crimes against whites.

America has a system of capital punishment that results in inconsistent and arbitrary executions that perpetrate death to those not based on what they have or have not done, but what color their skin is.

School Voucher Programs - Helpful or Harmful?

An opponent of school voucher programs talks with three female opponents at a successful campaign to eliminate programs in Utah on Nov. 6, 2007.

School voucher programs are designed to provide students with a fixed dollar amount per year to attend the school of their choice.

The concept of these programs has been a principal topic politically, economically, constitutionally, and socially, and this concern has long been praised or detested by various kinds of people: the general public as taxpayers, students, parents, and teachers.

In my opinion, a problem exists when funds for school vouchers rival with funds improving and benefitting America’s public schools.

First, school vouchers are unconstitutional because they violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment that calls for the separation of church and state, according to William Trainor, writer of the article "The Controversial School Voucher Issue."

Secondly, competition raised by school vouchers will result in the poor being left behind in substandard schools.

This income-influenced choice using school vouchers will initiate division and segregation among young and impressionable students. Why encourage a practice that Americans fought so hard to get rid of in the '50s and '60s?

Public schools are entirely funded by the U.S. government with U.S. tax dollars. If the parents of a school-age child choose for their son or daughter to attend a private school, then a voucher is distributed to the family, and it pays the cost of tuition at the private school.

Some people argue that, since every parent has the option to send his or her child to a religious or non-religious school, the government would not be infringing the First Amendment.

However, it is my conviction that school voucher programs infringe upon the wall of separation between church and state; vouchers offer state funds to religious schools.

Actually, about 85 percent of private schools are religious, according to the National Education Association (NEA).

In fact, the NEA thinks school vouchers are a means of "eluding constitutional prohibitions against sponsoring religious practice and instruction."

In a major 2000 court case, Bush et al v. Holmes et al, Florida's school voucher program was ruled unconstitutional by a state circuit judge.

In addition, a 2000 Cleveland, Ohio, voucher program was rejected after a ruling found that the program was unconstitutional (Zelman v. Simmons-Harris).

“Americans must be free to contribute only to the religious groups of their choosing," according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU).

To me, religious ideas and practices do not belong in the classroom, but in homes and churches.

If the government begins to fully subsidize religious schools, then what other kinds of schools could it start to back as well?

Many supporters of school voucher programs think that, without competition, not a large enough incentive exists to improve efficiency. Private schools funded by school vouchers usually have a good reputation and produce positive results. They have accountability and can be more flexible with their teaching techniques. Measures of character and academic achievement are usually always better at private schools, too, according to Joe Messerli, author of the article "Should Government Vouchers Be Given to Pay for Private Schools?"

Lastly, Messerli writes that enthusiasts of school voucher programs deliberate that the option of expensive private schools often leads to schools that are slightly segregated, however, proposing vouchers would "present more diversity to all schools since choice would no longer be a factor of income."

In my opinion, school voucher programs do not offer a better alternative to government-provided education.

Choice will take away necessary funds from public schools and, consequently, the quality of public education in America will suffer. A voucher program is an unsatisfactory way to regulate access to an education.

Cost effectiveness is another problem with school voucher programs.

Instead of spending the reported $65 million a year by foundations and individuals to promote vouchers, according to the NEA, they should be using that money to help fund and improve already-established public schools.

Public schools are failing because they cannot manage to cover the escalating costs of teachers, technology, security, books, and supplies. They are also subject to government supervision and increased rules and regulations. A stricter control is placed on the teaching methods and education in the public school system. However, private schools are not held responsible to any oversight organization.

It is my belief that vouchers are not intended to assist low-income children; they are part of an elitist strategy to fund students in private schools.

“With the help of taxpayers’ dollars, private schools will be filled with well-to-do and middle-class students and a handful of the best, most motivated students from inner cities. Some public schools will be left with fewer dollars to teach the poorest of the poor," according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Moreover, private schools are often very costly and are not dispersed in urban or inner city areas, therefore, impoverished parents who cannot afford the private tuition have to resort to the public schools in their district, according to Messerli.

This practice leads me to believe that vouchers generate greater segregation of students by race and wealth.

Isn't America supposed to be the land of equal opportunity?

Heartbreaking News Improves Health

He ate like almost every other carefree kid who grew up in the southern mountains of Elizabethton, Tenn. Fast food, fried food and milkshakes were his “artery-clogging” foods of choice.

However, Lawrence Timbs, now 61, still managed to keep a lean physique. As a young adult, he had no health problems related to his non-nutritious eating habits.

After graduating from high school at age 17, he joined the United States Air Force and served four years. He eventually earned a bachelor’s degree from Christopher Newport College in Virginia and a master’s degree from the University of South Carolina. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Iowa while working as a journalism instructor.

He worked in Shelbyville, Ky., for seven years as a general manager, editor, news editor, and reporter for Landmark Community Newspapers, Inc. as well.

Timbs first arrived at Winthrop University in 1985; he was in his late 30s. Not until 10 to 15 years later, however, did the effects of his “voracious” appetite seem to catch up with him.

Weight gain became a serious issue for him in 2005, and he started to notice that he did not have any energy. The problem grew even worse the following year, but he still was not too concerned. By 2007, he could not walk up a staircase without “huffing and puffing.”
“I was in denial,” Timbs said.

Some people face the “nutrition facts of life” at an early age.

Winthrop nutrition professor Alice Sutton, 57, grew up in various parts of California eating her mother’s cooked-from-scratch foods and nutritious meals. She never ate fast food, drank sodas or had sweet tea in her home. Sutton said her mother’s ways taught her the importance of maintaining a well-balanced, healthy diet.

Eventually, she earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of California – Davis and a master’s degree in public health from the University of California – Berkeley.

Before teaching at Winthrop, she worked for 25 years as a clinical dietician. Her work experience includes counseling people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Sutton also worked as a public health nutritionist at high-risk maternity clinics and with pediatricians.

Because she did most of her work in North and South Carolina, she said she “understands Southern eating patterns and how they changed in the past century.” She also said she knows how these patterns have influenced health and longevity.

In early 2008, at a weight of 206 pounds, Timbs finally came to the realization that something was wrong. He took a stress test at the Veteran’s Hospital in Johnson City, Tenn. One of his cardiologists saw problems with the results, so he had to have a heart catheterization procedure. The chief of cardiology revealed that his heart had one blocked artery and another that was almost blocked.

In the Western Hemisphere, especially in the United States, cardiovascular disease (CVD) rates continue to increase. It is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, along with cancer, which together make up 51 percent of all deaths, according to the 2009 Wellness Reports from the University of California at Berkeley.

The occurrence of this disease is partly attributable to unhealthy lifestyle patterns, like those of Timbs, and diets that are high in saturated fat and sugar and are low in fruit, vegetables and fiber.

Timbs’ cardiologist prevented him from going back to Winthrop until something was done to correct his heart problem. The solution was double-bypass open-heart surgery in April 2008 at the Asheville Veteran’s Medical Center in North Carolina. He thinks the need for surgery came partly as a result of his poor diet.

Clinical trials, which evaluate the effectiveness of specific treatments for an identified medical condition, have proven that dietary habits affect multiple cardiovascular risk factors in both established risk factors (blood pressure, cholesterol levels and obesity) and new ones (inflammation), according to the American Heart Association.

Before his surgical procedure, Timbs blogged on Monday, April 1, 2009, about his thoughts. He wrote about how he was “just waiting and trying to stay positive.”

Fortunately, the surgery turned out to be successful, and he referred to it as a “transformative experience” and a “wake-up call.”

During his recovery, his doctor advised him to change his lifestyle by eating healthily. He understood that, in order for this to never happen again, he would definitely have to make that change.

Some people do not make the change until it is too late. On Saturday, May 26, 2007, Don Thompson, a 66-year-old retired exterminator, suffered a massive heart attack at his home in Inman, S.C.

Following his typical weekend routine, he woke up around 6:30 a.m. to read while enjoying a big bowl of Lucky Charms with two-percent milk. He changed into clothes he could get dirty since he was going to spend time tinkering in his workshop in the garage and later do yard work.

Thompson was out there for about two hours before he started to feel ill.

“It felt like a volcano was erupting in my chest,” he said.

The tightening and pain in his chest grew worse, and he began to develop breathing difficulties.

When he went inside his home, his wife Julie immediately became concerned and drove him to the hospital.

Plaque buildup had formed in the arteries of his heart and created blockages, which led to the heart attack and, subsequently, quadruple-bypass open-heart surgery on Thursday, May 31. He was clinically declared dead twice on the operating table.

His unhealthy diet, which consisted of Julie’s sweet homemade desserts, he believes, heavily contributed to his heart troubles.

“Before my heart attack, I was like the man in those Hungry Man commercials,” he said. “I ate large portion sizes and loved my meat.”

Over two years later, Thompson is back to helping his wife landscape the yard and singing in the Motlow Creek Baptist Church quartet.

After his heart surgery, his doctor, like Timbs’, advised him to alter his eating habits.

“This is the only life I have. I need to take better care of it,” he said.

It took him almost a year before Thompson to “feel like himself” again.

“It was a slow and frustrating process,” he said, “but taking the advice of my doctors about what to eat and how to exercise really made the difference.”

In one meta-analysis, a healthy eating pattern was shown to reduce the risk of coronary death or nonfatal myocardial infarction (heart attack) when it was compared to an unhealthy eating pattern among men and women (mean age of 50) at the time of their dietary assessment, according to the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,” which often provides updates on the long-term effects of dietary patterns and the risk of coronary heart disease. A meta-analysis pools together the results of studies that have investigated a specific effect and develops a conclusion using the reviewed results.

In his blog, Timbs wrote about how hard it was to be “smart” about what he ate and did. He began to alter his food choices by avoiding the consumption of red meat and fatty foods. Recommended instead were skim milk, grape juice, carrots, oatmeal, and baked white meats.

By also incorporating more servings of non-starchy fruits and vegetables into his diet, the amount of fiber in his body increased as well, which has proven to be beneficial to the heart.

Cohort studies, which follow a large number of people over a specific time period, have found a “consistent protective effect of dietary fiber on CVD outcomes,” according to “Cardiovascular Research,” a medical journal.

In fact, the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” reported that recent research in a national sample, conducted in the United States, has discovered a positive relationship between dietary fiber intake and inflammatory markers. Inflammation of the heart’s arteries, tissues or muscles can result in CVD.

Furthermore, a cross-sectional study, which determines whether any risk factors are present and can be associated with the development of a particular disease, analyzed the connection between dietary fiber intake and CVD risk factors in adult men and women. It concluded that those with the highest total dietary fiber intakes were associated with having a much lower risk of high blood pressure, which can foster CVD.

Thirty-five grams of fiber is the recommended daily amount for men (25 grams for women). Eliminating saturated fats and sugary sweets from his diet was partly responsible for his quick recovery from the heart surgery procedure. Saturated fat should be avoided and substituted with monounsaturated fat or polyunsaturated fat if possible. Saturated fat is found mostly in animal sources like red meat and whole milk dairy products. Sutton explained that fried foods, such as most fast foods, are cooked in oil that contains unhealthy trans fat; overweight people have more fat in their blood. These fats enter the bloodstream, form clumps and leave plaque on artery walls, which makes them narrower. High blood pressure and blood clots can result from this. Saturated fat also raises the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol that increases a person’s risk of coronary heart disease. The article that focuses on the updated American Heart Association guidelines for cardiovascular health, Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter, advised people to limit their saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of their total calories, which is down from the suggested10 percent in 2000.

Sugar has negative effects on the body, and the amount a person consumes in a daily diet should be restricted. Helpguide.org, a non-profit Web site, reported that in a year, just one daily 12-ounce can of soda, which is equal to 160 calories, can increase a person’s weight by 16 pounds; obesity is a risk factor for many different kinds of heart problems. Sugar, a carbohydrate, also fills the body with empty calories that lack essential vitamins and nutrients. More than a year after his surgery, Timbs continues to be cautious. He exercises at the Lois Rhame West Health, Physical Education and Wellness Center three times a week and has dropped down to 183 pounds.

He has experienced many positive things from dieting and exercising, which is something he thinks everyone should be doing, too.

“I have more stamina and I feel stronger,” he said, “I can ride a bike and hike.” Exercise and weight control should be incorporated as a routine part of a person’s lifestyle in order to stay healthy.

The American College of Sports Medicine stated that health benefits occur with energy expenditures as low as 700 calories per week, with more benefits occurring at higher levels. These benefits include maintaining a healthy heart. It also reported that the suggested daily energy expenditure for health is 150 to 400 calories per day.

Timbs’ new commitment to eating healthily has allowed him to take on many active roles at Winthrop. He now serves as the faculty adviser to the Winthrop chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, is on the South Carolina Press Association Collegiate Division Committee and is the adviser to The Johnsonian weekly student newspaper.

Instead of giving in to the sweet, creamy milkshakes, juicy hamburgers and crispy french fries, which he still “dearly loves,” he has opted not to return to his unhealthy southern Tennessee ways.

Senior Caty Fullerton, a 23-year-old journalism major from Spartanburg, S.C., is a former three-time student of Professor Timbs.

She had him for media writing before his heart surgery, and she had him again for news editing and feature writing after his heart surgery. In addition, Fullerton worked alongside Timbs on the Winthrop chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists from 2007 until 2009. She was the president and he was the faculty advisor.

Before his heart surgery, she recalls him complaining about being tired sometimes, even though she never really noticed him being sluggish.

“His biggest change, to me, was definitely emotional,” she said.

After the surgery, she remembers him talking about how he had to change his lifestyle and eating habits in order to stay healthy. He told the students in his classes that he had to work out more, and Fullerton said she has run into him exercising at the West Center and other places often.

Personally, she thinks diet and exercise certainly play a large part in heart health. In her opinion, whether a person only diets or only exercises, either way presents some effort on his or her part.

“You can’t be too healthy,” she said, “but some effort is better than none.” Growing evidence, from numerous sources and Timbs’ experience, indicates that heart health can be managed with a proper diet rich in fruits, vegetables and fiber, as long as saturated fat and sugar amounts are regulated and exercise and weight control become a permanent part of a person’s lifestyle.

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