Alcohol Enemas Lead to Suspended Frat... Time to Change Alcohol/Drug Education for Minors

An incident at the University of Tennessee involving a Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and alcohol enemas (never a good combination) led to a student's hospitalization as a result of his five times the legal limit blood alcohol level. CNN's article touches on the true issue of over-indulgence, "According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries." Although the usage of enemas as a means of delivery for alcohol isn't a widespread phenomenon according to Aaron White, an administrator of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the root of the problem is education. Binge drinking is America's way of reflecting ignorance and immaturity to the rest of the world, and yes, binge drinking is the direct result of outdated, unreasonable drinking laws such as the Zero Tolerance law. If you compare alcohol related incidents in any European country (where the drinking laws are either nonexistent or extremely liberal) with U.S. drinking incidents, you'll notice the difference. When one of the Lake County 19th District Court Judges stopped by DHS to patronize half of DHS' population, it was clear that there is a clear gap between teenagers desires to have a good time and the law. I am trying to describe reality without incriminating my peers and me. Why can my parents enjoy a glass of wine, but the law says I can't enjoy that same exact wine? Age isn't the problem when it comes to drinking. Developmental age is the true problem. I know that I am more responsible than the 78 adults (all of whom were much older than 21) I saw get arrested for DUI in one night in Scottsdale, AZ on one of National Geographic's alcohol documentaries. Alcohol will remain a part of America's society for the rest of its existence, so we must adjust our laws to demonstrate the importance of understanding the overwhelming effect alcohol has on mind alteration. I have a suggestion for District 113's administration: in eighth grade a recovering cocaine addict influenced me more than any other "Say no to drugs" educator including the patronizing judge who stated laws and consequences. He told me the "say no to drugs" doesn't work (obviously). He then went on to say one simple, but immensely significant thing, "Care about your life." This was the most powerful thing anyone has ever said to me, especially when it comes from the addict who was the only one of the 80 addicts in his halfway house to get clean. It is speakers like the recovering cocaine addict who influence and educate in the best manner. 

Final FIRE Thoughts

I understand where FIRE is coming from in terms of protecting individual rights, however, it is essential in any place of higher education for students to behave and speak in a way that reflects higher education. Any racist individual isn't a person of a higher education, therefore, universities should have the right to ensure behavior that demonstrates higher, open-minded education. The codes created by universities limit abusrd, racist, stereotypical viewpoints, but who cares. There is no place for discrimination in a place where prestigious degrees are earned.

UW-Madison Speech Codes

Madison's speech codes are categorized in the "red" category in FIRE's database. I believe speech codes are fair and necessary for a campus to run smoothly without discrimination being an issue. As a prospective student, I am proud of Madison's speech codes that limit students from acting in a discriminatory manner. Whether or not the speech codes interfere with the First Amendment isn't of my concern because I truly believe in Madison's speech codes' goal of preventing discrimination. Based on Madison's codes, it is fair to assume that its administrators would be offended by discriminatory behavior such as that of the students in the previous slideshow. I would most likely side with the administration's reaction to any discriminatory behavior that conflicts with its enforced speech codes.

Acceptable Behavior on Campus

The actions of these students who spray-painted themselves black is unacceptable. It's completely uncalled for and should be banned on college campuses not only because it is disgusting behavior, but also black fraternities could potentially retaliate on the ignorant frat boys who are dumb enough to behave and offend an entire population of human beings.

Anti-Islam Video: Ignorant Creation and Ignorant Response

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula must hate America as much as he hates Islam. His anti-Islam video bashes Islam's principles and portrays Islam in a dark, dark light. If Nakoula ends up being the proven creator of the video, it is fair to say that his motive for creating the video wasn't to "enlighten" the rest of the world regarding his completely absurd view on Islam. His motive was retaliation towards America. He knew, or at the least hoped, that publishing the video would result in violence targeting Americans around the world like it has so far. Nakoula was imprisoned in California for fraud in recent years. Was this his shot at hurting America the way America hurt him? As evil and naive as he maybe, Islam is similar to most religions in the sense that based on interpretation, peace is the goal. Some moron in California who despises Islam is just as evil as Islamic fundamentalists who despise Western civilization including America. 

Chicago Teacher Strike

350,000 students in Chicago remain affected by the Chicago Teachers Union Strike. School officials blame teachers for preventing students from learning by continuing to strike for nearly six consecutive days. However, there must be policies and contractual disagreements that teachers clearly have the right to strike in order to bring about change. The majority of Chicago teachers are immensely underpaid relative to the amount of time and resources they contribute to Chicago students. Whether or not Mayor Emanuel's "bullying behavior toward public school officials" is indicative of foul play amongst government officials remains insignificant. What's most significant is that the students return to school where teachers feel respected and fairly compensated for their work.

Oil Prices

Nobody in America can deny: we over pay at the pump more recently than ever. Prices jumped nearly 10% in August, forcing Americans to dig down farther into their wallets in order to get around. Don't let the government or oil companies fool you... They are out to get your money and increase oil futures in process. Sanctions imposed on oil-rich nations by our government affect every hard-working American. Gulf Coast refineries should be up and running in no time which should help ease the pain at the pump. In 2008, high oil prices were the talk of the town, but after the market collapsed, Americans were once again able to purchase gas at a reasonable price. Hopefully, gas prices can plummet soon without a national finance crisis to help force the decrease.