The All State

» JOSEPH JOHNSON
In response to an article in the latest issue of The All State, I have some deep concerns I hope somebody can address.

When I read the title implying Chick-Fil-A is discriminative and gives money to organizations that are discriminating, my first thought was they give money to the Adolf Hitler foundation, or some other truly evil foundations. What I found was they are giving money to Christian organizations.

Some of these organizations have done very good things with families, communities and providing ways to live a better life. Some of these organizations are nonprofit or use the profits strictly within the organization.

Also, a lot of the people affiliated with these organizations volunteer their time to do service for their community. I’m curious to know what the Gay-Straight Alliance has done for its community, outside of helping themselves.

Some of these organizations firmly believe in the Ten Commandments. If the Gay-Straight Alliance is against the Ten Commandments, what are they for?

My other question is, if Chick-fil-A were to give money to the Gay-Straight Alliance, why would they need this money? What would they use the money for? It is hard to pick on organizations that serve the community when your organization only serves yourself.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to pick on anybody. I just want to know what services the Gay Straight Alliance has provided for anybody or what would they do with any money donated to them.

Right here in Clarksville, one such organization called Mana helps feed the homeless, the only real organization in Clarksville to do so on a mass scale.

This organization is Christian-run, and strictly counts on volunteers who donate their time.
Because of this, they are a Christian organization. I wonder if the Gay-Straight Alliance has something against them too. TAS

» Patrick Pierce – ppierce3@my.apsu.edu

One of the myths about going green is getting started costs a lot of money. Truth be told, there are several ways one can go green without ever breaking the bank.

If you are like me and are a college student on a budget or simply want to spend less, you can still make a positive impact on the environment without ever spending a dime. In fact, you can potentially even save money over time. Here are a number ways you can help make a difference.

1. Stop drinking from plastic bottles. Each and every day, I see several people across campus drinking from a plastic bottle. A typical soda from a vending machine can cost $1.25 and buying one everyday to quench your thirst can be expensive. You can always reuse a plastic bottle, though, right?

Well, not really, because the components which make up a plastic bottle can pose serious health risks and, when broken down, can leech toxins into your drink.

An alternative is to buy a metal bottle. The initial cost is about $5 from your local Walmart, but you can reuse it without the risk of health issues. Just remember to clean it properly.

2. Another efficient method is to replace some, if not all, your light bulbs from standard incandescent bulbs to spiral CFL bulbs, or Compact Fluorescents. Here’s a situation where there is a small initial cost. The average CFL bulb utilizes about 75 percent less energy and lasts much longer. Not only would you be using less energy, you would get the same amount of light and save money on your next electric bill.

3. Find alternative means of transportation. In this day and age, driving is almost a necessity to get from place to place. Key word — almost.

There are other means of transportation, including riding a bike or just walking, which can be much healthier for you and cut back on costs of filling up your gas tank.

This isn’t possible for every situation though. It’s nearly impossible to buy a week’s worth of groceries and walk back home with them, but you can be smart about it. Combine errands for the week into one trip or consider carpooling.

4. Take shorter showers. I’m bad at this one myself. I love my showers in the morning, but taking a five minute shower over a 10 or even 15 minute shower makes a significant difference to both your wallet and the environment.

It’s true, the Earth is composed of 77 percet water, but of that 77 percent, only a mere fraction of a percent is usable for human consumption.

There isn’t an endless water supply, so we need to do all we can to sustainably use the little water source we have. This is a start, and it’s truly a simple concept, but it can make a huge difference.

5. Unplug unused chargers and appliances. This is another idea many people don’t think about as efficient. However, even if the appliance isn’t being utilized, it is still taking energy in when it’s plugged into the wall. Similarly, as I mentioned in a recent article, when you aren’t using your computer, turn it off and then unplug it. This is such a simple concept many of us overlook, but it can become noticeable, financially and environmentally.

There are many other ways to go green efficiently that require little to no initial cost. Don’t wait until Earth Day to start making a difference for the environment.

Give these ideas a try, or go bold and find some of your own. So what are you waiting for? Go green today; save green tomorrow. TAS

» Ashlie talley – atalley2@my.apsu.edu

Recently, a new video about the situation in Uganda has gone viral. Kony 2012 is calling us to do something to stop the man who is behind the killings and forced sexual labor happening there right now, Joseph Kony.

Although I have yet to meet anyone who supports this video and donates to the Invisible Children Inc. campaign, I don’t believe they are a sincere organization with honest goals to use your money the way they say they will. Doesn’t anybody do their research before committing to these organizations?

This has nothing to do with the rumors Kony is dead, and has been for the past five years. According to allafrica.com, Kony made a phone call in 2008 proclaiming he is not dead. Whether the statement is true or not is unimportant considering his army still manages to create chaos across northern Africa.

Ending the tragedy in Uganda is an expensive task. I want to point out 32 percent of the overall donations given to Invisible Children — the organization behind Kony 2012 — was sent to Uganda.

However, when you visit the webpage that assesses the organization, charitynavigator.org, you notice they made roughly a total of $13.7 million last year, and spent somewhere around $8.8 million altogether on the project.

That is by word of their independent tax service in California. They refuse to allow an external tax service to view their files, another red flag. What do they have to hide if they are using the donations honestly, and how do we know these numbers are accurate? And if they are accurate, why wasn’t the rest of the money used?

I would also like to point out near the end of the Kony 2012 promotional video, the narrator calls for action to assist in funding the United States military to take down the Lord’s Resistance Army, which Kony leads.

Wouldn’t we all like that? The problem is, our military has been deployed to Uganda where the LRA hasn’t been in six years. According to the news website allafrica.com, the Ugandan government has warned against this specific misrepresentation.

They were finally driven out in 2006 and, as mentioned in the Kony video and stated on their website, have been in the Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan ever since.

In the video there is a clip in which an email from the White House is read out loud and specific words are highlighted to draw the viewer’s attention.

If you actually read the other statements on the letter, it specifically says all 100 soldiers deployed are sent to Uganda and mentions nothing of soldiers being deployed to the states where the LRA is currently occupying. This is shady on the part of the American government, considering we have issued troops to that part of Africa even though there is no longer an active conflict, coincidentally roughly six months after a large oil reserve has been found in Uganda.

The fact they cover up their tax information and openly admit to facts that contradict what they support is reason for concern. It’s as if they are telling the truth, yet attempting to divert the viewer simultaneously.

The platform is we should donate to help the military aid in the training of the Ugandan army, but they no longer have anything to fight, and where is the help for the other countries that are now dealing with the problem?

Perhaps Invisible Children Inc. is being honest, by some stretch of my imagination. But the contradictions are untrustworthy. I would not give my money to these people. TAS

» Trynica daniels – tdaniels8@my.apsu.edu

By the time young adults begin college, many have already been in relationships and experienced the nasty phenomenon of a breakup. Breakups can occur for a number of reasons, but one of the most devastating reasons for a breakup — one that crushes self-esteem and destroys trust — is infidelity.

Traditionally, cheating involves something like having two girlfriends at the same time or having sex with one man even though you are engaged to another.

But in the age of technology, some profess cheating can happen while someone is sitting down in a chair, tapping keystrokes and looking at a screen.

“Sexting and Internet photos and the kinds of things we’ve been hearing about on the news are definitely infidelity,” reported family therapist Dr. Lindle Mintle to CBN News. “Whenever you betray the covenant of marriage by going outside the marriage to fulfill a sexual need without your partner, that’s infidelity.”

Specialists in this touchy gray area have established one very simple guideline with which to monitor behavior online. If you would feel guilty sending it with your significant other beside you, or you feel like you need to keep your Internet activity secret from him or her because you think they would feel betrayed, then it’s cheating, plain and simple.

The majority of Americans consider emotional betrayal to be equivalent and no less despicable than the physical act of cheating. A poll conducted by ABC News reported 64 percent of adults believe if a person in a serious relationship participates in suggestive conversations on the Internet, they are being unfaithful.

It’s easy to accidentally cross this blurry line when typing away on the Internet. Generally, the Internet promotes a feeling of anonymity, which leads to feeling your actions on the Internet are harmless. But innocuous flirting with some stranger on the Internet can easily escalate into full-blown infidelity, as the flirter begins to speak more and more often with the digital object of his or her desires and perhaps forms an emotional connection, or even begins to fantasize about being with this other person.

Easily-accessed websites, opportunities to privately browse or clear history and a lack of understanding there is any wrongdoing being done contributes to this slippery slope that is unfortunately all too easy to fall prey to.

It’s important to remember with the click of a mouse, you can lose a relationship you’ve been building for years, and with a few offhand keystrokes, you can break the heart of the person who means the world to you.

However, relationships can sometimes be strengthened after adversity if the two parties can come clean with each other, acknowledge their mistakes and learn from them.

Internet cheating is the same as any other kind of cheating, and requires the same careful avoidance or, if the deed has already been done, the same counseling and healing. TAS

» andy wolf – awolf@my.apsu.edu

When I was 16, I got my first tattoo. Luckily, my parents were getting a divorce, so nobody seemed to notice. I eventually got more, each tattoo drawn by myself or my sister.

Each piece was a symbol of an era I felt was important to remember. During the Iraq War, I tattooed my name, Social Security number and blood type to my chest so my remains could be identified in the event I was blown up or executed by potential captors.

I acquired more tattoos: memorials of fallen brothers, battles fought and awards earned. But like any career in life, my military service came to an end. The uniform came off; the skin did not.

The very next week and 20 tattoos later, I made my way to the Kentucky State Police headquarters.

I had acquired an impressive service record in the past few years and had accumulated a large number of hiring points that set me apart from other candidates.

A few hours later, I stormed out, having not only been rejected, but replaced in line by two less-qualified individuals who were out of shape and who had even openly bragged to the rest of the candidates about cheating on the entry exam.

It wasn’t so much they had something I didn’t; it was I had something they didn’t — tattoos below the elbow.

I marked it down as a loss for the KSP and carried on looking for more ink-friendly departments. It wasn’t the end of the world, but it still resonates with me to this day.

We are usually first judged by our appearances. I look pretty “intimidating” until you actually talk to me. Some people wear piercings and get tattoos to stand out, and some get them to remind them of points in their life. Some tattoos are hand-drawn by the ink-bearer, others are unoriginal designs from a wall.

In a politically-correct society where some people are hired or not hired because of ethnicity, is it so wrong to consider the inkwork needled into the skin of potential candidates, employees or suspects?

While common sense may dictate yes, the resounding answer has and, for quite some time, will continue to be no. When you got that tattoo or piercing, you accepted the responsibility and potential judgment may befall you as a result of it. Is it fair? Probably not. But life isn’t fair, folks. That’s just the way it is.

I wasn’t some kid who just wanted a tattoo. I bore the names and symbols of a time in my life where I can proudly say I stood tall with some of the finest men our country has ever borne and I have no regrets. I’m not the only one.

In previous wars, people wrote about soldiers and “the things they carried.” This generation’s war might as well be called “the skins they carried.”

I accept the potential judgment of a pinup girl bearing my old unit insignia and a sniper rifle. I proudly bear the Latin phrase “Memento Mori” (remember you will die) on my forearm, a reminder of the abuse I suffered as a kid and how only what I do in the present will echo when I am nothing but dust.

When I wake up in the morning and stand in front of the mirror, I see a Combat Infantry Badge — proof I engaged the enemy in close combat — and a tattered American flag to remind me this country is not the same as it used to be.

I know this market makes it even harder to get work. People with real world experience often take a backseat to being hired due to kids with a fresh four-year degree.

The same goes for tattooed and non-tattooed people. Frankly, I know people will be quick to judge me the moment my dress shirt sleeves ride up a little or I have to wear a T-shirt for a physical test.
Someday, someone will take me and be glad they did. After all, my scars prove my worth. TAS

» patrick pierce – ppierce3@my.apsu.edu

Spring break is the most anticipated week for college students. This is a week when a college student mentally pictures beaches and sun, having a good time and simply being away from anything related to school work. It’s the idea of “getting away from it all.”

I view spring break a little bit differently. Yes, I too am glad to be out of classes for a week, but I don’t consider beaches and partying as my spring break of choice.

In fact, a beach trip might be fun and relaxing, but I consider such a trip to be unproductive. I don’t gain any knowledge — nothing to really get out of a trip to the beach, other than a bad sunburn. Instead, I suggest an alternative to the typical beach trip — something that can be more productive to you.

There are two alternative spring breaks a college student can choose that are productive to the student. The first option would be simply stay away from beaches. Instead, localize a trip to a state park or enjoy the surrounding areas where you live. By doing this, you greatly decrease the amount of money you would be spending.

As transportation needs increase, so will the price of fuel required to travel. Several hours in a vehicle isn’t the best way to spend the day either, while a local state park would be a couple hours of travel time. Flying isn’t any better financially.

Avoid all of this unnecessary hassle and spend a week in the mountains or a state park. I guarantee the results to be far more rewarding, and believe it or not, you might learn something new.

The other option is slowly becoming more popular in this day in age. This option would be to volunteer time to an organization, gaining experience, knowledge and the rewarding feeling of accomplishment.

You might be asking, “why would I want to ever consider volunteering during spring break? That’s blasphemy.” Volunteering is sought by graduate programs, so if you have an interest in grad school, you would already be one step ahead of someone who has never volunteered. More importantly, however, you would be doing something meaningful for someone or something around the world.

There are several programs you can apply for as an alternative spring break. In fact, many universities design programs as alternative spring breaks for students.

APSU has offered alternative spring break trips since 2009. These trips are opportunities for students to visit new places, meet and work with new people and help individuals in need. This year, APSU is going to Outer Banks, N.C. to volunteer at the Hatteras National Seashore and Jockeys Ridge State Park, while learning history of the area, all at a mere $65.

I view it this way; I can spend several hundred dollars to travel to Florida, sit on the beach with thousands of other college students, finding the worst hotel available due to space and financial restraints and not getting anything productive out of it.

Conversely, I can spend a minimal amount of money to travel, volunteer in a state park which will help with grad school, enjoy the outdoors, learn something new and make a difference in the world. I’m no genius, but this seems a bit self-explanatory. TAS