Gene testing for diseases and genetic disorders is one thing. Gene testing so that parents can force their children into a lifetime of a certain sport that a gene test said they had an aptitude for is just creepy.

I think for some parents and children, gene testing could be a good thing. Parents could have an idea on where to start when trying to get their children involved in sports.

But you know some parents would take it over the top. Overbearing parents would try to live out their glory days of athleticism during youth, pushing their children to succeed in sports they may not have any interest in pursuing.

While I don't completely oppose gene testing to determine athletic aptitude, I think it has the power to pigeon hole certain children into activities that may or may not be interested in. Not everyone plays sports to become an Olympian. Some play sports for the mere love of the game, regardless of their genetic predisposition to be talented at it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/sports/30genetics.html?pagewanted=2&sq=sports%20gene&st=cse&scp=1

Bush determined to fuck the Earth

In his last months as president, Bush is determined to cement his legacy of having the worst environmental record of any president in history. He is currently trying to making it easier for coal companies to dump rock and debris from mining operations into nearby streams and water sources. The EPA and the Sierra Club both state that dumping these mining materials into streams and rivers would accelerate the destruction of the land. Bush is determined to fuck the Earth before he leaves office. 

Not only is he determined to fuck Earth, he is determined to fuck America's workers. His administration is also trying to make it harder for safety regulations concerning workers' exposure to toxic chemicals to be passed. 

Obama vehemently opposes both of these efforts of the Bush administration. I think it is ludicrous that the Bush administration, in its final months, is trying to work against what Obama will try to do in office. Instead of working with Obama and finding middle ground, Bush is only concerned about leaving his own legacy: fucking everything up. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/washington/03mining.html?_r=1&ref=us

Cat Head

I enjoyed Roger Stolle's lecture on Mississippi blues culture.

Stolle's mission is to promote from within.  This mission applies to Mississippi, blues culture and his record store in Clarksdale, Cat Head Delta Blues. Stolle believes that promoting from within allows you to have something to export, and if you have something to export you can draw people to what you are trying to promote. 

Stolle believes that the blues are part of a living history and that is why he seeks to promote it. I think Stolle is part of the living history himself. Cat Head Delta Blues is retaining a unique piece of Mississippi culture that many people had deemed dying.

I respect Stolle for his passion and work in retaining the blues in Mississippi and promoting this unique piece of our state culture.

A Cure for TB?

This article was about the development of a new antibiotic, myxopyronin, which may be a cure for TB and other deadly drug-resistant strains of disease. Though it has only been synthesized in labs and has not been tested on humans yet, this has the potential to be a miracle drug for millions of people. I think that the development of new antibiotics is crucial, since over time diseases can become resistant to even the most potent antibiotics. Several deadly strains of staph and tuberculosis have become resistant to drugs that once were able to treat patients. If scientists can develop powerful new antibiotics, millions of lives could be saved. I think doctors are contributing to this phenomena of drug resistance by over-prescribing antibiotics. Antibiotics should be used sparingly, in the case of a patient developing a deadly disease later in life and needing strong antibiotics to be cured. The development of myxopyronin is coming at an important time, in a world of increasingly over-prescribing of antibiotics and the increasing resistance of disease to many once powerful drugs. 

This article's headline grabbed my attention. I wanted to read about a potential cure for TB. I think the lead was striking too. The words "on the verge of" made me want to read about how close these scientists actually were to developing these antibiotics. Overall, I think this was a well-written story with good human interest. 

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1851375,00.html

House of Sun and Water

This story was in the Houston Chronicle, about an eco-friendly house in Austin, Texas. The couple, Laurel Trevino and Carlos Torres-Verdín, recently built Austin's first LEED Platinum house, the greenest rating a home can receive from the U.S. Green Building Council. I enjoyed reading the story because it interested me, however, the most descriptive part of the story was the picture. The reporter described how the house functioned, but there was no real human interest aspect to the story. I would have like to read about why the couple built the house and what other people thought about it. Also, the first quote comes too late in the story; I would have liked to see a human come in earlier than the fourth paragraph. I would have also like to have read about what the house looked like and not just how it works.

www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/green/6060052.html

Daoud Hari, somber as a sage, with skin so dark and shiny you can catch your reflection in it, spoke of his escape from the Darfur genocide while we all sipped Starbucks lattes and nodded empathetically. 

Hitchin' at the Crossroads

"Hitchin' at the Crossroads" is an excellent example of a human interest story. The story does a good job of seeking ordinary people and telling us how they are being affected. We are introduced to four different types of people and are shown a piece of their life. However, I feel like the story leaves the reader wondering what the long-term affects of hitchin' are. We are told why the people are hitchin' and how they are affected in the moment, but we are never told what happens to them in the end. It is clear that the reason the story is being written is for human interest. People are interested in different types of lifestyles and want to read about how other people live. There are no real bureaucrats in this story; the hitchers in the story are the only sources. Key questions raised by this story are why do these people feel they have to resort to hitching, is it safe, and how are other people affected by these hitchers? Overall, I enjoyed reading the story but felt that it seemed a bit irrelevant to most readers. Readers want to read about other people's lives in relation to their own lives. I think the story could have done a better job of letting the reader know how they could empathize with these hitchers and how hitchers can affect their personal lives.

Rose lecture

Like Bill Rose, I entered the world of journalism unintentionally. Rose calls his journey to becoming a journalist an "accident." Rose's story struck a chord within me; I never quite meant to be a journalist either. I was going to be a pharmacist, but the more I dreamed about a future spent at Walgreen's, the more I wanted to us pharmaceuticals, not make them. Like Rose, I found myself a freshman in college in need of some courses to take. Several of my friends were taking journalism classes, so I decided to sign up for some too. I was never interested in the media before I began taking journalism classes, but as the semester progressed, so did my interest in this foreign industry. What interested me the most about journalism was the fact that every day holds the opportunity for a new story or a chance to make something better. I found hope in the fact that everyday was going to be different, because I found my future as a legal drug dealer monotonous and dull. I like change and excitement, and journalism has given me that. Rose's lecture reminded me of why I am grateful I found the world of journalism.

Lab 1

Oxford schools need volunteers to help tutor and mentor students this year. 

Oxford High School needs at least 25 more tutors and Oxford Middle School needs 100. 

"The need is especially high for high school students at risk of dropping out and students in lower grades," school officials said.

Volunteers can make a difference in these students' lives just by encouraging them and helping them build an academic foundation.

Anyone interested may apply at the district office.

Unedited story version

A new school year; fresh resolve; renewed enthusiasm. For some. Hopefully for many. But not everyone.
There are lots of reasons why some children do not face a new school year with optimism: little home encouragement, low self-esteem, inadequate educational foundation, poor classroom achievement, no dream of the future.
Volunteers can make a difference. Volunteers are making a difference. Schools need tutors and mentors for elementary, middle school, and high school students, especially for high school students at risk of dropping out. And volunteers are beginning to respond. Due to a concerted effort during the past year, 20 mentors were recruited for Oxford High School and 25 for Oxford Middle School. More are needed. Many more. In all the schools. For example, OHS needs 25 and OMS 100.
The greatest need for tutors is in the lower grades, school officials say. They hope that the tutoring relationship might develop into mentoring. Anyone interested may apply at the district office.

Reader Questions:

1.  Do volunteers need experience?

2 . How are volunteers and students matched?

3. Is there any attribution?

Christenberry Exhibit

As I entered the Christenberry exhibit “Site/Possession,” I was unsure of what the exhibit was really about. The guard at the front of the museum very solemnly asks for me to leave my belongings at the front desk. I am told that the narrator will lead me through the controversial “Klan Room Tableau.”
A thick red curtain and two security guards stand between me and the exhibit. The narrator explains to me that what I am about to see could produce strong emotions due to the graphic nature of what I am waiting for her to stop talking about so I can see.
Small coffins. Sketches of hooded figures. Noose-strung Klansmen dolls dripping with candle wax. Robed men in a jail cell.
Nothing like the graphic scenes and violent scenarios that were racing through my mind before stepping behind that curtain.
With all of the hype and seeming “controversy” surrounding the exhibit, I think some of the power of the exhibit was lost. The exhibit was intended to create an atmosphere of fear and loathing of the vile Klan. I was more afraid on the other side of the curtain. Had I viewed Christenberry’s work with no expectation or preconceived notion of what it was going to be like, I may have been more shocked and absorbed the message of the exhibit to a fuller extent. I left wondering why I was not trusted to carry my own purse with me or why a narrator talked her way through my entire experience of the work, forming opinions and trying to simulate emotion for me.
I understand that there has been some controversy over the nature of the exhibit, some people not understanding Christenberry’s display of the Klan. Some even want the exhibit down. But I have to wonder. If the museum had let the public form it’s own opinion on the extent of the controversial nature of the exhibit, would some members of the public still find that the exhibit was so controversial?

Editor's Credo

As a journalist, I strive to seek and exploit the truth. I will use the powerful tools I possess as a journalist to promote justice end enhance people’s lives. Adhering to a set of my own ethical guidelines, I will make honesty and timeliness my primary concerns. I will not use my power as a journalist to promote myself or an unjust cause; my focus will be to provide the public with information that is relevant for society to function.