Home Stretch

There are 2 weeks before Christmas break. Although saying that seems like no time, these will be the 2 most stressful weeks of the semester. Luckily, I have no finals during finals week, but I do have 4 tests, 3 projects and other homework to be completed for my final grade. I hate this time of year, and I can't even get excited for Christmas because I'm always stressed out. But more than anything, I'm ecstatic to be done, have two journalism classes under my belt and be stress free for 37 days. Bring on the end of the semester!

Traveling over Thanksgiving

For most people, Thanksgiving is an exciting time to enjoy turkey dinner with your friends and family in the comfort of your own home. But for me, I haven't spent a Thanksgiving at home since I was 11. My family lives all over the United States: San Francisco, Seattle, New York and Wisconsin. When my grandparents were alive, we would always travel to Seattle, but since they passed away when I was 14, we began going to New York city to spend Thanksgiving with my cousin. I would consider my family very close, but the cost of traveling was too much every year to bring out 3 large families to one place. We would spend Thanksgiving in the city, at a nice restaurant in along the river, under the Brooklyn Bridge. For as long as I can remember, this felt normal to me. I was spending Thanksgiving with my family, and celebrating the holiday with people I love most and most importantly: great food. But being at home for the Thanksgiving holiday seemed silly to me. This year, it will be our first time going to Seattle to visit my aunt, uncle and my cousins without my grandparents. I predict this trip will be more nostalgic than the others, but regardless I'm excited to spend Thanksgiving at their home with people I love the most.

EXTRA CREDIT BLOG POST WITH PICTURE

At 10:30a on Nov. 8, Randy Picht introduced why he is so happy at RJI after being here for 29 years. The reason for this announcement was to announce a gift. According to the pamphlet, the gift "creates an endowment to permanently underwrite RJI media research." With Missouri being one of the top journalism schools, this gift promotes continuous innovation and succes of the school.

Chancellor Brady Deaton officially announced the gift and Roger Gafke, Steven Anderson and Dean Mills spoke throughout the event.

The gift is $30.1 million donated to MU. This is the largest gift granted to this school. The chancellor expressed his deep gratitude of this gift and is excited for the journalism school to progress even more. The money will benefit all the research and plans the journalism field has.

MU's Department of Art and Archaeology Hosts Ancient Exhibits

Mary Pixley has been working at the University of Missouri as an associate curator of European and American art, since 2007. Pixley works in the Department of Art and Archaeology and focuses mainly on art from 1300 until today.

"What makes our museum really special is that we are an encyclopedic museum and we have pieces that go tens of thousands of years before the common era," Pixley said.

Pixley helps organize exhibitions at the gallery and works on the intellectual component of the art, as well as the label matter on each piece. Because each piece requires so much research, Pixley's job is crucial to the accuracy of the displayed exhibit.

"Many of the oldest pieces on display come from Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt," Pixley said.

With so much history involved in each exhibit, Pixley explains that each exhibit fits well with the research interest of the University.


Photo 1: Pixley stands next to her favorite section of the European and American art exhibit in the Department of Art and Archaeology in Columbia, Mo., on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Photo 2: The Department of Art and Archaeology provides a European and American art exhibit in Columbia, Mo., on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Reasons I'm Voting For Mitt Romney

As the great Ronald Reagan once said, "Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives." Flashback on these past 4 years and ask yourself, What has Obama done to protect the people? What has he done to make our country a better place for it's citizens to live? Yes, during his presidency Osama Bin Laden was killed, but so was an ambassador and three other American diplomatic personnel.  Obama has inflicted a sense of dictatorship and decision making over the lives of ALL Americans. Our individual rights are diminishing at a rapid rate and with four more years of this guy say goodbye to choices that you want to make for your future AND that of your family. What we need is LESS government NOT MORE.

As a young voter in this modern age, it is crucial to stay informed. As we are transitioning out of our teenage years and into the real world, the political issues of this country begin to affect us more directly. We are in college for one reason and that is to become educated so that we can enter the workforce prepared to work hard, start a career and make a living. We will have families that need support, taxes we'll need to pay and healthcare we'll need to acquire. Obama's policies are making it harder and harder for our generation to do that.  During his first term, the deficit more than doubled, the number of families on food stamps increased to 46.7 million which is more than some entire nations.

The election of 2008 signified a substantial moment in history with Obama being the first African-American president, but the past 4 years have proven his unfulfilled promises and a failed job as president. Obama's big promise in 2008 was to unite America but what Obama has done is divide classes further apart and has lead Americans to a lower standard of living. Obama is a dishonest, power hungry, and incompetent man. Its time for a REAL change not Obama's change - what America needs is none other than the Grand 'Ol Party back in office. Mitt Romney has my vote for a number of reasons. Romney has experience in both government and the private sector.  He has run successful businesses, saved the Olympics and turned around the state's economy while being the governor of Massachusetts. For America, he plans to decrease taxes on small business owners. By doing this, those small businesses will be able to hire more people, lay off less and stimulate economic growth. What obama is doing is increasing taxes on small businesses thus decreasing the rate of job creation. This is important for college graduates because right now 50% of college graduates cannot find a job. In fact, there are over 12.5 million adults out of work.

Secondly, Mitt Romney has my vote because he and his running mate Paul Ryan have a plan that will create a more balanced budget and reduce spending on things that aren't crucial to the success of America. Romney wants to handle the deficit in a fiscally responsible way by creating jobs and cutting federal spending. Unlike Obama's approach, raising taxes is not the answer. Thirdly, Romney's steady, strong approach to the three debates, even during Obama's ruthless attack of his character, is the type of president, I want to see for this country, not somebody who will point the fingers but someone who can stand strong when times get rough. The debates were enough to prove that Romney has a strong approach and will not back down through anything.

In addition, Obama's healthcare, more commonly known as "Obamacare" will allow those without health insurance to be covered, at the expense of the American people's pockets. What people don't realize is that Obamacare is basically at tax - in 2013 there will be five major taxes that will come into force and more to follow--  with a total of $500 billion worth of taxes by 2018.  And for many, premiums will go up 11-30%.  In addition everyone will be forced to have health insurance or face a steep penalty. Those who that do have health insurance will no longer be able to use it.  With Obamacare, citizens can no longer freely choose their doctors but will be set up on a pre-chosen plan. Women who want to get mammograms aside from the time of their normal checkup, yeah forget it, your insurance won't cover it! This universal healthcare system Obama is trying to implement is already a failed plan. Look at Canada or countries in Europe, they have the worst healthcare in the world. In fact, some of those citizens come to America for proper treatment. This is terrifying as citizens in America, with new diseases and cancer being diagnosed daily. With Obama in office, this will become a full fledged disaster. Lastly, Romney is a true American that would never criticize, lie and abandon America, like Obama has. When Obama released his apology, he apologized for our freedoms of  speech and our opinions as Americans. No president should ever apologize on behalf of his country or go abroad to criticize America.

With Vice President choice, Paul Ryan, they bring a fresh outlook to America. Obama has been dishonest by saying he has brought bipartisanship to the legislature. Romney, as former Governor of Massachusetts, knows how to work with Democrats to actually create a more unified legislature. With Romney being a Mormon, it will promote even more equal opportunity and to criticize him on that front is wrong. Romney wants to better America, not swindle his way into office by luring certain types of voters by overgeneralized statements in his ad campaigns or attacking Romney by twisting his words.

At the beginning of his administration, Obama promised: "If I don't have this done in 3 years then this is a one-term proposition.”  Not only doesn't he have this done--  he has made it worse.  He doesn't deserve a second term.

What we see today is increased gas prices, more of a deficit than we could imagine, increased taxes on the middle class, fewer jobs and a divided country. Obama has gone against all the ideals of what America was founded upon. This great nation needs to be united once more with a leader who wants to unify and better this country.

I am proud supporter of Mitt Romney and his American ideals. I support his plans to create a unified country looking out for our best interest, and his plans to promote hard work. The future success of college students like me depends on change of leadership. This is the most important election of our time and voting for Romney will help get our country back on track.

At the beginning of his administration, Obama promised: "If I don't have this done in 3 years then this is a one-term proposition.”  Not only doesn't he have this done — he has made it worse.  He doesn't deserve a second term.

EXTRA CREDIT BLOG POST

On Friday morning, I attended the TAM Summit where William Kovacic, from the Law department at George Wash U, spoke.  Kovacic talked about the laws from the 1960’s compared to today. Back then there were more laws and importance in textile labeling. Today, it’s just as important, but is buried in one of the 15 divisions in the Bureau of Consumer Protection, one of the major FTC operating units. This is an issue because textile labeling is being forgotten, even though it still is as important as ever.

            If textile labeling was wrong, for example if something said 100% silk, but was not, the company could potentially lose sales for being dishonest to the consumer. Also the warnings may be different for some of the fabrics, potentially putting the consumer at harm. This is also applies to food. If we don’t know what is in the product, this could be dangerous. When certain products come to the US and doesn’t meet labeling requirements, Congress complains. But since textile labeling isn’t as much of a priority than anything else, how does it change? Coming up with a policy was Kovacic’s main concern. He described the physics vs. the engineers. The physics is easy to come up with, but the engineers have it hardest—how do you implement that?

            FTC’s main priority now is Modern Repositioning, which means changing the process to increased social awareness about the environment. The FTC is in the process of transitioning to “green” products and awareness. Although there are still positives about FTC, it is time for the industry to change its ways and focus on how to implement the policy, which was the purpose of this Summit.