The healthcare reform bill signed by President Obama on Tuesday March 23will bring change to the state of Floridian college students’ healthcare, though the costs and consequences of the bill are still debated among students and professionals.

Unlike the previous policy that allowed dependents to be covered until the age of 22, the new legislation requires insurance companies to allow coverage of dependents up to the age of 26. This legislation has been found favorable among many students, who instead of having to worry about the expense of health insurance upon graduation or post-graduate work can now have the comfort of extended coverage on their parent’s plan.

“A lot of kids in grad school or those trying to get their masters or go to law school have found themselves going a semester or two without insurance,” said Katie Showman, professor of health economics at Florida State University. “Now, they can stay with their parents.”

This legislation isn’t confined to just students. Even young adults who are unemployed or working part time have the option of still staying on their parent’s insurance.

Some students see this as way to protect against unexpected expenses a young adult may face.

“Most of the people who don’t get health insurance, it’s not because they can’t, it’s because they don’t think they need it, and that ends up coming back to bite them,” said Joseph Schweitzer, a junior political science and international affairs major and president of FSU College Democrats. “They decide to go without it for a few years and then get sick in that period and end up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in hospital costs that come back for the rest of their life.”

Other students see the federal mandate of extending insurance coverage as unnecessary government interference with America’s free market economy.

“I’m an advocate of freedom for individuals, and the individuals that own and operate these companies, so the CEO’s of the company, they should be able to run it in the manner they see fit,”  said Jesse Deyu, a junior political science major, and member of the FSU College Republicans. “They shouldn’t be required by law to provide you with healthcare up until a certain age. That should be their choice. It’s their company, they own it.”

One aspect of the reform causing major debate is the federal mandate to purchase a health insurance policy. Although there was consideration of the government providing a public option to compete with private insurers, the final bill removed that option. As of 2016,  95 percent of U.S. legal residents are going to have to purchase insurance, or pay a fine of either $695, or 2.5 percent of the individual’s taxable income, whichever amount is greater.

Some constituents, like Dr. Showman, foresee some undesirable consequences of this bill. As she sees it, the mandate would tend to raise insurance premiums. However, the reform requires that insurance companies gain government permission to raise premiums.  Because of this government regulation, some insurance companies may not be able to generate profit or cover costs, and thus be forced out of existence.

“I think you’re going to see some insurance companies leave the market, and say there’s just too much government interference,” said Showman.

Another concern is that the bill will help lower the premiums for the elderly or those with pre-existing conditions, but at the cost of higher premiums for younger healthy people, such as college students.

“This is at a time when we need to be saving and investing our money,” said Kendalyn Schiller, a first year criminology major. “When we get out of college, and we’re young and healthy, and we think we’re invincible, we don’t have money to waste on buying higher health insurance premiums.”

Dr. Showman echoes Schiller’s concern.

“Because you’re not allowing people to choose the type of plan as much as they could before, and certain things have to be covered by the insurance company, I think you are going to see younger people have higher relative premiums, and the elderly have lower, or people with preexisting conditions have lower relative premiums.”

The reform has also generated concern over the lack of healthcare workforce to keep up with the inevitable increase in health service demands. With the new reform, Showman says the number of people on Medicaid, the state sponsored health care option, will increase by 50 percent.  The strain of this dramatic and rapid increase in customers on the healthcare workforce will create a demand for more healthcare service workers that many people may be reluctant to join because of the increased government interference.

“I think you’re going to see a lot of people maybe not entering the medical profession that were planning on doing so otherwise, just because of the increase in administration and bureaucracy,” said Showman.

Some students remain faithful in the free market economy to take care of the increased demand for health insurance workers.

“I look into it as basic economics,” said Schweitzer. “Students who are coming into college now see that in a couple years there are going to be millions of more people with insurance. That’s money to be made.”

Schiller echoes Schweitzer’s optimism.

“I believe in supply and demand,” said Schiller. “If the free market says, ‘Hey, we need more doctors and nurses,’ then the market will make that an incentive. If doctors and nurses are in short supply, their salaries are going to go up, and more people will go, ‘Hey, look at the salary they’re making. I need to get in that industry.’”

For a legislation steeped in debate on every facet, one point of consensus remains: things are going to change for the health insurance system in America.

“This legislation is huge,” said Schiller. “It’s going to change the lives of every single one of us.”

Originally featured in the April 2010 print issue.

Imagine a student in this situation:  After a hard week of exams and classes, a group of friends decides to smoke a few bowls at their apartment. Suddenly one student seems to be having a bad experience, showing all the signs of becoming an obituary entry very soon. As a witness, there are only a few options for action–let them sleep it off, perhaps permanently, or call the police and risk prosecution (to the fullest extent of the law) for being present and possibly for possession.

Neither of these options is ideal. This situation is what the Florida State University chapter of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy is working to prevent. SSDP is a national organization with a full agenda of harm-reducing campus drug policies that could save lives. The SSDP is currently working to instate a Good Samaritan policy, a form of medical amnesty that enables the individual to call in drug and alcohol related medical emergencies without the fear of penal recourse. With SSDP serving the campus community, in a sensible future, helping a roommate, friend or stranger can be the first option instead of the last.

Recent meetings have featured anything from videos on LSD by National Geographic to documentaries on Marijuana. But it turns out, according to PR Director John Mola, raising LSD awareness or increasing knowledge about the affects of Marijuana is a relatively low priority for the SSDP. They are not simply a pack of druggies gathered to encourage others to join and only set on legalizing habits but are admirably working for the safety of all students, drug users and not.

“We are all about harm reduction,” SSDP president Lauryn Harris said. The SSDP recently held a safety meeting where they taught attendants how to respond to an overdose. “We were aiming to make it into a sort of workshop,” Lauryn stated as she and John then demonstrated the Bacchus Maneuver, a technique for positioning an unconscious person safely. “Okay, I think this leg goes here, arm up. . . and then turn them over,” John spoke as he tooled around with the maneuver. With a tug on the arm, Lauryn rolled onto her side, safely.

Both John and Lauren passionately stated that students on campus have the authority to set drug policy and agenda but disappointedly remarked that there is not enough emergency help advertisement.

Lauren enthusiastically relayed that FSU SSDP chapter is always active, such as with Recognition and Response, an Overdose Prevention Meeting. She recounted, “We have met directly with Healthy Campus Committee about setting drug policy on campus.” They have hosted guests such as a First Responder from Thagard Health Center, who came and physically showed students how to help someone and how to recognize an overdose: something as simple as pinching a fingernail and seeing if it turns pink-white-pink, flicking their nose to incite a response, or checking for clammy skin.

SSDP feels such knowledge is essential for all students. Regardless of habits or clique’s, it is not uncommon to experience a drug-related emergency situation at least once in college. Whether with alcohol or an illegal substance, all students need to be educated in order to be comfortable helping someone in danger in order to prevent overdoses. Being a top ten party school has its responsibilities! Member Brennan Paedae openly declared, “It is the prohibition of drugs is what makes them more dangerous.”

Among informing students how to respond in drug-related emergencies, SSDP member Brennan Paedae, insisted that SSDP plays an active role in the drug-war as well, working with FSU’s NORML chapter on the petition to decriminalize marijuana in Tallahassee, but felt that NORML was more of a community-type organization and SSDP, activist, here at Florida State.

“It’s also really important to get the right message out. A good policy doesn’t help if no one knows about it,” John Mola said, finalizing the interview, “Safety is our number one policy over punishing, getting more people to call for help.”

Interested in joining SSDP or just want more information? Check out their Facebook Group or website for weekly meeting times, information, and events.

Originally featured in the April 2010 print issue.

On March 31and April 1, Florida State University’s Collegiate Merchandizing Association held Rent a Puppy Event to raise money for the local animal shelters and raise awareness about adopting dogs.

“This is a really cool idea all of us who live on campus can’t have dogs,” said Melanie Rowe, Community Service Chair of CMA. “What a great way for people to get their puppy fix and at the same time be attributing it to a great cause.”

FSU students Michelle Burkhelder (Left) and Colleen Delaney play with Lil' Jude - a puppy the rented for 15 minutes.

Rowe found the idea by Googling “unique fundraising ideas.” She found that a couple of colleges had hosted the event successfully before. One college made $500 in one day. The CMA event charged $3 for 15 minutes with a dog and $5 for half an hour. All proceeds went to the Capital Ark Animal Shelter.

“I’ve been working on this idea since late January,” said Rowe.

She contacted several animal shelters across Tallahassee to get puppies and dogs for the event, including the Tallahassee Shelter and the Chat of Wakulla County Animal Adoption Center.

“Dogs are in and out of shelters every day. They get adopted and stuff like that, hard to nail down stuff in advance,”said Rowe. The organization had to postpone the event, scheduled earlier last week, because the shelters didn’t have any puppies.

There has been some interest shown in adopting the dogs, but no one has committed.

Dogs like Rose (featured above) were able to raise money for their shelters by playing in the sunshine all day.

“In the United States, there are approximately 8 million homeless pets,” said Row.  “Constant effort of shelters, across the Us to raise awareness about the animals, these are great animals, it makes me so sad when people go to breeders and pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars when they can go to shelters and pay a fraction of that price.”

In Tallahassee there are a couple thousand homeless pets. The group also tried to promote spaying at neutering at the event. They wanted to inform students that having their dogs fixed helps prevent future generations of homeless animals.

“The hard thing is that people are always going to favor puppies over older dogs, we’re seeing it here at the event,” said Rowe.

The only negative thing at the event seemed to be that there was a limited amount of puppies. Students waited patiently around the tented area to hopefully get a chance to play with the puppies.

“We would definitely like to host this event again next semester,” said Rowe.

On Friday at 6 p.m. hundreds of Florida State University students and Tallahassee community members overfilled the FSU College of Medicine auditorium to listen to the words of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Rigoberta Menchu Tum.

The event kicked-off the PeaceJam Southeast conference that met at FSU this past weekend. PeaceJam is an international educational program based out of Denver, Colo.,  that is built around Nobel Peace Laureates “who work personally with youth to pass on the spirit, skills, and wisdom they embody.”

The FSU Center for Leadership and Civic Education is the arm of the university that sponsors PeaceJam.

“Saturday and Sunday all weekend, and all over campus, there’ll be about 550 high school and middle school students from all over the Southeast region of the United States,” said Rody Thompson, local director of the PeaceJam program.

The remainder of the conference was closed to these high school and middle school students attending, and the mentors affiliated with the PeaceJam program. This pubic talk, however, gave the rest of the community a chance to hear a Nobel Laureate speak.

“We allowed our students and community members a very rare opportunity to hear somebody of this caliber speak and to get to meet somebody who is a Nobel Peace Laureate,” said Jaime Bayo, PeaceJam intern and program host for the event . “And also, we got to get the word out there about PeaceJam and what we do here at FSU.”

This is the second annual PeaceJam. Last year was the first time FSU hosted the event. Every time FSU hosts the PeaceJam conference, a Nobel Laureate comes to speak. The remainder of the conference revolves around educating youth about the laureate’s accomplishments in hopes of inspiring young people in the process.  Last year, FSU hosted Betty Williams. This year, Rigoberta Menchu Tum of the Maya Quiche in Guatemala was honored.

“Many of the young people in our country are struggling with the identity of peace,” opened Rudy Balles, an associate of the PeaceJam headquarters in Denver who introduced Tum. “We are very honored to bring one of the greatest leaders of our time of indigenous people.”

Tum grew up during a 30 year period of war in Guatemala, a time in which over 200,000 Guatemalans were murdered and the military brutally attacked the Mayan people. The war and its militants destroyed 450 Indian villages, creating one million refugees. The war not only ravaged Tum’s country, but her family.

“My father was burned alive,” she said in her speech translated by Dr. Delia Poey. “My mother was tortured and humiliated and assassinated. One of my brothers was executed, another one was burned alive. I lost a lot of friends in the armed conflict in Central America and in Guatemala. And I lived in exile.”

In response to the unjust governmental practices and human treatment, Tum and others spoke out. After seemingly perpetual moving and hiding, she eventually became the world spokesperson for her people. In 1992, she became the first Native American and the youngest woman ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on behalf of the rights of indigenous people around the world.

“All of us for as long as we live have a mission for humanity,” said Tum. “And this is what I come to share with the young people. You can have creativity. You can have passion for humanity. You can’t only theorize humanity.  Humanity is our own capacity to do something beyond ourselves, in other words to transcend, and you are the new generation that will transcend.”

The event was so widely attended that the coordinators had to add an overflow room at the last minute, in which the lecture was fed in through a video feed in order to accommodate the abundance of attendees. Even then, seats were filled to capacity, as numerous people stood against the walls of the extra room determined to hear Tum’s words.

“There were so many people who came out to listen,” said Leslie Oxford, an FSU freshman who attended the lecture. “That really blew my mind.”

Over this past spring break, Oxford visited a village in Chichicastenango, Guatemala on a mission trip with the FSU Wesley Foundation. The crew of new FSU students that attend the campus ministry spent the 10 days of their spring break working on a construction project and interacting with community that belongs to the same Quiche tribe that Tum belongs. Oxford’s own personal experience gave her deeper appreciation of Tum’s lecture.

“It’s true the way she was speaking about it,” Oxford said. “Guatemalans are so happy and vibrant, and they love life. But at the same time, they feel hurt very deeply, and I almost feel like they don’t talk about it enough. I was very encouraged that she actually talked about the pain that Guatemala has been through.”

Sean Chinn, a fellow FSU freshman, came out to the event in hopes of gaining a deeper understanding of leadership, as demonstrated through Tum’s example.

“I think college students can finally understand that leadership isn’t a positional thing,” said Chinn. “It’s not based on your title, or where you start, but it’s where your leading people and how you lead them.”

Julie LeBlanc, an FSU junior and employee of the FSU Center for Leadership and Civic Education involved with the PeaceJam activities this weekend, saw the lecture as an opportunity to consider what peace really is.

“We talk about peace, and in a sense ‘peace’ has just become a buzzard,” LeBlanc said. “But I think when you really get down to the nitty gritty and look at it, really look at what peace is, it really starts with an individual. It starts with everyday actions, and I think it’s a really good self-reflective process to look and see that peace isn’t just a peace-sign, or a symbol. It’s really who you are and it speaks to your character.

In her speech, Rigoberta described peace as being achieved through a balance:

“Peace is not just no war,” she said. “Peace is finding that equilibrium against hate.”

Oxford saw this quest for equilibrium much as LeBlanc did, emphasizing the importance of individuals “just knowing about things that are going in the world, and being aware of social injustices happening in front of you.”

For her, like LeBlanc, the action of making peace is not as intimidating as it might appear.

“So many times people just don’t even notice the small things, and everything starts off with a small deed or action.”

The event’s coordinators were very thoroughly impressed with the turnout, and hopeful about the message conveyed the FSU and Tallahassee community.

“Anybody can be a peace maker,” said Jaime Bayo. “You don’t have to be a president of a country, or a powerful lobbyist or law maker. You can just be a regular, everyday person, which is what Rigoberta Menchu Tum was.”

To date, 4,378 U.S. Soldiers have been killed in the war on Iraq since its commencement in 2003. To honor these fallen soldiers and support those still in the fight, FSU’s student organization, the Collegiate Veterans Association hosted its first annual “Run for the Fallen” 5k marathon on Saturday. Nearly 100 runners came out to show their support.

CVA’s Vice President, Staff Sergeant S.  Martin, notes the significance the marathon’s date bears to the war on Iraq.

“We [wanted] to do it on the 20^th of March because the 19^th [marked] the seventh year anniversary of the war,” said the eight year military veteran.

This run was an all-inclusive event and the Collegiate Veterans Association, whose organizational objective is to provide a smoother transition for entering and current college veterans, made it a point not to discriminate against veterans of past wars.

“While the focus [was] on the [existing] war and the conflict in Afghanistan, we [didn’t] want to leave out the Vietnam and WWII Veterans in the community…we [didn’t] want to forget about any conflict,” said Martin, who also ran in the event.

Run for the Fallen originated in 2008 by John Bellona as a means to honor Michael Cleary, his friend and previous college roommate who had been killed in combat. This run inevitably turned into something even greater that would not only honor John’s good friend, but all of the 4,034 soldiers who had lost their lives at the time. Running from California to the Arlington National Cemetery, he and seven others ran a mile for each fallen soldier, placing an American flag, photograph, and biography of an American Soldier at each mile.

This was the “first time it’s been done in Tallahassee,” said Meredith McMackin, CVA’s Faculty Advisor.  It was completely “apolitical, so it [didn’t make]any kind of political statement for or against [the war]. It strictly [honored] those that gave their lives.”

McMakin, who lost her son to the Iraq war in 2007, knew how important this run would be for all of those in the Tallahassee area.

This 5K was a way “to raise awareness, [to serve as] a reminder how the war has affected the community, both local people and FSU students,” McMackin said.

The run spanned across the FSU campus, beginning and ending at the Integration Statue on North Woodward Street.

There were members of the Military, Navy, Marines, Air Force and some ROTC students and teachers were at the event.

Students and resident runners of and outside the Tallahassee community came in remembrance of the fallen as well.

“My husband [served] thirty years in the Military,” said Elizabeth Payne, who traveled from Panama City Beach to participate.”My son and granddaughter are in the Military. My brother-in law was in the Military…I live for the Military.”

Although the distance of this 5K marathon was not as long as the original 4,034 miles, the runners were just as passionate about their support.

“I walked for three miles every day, seven days a week,” said seventy year old Payne, who completed the run in forty-five minutes.

For more information on the Run For the Fallen event, visit http://www.runforthefallen.org.

With many organizations and corporations stressing the importance of going green, universities across the country are joining in. GreenReportCard.org rates and compares U.S. universities in nine different categories to determine just how sustainable each college is.

According to this site, when comparing Florida State and the University of Florida, the Seminoles scored a C-  and the Gators received a B. The nine categories are administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, Green Building, Student Involvement, Transportation, Endowment Transparency, Investment Priorities, and Shareholder Engagement.

There were several problem points on our report card. We received an F in Shareholder Engagement and Endowment Transparency, and we received a D for our Administration. The only area we received an A was in the green Building Category. Elizabeth Swiman, director of the Eco-Reps Program at FSU thinks we’ve reached acceptable standards.

“FSU scored very well on this year’s Green Report Card- our greatest gain since we began reporting,” said Swiman. “There are many surveys we answer on behalf of our campus initiative and it’s always nice to be recognized for our achievements.”

The only two troubling areas for UF were in the Endowment Transparency and Shareholder Engagement categories. Both received a D. All other marks they received were A’s and Bs. Despite their good score, UF’s administration still wants more improvement.

“[I want to see] more aggressive energy standards for buildings, cars, etc. that far exceed even today’s green building standards, plus widespread integration of solar energy,” said Dr. Charles J. Kilbert, the Director of the Powell Center for Construction an Environment and a Professor in the M.E. Rinker Sr. School of Building Construction.  “[I also want a] mandatory course on sustainability for all UF graduates.”

Many students are questioning Florida State’s commitment to environmentalism. What initiatives is Florida State taking to make this campus greener, more sustainable, and environmentally friendly? In addition to the founding of the Eco-Rep program, which takes representatives from residence halls and sorority/fraternity houses and teaches them how to live in a green way, many organizations are pushing for change in policy.

“I am greatly satisfied with our progress,” said Swiman. “Of course there is always work to be done but we are moving along nicely and I see it every day with the policies being set forward by the upper administration related to energy conservation and green building to more and more students who are interested in sustainability and asking great questions about what our campus is going to do about it.”

In 2004, the Florida State University Sustainable Campus Initiative was formed. According to sustainablecampus.fsu.edu, the FSU SCI seeks to “have our campus serve as a living model of sustainability, providing learning experiences that students, faculty, and staff may develop, apply and practice at FSU and in their communities.”

Founded in 2004, the Sustainable Campus Initiative has worked to add recycling at football games and promote sustainability awareness around campus.

The FSU SCI began with its Collection and Recycling Program. The following year, in 2005, a partnership between Tri-Eagle Sales, Inc. and the FSU Center for Civic Education Service was formed to better organize and keep football games clean with Garnet and Gold Goes Green.

In 2006 the program started to include recycling at the sports events, more students faculty and staff become active members. The events grew larger to promote more awareness. In 2006 and 2007 the group hosted events such as “Rez Goes Green” and Earth Day. Today SCI is partnered and lead by the Strategic Planning Group.

The mission statement of the SCI is “To promote a culture of sustainable living in an open forum and to promote the practice to resource conservation at FSU and within the campus community that by so doing promotes the university’s positive impact upon the local and global environment.”

Aside from FSU’s Sustainability Campus Initiative, FSU is now a member of the US Green Building Council, (USGBC). Being a member of USGBC helps to ensure a national standard for the construction of green buildings.

Currently the King Life Science building, the Human Performance lab and track building, and the Remodeling Expansion Project are all in their certification to begin construction. Buildings that are currently under construction on the campus are as follows: Off-grid Zero Emissions building project, the Materials Research Building, Stone Building (College of Education), the Ruby Diamond Auditorium (Westcott Building) and the FSU Conference Center. Buildings that are still in the planning phase are the Johnston building and the new Student Health Center.

Around campus students do their part as members of student housing and residence life. They recycle cardboard during student move-ins and move-outs, as well as recycle the cardboard during furniture installing. All over the campus there are trash cans and recycling bins for paper, cardboard, aluminum and steel cans and plastic bottles. Empty ink cartridges can be dropped off at the FSU computer store in the Oglesby Union.

“There are huge improvements around campus,” said Swiman. “We are constantly increasing out infrastructure to support more recycling, alternative energies, alternative transportation, etc. the biggest improvement can be seen in how much people are talking about it and wanting to get involve.”

FSU is also participating in the national recycling competition Recyclemania in the Gorilla category for larger schools. The goal of Recyclemania is to try and gross that highest tonnage of all paper, cardboard, cans and bottles possible.

When asked what FSU could do to better compete with UF’s overall progress, Swiman said, “Behind or ahead of another school is difficult to quantify. What works at one school will not necessarily work at another and there is no blanket solution to our common problems. There is room for improvement and refinement at every school. What we do need more of here is education that will lead to a culture shift in how all of us live and work on this campus.”

Kilbert had similar sentiments.

“UF does have a comprehensive sustainability effort, an Office of Sustainability, a Director of Sustainability, any programs, numerous degree programs, an effort to become a carbon neutral and zero waste, etc,” he said. “We have been actively engaged in this since 1999 when Greening UF was founded and so it is now embedded in the campus culture.”

UF offers reduced parking fees for car poolers, a ride share program, and on-campus Zipcars. FSU has a few preferred parking spaces for alternative fuel vehicles.

One of the most impressive actions that UF is taking to cleaning up its campus is the UF car-pool program. The university enacted the programs in 2007 to help dissipate the heavy traffic on campus.

“We want to create a balance sheet of the carbon emissions that are caused by campus operations, “said Dedee DeLongpre, Director of the Office of Sustainability.

UF has partnered with the Washington-based-car-sharing service Flexcar to allow students and faculty members to rent the cars our by the hour.  Aside from the Flexcars, UF also has car-pool parking decals with reduced cost, $60, about one fourth the cost of a regular blue or orange decal, for full-time UF or Shands employees.

“The most successful program is probably the green building program,” said Kilbert. “We have 37 green buildings which comprise several million square feet and about $500 million in construction, probably the most in the U.S. in one location.”

According to sustainability.ufl.edu “Last May, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named the University of Florida one of the best workplaces in the country for commuter age looking at issues like air quality, energy conservation and reduction of traffic congestion.”

UF was the only university in Florida to make the list by offering commuter benefits meeting the EPA’s National Standard of Excellence.

It’s only the beginning of the new decade and UF has already launched a new program to make their campus more eco friendly and energy efficient. On February 3, The Office of Sustainability at UF launched a new effort to reduce the amount of electricity used throughout the campus called Chomp Down on Energy.

UF's "Stomp Down on Energy Program" reminds students to turn off the light, in addition to adding more energy efficinet bulbs.

The main campus spent $38 million in 2008 on electricity. The new plan will have the school replacing all T-12 fluorescent bulbs with T-8, saving the University approximately $1.4 million over the next ten years.

The first phase of the campaign department green teams can order “Last to leave; turn off” stickers. Turning off the lights saves electricity and extends the time in between the bulb replacements.”

Kilbert is excited by these advances and hopes they spur a wider impact.

“Let’s seize the lead in the green revolution and turn it into the focal point of the 21^st century U.S. economy,” said Kilbert.

Swiman also hoped for greater change, particularly “behavior change.”

Every single one of us uses this [earth],” she said. “We should all be aware of the impact of that and the resources we are using energy, waste, etc.”

For off- campus recycling drop off locations students can visit the FSU Solid Waste &Recycling Facility at 818 Madison St. or the City of Tallahassee, Solid Waste Services- 2727 Municipal Way

For more information about FSU’s green efforts go to www.sustainablecampus.fsu.edu/ or http://esc.fsu.edu/homePage.html.

Recycling Bin image courtesy of Wikimedia Creative Commons.
Alternative Fuel Parking Image courtesy of richardmasoner, Flickr Creative Commons.

The FSU Women’s Center held a letter writing event on Monday, March 15 lobbying congressional leaders to create the first National Women’s History Museum.

The event kicked off a week-long campaign. It began at 6 p.m., and was an extension of the weekly coffee hours that the Center holds.

“Women are just invited to come in and write a letter that we’re going to be sending to our representatives, just saying that this is essential and needs to happen,” said Garrett Sthlichte, an FSU freshman who helped organize the event.

The idea for the campaign was born when the center’s activity coordinator Nichole Carrero heard a public service announcement from actress Meryl Streep, urging viewers to write to congressional leaders for the creation of a national women’s history museum. This PSA inspired Carrero to research this idea of a national women’s history museum, and in doing so she found the National Women’s History Museum website. She found that museum is up and running, online at least, and includes virtual exhibits viewers can access over the web. However, the museum lacks a physical space.

“I think it’s really important that there is a physical space for women’s history,” said Carrero. “Online space is clearly not the same as having a physical building in the capital to represent women and our history.”
Seeing that the museum had started a letter campaign called, “Right Here. Right Now.,” Carrero decided to bring a similar event to the FSU’s women center.

The letter writing campaign began in 2009, when the bill for the federal permission to obtain a site for the museum in Washington, D.C was reviewed in Congress. Now, the museum and its supporters, such as the volunteers at the FSU Women’s Center, are hoping to garner enough Congressional support to pass the bill during the current session of Congress. If they’re successful, the museum will be able to begin construction for the first National Women’s History Museum.

As a history major, Carrero has witnessed firsthand the lack of education on women’s contributions to humanity’s history. Her concern is who will teach women’s history, since the professors of higher education are not.

“I take history classes,” she said, “and I think that gender history is always very secondary. It’s all very endocentric.”

Jessica Schwartz, a freshman and volunteer at the women’s center who was present at the event, echoes Carrero’s criticism of the neglect women’s history education:

“I feel like most of the historical figures taught in school are predominantly male,” said Schwartz. “But what about women like Rosa Parks? It’s important for people to understand that it’s not just men who have made history.”

Though currently there are several museums throughout the country which have small sections dedicated to women’s history, no museum dedicated solely to women’s history exists in the United States.

“Women have been such an integral part of this country and its foundation, in so many different aspects,” said Sthlichte. “They deserve to be recognized, not just as someone who stood behind or beside a man, but as a woman who pioneered the way. That’s what this event is.”

Although the kickoff for the event was Monday, anyone who might missed Monday night is welcome to stop by throughout the week. The center is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays. The Women Center will provide envelopes and templates for the letters, and someone will always be there to assist visitors and answer any questions.

“If they can’t make it here on Monday, there’s still a way for them to do it, for them to write and get involved,” said Sthlichte. “It’s not just about creating the event, and this is it. It’s meant to spread. Hopefully it’s something that will happen all over the place.”

Anyone interested is encouraged to join the FSU Women’s Center Facebook group. Additional templates for the letters and address information for congressional leaders are provided on their events page.

Image courtesy of Wim Mulder, Flickr Creative Commons.

The Multicultural Greek Council held a seminar entitled “Freetown: Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone” on Feb. 22. Room 203 of the Student Services Building filled nearly to capacity with the Sigma Lambda Gamma Sorority, FSU NAACP, Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity and other student bodies.

The war in Sierra Leone lasted 11 years and its aftermath left the country with many dismembered citizens and child soldiers. Many lost hands, arms and legs. Others were killed. At the beginning of the seminar NAACP member Troy Jones provided a visual presentation to help the attendees understand what it is like to lose a limb.

“Without hands you can’t clap, without legs you can’t walk; you can basically do nothing, and without arms you can’t put on a shirt,” said Jones.

An Introduction to Sierra Leone gave background on the country and the devastation it has gone through. Introducing this information was the Chair of Sigma Lambda Gamma, Tatiana Echevarria.

“I think people should become more knowledgeable about Sierra Leone, there are so many families that have been disassembled by the situation,” said Echevarria. “Lost parents, lost children, lost homes; I think people should go online and get informed, talk to anyone in Sigma Lambda Gamma, FSU’s NAACP, Phi Iota and other relief organizations.”

The President of Phi Iota, Anthony Fabre’, also spoke on the same subject.

“People don’t know much about it; I think that after having this seminar it helps others to know a little bit more about it,” Fabre’ said. “And to help, people should go out there and help just by donating to causes.”

“Getting an idea is like sitting on a pin, you just have to get up and do something,” said guest speaker Francis Moe Roberts, a native of Sierra Leone and graduate of the FSU Law School.

During his time at FSU he visited Sierra Leone after 11 years of being away. It changed his life.

On the trip, he provided baby clothing to expecting mothers and mothers who had just given birth, gave children toys and clothing and even donated a scholarship to students who could not afford to go to school.

He presented a slide show of the work he did, showing his effort through his photos of family visits and himself playing with children.

“I was a student just like you guys, and I need you to help me with this fight,” said Roberts. “You may not see yourself as heroes but you are seen as heroes to the people of Sierra Leone. Just for 20 dollars you can send a child to school for a year.”

He reaches out to Sierra Leone and the city of Freetown, and he wants Florida State to join him.

For more information on Sierra Leone and donations, contact the organizations below.

NAACP

www.sga.fsu.edu/organizations/NAACP

Sigma Lambda Gamma

www.fsugamma.webs.com

Phi Iota Alpha

www.fsuphiotas.com

Francis Moe Roberts

Email: diaka7850@yahoo.com

Number: (850) 322-1305

Florida State University’s Strozier Library hosted Facets of Genius: A Symposium in the Scholars’ Commons Reading Room on Feb. 12. The event featured faculty from different colleges and discussed the idea of genius, and focused on who might be considered a one.

“This is the future of librarianship, this is the reason that I work here.” said Trip Wycoff, a Business Librarian. “It’s about bringing people an experience that they can’t have on their own.
Professors spoke on a variety of subjects within the humanities and science realms.

• Lynette Thompson, a Distinguished Research Professor of Classics, spoke about the Genius in Ancient Rome.
• Reinier Leushuis, Professor of Modern Language, discussed the The Allegorical Genius as a Figure of Poetic Fertility in French Medieval and Renaissance Literature.
• Christian Weber, Professor of Modern Languages, talked about Controlling the Creative Force Within: Goethe’s Reflections on Genius.
• Darrin McMahon, the Ben Weider Professor of History, lectured on Some Thoughts on the History of Genius.
• Eric Walker, Distinguished Teaching Professor of English, discussed a beloved female author in Genius and Gender:  The Case of Jane Austen.
• Michael Broyles, a professor in the college of music, focused on Mozart in his discussion of Musical Genius:  Enlightenment Views.
• Michael Ruse informed that audience that Darwin just got lucky during his talk Was Charles Darwin a Genius or Just Lucky?
• K. Anders Ericsson, Conradi Eminent Scholar and Professor of Psychology, closed the event with Can We Create Giftedness and Genius? A Perspective from the Framework for Expert Performance and Deliberate Practice.

The event put focus on the importance of the Association for Interdisciplinary Research, which brings together faculty from all areas of study.

“This is one of the big problems that you have on campuses, that they are either in English or religion or physics,” said Michael Ruse, the Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor and Director of the Program in History and the Philosophy of Science. “One of the nice things is that we are trying to bring together people from different backgrounds.”

According to Sarah Kachaluba, a humanities librarian, the exchange of ideas between faculty benefits the student body as well.

“I think this is very instructive for students who are learning to do research and scholarships,” said Kachaluba. “And such exchange is fun for graduate students and faculty who are doing such work.”

Seongkwn Cho, a Ph.D. student at FSU echoed her remarks.

“I think that what’s being done at Strozier is a really good opportunity for students,” said Cho.

Cho came to hear K. Anders Ericsson, Cho had him last semester as a professor and felt like it was a good opportunity to listen to him “talk real.” He read some of Ericsson’s articles and thought this was a good chance to see what he really researches.

“This event was very successful in illustrating how faculty do research and scholarship and why intellectual exchange between scholars is important,” said Kachaluba. “It also demonstrated how being exposed to interdisciplinary perspectives can be enlightening.”

Sunberry, owned locally by Jeff George, has been serving natural frozen yogurt to the Tallahassee community since Oct. 31, 2007. Recently, though, the store has faced competition from newer chains like YogaBerry. To combat this competition, George added 60 new flavors to the menu.

These new flavors include fruits like pomegranate and acai, more traditional yogurt flavors like chocolate and the especially unique like toasted marshmallow. Instead of the flavors coming out of machines, like with the mango and original flavors, they are hand-mixed to order.

Business has increased for Sunberry since the addition of their new flavors.

“I’ve tried to expand the options for people who may not typically come into a store just to get frozen yogurt,” George said.

His customers are already reacting to the changes.

“I will totally go more now that they have new flavors,” said Florida State University sophomore Megan Khan-Karen.

Corporately-owned competition like TCBY and YogaBerry inspired George to add the flavors, but his ideas have been in the works for a while.

“In part, the competition [motivated the new flavors]. I mean, I wanted to differentiate my business from the others, but the flavors have actually been in the works for quite a while. I had wanted to expand the menu probably for over a year. I just didn’t quite know how to do that in the most economic way and efficient way, and recently, I figured out a way of doing it.”

In addition to the substantial additions to Sunberry’s menu, George works with several other factors to keep his local business thriving.

Sunberry’s Tennessee-street location, a short walk from Strozier Library or Oglesby Union on the Florida State University campus, is one thing that has allowed Sunberry to compete with bigger businesses like TCBY and YogaBerry.

“Just in terms of a business standpoint, location is key,” George said.

Sunberry uses more than location to beat competitors. George’s yogurt is very health-conscious, even more so than other companies’.

“I’m one of the healthiest ones, I would say…My yogurt has less sugar than [TCBY and YogaBerry]. I now have 60 flavors as opposed to maybe six, I think, that the other ones have. You’re going to find some very unique flavors here that you aren’t going to find anywhere else. “

Sunberry, whose recipe George calls “a closely guarded secret,” is 99% fat free and is 25 calories an ounce. Most of the toppings are also health-conscious, with add-ons like fruit, granola and cereal. George’s favorite toppings, ones he thinks are unique to his store, are mandarin oranges and grapes.

Sunberry customers can choose from a variety of toppings to enjoy with their yogurt.

In addition to frozen yogurt, Sunberry also offers smoothies and Southern Ice, which is yogurt blended with a fruit juice with a “slushie” consistency. No Sunberry products are made with powders, as other corporately owned shops’ products are.

This focus on natural ingredients and healthy indulgence targets a specific audience in Tallahassee and gives the store its own niche.

“As a dietetics major, I think it’s a much healthier option and it’s a good change from typical frozen yogurt,” said Khan-Karen.

Khan-Karen is not the only health-conscious customer.

“There are definitely very health conscious people here who appreciate very low-fat, low-cal desserts,” said George. “When I started, there wasn’t anything like that here.”

Sunberry also competes with bigger chains by getting involved in the community. George encourages local art by displaying it in his shop and works with Greek and non-Greek groups to raise funds.

“I generally like to do [fund raisers] for charitable organizations, you know, philanthropies. We pick a time and day and I give a percentage of sales from that chosen time to a chosen charity,” said George

George is especially proud of his work with Dance Marathon and Relay for Life, but recently worked with Alternative Break Corps.

Though Sunberry is no longer the only frozen yogurt option, it was initially one of the first of its kind in the area.

The store is modeled after frozen yogurt stores like Pinkberry in Los Angeles, which George discovered while working in California and decided to bring here.

“I worked in the movie industry for a few years and wasn’t making a whole lot of money,” George explained, laughing. “I had always been a big fan of yogurt and ice cream and frozen yogurt…and kind of saw the trend of what was happening out west with this very healthy, low-cal, low-fat frozen yogurt.”

George thought the business would be “a very successful concept” in Tallahassee. However, he did need to make some changes in bringing the business east.

“The yogurt is slightly different,” George said. “The California-style yogurt has a very unique, intense yogurt flavor. It’s good, but I like my version better. It has a little bit more natural flavor. I feel like the California flavor masks some of the natural flavor of the fruits.”

George does sell a new flavor called California Tart, which is similar to that original western flavor, but most of his flavors are sweeter.

With the many new flavors to try, there is something for everyone, tart or sweet. George calls the customer’s reactions to these new flavors “very encouraging.”

“I would say almost half of the sales at least now are these new specialty flavors,” he said. “People are very excited, a little overwhelmed at first, but then they try them and love them.”

Sunberry is already seeing an increase in sales, and Chelsea Schultz, who has been working at Sunberry since Aug. 2009, said customers seem to be reacting positively.

“It’s nice now because they come in and have a lot of options to choose from,” said Schultz. “I mean, every time they come in now they can try something different!”