Take out loans, not debt

It seems that student loans start out as a seemingly easy way to pay for college: you borrow it now when you don’t have money and when you get out and get that big fancy job, you pay them back. Unfortunately, due to the unregulated college loan industry and the downward economy, making that dream job further out of grasp, students are finding those too-good-to-be-true student loans they took are freshman year really were too-good-to-be-true.

According to finaid.org, two-thirds of students graduate college in debt and the average amount of debt for that graduating senior is $23,186. The also state that 86.3% students have to take out some form of loan or borrowed money in order to pay for their education. According to the American Student Assistance site,  lenders provided about $17 billion in private loans, a 592% last year, increase from a decade earlier. American Indian and Black students take out the highest percentage of college loans.

There are several trustworthy Web sites that offer federal loans and are there to educate students about the risks versus the rewards of taking out student loans. Sallie Mae helps students take out, manage, and repay their loans as well as gives financial advice about what to do with loan money and easier ways to pay back without going deeper and deeper into debt. The American Student Assistance program (AMSA) tries to help change policy around college loans to benefit students and offers workshops for students to become more financially educated and sound. The United States Department of Education also offers advice on how to pay for school and various safe resources students can use. Helpmepaymyloans.com is a site from the people who know what its like to be up to their eyeballs in debt and offer up sage advice on how to pay back money you have taken out and are having trouble paying it back.

As a rule of thumb, research before you borrow money from anyone for any reason.

White House Halloween

One of the cutest things I’ve seen in the world was the White House this Halloween. With the President and First Lady handing out candy to local children to professionaly carved pumpkins by local design students to the band of skeletons performing Halloween tunes, the White House staff went all out on Halloween this year. I think its a nice change, embracing the second most popular holiday after Christmas, a holiday that encourages children to embrace imagination and promotes community fellowship through the act of handing out candy to the neighborhood kids.

This is a real change from last Halloween when the only decoration the White House needed was Old Man Cheney standing on the front lawn, letting all the little kiddies know they weren’t welcome, when Halloween was all about Satanism and Devil worship.

The idea of the Prez and the First Lady handing out candy on their front lawn, just like millions of people across their country, really makes them seem like they could be the couple next door. Its just that they live in a house that is tons bigger and whiter than the rest of us.

The fact that they played part in the dress up is great too. Michelle Obama was dressed as a Cat, Robert Gibbs dressed up as Darth Vader alongside his son, and UN Ambassador Susan Rice came as Goofy, among others. The event was sponsored by the National Park Association.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, the goodies handed out at the White House included  “White House M&Ms, a sweet dough butter cookie from the White House pastry shop and, of course, some dried fruit (cherries, apricots, pears, apples and papayas).” Its nice to see they mixed the traditional candy goodies with some healthy Halloween treatas as well.

The Obamas managed to set a pretty good example of being neighborly, treating over 2,000 kids to Halloween treats. Regardless of politics, I think we all can learn a little from this Halloween goodwill.

MTSU hosts Chinese Film Festival

The Electronic Media Department at MTSU is showing a series of films made by the sixth generation of Chinese filmmakers. The films will be shown every Sunday in November at 6:00 with a discussion following each film lead by a professorial candidate. The screeninsg will be held in room 103 of the John Bragg Mass Communications Building. Here are the films in order:

Nov. 1: You Shoot, I Shoot
Directed by Pang Ho-Cheung, this film was shot in 1999 but not released until 2001. The film is a black comedy about Bart (Eric Kot), a hitman who’s business is suffering doing to a downward turn in the economy. He finally gets a job from Mrs. Ma (Fei-lin Miao), who is being blackmailed with  a sex tape she made. Mrs. Ma tells Bart to kill all of her ex-lovers and film their murders as a final revenge. When the first video comes out terrible, Bart hires his friend filmmaker Chuen (Tat-Ming Cheung), in order to make the films more artistic.

Nov. 8: If You Are The One
This 2008 romantic comedy directed by Xiaogang Feng is about Qin Fen (You Ge), who somehow manages to strike it rich with a silly invention and uses his money to start dating online. After some terrible blind dates, he meets Smiley (Qi Shu), a flight attendant who is definitely out of his league. The couple end up meeting again in Japan where their romance blossoms.

Nov. 15: Gao Xing
Premiering this very in February, this film is probably the newest in the festival. Directed by the up-and-coming Agan and based on a novel by one of China’s best contemporary novelist, Jia Pingwa, this film is about the struggles of Chinese migrant workers. Leaving behind their rural lives as farmers, the workers seek fortune and happiness in the big city. Tao Guo stars as the lead character, Gao Xing.

Nov. 22: The Sun Also Rises
After being in production for five years, actor/director Wen Jiang finally produced this magnificent film with amazingly artistic backdrops and imagery. The film skips around in time a bit, showing how the different paths that cross our lives shape who we become. The film also shifts locations, showing the diversity of China’s landscape from Yunnan village, a campus, and the Gobi Desert. The film won several awards in various film competitions across China.

Breast Cancer Affects Everyone

It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, man or woman, breast cancer has the ability to strike you or someone you love. With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, people across the country are Thinking Pink and everyone from KISS drummer Peter Criss to First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. Though heart related problems are the number one killer of women, Breast Cancer Awareness has been promoted because medicine traditionally takes a male perspective to finding cures and cures for diseases that primarily affect women have been ignored by the medical communities for the majority of history.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation has information about early detection, support groups for those who have been diagnosed, and offers a Mammogram Donation program, allowing you to give to those less fortunate who cannot afford a mamogram even though they may be at risk.  The site also sponsors Janelle’s Blog, which is the advice and memoirs of a woman who has been a 29-year-survivor of breast cancer.

One of the most esteemed foundations is  Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which sponsors a variety of fundraising walks and races for Breast Cancer around the country and the world. The site sponsors grants for breast cancer research, promotes participation in awareness events, and offers support groups for the wide variety of people diagnosed by breast cancer. Susan G. Komen, for whom the foundation was named, spent much of her time while suffering from cancer thinking of ways to improve the quality of care and research methods for fellow sufferers. The foundation was started by her sister Nancy G. Brinker, to promote the cause to which Susan dedicated herself.

Breastcancer.org is a Web site that devotes itself to the medicial aspects of breast cancer. It offers self-diagnosis tips, breast exam how-tos, medical risks, genetic risk factors, and advice for those who have been diagnosed with cancer about nutrition, therapy, chemo, radiation treatments, and how to tell if you have gone into remission. The site explores the various myths and facts about breast cancer and has blogs and articles written by the premier medical doctors in the field. The American Cancer Society also has medical information about breast cancer and what to expect.

For a more personal look at breast cancer, you can access blogs written by those who are currently dealing with the disease. Jacki Donaldson’s blog Cancerspot.org has followed her bout with breast cancer since November of 2004 and how she must juggle being a working mother while fighting off breast cancer. Caroline’s Breast Cancer blog follows the journey of a young woman as she experiences the struggles, fears, and stress involved in the fight against breast cancer. My Fight with Breast Cancer is another blog of  Karen who was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer at only 29 years old after the cancer was previously misdiagnosed as a cyst. Some of the proceeds from the blog go to help Karen pay for her expensive medical treatments. Health Central also offers tons of blogs about breast cancer, giving others an inside look into what it is like.

However Breast Cancer has made its presence known in your life or even if you haven’t had any personal exposure to it yet, these resources are a great way to get educated and to start thinking pink.

More info on Domestic Violence and how you can help

For those of you who have read Katie Fowler’s article about Domestic Violence in Murfreesboro, here are some more resources and information that could not make it into the original article. These are all from Katie with links by me:

“Restore” is a state certified domestic violence intervention program in Murfreesboro located at 714 West Main Street, and can be reached at 615-890-8402. According to the brochure for the program it is “a 26 week education program for men” who “have a problem using violence and abuse in their relationships.”

For help, or to volunteer, at the June Anderson Women’s Center get in touch with them through the Web site or call them at 615-898-2193.

The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program of Murfreesboro is in need of volunteers. There are also internship positions available. Call Volunteer Coordinator India Rogers @ 615-896-7377 or go online to apply.

Any fraternities or sororities in need of a community service project are also encouraged to contact the program, or apply at the web address.

A self-defense demonstration was held at the Guardian Mixed Martial Arts gym located at 313b South Church Street in Murfreesboro on Oct. 2. The event was sponsored by Lambda Theta Phi fraternity, and co-sponsored by Lambda Theta Alpha sorority. Both the fraternity and the sorority are focusing on domestic violence issues as their philanthropy.

The fraternities organized the hour long self-defense demonstration in cooperation with the staff of the Guardian Mixed Martial Arts gym. The instructors, who donated their time, for the demonstration were gym owner Doug Frazier, and staff member Anthony Gomez.  The organizers were charged a $50 gym rental fee.

The participants made donations to the fraternity for their participation in the event. The fraternity gave all the money raised to the Domestic Violence  and Sexual Assault Program of Murfreesboro. Both Lambda Theta Phi and Lambda Theta Alpha intend to arrange more self-defense demonstrations in cooperation with the Guardian Mixed Martial Arts Gym. They will be asking that all participants make a donation.

The participants in the demonstration were shown several techniques on how to get away from an attacker. Beginning with learning about balance, and ending with a demonstration on how to get an attacker, who has grabbed you from behind, off of you, the demonstration was packed with highly beneficial information.

To contact Lambda Theta Phi for more information about future self-defense demonstration nights email Richard Denney at richardk.denney@gmail.com. Contact Doug Frazier, owner of Guardian Mixed Martial Arts gym, at 615-796-3919 or on the web for more information about classes offered at the gym and future self-defense demonstration dates.

Body and Media Images Collide

In the past decade or so, a lot of attention has come to the media emphasis of body image and how real women relate themselves to media images they are exposed to. From super skinny models in magazine ads to bodacious women in bikinis brandishing weight loss supplements to even overly muscular men soaked in oil trying to get you to buy the latest exercise equipment, it’s easy to see how anyone and everyone can feel inferior when comparing their own body to the airbrushed, Photoshopped images they see on a day-to-day basis.

Several Web sites have taken it upon themselves to expose the truths and myths about body image and what is the “norm” versus what media images cause us to think is the “norm.” The government based site Women’s Health is devoted to tons of women’s health issues, body image being one among them. The site emphasizes learning to love your body but also learning to tell what is healthy and what is not.

The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) focuses on education, prevention, and treatment of eating disorders. NEDA knows that one of the lead causes of eating disorders is the reflection of media images or trying to attain those media images. The site offers media watchdog services to try and get the media to talk about healthy weights, body sizes, and to promote healthy senses of body image rather than sickly thin models. NEDA even releases this information sheetThis study from UCLA also explains what positive and negative body images are and how a person develops these body images. on positive versus negative body images.

Our Bodies Ourselves is a Web site that focuses on women’s health issues as well, including everything from menopause to violence against women to women’s health in third world and foreign country. The site includes this section on body image and how it relates to the media. The section also includes book excerpts, blog postings, and links and resources about body images.

There are several sites devoted to the exposure of how body image is contorted in the media. The Media Awareness Network is a site that discusses various issues that come from and are portrayed by the media. Highlighting everything from Internet hate crimes to media violence, the site also has a section devoted to body image in the media. They also have a list of several articles dealing with different types of body images and their media influences.

The National Institute on Media and the Family reflects issues parents and their children might face when it comes to media images. The site also has a section devoted to body image as its portrayed in the media, which includes the lastest facts and research on the subject. The site particularly focuses on how media body images affect young girls, though media and negative body images can affect men, women and people of all ages, ethnicites, and backgrounds.

Some sites take a more comedic approach to promoting healthy body images against media stereotypes and fabricated images. Adiosbarbie.com is a site devoted to helping women love themselves and their body. It has a section devoted to media issues but also focuses on healthy diets, exercise, games, and projects to help women love themselves and they way they see themselves. The features section on the site devotes itself to images of women and the issues that arise when media presents unrealistic images of women. The site is a very good resource and a fun place to check out to find out what is going on in the world of women’s body images.

Bodypositive.com is another site devoting to helping people discover the lovable side of their body image and to just say no to false media portrayals. The site devotes itself to issues such as larger women in the media, activist sites on how to change media culture about body image, and healthcare statements on what is and isn’t a healthy shape. The site also dicusses how to determine what is best for your body and how to talk to your children about body images in the media or their own negative body images.

Whatever shape or size you may be, there is definitely a way for you to love yourself and your body, no matter what.

Study Abroad provides student opportunities

According to a recent study by Open Doors, part of the international Institute of International Education, only 241,791 studied abroad in 2007, roughly 1 percent of the number of students attending college in the United States. MTSU’s MT Abroad Office can help students get started on their international adventures by lining them up with the right program, scholarships, and requirements. Before going into the office, however, its a good idea to know what’s out there to help narrow down what you want out of a study abroad program.

The Institute for Study Abroad offers a wide variety of program explanations, country information and resources for those who are still trying to narrow down which countries they would like to travel to. The site Studyabroad.com also serves this function, offering a variety of programs from high school to teaching abroad to summer visits, internships, and volunteer work. Goabroad.com offers advice on scholarships, documentation, hostels, airfare and the latest news on study abroad programs.

Checking out the US State Department’s site and the CIA World Factbook will give you the latest information about every country in the world, US relations with that country, and the State Deparment even offers a special section with advice for students who are considering abroad travel. These sites will give you everything you need to know about countries, including vaccinations, political climate, social status, and any information US citizens need to be aware of.

There are several well known programs that facilitate study abroad. The Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE) offers programs from Argentina to Vietnam for students to partake in. International Student Exchange Programs or (ISEP) offers worldwide programs with major focuses in parts of Europe and South America. The Kentucky Institute for International Studies (KIIS) is a program that specializes in students who want to speak another language while abroad, with programs in countries where a certain amount of language knowledge is required. The Cooperative Center for Study Abroad (CCSA) is a program offers a lot of programs in former British colonies such as South Africa, India, Hong Kong, as well as opporutnites throughout the UK and Northern Ireland, in addition to several other programs.

Whatever program you choose, studying abroad is an experience that you’ll never forget.

Save the Music: How you can help

If you want to do more to help with “Save the Music” or find out more about under funded music education programs across the country, there are several Web sites you can check out.

The primary site is the National Association for Music Education, (MENC), which is one of the largest arts education organizations and has been around since 1907. More than 75,000 active, retired, and pre-service music teachers along with 60,000 music honor students and supporters volunteer through the organization to help restore and teach music to students who do not have access to music education through any other means. MENC also supports Supportmusic.com, a site that offers advice, tips, and resources  for those who want to start up a music program of their own.

The American Music Conference also does its part in helping restore music education to students across the country. The conference puts on events, such as this one, that help bring attention to underfunded music programs or schools where music programs do not exist at all.

Children’s Music Workshop is a Web site devoted to developing music in children’s lives. The site offers links to advocacy, instruments, music sheets, student learning applications, sheet music, music teachers and tutors, and tons of other great music stuff. They also post articles, such as this one on the Benefits of Music and this one, which provides some great facts and statistics on how music education can help children later in life.

To get some good stats on the state of music programs in America and how music benefits students, several sites are available. This article from Essortment.com discusses how music benefits students both in and outside of the classroom.This article from the Arts Journal was written by orchestra guru Henry Fogel on the importance of music education. This list of music facts also shows how music education early in life can prepare students for future success.

Best Sites for Foodies

Whether you’re the type of person who likes to eat or the type of person that likes to cook, there are some definite Web sites that all foodies should have marked in their favorites’ file, other than the Food Network site.

When it comes to finding recipe favorites, there are two definite musts. Allrecipes.com is perhaps the biggest and best recipe sharing site online, where you can exchange old family recipes as well as new innovations with people all over the country and the world. A lot of the Allrecipes.com recipes are more homestyle type foods and occasional contributors are well known food writers.

For a more gourmet, professional foodie recipe exchange site, check out Epicurious.com, which combines recipe submissions with blog style food articles and forums for discussion. Both sites also do wine or drink pairings with food.

Martha Stewart has a great food section on her Web site, which can be accessed here. The section includes her recipes and personal advice on cooking and chef secrets.

Other good sites include Foodbuzz.com which has recipe uploads but also spots for foodies, restaurants, and brands. Foodbuzz is almost a social networking site for foodies with an active food blog feature.

Chowhound.com is a similar social networking type site, offering not only recipes and connections with other foodies but how-to and informational videos, a city-by-city restaurant and bar guide, as well as great food stories from the foodie masters.

For those with more gourmet palates, check out Gourmet.com and Bonappetit.com. Both of these are the home sites of upscale food magazines Gourmet and Bon Appetit, offering features, recipes, and videos for the non-magazine subscriber. Sections include Food Politics, Cookbook Club, travel diaries, ingredients and tips, reference pages, recipes, and shopping guides.

If you just love looking at glorious displays of food, just do a quick Google search for “food stylist.” The site Foodstyler.com has some great examples of how the masters touch up those glamor shots in the food magazines and give you tips on how to make your own creations look just as desirable.

The more health conscious chef should check out the site nutritiondata.com, which provides nutritional information for just about everything under the sun. Vegetarians and vegan cooks Vegnews.com.

Naturally, a great chef needs some great materials to cook with, so having a good place to buy your needed materials is an essential. Chefshop.com is a great resource for all of your cooking needs, as is Chefdepot.com.

So, have fun finding new recipes and new foodie friends. As Julia would say, Bon Apetit!

Amnesty focuses on maternal mortality rates

Amnesty International logo

The film “Dead Mums Don’t Cry” is just one of the many events hosted by the MTSU chapter of Amnesty International. The MTSU Amnesty can be reached through their Facebook account or their MySpace account, which they use to keep the student body informed about their activities and up-to-date on Amnesty events.

MTSU Amnesty is part of Amnesty USA, which is the country’s chapter of the main Amnesty International organization. The goal of Amnesty is “to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated.” The organization was founded in 1961 in London, UK and has the longest history of any international human rights campaign. Amnesty won the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize for campaigns against torture and the 1978 United Nationals Prize in the field of human rights.

The Amnesty logo is a lit candle circled by barbed wire and echos the group’s motto: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” The film “Dead Mums Don’t Cry” highlights one of Amnesty’s current goals, which is to end maternal mortality in Sierra Leone. According to UNICEF, Sierra Leone has the worst maternal mortality rate of any country in the world. Amnesty called the mortality rate of mothers in Sierra Leone a “human rights emergency” and launched their healthcare campaign on Tuesday, September 22 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

To find out how you can help, click here.