A Sign of the "Times"

This week while reading the New York Times, I tried yet again to broaden my horizons and not focus too much on those stories relating to the economy. Although this was very hard to do, with trying I found that when I look further than those stories on the front page, there are many just as important and possibly more interesting stories embedded in the pages after the front page. While I always read through the entire news section, I often focus more on those stories on the front page. But after this week, I will be sure to give just as much attention to those stories behind the cover.

Monday- Today I read a pretty humorous story about the effort to "rebrand" the No Child Left Behind Act. Because the act is so closely tied to Bush's administration, and as his popularity slid, so did the popularity of the act, Education Secretary Arne Duncan wants to rename the act. The No Child Left Behind Act, which has often been critcized as being too difficult to follow (Bush wanted schools to make students of all ethnicities and income levels proficient in math and reading by 2014), was given many nicknames during Bush's presidency. Some of these names include the "No Child Left Untested" act and the "No Child's Behind Left" act. And today, with the focus on renaming the law, people are still mocking it. The "Mental Assest Recovery Plan" is just one teasing suggestion on an Eduwonk.org blog where a former member of the Clinton Administration is holding a renaming contest.
With all this talk of rebranding and renaming of the law, I really got to thinking. If people are mocking the act and criticizing it, shouldn't the law itself be changed, and not just the name? The focus should be more on bettering education, and less on making sure our laws have great names.

Tuesday- Today I read a very disturbing story about the increase in violent crimes in Arizona, specifically in places along the border with Mexico. Due to drugs and illegal immigrants being smuggled into the United States from Mexico, crimes such as kidnapping and hostages being held in their own houses are becoming much more common. In fact, the number that truly shocked me was that kidnappings and hostage situations have rose from just 48 incidents per year in 2004, to 241 in 2008. That is such a huge jump and clearly shows the problems that Mexican drug cartels are bringing into our country.
This story really struck me, however, because it reminded me of a movie I watched in my spanish class last year about Ciudad Juarez, a town in Mexico, just over the border from El Paso, TX, where hundreds of young women have been violently murdered since 1993. Many of these young women were buried in mass graves, and even more remain missing, their bodies never found. The majority of these cases have not been solved, although many people believe that drug cartels are to blaim. At the time that I saw this movie, the crimes struck me as horrible, but also distant. I never thought something like that would happen in America. However, with the increase in kidnappings in Arizona, it makes me worry that such a terrible thing could actually happen here. I think that something serious has to be done to make sure that Mexican drug cartels do not bring their crime to the United States anymore than they already have.

Wednesday- Today I read a very interesting story about how some colleges are beginning to offer three-year programs in which they can earn a Bachelor's Degree. This sounds like such an amazing plan to me, since with the economy in such bad condition it would be great for students to be able to save several thousand dollars. Plus, the program does not even involve students taking classes over the summer, so they would still be free to take a break from schoolwork, have a job, or get an internship. All of the pieces of this program sound like a really great opportunity for families with kids in college to save some money, and for students themselves to reduce the debt they must pay off in the future.
With such a great plan, I was very surprised to read that there has not been much excitement or support for these programs from students or faculty. I really can't understand why this is. Sure, it may not be as fun for a student to not graduate with their friends, or it may be more work in a shorter period of time, but with the economy in its current state, I would think that saving almost $40,000 dollars in some cases would be more important. All I know is that if UNH ever decided to do such a program you could sign me up!

Thursday-Today I read the Times online, and read about a bill that just passed through the Senate, which would give the District of Columbia representation in the House of Representatives (the same bill would give Utah one more representative due to an earlier compromise). There is much debate over this issue, as many people believe that it would take an amendment to the Consitution, not simply a bill, to give the District representation in the House. This is because the Constitution clearly states that in order to have representation in the House, an area must be a state, and it also clearly states that the District of Columbia is not a state, but a very unique city. I personally believe, as do others working to resolve this issue, that if the District of Columbia wants to have representation in the House, the land should be given back to Maryland, and the population added to increase that state's number of representatives. Seeing as the city was created with land ceded from Maryland this, to me, would make the most sense and would also be the simplest solution. As of now, however, I don't really think that is going to happen, and I am very interested to see what comes of this debate.