Too much TV violence?





By: Brad Tripp

 

The television has been around since the 1920s. It wasn’t until the thirties and forties that it became popular within our society. As time has gone on, money and popular television shows have become part of a growing industry that feeds the public’s desire for entertainment.

The television industry in the United States made over $35 billion last year, and that number continues to rise. With money also comes greed, which typically includes the desire to make more money.  This cycle created the desire to produce anything to make a quick buck. What will make that fast money? It’s not always quality and/or wholesome television.

According to the American Psychology Association (APA), a 1985 mandate required television shows to inform (warn) people of the potential violence in televised programs. The information provided was that the violence caused children to become less sensitive to pain and others, along with making them act more fearful and aggressive to the world around them.  Children who watch a lot of aggressive movies or shows tend to act out or recreate the scenes of that said program, according to the APA.

A study by Dr. George Gerbner shows that an average television show today contains about 20 violent acts each hour and that children who watch a lot more of it tend to feel the world around them is more dangerous than it actually is.  In that same study, 100 preschool children were observed after watching television with violent cartoons in them and some without.  The study showed those children who watched the violent cartoons were more likely to act or lash out and other students. 

According to thinkquest.org, in 73% of all crimes committed, from theft to murder, the person who committed them was subjected to violence through cartoons and programs on television. As of last year (2012), it was recorded that in 43% of all cartoons a person committed a crime.

Not all television is evil or violent.  There are good programs that can help and keep children and adults entertained. Mainly, it’s all about paying attention and viewing programs that are good to your everyday life and preventing bad things from happening. All in all, television violence is a part of what we’re entertained by, just use with caution. 

What weather will this winter bring?

 

 

By: Peter Lewis

 

 

 

Mid October this year saw unusually cold weather and some dreary days of rain. With Daylight Saving Time pushing the clocks back an hour, we were not just reminded of the approaching holidays, but that winter was close at hand.  Most people wonder what each winter will bring; in this case, snow, and how much will fall. The past three years were very different than what  typically occurs. The 2010-2011 school year had a massive fourteen snow days throughout a winter that became an unbelievable nuisance.  The 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years, however, saw a reasonable amount of less than five snow days in each year. The question now becomes, what does the 2013-2014 winter hold for the Fox C-6 District? 

Many sources have been studying the weather patterns and have made their predictions for what is in store from now until the end of winter.  The most notable of these, The Farmer’s Almanac, which is usually a very reliable source, predicts the Midwest will have colder temperatures than usual, with the coldest periods from late December to late January.  While the Almanac was very accurate in predicting rain and cold to start out November, its prediction of flurries fell flat in our area, but was very accurate up north in Iowa.  Its next predicted time frame for snow is late December, mid- January, and throughout February; as for how much snow could fall, the Almanac suggests Jefferson County will receive above normal snowfall in this time period.  Throughout the United States’ history, the Almanac has been very reliable and surprisingly accurate at times; from this we can say five snow days may be a lock at this point.  However, the Almanac isn’t the only source making predictions. There are others that offer even bigger predictions for the fast approaching winter. 

The National Weather Service and NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,  have agreed with the Almanac, saying we should expect below or normal temperatures and possible above normal precipitation.  Live Weather’s Meteorologist, Rob Guarino, says computer models predict El Nino, a reoccurring weather event, will come to the St. Louis area and that has the possibility of causing temperatures being slightly below normal, more rain than snow most times, but an increased chance of winter storms.  February has a chance to have a storm dump eight inches of snow and this winter could produce more ice than normal.  Like the Almanac, Live Weather agrees that February will be the snowiest month this year.  The Weather Centre has predicted this winter will put the St. Louis area on the border of above normal and high threat of a blizzard forming, as well as frigid temperature predictions, above normal precipitation, and snowy weather likely to occur. This is based on multiple studies, past history, and the current weather occurrences going on now and from the past few months. 

From what others in the field are saying, this coming winter looks promising if you like snow days.  However, always be aware that snow days are no longer built in to the Fox C-6 schedule, so it’s alright to hope for some, but not too much, if you want to get out of school before June.



Ways to stop bullying

 

 

By: Autumn Hill

 

Children learn how to express emotions primarily through social interaction in their families and at school. So, families and schools must foster an environment that teaches children that nobody has the right to hurt another person. Kindness, acceptance, and appreciation for others must be taught and modeled in the early years. Witnessing positive examples of handling conflict and anger help children deal with those emotions on their own. For example, if they are ever confronted by a bully.

Bullies are everywhere, unfortunately. Sometimes they are hidden or out in the open, but they are everywhere. Many people don’t know how to react in situations with bullies. They’re unsure whether they should defend the person being bullied or not, maybe they are also scared of the bully or maybe they feel like they won’t be accepted by everyone else if defending the one being bullied. What would you do if you saw someone being bullied? Here are some ways to prevent bullies from bullying:

 

1.      Confront the Bully. According to stopbullying.gov, you should try talking it out. If you are being bullied or your friend is being bullied, then maybe talking will calm the bully down and help him or her realize that they don’t need to fight with the victim.

2.      Defend the victim. A friend being bullied needs someone beside them to help them work it out. Be cautious, however; the bully may try to gang up on you. Be calm, fighting back only makes them angry.

3.      Ignore the Bully. If you are being bullied by someone, then try ignoring the bully. Let him or her know that what she is doing isn’t bothering you.

4.      Stop and Think. Think about what you say to the bully. Just because they may be saying hurtful stuff doesn’t mean you should.

5.      Be kind. Some say that the best way to stop the bully in action is to smother them with kindness and show them that what they are doing isn’t bothering you.

6.      Talk to an adult. Sometimes you can get into situations where you will need help from an adult. The best way to go about bullying situations that you can’t stop yourself is to ask a parent or guardian, or perhaps just someone you trust, to help you.

7.      Don’t fight back. The bully may be threatening to fight with you. If this happens, you should never fight back. Ignoring the bully is a good way to avoid trouble with the bully.

8.      Have confidence. Community-matters.org says that loving yourself is crucial when it comes to overcoming bullying. Loving yourself will prevent you from being a bully and help you stand up for yourself if you feel you are being bullied. It will force you to remove yourself from negative situations in which you might be bullied. It will help you overcome and cope with any bullying you might have faced -- or will face.

9.      Don’t be the bully. Many bullies might not consider themselves bullies. But remember: every unkind word, every condescending statement is a form of bullying. And so is just standing by while others are bullied.

           

"Parents often feel helpless and don't know where to begin to help their child cope," says Dr. Meline Kevorkian. Bullies are everywhere and not everyone knows the right way to handle them. There are many ways to stop the bullying, but every situation is different. If you feel that you are being bullied, assess the situation and determine what action (or inaction) might work best for you.  



Is St. Louis really a dangerous city?

 

 

By: Peter Lewis

 

 

 

Since 2000, the city of St. Louis has gotten progressively “worse” from a crime standpoint and has developed easily one of the worst reputations in the country.  The city reached a low point last year when Forbes rated it as the second most violent city in America, behind Detroit and ahead of Oakland.  However, some lists differ; US News rated St. Louis number one, neighborhoodscout.com rated St. Louis number eight, and buisnessinsider.com rated the city at number seven.  Obviously, from these rankings St. Louis is still among the top in the country, but many other lists differ significantly. Some rate St. Louis in the top five, where others go as low as the twenties, which begs the question, “How bad is St. Louis?”  

Well, isn’t as easy as you would guess.  Many lists (that decide how “bad” a city is) have very different criteria, which can cause confusion as to where exactly St. Louis ranks.  Some lists only go by violent crimes and some combine both violent crime and property crime.  Also, another problem is the area looked at in particular.  When many hear of St. Louis, they most likely think about the metro area, but not the surrounding areas, like St. Louis County.  Yet, many lists include not only the metro area of a city, but its surrounding areas as well.  East St. Louis, which is on the Illinois side of the river and has a large percent of the crime that the city of St. Louis has been known to have, is ranked with St. Louis on some lists, which adds to the amount of crime reported.  While it may seem like the city is violent, there are a lot of misconceptions.

For starters, the city of St. Louis is a county all to itself, with St. Louis County surrounding it.  The St. Louis City itself is pretty typical when it comes to crime; it does have its rough areas, but, for the most part, is one of the better metro areas in the United States.  While crime may be present in the neighborhoods, the downtown area, with Busch Stadium, The Arch Grounds, and Keener Plaza are relatively safe.  Of all US metro areas, St. Louis would be ranked between the safest and the middle.  As nation.time.com reported, in 2012, St. Louis City crime fell 12.4% in all overall crime, with murder and theft decreasing in the city itself.  Compared to other metropolitan areas in America, St. Louis City did very well in 2012, as other cities saw increases in crime.  St. Louis County has seen decreases since its peak in 2006 as well, showing the region is improving for the better.

Don’t get me wrong, St. Louis has problems, but they’re not as bad as its reputation may suggest. Many organizations and people have come out even to dismiss these lists, such as The American Society of Criminology statement in 2011, which said, “Such rankings are invalid, damaging and irresponsible. City crime rankings make no one safer, but they can harm the cities they tarnish and divert attention from the individual and community characteristics that elevate crime in all cities.” Co-editor of CQ Press, Scott Morgan, in 2006 dismissed not only his publication’s list, but other lists on crime evaluation saying, “I am stunned if there is a criminologist out there who would support this.” 

As CQ Press reported, the city of St. Louis has the nineteenth most populated metro area in the US, but the city on its own would have the ninety-first ranking, far from even being considered a bad city.  Even with that the city’s reputation is better than expected.  The lists that say a city is dangerous or not have a glaring problem: the lists put violent and property crime together, so a city with high property crime but low violent crime can still be high on the list, as in the case of St. Louis City.  Now, don’t get me wrong, crime is crime, but the stigma that these rankings would classify a city as a place where your personal safety and life could be on the line is completely unreasonable. 

Most people reading this have been to St. Louis City numerous times, even at night. Have you ever felt like your life was at risk? A Gallup poll reported that 74% of St. Louisans felt safe while walking the street at night, making St. Louis the fourteenth city on the list out of the fifty most populous cities in the country.  Making a better case for St. Louis, it seems some lists create boundaries to even things out.  For example, Chicago’s area is clearly defined and is much worse than St. Louis could ever be, but St. Louis County is added to St. Louis City to make the creators of the lists lives easier so they don’t have to do much work. From all this, it’s easy to see St. Louis City has problems like any other city in the world. However, it’s far from being a city where your life is on the line constantly.



Simple ways to save the planet

 

By: Autumn Hill

 

                        Did you know that your everyday life could be hurting the planet? It’s not always as simple as littering; there are many ways that you could be polluting the planet, but it’s not always obvious when you’re doing so. Here are some things to consider:

 

1.      Littering – Littering is a big problem for a lot of people. Sometimes we litter without thinking of it hurting the planet. Take time to throw away your trash the right way in a trash can.

2.      Using the stairs – Using the stairs instead of the elevator actually does help the planet. Using the elevator wastes energy.

3.      Drink tap water instead of bottled – According to 50waystohelp.com, 90% of the time bottled water isn’t recycled. Tap water isn’t as wasteful as the bottled water. When you finish the bottled water, what do you do? Throw it away, or perhaps leave it somewhere as litter.

4.      Cars – When possible, don’t use vehicles, such as automobiles. Go by foot or by bicycle, if and when possible. That leads to less emissions and waste.

5.      Don’t use screensavers – Did you know that screensavers waste energy? According to Ifad.org, screensavers on your computer do not save energy; believe it or not, they only waste energy from the colors being used. This is a great reason for us shutting down computers.

6.      Replace fridge – Replace refrigerators that are more than eight years old, Refrigerators that are eight years or older waste more energy than new refrigerators would normally waste.

7.      Use mugs – Plastic cups do not save energy in the end; mugs are safer. Mugs are easier and less wasteful when it comes to energy and holding something. Most plastic eventually gets pitched, while mugs tend to be used for much longer.

8.      Meat – Eat less meat. Vegetables help the environment more, for a number of reasons. Health benefits come into play while eating vegetables, according to mayoclinic.com

 

                        There are many ways to help the planet. We can all contribute if we take time out of our day to do a few of these simple actions.