Auto un-safety

By: Josh Leach

The public is beginning to doubt how much the auto industry values safety.  Recalls of dangerously dysfunctional car parts have become increasingly common.  Americans are getting concerned and asking for more safety testing before cars hit the streets.

The public is worried about car defects.  After all, there have been a lot of them in recent years.  CBS News says, “General Motors (GM) is recalling 92,221 full-size trucks and SUVs for a defect in ignition lock systems that can cause safety problems in hot conditions.”  Mark Rosekind, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said, “Ignition switches last year contributed to an increase in the number of consumers with car safety concerns.” According to Patrick Rucker and Ben Klayman, critics of the auto industry, “He singled out General Motors for criticism of its handling of a flaw in the design of millions of ignition switches which can inadvertently turn off the engine and deactivate air bags while the vehicle is still moving.  That flaw has been blamed for at least 42 deaths.”  Recalls are a bigger deal for the auto industry than other industries because car defects are far more likely to have lethal consequences.

The auto industry has also been accused of insufficiently reporting potentially hazardous defects.  Chris Isidore, a journalist for CNN, said, “Honda failed to report 1,729 accidents that caused deaths or serious injuries to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  The Japanese automaker had already admitted its failure to file the reports, which it attributed to data and computer programming errors. But regulators said those errors did not excuse Honda from reporting the accident data.  Anthony Foxx, the Transportation Secretary, said, “Honda and all of the automakers have a safety responsibility they must live up to -- no excuses.”  Lives could have been saved if Honda had reported this defect sooner.  

Some people are calling for an increase in the federal regulation of the auto industry.  Automotive News, a magazine devoted to sharing news about the auto industry, believes, “Auto-regulating agencies need to do more to protect consumers.  A top 2015 priority for the entire industry must be overhauling the broken auto recall system. The goal should be to identify and fix vehicles with the most urgent safety problems.”  Josh Kurosz, a senior at Seckman High School, says, “These companies have proven their inability to regulate themselves.  However, supporters of low regulation strongly disagree.  Brian McTuige, another senior, says, “Regulation always hurts the economy.  These companies do fine on their own.  Government action is not needed.”  

Supporters of more federal regulation think the rise in auto recalls proves this point.  These people want more extensive safety tests done according to a standardized procedure.  They also want auto companies to receive disciplinary action for not reporting defects soon enough.  Is more federal regulation the answer to keeping people safe?  

Having a healthy lunch

By: Janese Watson

School lunches used to be on the unhealthier side. It wasn’t until Obama became President that they finally became healthier. But was it for better or worse? Shakur Watson says, “I love the school lunch and always will.”  Many students would disagree with that statement, because healthy food isn’t always the tastiest thing to have to eat. Research, however, proves that the new school lunches have helped in cost and keeping kids healthy.

The law to change our school lunches originally happened because First Lady Michelle Obama wanted a way to improve the nutritional content of food. America, after all, has a national weight problem, including a continuing rise in childhood obesity. In 2012, one in three American children was overweight or obese. Overweight children may develop diseases, including heart disease and diabetes.

Despite these facts, complaints around the nation have led to call for the repeal of the law, or the option to give schools more flexibility in using it. Senior Tenecia Clemmons says, “I don’t like the new lunches because the healthier it gets the nastier it gets.” Junior Jordan Flugee thinks differently, saying, “I like the change. It’s nice knowing you’re eating healthy and who cares how it tastes.”

The National School Boards Association reported that 83.7 percent of school districts around the country have seen an increase in wasted school lunch food since the law was passed mandating new nutrition rules. Although the lunches come in smaller portions, wheat instead of regular, use less grease, etc., it doesn’t mean you should just not eat at all. If you don’t like the lunches you could always bring your lunch.

Every person has his or her own opinion about the new lunches, but it is important to realize they wouldn’t change our food for no apparent reason. 

Colorful crayon candles

By: Sadie Raddatz

An easy way to make a candle is by using crayons. It can be all one color or a mix of some of your favorite colors. These colorful candles also take no time at all to make and it's an inexpensive process. They also make for great gifts to just about anyone because you can customize them to match any décor.

Materials needed:

- Crayons

- A pot to melt the crayons in

-A heat source (stove, etc.)

- A jar

- A candle wick

- Fragrance

- Glue

Start by picking multiple crayons you want to make your candle with. If you want your candle to be more than one color, just make sure you have multiple crayons of the colors you want. How big your jar is will dictate how many crayons you will need.

Before you melt any crayons, you should set up your candle jar. You can buy wicks at a local hobby store; you will need the wicks that have a stand. Apply some glue to the stand and attach to the center of your jar. Hold until it dries.

Next, you will need to find a pot that you will be able to melt the crayons in. It would work easier in a stainless steel or anything that can be easily cleaned. Place the crayons in the pot, but  if you are using more than one color do not mix them. Once you have started to melt the crayons, add some fragrance. Fragrance can also be found at a local hobby store. Add the fragrance moderately.

It won't take long for the crayons to melt. Once the crayons completely melt, slowly pour the liquid into the jar. Let it sit until it hardens. If you need to add more, then you can just add more melted crayons. If you want to add another color for on top, like layered, then you will need to wait until the bottom is hardened to add another color.

Crayon candles are really cool. They're easy and fun to make and also very inexpensive. They make for great decorations around the house or make for a soothing, relaxing bath when placed around the tub. Candles are just great for everything.

Are you good enough?

By: Bella Dalba

Enrollment at American colleges is steadily increasing, but competition for spots at private universities is more cutthroat and anxiety-inducing than ever. In the 2014 admissions cycle, Stanford University accepted only 5% of applicants, the lowest acceptance rate for any college in American history: it received a staggering 42,167 applications for the class of 2018 that, ultimately, will number about 1,700. The odds are nearly as bad at its elite rivals: Harvard University was the most selective of the Ivy League, accepting a record-low 5.8% of its 33,531 applicants. It was followed by Yale University, which admitted 6.72% of its record-high 29,610 applicants, and Columbia University, which dropped its acceptance rate from 7.4% last year to 6.89% this year. Taken together, the Ivy League received 247,283 applications and admitted 23,010 prospective students, making for a collective acceptance rate of 9.3%.

Deluged by more applications than ever, the most selective colleges are, inevitably, rejecting a vast majority, including legions of students they once would have accepted. Admissions directors at these institutions say that most of the students they turn down are such strong candidates that many are indistinguishable from those who get in. Richard Shaw, Stanford’s Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, believes the primary reason for Stanford’s lowered acceptance rate was a record-high number of applicants, especially among first-generation and international students, who traditionally received preference during consideration. “I’m disappointed by it, and, honestly, shocked. My message is, I’m really sorry to all those kids who are really amazing and we can’t accommodate. I don’t think any of us expected it to come to this.”

According to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, the number of high school graduates in the U.S. steadily increased for 15 years before peaking at 3.4 million graduates in 2010–11. However, there are still some 3.2 million students graduating each year, and they’re applying to colleges alongside high school seniors from around the world. In addition, all those students are applying to more colleges than ever, thanks in large part to the Common App, a single application and essay that is accepted at 488 schools, including the vast majority of selective schools.

According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, 79% of students in 2011 applied to three or more colleges, up from 67% in 2000. Even colleges who accept more than half of applicants are facing tougher decisions, as the desperation for acceptance to at least one school drives more and more applicants to these so-called “safety” schools. Though this isn’t considered a “very selective” rate, many don’t recognize that half of those students were rejected.

Isaac Madrid, 18, is a perfect example of these applicants. He knows firsthand of how random the results can seem: he applied to 11 colleges, a scattershot approach that he said is fairly typical at his private high school, Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California. He was among the 95 percent turned away by Stanford, but was one of the lucky 1,900 to be accepted by Yale, which he plans to attend in the fall. He received no real insight into the reasons for either decision.

“Kids see that the admit rates are brutal and still dropping, and it looks more like a crapshoot,” says Bruce Poch, a former admissions dean at Pomona College. “So they send more applications, which forces the colleges to lower their admit rates, which then spurs the kids next year to send even more apps.”

Author Rachel Toor believes the fault lies with the applicants, who are driven to compete for a title of prestige: “Even when you tell them only 6% get in, they still think, ‘Maybe I’ll be the one.’ Most of the time, they’re not. They need to be realistic with themselves and ask, ‘Do I really have a chance at this school?’”

A generation ago, it was rare for even highly competitive colleges to offer places to fewer than 20 percent of their applicants. Most people point to colleges’ increasingly aggressive outreach to prospective students, with mailings, emails and advertising: some of it well intentioned, and others much more cynical. “One of the ways that colleges are measured is by the number of applicants and their admit rate, and some colleges do things simply to increase their applicant pool and manipulate those numbers,” said Christoph Guttentag, the Dean of Undergraduate Admission at Duke. “Admissions officers like to say their decisions are uninfluenced by rankings, but it’s the primary factor. For each applicant, they ask ‘Out of 30,000 other kids, all competing for this spot, how do you compare? Are you good enough?’”

The problem with fast food

By: Dorian Jenkins

        “Fast food” is the name given to food that can be prepared and served quickly, often served at basic restaurants or in packaged form for convenient takeaway/takeout. It is usually inexpensive to buy, but very unhealthy to consume. Fast food is often highly processed and produced on a large scale to decrease costs. Ingredients and various menu items are typically prepared at a different location before being sent to restaurants to be cooked, reheated or quickly put together for the customers’ convenience. A Seckman High School sophomore, Clara Thurston, says, “I think that the food that they cook at fast food restaurants looks too old and expired to eat.”

            While hamburgers, fries and pizza are known as the world’s most popular fast food items, countries throughout the world sell all kinds of fast foods that might not be so well known. Some examples may include kebabs, Chinese takeout, sushi and bento type foods in Japan and fish and chips in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. Consumers in the US alone spend over $100 billion on fast food each year. Seckman High School junior, Madysen Hamilton, says, “My family will hardly ever go out to spend money on fast food because it is overpriced for what you get.”

Well known fast food franchises and restaurants include McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Burger King. McDonald’s is arguably the world’s most popular chain of fast food restaurants. There are McDonalds found in over 100 countries worldwide and serve over 40 million costumers a day. Seckman High School senior, Tenecia Clemmons, says, “My family will eat out at McDonalds at least once every two weeks and sometimes even more because of the convenience.” McDonalds promotes their food as “nutritious,” but the reality is that it is junk food, high in fat, sugar and salt, and low in fiber and vitamins. A diet of this type is linked with a greater risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases. Their food also contains many chemical additives, some of which may cause ill-health, and hyperactivity in children. Don't forget, too, that meat is the cause of the majority of food poisoning incidents. In 1991, McDonald's were responsible for an outbreak of food poisoning in the UK, in which people suffered serious kidney failure. With modern intensive farming methods, other diseases linked to chemical residues or unnatural practices, has become a danger to people too.

 However, due to the increased awareness of public health and obesity levels, efforts have been made to improve fast food menus by lowering fat levels or at least by offering an alternative decision. While these health concerns generate more attention, fast food is still linked to worldwide weight gain problems, increase in diabetes, and healthcare costs. Overall, the fast food restaurants that you may visit once a week are truly bad for your body and people should want to avoid visiting and supporting those restaurants to improve your health.