Vote Your Voice

An article in The Washington Post this week talks about several states looking to ban college students from voting in the towns where their colleges are located.  Arguments include that students are naive and foolish, and that they are diluting the votes of taxpayers within those cities.  However, students would be allowed to vote in local elections of their home towns.

This argument seems a bit off to me.  If college students are so foolish and naive, shouldn't they not be allowed to vote anywhere.  No matter where they vote, they would still be diluting taxpayers votes.  Not to mention the fact that not all college students aren't the same.  Some students are coming back to college and most have to work in addition to attending school, which would make them taxpayers as well.  Additionally, just because students are going to college doesn't mean they are automatically as liberal as proponents of these reforms claim.  The fact that these students are in college also makes them a lot less clueless than a portion of the population, who are not college educated.

I agree that, yes, not all college students are the brightest, and yes we can be a bit foolish at times.  But, we are just young adults and we are going through the learning process of growing up.

This doesn't mean however, that we should be excluded from voting in our college towns or any town for that matter.  The law and federal policy have given us the right to vote at age 18, and this right should be upheld, just as it would be for any voting adult.

Kill them with Kindness

In honor of Ash Wednesday, you should read these 5 lessons about how to treat others.  You don't have to be perfect all the time, but especially during this period of Lent, everyone could stand to be a little more conscious of their actions and WWJD.  Even if you're of a different faith or no faith at all, kindness never hurt anyone, and it really isn't that hard to pass on.

Fat Tuesday

As an Episcopalian, Shrove Tuesday/Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras has always been an important day for me.  It's a day to revel in gluttony before the celebration of Ash Wednesday and Lent.  Growing up in the South, the Bible Belt, makes celebrating Lent a less common phenomenon among my friends, but my churches have still managed to make the holiday important.

Tonight I will enjoy the annual pancake supper filled with good food and fun.  Tomorrow I will prepare myself for Easter, by participating in the Ash Wednesday service, where ashes will be imposed on my forehead as an outward sign of my faith. 

Fat Tuesday celebrations vary around the world, and some cities celebrate this phenomenon in more extravagent ways than others.  The important point is to live and enjoy these last days before the solemn period of Lent.

During Lent many people take on or give up something, to bring them closer to Jesus and God.  I'm not sure what I'm doing this year, other than just focusing on my relationship with Jesus in general, and being more aware of my actions.  While this is not something definite I can tell people, I think it's enough of an answer for me, and that is what matters.

If you celebrate Lent in your faith, what are you doing?

Mix-Up Monday

Whoopie Pies may be delicious, but the question is, where is their rightful home?  Maine & Pennsylvania both want to claim this tasty treat as their own.  Hopefully, these two states can settle this food fight and move onto more pressing issues soon.

Neptune, which was originally spotted as a planet in 1846, is finally nearing its first recorded lap around the sun.  165 years later, on July 12 of this year, Neptune will finally begin its second lap.

The Art of Photography

Cell phone picture of a baby turtle moments after birth

Cell phones and smart phones are quickly becoming one of today's hottest tech tools.  Phones today can instant message, email, text, play games, surf the internet and even double as a camera.  Colleges are now starting to take advantage of the opportunities today's technology provides by teaching college courses on cell phone photography.  These courses teach students how to take the best photos with their phones and about the legal issues related to reproducing or sharing these photos.  Classes also teach how to use cell phone image software, just like you can learn on the computer.  I applaud the ingenuity behind courses such as these because this type of class is highly practical in a world where almost everyone has a cell phone and almost everyone uses their phone for a multitude of purposes besides calling someone.