Today, it is easier to access the news by just the click of a button. More and more college students are becoming computer-savvy, and with just the right click of their mouse they can gain instant access to any web page. When students log onto a computer, which is often, among the first of what they access would be there email accounts. This is one of the many ways the news get thrown at students, as well as, students actively going and accessing the recent news for themselves. I can testify that this how I’ve retained the news, and half the time, I’m more drawn to the pictures of all the gossip involving celebrities rather than national politics.
When I’m standing in a check out line, all the magazine glam of celebrities and the latest scandals on their lives are the first to grab my attention. I’m drawn to all the vanity before I even get to notice the newspaper stands outside, which may I remind are also against the wall, and a little bit of an inconvenience to get to.
What is even more appalling is that I have come across college students in my debate classes who are about to graduate and know so little about health care, or that the pope came to America, or even that America is in a recession. It is amazing to me how this information, with all of its publicity, gets by someone in their early twenties who should really care about these issues.
Yet they are the ones who are on the school’s newspaper and writes a profile on a teen-pop celebrity, Hannah Montana, thinking her life’s story is one college students would
This narrow-mindedness that we have among college students needs to change. Our interests in politics will not be further cultivated if entertainment is at the forefront of news along with what is happening locally, nationally, and internationally. These are the future voters, the people who are graduating with undergraduate degrees and will be working in higher professions that do not seem to have too much of clue about the news. It has been recently estimated this month with BBC News that less than 40% of college students have an interest in the upcoming elections, but their focus is just with the election, and not really with any other issues revolving around our world.
We really need to advocate and encourage more college students to become integrated with the current news. The importance in this is so that they can open their minds and not continue to be ignorant, but knowledgeable thus equipped to make a difference for the world. Besides Time Magazine, newspapers in sight from a check out line would really be a great idea to try and see if it promotes the newspapers more. Pop culture is pervading the knowledge and interest of college students, while the newspapers are lacking certain aesthetic appeals for the younger generation, which is why they are not as drawn to read them like the magazines. But this is where the Internet via email, technique of posting the latest news comes in hand because it is trendier and still is getting the same important information.
They say that college is the most crucial four years of your life, and at Vanguard, students reflect on how their lives have changed because of how they are walking out their faith.
Students find that they are not the same when they first came to college is due to confusion, experimentation with beliefs, and questions that start to arise. But the interesting aspect that takes place is how that strong opinion matures and shifts as the years begin to pass. Along with the confusion and questions, there is still a God of truth and understanding that is to be found and to be met wherever we are at in life.
One of the many virtuous objectives Vanguard sets as a priority for students is their hope to cultivate an atmosphere where an individual can draw closer to God. This is done bt giving students the freedom to decide their beliefs, yet act as a guide as students come to those decisions, “The professors feel it is not their job to dictate the beliefs of the students, but to administer the right questions and provide as much guidance as possible for the students to find closer intimacy with their Lord and Savior,” said Greg Austring, Professor of Intercultural Ministries.
The risk that is taken though is that students can go one of either two directions; they will either run towards God or away from Him.
Yet to declare a major, Sophomore Ali DeLaTorre says that since she has been in college, her religious views have not changed as much as they have grown deeper, “My belief in God is generally the same; all I can say is that everything I’ve known about God up to this point has really just grown deeper [in who He is] and I think everything I believe I can say [is] own my faith now more-so than before, when I just believed because it was what my parent’s believed.”
Ali shares how her faith has grown deeper in God out of necessity out of necessity especially with her parents just finalizing their divorce. In that pain was when she began to realize how deep God’s love was. “I know that without God I would be worse off [personally] with the mess in my home-life than I am now. It’s all because He really showed me His love and because of my church’s support.”
Junior Anthropology Major Stephanie Sanchez’s grew up in a broken home but it is because of her parents divorce that she is a strong Christian today. “My mother was the Christian in the marriage, and we grew up in Mariner’s Church [which is right here in Irvine] being faithful members to the Youth Ministries,” she shares. Today, she is a High School Group Leader at Mariner’s Church. Her views have changed “significantly” she admits, and it has been because of her relationship with her dad, romantic relationships she has been involved in, her high school group leaders, and her closest circle of friends pouring into her. “Through all my experiences, my perception of God’s characteristics has shifted rapidly. I think about the kind of person my dad is and I think of what God is like as my Father in Heaven. I think about how I’ve learned from my friendships and even with my relationship with my boyfriend because I see God working in their lives.”
Adam Chavez, a recent graduate shares how his beliefs in God have changed even within the last year he has been out of college. Chavez says, “I feel like in college- everything seems to be laid out for you, all the answers are presented to you on a silver platter almost; then you get out into the real world and then you throw all your theory out the window and learn how to be a real person. Theory is what you get when you sit in class in a bubble with
College can be a frightening time for an individual, especially when it comes down to the most groundbreaking moments when one can define who they are in God. Most often, college students feel the pressure from their surrounding institutions to have everything figured out for themselves but the great thing that is yet to be discovered by so many is that it is not necessary to have your beliefs figured out all at once, because no one really does. But after all it is the four most crucial years of one’s life, so what better time to really figure out where your faith is, and lay the foundation for your walk with The Lord for the rest of your life.
(Can we believe that what they say they are going to do they will actually do?)
America is deciding who the next President of the United States will be, as the race between Democrats and Republicans, steals the lime- light. One important issue playing a part in each of the candidate’s campaign is the War in Iraq. What each of the candidate’s are proposing, and promising, America that they will do for this country and for our troops is of concern to voters.
Senator Barrack Obama has the least amount of experience in government, yet he has the support of many voters because of his charisma. He has been referred to as the next “John Kennedy.” Since 2002, Senator Obama has continued to critique the Administration's mishandling of the war, and believes that while our troops have done an outstanding job in Iraq, there can be no military solution to the political conflict between Iraq's warring factions.
Senator Obama plans to not only place a cap on the number of troops in Iraq but begin a phased redeployment of U.S. forces with the goal of removing all combat forces, ideally by March 31, 2009. A Senior and History/Political Science Major, Kerry Bonas, is a former private in the U.S. Army and supports Senator Obama in his campaign to redeploy our troops. “The war on terror is an excuse to do human rights violations,” Bonas said. At this point, she believes that Obama’s plan to end our part with the War on Terror is overly optimistic. “The reality is that a lot of the organizations like the CIA or Joint Chiefs of Staff still want to continue with the operations, so even if [Obama] is planning to redeploy the troops, he is going to have to fight these institutions first.”
In the democratic camp Senator Hillary Clinton said, "Our message to the president is clear. It is time to begin ending this war -- not next year, not next month -- but today.” Senator Clinton has a three-step plan that would bring our troops home, work to bring stability to the region, and replace military force with a new diplomatic initiative to engage countries around the world in securing Iraq's future.
Clinton has promised that within the first 60 days of being in office, she would start phased redeployment and immediately start bringing our troops home. She would convene a regional stabilization group composed of key allies, other global powers, and all of the states bordering Iraq to develop and implement a strategy to create a stable Iraq.
Aimee Winnik, a Sophomore and Sociology Major, is a supporter of Clinton and believes that it would very “realistic” for her to redeploy the troops within 60 days as she plans. “This War with Iraq is not our war anymore—we have established democracy and got rid of Saddam Hussein; we have accomplished what we came to do and now we need to get our troops out,” Winnick said. She believes that it is crucial to bring our troops home because “Our troops are perpetuating the war, not brining further Democracy; we are acting like dictators by not letting them running their own country.”
Senator John McCain, for the Republican Party, has quite an opposite approach to handling the war in Iraq. He instead campaigns for Victory in Iraq versus just redeployment of the troops. “Iraq's transformation into a secure democracy and a force for freedom in the greater Middle East is the calling of our age. We can succeed," he said.
McCain stands for a greater military commitment and believes there are not enough American forces in Iraq. In his recent campaign speeches, McCain said that He will order more troops to clear and hold insurgent strongholds; to provide security for rebuilding local institutions and economies; to halt sectarian violence in Baghdad and disarm Sunni and Shia militias; to dismantle al Qaeda; to train the Iraqi Army; and to embed American personnel in Iraqi police units.
Jason Ferrer, a Junior Accounting major, is in support of the redeployment of the troops, but believes that our troops need to continue to remain in Iraq to further establish a stable government. He therefore supports Senator McCain. Ferrer believes that whoever the next candidate is will have to continue to remain in this war because of the political ramifications involved. “If they want to get elected to a second term, they won’t leave millions of Iraqi citizens in danger by pulling out. What the Democrats don’t realize is if we pull out, there won’t be anybody to maintain the stabilization we’ve started; the Iraqi’s don’t understand conventional war and that is why our troops have to remain for a while longer.”
This afternoon, I read the polls concerning the presidential race and suprisingly found that 2 notable sources had completely different outcomes. The 2 sources were the Los Angeles Times and MSNBC.com->Decision 2008.
