Education Reform

I enjoyed the blog post "Texas Education, Part Two," from the blog "Red State, Blue City." My classmate wrote this blog on a topic similar to my last blog posting, but went on to elaborate on suggestions as to how to fix this problem.

I definitely agree with my classmates opinion that the effects of not making education a priority are far worse than the thought of the suggestions stated. If we continue to let the education system of Texas decline, as the blogger stated, we will be up for far less opportunities in cutting edge fields. No one wants to do business with a bunch of idiots, and no one wants to go to college in a state where people are known to be idiots.

I mostly appreciated my classmates list of suggestions, and whether or not I agree with all of them, something has to be done to improve this education system. At the top of the list was gambling. Many people look down on gambling and feel it brings a sort of "trashiness," to an area, but realistically, and as bad as it sounds, uneducated people also bring that to an area. Gambling can bring a huge amount of money to an area and although I cringe at the idea of casinos popping up everywhere, if that is what would help our education system I am all for it. My classmate also mentioned cutting funds for "Public Officials," which I think everyone would agree with since the exposing of the massive amounts of funds used on executives during the bailout a couple years ago. Parent funded preschool is also an excellent idea, as preschool is optional and I don't feel should be publicly funded.

My classmate did an excellent job making suggestions on how to improve this education crises and highlighted the consequences of failing to do so nicely.

Say Yes to Vaccines

I enjoyed reading the post "Trading Freedom for Security?" from the blog "The Blue Bonnet Opinion." I myself was just reminded of the mandatory vaccine I have yet to receive when I logged onto the ACC website today.

Having grown up in a household that has always been very careful about the contents of medicines and vaccines for religious reasons I can definitely relate to where my classmate is coming from. However from my own research when this law was first passed, I discovered it is not exactly mandatory. While I plan to get the vaccine and not exempt myself for these reasons, the law has provided exemptions for students that have a medical or religious reason for declining the vaccine.

The vaccine debate is definitely a double edged sword. As my classmate stated, it seems that our personal freedoms are being taken away by making something "mandatory." However, you have the consider the fact that it is a CHOICE to attend college, and with any choice, you have to weigh the requirements. For example, maybe I want to accept a promotion at work, but that promotion makes it mandatory that I work 12 hours per day and miss time with my family. No one is forcing me to take the promotion, and if I do, I understand that those are the expectations.

Similarly, I disagree with my classmate and feel that not only has the law provided a way out in cases of religion or health, but you simply don't have to attend college in Texas, it is a personal choice. I feel this law is quite different than the executive order for the HPV shot that was mandated. Many if not all of the diseases that we are required to be vaccinated for are communicable, and can be transmitted very easily, infecting the population. You can't sneeze and give someone HPV. Forcing a Guardasil shot may or may not be a violation of personal freedoms, but this is not, lawmakers simply have to consider how this affects the general population. I appreciate my classmates statistics, and she makes a valid point that at this time Meningitis has not been a huge problem. Unfortunately, it doesn't take long for a disease to become an epidemic and I feel that rather than controlling citizens as she suggested, lawmakers are simply trying to protect the population.

Texas Education

To be quite honest, I grew up with the illusion that Texas had the best schools in the country. Having attended schools in the Leander School District, I was always impressed with the facilities, and felt that if I earned an "A" then the school must be excellent. It wasn't until I watched my first presidential debate that I saw the holes exposed in the Texas Education System. Although a great deal of claims and accusations presented in a presidential debate are false, it prompted me to do my own research on the matter.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year, then you have definitely become familiar with the massive amount of education budget cuts that took place in Texas. Recently a survey was conducted and the results released by The American Federation of Teachers. This survey was a web poll and consisted of about 95% teachers, and 5% parents and regular citizens. Much to my dismay, over 90% of respondents indicated that layoffs occurred in their Texas school district, with the majority of layoffs being teachers and teaching assistants. As you probably inferred, these cuts were not made because the population of students drastically decreased. Unfortunately these budget cuts affected pre-k and special education programs as well as greatly increasing class size statewide.

I feel that education is the very LAST thing that should suffer when budget cuts are needed. It is discouraging enough that not everyone can afford the higher education they deserve, but now the public education system is suffering. With Texas education already behind the rest of the nation, how can it possibly improve when all the resources are being taken away? Although I feel all the blame shouldn't be placed on Governor Perry, it will be, and as Americans head to the polls next year I feel this will be a issue of importance and consideration to many. Simply put, the Texas education system needs a drastic makeover.

Extreme DWI Law

Twice as drunk, twice the consequence? I think so! In late August, the State of Texas lawmakers passed a law called the "Extreme DWI Law." This new law provides for an additional penalty for drunk drivers who test with a blood alcohol level of .15 or above, just about double that of the legal limit. Prior to the passing of this law, drunk drivers with a blood alcohol level of .08 or .20 all received the same penalty, a class B misdemeanor. Under the new Extreme DWI Law, drivers with a blood alcohol level above .15 receieve a class A misdemeanor, up to 1 year in jail, and a $4000 fine.
From a citizens perspective this is great news. As with many crimes, the greater the crime, the greater the punishment. A great example of that would be in cases of theft. The penalty for theft varies greatly depending on the value or amount that has been stolen. Someone who steaks a piece of candy does not receieve the same penalty as someone who steals a Mercedes.
Many of us have no doubt driven thinking we are "fine" or after "just a couple beers," when in fact we are probably right at the legal limit. While this is still wrong, it is quite different from someone who binge drinks and then gets behind the wheel. We must all accept responsibility if we drink and drive, and those who blatantly violate the law should receive pushishment equal to their crime.

Rick Perry & Women

I found the blog posting "What a Rick Perry Presidency Would Look Like For Women" from the "Mean Rachel" blog to be very interesting. Although Rachel identifies herself as being younger, her profile is pretty impressive, and in my opinion she appears to be pretty qualified to comment on political matters. Rachel is clearly left wing, and covered the 2008 Democratic National Convention, as well as having written for The Huffington Post.

In this particular blog entry, Rachel is tries to describe what the election of Governor Rick Perry would mean for american women, based on the policies he supports. According to Rachel, the first order of business would be to emphasize abstinence. We all know that Governor Perry feels very strongly about this issue, however the author points out that according to a 2005 study, teens were having more sex after undergoing an abstinence only program. Therefore, Perry's persistance in executing this program is based solely on a "From my own personal life" platform.

The blog post goes on to point out many other problems the state of Texas has on its hands under Perry's governing. It is brought out, as it has been in many recent debates that Texas is suffering in the education area, labeled the state with the highest percent of high school dropouts. Clearly the author did her research, rather than simply bashing the Governor.

Although this blog is written to be funny or "mean" as implied by the title, it brings to light several points that may be of interest to women voters. Obviously all of the problems in Texas cannot be blamed on Rick Perry, but women who read this blog will certainly be interested in it's contents.

Race in Admissions

In the article "Race in admissions: maintaining a vibrant, diverse student body," from The Daily Texan, the columnist weighs in on the recent Fisher vs. University of Texas lawsuit that is currently being appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
The author seems to be primairly addressing any whom have been offended by the claim that the University of Texas practices affirmative action. The author is also a student of the University of Texas, and therefore is qualified to comment on the ethnic diversity of the student population. Some credibility was also added with the mention of the past court cases the university has been involved in due to similar circumstances, showing research on the subject was done.
I feel the author agrees with the way the University of Texas is currently handling their admissions process. The plaintiffs in the current court case make a valid point in suggesting that the Top Ten Percent rule should contain enough ethnic diversity that remaining applicants should not be subject to these considerations. However, the author counters that argument effectively by suggesting that ethnic diversity is not always equally represented in the Top Ten Percent rule due to minorities not always having the same pre-college opporunities due to economic barriers.
I agree with the author and from the information provided, agree with the current university admissions process. It is specifically stated that race is a secondary consideration. To me this means that if the admissions department is for example looking to add more African American students, yet an Asian student looks better academically, they will go with the Asian student based on the academics. I feel that the university would receive MUCH more scrutiny if they DIDNT use this process, ultimately leading to a less diverse student body.

Perry The Executioner

In the article "Perry The Executioner," featured in the Austin Chronicle, the journalist points out several facts, and opinions regarding the death penalty. Although I dont necessairly agree with everything stated in this article, it is no lie that Texas does indeed lead the country in executions, and the majority of them have taken place since Governor Perry has been in office. I thought this article was interesting because although it is written with a clear bias against Governor Perry, it does introduce a good bit of factual information on the topic and history of executions in Texas, and a personal opinion can be made. I personally feel that while Governor Perry may be a little execution happy, the larger percent of executions has a lot to do with the fact that Perry has been in office for such an extended period of time.