Hazing

Later in the year, we'll be doing a short unit on hazing and alcohol abuse on college campuses.  This story hit the news today.

22 NIU frat members charged in freshman's hazing death

Thought you might be interested...

Gun Control, School Violence and other issues

In light of the tragic school shooting in Newtown, please work to gather information about the variety of issues that this incident raised.  Read the articles linked below or search on your own to see what people have been saying.  I also encourage you to look at library's subscription databases (Opposing Viewpoints, Issues and Controversy, CQ Researcher)to get some additional background information.  Keep track of what you read.  List the sources and take notes.
Here are some things that I've been looking at.

• NY Times Philosophical Blog, The Stone is doing a series of essays "that examine the ethical, social and humanitarian implications of the use, possession and regulation of weapons."
• The Atlantic is having an interesting internal debate stemming from this article that was published in its magazine the week prior to the Newtown shooting.  Search the site for gun control to see the other articles that have been written this week.  A columnist from Salon responds to the original Atlantic argument here.
• Mental health is also an issue that has been raised here, perhaps most heart wrenchingly by this article by a mother whose son suffers from a mental disease.  Time Magazine reviews the article and the responses it evoked here.

As you browse around today, please reply to this post by adding links to any articles that you find to be interesting, revealing, or provocative.

Questions on Abortion

After reading the Abortion Debates article and watching the film, Unborn in the USA, several questions emerged.  They include but are not limited to the following:

• What kind of role should the government play in abortion?
• Should a man have any rights in regards to his partner’s decision to have an abortion or not?
• Should parents be notified if their minor child wishes to have an abortion?
• What requirements, if any, should abortion clinics and those attending them have placed on them in order to do the procedure (consider ultrasounds and waiting periods)?
• What are the risks associated with making abortions severely restricted or illegal?
• Should individual states be allowed to have differing abortion laws?
• Should people have the right to protest outside abortion clinics?  Should there be any limitations on those protests?
• Should the ban on partial birth or late-term abortion be upheld?
• How do the choices of abortion and adoption compare?
• Should the morning after pill be allowed to be sold over the counter?
• Should contraceptives be given to teenagers in schools?
• Should parents know when teenagers are issued contraceptives?
• What is the relationship between abstinence only education and abortions?

Your task for today is to choose one of the above questions (or another question that was raised by the article or the film that is not listed above) and research the varying responses to it.  You should use the library subscription databases (CQ Researcher, Issues: Understanding Controversy in Society, or Gale Opposing Viewpoints, JSTOR).  You may do additional research on the web but be SURE that sites that you use are reputable, appropriate, and valid.

You should keep track of the sources you use as well as how they answer the question.  You should use one of the charts available under the Research Log section of the Research Tips at the Library website.
Also, several people expressed a desire to watch a film with a different point of view than "Unborn in the USA".  This one and this one provide alternate perspectives.

Update: Speech on Campus/Halloween Costumes/Etc.

Check out this story about an incident at Penn State University.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/50100377#50100377

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