Guns Everywhere?

I am sure that everyone has heard about the bill that is being sent to the house and senate to allow people with licenses to carry concealed weapons on campus. Those who support this bill say that it will deter any future students from shootings since they will fear that someone nearby will have a gun as well. I personally think that the bill is one of the dumbest ideas. College kids are already stressed out enough, they dont need to be worrying about whether or not someone is going to snap today and shoot up the school. I have to agree with the people who oppose the bill when they say that having guns on campus is a bad idea where "youthful impulsiveness, social anxieties and alcohol" are prominent. I think that hypothetically the bill is a good idea, but in reality it will just cause more problems. It wouldn't surprise me if that kid who says he will do anything to get an A really will do anything, including pulliong a gun on his teacher. I see this bill causing more problems than good. I cant speak for anyone else, but I think I would feel more uneasy, not safer, if this bill does get passed. In order to be able to carry a concealed weapon you have to pass a test and have a background check performed. I was under the impression that the students who have started shootings have had clean backgrounds and it was never suspected that they would do anything like that. Also, a lot of the shootings end in suicide, so im not sure how much the threat of others having guns will really deter them if they are already planning on dying. I personally am not constantly worrying about school shootings, but I would be a little nervous if I knew that anyone on campus could have a gun. I just dont think that this bill will fix anything.


Read the article http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-texas_guns_wittapr27,0,5010044.story

Here is another blog on the topic http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-liebowitz_23edi.State.Edition1.205ac09.html

More Swine Flu

As a precautionary measure to protect children against swine flu, many schools are sending out emails, making parents and children aware, and some are even closing for a small period of time. Lourdes Lee Valeriano, one blog author, has a daughter in school and is "heartened by the attention the schools are giving the issue—and the matter-of-fact way they’re going about it." I agree with Valeriano. I think that it is very important for schools to be careful, but I like that they are doing so in a calm manner. The last thing we need is all of the children becoming paranoid about dying from swine flu. I think that the media should have the same attitude as the school systems. It does no good to anyone for the media to cause fear about swine flu. I think they chould be informative, but calm, which is opposite of what they are doing. Just googling swin flu news, I found many articles that contradicted each other. It seems that none of them really have any facts and all the news is based off of rumors. Its as if America is crowded around a campfire and all the news stations are taking turns telling a scary story, but each one has to exaggerate the numbers a little more in order to top the last one. Who knows how many people have contracted the disease or how many have died? I do know, however, that most cases in America have been treated, so Im just gonna relax. There are other things on my mind. Afterall, finals are in one week.

Read the blog at http://www.businessweek.com/careers/workingparents/blog/archives/2009/04/swine_flu_what.html