Cuban Embargo: Unjust and Outdated

By Edward F. Hayes

The United States’ embargo against Cuba is abominable. This act, which was intended to punish the communist government, only punishes the citizens of Cuba. I have seen with my own eyes the underdevelopment and depravation that this legislation has caused. For over half a century, presidents have renewed it without hesitation. Thankfully, it has now come under speculation. President Kennedy first enacted the embargo on the 19th of October, 1960. Communism has since fallen in most countries, except Cuba. If anything, the embargo does more to keep communism alive in Cuba.

I visited the island for the first time on February 20, 2008. I awoke at around four in the morning to catch the 7 AM flight from Miami to Havana. The short flight lasted around forty-five minutes. The rear door of the airplane opened and an air stair was put into place. My brother, mother, and I – having been seated in the rearmost row of the plane – were able to disembark the craft ahead of everyone else. I was the first one to step off of the plane and onto the Habanero tarmac. Though I was unaware of it at the time, that step had some historical significance. Earlier that day, at about 3:00 in the morning, Fidel Castro had announced his resignation from the Presidency in a letter to the Cuban people that was published on the website of Granma, the official publication of the Cuban Communist party. I believe that I was the first American to set foot on Cuban soil after the resignation of Fidel Castro; I was certainly the first American teenager to do so.

That first visit lasted two weeks. I didn’t stay in a hotel on the beach. Instead, I lived the life of an average Cuban citizen. I came to Cuba not as a tourist on holiday, but as the son of a Cuban-born American citizen. My mother, brother, and I lived in my great-aunt’s home during our stay. At 11 years old, I immediately felt the difference between poverty and privilege, for food was scarce and life in the savana is not as shiny as life in the suburbs of New Jersey. The distinctions between life under communism and life under capitalism, or of life under a dictatorship versus life in democracy were less obvious to my young mind, but I have come to understand them more viscerally over the past 6 years.

The Cuban people are not defeatist, despite the many challenges that they face. Transportation, for example, is an issue for most Cubans. I only met one Cuban who owned a car. He began by purchasing the empty carcass of a forty-year-old jeep and slowly acquired the components to make it run. This habit of inventando, or inventing, as it is known, is a way of life for Cubans. They are a people who have been forced to struggle, and they have learned to adapt in order to survive.

Practically every country in the world is opposed to the United States’ embargo against Cuba. Out of the 193 members of the United Nations, 188 are in opposition to the U.S., the only exceptions being Israel and a few insignificant countries. In fact, a number of nations condemned the United States for these actions at the U.N. General Assembly, including Zambia, Belarus, and Tanzania. This criticism from virtually every developed country corroborates my own hostility towards the United States and this ridiculous embargo.

The poverty that the Cubans face is primarily caused by their ineffective government, but their inability to trade with the United States and buy their products exacerbates the situation to an intolerable level. Furthermore, Cubans are prevented from improving their economic standing so long as this embargo stays in place. The United States and President Obama must come to see how detrimental this embargo is and realize the human rights violations that it abets.

http://cuba-embargo.procon.org/files/carlos-latuff-cuba-embargo.jpg

http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/on-cuba-embargo-its-the-u-s-and-israel-against-the-world-again/

http://www.iie.com/publications/papers/sanctions-cuba-60-3.pdf

Pick on Someone Your Own Size

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By: Brett Casserly

Is it possible for the National Football League to just “forgive and forget” a child abuser? Sometimes forgiveness can benefit more people than we actually know. Adrian Peterson has made national news for his child abuse scandal where he beat his four year old son to the point of scarring. The NFL suspended Peterson indefinitely, while charges were to be brought up in court.  The main topic of discussion is if he should be reinstated and allowed to play in the NFL. He admits to beating his son with a wooden stick to discipline him and a plea bargain was reached on November 4^th. Peterson’s punishment included two years of probation, a $4,000 fine and 80 hours of community service, half of which will be taken care of by a public service announcement.

For many it is impossible to forgive a man who beats his son to control him. In today’s society it is completely unacceptable to abuse your children no matter their actions. Scientists have found that even spanking, the most widely accepted and alleged form of punishment, has alarmingly negative consequences for childhood development. According to multiple articles, spanking can increase a child’s risk of aggression, antisocial behavior, and mental health disorders later in life. It slows down brain development and decreases language skills. Spanking may not leave outward signs of injury, but the mental scars that it inflicts can last a lifetime. There is no place in football and society for actions like these and never should they be seen as ok or acceptable. The NFL has made it clear that they will not tolerate such actions and they have suspended him indefinitely. Whether or not Peterson is reinstated his image will always be tainted with this scandal and he can never escape it.

Peterson has made mistakes but I am sure all of us wish we had a second chance at some point in our life.  Never can you justify the actions he took against his son but the realization is that he was beaten the same as a child. His story can be used as an example to show people the devastations of child abuse. Instead of turning away from the issue it should be faced head on with him as the leader. In 2007, Michael Vick was implicated in a dog fighting scandal and was not only suspended by the league but was convicted and imprisoned for 23 months. Vick was given another chance from the NFL and even though he could never fixed his tainted image, he has tried to do well. He is a leader in the fight against animal abuse and has raised a lot of awareness for the issue that not many people knew about before. Since 2007, over 40 laws, whether state or federal, have been upgraded or put into place to make the punishment for animal abuse more severe. Peterson realizes that what he did was wrong and if he had any form of good will he could make a difference in the fight against child abuse.  There is not a single law in the United States against spanking your child and 19 states still allow corporal punishment in schools. Pushing his story to the side and throwing him out of the NFL to fix their image may seem like the reasonable thing to do but Peterson has the ability to stop this from happening to another player or person by raising awareness to the rest of the country that child abuse is a big issue in the United States that needs to be dealt with.

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Pushing away the issue child abuse and punishing Peterson will not necessarily solve the problem. The sad part is that what he did does not seem wrong to some people and that it is ok to abuse your child if he is misbehaving. Peterson’s story can be used to positively affect the lives of many even though what he did was unjustifiable. It is not about punishing Peterson individually for his actions; it is about trying to end child abuse for the good of the United States and the rest of the world.

The Decade That “Popped”

By Kyle O’Hara

Michael Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Prince, Hall & Oates: These are just a few names which come to mind when you talk about pop music in the 1980’s.  The 1980’s revolution of the music video made it easier for the masses to gain access to the multitudes of different pop music which came out.  Yet, this revolution was not the only reason as to why the 80’s was such a dynamic and exciting time in pop music.

As the 1970’s came to a close, so did the golden age of heavy rock and metal. The ailing popularity of metal was evident through the mixed reviews and lack of ingenuity in multiple albums.  A prime example of this was Led Zeppelin’s In Through the Out Door, which received very mixed reviews from critics and did not garner the same public reaction that some of their former works attracted.  As the magazine Rolling Stone stated in their review, “Robert Plant and Jimmy Page’s creativity apparently failing and no one able to compensate.” Yet, where heavy metal and rock was lacking, pop music’s presence was beginning to be felt again by the masses.  By the late 1970’s pop acts like Stevie Wonder began to catapult pop music back onto the main stage of music.  And then in 1979, the album which immediately let pop back into the mainstream for the next decade came out.  Off the Wall by Michael Jackson released to the world a different style of pop music unseen to the world before that time.  This unique sound was captured in every superstar for the next decade and cannot be repeated by modern artists.

Yet, many will argue that today’s pop music captures a unique sound that other generations could not capture.  Though this statement may have some validity to it, the same could be said for any other era of pop music.  The one special characteristic that 1980’s pop music had compared to any other.  Each artist had an individual feature or characteristic that was true to their identity.  Now every time I turn on the radio, I feel that a current artist in pop has taken a feature from someone who has come before them.  Yes, I acknowledge that these artists do have influences, but the similarities to the artists that influence them are so great that at times it feels as if they are copying the style of their influence.  For example, Ariana Grande sounds way too similar to Mariah Carey for my liking.  I am not saying she does not have a great voice, rather she has failed to find a unique sound true to her which can further her as an artist.  Also, many pop artists of our time sound eerily similar to each other and at times it can get annoying to see the lack of ingenuity of artists today.  For example, Imagine Dragons and their contemporary X Ambassadors sound like the same band.  Each lead singer sounds almost the same and the type of music they play is indistinguishable from one another.

For people who say that other eras of pop are better, here is a systematic breakdown of what happened each era:

1950’s: Pop was overshadowed by the onset of rock stars such as Elvis, Muddy Waters, and Little Richard, and Buddy Holly.  Also, pop was eclipsed by the onset of Motown.

1960’s:  Pop was obscured by the British Invasion

1970’s: Pop showed signs of improvement in the mainstream, but it was still overshadowed by metal acts like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.

Then, the Eighties happened and brought us pop, fashion and the Breakfast Club. And all types of coming-of-age films to follow

1990’s: Pop shared the mainstream with rap, grunge rock, and punk rock.

2000’s: Pop started to take a decline as rap began make evident its presence in pop culture.

Yet, there is a plethora of other reasons why 1980’s pop was so much more successful than other eras.  The album sales speak for themselves.  Michael Jackson and Madonna were at the forefront for record sales.  Madonna’s Like a Virgin and True Blue are among the best selling albums of all time.  Michael Jackson’s Thriller is still the best selling album of all time, at 30 million albums sold, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.  Within this album lies some of the uniqueness captured throughout the decade in pop.  The ability to fuse together pop, rock and disco is never more evident than it was in Thriller.

60 million copies sold. SIXTY MILLION worldwide (estimated) for the “King of Pop”

One of the singles from the album, Beat It, is able to capture not only a hard rock guitar riff by Eddie Van Halen, but also, a soulful pop performance.  Madonna, on the other hand was able to capture a persona that caused controversy around her.  And though some of this controversy was negative, her artistry was something that no one could touch.  Also, production was taken to a new level during the 1980’s the most prevalent revolutionary in production of music during 1980’s pop was Quincy Jones.  He was one of the few producers who realized that pop is not restrained to bubblegum pop choruses.  He led the push to fuse together rock and pop to make it synonymous and work well together in songs.  Any other pop music producer since Quincy Jones has not been able to come near what e has done for the genre. Yet, these two artists and one producer are only mere microcosms of how revolutionary and good pop music was in the 1980’s.

Without 1980’s pop music, much of the pop we hear today would not be possible. Pop was forever revolutionized during this decade and has not been replicated by any other era.  There has never been such a concentration of artists into one decade which have contributed so much to the genre without being overshadowed by another genre.

Show Them The Money

By: Liam Parker

In this day and age, the profitability of college athletics, particularly in football and men’s basketball, is at an all-time high. Coaches such as Nick Saban of the University of Alabama and Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University accept higher salaries each year than some NFL and NBA coaches. The most shocking fact about this statistic however, is that the players who are on the field and court day in and day out do not accept a dime for what they do. With many athletes unable to afford basic necessities, such as food and travel expenses that are not covered by their scholarship, it is becoming glaringly obvious that athletic scholarships alone are not enough to alleviate the financial burdens that the families of these young men and women face.

The NCAA states that “no college athlete may benefit monetarily in any way for their athletic capabilities while enrolled at a member university.” This includes endorsements, memorabilia sales, video game appearances, etc. The NCAA feels that the discounted education they receive, which on average would be about 200,000 dollars over four years, is sufficient payment (in lieu of actual money.) These collegiate athletes have their living expenses taken care of, books paid for, and eat on campus for free. These are surely opportunities that many other students at these universities do not have.

However, I spoke to Richard Roche about this subject and his views differed from those of the NCAA. Roche was a linebacker on the Syracuse Orange football team all four years during college and later went on to play in the NFL. He remembers that because of the proximity of his home on Staten Island to the university, all of his teammates who could not afford the bus fares to travel home would spend holidays at his house. “I remember guys on full scholarships who lived as close as Erie, Pennsylvania or Elmira, New York, a 2 hour drive at most and very cheap bus fare, would spend holidays at my house because they simply couldn’t afford the bus ticket home. It was tough to see how much it killed these guys to not be able to travel home and see their families.” As unfortunate as this fact is, it is still very prevalent today and for many athletes, the financial struggles go beyond bus tickets home around the holidays.

According to Forbes, the lowest possible annual salary an NFL rookie can earn is $350,000, as compared to the roughly $50,000 college athletes receive in scholarship benefits each year on average. Players in the NFL and NCAA both play at incredibly high levels of the sport, putting their bodies at risk in order to display their tremendous skill on the field. In my opinion, the gap of talent between the NCAA and the NFL does not constitute a $300,000 dollar difference in annual “salary.” However, players in NFL do practice more and with more contact than players in the NCAA, but this is to be expected considering they are full time athletes while college players have academic obligations to fulfill before athletic ones. Just as an example, the South Eastern Conference, a 14 team “upper echelon” conference, reports an annual revenue of $292.8 million. One might think that out of all of this profit, some might be distributed to the players, who are the sole reason that profit is possible, to pay for basic daily living expenses.

The most disturbing issue of this entire debate is the fact that players’ images essentially belong to the university and the players themselves are not able to benefit from them in any way. There have been several examples, the most prominent being Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston, where players have faced suspensions for allegedly selling autographed pictures, something that professional athletes are fully allowed to do and make thousands each year for selling. Professional athletes who are featured in video games such as Madden, EA Sports’ NHL and NBA 2K series make hundreds of thousands of dollars for allowing their images to appear on the covers of these games, while college athletes are not allowed to accept any money for appearing in the NCAA versions of these same games.

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Over the years, it has become very clear that there is a need for reform to these old policies simply because there are circumstances faced by many athletes that cause the need for some income in addition to the athletic scholarships they receive. Hopefully, this income will come through small, performance based annual salaries and the ability to profit from their own image in the coming years.

End of the EU? Let’s Hope So…

Where’s the growth? – European Citizens continue to struggle under the overbearing policies of the vast European bureaucracy.

By Alex Sanders

My interest in politics and more specifically economics has led me into many debates over the years, normally with individuals I myself have never met, from places I’ve never been. A key point of interest for me over the past three years has been the vast market of the European Union. From my understanding, the Global Recession of 2008 had left Europe in the worst position out of anyone in the “developed world” and it fascinated me to say the least. I spent a good deal of time arguing my case to native Europeans as to why the single largest economy, the EU, was struggling so harshly. My debate points left a majority of my adversaries angry with me, insulting me as an ignorant American, foolish North American and disregarding what in most cases were hard facts as fiction. These debates are an unfortunate case however that I certainly wish I was wrong about.

For all its worth, the vast “free” market of the European Union fails to produce sustainable economic growth and development for its 28 member states. To its credit, the European Union can be given marks for its good intentions… As seen in the quote below from the EU’s mission statement. “To strengthen Europe’s economy and to promote solidarity around Europe by working in partnership with national, regional and local government. To help Europe benefit economically and socially from globalisation.”

Few could argue the nobility of Europe’s aspirations, especially given the context in which this Union was first developed. Why then is it so difficult for Europe to grow? You can call me biased in favor of American capitalism for fault of my nationality but the numbers speak for themselves. Just recently in fact, the newly confirmed European Commission which serves as the relative executive branch of the Union decreased its forecast for economic growth to a mere 0.8% for the year(Eurostat). I could throw any number of economic statistics at you but I’ll stick to the ones which I feel best represent the image of Europe that so many people, including those in the EU wish to overlook. Italy, which holds throne to the fourth largest economy in Europe, has slipped back into recession after two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction (WallStreetJournal.com). Just as troubling is the fact that youth unemployment in the EU remains unchanged at 21.6 percent as of September 2014(MarketWatch.com). Even their precious Euro which was so often thrown in my face by European debaters as far superior in value compared to our US dollar is falling and falling as the prospects of European economies remains weak. The long pushed off quantitative easing by the European Central bank must almost certainly now be instituted. Indeed despite the best efforts of the commissions over the past few years there is simply little to show when it comes to the development of Europe. But why one must ask is it so difficult for Europe to get back on its feet? Why is it that the great economic bloc, the touted largest economy in the world cannot output an excess of two percent growth? I believe it all gets down to the nature of bad policy. As the Eurocrats – as they are called – should know having grown up in the face of communism, overly restrictive regulations and controlled investments do not provide the optimal case for growth. From increased agricultural regulations which have caused revolt in France, to aggressive environmental regulations on its energy industry, Europe is biting at its own heels… Yet no one in Brussels seems to acknowledge it, or even care. That certainly could be the problem, the EU may simply have an issue of ideology. It is the case that 190 members of the European parliament align themselves with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. The policies of the European Union reflect those who govern it in the Commission and Parliament. These policies in turn direct the paths which the union will take; increased central planning or a more free market based economy – prolonged anemic progress or a more robust and promising future for the 500,000,000 (Wikipedia) citizens of the European Union.

Unfortunately the latter of the two options seems increasingly far off as the bureaucracy continues to grow.  For this reason, it is my opinion that the EU should shape up and reform or dissolve its monetary and economic union all together. There are a great deal of individuals, particularly those who believe in the European project for greater integration who choose to blame the woes of their continent on the United States.  Certainly America can hold some of the fault but we have to be frank, Europe’s troubles were long in development and it is Europe’s responsibility to better defend its economic well-being from outside forces. We should note that the critical view of the EU is not held solely by those outside its borders. On a rather astounding scale, the Eurosceptic as they are called are gaining ground on all fronts of the political spectrum. Important cases to pay attention to are those of the Front National from France and UKIP from the United Kingdom which both trend to be gaining ground in the polls. As the second and third largest (economically speaking) nations in the EU, skepticism in these nations poses a true issue to not only the Unions dreams of expansion, but also its hopes of survival. Shape up or break up Europe, patience is waning

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Performance Enhancing Drugs and Athletes

By Nick Caputo

It is common knowledge that many athletes use or have used Performance Enhancing Drugs, substances that assist these athletes in reaching physical conditions that were never possible without them. There has been controversy regarding the legality of using PED’s and whether they should be allowed in professional sports or be considered cheating. In my opinion, I agree that the use of PED’s in professional athletes should be strictly prohibited because it gives athletes that use them an unfair advantage.

Steroids can be injected or taken in pill form. in his article “How Performance Enhancing Drugs Work” Craig Freudenrich states “Anabolic steroids have a number of possible and well-known side effects, including: jaundice and liver damage because these substances are normally broken down in the liver; mood swings, depression and aggression because they act on various centers of the brain.” In males, excessive use of anabolic steroids can interfere with normal sexual function and cause baldness, infertility and breast development. In females, the excessive use of steroids can cause male characteristics to develop and interfere with normal female functions. The drugs can stimulate hair growth on the face and body, suppress or interfere with the menstrual cycle. This can possibly lead to infertility, thickening of vocal cords (which causes the voice to deepen, possibly permanently), and interference with the developing fetus in pregnant women.

Why do athletes feel the use of PED’s is necessary? Athletes may have several reasons for using performance-enhancing drugs. An athlete may use performance enhancing drugs to build mass and strength of muscles and/or bones, increase delivery of oxygen to exercising tissues, mask pain, stimulate the body, relax, reduce weight or hide the use of other drugs. Athletes should just work hard and do what athletes in the past have done to become better than other athletes. They should diet healthily and spend more time in the gym if they want to gain more mass. Why do they need to turn to drugs that make them better? It is not necessary and in some cases it is harmful because of the potential health effects that accompany the use of steroids. Some may think that the use of anabolic steroids is a shortcut to gaining mass, but I believe that it’s simply a lazy decision and will result in dangerous health conditions in the future. Athletes that eat healthy and exercise the natural way will find themselves much healthier in the future. Why sacrifice your health to become a better athlete? It’s simply not worth it.

Are baseball players paid too much?

By: Ryan Touhey

Professional baseball players are being paid too much money for playing a game and providing entertainment for our delight. Some of these players are very cocky and arrogant, and feel that they should be treated better than everybody else. But there are thousands of people in America such as police officers or firefighters, who are not recognized for their hard work and are paid much less for what they do.

Some Major League Baseball players care more about the money than they do about their careers or how they perform. In 1994, Major League Baseball hit rock bottom. The players walked off the job after a new idea of paychecks was proposed during the ’94 season. The players hated the idea of a salary cap and refused to play anymore games for the rest of the season beginning on August 12^th. It was completely selfish of the players to just leave the game on such a low note like that and it was a slap to the face of many Americans who work hard all year long and don’t even make half the money some of these ballplayers do.

Photo courtesy of Joe Cannaday (www.joecannaday.com)

A certain number of Major League players are not even worth what they’re paid. It’s absolutely ludicrous to see certain deals made by teams during the offseason and seeing the results of these new signings after the season ends. For example, the New York Yankees took a gamble during the 2013-14 offseason by releasing two of their biggest sluggers: Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano. They acquired Brian McCann from the Atlanta Braves and Carlos Beltran from the St. Louis Cardinals. Both were major disappointments for the Yankees during the 2014 season. McCann, who signed five-years and $85 million, hit .232, his second-worst season batting average of his career. Carlos Beltran struggled as well. A man who is past his prime and was awarded $45 million, he hit just .233 and was limited to 109 games due to injuries.

The difference between professional ballplayers and the average American is completely unfair! The minimum Major League Baseball salary is approximately up to $500,000 in 2014 (statista.com). The national income in the U.S. according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics is $786 per week or $48,872 per year. Also, men are more likely to make more than women. In December 2013, the average male made approximately a median of $45,188. The average female made $37,076 in December (jobsearch.com). The difference between MLB players and the public is approximately $451,128! That is absolutely insane.

I am against any fans who support these kinds of players who are receiving this amount of money they’re getting, and not performing to their highest standards. As a lifelong Yankee fan, I have seen the Yankees make many deals in the past. Some of these deals were good, and some were bad. The bad ones included Alex Rodriguez’s contract from 2007. He signed a 10-year deal worth $275 million! Now look where he is! He’s a disaster. He has been caught lying and cheating with his use of performance enhancing drugs and is quite possibly the most hated man to ever play the game of baseball. Luckily, due to a violation of policy by using performance enhancing drugs, Rodriguez got what he deserved in 2014 and was suspended for the entire season.

I believe that Major League Baseball teams should have these players earn these wages. I believe they have to earn the money by performing to the best of their abilities. Their paychecks should increase, ONLY when they perform at their best. Until they do that, they should be paid fairly like every other player is paid. Statistics would set the “standard” for performances of baseball players. Depending on the age of the player and how much money he signed for the season, statistics should determine how valuable this player truly is. The number of hits should be over one hundred, and innings played is another important part. These men are expected to play every single day, and should not be paid to sit on the bench because they can’t hit the ball or because they’re too tired. It’s unacceptable when a ballplayer doesn’t contribute for what he signed up for. For example, the 100^th ranked batting average belonged to Derek Jeter, and in his farewell season, hit .256. If a future “Hall-of-Famer gets paid $15.3 million to get a hit one out of every four times, then nobody should be paid more than that for performing below those standards (mlb.com).

Until baseball players are paid what they are truly worth to the organization and to the game of baseball, there will be continuous controversy and debate on who to side with, and how much money this ballplayer should be paid.

Katie Couric – CBS Sunday Morning

Websites

www.jobsearch.com

www.statista.com

http://www.mlb.com

Video link: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-do-baseball-players-make-so-much/

America’s Game Seems Indestructible

By Joe Buda

Can you even fathom the fact that at one time, baseball and boxing were more popular than football? It really is amazing how much the times have changed to where now football is more important to some people on Sunday than going to church. The Super Bowl is quite possibly the closest thing to an event at the Roman Coliseum; maybe it even surpasses it substantially. It’s a form of escapism that is truly unique to this great country of ours (even though Canada has it too and London wants to have it, for some reason)

Courtesy of gamedayr.com

However, athletes are human, and they all make mistakes, whether they like to admit it or not. Controversy in the NFL and the NCAA is not uncommon, but it never really has reached a tipping point to where viewers and analysts question the quality of the actual product. All sorts of things can be made a headline if an athlete or organization is involved: the O.J. Simpson affair, way too many scandals that end with the word “gate” (Bounty, Bottle, Spy or otherwise), Ray Lewis’ murder trial, and countless others. Recently, both the NFL and the NCAA have come crawling back to the headlines, and it seems like they’re there for all the wrong reasons. All of a sudden, cases and different events have caused a massive football drama fever dream that exploded around the past year or so. To be honest, I couldn’t remember some of the past events I mentioned, but let me tell you something about all the new stuff going down: the Ray Rice domestic violence case and an a alarming number of other cases as well, the Jameis Winston sexual assault case, Aaron Hernandez’s run in with the law over a double murder, concussion protocol discussions swirling out of control, Thursday Night Football and the damage it does to the players, the Redskins name, the Jerry Sandusky affair, and oh so much more.

So, does this actually affect anything that happens on the field? Absolutely not. And that is what both leagues have done a good job of doing: making sure that all the ugliness of the real world doesn’t permeate into the stadium. No matter what anyone wants to call them, whether it be the “No Fun League” or the “National Flag-Football League”; people are still going to watch their favorite team play and root for them on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday. The NCAA has dealt with issues like recruiting violations and other forms of unwanted attention since the inception of college football. Do the usually impossibly large crowds at State College or Tallahassee care? Yes, but they still want to support their team through whatever issue the school is going through. It also helps that the games have been fantastic to watch, especially in college: whether it be FSU-Notre Dame or Penn State-Ohio State, or classic divisional matchups between NFL teams, there has indeed been a at least a couple “game of the year” candidates very early in the season.

Some people might argue that these issues need to be resolved now and only the people can decide on what to do about it. If that means boycotting a season or refusing to watch your team play, then so be it. However, I’m going to expose to you a truth that might be hard to swallow: for every one person that decides not to watch a game, there are maybe ten other people that are taking your place, and the NFL and the NCAA absolutely love it. They are both indeed businesses that are, unfortunately, all about the money. However, do not let this phase you: there are people and players who want to help and make things better. The player’s union in the NFL makes it their job to make not only their pay fair, but also making sure the fans are getting the best product possible, through things like a new salary cap. Another hotly debated topic in the NCAA is the need for such unions to make the proverbial playing field level for both sides.

If you want to watch football for the sake of watching an entertaining game with your favorite team at the helm, then do just that, because that is what you should be doing anyway. It will be hard to ignore some of the friction that goes on outside, that you can be sure of. However, at the end of the day, just kick back, grab some friends, and get ready for some football action.

Please don’t apologize! No, seriously!

By Matt Stranzl

“I would like to formally apologize to any of those who I” – blah blah blah; just another insincere public apology from an athlete. While reading the newspaper, listening to radio shows, or watching television, it seems like half the time is spent on players apologizing for their behavior. The public has turned their attention away from the field, court, or rink, and instead focused it on the club, house, etc. Athletes should be appreciated for their unique talents, not criticized for their opinions and antics; it is time for a change. Organizations and agents need to stop forcing players to issue public statements and apologies for actions that do not cross the line from a legal standpoint.

In February of 2010, Tiger Woods issued an apology to his sponsors following the publication of his excessive cheating. Though it is immoral to commit adultery with a multitude of women over an extended period of time while one is married, there is nothing illegal about it. Roughly 3 years ago, Ryan Braun issued an apology to the fans of the Milwaukee Brewers following the publication of his usage of performance enhancing drugs. Though banned under baseball rules, the substances used are not illegal in a court of law. In both of these cases, neither athlete broke the law. In both cases, both athletes were forced by their respective organizations or agents to apologize to the public. In both cases, the apologies issued by the athletes were entirely disregarded by the public as being phony and insincere. The respective organizations and agents felt they needed to protect their own image, whether it be the PGA or the Milwaukee Brewers, as an attempt to show that neither group condoned such actions.

Photo courtesy of Drewlitton.com

The extremely skeptical reaction in the golf and baseball communities, respectively, shows that such apologies were unnecessary. If such apologies were made fifty years ago would they be handled differently by the public? There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that would be the case, but unfortunately for Ryan Braun and Tiger Woods, apologies are now viewed in an entirely different light. Because the public views apologies with such a grain of salt, they are not taken seriously anymore. It is not questioned whether or not what the two of them did was morally wrong, but their sincerity is called into question because people make statements like those all the time. While it may seem unjust to tell people they do not have to apologize after making an egregious mistake, how do we know someone is truly remorseful if they receive the same orders whether they robbed a bank, or merely got a little too drunk at a local bar. By forcing people to apologize whenever organizations feel an athlete has tarnished its image, they are placing Johnny Manziel in the same category as Aaron Hernandez. Both are forced to apologize to the public for making the organization look bad, but one is suspected of homicide, while the other got drunk while strangers took his picture.

Athletes should have the same rights as any other human being to act candidly and honestly without having to apologize for their actions. Too often, we see athletes saying something in public, or on social media, that any other normal person does, but the public chooses to crucify them because they have a blue check mark next to their Twitter handle. Following this public crucifixion is a forced statement issued by the player (written by his/her PR guy) apologizing to anyone whom he may have offended. In the period of time following Michael Sam coming out as the first openly gay active NFL player, we saw numerous athletes forced to apologize following tweets sent out or statements made to the media when asked their opinion. Certainly, thousands, maybe even millions, took offense to what those athletes had to say, but we should also consider how many thousands, maybe even millions, who shared the same opinions as the athletes who made statements on Twitter, or to the media. None of those people are forced to issue public statements of apology. None of the athletes who were forced to apologize violated the law in any way, shape, or form, so they should not have to apologize for voicing their beliefs. After all, most people should be familiar with the First Amendment.

Clearly, not all people agree with this point of view. There are those who view athletes as role models. The idea that an athlete is a role model dies out by the time someone realizes there are more important issues than how many runs Derek Jeter drives in during the ALCS. Once someone becomes exposed to the more pressing issues in the world, their role models change from the Derek Jeters of the world, to the Mother Teresas. So saying that we should hold athletes to a higher standard because people look up to them is illogical. There are those who view athletes as representatives of the organizations on the front of their jersey. What people are forgetting to realize is why those people are a part of that organization. No NFL team drafts an average human being with tremendous personality traits. NFL teams draft superhuman athletes who help their team win games. Athletes are employed because of their physical abilities, no one is signing a multimillion dollar contract because they run an efficient food kitchen.

Athletes need to be treated like the people they are, not the gods that people make them out to be. That being said, should we condone their actions when they do something that many find to be morally or ethically wrong? Not necessarily. But we should not force them to stand behind a podium and read a statement that someone else prepared for them. We need to take less offense to what athletes say and do, and recognize that we are very similar to them, even if we don’t have thousands of social media followers. If athletes do something legally wrong, we have every right to step in and let them know that they have some owning up to do. Then, it is appropriate for them to get in front of an audience and show some genuine remorse for their misdoings.

Through Immigrant Eyes: The Mary Parker Story

By: Liam Parker

The classic American dream for many goes like this: get a job, get a house and raise a family. My great grandfather wanted just this for his two daughters, Mary and Debbie. Raised in Longford, which is the county seat of County Longford, Ireland, my grandmother, Mary Parker recalls that her childhood was not always ideal. “I was one of many siblings. We lived in a tiny country house which was a very far trek to the village. If we wanted to go to the store or the pharmacy, it was a several mile walk on rocky, unpaved roads.” One natural resource that is abundant across Ireland and the rest of the UK is peat, a moss like substance that grows in large fields known as bogs. The town of Longford has a large bog and Mary recalls that each household in the town would be given a few yards of peat each winter which they would burn to heat their house. In addition to being a very effective fuel for home heating, peat is also capable of preserving items very well. Mary and her brother Richard were exploring the section of the bog near their house one day when they discovered armor. After extensive research, it was concluded that the armor was from the Roman Empire, a time when before the Anglo-Saxon era, there was a lot of Roman presence in what is now the UK.

“I look back fondly on my time in Longford” says Mary, “Not many people can say that they had the privilege of learning Gaelic and Latin in school every day or being able to ride horses across the Irish countryside 7 days a week.” The family was living in Longford during the times of Michael Collins’ IRA and the struggle for the Republic of Ireland to regain the British held Northern Ireland. This was a very dark time in Irish history, marked by a lot of violence and hardships. Although it was a difficult decision, my great grandfather decided that his two eldest daughters, Mary and Debbie deserved better opportunities than the land of Ireland could provide. On the girls’ fifteenth birthday, he gave them their presents: two one way tickets on a ship to America. “The day we left was one of the hardest of my life” said Mary, “but Deborah and I knew that it was for the best.” After a cramped 12 day journey across the Atlantic Ocean, the two sisters landed in America and were immediately hooked. “We couldn’t believe the sights. Everywhere we went was so built up and populated. It was a lot to take in for two rural Irish girls.” Living in the city, the girls worked odd jobs such as telephone operators and housekeepers in order to pay the bills and make plans for the future.

The girls promised their father that even in America, they would keep their faith and always remember the Irish culture. Mary recalls that her and her sister Deborah would often spend Saturdays when they had off at Gaelic Park, a sports complex where many Irish-American societies played each other in games of hurling, rugby and Gaelic football. It was at Gaelic Park that my grandmother met my grandfather, Jim Parker: a first generation Irish-American who was studying landscape architecture at Rutgers.

Fast forward a few years and the two were married, living in a nice house in Midland Park, New Jersey, directly next door to the workshop of my grandfather’s landscaping business: James Parker and Sons. It was in the small, primarily Dutch community that they would raise their three children: Lisa, James and Richard. As a conclusion, I asked my grandmother if she has achieved the American dream. Teary eyed, in her thick Irish brogue she said “I was lucky enough to raise my children in a nice town and give them many opportunities I never had growing up. Years later I now have 8 grandchildren whom I love and adore very much. I could not be happier about coming to America and starting a new life here.” She still keeps in touch with all of her family living in Ireland and has gone back to visit her hometown many times.