SB 1214

In response to the article by Brett Livingood titled "Concealed Weapons Can't Hurt" published on March 17, in the Arizona State University paper, the State Press, I must state that I completely disagree. Carrying weapons onto a college campus or any school in general, is a dangerous and ridiculous idea. He said that the list of requirements to be able to carry a concealed gun onto our campus is long, is besides the point. First of all, in reality, it is only a few minor details that any idiot could accomplish. Second of all, just because someone isn't under indictment, is not a convicted felon, or has not been judged mentally incompetent by a doctor, does not mean they are still mentally able to bear the responsibility that comes with owning and legally carrying a gun. Many college students still have the mentality of a high school freshman, so his statement about "we mature college students" is not exactly true. And we all know that those are the students that will get the guns and bring them to campus, because they can, so why shouldn't they? They are the ones that will not safely keep them hidden, but will pull them out, wave them around and show them off to their friends and think, "how cool am I?" ... until it goes off because they did not think it was necessary to keep the safety on, or because they do not know how to handle it safely. Guns on our campus in the hands of anyone other than trained Police officers is insane, and if this law passes we will only be endangering the lives of everyone on campus. I for one am horrified that some people think this is a good idea.

In an email to Brett Livingood, he replied that " My reasons are that I trust the judgement of individuals for the most part, I assume that adults should be treated as such, and I believe guns are intended for self-defense." Trust them for the most part? If this is your reasoning as well, I must ask, why do you trust someone with your life and the lives of your friends and every other person on campus, when you do not know them? I don't know about you, but I am not willing to risk my friends lives over the possibility, that MAYBE these people have the responsibility and correct judgement to be able to carry a gun into a place of education. And why are you assuming? Do not assume a strangers intentions are good. That is the thinking that will get you killed. Be certain about someone's motives. And since you cannot be certain in this case, do not risk peoples lives with uncertainty. Mr. Livingood said that SB 1214 will "level the playing field". What playing field?? Arizona State University is not a war zone!! It is a school campus where students come to be educated, not to play war games. I am not alone in my feelings against this law being passed. The attacks against Columbine and Virginia Tech were horrific. True, somebody still could do that here, even if SB 1214 was not passed, but the less guns we have on campus the safer we all are. What happens if someone carries a gun onto campus to "level the playing field", thinks he sees something dangerous and whips out his gun and starts shooting and he turns out to be wrong? What then? It will be yet another unnecessary massacre spread across the front page and more lives damaged and lost forever. There will be less of a chance of an attack on us if there are no guns on campus. Guns in general area  bad idea, so why are we trying to allow them onto our campuses? We don't need an accident, a suicide attempt gone  awry, a bad day or a confused person who thought they were in danger to ruin the lives of every ASU student and every person remotely connected. Schools are for learning and getting an education, not for carrying guns and putting innocent peoples lives at risk. The people who will bring the guns onto our campuses are the ones that should not, and the ones that don't are the ones that are smart enough to realize that it is way too dangerous to put something as deadly as a gun into the hands of anyone who just wants to feel powerful. 

Stop playing with our lives and think. Weapons are dangerous and do not belong on school campuses. I do not want anyone to die just because of an asinine law that says any idiot can legally put me and my friend's lives at risk for the sake of "feeling safe". If this law passes, we will not be safe. 

COMPROMISE

Compromise: 

_A middle way between two extremes.

_An accommodation in which both sides make concessions. 

_To be in an agreement, both sides giving a little to get a lot more. 

_Not giving in to selfishness. 

_A way to work with others. 

It seems that most of the people I come into contact with do not understand this word. Please learn it. I am tired of being the only one who follows it. We all want fairness, so be fair. 

New York in the spring

I cannot possibly begin to tell you how or why exactly I love New York so much. I think I would end up butchering it and you would find me to be odd. But I shall try because I love it, and it would be a real shame if you did not know the real New York. It is my first true love. I moved to the city that never sleeps at the ripe old age of eighteen. I cannot deny that the real reason for moving there, was because I was running away. But I found that New York ended up being one of the best things to ever happen to me.

When I first got there, I was scared. The thought that kept circling in my head was, why on earth had I picked myself up and moved across the country, to a city I don't even know, all by myself? I learned in the first week that what I had just done, was only the beginning. I realized that these changes I had been making is part of who I am. I will not be able to go through life without just throwing myself off the diving board and into the deep end. Sink or swim, this is who I am. Good thing too, because after a week of being in New York, I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the people, who so diverse and numerous, all have their own interesting stories of how they got to this wonderful city and what it means to them. I met an Egyptian man there who said that he could no longer leave New York since he had fallen in love with it. It was like he was a fish and New York was his fish bowl. He said if he were to leave, it would be like he was a fish out of water, unable to breath. Simone and I loved this. In fact, we interviewed him in a documentary we made and I would bet that he was one of Simone's most favorite memories about New York. 

I fell in love with the smells of New York also. I took some friends to New York over the holidays and I showed them all over. Their thoughts of the smells of New York did not quite match mine, but I cannot deny the smell of the subways makes me feel happy because it means that I am back home. When I was living there, we used to go to the farmer's market in Union Square and we would get fresh fruit and vegetables and little apple pies and we would see all sorts of people, celebrities included. The atmosphere of New York is so different from any other place I have been to. The rush of the cabs as they drive by, the shaking ground as the subways rumble beneath the earth, and the honking horns one can always hear at any time of the day. Some people rushing everywhere in a hurry to get on with their lives, others sitting quietly in a park reading, enjoying the feel of New York. As you wander through the streets, music of all sorts meets your ears. African, Brazilian, Spanish, German, Russian, French, Arabian, Polish and Hungarian sounds fill your ears with a beauty unlike any other. And let's not forget the food in New York. Only in New York, can you wander through the most beautiful parks in the world, dissolved in the beautiful green trees and be able to get a wimpy little hot dog, gyro and a soda for mere change. And once you have your crappy little meal, will you realize that they taste better than any gourmet meal you could get in an overpriced restaurant in California. In fact, many will find that it was the best meal in their life. 

New York, so full of life, beauty, happiness, change and diversity. The love I have of New York surpasses many other feelings I have. More often than not, if you find me sitting and staring off into space unable to hear you call my name, I am most likely dreaming about my wonderful city and wondering when the time will come for me to return to it. 

school

Among all the traveling and fun I have been having, all of a sudden I find myself sitting in class listening to yet another lecture about something I care nothing about. Somehow, school has slid around me without my noticing and has forced me into a daily routine of which I cannot stand. How unfortunate for those of us stuck here. I have decided that really, school I'm sure is this big joke that the school boards play on us weak students. Here we are, paying so much money we get into debt for the rest of our lives so that we can have others force us to sit in long, boring lectures that we don't usually learn from. Hmmm... ok ok, no I don't really believe that, but sometimes it sure feels like that! My classes aren't all that bad, one is, but the others are much better! And I do like to expand my knowledge of the world, even if I would prefer traveling then sitting in a classroom. But it's not that bad, I am just bitter because it means less sleeping in for me. But school is pretty good, my art classes are fun and there are some pretty cool people in my math class, so at least it will keep my attention. But I must say, I cannot wait until spring break and summer! :D

cold

So I have decided, being sick sucks. I have a cold, and am not having any fun. When I was little, I used to think, hey, if I get sick, I can stay home, let my mom take care of me, sleep as much as I want and watch tv all day long. Now I know better. I would rather have to take care of myself, not be allowed to watch any tv, and freely be able to talk without having to cough or constantly blow my poor, battered, and scratched red nose, then sit at home watching movies all day. Although I have had time to catch a few movies I had yet to see, the 3 Bourne movies, and The Kingdom. Soon I will start on another. But I would much rather be at work, then feel like this. Unfortunately, also, with my bright white skin, when my nose is red, it is like Rudolph red. And it hurts. But I must say, I have gotten to know my couch, heated blanket and sweat pants very well, if that is any consolation ... which it is not. But let's pretend it is, so I feel a bit better. Hope you are all feeling chipper in this cold and flu season. If not, well, I feel you. 

Good night all, tomorrow will hopefully feel better.

Cheers

Brooklyn

So yesterday we got up early and went to Coney Island to eat some Nathan's hot dogs and see the beach. It was horribly cold and deserted. But we still had some good fun! Herbie put his hand in the water and it froze instantly! We found a dead fish on the beach that was as hard as a rock, totally frozen. Poor fishy, he didn't even have a chance. After that we bundled up and ran to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and locked ourselves away in the warm bio-domes where it was nice and warm, being that all the domes were climate controlled specifically for the certain areas. It was quite nice, we found ourselves in the desert and felt right at home. We also had a lovely little jaunt into the rain forest where we found many odd looking plants and one fish! Then, after many wrong ways and misguided directions, we found ourselves at the Gutter! A retro bar and bowling alley that was very rad! We had some good fun, and three of us went home completely smashed. It's a good thing we have sober Amber with us to get us all home safely. In fact, not only do I get people home safely, I also get them home in style! We took a sleek, black Lincoln town car all the way home to Harlem, and saw one of the most awesome views of New York there is! Then we got some food, put some people to bed and watched some movies and fell asleep. All in all, it was an amazingly awesome day! Hope you're all jealous of what you're missing out on!

our little jaunt around manhattan

So here we are, exploring Manhattan, The Natural History Museum, Central Park, and of course the subway system. We've had some pretty amazing times and some great stories! We spent New Year's Eve in Central Park, so I'll post more pictures later! Yay for New York!