Articles by: sonya hudson

 

• In Bed with Billy: Go Long, Go Strong

  Lifestyle February 2, 2010 at 6:29 pm Comments are Disabled

  Billy Curtis, Sex Columnist Men have always been obsessed with their penises – their size, shape and even their capabilities to function properly. Freud, among others, made many inquiries and theories regarding the penis, and then there is my personal favorite to witness: the male preoccupation with size that can be seen with every moron driving a Hummer or big SUV to compensate for their lack of height . . . or rather length. But when function isn’t exactly attainable for the penis during intercourse, it is the partner who is left hanging (pun intended) that suffers just as much – if not more – than the person who is actually dangling with impotence. Luckily, I’ve never had a problem in the erection department, but I can’t say the same for some of the people I’ve dated in the past. In “Women and Impotence: A Woman’s Point of View About Male Impotence” by Colette Bouchez, Andrew McCullough, director of sexual health at New York University Medical Center, notes that partners tend to take erectile dysfunction to heart: “Women internalize things – they tend to blame themselves first,” and he continues to explain that this is because partners think that it […]

   

• College: Worth the Risk? Debt with a College Degree

  Editorials January 22, 2010 at 12:47 pm Comments are Disabled

  Justin Lalputan, Staff Writer I sat down on Saturday night with my father the week before spring semester and we weighed our options for sending me back to college. My total bill came up to $8,012, not including books. We looked at our bank accounts and decided that the best option would be to take out a loan, and my father jokingly told me, “You better get a good job and pay this back.” I laughed, but his words echoed in my head, and they haven’t left yet, because, honestly, there is no guarantee that I will be able to pay off this loan anytime soon. Let’s say that each semester I borrow $8,000. I’m a freshman, so by the time I’m finished with my senior year, I will be $56,000 in debt, not including interest. Then I have to get a job and start paying off the mountain of debt in front of me, while handling bills and other everyday necessities. This is a pretty extreme example – obviously I can work off some of my debt while I’m in college, but unless I win the lottery, I’m going to be faced with a large amount of debt in […]

   

• 'Climategate' Shows Hypocrisy: Is Global Warming Evidence Mostly Fabricated?

  Editorials January 22, 2010 at 12:07 pm 6 comments

  Alan Moore, Broadside Correspondent In November 2009, the University of East Anglia’s Hadley Climate Research Unit (CRU) was caught red-handed fabricating data on climate change. Phil Jones, the head of the CRU, which purportedly consists of some of the pre-eminent climatologists in the world, has resigned in shame. Michael Mann, a Penn State University climatologist who is also at the heart of this collusion, is under investigation. This false data was used by climatologists all over the world to justify anthropogenic, or caused by man, global warming. The ramifications of this scandal, unimaginatively dubbed, “climategate” by the press, have sent shockwaves through the debate on climate change. On the same front, NASA is being sued for allegedly manufacturing data on anthropogenic global warming after officially changing their opinion of 1934 being the hottest year on record to 1998 without providing a shred of evidence. The effects of this travesty are reaching all corners of the globe. India is refusing to go forward with spending their time and treasure to combat this falsehood. Australia has stood against the eco-radical agenda by shooting down a climate change bill similar to the cap-and-trade monstrosity currently being considered in Congress. And absolutely nothing binding […]

   

• It's Never about the Weather- Anandraj Singh

  Editorials January 22, 2010 at 12:05 pm 1 comment

  It’s Never about the Weather WORD COUNT 1127 BY: ANANDRAJ SINGH Discussing anything even remotely related to climate change these days is a frustrating endeavor. If it’s not someone shouting “the weather’s getting colder, so what the scientists say must be wrong!” or “It’s all just a conspiracy!” or some other epitaph of hatred, it’s always a question about what one can do and how things are either being done out of proportion or not being done enough. The lack of consensus on the issue alone is a sore selling point – as is the frustrating branding and marketing of it by both those against and for it. Those against it rail that it’s a conspiracy, those that are for it either focus too much on condemning the former group or not enough time to properly explain it to the common man. What both groups fail to realize though, is that this entire affair with climate change is not about the weather. It’s not about how cold, hot, wet, dry and such it is where you are – which is kind of ironic given the name. It isn’t even about the economy or such. The entire affair boils down to […]

   

• Let’s Not Forget the Frontiers, Gentlemen: The Drive for Outer Space Exploration Has Diminished

  Editorials January 22, 2010 at 12:04 pm Comments are Disabled

  Anandraj Singh, Broadside Correspondent Of the activities I took part in during the first two weeks of 2010, none were quite as depressing as watching some of the old, classic science-fiction movies, ranging from 2001: A Space Odyssey to even the Back to the Future trilogy. It’s 2010 already – why have we had so few footprints on the moon? Why is there not a single one on Mars yet? What happened to the dreams that people like Arthur C. Clarke had – dreams of being in outer space in more than just an incomplete station that will function only another five years at best, unless it gets a shot in the arm? It seems that people – not just here, but all over Earth – appear to have grown a bit sedentary when it comes to exploring beyond our tiny little ball of dirt. Sure, we have many interesting missions coming up later this decade – from the James Webb Space Telescope, to the many unmanned Mars exploration missions that are in the planning stages. However, at the end of the day one has to realize that these missions, while incredibly vital and important, are really only lip service […]

   

• The 'Curse' of Haiti: Could a Deal with the Devil be the Cause of Haiti’s Catastrophes?

  Editorials January 22, 2010 at 11:56 am Comments are Disabled

  Stephanie Tran, Broadside Correspondent In the aftermath of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, many countries, including the United States, have responded with military troops, doctors and other personnel to aid the small country. However, there have also been inappropriate responses to the tragedy. According to the BBC News website, Pat Robertson, an evangelist broadcaster, said that Haiti is “cursed” due to the country’s deal with the devil to free themselves from French rule in 1803. While there is little to no truth that the country made this supernatural pact, there is, however, some truth in the idea that the country of Haiti is suffering from more than just an earthquake. A quick search on Encyclopedia Britannica reveals that even after achieving independence from France, Haiti was plagued by several misfortunes, including civil war, poverty, class issues, numerous military regimes and a widespread AIDS epidemic that still remains. Little has improved for Haiti in the 21st century: high costs of living, a weak government, rising tensions between Haitian civilians and the United Nations Stabilization Mission troops and a slow rebuilding period after the hurricanes in 2008 have all taken their toll on the small country even before the earthquake struck on Jan. 12,2010. […]

   

• ‘If You’re Coming to Look for Rockstars, You’re in the Wrong Place’: Matt Fazzi Talks About Being the New Guy, and What It’s Like Touring with Big Name Bands

  Lifestyle December 2, 2009 at 6:48 pm Comments are Disabled

  Emily Sharrer, Editor-in-Chief When you’re the guitarist and backing vocalist for a successful band that’s had three gold records, there’s not much to complain about. At least that’s Taking Back Sunday member Matt Fazzi’s take on life. When Broadside sat down to talk with the newest member of the band after the group’s visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the guitarist had three main messages: First, he feels like the luckiest S.O.B. in the world, second, Taking Back Sunday is better than ever and third, you definitely need to check out the band’s newest album, New Again. So what’s it like being the new guy? I understand that to a lot of people still have either never seen the band play before or are seeing the band for the first time with me in it so I kind of approach every show and everyday like trying to be on top of everything so that people will come to watch us and won’t be stuck thinking about it. You know what I mean? ‘Cause I can tell at some shows that people are sizing me up…I just try to bring my A game every day and hope that fans that […]

   

• Co-Headlining Tour Rocks the Patriot Center: Program Board Hosts The All-American Rejects, Taking Back Sunday

  Lifestyle December 2, 2009 at 6:44 pm Comments are Disabled

  Emily Sharrer, Editor-in-Chief Doing his best impressions of Freddie Mercury and Chuck Berry, The All American Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter and his on-stage antics were surely the most noteworthy part of last Monday’s concert at the Patriot Center. Outfitted in only tight white pants and glitter, the teen-heartthrob went on a seemingly drug-induced rampage throughout the band’s set, jumping around the stage, doing the duck walk and breaking up the band’s set of hits with long monologues that contained more cuss words than a George Carlin stand-up routine. Somehow, the band still managed to get through all their hits — but not without Ritter going to sit in the stands to sing “Mona Lisa” halfway through the set, where masses of teen fans descended on the singer, in what seemed like a poor attempt for Ritter to prove he was still as famous as his overplayed radio hits once were. Anberlin, who opened the entire show, was perfection. Lead singer Stephen Christian’s vocals sounded exactly as they were recorded on the band’s albums. On stage, the entire band was dynamic, really getting into their set and psyching the crowd up for the two headlining bands. Co-headliners Taking Back Sunday gave […]

   

• In Bed with Billy: The Trauma and the Ecstasy

  Lifestyle December 2, 2009 at 6:39 pm Comments are Disabled

  Billy Curtis, Sex Columnist A great woman once said, “The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.” Though that woman may be Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the point still stands – life is hard. It seems that as time continues to pass so rapidly in this world, the odds of some disaster occurring to you will rise. As we grow into adults, we lose our sense of innocence and usually get exposed to many of life’s traumatic events. It’s up to us to decide how we take these disasters and whether they will bend or break us. While in my disaster fiction class a couple of weeks back, we were discussing the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, on survivors of catastrophic events, like being involved in a war or surviving a natural disaster and not being able to cope with the events you experienced. In laymen’s terms, PTSD involves symptoms that interfere with trust, emotional closeness, communication, responsible assertiveness and effective problem solving. Ironically, these problems are also possible reasons why most relationships end just as tragically as the world could end in 2012. This got me thinking – if this were true, then could […]

   

• Undocumented Students: Punishing Students for Their Parents’ Decisions

  Editorials December 1, 2009 at 7:02 pm Comments are Disabled

  Meridith Kaufman, Asst. Opinion Editor The United States is made up of immigrants. It was created by immigrants. It is being sustained by immigrants. Not many can say that their families are originally from America, and if you ask them where they are from, they won’t tell you a city like St. Louis – they’ll tell you they are German with some Italian too. With such pride of where our ancestors are from, why do we all still discriminate against people who are coming to the United States now? Many people are upset about illegal immigrants coming in to the U.S. and say they take our jobs and ruin our economy, but these are jobs most would not take because they are at the bottom of the totem pole. Even though these immigrants are illegal and probably don’t have bachelor or master’s degrees, they take these jobs because they are the only things that are available to them. This is a reality that we need to deal with. No matter how many walls we build, blockades we create or raids the Immigration and Naturalization Services does, immigrants will keep coming, as we all did. Right now, the U.S. has 12 […]