Making College Affordable, One Buck At A Time

College is an investment. College graduates make more money. Blah. Blah. Blah. If you can’t afford college, it all sounds the same.

But what if you aren’t so eager to sign the next 25 years of your life away to Citibank or Sallie Mae? Is it still an “investment” if you decide to be a social worker or librarian?

Lets face it, some college students will choose to work for a non-profit organization. Some, a small newspaper. Others, Teach for America. Some college graduates will choose careers that have comparable annual salaries to non-college graduates.

In such cases, not going to college can definitely be easier on the bank account. Why take out $100,000 worth of loans if you’re going to spend the next 25 years of your life eating Ramen and living in a studio apartment smaller than a closet?
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Posted by:

Kiera Aaron

Hip Hop: Coming Soon to a School Near You

Education as we know it is changing. Remember sitting in class and having your teacher yell at you for listening to music? No longer! If Run-DMC has their way, teachers will not only be encouraging music in the classroom but will be bringing in rap and hip hop of their own.

Darryl McDaniels, a member of the pioneering rap group Run-DMC, was invited by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to attend a conference at the Summer Teacher Institute last week. While there, he spoke to teachers that had gathered from across the country about the importance of using rap as a way in which teachers could better connect with their students, saying that rap made school more interesting, relevant, and personal for students. All I can say is, why wasn’t Run-DMC saying this to my teachers when I was in school?

But seriously, he’s got a point. While he admitted that rap can be “raw,” he also pointed out that it is a form of social commentary and as such has the potential to become an educational tool and a medium of expression for kids who might not have another outlet. In his own words, “real hip-hop is information, education, communication and motivation, whether you’re rich, poor, black, white, Puerto Rican. Hip-hop is the total expression of the existence of what it’s like to be alive on the face of the earth.”

So look out students. This September, it could be your teacher that busts into the classroom with a few Run-DMC lyrics of their own:

One thing I know is that life is short

So listen up homeboy, give this a thought

The next time someone’s teaching why don’t you get taught?

( From Run-DMC:  “It’s Like That”)

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Posted by:

Yolanda Clatworthy

Time for America’s Check-Up

Are you one of the 46 million Americans who don’t have health insurance? Think you’re paying too much for too little if you do? Either way, you’ll probably welcome the news that a plan for health care reform is one step closer, thanks to an announcement Obama made Sunday that placed reform costs at 1 trillion dollars over ten years rather than the 1.8 trillion dollars that had been announced earlier. It’s a reform he labeled a “necessity rather than a luxury.”

Just about everyone agrees that it’s necessary to offer insurance to all Americans and to control healthcare costs from skyrocketing. Despite this, a bipartisan agreement is still far from a done deal. Much of the disagreement stems from a public/private divide and from concerns over the sheer amount of money needed to overhaul the system. Some feel that 1 trillion dollars is still too much money to be spending on health care—which it is. It’s a lot of money period. But in the grand scheme of things, it feels like something worth investing in. Put it into context: in 2009 alone the US will be spending 1 trillion dollars on defense-related issues, including the military and two wars. What’s another trillion dollars spread out over ten years, especially if it is an investment in the future happiness and well-being of Americans?

Besides, the system can’t get worse than it already is. The US pays more for health care than any other country—approximately $5711 per person each year. And you get significantly less bang for your buck than other countries: lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, and less coverage (15% of Americans don’t even have access to healthcare). It’s kinda like forking over the money for a gourmet meal and ending up with a corn dog.

At this rate, any reform seems better than no reform at all.

Posted by:

Yolanda Clatworthy

The Only Thing To Fear Is… Ourselves?

According to a study conducted by the University of Minnesota, researchers have determined that 15 percent of teens – that is, roughly 1 in 7 – believe they are going to die young. Based on a survey of 20,000 youth, researchers believe this drives a high amount of distressed youth into drug use, gang violence and other risky behaviors. This goes against the grain of the old adage that kids believe that they’re “invulnerable” or bulletproof. Moreover, youth of color and low income youth were much more likely than their white peers to believe that they would die young.

The general sense of hopelessness that plagues teenagers can be seen as a red flag. We need to lift each other up, but how do we raise the spirits of our peers? Is there a remedy for hopelessness? Or is the answer in our communities? What do you think?

Posted by:

Steve Romain

GTFO: The Recession Is Good For The Climate?

Here’s your GTFO MOMENT of the day:

According to a recent report published by New Scientist, the economic downturn may be doing good work for the climate. Before you call bullshiz on it, check out some of the connections the report, released by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, has found:

• CO2 emissions have grown at a slower rate this year than in recent years as “fossil fuel consumption decreased globally for the first time since 1992″
• Biofuels counted for 2.5 percent of global fuel consumption this year, as developing nations start to embrace them.

Definitely provides some food for thought.

Posted by:

Steve Romain

Requiem for the Pop King Who Changed History

Last night, Michael Jackson passed away at the age of 50. Around the world, the response has been the same: absolute shock and intense sadness. Anything we could possibly say would merely echo the sentiments of those around the world: how the man was beloved for his work, changed the game in every way for black artists of future generations yet remained tortured by the allegations that haunted him.

Just to highlight one effect of his legacy, take a look at the following story, which took place just before the release of Thriller in 1983, one of the bestselling albums of all time:

In 1980, when Jackson asked the publicist of Rolling Stone if they would be interested in doing a cover story on him, the publicist declined, to which Jackson responded, “I’ve been told over and over that black people on the cover of magazines doesn’t sell copies … Just wait. Someday those magazines are going to be begging me for an interview. Maybe I’ll give them one. And maybe I won’t.”

Throughout his career, Michael Jackson emphasized unity, a celebration of the world’s diversity and respect for all people and creatures.  Extraordinary in his artistic talent, he is a role model for his selfless charity work.

He will be sorely missed.

Posted by:

Steve Romain

Keeping It Real: Gay Rights In The Year of Brüno

99Problems.org is founded on the principles of empowerment through open discussion and debate. We value open discussion that allows you, the reader, to see all sides of the issue. That’s why we’re introducing a feature we’d like to call..

(*drumroll please*)

This week, we’re covering the most controversial movie star in recent history: Sacha Baron Cohen and his movie Brüno, which is set to be released next week. Some think that Brüno’s release is going to have a huge detrimental effect on modern perspectives of the homosexual male. We asked our reporters this question:

Check out what they had to say, after the jump!

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Posted by:

The Editor

How Does That Butt Taste?

Are you smoking a cigarette while reading this? You’d better not be. That’s the message President Obama wanted to convey on Monday when he signed into effect a new law on smoking.

The law, the toughest ever, bans advertising or luring youth through flavored cigarettes and cigars. It also forbids advertising at sporting events, free samples, and the use of “mild” or “light” in describing cigarettes. Finally, tobacco companies will have to fully disclose all ingredients used in cigarettes, as well as use graphic images on their packs to illustrate the effects of smoking on the body.

Gotta say, Obama’s got a point. Smoking is basically like a socially acceptable form of prolonged suicide. It is by far one of the worst things you could ever do to your body. In the time you took to read this paragraph so far, someone, somewhere in the world has died of cigarettes. It happens every 8 seconds. Yet in the last minute, 10 million cigarettes were purchased around the world. Some of them will have been purchased by the 3000 American youth that tried smoking for the first time ever today. And of them, half of the ones who become long-term smokers will die in the future from a tobacco-related illness.

So you’ve heard the same message from your health teacher or parents before. You’re sick of hearing the same old thing. It still doesn’t change the fact that what they say is true. Is this stressful to hear? Are you thinking of going out for a smoke because of it?

Just know that if you do, you’ll shorten your life by 11 minutes, every time you light up.

Posted by:

Yolanda Clatworthy