From College Graduation to #OccupyMomsHouse

Graduating from college has been a wonderful accomplishment for me, considering the fact that I am the first person in my immediate family that has graduated from college. I couldn’t be any less excited about embarking on my career path. Struggling to find work and make money is a concern that most individuals know all too well.

Speaking from personal experience, graduating from college has been both a privilege and a burden. I was overwhelmed and excited the day that I crossed the stage to receive my BA in Broadcast Journalism. I never once thought that my life after graduation would be so difficult. I found myself living back at home several months before graduating from college, just to soften the blow of having to pay rent with a part-time job salary. I found it extremely difficult to find a full-time, entry level position within my field after graduation.

College Graduation: A Privilege and a Burden

Posted by:

Terin

Are we Post-Racial?

In the years since Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, quite a few older pundits and columnists have began to call the younger generations “post-racial.” These thinkers have said that race relations have changed so drastically in the past 50 years that Millenials (kids born between 1980-1995) don’t visualize race as a marker of identity. A fascinating study that was part of the Millenials Project was released today.

They surveyed groups of kids aged 18-25 in the Los Angeles area.

Check out some of their findings…

Posted by:

The Editor

The Unpaid Intern, Legal or Not?

Check out this interesting article from the NYTimes’ Matthew Cavanaugh. Apparently, an unpaid internship is pretty close to being illegal. This article was spotted via DA Wallach’s (lead singer Chester French) Facebook Page.

Convinced that many unpaid internships violate minimum wage laws, officials in Oregon, California and other states have begun investigations and fined employers. Last year, M. Patricia Smith, then New York’s labor commissioner, ordered investigations into several firms’ internships. Now, as the federal Labor Department’s top law enforcement official, she and the wage and hour division are stepping up enforcement nationwide.

Many regulators say that violations are widespread, but that it is unusually hard to mount a major enforcement effort because interns are often afraid to file complaints. Many fear they will become known as troublemakers in their chosen field, endangering their chances with a potential future employer.

The Labor Department says it is cracking down on firms that fail to pay interns properly and expanding efforts to educate companies, colleges and students on the law regarding internships.

Read the rest of this interesting article here.

Posted by:

The Editor

Real (And Fake) Pundits on Health Care

When it comes to smart, funny television, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart run neck and neck in the race for the lead. In a brilliant piece of satire and biting television, last night’s Colbert Report took on Insurance Companies. Absolutely genius:

I’m gonna digress for a second. Instead of simply asking what you think and sending this piece out to pasture, I’ll present you with some commentary that a “for-serious” pundit actually spit onto the airwaves.

When you’re going to have to make a decision because we can’t afford good healthcare for everybody, somebody’s not going to get a kidney transplant. Somebody’s not going to get heart surgery. Somebody’s not going to get kidney dialysis. Somebody’s not going to get that surgery. Who’s it going to be? Is it going to be the Millennial that doesn’t give a flying crap about anybody else but themselves because they’re special, look at all the trophies they won?

That was an actual recent quote from your favorite pundit and mine: Glenn Beck.

I find it ironic that Beck can go spout this sort of nonsense when youth are so engaged in the health care debate, as activists for a hundred different youth driven organizations or in more passive roles, as a segment of the American citizenry facing some of the highest rates of unemployment and lack of healthcare coverage.

Think about it this way: many young people are voting their confidence in progressive health care reform by consistently watching programs, such as The Daily Show and Colbert Report, which are lately discussing health reform every other night. These young people keep coming back: Jon Stewart isn’t the most trusted man in news for nothin’.

Alas, I’m taking a long road to a short conclusion: as much as the ‘RAWR I’M LOUD’ pundits like to say young people aren’t engaged, you and I – the engaged young people – know we are. We’re living with the health care crisis some like to think only exists in “REAL America” – the America where everyone has two-and-a-half kids, a picket fence, a dog and a yard – which is insulting and degrading to the diverse ranks of our society. But hey, you knew that.

Posted by:

Steve Romain