Stick to the real subjects

There are many reasons the arts and music specifically are being cut at an alarming pace in today's society. First, many argue that time wasted on music should be more wisely spent on other core academic subjects such as Mathematics and literature. Standardized tests are structured to evaluate these core subjects and the success of a school is judged accordingly. Time spent on music and other non-core subjects only distracts students from the true reason for being in school, learning to read and write. Second, music classes are expensive. The average cost of a student cello or bassoon is roughly 2000.00 dollars. Band instrument prices in general have gone through the roof. Due to this cost the schools typically provide many of these instruments for the students to play. Maintence and care of these instrunents alone can become quite costly as well. Even in choral ensemble classes the costs of uniforms and travel to and from contests and events can become very exspensive. Due to a lack of funds available to schools from the state level, these overpriced extra curricular classes are the logical place to make reductions. Once again, our funds should be spent on the "real" subjects and not be wasted on this musical nonscense.

The Negative Aspects of Dry Campuses

Although dry campuses are statistacly safer than their wet campus counter parts, dry campuses also have negative aspects to them. A few of these negative effects include an increase in drunk driving and binge drinking. The reason why there are more drunk driving accidents on dry campuses is because students are forced to drive home as opposed to asking for help. On dry campuses if a student is caught with alcohol they will get in trouble. This problem does not occure on wet campuses because students are able to contact campus security for a ride home. On dry campuses students are not able to contact the security because they will get in trouble. The second part about a wet campus that is better than a dry campus is the reduced binge drinking rate. The cause of this reduction is because students are able to drink where ever they want whenever they want. On dry campuses students are not able to freely drink. Because of this the students binge drink on one occasion as opposed to spreading the alcohol out over long periods of time. Dry campuses are always noted for having no flaws. When looked at, wet campuses are really safer in the aspect that there are fewer drunk driving accidents as well as fewer binge drinking accadents as well.

Beginnings Debate Part 2

While kids should be allowed to think for themselves, the important ideal of separation of church and state should not be compromised in the process.  This ideal has been a key foundation of American since the creation of the Constitution.  Thus, a theory about human origins unsupported by empirical data and largely derived from church teachings should not be introduced in a public school.  One of the main reasons that America can be considered a melting pot is the complete acceptance of all people, regardless of race, gender, and religion.  Losing one of these freedoms can alienate entire regions of the world.  Evolution theory does not cross this boundary, and is almost universally accepted as a fact, even though its name contains theory, and so it should be the sole theory taught in public schools.

Disadvantages of Increasing Securty Measures In Schools

Many argue that student caused school deaths are not the real problem, but that crimes outside the school are the issue. Eighty-five percent American communities recorded no juvenile homicides in 1995, and only 93.4 percent recorded one or no juvenile arrests for murder. Three times more juvenile are killed by adults, and only about 3 percent of U.S. murders consist of a juvenile murdering another juvenile. The 1996 Journal of the American Medical Association, two studies led by the Centers for Disease Control, stated that from 1992-94 that “the estimated incidence of school-associated violent death was .09 per 100,000 student-years.” This indicates that there is less than one in a million chance of suffering a school associated violent death. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, there are 3.8 murdered juveniles per 100,000– 40 times the number of juveniles murdered in school. In the 2 year period of 1992-94, 105 school-associated violent deaths were reported, of which 76 were students. Researchers estimate that less than 1 in 100 deaths among school-aged children were school related.

Jessica Updike

The disadvantages to home education

Despite the many benefits to homeschooling, there are some disadvantages. The most significant disadvantage seems to be the amount of sacrifice it takes. Parents have to sacrifice emotionally, physically, and financially.
Financial costs of homeschooling vary, but if a parent wants to use a curriculum to ensure their student is covering everything they need to in their specific grade, the costs can be around four hundred dollars a year. That four hundred dollars is only the cost of the curriculum for one child, what about a family that has four kids? Plus, to homeschool, many families who would have had two parents bringing in income then only have one working, so they are losing even more money.
In addition to finances, parents have the responsibility of monitoring their children’s education and encouraging learning. If students have questions about something they are studying, they will go to the parents, and parents have to help them find answers. Parents have to choose curriculum for each child, or plan lessons according to their grade, and this can be very time consuming. Overall, there is a lot of commitment. The sacrifice and commitment that help so many home schooling families to succeed are also the responsibilities that cause many to fail.

Against Coffee Shops on Campuses

Coffee shops continue to pop up all over the world. Coffee has become a big part of our lives. Many people drink at least a cup every day. Not many things can be compared to coffee. However, coffee can have negative effects on the body. Students can be particularly susceptible to the dangers, latching on to coffee to stay alert.

Caffeine, the most famous component of coffee, causes an increase in activity of dopamine, which largely accounts for both caffeine’s stimulating effects and its ability to diminish feelings of depression. Caffeine wakes the brain up, helping people get through the day. However, after it wears off, there can be a depressive effect.

Drinking too much coffee may cause health problems. It is believed that too much can raise your stress level. Some heavy drinkers shake after drinking coffee. Coffee can increase the risk of heart attack. It can raise your heart and blood pressure. Other studies show that drinking too much coffee could result in stomach problems. Furthermore, some experts believe that caffeine is addictive.

Having nearby coffee shops could contribute to dependency. If Coffee is not as readily available, perhaps people would not consume as much, therefore reducing the chance of health problems and addiction. Last but not least, not having coffee shops on campus would save students money!

Counter to dry campus

When hearing the idea of a dry campus many people get very upset for multiple reasons. While some people believe that alcohol is bad they also believe the idea of a dry campus is impractical and really is impossible. It is very hard for a college to keep students from drinking alcohol based on the fact that you can't watch thousands of students all the time. There is also the argument that if the government has allowed a twenty-one to drink what gives the school the right to take away the student's rights.

Some people also argue that alcohol is actually good for you so there is no reason to stop it's consumption. While alcohol is good for you in moderation, and can decrease a person's chances of getting dementia and other heart diseases most students do not drink in moderation. The last argument for a wet campus is the idea that a college can make a lot of money. As you can see there are many arguments against a dry campus but if you research each of these arguments you will find out there are many better arguments for a dry campus than for a wet.

-Jeff Prentice