Flipside

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FLIP| THE TECHNOLOGY GENERATION ARE WE DESTROYING OURSELVES?

THE FULL STORY | VOL 1 | NOV 2013

NO FUN ALLOWED AT RECESS HANDS OFF THE BIG GULP SHOULD GOVERNMENT BE TELLING US HOW BIG A SODA WE CAN BUY?

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We try to tackle the story by giving it to you straight, all angles, no spin.

We try to fair to both sides and welcome a shout back from our fans if we have missed a point.

IN THIS ISSUE 32 NO FUN ALLOWED AT RECESS Ball bans for child safety.

UPSIDEDOWN

36 HANDS OFF THE BIG GULP Should the government be telling us how big a soda we can buy?

40 SHOULD ALL GUNS BE BANNED? Would Americans be safer without a constitutional right to bare arms?

55 DO WE EVEN KNOW WHAT WE’RE EATING? When does genetical modification go to far?

62 THE TECHNOLOGY GENERATION Are we destroying ourselves?

FLIP YOUR WORLD

05 06 07 08

From the Editor Feedback Writers/Staff The Good, Bad & Ugly

THE STUFF THAT DIDN’T MAKE THE COVER 10 So Just Who’s Spying On Who? 12 Women For The Late Night... Do They Stand A Chance? .

14 Should Boxing Be Banned?

17 Hover Parents Have Landed.

20 Are the chemicals in makeup safe?

24 Is Theory Enough To Prepare You For The Real World.

27 There Are Alternatives To College.

28 Can Men And Women Be Just Friends?

34 People Are Busier Than Ever.

45 Are Tattoos A Job Kill?

48 Are The Tea Partiers Really Crazy?

CEASEFIRE: THINGS WE CAN AGREE ON 50 Politics Shouldn’t Be Only A Popularity Contest.

52 We Need More Voters.

58 The 90s Have Returned To Fashion.

GIBBERISH 60 Superman Vs Batman 62 Twitter Vs Facebook 64 What Scares You The Most BABEL 66 Music Musts 67 Must Reads 68 Escape Hatch

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BALL BANS for CHILD safety

NO FUN BALLS OR TAG ALLOWED AT RECESS

Is it an extreme case of helicopter parenting or a smart move to keep kids safe?

That’s what parents are asking after hearing about a Long Island middle school’s decision to ban most balls during recess and also require supervision of tag, even cartwheels, due to safety concerns.

No longer allowed at the Weber Middle School in Port Washington, New York: footballs, baseballs, soccer balls, lacrosse balls and any other hardballs that could injure a child. Also off limits: rough games of tag and cartwheels unless an adult supervisor is on hand.

“We want to make sure our children have fun but are also protected,” Kathleen Mooney, superintendent of local Port Washington Schools, said in a local television interview, noting how playground injuries can “unintentionally” become very serious.

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BY: BRIAN PHILLIPS

What ever happened to ‘go outside and play?’

The school district, in a press release, said that due to construction going on at the school, there is “limited space” for the children to play during their 20-minute recess period. “With children in close proximity to each other, it is not safe for them to be engaged in unstructured play with hardballs,” said the district.

It’s not clear when the construction project will come to an end at the school and if kids will be able to resume normal ball-playing after it wraps up. A call to the superintendent’s office for confirmation has not yet been returned.

Soft nerf balls will be provided during recess, and kids can play with hardballs during gym and intramural athletics.

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real SAFETY Issue or HOVERING parents

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SCHOOLS AFRAID OF LAWSUIT More and more schools are avoiding team games (e.g. rugby, soccer, hockey, football) for the (realistic) fear of lawsuits when injuries and disputes occur. In one example, a defendant was awarded $100,000 by the school of a student who tackled dangerously and caused both neck and ligament injuries to his opponent.

Furthermore, injuries sustained through school sport and the psychological trauma of being bullied for sporting ineptitude can mark people for years after they have left school.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HELPS TO FORGE SKILLS THAT WILL PROVE INVALUABLE IN LATER LIFE. POINT

COUNTERPOINT

Physical activities at recess help to forge character and the mutual respect required to succeed in an adult environment.

Playing team sports builds character and encourages students to work with others, as they would be expected to do in most business or sporting environments. Sport teaches children how to win and lose with good grace and builds a strong school spirit through competition with other institutions. It is invaluable to imbue with children the delicate balance between a competitive rivalry that encourages effort and, on the other hand, losing the fairness and respect required to enjoy sport. It is often the experience of playing on a team together which builds the strongest friendships at school, which endure for years afterwards. It helps children learn to respect and value their own bodies and abilities, and those of others.

Physical activites at recess undermine one’s character as much as it strengthens and forges it. For every future athlete who grows in stature as he becomes comfortable in a team environment, there are a number of academic students who are forced weekly to cope with the brutality and criticisms of others more gifted at specific sports. Values like respect are not taught on a football field, any glance at a professional football match leads inexorably to that conclusion.

Furthermore, learning about teamwork and co-operation no longer requires hours spent playing sport; they can be taught just as accurately and effectively in a classroom through music, drama, and community projects without the need to encourage an ultra-competitive ethos.

WHAT PARENTS ARE SAYING “There are rational precautions (helmets for bikers) and then there is ridiculous. This is just over the top.”

“This isn’t smart. It’s actually counter-productive. It saddens me to think that children no longer experience the joy of kickball, tag, dodgeball and other simple outdoor games I remember so fondly when I reflect on my own childhood. Our kids don’t experience physical activity unless it involves downloading an app.”

“Without opportunities to learn how to navigate space with their bodies, and to negotiate rules, risks, and experimentation of cooperative play, how are children going to ever be able to handle themselves in any society as adults?”

“We have PE classes for a reason.

This is the time when kids can be physical while being guided and supervised. When they are left on their own is when injuries are more likely to happen. Banning balls is just looking out for them.”

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HANDS OFF THE

BY: DAN TURNER

Many representatives of the soda industry and concerned citizens have voiced their opposition to the ban, but it will not be decided by a legislative vote. The ban will simply need the approval from the Board of Health.

[

Early in the summer of 2012, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed to ban the sale of sweetened beverages larger than 16 ounces. It was Bloomberg’s goal to fight the higher obesity rates of the city by making unhealthy portions less available. Mayor Bloomberg’s plan was not to ban the sale of soda, but to limit the sizes sold. The ban would affect food establishments that are monitored by the City Department of Health.

SHOULD GOVERNMENT BE TELLING US HOW BIG A SODA WE CAN BUY?

ROM OURSELVES?

GULP

The proposed ban is controversial because it infringes upon freedom of choice, it lacks the unanimous approval of New York City, and it could be seen as “demonizing” an industry that is not the sole cause of obesity and its rise.

DO WE

Mayor Bloomberg recognizes that carbohydrates from sugared drinks are not the sole cause of the “epidemic” of obesity within New York, but he believes the ban could be a step in the right direction. The ban’s purpose is exclusively to fight obesity, but many ask why Bloomberg is focusing on weight-loss when his proposed solution could harm industry.

The proposed ban is controversial because it infringes upon freedom of choice

]

NEED TO B

E V E SA

DF

?

REALLY

BIG

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41

SHOULD ALL GUNS

BE BANNED? WOULD AMERICANS BE SAFER WITHOUT A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO BARE ARMS?

[

GIRL ARRESTED FOR SHOOTING BOYFRIEND WITH SQUIRTGUN.

] BY: RANDY LEE

There has been a shooting in a cinema in Denver. At least 14 people have been killed and up to fifty wounded in the Cinema that was showing its first screening of the latest Batman film ‘The Dark Knight Rises’.

The 24 year old gunman was arrested in possession of a rifle and a handgun. A witness said there was a man who came into the film about half an hour in, he was “wearing [a] mask. He fired a canister into the air - it could have been a smoke bomb or tear gas, It shot it right into the air, then I started to hear the bang, bang, bang of a gun. I crawled my way through the row, luckily the exit was close to where I was sitting so I got out pretty fast. I heard more shots as I left” Others have said he was also wearing a riot helmet and bullet proof vest. This was obviously therefore a planned attack.

In the United States having the right to carry a gun is considered a right. Those outside the United States often think that this may well be part of the reason why the United States seems to be afflicted with so many mass shootings. There are of course other factors in play; the United States has a large population so you would expect it to have as many shootings as most European countries put together.

What do you think; would people in the US be safer with more gun regulation, and is this extra safety something worth infringing on constitutional rights for?

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LIMITING THE RIGHT TO BARE ARMS OWNERSHIP OF GUNS BY ORDINARY CITIZENS INEVITABLY LEADS TO MANY ACCIDENTAL DEATHS

THE ONLY FUNCTION OF A GUN IS TO KILL POINT

COUNTERPOINT

The only function of a gun is to kill. The more instruments of death and injury can be removed from our society, the safer it will be. In the U.S.A. death by gunshot has become the leading cause of death among some social groups; in particular for African-American males aged from 12 to 19 years old. Quite simply, guns are lethal and the fewer people have them the better.

Prohibition is not the answer, especially not in countries such as the USA where gun ownership is such an entrenched aspect of society. Banning guns would not make them disappear or make them any less dangerous. It is a legitimate right of citizens to own weapons with which they can protect themselves, their family, and their property. Many people also need guns for other reasons. For example, farmers need guns in order to protect their stock and crops from pests.

POINT

COUNTERPOINT

The legal ownership of guns by law abiding citizens inevitably leads to many unnecessary and tragic deaths.

Legally held guns are stolen and end up in the hands of criminals, who would have greater difficulty in obtaining weapons if firearms were less prevalent in society.

Guns also end up in the hands of children, leading to tragic accidents and terrible disasters such as the Columbine School massacre in the U.S.A. Sometimes even normal-seeming registered gun owners appear to go mad and kill, as tragically happened at Hungerford in the U.K.

Guns don’t kill people – people kill people.

Restricting gun ownership will do nothing to make society safer as it is the intent of the criminal we should fear, and that will remain the same whatever the gun laws.

In the vast majority of crimes involving firearms, the gun used is not legally held or registered. Many of illegal weapons are imported secretly from abroad, or even converted from replica firearms rather than being stolen from registered owners.

EFFECTIVE GUN CONTROL IS NOT ACHIEVABLE IN DEMOCRATIC STATES WITH A TRADITION OF OWNERSHIP POINT

COUNTERPOINT

Much like the failure of the prohibition era to stop alcohol consumption, trying to restrict the use of guns that are already widely owned and prevalent in a society is an impossible task.

Limited restrictions on ownership and use are different in nature to absolute prohibition and are more easily enforced.

The people who intend to use guns for illegitimate purposes are obviously unconcerned with the fact that it is illegal to acquire the guns in the first place in countries where this is already the case such as in the UK.

Statistical analysis shows that that gun control laws do have a deterrent effect on firearm deaths and that the magnitude of the effect is dependent on how well the rules are enforced. The ineffectiveness of badly drafted or enforced gun control regulations is not an indicator of the ineffectiveness of well drafted and enforced regulations.

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55

DO WE EVEN

KNOW WHAT WE’RE EATING? [

WHEN

DOES GENET

]

in the US, status quo is that GMO used for food are not labeled and are in no way a threat to health

BY: BRIAN LEWIS

R? A F O O T O G TION A C I F I D O M L ICA

Genetic Modification will typically do one of two things: either add new sections of DNA to the genes of a particular plant or animal to code for new proteins, or remove stretches of DNA so that a particular protein is not produced. A section of DNA coding for one particular protein is called a gene. There are an enormous number of changes that can be made to organisms with genetic modification. These range from the introduction of fish genes into plants to lead to better frost resistance, to modifications leading to rice plants producing more vitamin A. In the last decade, the development of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) has emerged as a highly controversial topic. This is a difficult topic because a basic grasp on the scientific issues is necessary to take the debate beyond the level of media headlines. Here is a very brief summary of some of the key concepts: Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) DNA, the complex molecule that genes are composed of, is frequently likened to a computer program – an information– bearing code. One of the things that the DNA in genes codes for is the production of proteins - chemicals that regulate many of the processes that occur inside cells.

The ‘Terminator’ Gene is one of the most controversial additions since it is a stretch of DNA that renders the seeds produced by the plant infertile; this makes the plant unable to reproduce (and is used by seed companies to force farmers to buy new supplies of the seed each year.

In the past varieties of crops and their seeds have not been owned by anyone and have not been patented. There is an increasing trend for biotechnology companies to patent new GM crop varieties and thus own the exclusive right to produce and sell their seeds. This means that farmers in developing, as

well as developed countries will become dependent on these multinational seed producing firms who will be able to charge high prices for patented varieties. The leader in GMO patenting (and profiting out of it) is the company Monsanto. Farmers explain that many times, they have to pay fees to Monsanto, as the company believes they have planted (2nd generation) soy beans in violation of the company’s patent – not paying for them.

Currently, the EU has a strict regulation on genetically modified crops, as of July 2011, a type of maize called MON 810 is the only GM food cultivated commercially in the EU, the EU Commission proposed that the EU should decide on approvals or bans on environmental or health grounds for any crop with genetic modifications.

Currently legislation in the US allows the cultivation and also distribution of GMO as food. The official position of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is that GMOs are no different from other natural organisms and therefore do not need special labeling or treatment. So in the US, status quo is that GMO used for food are not labeled and are in no way a threat to health.

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The Technology Generation.

More connected than ever before...

ARE WE DESTROYING OURSELVES? BY: RYAN DANIELS In a world where more and more of our social interactions happen digitally, our face-to-face interactions are becoming increasingly limited, where emails have replaced phone calls and people forget that spending quality time with others involves talking, not texting. In one week, ‘I Forgot My Phone’ has gone viral – and as of 11:30 a.m. today, it’s received 14.5+ million hits (the view count is growing exponentially each day, so you should probably re-check those numbers). It’s prominently featured on Facebook and Twitter, BuzzFeed, Thought Catalog and YouTube, to name a few. How many of you will watch this clip on your phone?

It’s all pretty meta, if you think about it.

I am not above admitting I’ve had a few close encounters with parking meters and street lamps because I’ve been texting or looking at someone’s newly posted vacation album – but is our FOMO (fear of missing out) on what’s hot in that moment replacing face-to-face interactions?

As an example, Instagram has become one of the most popular social sharing platforms, with 130 million active monthly users and 16 billion shared photos in just under three years (the company launched in October, 2010). 45 million photos are being published every day, garnering over one billion likes. Everything, from the swirls in your morning coffee to your toes in the

sand are being seen as Instagramable moments – but are they actually detracting from the moments themselves?

Enjoying a live concert vs. recording the whole thing so you can show your friends later, while watching it through your tiny screen; Staring at your phone alone, posting about how much fun you’re having with your friends who are talking around you; Taking photos of your dinner while it gets cold and your family converses without you. These are the trends slowly replacing ACTUAL interaction and it begs the question – if it’s not documented, did it really happen?

Oh course, technology has afforded us a number of once impossible luxuries, like FaceTiming a family member on the other side of the world, but it has become increasingly clear we need to find the right balance in our relationships and recognize that there is a time for digital vs. face to face. Albert Einstein said it best: “I fear the day technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.”

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BABEL

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GIBBERISH TOTALLY RANDOM AND SENSELESS POLLS (results from FLIPSIDE iPad magazine)

WHICH DO YOU USE MORE?

Music Musts. (new music).

WHO IS THE GREATER SUPER HERO?

52% THE DARK

43%

57%

THE DENTIST

SNAKES FRIGHTFUL FLIGHT

HEIGHTS

SPIDERS

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? DOGS

OTHER PEOPLE THUNDER & LIGHTENING

SMALL SPACES

48% Pumpin Blood NONONO

All Eyes on You St. Lucia

Kill Your Heroes AWOLNATION

Upbeat, anthem-type song that will be sure to reach the top of your playlist.

Phenomenal second single from the band St. Lucia.

Featured on the bands debut studio album, with words that stick and a catchy beat.

Reading List. (for fun and for making you think).

A Whole New Mind Daniel H. Pink Reveals the six essential aptitudes on which professional success and personal fulfillment now depend, including a series of hands on activities.

Escape Hatch. (who doesn’t need a good laugh?)

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