Woe vs. Rage: The Argument for Abortion

By: Mitchell Bretz

Avoiding the Freshman Flu this Winter Season Avoiding the Freshman Flu this Winter Season

By. Alexa Davis

We all know what the freshman flu is, and if you don’t, here is a hint: it’s not just reserved for freshman. That dreaded winter season of a stuffed nose, a mysterious and painful cough, and a constant aching headache seems to hit all college students like a truck right around the same time in the middle of November. As a college student, it seems inevitable that you will catch this nasty sickness at some point during each fall semester. Fortunately, as the winter season approaches, there are certain things that you can be doing to increase your chances of dodging this annoying virus and staying healthy for the holiday season.

1. Wash Your Hands Often

This one seems like an obvious tip, but you would be surprised how many people would be able to avoid a flu in the winter just by washing their hands more often. How many times is often? Cold and flu germs from a cough or sneeze can travel through the air in invisible droplets that can infect any surface. You should wash your hands before you eat, after you use the bathroom, and anytime you come home from somewhere.

2. Get Enough Sleep

Most college students need seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Being well rested and getting enough sleep allows your body to boost its immune system and fight off infection and viruses.

3. Eat the Right Nutrients

The body needs to receive a healthy diet and the proper nutrients in order to build a strong immune system to fight off cold and flu infections. A poor diet will only lead to a weakened and run-down immune system (this includes booze). Eating a healthy diet and getting enough of the right nutrients will set yourself up for the best success in defeating the winter flu this season.

4. Be Active

Getting regular exercise in the winter months can be difficult for a lot of people, but it is actually very important. Being active is a great way to support and keep your body healthy in the winter season.

5. Clean Surfaces

Whether you just had company over at your house or you have been alone in your house for a week, cleaning surfaces thoroughly and often is a great way to avoid any unseen germs. Even if you are the only person to touch that surface, you never know what invisible flu germs could be hanging around your house. It is better to be safe than sorry.

6. Find ways to De-Stress

It may come as a surprise to some people, but stress is terrible for the body and weakens the immune system. Stress breaks down the immune system, which is why college students seem to be more susceptible to these cold and flu viruses. Taking time at the end of your day to do something that you enjoy or just relax for a little bit could make all the difference.

A woman’s body, a woman’s choice – but only where it’s allowed.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a 5-4 decision, it erased decades of progress. Not just in the fight for women’s rights, but in our growth as a society. As devastating as this loss has been for our country, the damage may not be limited to the confines of our borders.

The decision came after a slow but steady overall decline in abortion restrictions worldwide. In the years before Roe v. Wade was overturned, many foreign nations had begun to allow abortions. Columbia, Argentina, and Ireland have all made abortions legal in just the past four years alone. On the other side of things, the US has become only the third country to place restrictions on abortion rights since 1994.

With those facts in mind, it’s not hard to imagine that June’s decision could set forth a global movement against abortion for years to come. Already-oppressive governments will undoubtedly look to the US to justify their stance on reproductive rights, and those that have changed their laws in recent years might consider revisiting the issue. Poland, for example, has been widely criticized by the EU for its own anti-abortion policies. With the US – the world’s sole true superpower – restricting reproductive rights for the first time in decades, it easily becomes a game of “Well, they did it…so why can’t we?”

That implication aside, outlawing abortion procedures does not stop them from happening; it simply makes them more difficult to obtain, and more dangerous. This is already true for the US, but the negative effects of banning abortion are even more easily seen around the world. In El Salvador, for example, the third-leading cause of death among adolescent girls in 1994 involved complications from pregnancy, many of which can be attributed to impromptu abortions that were performed illegally. At the time, abortion laws in the country were very strict, and by 1998 the practice was banned altogether. Today, many young girls in El Salvador are arrested for attempting to have abortions, some as young as ten years old. Now, with the US validating their behavior, countries like El Salvador are salivating at the mouth. Those young girls won’t have safe or legal access to abortion anytime soon, and we, in part, are to blame.

Perhaps one of the most upsetting aspects of this issue is the fact that the majority of Americans don’t actually support the new ruling. In a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 61% of Americans were found to have supported abortion in all or most cases. The Republican party – classically known to demonize abortion – is losing its grip on younger, more forward-thinking Americans, and the recent elections are representative of that. While the party holding the White House usually loses seats in the House of Representatives during midterm elections, the Democratic Party lost the fewest seats in 40 years, only 22 as of this writing. By comparison, 63 were lost under Obama in 2010. Conservatives don’t want to see it, but America is becoming more and more progressive. It’s only a matter of time before that reality trickles into the courts and progress begins to be made for good – the world watching all the while.

As Americans, we often forget the amount of privilege and influence that we have over other countries. History has shown that, for better or worse, other nations tend to look to us when evaluating their own culture, and that includes our politics. When we make such drastic changes in our laws, we must consider not only the example that we are setting for ourselves, but the example that we are setting for the world.

After all, with great power…