Young People Battles

Many of us have struggled with hardships and have made it through but for some it’s not that easy. Some seek a permanent solution for a temporary problem. Suicide has become the third leading cause of death for young people. People who are battling with suicide do not realize that they are options.

In the rising number of suicides in recent years, there has been an increase in outreach organizations. Just last month was Suicide Prevention Week, which was held on September 9 through the 15^th. The purpose of the prevention week is to help bring awareness and to educate those who are battling with suicidal thoughts. The one thing that people struggling with suicide need to understand that what they are going through will end and they’ll survive it. 

Most suicidal young people likely suffer from depression. According to SAVE, a suicide awareness organization said that almost 90% of the people who die by suicide have an existing mental illness or substance abuse problem at the time of their death. Other warning signs that a person might be considering suicide are giving away prized possessions, extreme mood swings, talking about feeling hopeless, calling people to say goodbye.

If you know someone who are showing these signs or you are personally feeling this way please contact the Frostburg State University’s Counseling Center. Other organizations are ULifeLine, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and The TrevorProject. 

Where to Find Frostburg's Cheapest Drinks

It's no secret that many college students like to drink on the weekends. It's also no secret that most college students don't have much money to spend. So I checked out three of Frostburg's most popular bars -- Dante's, Wild Things, and F Bar -- to find out where students can get the cheapest drinks.

Dantes: Dante's is well known for its live entertainment. They often have a cover charge you must pay at the door if a live band is playing, so there goes five bucks. Is it really worth spending extra money on their drinks? On most nights, the answer for most broke students is no. Shooters start at $4 each, and mixed drinks, including drinks made with bottom-shelf alcohol, start at $4 as well. Domestic and bottled beers start out at $2.50, but the prices can get pretty high if you're looking for a seasonal or lesser-known beer. Dante's does have some specials, like Martini Mondays, where all martinis are half-off. They also discount various beers Tuesday-Friday. But at their already relatively high prices, you're probably better off checking out another bar.

Wild Things: The food at Wild Things is priced a little higher than most other pizza places in Frostburg. Can the same be said for their drinks? Some drinks at Wild Things are quite expensive, like their shooters, which range from $5.25 to $7.50. But most other drinks at Wild Things are reasonably priced. Shots of straight alcohol go from $3 to $3.25, rail drinks are all around $3, and both bottled and draft beers range from $2.25 to $5.50. Wild Things also offers many specials, like Ladies Night every Wednesday, where mixed drinks are 50% off. They also have frequent specials on domestic beers, where one can get a beer for as little as one dollar. 

F Bar: F Bar is by far the most inexpensive bar of the three. Here, shooters cost only $2.50, shots start at $2, mixed drinks start at 2, and both bottled and draft beers range from $1.50 to $2.75. F Bar also has specials every day of the week, like $3 quarts of beer on Tuesdays and $1.50 rail drinks on Saturdays. 

Overall, the economical student should choose F Bar if they are planning on going out and having a few drinks. Of course the environment at all three bars is very different, but if getting tipsy is what matters most to you, F Bar is the way to go.

Local Produce and Frostburg Farmers' Market

by Skye Pinney

 

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Paul Rice of Allegany County has been farming for almost his entire life. He grew up on his father’s farm, Rice’s Orchards, and took over in 1986. Since then he has been selling his produce to five farmers’ markets in Allegany County, as well as to local wholesalers and restaurants and at his own farm. On Fridays he sets up a table at the Frostburg farmers’ market, and on the Friday of September 28^th he received a steady flow of customers. I waited at least ten minutes for Rice to attend to his customers, and when the line finally slowed down, he greeted me with a smile and gladly talked with me about his job and produce.

Rice states that diversity is his favorite part of farming; the variety of the produce and the different management and production schedules of each fruit and vegetable keep him busy.

When asked why people should buy their produce locally, he responded simply and assuredly that the food is much fresher that way. The fresher the produce, the more nutrients the consumer gets; they are not lost through lengthy transports and days spent on supermarket shelves.

The produce he sells is treated with EPA-approved fungicides and pesticides, and none of the seeds he uses are genetically modified. However, the costs of these pesticides add up quickly, and it is his opinion that produce genetically modified to enhance the plant’s natural toxin would be preferable for farming as long as it would be safe for the customer to eat.

If you are interested in purchasing your fruit and vegetables locally, you can visit the Frostburg farmers’ market on Fridays from 9:30am to 1pm. It is located in City Place at the address 14 S. Water Street, and will be open until the second or third week of October.

Knowing What's in Your Wallet

It seems at every store you shop at these days comes with its own version of what can be considered a rewards card or a savings card. You will often be asked if you are a card member at checkout and if you reply no, you will be encouraged to sign up. Most of these are free, but are they even worth bulking up your key ring and your wallet? Let’s take a look at three of the local opportunities for savings and rewards.

Sheetz- One of the most frequently shopped at locations by students and the Frostburg community alike is the gas station Sheetz. With their My Sheetz Card users can save 3¢ on gas any time. Unfortunately, if you look at the gas prices at other local gas stations you will notice that without a My Sheetz card you will actually pay more at Sheetz, so you’re not really saving. Another offer is the Buy 10 Get One Free deal on popular items like donuts, coffee, and subs. If you frequently eat at Sheetz, it’s worth having.

Overall: If you frequently shop at Sheetz it’s worth having the card because it’s 100% free, and over time you will get free stuff, just don’t be excited about saving money on gas, you’re not.

Food Lion- Most everyone knows about Food Lion’s MVP card, but how useful is it? Again this savings card is 100% free and it saves you on a rotating array of food and general items around the store. It also makes you a shopping profile for what it thinks you will buy in the future and will produce coupons for certain items. Finally, the MVP allows you to access Food Lion’s specialty programs whenever they come around, like getting a free gallon of milk after you purchase 5, etc.

Overall: It’s definitely worth having, it saves you money and sometimes even gets you things for free.

Martin’s- This local grocery store offers customers a Bonus Card, which similar to Food Lion, allows customers to save on certain items in the store, and even get certain items for free. The Bonus Card also creates a customer profile and prints off special coupons for each customer. The difference between the Bonus Card and the MVP card is that Martin’s has a gas station. After a customer uses their bonus card and spends $100 they will get 10¢ off each gallon of gas (up to 30 gallons). This increases after every $100 spent unless the customer redeems the money off at the pump. So hypothetically speaking, someone could spend enough at the store and get gas for free. Something to note is that Martin’s usually puts certain items on sale and then gives “Bonus Points” for buying those items, that is usually how people get free gas, not spending $38,000 in groceries each month.

Overall: A Bonus Card is a must have. If you buy a lot of groceries and often and don’t mind riding to La Vale, then you can really save on gas. Yes, it’s only one tank but it’s worth it since you need food anyway.

It all comes down to whether or not you shop at the store frequently. If you don’t most stores have a ‘store card’ they can scan for you if you only need it to save money, but if you are a frequent shopper at a store it is worth getting the free card so you get the rewards you have earned!

Fact Checking a Few of the Medicare Claims at the Debate

Health care reform has been a major and controversial issue of this election season since the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. There was no exception on October 4, 2012, during the first Presidential Debate. The familiar subject came up frequently as it has on the campaign trail. As far as debates go, this was not one that would change minds or convince independent voters; however, it was an interesting debate for fact-checking the health care argument.

Romney claimed that “Obamacare” will “put in place an unelected board that determines your health care.” This harkens back to the “death panels” that we heard so much about in the 2008 election.  President Obama said during the debate that the notion of such a panel would be “against the law.” The board in question would be there to save costs to Medicare by recommending additional cuts. They can only make recommendations. They can be fired by the President. They will be held accountable.

Obama had promised to cut health insurance premiums for the typical family by $2,500 in his first term.  Romney claimed that he did not keep this promise, and that is correct. Obama said this while he was campaigning in 2007. Although he was able to pass the PPACA, there is no denying that this is a broken campaign promise.

President Obama has claimed that the Romney-Ryan Medicare plan will turn Medicare into a voucher system. This claim is rated on Politifact as a mostly true. The main reason is that the Romney-Ryan plan will offer a “form or check indicating a credit against future purchases or expenditures.” What’s interesting in the Politifact article is when they discuss the re-wording of “voucher” with “premium support.” Premium support was an idea made in 1995 by health care experts Henry Aaron and Robert Reischauer.  They stated that the Medicare system should "pay a defined sum toward the purchase of an insurance policy that provided a defined set of services." Henry Aaron no longer supports the idea of premium support, citing that Obama’s health care law serves “the purpose he intended.”

Finally, Obama stated that his plan was modeled after Romney’s health care plan in Massachusetts. He went a step further and claimed that the two plans were almost identical. Romney’s health care plan from Massachusetts has been a problem for Romney during the campaign, especially for voters that are opposed to the passing of the PPACA, making this claim very volatile. Unfortunately, for Mitt Romney, this claim is absolutely true. Readers are invited to take the Politifact quiz here. See if you can get them all right.

An Aside:

I chose to use www.politifact.com and followed its twitter feed where it posted links to articles it had posted earlier in the year. I invite any reader to challenge what I’ve found, and comment accordingly, because I would prefer to be educated and correct rather than ignorant and wrong. I focused only on some of the health care comments in last night’s debate. Though, I went further than just checking those facts. That being typed, I would like to mention now that what I’ve found so far leaves Mitt Romney with the most untrue statements.

BTGLASS Spreads Love for Election 2012

                                  BTGLASS Spreads Love for Election 2012

                                                  by: Neil Ralph

The Gay-Straight Alliance on campus (known as BTGLASS) had a table in the Lane Center this week and this past week for Question 6 on the voter registration ballot. For those who are not aware, Question 6 pertains to the Civil Marriage Protection Act. It establishes that Maryland’s marriage laws allow gay and lesbian couples to receive a marriage license and it protects clergy from being forced to perform any marriage ceremony in violation of their religious beliefs. “We have pamphlets and surveys so the students know what they are voting for,” says BTGLASS secretary Ally Reinhardt. The group BTGLASS started a newsletter this semester that will come out twice a month to inform the public as well as sign-up sheets where the students can put down their email to receive even more information. “I hope that everyone can vote for the freedom of love,” Reinhardt says. For more information, the group BTGLASS meets Tuesday nights at 8PM in the Lane Center room 109.

Ways To Travel the World Without Spending a Lot

Ways To Travel the World Without Spending a Lot

By: Caitlin Megonigal

            Have you ever had the desire to travel outside of the country, to go somewhere amazing like Paris, Amsterdam, Australia, Scotland, and Budapest? I know I have, but if you’re in the same boat I’m in you just can’t afford it. Unlike most people I’ve traveled outside the country many times, but most were on my parent’s dime. Recently I’ve been researching ways in order to travel outside the country without the heavy burden on one’s wallet. A main toll on one’s wallet is not the ticket but finding affordable places to stay when you’ve arrived at your intended destination. So how much would you be willing to pay? My ideal price is FREE! For those readers who agree, check out www.couchsurfing.org. Couch Surfing is, “A global network of travelers, adventure seekers and lifelong learners.”  How it works is that host people from around the world offer up their couches (for FREE) to people who are looking for a place to stay while their traveling or just want to travel in a more exciting, adventurous way. Just go onto the site, make an account (I just used Facebook to log in) and search any destination and supply the number of people you are traveling with. Make sure to read the profiles carefully just for an extra safety precaution.

            Another cheap way to travel is by staying at hostels. Hostels are like cheap motels for travelers, except many of them are pretty nice. I stayed in a few when I was in Australia and they were very simple, but nice. It is the perfect way for the adventurous traveler to have a roof over one’s head without spending a lot of money. The best website to find hostels around the world is www.hostelworld.com. If you’re brave enough also consider approaching a hostel manager and negotiate an exchange, work for a room. Some hostels are apprehensive about hiring people from abroad, so also consider applying for a job before you arrive at your destination. Hostel World has a message board link that has job postings. According to an article by Andrea Gourgy, advocates for this type of travelling say that as long as no money is exchanged trading labor for a room is good way to get around the visa issue of working in other countries (http://www.vergemagazine.com/articles/budget-traveller/15-ways-to-travel-for-free-or-at-least-cheap.html).

            One of the other hard things about traveling is the issue of running out of money when you get there. Well there are solutions for that too! It is easy to pick up casual work when travelling, but you have to do it right in order to avoid violating visa regulations. One could try being an au pair, check out sites like www.greataupair.org or www.aupair.com. To those who don’t have a degree in child education or lots of experience when it comes to taking care of children, this is not the choice for you. Another option is www.goworkabout.com, this site will prearrange pre-seasonal jobs in Australia. Working for small fruit farms and such is also a possibility (www.anyworkanywhere.com). Be aware though many farmers only advertise locally, so it may be difficult finding listings.

            If you’re a student like I am make sure you travel right, meaning the cheapest (but safest) way possible. These are just some ways to travel the world for cheap. Other ways include working a cruise ship, yacht, house-swapping, teaching and even study abroad programs with one’s university. Don’t go your whole life without seeing the world, there are so many different cultures to experience and places to see…don’t deprive yourself of those experiences just because of money.