Tag Archive | "Wes Mayle"

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President Obama has faired well but has a lot to learn

Posted on 26 January 2010 by Wes Mayle

What a great gift to hand the President of the United States exactly a year into his first term.

Scott Brown, a republican, beat Massachusetts State Attorney General Martha Coakley, a democrat, in a special election to decide who takes the late Ted Kennedy’s place in the U.S. Senate.

Not only did Brown vow to be the person to break up the democrat’s fillibuster-proof majority, but things look grim with the nearly completed health insurance reform legislation.

This was a bad way to end a moderately successful year in office for President Obama. However, there is no need to look too much into the special election. A filibuster-proof majority and the use of such is overrated, especially in today’s political climate.

Look at health care for example. In order to secure 60 votes in the Senate, special negotiations had to be made with the most conservative members of the democratic caucus. By the time a bill was passed, it was so watered down that many of the more progressive members of the House of Representatives refuse to pass the Senate’s version.

So, the 60-vote-majority wasn’t a “we can govern anyway we like for free” card to begin with.

Did Obama’s agenda take a big blow when Brown won? Yes, for sure. However, with unemployment still incredibly high, this could be a chance for the president to work on things that aren’t as overreaching, such as climate change, jobs, and Wall Street reform.

There are still 59 senators who vote with liberal causes most of the time, and there is Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, who usually aren’t too hard to sway in negotiations.

Obama’s first year in office was historic, and memorable, and he has a lot of work left ahead of him. A lot of things are out of his hands, such as the death of Kennedy, and the special election which put the 41st republican in the senate. His handling of health care and the war in Afghanistan were fair-weather, but he has a lot to learn.

The chief thing he needs to learn is that congress isn’t going to do all the hard work. When it comes to whatever decisions he makes about jobs, the Middle East, Wall Street, or climate change, he needs to learn a lesson he has learned from health care: be direct with congress and the American people.

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Economy in the midst of recovery

Posted on 10 November 2009 by Wes Mayle

The recession, as least in a technical sense, is over.

As of Sept. 26, the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index has gone up from an annual low of 4181.75 on March 6, to 6862.31. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a conference at The Brookings Institute that although the economy is still reeling and will continue to do so for some time, in technical terms, the recession is over.

According to Buffie Schmidt, an instructor of economics, the stock market boost is reassuring because the stock market gauges consumer confidence. Consumers seem confident in investing, which may lead to the economy springing back to life.

“We’re hoping that the bottom was around the fourth quarter last year,” Schmidt said. “If we continue to see good policies come out of the President’s office, we continue to see good policies enacted within our states and the stock market continues to go up, we will recover.”

Augusta has had its bumps and bruises since the recession officially began, but the general opinion is that the city has fared pretty well compared to most. However, with area-wide unemployment up to 10.2% from the annual 2008 figure of 6.3%, industries having to cut labor, and plenty of area foreclosures, Augusta still has a lot to hope for, just like the national economy.

Schmidt sees the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” when it comes to America’s economic recovery. But, then again, she said she never stopped seeing the light. She said simple economics can point to America having continuing recessions because of its free market system.

“I saw (the light at the end of the tunnel) last year, too,” she said. “If you look at economic policy, just fundamentals…you should understand that every 6-10 years we are going to have a recession. This should not be news to anyone. The shocker was that our upswing went about 2 years longer than average. All of a sudden, we had our downswing, it was a shock and people were not expecting it.”

From September 2008 to August 2009, most industries in Augusta remained fairly stable when it comes to the percentage of unemployed. The two biggest hit in the area were mining, lodging and construction, which saw 16.6% of its workforce laid off in the past year, and manufacturing with 9.7% of job loss, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It is still up in the air as to whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill and the multitude of government bailouts will directly help the American economy recover fully. According to Schmidt, Obama’s deficit spending during his first year as president, as relates to percentage of Gross Domestic Product, is “getting into some scary territory.”

However, Schmidt stresses that the large amount of deficit spending doesn’t mean it will produce bad results for the economy.

“It just means we need to be careful,” she said.

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Pandemic flu plan updated; vaccines expected to arrive soon

Posted on 13 October 2009 by Wes Mayle

The university has updated its existing Influenza Pandemic Plan in the event that there is an outbreak of H1N1 on campus.

H1N1, otherwise known as “Swine Flu,” is starting to infect more and more people as flu season has started. In most states, the outbreak is considered widespread by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Between April 24 and October 6, 498 hospitalizations and 23 deaths were attributed to H1N1 in the state of Georgia.

Augusta State University took action by setting up a Pandemic Flu Committee. Joyce Jones, dean of students and vice president for Student Services, serves as the committees coordinator.

Along with Jones, nine faculty and staff members serve on the committee and are responsible for “preparedness, response, and recovering planning for their respective areas,” according to the Influenza Pandemic Plan developed by the committee.
Charlotte Price, chair of the Department of Nursing, said the university still hasn’t received the H1N1 vaccine, which is free to students, but she has ordered about 500 vaccines.

Price said she is making sure all nursing majors receive the vaccine (approximately 400 students), because hospitals are mandating that nursing students receive the vaccine before they participate in clinical. So, according to her its best to get on the waiting list. There can always be more vaccine ordered as needed, she said. She said she couldn’t speculate how long it will be till the vaccine arrives.

“We just figured out how many students would probably really want it,” Price said. “Just a wild-ball guess. If we need additional vaccine, we can order it.”
According to Price, all you have to do to receive the vaccine is call the Department of Nursing office and put your name on the waiting list. She said she has received many calls from students requesting they be put on the list so it is crucial to get on the list sooner rather than later.
As far as safety concerns, Price said the university has to trust what the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends.

“They assured us that they have done all they can to the best of their ability to ensure that the vaccine is safe,” Price said. “I know they tested it, and tested it, and tested it. So, we’re gonna assume that they know what they are doing.”

Although the numbers of cases appear staggering, the nature of H1N1 and its resemblance to the typical seasonal flu has forced CDC to stop keeping a tally of individual cases. Jones said 13 students have come forward with flu-like symptoms, but she is not sure exactly how many cases there have been at Augusta State.
One way that is being utilized to help combat the spread of H1N1 is the installation of hand sanitizer dispensers. They are now located all over campus. Another method is education through a campaign of flyers around campus, courtesy of the Department of Public Relations, and an educational video featuring two nursing professors on Augusta State’s Web site and you tube.
Another key method in preventing the spread of H1N1 is in the hands of students. If you have a fever, or a number of the symptoms of H1N1, it is best to go see a doctor. One of the things Jones is worried about is the potential spread of the virus at University Village.

“What worries me is University Village, because we don’t have a health center ,” Jones said. “There are people out there we have talked to who say ‘I’m just going to go in my room, close the door and sleep.’ Apparently the fever goes up pretty quickly.”

The plan has been in place since April 2006, when fears of bird flu were rampant.

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Fantasy Baseball Awards: Reynolds more valuable than Pujols, Ramirez

Posted on 13 October 2009 by Wes Mayle

You know what I hate? I hate every year after the fantasy baseball season has ended; fantasy columns give out their MVP awards to players such as Albert Pujols and Hanley Ramirez. Aren’t they two of best players in fantasy baseball every year? Sure, but to me, if I draft either of those two with a top-5 pick, I expect great results.

Why not give out a fantasy MVP award to someone who really deserves it? A player that you picked up in the 12th round who finishes as a top-20 player. A pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery who becomes a Cy Young award candidate.

This year, you will see both Ramirez, the shortstop (SS) for the Florida Marlins, and Pujols, first baseman (1B) for the St. Louis Cardinals win a ton of fantasy MVP awards. After all, they both had career years. However, you will not see that from me.

Mark Reynolds, eligible in ESPN Fantasy Baseball as a 1B and third basemen (3B), had a monster year that literally came out of nowhere. He exhibited power last year, with 28 home runs, but was more of an erratic free swinger (204 strikeouts, .239 average) to be considered in any fantasy baseball draft. The strikeouts have not changed. He set a major league record this year with 223 on the season. Thank God most leagues don’t use it as a statistic. Other than that, Reynolds had truly a breakout year, ranking in the top-11 in the National League in four of the five hitting categories in a traditional 5×5 fantasy league.

Someone like Reynolds or Joe Mauer, catcher (C) of the Minnesota Twins, who put up one of the best seasons in history by a catcher and was drafted on average in the 10th round of ESPN fantasy drafts, really deserve to be racking up the fantasy MVPs because the impact of having either one of those players on your team outweighs significantly the impact Pujols and Ramirez had on teams.

You get the idea. Now it’s time to hand out some awards.

MVP:
Mark Reynolds, 1B/3B, Arizona Diamondbacks (.260 average, 44 home runs, 102 RBI, 98 runs, 24 steals)
Reynolds had a season worthy of a top-5 pick and he was available for free off the waiver wire. That is value.
(Honorable mention: Joe Mauer, Zack Greinke, Chris Carpenter, Ben Zobrist)

Best Offensive Player:
Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals (.327, 47, 135, 124, 16)
Pujols flirted with the triple-crown as usual, but he added 16 steals to the mix, which easily makes him the top fantasy player of the year.
(Honorable mention: Hanley Ramirez, Carl Crawford, Matt Kemp, and Derek Jeter)

Best Starting Pitcher:
Zack Greinke, SP, Kansas City Royals (16 wins, 242 strikeouts, 2.16 ERA, 1.07 WHIP)
Greinke was a ninth round pick on average on ESPN drafts. He was very dominating as well as consistent for his fantasy owners this year. He led the majors in ERA, third place in strikeouts, fifth in WHIP, and tied for ninth in wins.
(Honorable mention: Tim Lincecum, Carpenter, Dan Haren, and Felix Hernandez)

Best Relief Pitcher:
Joe Nathan, RP, Minnesota Twins (47 saves, 2.10 ERA, 89 strikeouts, 0.93 WHIP)
Saves are the only thing I give a crap about when it comes to relievers. They simply don’t pitch enough innings for their ERA, WHIP, or strikeouts to impact my fantasy team. Still, I give the award to Nathan because his ERA is so much better than the major league saves leader Brian Fuentes, RP of the Los Angeles Angels, that it made up for the one save gap between them.
(Honorable mention: Mariano Rivera, Heath Bell, Brian Fuentes, and Francisco Cordero)

Fantasy All-Star team:
C- Joe Mauer, MIN
1B- Albert Puols, STL
2B- Chase Utley, PHI
3B- Mark Reynolds, ARZ
SS- Hanley Ramirez, FLA
OF- Carl Crawford, TB
OF- Matt Kemp, LA
OF- Ryan Braun, MIL
SP- Zaxk Greinke, KC
SP- Tim Lincecum, SF
SP- Chris Carpenter, STL
RP- Joe Nathan, MIN
RP- Mariano Rivera, NYY

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ASU student killed in apparent murder-suicide

Posted on 29 September 2009 by Wes Mayle

The last time Jimbo Thrash spoke to his best friend, Robert “Rob” Anderson, was the night of Anderson’s death, at Thrash’s house. They had played some Nintendo Wii together.

“He got mad because I had beat him in Wii and he left,” Thrash said. “We always told each other we loved each other. He was like, ‘I’m leaving.’ I was like, ‘I love you, bud.’ He said, ‘I love you too.’ That was the last time I heard from him, and then that night was when he got killed.”

Later that night, in the early morning of Sept. 3, police were called to Appling, Ga., after Anderson’s grandfather reported that he heard “four or five” gunshots, at the location where they discovered two dead bodies, according to the Columbia County Sherriff’s Office incident report.

The bodies were identified as being those of Robert Anderson, a 24-year-old pre-management major at Augusta State University and his mother, Nancy Anderson.

Robert Anderson was found in the rear bedroom of the house, with apparent multiple gunshot wounds to the head, Columbia County Coroner Vernon Collins told The Augusta Chronicle.

Nancy Anderson had a single gunshot wound to the head, and a revolver was found between her legs, according to the Columbia County Sherriff’s Office incident report.

Collins told The Chronicle that Anderson’s mother left a two-page note explaining why she decided to take her son’s and her own life, along with details for both funerals.

Tripp Anderson, Rob’s brother, lost both his mother and brother in the incident.

“There weren’t any words to explain it,” Anderson said. “When I found out, it was shocking. I really couldn’t get my mind around it, because I was just thinking of everything that I could have done, should have done, and if I made decisions that were beneficial (to the situation).”

Rob and Tripp’s father passed away three years ago. According to Tripp, his mother had trouble coping with his father’s passing.

“She really didn’t know how to cope with the loss of my dad…” Anderson said. “My mom didn’t have the tools and the mindset to deal with that kind of grief.”

Tripp said he was very close to his brother and said his brother was a good person who would help anybody.

“Rob would give his left arm for anybody,” Anderson said. “I mean he would literally give the shirt off his back for you…That’s what got him through life was his charm, and that’s what people will remember about him. He never met a stranger.”

Laura Phelan, a junior public relations major and friend of Anderson’s, was in her car on the way to school when she got a phone call from a friend informing her of Anderson’s passing.

“At first it was just shock,” Phelan said. “I mean, I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t seem real, at all.”

Phelan said she felt shocked at the beginning, but after it set in that Anderson was really gone, anger set in.

“I knew (his mother) was unhappy, but it made me mad that she felt she needed to take him with her,” Phelan said. “He had his whole life ahead of him.”

Jamie Jobe dated Anderson for two-and-a-half years. The two were not technically dating at the time of his passing, but they remained close. She said she still thinks of Anderson “every minute of the day.”

“I’ll try to talk to him, ask if he can hear me,” Jobe said. “I don’t know if he can, but it hits me hard every once in a while. You never know when it’s going to hit you.”

Jobe’s favorite memories of Anderson were when the two og them were alone together, spending quality time together at Clarks Hill lake.

“Our special memories are when we would go to the lake,” Jobe said. “Me and him. We would just fart around in a $5 float from Wal-Mart.”

Thrash and Anderson were inseparable. Anderson, an employee at Augusta Ironworks, had just recently moved out of his apartment and moved in with his grandfather and mother to save money. Thrash has many memories of Anderson in the seven years they were friends. One time, Thrash said, he and his friends played a practical joke on Anderson that had to do with a potential beach trip.

“We picked on him one time,” Thrash said. “We told him that we were going down to Edisto to the beach for the weekend, and we got everyone (to say) we were all going down there…So, he takes off work, and he’s all excited, he’s already packed and everything. We ended up telling him the day we were supposed to go that we weren’t going. He was so daggum mad at us. I remember, that was a good one.”

The surprising outcome of the incident encouraged Tripp Anderson. The small rural community of Leah, which sits inside of Appling, reached out to the Anderson’s family and showed up en masse to both the viewing and funeral for support. Anderson said there were hundreds of people waiting in line at the viewing just for handshakes and hugs.

“The outpouring was tremendous,” Anderson said. “It was just amazing to see a community to come together to help a family in a time like this.”

Anderson’s funeral was held on Sept. 9 at Damascus Baptist Church in Appling. He is interred at the church’s cemetery.

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Committee investigates sexual harassment cases

Posted on 15 September 2009 by Wes Mayle

There have been seven inquiries made in the past two years to the Sexual Harrassment Committee.

Only one inquiry has been a formal complaint, and in that complaint the committee didn’t find evidence of sexual harassment. However, according to Mary Jane Anderson-Wiley, chair of the committee, it is best for students and faculty members to report any suspected sexual harassment to a member of the committee if they feel as though they are being harassed.

The last incident that was reported to the committee came in February. A member of the maintenance staff was being “overly friendly” with a student, and the student reported this to Dalton Brannen, a professor in the Hull College of Business.

The committee met on Feb. 25. According to the report, Brannen told the committee that the student, who decided not to make a formal complaint, said the behavior was neither threatening or of a sexual nature. The committee decided that the incident in question was more of a personal issue, rather than sexual harassment.

Many of the situations brought to the committee do not constitute sexual harassment. This, Anderson-Wiley said, is what happened in the February case, her only case as chair of the committee.

“You know sometimes it’s a really fine line,” Anderson-Wiley said. “You may view it as harassment, but (it may not fit the definition)…It was just a matter of talking in a friendly way to a person.”

Augusta State University’s sexual harassment policy defines sexual harassment as any “unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, which creates an unproductive or offensive, hostile, or intimidating working or learning environment and which has a harmful effect on the individual.”

According to the committee’s annual report, there were six reported cases in 2008. The only formal complaint in the last two years came on May 30, 2008. In that case, the committee investigated allegations from a female complainant against a male professor. The student claimed that the professor had “inappropriate body contact” with her and “threatened her academic career.”

After what they referred to as a “careful” investigation, the committee did not find evidence of sexual harassment. According to the report, the summary of the incident and findings were filed with the President’s Office. A clerk in the office said the summary and findings were of a confidential nature and could not be accessed.

Anderson-Wiley said the university wants to know of any sexual harassment that occurs on campus.
“The purpose of the Sexual Harassment Committee is for anybody who feels they’re being sexually harassed to come to a member (of the committee), so that we can further investigate,” she said. “We just don’t want that on our campus.”

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An introduction to fantasy football

Posted on 15 September 2009 by Wes Mayle

Fantasy sports has become a behemoth. Some estimates show that fantasy sports have an economic impact of between $3-4 Billion annually to the sports industry. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association estimated that in 2007 alone, 29.9 million people in the U.S. and Canada over the age of 12 played fantasy sports.

With those kinds of numbers, you would expect a sort of cultural accreditation. Not really. Normally, odds are that if you play them, you love them, and if you don’t, you look at the popularity of fantasy sports and cast a doubt on the future of America. Some probably equate fantasy sports to a Star Trek convention.

This, however, is not what fantasy sports is about. If you love sports, you can follow real sports through your fantasy team, and your players will help you win only if they perform on the field.

Fantasy football has officially begun, and before we bombard readers with a regular fantasy football column, I want to go over the basics.

Every fantasy football league begins with either a draft or an auction. I am a huge draft proponent because of the luck that is involved in the way your team is shaped. It works like a normal amateur player draft in every professional sport, with one key exception: The person with the last pick of the first round picks first in the second round. That way by the end of each draft, if every team has drafted wisely, the teams will all look balanced on paper.

The “snake” or “serpentine” draft (as it is called) is a very important part of both strategy and success in a fantasy football league. Say for example I get the first pick (note: the leagues I play randomly decide the draft order about an hour before the draft starts). This year, to me at least, it is obvious: I would take the best running back (RB) in the league, Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. Sure, I have a stud as my first pick to build my team around. But, by the time it gets to my second round pick, 18 players have been selected off the board. I also get the first pick of the third round, but still, a lot of talent diminishes between picks.

If I get the 10th pick, which is the last pick in the first round of a 10-team-league, I get the misfortune of having to wait till pick 10, but the fortune of getting the first pick of the second round.

Each league is seemingly different as far as the size of team, etc. But, you need to be looking out for value picks and choosing wisely during your draft. Most leagues use one quarterback (QB) in the starting lineup, which makes QBs inherently less valuable. In a 10 team league, each team will only be able to start one QB. Even though QBs tend to score the most points because they get to touch the ball on every down, you would be best served grabbing your RB and WR early. Those positions seem to be the most top-heavy, and also you usually have to fill more spots in those positions. So, in order to not get stuck with a bunch of scrubs at RB and wide receiver (WR), grab those early.

Here is what a typical fantasy football starting lineup looks like (this is actually a team I drafted recently):

I put in a () next to each player the draft pick number I took them with.

QB-Matt Ryan (44)
RB-Maurice Jones-Drew (4)
RB-Clinton Portis (17)
RB/WR-Kevin Smith (24)
WR-Wes Welker (37)
WR-Desean Jackson (64)
TE-Dallas Clark (57)
D-Panthers (144)
K-Neil Rackers (157)

I also have a full bench that I drafted, which is why there is such a big drop off in pick number from Jackson to the Panthers. The reason why is because good Kickers (K) and Team Defense (D/ST) are readily available on the waiver wire and are annoyingly unpredictable. That’s why, no matter how amazing the D/ST or K look, just wait till the end of your draft to grab them.

Make sure you check the type of statistics your league tracks, but either way, you procure points in fantasy football based on real life statistics.

Example:
Maurice Jones-Drew runs for 100 yards rushing, with one rushing TD, and 30 receiving yards. My league rewards RB with one point every 10 rushing or receiving yards, and six points per TD. For the week, Jones-Drew collects 19 points for my team.

Your starting lineup scores this way each week. Each week, you will face another fantasy team. If your team scores the most points, you win. Fantasy leagues vary, but in my fantasy league, the regular season lasts 13 weeks. In week 14, the No. 1 seed plays the No. 4 seed for a two week matchup. Same with the Nos. 2 and 3 seed. The winner of each of those matchups play in the championships.

It’s simple, it really is. One major cause of frustration though in fantasy football however is injuries. There is a real possibility that even though you had the first pick in the draft and celebrated as you welcome Adrian Peterson for a year of fantasy football dominance, he could get a knee injury and be sidelined for the whole year. Tom Brady, QB for the New England Patriots was a very high pick in drafts in 2008 after having one of the best seasons in NFL history for a QB in 2007. He did not even play one quarter of the first game in 2008 before he was carted off for the season with a devastating injury. The lesson is be prepared and keep a solid bench throughout the season to avoid too much of a setback in the event of an injury.

One of the ways many fantasy championships are built is through the use of the league’s waiver wire. The NFL is filled with outrageously talented skill players, even on the benches of some teams. If a key player is knocked out because of injury, there has been many cases in which the bench player turns into a fantasy juggernaut with more playing time. The waiver wire is a collection of all the players who are not currently on teams in your league. If you have the No. 1 waiver wire position (which changes week to week based on your league’s rules), you can be the first to jump on the new player.

Fantasy football is an extremely fun endeavor. It takes very little time each week to change your lineups, and can make watching football a lot more entertaining. Before I started playing fantasy football, I didn’t watch much pro football. Now, I can watch the players on my fantasy team deliver points and hopefully, beat my opponent handily, because that’s essentially what fantasy football is about: competition and embarrassing the other team.

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Public option is the right plan for health care reform

Posted on 01 September 2009 by Wes Mayle

Don’t let anyone be mistaken, the public option is the most essential part of health care legislation. With tax hikes of the rich, it can be afforded. Don’t listen to the scare tactics. The public option is the real deal and should be a facet of our health care system, much like greedy HMOs.

With a public option, there will be more affordable choices for Americans seeking health insurance. Although it is an interference of the private sector, sometimes the private sector needs a jolt. Health care has become less of a guarantee for American people and ever since the rise of Keiser Permanente and the HMOs, it is more about how much money is made rather than how healthy our nation is. There are certain things that just shouldn’t be in the hands solely of the private sector. How would you feel if police or fire departments were run by companies? When it comes to something like health care, we shouldn’t leave it up to greedy insurance companies that are keen on turning down people with pre-existing conditions.

The public option is a system in which there will be a government-run insurance option. And, by God, it has caused quite a stir among those same right-wing extremists who have always been against any form of governmental growth. The GOP responded to said public option with a bunch of dirty tricks. They found out, from the antics of the Bush Administration, that if they use a bunch of scare tactics, they can get the GOP base fired up. But, this time it’s not by warning of the threat of terrorism. Rather, it’s by telling constituents that passing the public option would be the equivalent of “pulling the plug on grandma.”

Sure, there is one big drawback to such a sweeping overhaul. The taxes of the upper class will be raised to offset the cost of the vaunted public option. This, to me, is a charity of sorts that is paid by most of the rich in nearly every developed country in the world. They can afford to put some money into the caddy for the good of the American people.

Over the years, several Democratic presidents have been successful at passing sweeping social legislation that has been beneficial to the country. In each instance, the opposition has imposed many political tactics to try to curtail the growth of government. Even now, Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey has sued the federal government in order for himself to be exempt from Medicare. We shouldn’t fear government.

Polls say that the majority of Americans are satisfied with their healthcare. They will be able to keep their current option in the new plan.

President Obama recently said it was a “moral imperative” to pass this legislation. According to the National Coalition on Health Care, nearly 80 percent of people who declared bankruptcy because of medical expenses had health insurance. The private health insurance companies are making health care simply unaffordable. Every industrialized nation other than the U.S. has a type of universal health care.

Although there are flaws with many countries single-paying plans, that’s not what the public option is about. Also, in those countries, such as France (where recently there was an uproar over citizens even paying a co-pay), citizens have a strong belief that health care should be a right, high taxes or not. The fact that many GOP leaders are calling this plan “socialist” does this kind of reform a disservice. According to the WHO’s ranking in 2000, the U.S. has the 37th best health care system in the world.

When the Bush Administration won the 2000 election and had a majority in both houses of Congress, he went forward with many pieces of right-leaning legislation. He didn’t care about bipartisanship, because he won. He was the guy the American people elected (sort of) and he didn’t care who was critical. Obama should stand tall. He was elected by a landslide after being named by the National Journal as the most Liberal Senator of 2007. And, by the way, Vice President Biden was second. The American people spoke.

With leaders like that and a Congress that is covered with liberals, Obama should sell his plan as the right plan for America and speak loudly for those who got him elected. With basically a Republican stronghold in America for so long, change, and a whole lot of it, is what the doctor ordered. We shouldn’t have to accept anything less than universal health coverage. It should be our right as citizens.

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Prevention is key in combating “Swine Flu”

Posted on 01 September 2009 by Wes Mayle

There are growing numbers of people affected by the H1N1 influenza virus, including thousands of hospitalizations nation-wide and hundreds of deaths. While many are worried over the upcoming flu season, what is “Swine flu” and what can be done to prevent the spread of the virus?

There have been no reported cases of H1N1, also called “Swine flu,” at Augusta State University, but there were seven reported cases over the summer at the University of Georgia. Many colleges around Georgia are planning for the worst, according to WXIA in Atlanta.

“I think folks are planning for the worst, but hoping for the best,” said Carol Hunter RN-MSN, assistant professor of nursing.

South Carolina, which is just across the river from Augusta, has been one of the few states suffering from a “widespread” outbreak, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

H1N1 has many of the same symptoms as the seasonal flu. However, Hunter said although the symptoms may be similar, there are differences in the pattern. For example, she said with seasonal flu, people older than 65 and infants are most likely to become seriously ill.

“Typically, with seasonal flu, every year people get sick from seasonal flu, and people are hospitalized, and people die. That’s not a difference from Swine flu. Some of the differences we see is that some of the population that is being affected is a little surprising. Young people, under the age of 25, tend to have more serious illness from Swine flu than seasonal flu.”

There have been 7,983 hospitalizations and 522 deaths nationwide, with 101 hospitalizations and four deaths in Georgia, thus far. Hunter said there is no way to predict what kind of impact H1N1 will have during the flu season. The key, she said, is “prevention, prevention, prevention.”

“Some of the things that people can do: hand washing,” Hunter said. “Every single time you use the bathroom. Every single time you cough and sneeze. Cough and sneeze into your arm, or into a tissue. Dispose of that, wash your hands. Of course, minimizing hand shaking and things like that.”

If you are sick, Hunter said, you should probably stay at home. The CDC recommends that if you are home sick and have a fever, you should not return to school or work until you have been free of fever without the the use of a fever-reducing medicine for 24 hours.

“If you have a stuffy nose and a headache, you don’t have to stay home,” Hunter said. “But if you have a fever, especially a high fever, sore throat coming on, you’re feeling fatigued, and you can tell when you are actually getting sick, you need to be home.”

Recently, an email was sent out to the faculty and staff of Augusta State regarding swine flu. It explained not only that Augusta State is monitoring flu cases on campus, but also that the many reported cases of swine flu at other institutions may not actually be the swine flu.

According to the CDC guidelines, “all institutions and school systems should be monitoring reported cases of the flu. Faculty and staff absences due to flu symptoms should be reported to Walt Alexanderson, [email protected], in the human resources department. If you have students absent because of flu-like symptoms, report them to Joyce Jones, VP for student services, [email protected], who is also chair of the Pandemic Planning Committee. Please report only absences that are attributed to flu-like symptoms.”

Symptoms include:
Fever (usually high)
Headache
Fatigue
Dry cough
Runny nose
Stuffy nose
Muscle ache
Sore throat
vomiting
Sometimes diarrhea

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Financial Aid misinformation causes trouble for students

Posted on 01 September 2009 by Wes Mayle

The day before fall fees were due, the Financial Aid Office called Valinda Coffey and said her scholarship money had arrived. When she finally got to talk to someone after going through a plethora of busy signals and recorded messages, the customer service person said everything was fine and told her when to register.

When Coffey, a junior political science major, went to register, the money wasn’t there.

Coffey had already waited a month-and-a-half to get to this point. She had received the award letter and notification that her money was in the mail. Turns out, she hadn’t formally accepted her award.

What confused Coffey was the lack of information given to her when she talked to the customer service employee. She had never been given a scholarship before. When the employee told her everything was fine, she took it as the truth and didn’t think she needed to do anything else.

Many other students have complained over the misinformation given to them by the staff of the Financial Aid Office. Although the office with these seemingly routine problems everyday, there are many students on campus who rely on financial aid to come to Augusta State University.

Willene Holmes, director of Financial Aid, said the customer service staff of the office are hired to answer phone calls and receive documents. She said they “have enough knowledge about the application process and the documents to answer the questions intelligently. But as far as them actually processing the verification, they can’t do it. I have another team of verification individuals to do that.”

“Often times, even though we are receiving documents across the counter, when we look at the record in the computer, they may look like the student is complete and we have everything,” Holmes said.

Nikki Skinner, a sophomore journalism and photography double major, said her experience with the customer service staff of the office wasn’t very pleasant.

“They don’t know as much, so they kind of go and tell you to do stuff, and then, in the end, you’ve got this whole runaround and it was pointless,” Skinner said.

Skinner turned in her tax information four times this year. After it was lost repeatedly, she finally refused to leave the office as she watched an employee with the customer service staff file her information.

“I didn’t get to register till a week before school, and I lost my drawing class,” she said.

Skinner said she started her academic career as Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga. She said she never had a single issue with their financial aid department.

Holmes said many of the perceived mistakes made by Financial Aid can be attributed with a logjam of FAFSA’s that appear late to her office. What has happened is that even though the financial aid deadline is on April 1 each year, many students don’t turn it in until well into the summer. She said although many students do not have their tax information ready by then, they can turn that in later than the FAFSA. She said in 2008, from July 15 to August 15, she received 859 FAFSA forms.

“I want the largest volume of applications to come into us January, February, March, April,” Holmes said. “That is not happening, and unfortunately many people don’t even start thinking about financial aid until July and August. They realize, ‘Oh, my fees are due next month. I haven’t done my FAFSA.’”

One of the frequent complaints is the phone line always being busy. Skinner said she tried repeatedly to get through on the phone before coming to the office and talking to an employee in-person.

According to Holmes this is due to only have two phone lines in the office. Any more, she said, and they will have to establish a call center, which her budget will not allow.

Holmes said no one is perfect and it would be much easier to conduct business if she had a vault of money with no application process. With a stringent process, and a hot office, with few seats and long waits, she said it makes for an environment where students or parents can get testy.

“We will not accept a student or parent raising their voices at us, or shouting profane language, because we do neither,” Holmes said. “We don’t have to. First of all, we are providing a service. It’s all about supply and demand.”

That kind of environment changed this year during peak registration period. While once students complained of waiting in the hot Financial Aid Office to get help, she expedited that process by moving her operation to University Hall.

According to Holmes, between August 11and August 19, they helped 2.349 students in University Hall. On August 17 alone, Financial Aid assisted 520 students. At the very most, she said, students had to wait 20 minutes. After that the students were able to get access to a computer and with as many as eight members of the Financial Aid Office staff available.

“My office, where we are presently located, is just simply not conducive to the traffic that we have,” Holmes said. “It gets hot up here. We don’t have enough seats.”

Also, she said, the building is not accessible for students with disabilities.

“(The building) is not ADA accessible,” she said. “My staff and I have to go downstairs, or sometimes if the lift isn’t working in the building, we have to go outside, in the rain, in the cold, in the heat, to assist a physically challenged student. That’s not a complaint….We don’t mind doing that. We welcome that.”

Along with everything else, Holmes said it also seemed as if the students were happier than usual while taking care of their financial aid needs in the cooler environment of the University Hall computer lab, which she calls Financial Aid Central.

“It was very cool, temperature-wise.” she said. “People were in a good mood. My staff, we were kidding and cutting up with the students. They were coming in joking with us. So, I think when you’re hot, people get kind of irritable, and plus, there wasn’t a long wait.”

Many students think due to the misinformation they have received that Financial Aid is crawling with student assistants. This, Holmes said, is not true. She said she has three full-time customer service employees, and four more full-time employees that can work the service desk whenever is needed. Four students are employed in the office, but only one works in customer service.

Many of the mistakes made by Financial Aid can be credited to mistakes students make when either them or their parents are filling out a FAFSA. Holmes said a FAFSA should be treated as a family project.

“I think a lot of it is, people are rushing,” Holmes said. “They’re in a hurry when they are online, and I think that if either the students fill out their forms out by themselves, or the parents are filling out the forms by themselves. Applying for financial aid is a family endeavor.”

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