Hey now – you’re an All Star?

by Ryan Almodovar

Like the days getting longer, gringos getting sunburned, and the lack of quality primetime television, the All Star Game is a sure sign of summer. Every year, the best in the National League join forces to battle the American League, which because of fan voting, generally becomes the New York Yankees. Despite all the pageantry and hype that surrounds the event; the simple truth is that the game and the events surrounding it are perhaps the single most overblown and pompous events in sports.

College tenure: shut-up before you can speak-up

by Orlando Rodriguez

Colleges are not collegial, and tenure (guaranteed lifetime employment) does not foster an open exchange of ideas. Four-year universities can be narrow-minded institutions (Yes, it is possible to be liberal and narrow‑minded) where too many professors in the social sciences scream, back stab, manipulate, and lie to wipe out ideas that are a threat to their own research and academic status.

You are what you eat

by Clayton Rosa

Kids today are heavier, leading to many lasting health effects. The Institute of Medicine suggests “one in five pre-school children is overweight or obese.” Recent census numbers reveal that underrepresented groups – Latinos, African-Americans, and Asians – make up the majority of babies. “Non-Latino whites make up just under half of all children 3 years old”, CBS News reports.

How do you celebrate your citizenship? Walk across your new country, of course!

Guatemalan immigrant, Constantine Diaz-Duran, recently became eligible for U.S. citizenship. In celebration of this, he is currently walking from New York to LA. Of his choice of a walk to celebrate this time, he said “I came to this country a decade ago from Guatemala, full of aspirations – none greater than being able to someday call myself an American….

Becoming an American citizen is about more than gaining the right to vote or a blue passport. By taking the Oath of Allegiance, I will be joining a nation, a community. I will become the “fellow citizen” of more than 300 million people who have gained that title either by being born here or – like myself – through naturalization.

The demons within

by Maitri Pamo

Years ago, when a client walked into the exam room, pants hanging low with a bandana around his head, followed by an intact male Pit Bull,  I started to form opinions about how the visit would proceed immediately. The dog was sick and I assumed that the man either would not have the money or the inclination to follow my recommendations. I was wrong.