Above: President Obama hugs Senator Gabrielle Giffords at his State of the Union address this past month.
College students can be apathetic, lazy or, sometimes, burned out when it comes to keeping with the news. But some of the back-burner news is really insightful. Here are three things Albion College students should be aware of.
Senator Giffords steps down
Senator Gabrielle Giffords (D, AZ) has decided to step down from her spot in the House of Representatives, and formally submitted her resignation last Wednesday, January 25.
Okay, so what? Well, though this was well publicized, let’s revisit and consider the following:
Giffords was involved in a shooting in Tuscon on January 8, 2011 that killed six and wounded twelve. Giffords herself was shot—through the head—that day.
Remarkably, recovered from her injuries and defined the true story of a hero. She coped with and survived through an ordeal that should have killed her.
Moreover, Giffords won’t give up. When she feels strong enough, Giffords plans to return to the political scene.
Upwards of 400 arrested in Oakland Occupy movement
The Occupy Movement, which began as a protest against Wall Street bankers’ potential for taking greedy profits from the working class, has recently taken another dramatic turn in Oakland last Saturday, January 28, 2012.
The Occupy Movement supporters have been known to demonstrate rather aggressively, resulting in many arrests as unrest refuses to die down.
In this most recent protest which happened in Oakland, 400 people were arrested after jeering at police officers, breaking into a YMCA, and then breaking into City Hall.
When the protesters were unable to demonstrate peaceably, and after acting with illegality, animosity was stirred between the city police force and demonstrators that led to the arrests.
This proves that fighting for change is still an issue on the minds of those that wish for improvements.
Wake of SOPA felt by Megaupload
Megaupload, a website that allowed users to stream illegally movies and music, caught the wave of SOPA’s destruction. It was shut down by U.S. prosecutors.
It happened before SOPA came to an abrupt halt, and now people may never see their personal material again.
Unfortunately for the users, the endless amount of personal information—pictures and other information—has been locked away from their view.
This data could be deleted—never giving the users a chance to retrieve it.
It should be questioned: what will people do when their material is erased? And maybe the situation calls to question what sites are appropriate to put private information on.
Photo courtesy of Wikicommons
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