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Bex in the City: Trip to Tiffany’s REBECCA BROWN Contributing Writer
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very little girl wants to be a princess with the nicest jewels and the nicest clothes. I subscribed to British Vogue for a couple of years and had always seen the double-page adverts for all the big names in fashion. But the advert always carried sadness. The outlets’ stores were in New York. But I’m here now. I’m in New York City, fashion capital of the world. So when I was asked if I wanted to go and check out 5th Avenue, I couldn’t help but say yes. It would be crazy to be here and live the dream. The one thing I’ve learnt in this city is that you can do anything your heart desires; it’s only a short ride away. We got on the subway and soon were thrown into the hustle and bustle of the Fashion District. I only had one place
on my mind. The one place I had dreamed of going since I bought my first issue of Vogue; Tiffany’s. Getting dressed up to the nines and parading down 5th Avenue sure enough made me feel like I was one of those girls in the magazines, even if it was just pretend. Walking up, I stared in awe through the shop windows. Louis Vuitton, Prada, Fendi, Gucci; they were all here in front of me, just like it said in they would be. Now, seeing them right in front of me was like a dream come true, they were suddenly accessible and within
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my reach. They were real. They were beautiful. They were expensive! But, like I said, today was for pretending. So I forgot my meager student bank account and made my way down to Tiffany’s. Of course, no trip to Tiffany’s would be complete without the typical tourist ritual of doing a Holly Golightly! So I stared through the right side window on Fifth Avenue and pretended I was Audrey Hepburn, all glamorous and chic. Admiring the beautiful pieces of jewelry in the window, I felt I had tapped into a piece of New York that was greatly overlooked. No matter who you are, or where you
Today I was the little girl living the dream that I had formed flicking through the pages of a magazine all those years ago.
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come from, in this city you can be anyone you want. Today I was the little girl living the dream that I had formed flicking through the pages of a magazine all those years ago. The beauty of it is that you can become lost in the hustle and bustle and play pretend right on the streets, and no one cares because they’re busy making their own lives. In the city, you can be who you want to be, and change it every day. So that’s what I did. Just for one day, I was living my dream, and the next day I could go back to being plain old Becks.
Rebecca Brown is an international student from Derby, England.
College Dems and Reps debate
Election 2012: Abortion rights – which side is your party on? MAIREAD CARR Special to the Torch
The Democratic Party official platform believes in a woman’s right to have access to a safe and legal abortion. The Party also defends the Supreme Court’s decision for a woman’s right to have an abortion in Roe v. Wade. Nevertheless, their platform also holds that educating both women and men will help decrease the number of abortions performed. In the end, the reasoning is simple: the right to have an abortion is a fundamental right of women. Democrats recognize in the platform that the choice is a difficult and trying choice “between a woman, her family, her doctor and her clergy” but it is a choice that each individual woman has the right to make. No woman enters an unwanted or unhealthy pregnancy purposefully, but if she is unable to care for the
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Democrats recognize ... that the choice is a difficult and trying choice “between a woman, her family, her doctor and her clergy” but it is a choice that each individual woman has the right to make.
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child mentally, financially, or medically, she can decide which choice is best for her and the unborn child. Let it be known that there is no section on “abortions” in
the party platform; the section is titled “Protecting a Woman’s Right to Choose” and also emphasizes “we strongly and unequivocally support a woman’s decision to have a child by providing affordable health care and ensuring the availability of and access to programs that help women during pregnancy and after the birth of a child, including caring adoption programs”. Additionally, this section is only four sentences of the democratic campaign to protect all rights and freedoms. Often what is lost in this discussion is a woman’s right to express herself sexually, just as a man has the right to do. It is medically impossible for the man to become pregnant, whereas it is quite possible for the woman to become pregnant, no matter what precautions are taken. Therefore, her ability to live her life both sexually and in relationships is more restricted than a man’s if the right to have an abortion is not available. This means that a much larger issue is at stake: equality. If this right is taken away, her options are limiting. A woman must make a conscious decision whether or not she is going to have sex for fear of pregnancy. Whether she is married or single, she will not be able to make the proper decisions for her sexual preferences unless the right to an abortion is available, especially if she does not wish to become a parent. While the man in the relationship may be just as concerned about her pregnancy, he does not need to consciously make that decision because his risk assessment is different. It will never be his body or his immediate health that is at risk. It will only ever be the woman’s. Women deserve to live as equals in society. While many agree that the right to have an abortion should be allowed in cases of incest, rape, or to save the life of the mother, she also has the right to choose based on all factors she deems as appropriate. As a result, her right to an abortion will endure as Roe v. Wade states it should. This ensures both her safety and equality for all.
GREGORY MITCHELL Special to the Torch
During the Republican National Convention every four years, the delegates of the party from each state vote on the party’s platform for the issues. This platform outlines the party’s stance on all the issues. These include taxes, foreign policy, same sex marriage and many other issues. Abortion is one of those issues that are included in the platform which is voted on by the delegates. During this year’s Republican National Convention, the party voted and approved the 2012 GOP Platform. In regards to abortion, it says, “Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life.” This means that the party platform of the Republican Party is that human life is sacred and that all life, born and unborn, have the fundamental right to life. This is the platform and stance for the Republican Party and its presidential candidate Governor Mitt Romney. Not all people agree on abortion. Even within the same party, people don’t agree on abortion. This is a very heated debate in society as this issue plays a part in the rights of a person and the rights of a life. Generally Republicans are pro-life, though many would disagree with the party. However, the official party platform takes a firm stance on the issue and that is the official view of the party. The GOP supports an amendment to the US Constitution regarding abortion. They support an amendment called a ‘human life amendment’. This would be an amendment added to the Constitution that would prohibit abortions and protect all human life. The party also endorses legislation to make clear and clarify that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.
Romney, our nominee, is pro-life. He has taken criticism from many calling him a “flip-flopper” on abortion. Democrats claim he was pro-choice then became prolife to run for president as a Republican. They call him a flip-flopper as in he goes back and forth on his beliefs. In reality, Mitt Romney is and has always been prolife.
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In reality, Mitt Romney is and has always been pro-life. He is a Mormon which is a religion like Cathlolicism, that believes in the sanctity of life and that it should be protected.
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He is a Mormon which is a religion, like Catholicism, that believes in the sanctity of life and that it should be protected. When he was the governor of Massachusetts, there was sentiment in the people and in the Democrat controlled government to allow abortion. However, when he was Governor, he always governed pro-life. He governed to protect life and to protect its sacredness. He is still pro-life now as he runs for president. His running mate, US Congressman Paul Ryan from Wisconsin, is also unapologetically pro-life. Abortion is a huge issue in elections today. Many people decide who they will vote for based on what their views are on abortion. Republicans are pro-life.
Representatives from the College Democrats and Republicans will be weighing in on important campaign issues in the weeks leading up to the election.