MHMC- Commercial Template Doc Size 11.25” X 14”
Image Area 10.375 x 11.75 CYAN
MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
6
OPINION UP!
What is your favorite quote from a movie?
DANIELA LORENZO FRESHMAN “I can’t concentrate on my porn with all this real sex going on.” (Friends with Benefits)
KAYLA DIMPSEY JUNIOR “If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t go looking any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with.” (The Wizard of Oz)
MICHELLE CHAN FRESHMAN “She doesn’t even go here.” (Mean Girls)
Speak Up answers are edited for clarity, brevity and accuracy. Check out video Speak Ups at themiamihurricane.com.
Jennifer Levine
6
OPINION
Students: Texting and driving should never be an option. A text can wait. Our lives cannot.
”
The Miami Hurricane
brother, a mother, a friend. We wait until it is too late. In a poll conducted by The Miami Hurricane, 57 students admitted to texting while driving, while 11 students said they haven’t. Clearly, the overwhelming majority of college students text and drive even though most are aware of how unsafe it is. The University of Miami has teamed up with the Florida Department of Transportation for a “Put it Down” campaign, which educates students about the risks of distracted driving. Although this campaign isn’t going to break bad habits overnight, it will help spread awareness about an important topic that can drastically change someone’s life instantaneously. College students will continue texting and driving until something drastic changes their minds. This includes what we like to call the “safety zone” – texting when stopped at a red light. This may be the preferable option when comparing it to texting and driving simultaneously, but things can still go wrong such as not driving when the light turns green, or driving when the light is still red. Students: Texting and driving should never be an option. A text can wait. Our lives cannot. Editorials represent the majority view of The Miami Hurricane editorial board.
Candidates should focus on climate change
I
t’s October. The polar ice caps are at the lowest levels that have ever been recorded and the sea ice has not only ROBERT PURSELL lost about half CONTRIBUTING of its volume COLUMNIST since 2000, but also about 72 percent of its density. According to Peter Wadhams of the Polar Ocean Physics Group, this constitutes “an imminent and unavoidable global disaster.” Global warming is real, folks. It isn’t a bunch of hype or some crazy conspiracy theory dreamed up by scientists. It’s as real as the rising oceans, the melting ice caps and the rapidly
THE MIAMI HURRICANE
evaporating ozone layer. There’s a reason why Sir David King, the chief scientific advisor to the British government, called global warming the “biggest problem society has ever confronted.” And the scariest part for us concerned citizens is that when it comes to this year’s election, neither candidate could care less. It seems environmentally conscious voters currently find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place, faced with the daunting prospect of having to vote for one candidate who lies through his teeth and promises reform while actively ignoring it, and another who laughs in the face of even attempting to reform the environment. President Barack Obama has promised to wean our nation’s dependence on oil, but has done the exact opposite. He has called for more
Oct. 15 - Oct. 17, 2012
Founded 1929 An Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame Newspaper
For advertising rates call 305-284-4401 or fax 305-284-4404.
Eyes on the road – your text can wait Texting while driving has become a habit for most college students. We get in the car, blast our favorite music and do anything but keep our eyes on the road. If we’re not using both hands to text, we’re using one hand to text and the other to eat. All the while, our knee is controlling the wheel as we juggle everything else. This isn’t the type of driving we had to master before getting our license, but it’s the type of driving we have all come to learn, master and accept. But texting and driving isn’t a skill; it’s a danger to yourself and others around you. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1,000 deaths and 24,000 injuries in car accidents resulted from distracted drivers using their cell phones. All of these accidents could have been prevented if drivers would’ve put down their phones and paid attention to the road. Many college students don’t realize how quickly one text message can turn into one giant nightmare. We think we’re invincible because nothing has ever happened to us, and we dismiss the idea that anything ever will. We’re mistaken. It shouldn’t take a near-death experience or the death of a loved one to change our ways, but that’s what we wait for. We wait for that terrible crash. We wait for that dreaded phone call from a cousin, a
HURRICANE NEWSROOM: 305-284-2016 BUSINESS OFFICE: 305-284-4401 FAX: 305-284-4404
STAFF EDITORIAL
speak
compiled by
“
The Miami
offshore drilling, refused to enact tougher federal standards for fracking and has denied enforcing tighter standards on ozone pollution. Domestic drilling has quadrupled under Obama and, despite promising to end dangerous deep water drilling in the wake of the BP spill, Obama has continued to issue permits to companies like BP and Shell to drill in even deeper and more dangerous waters in the Arctic Ocean. In fact, Obama is the first president since Lyndon B. Johnson to see an increase in domestic oil production for four straight years. Obama was absent from a recent July meeting between world leaders in Rio aimed at reprising environmental reforms enacted through the monumental 1992 Copenhagen accord. FINISH READING AT THEMIAMIHURRICANE.COM
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Allison Goodman MANAGING EDITOR Demi Rafuls ART DIRECTOR Mariah Price PHOTO EDITOR Cayla Nimmo ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Monica Herndon NEWS EDITOR Stephanie Parra
BUSINESS MANAGER Tara Kleppinger ACCOUNT REP Kristyna Fong ADVERTISING EDITOR Demi Rafuls MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Daniel Cepero DESIGNERS Ali Fishman Carlos Mella Amilynn Soto
OPINION EDITOR Elizabeth De Armas
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Rob Finn
EDGE EDITOR Nicky Diaz
ENTERPRISE EDITOR Alysha Khan
SPORTS EDITOR Ernesto Suarez
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Isabel Vichot
ASSISTANT EDITORS Lyssa Goldberg Alexander Gonzalez
FACULTY ADVISER Bob Radziewicz
COPY CHIEF Spencer Dandes
FINANCIAL ADVISER Robert DuBord
COPY EDITOR Rebecca Cohen Jordan Coyne Erika Glass To reach a member of the staff visit themiamihurricane.com’s contact page. ©2012 University of Miami
The Miami Hurricane is published semi-weekly during the regular academic year and is edited and produced by undergraduate students at the University of Miami. The publication does not necessarily represent the views and opinions of advertisers or the university’s trustees, faculty or administration. Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of The Hurricane’s Editorial Board. Commentaries, letters and cartoons represent only the views of their respective authors. The newsroom and business office of The Hurricane are located in the Norman A. Whitten University Center, Room 221. LETTER POLICY The Miami Hurricane encourages all readers to voice their opinions on issues related to the university or in response to any report published in The Hurricane. Letters to the editor may be submitted typed or handwritten (please make your handwriting legible) to the Whitten University Center, Room 221, or mailed to P.O. Box 248132, Coral Gables, FL, 33124-6922. Letters, with a suggested length of 300 words, must be signed and include a copy of your student ID card, phone number and year in school. ADVERTISING POLICY The Miami Hurricane’s business office is located at 1306 Stanford Drive, Norman A. Whitten University Center, Room 221B, Coral Gables, FL 33124-6922. The Miami Hurricane is published on Mondays and Thursdays during the university’s fall and spring academic terms. Newspapers are distributed free of charge on the Coral Gables campus, the School of Medicine and at several off-campus locations. DEADLINES All ads must be received, cash with copy, in The Miami Hurricane business office, Whitten University Center, Room 221B, by noon Tuesday for Thursday’s issue and by noon Friday for the Monday issue. SUBSCRIPTIONS The Miami Hurricane is available for subscription at the rate of $50 per year. AFFILIATIONS The Miami Hurricane is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press, Columbia Scholastic Press Assoc. and Florida College Press Assoc.