News Old Gold & Black
Thursday, October 23, 2008 A3
Election: University hosts several political events Continued from Page A1
Kay Hagan’s son and held debate watch parties.” The College Republicans have been equally as active on campus. They have hosted voter registration drives throughout the year, kicking off the year with a concert on the Mag Quad. Since then, they have worked closely with campaigns of all GOP candidates. Currently, College Republicans is focusing on GOTV efforts and the final 72-hour campaign. “Students have taken off this whole semester to work on the campaigns,” Harriger said. “This is the first time I have ever seen that, other than one other student, in the 23 years I have been teaching. It is unusual.” Thanks to the College Republicans and College Democrats, university students are more active in the Winston-Salem community as well. “College Republicans continues to work closely with local, statewide, and national campaigns to further efforts of the GOP,” Lynch said.“Through volunteering with the local GOP headquarters, university students have consistently made the Winston-Salem Victory Center the office with the most impressive totals and the most effective efforts.” Rahman has focused mostly on getting the student body out to vote since most of the students in College Democrats are out-ofstate students. “In the coming weeks, we are focusing on Get Out the Vote efforts,” he said. “We will be doing an all out campus invasion to make
sure everyone on campus, from students to faculty to staff go out and vote. We will also be heavily involved in the Biden event this week, and will be hosting a free Rock-n-Vote concert in Benson 410 this Saturday night which will feature local bands.” Students around campus who are not involved in either political group are still highly interested in the election. Sophomore Kendall Hack said, “Unlike in previous elections, the youth vote will clearly play a factor in this year’s election, and that is exciting.” Sophomore James Griffin added, “It’s very exciting to be on a college campus in a state that could go red or blue come Election Day.” On the flip side, junior Mike Dorsey is very hesitant to prematurely consider the youth a force in this election. Also, some students are still undecided about who they will vote for. “As an independent, I believe that McCain is really going to have to step up his game since Palin has lost her luster and Obama has pulled ahead in mulitple polls,” junior Ben Suitt said. The Student has been doing polls every Tuesday to find out how many students are voting for each candidate. Rahman is encouraged because each week, there seems to be a stronger pull towards Obama and the gap between him and McCain continues to widen. In short, this is going to be a historic election. Rahman concluded, “we also hope that students care enough about their country and its future that they keep themselves well informed about the issues and the party stances, propelling them to vote for change in coming weeks.”
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Kelly Makepeace/Old Gold & Black
Now Lt. Col. Keith Brace, from the military science department, has his insignia changed during a ceremony where he was promoted from major to lieutenant.
Exec discusses corporations Doctor explains the increase of obesity in U.S. By R. Hunter Bratton | Staff writer
By Cheryl Johnson | Contributing writer
first heart attack at around 75 years old. On the other hand, individuals with a BMI greater than Barry Franklin presented “The Downside 40 tend to have their first heart attack around of our Technologic Revolution: An Obesity the age of 52. So what are some of the causes for the increased Conducive Environment” at 3 p.m. on Oct. 21, where he addressed the ever-growing problem obesity rate in the United States? Many people believe that one’s genes are the main cause. of obesity in our society today. Franklin has been director of the Cardiac However, they are only responsible for between Rehabilitation and Exercise Laboratories at 25-70 percent of obesity in individuals. One cause of growing obesity is that physical William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., since 1985. He teaches family medicine education is diminishing in schools. There is at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and also huge marketing and advertising in schools is former president of the American College of for unhealthy soda and snacks in vending machines. Sports Medicine. On top of all of that, the average American One point that Franklin emphasized was that the greatest increase in obesity was in the spends at least three hours and 51 minutes youngest group and the ones with the most watching television and at least one hour and information available to them about nutrition two minutes on the computer each day. Other studies have shown that an average of and healthy eating. According to his study, 1 in 4 people are obese 44 percent of Americans eat at a restaurant a and out of this group the most rapidly growing day. There is also a connection between lack of subgroup consist of people with a Body Mass sleep and weight increase. Doctors are now saying that 30 minutes of Index (BMI) greater than or equal to 50. The sad reality of all this is that our society is exercise alone is not enough to counteract adjusting everyday appliances and structures to the effects of obesity. Instead, they suggest combining exercise with a healthy lifestyle. accommodate the rising obesity trend. For individuals who have a BMI between Baseball stadium seats have been increased from 19 inches to 22 inches; there are reinforced 40 and 45, Bariatric surgery becomes a viable PCorps_K4x5_SER_Red-Ser.pdf chairs, chairs that move to help people get up, option. This involves bypassing the stomach and lifts in hospitals and the creation of larger parts of the small intestine so that the food is not absorbed by the body. In follow-up stories, caskets. Franklin also mentioned that as our BMI the individuals who undergo this surgery keep increases past 25 by even one unit, the risk for the weight off for at least one year. There are also two groups that have been very that person to develop heart problems increases beneficial to individuals who are overweight, the by 5-7 percent. Studies have shown that the average age for American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) individuals with a BMI less than 25 have their and the American Heart Association (AHA).
Redefine Service.
Dan Bross, senior director of Corporate Citizenship with the Microsoft Corporation spoke on Oct. 21 in the Worrell Professional Center. He discussed the challenges and opportunities for global highbrand corporations There is an evolving international market where environmental sustainability, responsible business practices and basic human rights are being closely examined by both employees and consumers. Now, the paradigm of acceptable business operations is being remolded Bross said. Bross quoted Bill Gates, saying “It takes more than products to make a great company.” No longer are corporations and governmental programs being scored on effectiveness and productivity, said Bross. Rather, they are now being defined by how they accept and share responsibility for the needs of the global society. The entrepreneurial spirit of corporations such as Microsoft ensures that challenges to improve their reputation are turned into opportunities to strengthen brand value, business results and shareholder returns. Prospective employees are becoming increasingly concerned about the community affairs of their future employers, Bross said.
Rightfully so, for “all of us want to work for corporations in which we can believe.” With over 96,000 workers worldwide and 1,800 employees working in Charlotte and the Research Triangle alone, Microsoft has the unique ability to proscribe the muddled corporate values of the 20th century and utilize their niche to advance corporate citizenship. Bross argued that “corporate activities that increase business value and benefit society,” which once were viewed as unseemly, are now widely regarded as duties of global corporate citizenship. “There is a nexus between doing well and doing good,” said Bross. Microsoft has the impetus of searching for lucrative business opportunities that simultaneously address issues of environmental sustainability. “Lowe’s builds houses for the homeless,” Bross said, for they are a home improvement corporation. Similarly, Microsoft has hopes of institutionalizing their philosophy of uniting product innovation and responsible business practices by taking their technology to the five billion who are currently receiving no technological benefit. Likewise, Microsoft is working to reduce its carbon footprint and, along with Google and Yahoo, to solve privacy issues on the Internet.
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Customers and employees no longer permit their corporations to remain silent while human rights are violated in countries where no protective legislation is present, Bross said. Those with vested interests are now demanding accountability and positive societal affectability from global corporations. Equally significant as global citizenship, Bross said, are the internal responsibilities of corporations to have accountable business practices. Such acts as regulatory and legal compliance, healthcare benefits and ethical business practice training are obligatory to the advancement of employee satisfaction. Since 1983, Microsoft has given over $3.4 billion in cash, software and services and currently matches all employee donations, dollar-to-dollar, to advance the spread of technology. Still, there are some problems in mitigating realistic standards for responsibilities in a corporate setting where profit remains king, Bross said. Can one accurately quantify constructive citizenship and responsibility with a dollar amount of a million or a billion? Despite these and other challenges, Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential campaign plans to use such creative capitalism strategies to return value to shareholders and to benefit communities.
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