Our society has an issue with how women are portrayed to the masses. Americans have burned bras and marched through the streets decrying that women’s’ rights be upheld and defended through thick and thin to insure equality.

I agree fully that this effort is not only just, but necessary as a means by which to educate those who have less than an acceptable understanding of the society in which we live. When establishments host events that may use the sexuality of a woman in order to promote the event, it often appears to many as a degradation of the gender.

But this society must recognize that too often we accept violence and brutality as a suitable replacement for sexual conduct that is understood by most to be a simple part of life. We may hale the great Venice di Milo as a masterpiece from years and years ago, but had they an electric bull they may have felt just as much appreciation for a co-ed in a bikini.

The trademark of a good society is being able to laugh at itself. To recognize that each moment we spend fighting for something futile is a fleeting moment of fruitless endeavor into a realm of argumentation resulting in an agreement to disagree.

This is college. This is supposed to be a stressful and difficult time peppered with moments of fun and head shaking that we’ll appreciate years from now as an opportunity to enjoy something.

Should it be the sensuality of a woman or the flashing lights of a pinball machine that thrill you, this is a good time to figure it out and remember that the rest of the country is in a pretty tough time. Taking the small stuff lightly might not be such a terrible idea when the sky seems to be falling.

Class registration can be a very hectic time for college students and university personnel.

It can be extremely frustrating when you have your “perfect schedule” decided, wake up at six in the morning only to find that the classes are completely full and already have a waiting list.

Then you begin frantically trying any alternatives that you may or may not have already picked out or searching through the class list in attempt to find a class that works. Sometimes it works out and you get a schedule you can settle for, but sometimes you are just out of luck.

Over the past number of days I have heard one common complaint amongst students, “It’s all the honors kids’ fault.”

While the honors students do fill some of the class seats, it is impossible that they are the only ones to blame. For example, on the same day that honors students register, all Ferris athletes, graduate students and some seniors are also taking up class seats.

Currently there are approximately 600 students in the honors program ranging from freshman to seniors. These students have worked for their early registration privilege by earning and maintaining their grades, performing community service, being involved on campus and attending numerous events on campus.

To those students who blame the honors students for “stealing your spot,” why are you not in honors? If you qualify and decide to forgo the honors program, then that is your problem. If your grades are not good enough then don’t the people who are working hard to maintain their grades deserving of a little break?

There is also the possibility, as far as freshman are concerned, you were not concerned with your grades in high school. I don’t know about your high school but in mine if students DID their homework and received an average grade, with extra credit in most classes you could easily get a B+ or even an A. My guess is that you just weren’t that concerned in high school.

The honors program is open to all incoming freshman with a high school average GPA of 3.4 and all college students with an average college GPA of 3.25 that have under 66 credit hours at the time of admission. The program is open to all students, including international students.

To the underclassmen that think it is “all honors fault” you have to remember that not only have the honors students, athletes, graduate students, seniors, and juniors already registered you are also competing against each other. Also remember you are the underdogs at Ferris and in a couple of years you will be able to register sooner.

This spring there are roughly 10,000 students all battling on their computers at six in the morning that are fighting to get the classes they need. The reality unfortunately, is that everyone is not going to be able to get the classes they want. Even honors students have difficulty obtaining their dream schedules.

Hopefully, as students move up through the ranks they will be able to get more of the classes that they want. But they also may not. Just remember that everyone at some point has trouble getting their ideal schedule and it’s not necessarily the honors students’ fault.

We are taught from childhood that we must make a way for ourselves.

American values greatly stress self achievement and independence. We fought not to be dependent on Great Britain. But we didn’t fight alone. So why is it, that we think we have to fight alone to secure our future? Why can’t we let someone help us?

This “go it alone” logic is fueled by capitalism. Mainstream republicans don’t want to help the struggling markets. They think that the system will work itself out and that the people who created the mess can clean it up. But when have we ever been able to clean up our act on our own?

When the Roman Empire grew to its peak, it never stayed satisfied for long. It kept pushing for more. And then it fell. It is our insatiable hunger that leads us into destruction, and it must be stopped. And I think the American people are hungry for change.

Barack Obama campaigned on the message of working together. He came from a background of organizing groups of people with similar causes to work together for a common goal. This is what we need to do. We all need to sacrifice and fight for a better America. We can’t do it on our own.

“It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to where we are today, but we have just begun. Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today,” Obama said in a speech.

That blood and sweat won’t come from one individual, it will come from us all-each and every one of us. If even just one refuses to fight, the affect will ripple all the way to the heart of our cause.

Obama went on to plead with the nation that we must accept our individual failures and rise together to face the challenges. If we face defeat alone, we will never get back up. But if we let our friend lend a hand, not only will we stand, we will stand strong.

“The true test of the American ideal is whether we’re able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time,” Obama exclaimed.

As Americans, we owe it to ourselves to hold true to the ideals that made this nation great. By putting aside our individual interests and eschewing selfish motives (like the ones of the investment bankers that accelerated our plunge into this crisis) we can make America strong and economically healthy again.

The following editorial appeared in the St. Louis Post- Dispatch on Thursday, April 2:

Smokers began paying dramatically higher prices Wednesday. The federal cigarette tax jumped by 62 cents a pack on Wednesday to $1.01. Levies on other tobacco products also rose.

Obviously, smokers are upset. But this is an excellent opportunity to do what most tobacco users consistently say they want to do: quit smoking.

About seven in 10 smokers say they want to stop smoking, and with good reason. People who do significantly reduce their risk of dying prematurely.

They also reduce the risk of harming others around them especially children with their smoke. Children raised with a smoker have much higher rates of asthma, as well as more frequent and more severe respiratory infections.

Because money raised by the higher cigarette tax will fund health care for poor children, many smokers say they’re being forced to subsidize services for others. But the truth is that the rest of us subsidize them. We’ve been doing it for years.

Even with higher federal taxes, smokers don’t come close to covering the costs they impose on society. Cigarettes would have to sell for $10.28 a pack to recoup all that money.

In the United States, the direct medical cost of tobacco-related illness (what we pay for doctors, hospitals, surgery and extras like oxygen) is nearly $97 billion a year. The cost to Medicare is about $19 billion, while Medicaid programs shell out about $31 billion.

No other preventable cause of illness and death -not drinking, obesity or even illegal drug usecomes close to the toll inflicted by tobacco. It kills nearly 440,000 Americans every year and sickens millions more.

Of course, most smokers already are aware of those grim statistics. What they don’t know is how to stop.

Research shows that the most successful tobacco cessation starts with advice and counseling from your doctor. Physicians can prescribe drugs, Zyban and Chantix, that reduce cravings for cigarettes.

Nicotine-replacement products also can reduce withdrawal symptoms. They’re available over the counter at drug and discount stores.

People who get support and counseling also improve the odds of successfully quitting. They’re offered at many local hospitals, as well as by voluntary health groups like the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society. Both groups also offer free online resources.

It’s not easy to quit smoking, but millions of Americans have done it. The health benefits are immediate and long-lasting.

Nobody likes to pay higher taxes. But they will provide a new incentive for many smokers - and especially many young smokers -to quit.

Besides, there’s one surefire way to stop paying higher cigarette taxes: Stop smoking.