Cheerios' got attention

Cheerios’ YouTube channel had to disable its commentary section after a flood of negative comments of its latest commercial, which included references to Nazis, ‘troglodytes’, and ‘racial genocide’ for example. Similar comments have also been reported on other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter

Such video combines typical American values with the realities of today’s America: it displays the normative nuclear family (albeit with a single child) in a house representative of a mid to upper-middle class status 

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Getting serious at law...

There is a new discussion at the US Senate involving convicted murderers, rapists and pedophiles who  should be prohibited from receiving food stamps by the amendment according by the proposal of  Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter  who claims "Why do we need to go soft on convicts anyway?....

Read the whole insight @jumbletalk  The motives for such a vindictive bill are unsure, but our citizen duty is to demand that our representatives thoroughly consider the impact of the upcoming bill.

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Facebook and Twitter's brainchildren in a brawl

- Dipo Doherty

Facebook, a company renowned for its innovation and revolution, brought about a new era to the world: the era of social communication. The company is headed by the far from charismatic founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who in the light of it all was able to convince the general public to ride on the S.S. Facebook. Fast forward a few years later. Twitter, a company with a different approach to social communication, showed the world that if you force people to do things your way (140 character restriction) and get a celebrity to frantically endorse your product, you just might be successful.

There comes a time in any company’s life cycle where the need for innovation is overshadowed by an overpowering need for growth. And as we can clearly see, both companies are approaching this peak. Just like any weary father, who is looking to protect his family’s lineage, they find worthy suitors to join the family.

Facebook made the jaw breaking bargain to acquire the new movie star on the block (Instagram) for over a billion big ones. A bargain which left some confounded as to the logic of spending so much on an app that hasn’t been able to make profits. Now we can keep arguing as to the real impact of Instagram has on Facebook, but we know its a done deal. Twitter seized a good opportunity, to acquire their latest weapon in their arsenal: Vine, a year before they launched. Vine incorporated some of twitter’s core values (restrict people even more and give them an opportunity to be creative), and this philosophy seemed to work.

At around 2pm on June 20th, Mark Zuckerberg and Kevin Systrom presented a new feature to the world, in a move to innovate and raise optimism for shareholders. This update featured the new and innovative Facebook video on Instagram. This new feature lets users of Instagram take 15 second video clips and share them with your friends. You could also apply a new palette of filters to these video bites, which seemed quite similar to the photo filters we’ve grown to love but thats fine. But here is the issue, doing this has put them in the boxing ring with Twitter’s Vine which does the same thing minus 8 seconds and the filters. Now I know a lot of critics have called this a cheap shot on Facebook’s part, a less than innovative way to join the video market. Lets cut it and go straight to the point, Instagram just pulled… continue reading 

A Look into the Modern Family

- Shamira Azlan

The twenty-first century American family has undoubtedly transformed to become undefinable. The inability to fit these new family dynamics into neat little boxes is in no way negative, but rather it represents new opportunities to erase established stereotypes and put in place new ideas of the modern family: a family not based on racial or even social factors, but on love and community. This progression is evident today, with most media outlet highlighting these new values in television shows, movies and even in modern art.

If we look back to the 1970’s, we can see sitcoms and television shows such as the Brady Brunch and Diff’rent Strokes representing the different family dynamics that were deemed as relatable at the time. Twenty years later we see the laughable, yet dysfunctional American family in shows such as Married with Children. Their dysfunctional dynamic was more relatable than the typical overplayed stepford family allusion that had been previously deemed as “ideal”. Fast forward to the late 90’s and the early 2000’s we see shows like Will and Grace and Queer as Folk showing an alternate lifestyle, representing the gay and lesbian community. Other shows that represented different families during the time included My Wife and Kids, Gilmore Girls and Everybody Hates Chris. Presently, family-focused television shows such as Modern Family- a sitcom focusing on the very different lives of three families- and Two and a Half Men, the dysfunctional makeshift family, has joined the myriad of shows that depict family lives in our community. These sitcoms and televisions shows are mere representations of stereotypes of what families are today and it is up to the public to deem which shows are relatable.

In addition to sitcoms, we have seen another genre emerge to tell stories of the American family: reality television. Today we see many reality television shows showing the lives of very different families, families most of us would probably have never encountered. Granted, some aspects of it are skewed to please the masses and increase ratings but… continue reading 

Organ Donation Dilemmas

- Kerry Hughes 

Organ donation is a topic that is rarely discussed, except when one is in need of one. However, they the topic is currently back in the news, particularly in the case of a 10 year old little girl, Sarah Murnaghan. Sarah has cystic fibrosis and is in need of both a lung and liver transplant.

Due to the organization of the transplant list, there are two separate lists: one for children under 12 and one for adults. Sarah would be on the under 12 list. The idea of separating the lists came from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, which has handled transplant policy for the federal government since 2005. The reasoning for needing two lists was that children are smaller, so they need smaller organs.

Now, with two lists, adults and children can be sure to receive appropriately-sized organs. It is important to note, however, that children only receive organs after they have been offered to the adult list or in minimal numbers through their own transplant list. The fact is there are far more transplantable organs available for adults than children: 1,700 transplantable lungs were on the list last year, but only 20 came from donors under 11. 

Sarah’s parents and a PA congressman, Lou Barletta, petitioned the courts to allow Murnaghan to be exempt from the rule that places her on the list for under 12 year olds. Some transplant specialists stated that these guidelines have become outdated and that there is no medical reason not to transplant a matched organ, based on blood type and size. Appeals were made to the Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, but she chose not to intervene in this case.

In related news, there has been growing concern from the medical community that the courts are making medical decision instead of doctors. The worry is that a risky precedent is…continue reading 

The Morning After

- Kerry Hughes

The morning after pill will now be made readily available for women without a prescription in drug stores in the United States. The government has decided to stop trying to block availability of the pill based on age. Now a woman can walk into a pharmacy and purchase the pill without age restrictions. The Food and Drug Administration approved the lifting of age restrictions in 2011, but secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, overturned it. This limited the sale to people over the age of 17.

Due to Sebelius’s change to the FDA’s recommendation, there was a lawsuit filed by Women’s Reproductive Rights Groups. Judge Edward Korman ruled that two types of emergency contraception should be made available without restriction, age or prescriptions, but the court decided to wait and see if the ruling had ‘merit’. On Monday, June 10, 2013, the Justice Department and Obama Administration decided to allow Judge Korman’s ruling to go into effect. The Justice Department realized that the case may be lost in the appeals courts, which would then elevate the case to the level of the Supreme Court if pursued, and therefore the Department decided to drop its obstruction to the availability of the birth control.

Consequently, Plan B as well as other generic forms of the morning after pill will be available over the counter without a prescription. Judge Korman had ruled that the pills should be made available on drugstore shelves next to condoms and tampons. The FDA plans to drop its appeal of Korman’s ruling, as the administration has instead asked the Plan B manufacturers to submit an application for approval of an one-pill application. The type of morning after pill that is an EC or two pills containing hormones to prevent pregnancy will be made available over the counter immediately.

The move by the secretary to overrule the FDA and change its recommendations for the restrictions on morning after pills was seen as… continue reading 

Lingual Olympics

- Temitope Olofintuyi 

While delivering one of my favorite rap lyrics, I was quickly interrupted by a friend who asserted that I must never feel the need to utter those words again. I felt disappointed in myself—that I could not code-switch into African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) as smoothly as I would have liked. Yet I have always felt discouraged from using AAVE, as it is thought to be an inferior, constricting, and a rather invalid form of communication. I wonder, however, what makes one form of communication more legitimate than the other? After all, at times, where I have failed in communication with Standard English (the existence of which is questionable), I have succeeded with AAVE.

It’s a question well worth the exploration from various perspectives, though personally, understanding the function of code-switching required me to take an even more individualistic approach. Within my social parameters are many Nigerians, most of whom are of Yoruba descent. As an individual who was born in Nigeria, but grew up in the US, it is not uncommon when greeting relatives (all of whom we call aunties or uncles) or friends of parents to hear the perpetual joke about my inability to speak Yoruba fluently and I find myself only getting by with a rough mix of half Yoruba/half English. The joking never fails to remind me of an undeniable truth: without better command of the language, I am further from understanding the complex cultural roots and significance that define the ethnic group I identify with. The original ideas and experiences once/formally existed in full validity without the need for any operative- now standard- English. Accordingly, Yoruba cannot be denied full entitlement to its legitimacy as an effective form of communication, particularly within the group of people who share the common experiences that call its use into relevance.

Likewise, the experience that predicated AAVE cannot be... continue reading 

Keeping the DREAM Alive

- Shamira Azlan

Like most immigration reform acts, the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act remains a controversial legislation. The bill essentially would create a path to citizenship for the undocumented youth residing in the United States. This would allow these youth- who may have been brought here as children- attend college in the United States. The DREAM Act is in no way comprehensive, but it does provide a stepping stone for future immigration reform.

What is stopping the bill from being passed in Congress? There are a multitude of reasons, but the root of the negative criticism is simply ignorance. People are naturally defensive against new ideas and changes they don't understand or can't relate to, and most don't understand the need for immigration reform. These people's opinions are in no way invalidated, it is just going to take skillful advocates to guide the population on the path of empathizing for the undocumented youth. Empathy and general care for the people in your community can go a long way. If hearing the gut-wrenching stories of struggling youth doesn't convince the masses (and sometimes it doesn't), the projected economic growth which will occur if the DREAM Act is put into action should. The bill will help the undocumented youth further their education and thus promote innovation and creativity. In some cases, it can also lead to educated youths serving in the military.

The negative criticisms that the DREAM Act has received are in no way unique. They have been used to oppose immigration reform throughout the world. The arguments against this specific immigration reform bill include opportunities for current American students being taken away, unfair monetary benefits, and opposition to the DREAM Act providing amnesty. Advocates for the DREAM Act work to... continue reading 

China Kindergarten Poisoning

Kerry Hughes | 06.04.13

Kindergarten is all fun and games, right? Learning how to read, how to socialize, maybe with a built-in nap time? This may be a familiar picture, but in rural China, the picture of Kindergarten is changing rapidly due to the new emerging competitive market for profit private kindergartens.

This cut-throat environment framed the poisoning of two children in Lianghe. Cousins Ren Xinyi and Ren Zhaoning found a plastic bag on the way to school that contained a yogurt drink laced with rat poison. The two shared the drink, but Zhaoning consumed more and passed away due to the effects of the poison.

After investigation, a shocking and disheartening conclusion was found: one of the two perpetrators was the principal of a rival kindergarten (Pingan school), whose intention was to damage the reputation of her rival school, according to the official New China News Agency. The poisoned children attended Lianghe Central, and currently Pingan and Central have been shut down.

It was unusual that the town of Lianghe had two kindergartens for its size with a population of 2,000. Clear rivals, both schools charged about the same tuition- $16.25 a month- which is not much compared to the rates of urban private kindergartens at $500 a month per pupil. However, rural kindergartens can make hefty profits with higher enrollment. Pingan, with an enrollment of 56, lagged behind Lianghe Central’s enrollment of 217. In a world where profit depends on enrollment and reputation, there is much competition; especially because the Chinese government has started taking more interest in preschool education.

Furthermore, the increased in standard of living has had a direct impact on awareness of kindergartens and early education. This, in turn, has increased the level of competition between kindergartens…. continue reading 

Get Involved with JumbleTalk!

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The Creative Concord

Had Karl Marx been born after Karl Popper, his greatness would be incomparable.
Successfully, Marx identified the bourgeois, the proletariat, and ‘the material dialectic’, but he
failed to identify the artifex, meaning ‘creator class’, which is made up of entrepreneurs,
inventors, and artists. An artifexian, which is a term first introduced in this paper, is anyone who
creates or recreates a means of production and/or a thing to be produced. If anything, Marx
conflated creators with the bourgeois or lost sight of them amongst the general proletariat.
Consequently, his material dialectic only halfway addresses the nature of socioeconomic change
through history. The full dialectic by which society ‘marches’ can be expressed as follows:

                                                     ‘The Creative Concord’

                                           ‘The material dialectic’ | creativity
                                                                  or
                                             (owner(s) | worker(s)) | creator(s)
                                                                 or
                                           (Bourgeois | Proletariat) | Artifex

Marx argued, through the material dialectic, that Capitalism was inherently contradictory,
for it inevitably undergoes, of one kind or another, ‘creative destruction’ (Schumpeter): the
businesses it creates destroys others, the resources it consumes leaves many lacking, etc…In
other words, at the center of Capitalism is self-destructive paradox. Though the material dialectic
properly delineates how socioeconomic orders change within a given creative epoch, it does
not describe how such orders change through them. To allude to Popper, history changes not
in line with any kind of dialectic, but in concordance with unpredictable inventions, ‘eurekas’,
and ‘creative acts’ (see Nikolai Berdyaev). Marx, coming before Popper, missed this, and so
created a theory and system that works in a given epoch, but not through them. Aware of Popper,
so brilliant, surely he would have recognized ‘the creative concord’ and artifex himself. Failing
to identify the creator class, Marx missed that Capitalism expands itself while carrying out
creative destruction within itself. The proper dialectic isn’t just composed of creative destruction,
but creative destruction along with creativity.

Marx claims that ‘alienation’ drives the working class, or proletariat, to revolt against
those who own the means of production, or bourgeois. This is true, making revolution eminent.
The question is how the revolution is to occur. For the proletariat to seize the means of
production and become like the bourgeois they rebelled against is just as alienating and ironic as
being forced to work on something that one doesn’t own. Both kinds of alienation manifest in
apathy, violence, or a desire to be ‘amused to death’ (Postman). A forceful and violent
revolution, as Marx ‘pointed to’ and Lenin advanced, plays into the alienation which stimulated
it, rather than works over it. Marxists and Leninists, through history, have revolted in the wrong
way. They’ve chosen a ‘French Revolution’ rather than a ‘Glorious’ one.
To create is to revolt. The man who starts a business is claiming that he has a competitive
advantage over other businesses. He seizes the means of production by creating new means of
production. Through creativity, he claims that he can be a part of the bourgeois without their

permission. In creating what he owns and what he works, he chooses how he needs others by
choosing which enterprise to create that requires demand, and so escapes both the enslavement
of the bourgeois’ need for the proletariat and the proletariat’s need for the bourgeois. He
becomes both – the artifex – he becomes free. In this regard, the woman who pickets Big Oil
doesn’t launch a revolution as effective as the woman who invents the alternative energy that
Entrepreneurship is peaceful revolution.
Creativity is nonviolent resistance.

For the rest of ‘The Creative Concord’, please visit:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzkJKz21gbfkR09tOHpxM1VuNkE/edit?usp=sharing

O.G. Rose lives in Charlottesville Virginia. Rose graduated from UVa and is working to publish a short story collection called 3 and a novel called Digression(s). For more from O.G. Rose, visit his Flickr and SoundCloud.

Gitmo or Gitno?

In 2002, a detention camp and interrogation facility was established on the oldest overseas U.S Naval Base, Guantanamo Bay (or Gitmo). Originally leased as part of the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903, the base contains the only U.S military facility located in a country with which it has no diplomatic relations. Today, however, its use is an extremely controversial issue. Of course, there is no mystery as to why Guantanamo Bay was chosen, instead of somewhere on U.S land. It isn’t “Hawaii Bay” facility for a reason: the constitution. The U.S gets away with bending the rules every which way, constitutional laws alike, but the level of sheer disregard for human rights that occurs now at Guantanamo Bay is simply too obvious to get away with on U.S soil.

The truth is, if all of their claims of spreading democracy and believing in/defending the constitution- the entire reason for our Supreme Court and balance of power- are contingent upon land restrictions, then what does it really mean at all? Clearly the constitution isn’t a moral pull/agreement or any true deep-seeded belief at all costs, but rather a pesky set of laws that can be tweaked and tricked in order to get whatever benefits the government at any cost. America apparently doesn’t agree that these laws and rights should be extended to all humans, but rather only those who are lucky enough to have citizenship ( including the various levels) or be on U.S soil in order to enjoy it. Ok, so it’s politics right? There’s always a need to bend the rules (“for the sake of ‘we, the people’”), there’s never any real moral, it’s all a game, it’s revolting, we get it.

Human Rights

Then of course there is the argument that the prisoners have lost their rights because of the heinous crimes they’ve committed, not unlike the way felons and criminals in the U.S are stripped of certain freedoms. Honestly. at least if Guantanamo detainees were given those same restrictions as U.S felons, it would be exponentially more tolerable when compared with realities like statistics showing that a large number of Guantanamo Bay detainees have never held trial, never had a chance to defend themselves and never been proven of a single crime in any legal way. This reflects a cornerstone of American justice that we learn early on, everyone is guilty until proven innocent. Right? Right.

With sheer disregard to legal writ such as habeas corpus or protection under the Geneva Convention, it is not as if these prisoners are awaiting trial or on some long list to eventually see a judge, but rather there aren’t any concrete plans or intentions whatsoever of allowing them these basic U.S rights. Even the way they are detained violates multiple laws (habeas corpus ensures that situations be assessed as to whether there is any authority to detain the individual at all, and if not, that individual shall be released). It is entirely shameful, biased, hypocritical and still happening right now. That shame falls fully on the shoulders of the Stars and the Stripes, the self-proclaimed poster boy of freedom, equality and democracy.

Now come the arguments that these criminals/ terrorists are not Americans and that they do not have good intentions towards the U.S., so there is no need for them to be afforded these rights. Once again, holding a piece of paper documenting citizenship is apparently the justification for rights. One would think a country adopts a constitution because it believes it to be the best set of governance for people (i.e in any situation), not only individuals residing within its borders.Yet, somehow, whenever there’s oil involved we’ll go ahead and call it a fight for freeing citizens of other countries now. To the argument about the detainees not having “good intentions” or being “terrorists”, once again a majority of inmates haven’t held trial or been proven of anything.Take a look at the infamous case of...continue reading

N.W.S

Africa and the Future of Outsourcing

Currently, India dominates the outsourcing world, followed closely by Indonesia and China. A bulk of India’s outsourcing is in the Information Technology (IT) service which had a 14.8% increase from 2011 to 2012 and stood at double the figures from 2007. The IT sector and other outsourcing industries made over $101 billion in 2012. Indonesia, ranking second highest on the list of top outsource destinations, is a leading exporter of textiles and apparel. China, on the other hand, dominates the manufacturing sector, starting from the easy creation of a toothbrush to the more complicated and skilled manufacture of the iPhone.

Following the economic trends that all developing countries exhibited on the journey to becoming “developed”, we should expect to see a rise in the cost of wages and a gradual move towards more skilled labour in places like India and China. This is a predictable and inevitable trend which is driven by growing amounts of wealth and education in the nation. Because of this, China will no longer have the cheapest rates around for labour and companies looking to outsource will have to find other destinations that are more attractive.

With recent economic crisis and unemployment rising, western countries have been scrutinized by their citizens for their reliance on outsourcing. However, even with backlash and complaints from skilled laborers within the developed countries (U.S, U.K, France) who claim that the international community is stealing their jobs, capitalism and large profit margins will always be the deciding factor for companies. Provided costs stay cheap abroad, nationalism won’t be enough to get employers to keep all jobs on home soil. Unfortunately for these skilled labors on home soil, regardless of expected rise in cost of wages in current outsource destinations, offshore outsourcing will continue to be a trend. The truth is, the vast majority of jobs lost by the developed world to its developing counterparts will not be coming back, but rather these jobs will rotate among the various developing countries. Where one country fails to keep it’s cost low or produce at a satisfying rate, neighboring countries will pick up the slack and the outsourcing companies won’t think twice about shifting focus.

When labor costs in key Asian countries do rise- and that time is not so far away- we will see a shift in regards to outsourcing. The number one contender for cheap labour will be the countries of the African continent, replacing India, Indonesia and China’s position. Currently the poorest continent, Africa is also the fastest growing continent in the world after recently outpacing its Asian counterparts. Within the next 50 years, we are sure to see companies looking to African countries and we will bear witness to increasing numbers of outsource jobs in these locations.

Here is some background: Africa is home to a vast majority of the worlds resources and is truly starting to control its destiny. With Africa’s one billion plus population, it is easy to foresee the strong position the continent will hold for the long-term. The 90s was the best economic period for the majority of African countries; this increased stability was brought about in part by the introduction of democracy and peace. At the time, most of the economies focused on economic and financial policies to help improve their domestic economy. In 2005, the entire continent grew an average of 5% which marked a huge milestone for a continent that participates in less than 6% of the global trade. It was clear that African states were finally waking from their previously detrimental slumber.

Today, African countries have already begun making a name for themselves in the world of outsourcing. Kenya, for instance, supports local industries in an effort to promote itself as major offshore location for western countries. This particular East African country leads in Information Technology. Recently, it has made large strides and is securely positioning itself as a leading global player in this field. In addition to Kenya... continue reading

International Solidarity with Palestine

After a recent discovery of a solidarity page on Facebook with the title of “International Community to save Palestine” which at this moment in time has over 8,000 likes, the problems with international solidarity with the Palestinian struggle must once again be addressed. Although those that liked this page may well have good intentions, the term “save” carries many dangerous connotations and should not be accepted whatsoever. Since the very beginning of international activism, there has always been a fine line between solidarity and victimisation, especially when it comes to the Palestinian cause. When internationals begin to learn and understand more about the horrendous acts of colonial Israel, it may motivate several to mobilise in order to shine more light on these crimes against humanity; however that does not make any international a spokesperson for the Palestinians, nor does it mean they should continue to treat Palestinians as inferiors .As a Palestinian, it must be made clear: we have a voice of our own and we do not need people to speak on our behalf, we are not mute and we refuse to be silenced. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand that by taking a position to speak on behalf of the Palestinians one is also committing the act of silencing Palestinians. If you want to show solidarity, then act as an echo rather than a voice for the call of liberation and justice.

As a Palestinian comrade once stated before, Palestine is not a charity case. The continuous act of the international community of behaving as spokespersons for the Palestinians is very similar to the colonial tactics to further inferiorize the Palestinians. Similar to Israel’s attempts to show the world that it knows what’s best for the Palestinians, it’s crucial for the international community to not follow in such colonial footsteps.

Holding the microphone

If you become one of the many internationals in solidarity with Palestine, it is vital to grasp an understanding of the various attempts made to speak for the Palestinians and what should be done in its place, to show appropriate camaraderie. If as an individual you do want to hold the microphone, then do so in your home country against the normalisation your governments partakes in with the apartheid state, or against the blind funding for Israel, be it by your government or companies that bare your nationality. If you want to hold the microphone, do so as an individual speaking out against colonialism, speaking out against apartheid and speaking out against the complicity of all those who remain silent. Conversely, do not do so through making the Palestinians seem like helpless victims in desperate need for international mobilization, as if the only way to liberate Palestine is when the international community does it. Hold the microphone because you’re against injustice, not as a representative of the Palestinians. By having a paternalistic outlook on an entire population and by disregarding its resistance movements by believing the road to liberation lie elsewhere, you are not expressing solidarity; you are expressing a white saviour mentality.

Proof of humanity
Furthermore, as an international in solidarity with Palestine, it is not your duty to prove the humanity of Palestinians. The urge to attest to the humanity of Palestinians is…continue reading

Follow our recent featured jumbler, Mariam Barghouti, on her blog: http://ramallahbantustan.wordpress.com/

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This Gendered World

Women walking on the street get whistled at, why don’t men? Women are often asked to, or voluntarily choose to give up their careers to be caretakers of their children. Why don’t men do the same? Women often feel unsafe walking home from work at 10pm on a weeknight. Why don’t men?

We live in a gendered world. The words gender and sex are often used interchangeably, but there is a critical difference between the two. The male or female sex is simply a biological or physical trait. The word gender, however, carries with it a strong socio-political connotation.

For a more clear definition and example of gender, read what the World Health Organization said here:

Definition:"Gender" refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.

Examples of gender characteristics :

-In the United States (and most other countries), women earn significantly less money than men for similar work
-In Viet Nam, many more men than women smoke, as female smoking has not traditionally been considered appropriate
-In Saudi Arabia men are allowed to drive cars while women are not
-In most of the world, women do more housework than men

As you can see, these roles have nothing to do with biological restrictions or attributes. Earning less money, for example, does not have to do with how a male or female is structured.

When examining gender roles around the world, we see that women have been oppressed in different ways since time immemorial. Mustering up courage after centuries of inequality, women gained political freedom in a number of democracies. It wasn’t until 1920 that women gained voting rights in the United States. Men, of course, had the original and unquestioned right to vote. Why was there this difference? Why does this difference persist? And why is this difference so pervasive in all walks of life?

Yes, the crux of this article is feminism. Not the bra-burning, man-hating type. That’s actually not at all what it’s about. Feminism isn’t anti-men, it is pro-women. There’s a stark difference. Feminism is a way of life. It’s a light into a dark, dark tunnel. It opens your eyes to the realities around you. On reading political theories of Machiavelli, Rousseau and even contemporary theorists like John Rawls, we find that either women do not constitute a part of the canon at all, or they are treated as inferior.

We might disagree with some of the more extreme feminist arguments, but there is a high possibility, no, a surety that we will agree with a large part of them. Feminist writing has the power to make women around the world feel more enlightened, more aware of the injustice, stereotypes and biases we suffer from today. (Find examples of great feminist writing at the end of this article)

Why is Isabella Swan, the lead character from the Twilight novels, in constant need of being saved? Why does she need protection from her beau? Why is she portrayed as a meek, weak, irrational girl? Why is she so indecisive? Her character feeds into the stereotype for many women today. There are countless examples from popular culture that highlight characters like this but where’s the girl power we keep talking about? Why don’t we see enough of it in books and movies?

It is clear that women are at a disadvantage in some cases and that much of these embedded stereotypes are so ingrained that they are hard to fight. It is clear that there are systems to blame and governments to criticize. However, let us not be fooled into believing ourselves helpless. The sad truth is that we can not ignore that women themselves are often perpetrators of this very stereotype. In order for these stereotypes to discontinue, there has to be some level of effort and cooperation- be it at home, at the workplace or even at school. If at every turn, women refused to play into oppressive gender roles, those roles would be scrutinized and eventually done away with at a faster rate. We have to take some accountability as well, because we create stereotypes and we create society. In situations like these, where we as women continue to feed into backward thinking, we are also accountable for creating some of the misery around us.

Fortunately, Democratic power and the freedom of speech have given us the power to protest, share opinions and gain insight. We have the tools to make a change, so what are we waiting for?

The key is education, so take time to learn more about these stereotypes and what feminism really means (forget what you’ve heard). Here are a few links and recommended authors to get you started:


-http://www.carolhanisch.org/CHwritings/PIP.html

http://autof.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/butler-judith-gender-trouble-feminism-and-the-subversion-of-identity-1990.pdf

- http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3963&context=flr






-Disha Brara is a proud jumbler currently pursuing an MBA at Mumbai’s Welingkar Institute of Management. She is an alumnus of Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi where she studied Political Science. Disha writes only to share, not to be published since she has little inclination towards journalism. She is looking to pursue a career in Marketing.

Spiritual vs Religious?

http://www.jumbletalk.com/art9_spiritual_04_12_13.html

I am a Muslim who loves to blog and over the past few weeks I have been receiving a lot of questions on the anonymous “ask what you please” link on my blog. These questions were regarding my religion and included questions related to sexuality, partying habits, and why I wear the headscarf. I love my readers and followers because their questions entice me to think about things I usually try to avoid thinking about and this stimulates me intellectually.

Many of these questions are intertwined with my religious beliefs and theological view on life. As I answered each question I began to ask myself questions I have always been afraid to ask because I was afraid of the answers I might discover. Questions like “How Muslim am I, if I am a true Muslim at all?” “Am I spiritually religious?” “Have I become too westernized?” and other such question. To stimulate thought and raise awareness to this topic, I want to share my spiritual journey and my relationship with God.

Recently, in a conversation with an old friend, I asked her, “Do you think I am a bad person?” She responded, asking “What makes a person good to tell who is bad?”. I should have known. Of course she is smart and asks questions as such. It certainly got me thinking, what does it mean to be good? Am I “good” good, or am I just good. Am I neither and just not good? I did not have an answer because technically, according to my religion, you’re a good person when you’re a good Muslim and obviously I wasn’t even close to being an average Muslim. Society tells you you’re a good person if you don’t lie, steal, and cheat, respect the elderly, and such, but I can not wholeheartedly say I adhere to these morals.

Now, this might not mean that I lie, steal and cheat literally. Instead it means that I sometimes commit such actions without even knowing and in ways I am not aware of. So are these actions good? Are these qualities of a good Muslim? Is my moral code “moral”? In attempting to ask those in my life whether or not they thought I was good. I began asking the religious people in my life if I was a good Muslim or not and I began to try and see myself through the eyes of others.

In doing so, I realized I was on the wrong track. I was missing one key component: me. Do I think I am a good person? Do I think I am a good Muslim or even Muslim at all? I began to shift my attention from what others thought to what I thought. This led me to a few little discoveries. It took me sometime to realize that there was a difference between spirituality and religion. Being one or the other meant different things. I continued my thought process and then had a talk with my sister, whom I asked the same type of questions: what does it mean to be spiritual vs. religious?

Well, to me at least, being spiritual means having a personal, heart-filled relationship with God where you believe there is no god but God and essentially just believing that there is a higher power that controls us all. To believe that there is one God that controls us all means believing that God is omnipotent, all-creating, all-powerful, immortal and simply one. The 113th chapter of the Holy Quran says it best:

Say: “He is Allah, (the) One. Allah, The Self-Sufficient Master, He begets not, nor was He begotten; And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.”

So to be considered a Muslim, one must believe in the oneness of Allah (swt) and believe Mohammad (pbuh) is his last messenger. “Okay, so I believe this to be true, what now? Am I Muslim or not?” I asked myself, but it wasn’t that simple. Islam comes with rules, and Islam is a communal religion that takes more than one person to practice it fully. How come? Here is an example: part of the five pillars is Zakat, which is an obligatory form of tax that is given every year to feed and help the poor. Another part of Islam is respecting your elders, taking care of your parents, giving charity, etc. Therefore, it really does take a community, or Umah, to fully experience Islam.

Fortunately, I grew up in a predominantly Muslim country, Palestine, for about 13 years. Because of this, I had that Umah, that community of Muslims which allowed me to properly practice the religion my parents and God chose for me. However, what happens when culture mixes with religion and you are too confused to tell them apart? For me it took a really long time to tell them apart because anything I would do that was “wrong” was said to be “haram” or “A’eab” meaning either forbidden or socially unacceptable. Those two words are used interchangeably ALL the time and it confused me and bothered me that they were used in that way.

So while sitting there trying to figure out my relationship with religion, I had to figure out what was really forbidden by God, not simply society, along with why it was forbidden and what it meant to me morally. It was quite a process. In the end, I know one day God will forgive me like I have learnt to forgive myself and I know one day I will be a modest Muslim female, but for now, I’m good with being spiritual and being the person I am regardless of if I am “good” or “bad”. I share this with you to stimulate thought and to encourage you to also take a deeper look into your spirituality. I believe that in the end, it will serve us all well.

-Muna Sharma is a proud jumbler and a former student at the University of Virginia who is currently applying to art schools hoping to major in photography. She plans to work in the Fashion Photography field and is currently working for BeachMonkey.com. You can contact her at mrs5pd@virginia.edu and find her on Wordpress

Free or Fair Education?

The issue of free education has come to limelight few months back in Malaysia as the 13th General Election is coming soon next month. It has been something all students have been looking forward to and various political parties have come up with different mandates to attract student voters and fulfill their demands. The demand arises due to the fact that many students are still struggling to clear their student loan and find themselves stuck in the midst of other debts shortly after graduating.

What happens when a student graduates with the burden of student loan? The education fee everywhere varies with your choice of study and university. Courses like medicine and engineering would inevitably cost much more than language studies or management courses. On the other hand, you should pay more when you get enrolled in universities with high reputation as the value of your certificate and education increases with the quality of the studies they offer. So, at average a student who newly graduates would have to pay an amount of RM 50,000. Apart from that, graduate students face the burden of paying monthly installment for their vehicles and managing monthly expenses such as house rentals.

So, with an average pay of RM 3,000 for fresh graduates, they find it difficult to cope with the ridiculous cost of living while paying off their debts. Hence, the demand for free education has arisen. How important is free education and what expenses will it incur? Many countries in the European Union that provide free education tax their citizens on other fees like registration and administration.

What can be done to ease graduate students’ burden? What really matters in an education system? I’m a student with some amount of education loan to face after my graduation and I feel free education is not the issue that should top the priority of lawmakers and students. I feel that by enlarging the duration for loan payback and demolishing the interest taxed on student loans, students should be able to settle their debts after having a well-established job.

While free education is an idea to be celebrated, I feel fair education should be the focal point of lawmakers and those in the education sector. Fair education is still a dream never came true for many people all over the world. Discrimination is education still prevails through various forms such as race and gender. For women in the Middle East, getting a balanced and fair education like their brothers is still a struggle and a dream seems impossible. While in some other countries, chances to pursue higher education are brighter for students of a particular race and religion which dampen the spirit of other students who have done equally well in studies. Worse still, education is a privilege for the rich when the poor suffer from extreme poverty. Discrimination against gender, race, skin colour and religion when it comes to education has to come to an end. Only then a country will truly flourish and the best brains of a nation can emerge champions to serve the people better. After all, everyone is entitled to have the opportunity to learn. So, what difference can it make when we neglect fair education and fight for free education instead?

-Jasveena Prabhagaran lives in Malaysia and will be graduating this year with a Bachelors of Chemical Engineering from Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP). An ardent blogger, debater, feminist, freelance writer and highly independent woman. She is currently in search of writing opportunities and job offers related to Chemical Engineering. Jasveena can be found on Twitter and LinkedIn. Her writings can be viewed at: http://thoughtsandviewsthatmatter. blogspot.com and her e-mail address is jassie987@hotmail.com

Holi, A Festival of Color!

Image Source: http://www.soschmeckt.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/holi-festival-of-colors-2012_soschmeckt-3.jpg

This article on Holi is late, but you know what? My community’s celebration of the festival is too. But it's for good reason, you see, because the city I live in here in the States has a somewhat moody temperament with regards to the weather, and this was a particularly pissed off winter. So, while India celebrated the arrival of their spring a few weeks ago (March 27th), we here in colder areas wait for it to hit the 70s before we can lionize the festival of colors in honor of the arrival of spring.

In general, Holi is a gala time in. Celebrated in India and the diaspora, the religious festival of colors is literally that: About using waterguns and waterballoons to wet and color people- your friends, or on the street. It's about making rangoli (intricate designs with colored powder) on your doorstep. People either wear new white clothes and have them splashed with color all day long or wear faded clothes they don't mind getting dirty. To walk on the street means you're fair game; Don't risk it if you're not ready. There is a special Holi drink too, it's called bhang and it's made from milk, ghee (clarified butter), spices, and….cannabis. It's really popular too, rumor has it an adult neighbor once tried it before she was aware of its ingredients, and apparently, she had a good Holi.

For me, living in India, the celebration climaxed in middle school. That was when the war was still playful, but had just begun to get personal. We used eggs, water guns, powder, balloons, mud – I remember one of the biggest games I ever played was against my neighbors when I lived by the sea in Bombay. There, when I looked like a brown canvas that a child had used to throw globfulls of paint at, there was always the warm sea to lay in, reveling in the day's victories. That fat water balloon full of purple color I threw stealthily from afar at a neighbor boy. He was impressed, too. And not that new “safe” vegetable color either; the original kind, the one that lasted on your ears and neck for weeks to come.

As to the religious background of Holi; it's a Hindu festival, and in part, celebrates Prahlada's salvation. This I remember well, curling up to my grandmother in her small bedroom under the gentle creaking of her ceiling fan, and requesting her to tell it for the two hundredth time. It’s my favorite story from the Bhagvada Purana: the story of Prahlada. In a previous avatar, the Lord Vishnu killed a monster. His brother, Hiranyakashipu, wanted to avenge his death and so prays to Lord Brahma vehemently in order to be granted a boon that may help him in this goal. When Lord Brahma answers his prayer, Hiranyakashipu asks for immortality. Brahma says he cannot grant this, but that Hiranyakashipu can ask for a death bound by conditions, which he asks for. His conditions were that death cannot be from the hands of a creature living or dead made by Brahma and cannot be by animal or man, inside or outside, on earth or in space.

With that, Hiranyakashipu sets out to find Vishnu. But Hiranyakashipu's son, Prahlad, is a devout follower of Vishnu, and believes him to be the center of the universe. So Hiranyakashipu turns his attention to Prahlad and tries to kill his own son; each time though, Prahlad is protected by Vishnu in his new avatar Narsimah, who finally descends to finish Hiranyakashipu. Keeping with Brahma's boon, Narsimah appears in the form of a half-lion-half-man, in the threshold of the house (neither inside nor outside), places the monster on his knee (neither on earth nor in space) and eviscerates him with a nail.

Holi, then, is about Prahlada's deliverance. It’s a wonderful and glorious celebration and will always be a favorite of mine.

-Nikhita Venkateish is a proud jumbler and a student at the University of Virginia who will be graduating in 2013 with a B.A. in Biology and minor in Media Studies. She plans to work in the Media/Communications field and is currently looking for entry level positions in that field as well as in Advertising. You can contact her at nv5bs@virginia.edu and find her resume on LinkedIn at this link: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=230685366&trk=tab_pro

College Choices and Tuition Truths

In a recent publication, professors from two of the leading Universities in the U.S (University of Virginia and Stanford) shed insight on an interesting topic: it isn’t very common to see high-achieving students of low-income enroll in top-tier colleges. Why? If they are high-achieving then it is not because they wouldn’t gain admission, right? Professors Sarah Turner (UVA) and Caroline Hoxby (Stanford) explained that their low representation is due to the fact that many don’t even apply in the first place. Confusing? The truth is, high-achieving low-income students tend not to apply to top-tier colleges because many of them haven’t been informed about the way finances work in the college system.

First, those who think of applying to certain colleges, may see a steep application fee and decide they can’t afford it. They are unaware, however, that institutions waive fees for different reasons, one of which is financial need, as long as the right paperwork is filed. Second, the cost of tuition is a determining factor, as it is for all applicants, but they see the higher cost without taking into account that colleges have programs in place that can cut it down drastically for those in need. The University of Virginia, for example, has a program called AccessUVa, whose goal is to make tuition affordable (with financial aid) to any student who has been accepted into the institution. With programs like these, no qualified and accepted student will have to decline offers based on finances and it would be in these students’ best interest to apply regardless of income.

Often, high-achieving low-income students make decisions about colleges based on assumptions about cost. They end up paying more to attend schools they feel they could afford than they would actually pay at the more selective college after tuition negotiations.

These are only a few of the reasons some of these students don’t follow through with applications to top-tier schools. It’s important for colleges and school counselors to reach out and educate students about the options available to them. Unfortunately, so many of these high-achieving students are dispersed and may be only one of few others in their area. Certain college’s outreach programs (designed to educate and inform students about the different parts of the application process and enrollment, including finances) won’t necessarily reach those areas when the high-achieving demographic is spread so thin.

Hopefully efforts in the future will bring more awareness to this issue. At the very least, we need to be sure that faculty at high schools are informed enough to relay the information on to the students and steer them in the right direction.

NWS

Source: http://news.virginia.edu/content/new-inexpensive-tools-help-smart-low-income-kids-realize-great-college-opportunities-study