Pirates Once Again a Factor

When you think of pirates, do you think they still exist? Well if your answer was like mine, thinking absolutely not, then you would be surprised by recent acts of piracy. Pirates attacked a French ship off the coast of Cameroon, taking 10 of the 15 member crew hostage. Previously in the week a band of Somali pirates captured a Turkish freighter.
Now some of you may be asking, why would you consider this a story to coincide with college students? The answer is simple because the time of year. It is halloween and once again college students will be dressing up all around the world. Chances are that some of these students will be dressing up as pirates.
Although these costumes may match pirates attires of the past, they are outdated. Pirates currently dress like average everyday people of the sea, no longer equiped with eye patches or parrots or even swords. So instead of being a throwback pirate, stay up to date with the current trends of the pirate world!

French Man's Arm Gets Stuck in Toilet

This is the perfect example of why you should not talk on your cell phone while you are using the facility!

A 26- year- old French passenger on a high speed train traveling between La Rochelle and Paris got his arm stuck in a toilet after trying to fish out his cell phone which had fell into the giant, white bowl.

The train had to stop for two hours as firemen were called in to rescue the man. They had to saw off the toilet from the train. The man was taken off the train on a stretcher with part of the toilet still on his arm.

So you may be pondering as to how exactly this relates to college students? Well, we all know college students do some dumb things in their college days...and nights, of course. Basically, talk on your cell phone when you're NOT in the bathroom. You do not want to end up like this guy. Can you think of something more embarrassing than coming off of a train on a stretcher with a toilet bowl on your arm?

World's Heaviest Man gets hitched

The biggest concern I have is the thought that this may not be the last time a groom or bride is transported to their wedding on a flatbed truck. With the growing obesity epidemic in the United States, my fear is that this story may no longer be unique in a couple years. That being said, I have to acknowledge the love and emotional element that makes this such a heartwarming story. Obviously Manuel and his wife have married for the right reasons - an emotional, social bond that goes beyond physical appearance.

Woman Stoned to Death in Somalia

A woman in Somalia pleaded guilty to adultery and received the death penalty. After being buried to her neck, she was pelted with rocks until she died.

It is easy to forget how different the rest of the world is, and how far they have to come, when sitting in the comfort of your home in the United States.

I feel lucky to know that soon I will be graduating and able to go out and figure out what I want to do with my life, where I want to go, and what job I have with out worry about pre-conditions or laws prohibiting me from living my life. I think it's important to remember the simple liberties that we have as young Americans. Seeing something this drastic happening to another woman somewhere in the world only makes it that much easier.

American Student in Iran Prision

Esha Momeni, a student at California State University, was jailed in Iran on October 15th. She was doing research on Iranian rights of women through a California branch of the Iranian women's rights group, Change For Equality. Iranian officials say that she was detained after a traffic stop, but her computer and other information dealing with the group were taken away from her family's home. She is now in Evin Prison, a place that is well known for holding political prisoners. The thesis advisor at the college stated that Esha knew the risks of her research in Iran. Esha decided that no matter the risk, it was worth taking to expand the knowledge of Iranian women's rights to Americans.

Esha took a giant risk in spreading knowledge to Americans. She is a college student who knew the importance of increasing people's prespectives and went all out to do so. Do you think you could do the same and take the same risks she did?