8 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(11/19/14 2:30pm)
As a freshman, college life is new and exciting. It's easy to get distracted with friends, parties, activities, projects and sleep. Like countess others, I made mistakes my first year at Auburn, and as a result I dedicated the last three years to bringing my GPA back up - which is easier said than done.
Here are a few simple ways to keep up with school so you won't have to play GPA-damage-control like me. 1. Be realistic when scheduling classes. If you're not a morning person- and let's face it, who is? - do not schedule classes for 8 a.m. unless you have to. Setting goals to wake up early are great, but not when your attendance depends on you keeping those ideal goals. Cramming all your classes in on Tuesdays and Thursdays is also an appealing option. If you get lucky enough to do this, make sure you have time to eat on those days. Eating is good. 2. Do not skip class. At some point during the semester, you're going to feel like you've earned a skip day. I hate to be the one to break this to you, but you haven't earned anything until your final grades are officially posted on Canvas. Some days are going to be tough, and you're going to be running late. Whether it's because your car broke down, your roommate hogged the bathroom, your alarm didn't go off or you're just feeling slow that day, do not skip class. Showing up late can be embarrassing, yes, but it's better to be late than absent. 3. Participate in class, especially the boring ones. Not every class is art. Not every class is bowling. Many of the classes you take will be so boring that you literally cannot help but drift off. These classes are usually important to your major. Take notes throughout the entire class and put a special mark besides the points you don't fully understand. After class, walk up to your teacher and ask them to explain those parts in more detail. During the dreadfully boring lecture, don't leave your professor hanging. Speak up and answer their questions. Even if you aren't correct, they will appreciate your effort and you'll be more likely to remember that information. Plus, participating in class makes the time go by faster, so you'll be out of there before you know it. 4. Do the extra credit. All of it. Not every class offers extra-credit opportunities, but many do. Whether it's something little like writing a one-page summary or taking a survey for the psychology department, just do it. Some professors will also give bonus points for attending on-campus lectures and seminars. These can take up a little more time and occasionally require you to dress in business casual, but it's worth it. If extra credit is never mentioned, ask your professor if opportunities exist. 5. Be a front-row kid. On the first day of class you'll notice the students on the front row. They probably have their laptops out, color-coordinated notes, an excessive amount of highlighters, etc. These people need to be your friends. Meet them before class, sit with them, text them about homework, study with them during exam weeks, talk to them about the material, compare your notes with theirs and always consider them a potential reference for future jobs. Be a front-row kid. Professors will also be pleased by this effort.
(10/10/14 12:05pm)
A look inside this week's Auburn Plainsman
(10/05/14 8:00pm)
Makeup Genius by L'Oreal Paris is the ideal try-on app for anyone who misses playing dress-up.
Not only does the app provide users with a new, advanced way to try on cosmetics, but it's also delightfully entertaining to play with in your spare time.
Here's how it works. Download Makeup Genius in the iTunes app store - it's free. When you open the app, you'll be prompted to scan your face in a relaxed pose. Make sure you look natural. Avoid making weird duck faces or "this-is-my-go-to-photo-face" poses because Makeup Genius works in real time.
After the initial scan, you're given two options: try on a product or ready-to-wear looks. Click the first option and then "browse our products" to witness the magic I find so amusing.
Under products, you can choose actual products to try on, including eyeliner, eyeshadow, lipstick, gloss, lip liner and blush. Make sure you have decent lighting.
Add a few products and observe how your face is able to move around - to some extent - with the selected makeup intact.
I've played with this for hours. I'll even take a screenshot or selfie when I like a particular look or when I feel so ridiculous that someone else should see it.
Another fun trick to do once you've added dramatic makeup combinations. Move your phone in front of an unsuspecting friend. If you're in the same lighting and you line their face up the same way you originally scanned your face, the makeup will adapt and appear on your friend. It's sort of like a magic mirror.
I tried this trick with my boyfriend. He looked hilarious in cat-eye eyeliner and glossy red lips.
Reviews for Makeup Genius mentioned how the lighting affects how the colors appear.
For instance, in-store and white lighting will display differently than warmer, dimmer settings.
I've used Makeup Genius on an iPad and iPhone 5s. Using the iPad was especially great because the larger screen allows you to get a more realistically sized view instead of the smaller version on phones.
Overall, Makeup Genius is absolutely worth a try. It's free, fun and definitely a breakthrough for the cosmetics industry. The technology behind this try-on app can only mean great things for the future of fashion.
Cat Watson is the online editor for The Plainsman. She can be reached via email at online@theplainsman.com.
(06/20/14 4:00pm)
Cat's view:
Yes, we are still living in a weak economy. Finding a remedy to our economic woes is paramount, but this doesn't mean we should support every solution proposed.
Raising the minimum wage is a quick-fix solution Americans would be smart to avoid. Sure, it sounds nice, but the reality is anything but nice.
Obviously, the money has to come from somewhere. The government may make the law, but they aren't giving any money to the people who actually pay out: business owners.
It's the business owners who will have no choice, but to increase their selling prices to stay within the law. This includes price increases for food, clothing, gas and anything else you frequently buy.
Say goodbye to the Dollar Menu.
Economists David Neumark, of UC-Irvine, and William Wascher, of the Federal Reserve Board, recently released a collective study showing 85 percent of research points to a loss of jobs following an increase in minimum wage.
Since the majority of the retail workforce is comprised of minimum wage employees, the already difficult task of finding a job for unskilled workers will become much worse. When businesses are forced to pay people more, they naturally hire fewer people.
So if you happen to be one of the lucky few with a job, you'll be explaining to infuriated customers why they can no longer afford their lunches.
Let's say we do raise the minimum wage. Will the poor really benefit? Unfortunately, the answer is no. According to the Census Bureau, approximately 60 percent of people living in poverty are unemployed and would not benefit from a raise.
We should also pay attention to the 28 states that have increased the minimum wage in the four years prior to the most recent federal minimum wage increase. Economists from Cornell and American Universities found no associated reduction in poverty rates in these states.
Another study, published in the Journal of Human Resources, found a higher minimum wage can actually increase the proportion of families living at or near the poverty.
This is the result of business owners being forced to make the tough choice of cutting staff or closing shop.
The real issue is inflation.
If we continue to ignore the corporate price gouging that's already making our hard earned cash disappear faster than ever before, the minimum wage will be the last thing to worry about.
__________________________________________________________
Raye's view:
The minimum wage was established in America in 1938 when President Roosevelt signed into law the post-Depression era Fair Labor Standards Act, placing the minimum wage at 25 cents per hour and establishing a maximum 44-hour work week.
The value of the minimum wage rose steadily to adjust for inflation, according to raisetheminimumwage.com, until it reached its high point in 1968 at $1.60 per hour, when Congress began failing to adjust for inflation.
At its inception, the minimum wage was meant to be a living wage, or the amount of money an earner could feasibly live on and stay above the poverty line.
A minimum wage employee earning $7.25 per hour working 40 hours per week will only earn $15,080 per year.
The poverty line rests just above that at $15,130.
Living at or below the poverty line isn't earning a living wage -- it's the definition of poverty.
We like to think those working at minimum wage jobs are teenagers and college students, but that simply isn't the reality.
Many people working these jobs have husbands, wives and children they're supporting. Many of them work two jobs just to make ends meet.
What can't you pay for earning a $15,130 yearly wage?
A house.
A decent car.
College.
You may be able to have one of those things, but with the cost of gas, groceries, electricity, water -- with a $500 per month rent payment, you're already out $6,000 -- nearly half of your yearly earnings -- and few apartments are cheap.
By raising the minimum wage, we give people a chance.
A chance to get out of government housing.
A chance to rise above welfare.
Without it? We keep the poor poor.
We make the wealth divide even greater and the climb to the top even steeper.
We take away the chances of those who are already given so little.
The current minimum wage is creating a ceiling for those who already have little.
It forces men and women into working, sometimes upwards of 80 hours per week -- and for what? Survival.
The minimum wage is not a living wage.
By refusing to raise it, we condemn the 3.6 million people earning $7.25 or less to a life of near poverty, poverty or worse.
(04/16/14 3:31am)
UPDATE: April 16, 2014 at 4:01 p.m.
(01/28/14 6:09pm)
Update, Jan. 30, noon:
(10/17/13 5:48pm)
Growing up in Auburn was like growing up in a box. More specifically, a cardboard box with holes in it.
You can see light shining through, but not the whole picture.
You can hear everything being said around you, but it's all the same.
Raised extremely conservative, a classic "Southern Belle," if you will, the opinions I grew accustomed to were all the same.
Girls act this way; boys act that way. One day you get married, have kids, then you die. Act like a lady throughout.
Don't make the family look bad.
It wasn't until my junior year of high school that I was officially questioned about my own "opinions." My first answer was silence. I didn't know.
Then the essay era began.
Analyze the author's tone. How does it convey feministic views?
The protagonist is also the antagonist, how is this possible?
How would a narcissist have behaved differently?
Write a four-page paper on abortion.
Write about gay marriage.
Include your own opinion.
For many years, I remained unsure. I tried to avoid the uncomfortable topics, mainly because I didn't want go against my parents in a kitchen-table debate with no real ammo.
I also feared I might be rooting for the wrong team.
When I couldn't keep quiet any longer, abortion became the first controversial topic of discussion, and it was easy. No abortion. Babies are innocent.
My parents were proud.
Then gay marriage became the big topic in question.
I was raised Baptist. I believe in God. The Bible is my guide too.
But I have gay friends, both girls and guys.They don't seem different from any other person I've ever met: they drink water and breathe air.
One day, I was talking to one of my closest friends about getting married. Just the usual bridesmaid-dress this and wedding-venue that.
Suddenly, she stopped laughing and her smile faded. She glanced at her feet and then looked back up at me with a strange look on her face, "Too bad I'll never have a wedding."
And my heart broke.
I love my faith and I love my family. But I also love my friends. They've never judged me, even when most would have; how could I possibly judge them? I am not God. I cannot play God.
The Bible has many moral codes, and I respect them all. I do not judge.
If it's the "sanctity" of marriage in jeopardy, then rename another legally binding contract.
Divorce is legal. Where in the Bible does it condone that luxury?
Why are we even using the Bible vs. law comparison anyway? Not everyone that's gay is a Christian. How do you logically enforce a law based on a religion when this government blatantly speaks out against theocracies?
Despite these thoughts, I wasn't truly convinced of my stance on gay marriage until recently when sitting with a friend, eating chocolate ice cream.
It's funny how something as simple as ice cream can trigger a political epiphany.
My friend was enjoying his vanilla ice cream next to me when I realized how sad I would be if chocolate was unavailable.
Even worse, what if I wasn't allowed to eat chocolate ice cream? But the worst nightmare imaginable is what if I was only allowed to eat vanilla?
Gag me.
The government cannot choose, or change, one's preferences.
We symbolize freedom. Our country is a beautiful, ever-changing democracy with many great laws in place, and a few yet to exist.
Church and state are separate. Not to say one is more right than the other, but not relevant in relation to one another.
I wish America, and especially the South, could see that.
(10/17/13 2:21pm)
Loachapoka's community consists of 184 people, according to US Census Bureau. However, during Syrup Sopping Saturday, the town overflows with approximately 20,000 visitors.
Saturday, Oct. 19, Loachapoka celebrates the 42nd annual Syrup Sopping and historical fair from 7 a.m.-4 p.m.
Numerous festivities honoring the traditions of Creek Indians, as well as the old traditions of the community, will feature crafts, music and food.
Vendors line up along the train tracks to demonstrate and display their own products, which might include weaving and cloth-making, bread-making, soap-making, period pottery and other old-time crafts.
Musical entertainment featuring hammered and mountain dulcimers, banjos and guitars will provide listeners with a glimpse of the old, southeastern traditions.
Tours of the Trade Center Museum, across the street from the fair, will be open and available to interested parties throughout the day as well.
Of course, the famous syrup is usually accompanied by homemade sweet potato biscuits, camp stew, beans, collards and barbecue.
The first fair occurred in 1972 to celebrate the traditions of the Creek Indians, who settled in the Loachapoka area long ago. The Creeks also provided Loachapoka with its name, which means "where the turtles gather."
Last year, a petting zoo was on site for the crowd to enjoy. Loachapoka is located approximately 4 miles outside of Auburn down Highway 14.
Syrup Sopping day is free and open to all ages. Tickets to the museum tour cost $3 for adults. Children, ages 12 and younger, get in for free if accompanied by an adult.