Handguns Aren’t the Answer! In response to Lauren’s article “Carrying Handguns onto a College Campus”

First off I am a supporter of our right to bear arms. My father had guns in the house, my brother in law is a police officer, and I encouraged my husband to purchase a gun for our home. However, the thought of giving college students the right to carry concealed handguns is not a policy that I would agree with. In fact it is down right scary. I believe that the Virginia Tech shooting was a one off event that no matter what kind of laws were in place something like that would have happened. If not at Virginia Tech, then maybe at another campus. Could someone have killed or stopped the shooter before he killed as many as he did, possibly. But what about the argument that the shooter could have planned out such an event with even more detail resulting in more deaths. Imagine if the shooter would have been able to walk into a freshman history class with over 300 students while legally toting a handgun. Even more unfortunate deaths would have resulted.

Another reason I feel that isn’t a good idea to pass such a law is that 21year old college students aren’t as mature as you think. Most of them have trouble keeping track of their books or laptop can you imagine a gun? Twenty one year olds are too busy celebrating the idea that they can now legally have a drink. Now you want to give them the right to carry a handgun to my calculus class?

I say leave the guns on campus’s to the experts, the campus police. College is an institute of higher learning, not the old Wild West.

Challenge Our Young Minds

More and more Texas school districts are adopting a policy that is prohibiting teachers from giving students failing grades. Some districts don’t even allow teachers to give even less than a grade of 70. This means that in some high schools a student cannot fail his or her class. Some state lawmakers have finally come to their senses and are acting to pass a bill that would put a stop to this practice and would go back to giving students what they deserve.

The state of education, namely in science and math, is bad enough in this country. I can’t imagine where this country would be in ten years. This policy of giving students a free pass is definitely a step backwards. If we continue on this trend our country would face the challenges of the 1960s when the educational scare occurred. During the space race, the United States realized that the country was behind in educational development in comparison with rival countries. Why? Students became lazy. This no fail policy does nothing but encourage students to do the bare minimum.

I say bravo to the state legislators who are taking a hard stance and giving the power back to the teachers. More than ever our country needs enlightened, challenged minds. Given our economic disasters, environmental issues, and energy shortages we cannot afford to allow our future generation to become status quo. The only was to ensure that the United States continues to be a world leader is to challenge and develop young minds.

Obama's Fight on Drugs

In Melissa Del Bosque’s blog Obama Listens to Mexico in Border Security Plan she comments on how Obama is being criticized by republicans for his current drug and border security policy with Mexico. The blog is directed at a general audience, but there are some clear jabs at those Obama nay sayers. This is clear because her opinions are not only is done in a style to inform, but also to defend President Obama. Her blog appears to hold some credibility as she is quick to provide facts and figures on current expenditures in this drug war with Mexico. As well as the current Obama plan in the fight against drugs cartels.

Melissa’s argument is a strong one in that she is quick to point out that although some criticism could be warranted, the previous administration accomplished little to nothing in their fight on drugs. She goes as far as to say that at least Obama is acknowledging that there is an issue, the first step in resolving. She states that the administration has three main issues in its battle with drugs. First of all Obama’s plan gives Mexico what it has been asking for, a plan for the U.S. to curb the amount of drug use in the U.S. and to stop the influx of guns into Mexico from the U.S. Mellissa also states that the U.S. will make a concerted effort to create a plan that will spotlight drug prevention and addiction treatment.

I think that the author did a good job in connecting with a general audience and bringing light on the drug problems that the U.S. is facing with Mexico. In recent news the drug and border security issues have been more prevalent stories. It seems that the previous administration focused more on illegal immigration and not the more serious issue of the exponentially growing drug cartels.