Coke-Spiracy

Group Comments

      “Kassandra… Hailey… Emily… Victoria,” my RA’s nonchalantly called our names at the conclusion of their spiel. The first of many group floor meetings was gathered for everyone to introduce themselves, mull over a long and much to detailed list of all the things we were not allowed to in our residence hall, and pass out the new “My Cups”. From what I had heard these cups were water bottle sized travel cups and were an initiative taken on by the university to contribute to the pollution solution. Giving every freshman student an opportunity to reduce landfill waste with a handy dandy water bottle personalized with their name was sure to be a success. Most of my fellow first years failed to realize that using these magical, earth-saving cups would positively identify themselves to the entire collegiate population as freshman, which is currently regarded as the worst label one can have. Being more aware of my surroundings and coming to college prepared, I failed to use the My Cup and carried on drinking from my favorite water bottle.

        Even though I did not include the plastic cup in my daily routine, I understood the importance of the issue Ohio State was trying to solve. According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation’s research “On a daily basis… 85 million PET (polyethylene terephthalate) water bottles (thrown away) every day”; this does not include the only 21% of PET water bottles that are recycled (1). Our institution has enforced numerous other endeavors in attempt to help this issue by including the “Zero Waste Initiative” which begins the process of sorting recyclables from waste and also administering “Green Buckeye Certifications” for labs and offices on campus (2). In addition, in order to directly address the number of water bottles thrown away, there have been Elkay water dispensers added above traditional water fountains around campus. There is a running meter displayed on the dispenser tallying the water bottles saved from landfills by counting the number of ounces administered by the machine. I believe this to be a brilliant strategy to reduce plastic waste by placing a visual in front of every student and bringing awareness to the issue.

     While countless freshman began their first semester of college happily sipping away from their My Cups, I took notice to a couple of things. First, upon being blessed with our waste-reducing vessels we had been told we had ten free refills from a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine, a new dispensary holding hundreds of combinations of Coke products including Sprite, Vitamin Water, and Minute Maid (3). I found, however, that this rule was not enforced what so ever; at the dining hall students would finish their drink with their meal and then head over to the Coke Freestyle to fill up on their favorite beverage to go. The university was voluntarily allowing students to drink as much of Coca-Cola’s products as we could. Secondly, I was seeing less and less My Cups filled with water. They were colored bubbly orange, brown, and red. If the purpose was to reduce waste by providing us with a water bottle, shouldn’t they only be used for water? Lastly, taking a step back, the only one seemingly benefiting from in the new endeavor was Coke. Students were consuming, sharing, and seeing it in increasingly more often. I began to imagine the contract the sugary drink company had signed with Ohio State must have been a hefty sum considering how much they seemed to be profiting from the My Cups.

        Then it hit me, first by a deer-in-headlights look of confusion very quickly proceeded with a crinkled face of anger. We had been duped. We had been lied to. This was a Coke-Spiracy.

     This entire operation was masterminded by the executives of a soda company and implemented by their cozy companions here at The Ohio State University. My place of higher learning, my home, my family had set into motion an idea simply to fatten their wallets. This was not to help the environment and this decision was not made with the betterment of our students in mind. They took advantage of the most emotionally vulnerable age group in America, college freshman. When we showed up the day before classes and were given instructions, most of our still high school brains had no choice but to follow them. Coke even used their “Share a Coke” campaign appeal, which “invites fans to find their names — and the names of family members, friends, coworkers and people they’d like to know better — on bottles of Coke…” (4), by inscribing My Cups with the first names of the students. The Coca-Cola Freestyle machines have also associated other Coke products with the name “Coke”. I had never known brands such as Dasani and Powerade were owned by Coca-Cola, but now college students have been going to the big red soda fountain to get these beverages. This just manipulates us to associate these products with their umbrella brand; I now make those connections, but I refuse to connect this company with my school.

     Men’s Fitness Magazine rated The Ohio State University as the fittest college in America (5). I would never question that we have outstanding facilities and programs available to keep us Buckeye’s active, but I know that we are not doing everything possible to ensure that the options provided for our students are clean, healthy, and affordable. Coca-Cola is a company who manufactures liquid sugar and has been known to unethically sponsor scientific research to support claims that diet does not contribute to weight gain and health problems. The New York Times was reporting on such a matter in 2015, “The message is that obesity is not about the foods or beverages you’re consuming, it’s that you’re not balancing those foods with exercise,” Dr. Freedhoff of the University of Ottawa said” (8). This is not a company I want associated with my university and especially not one I want having such a large influence over administrators. I was always suspicious however, especially with the recent Coke-Spiracy, that our university was offering unhealthy options disguised as good ones.

        Upon a little bit of snooping, I happened across The Ohio State University’s STARS report which is “The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System™ (STARS®) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their performance” (6). They rank college on various number scales in categories such as operations, engagement, and academics. In 2016, under Ohio State’s “Food and Beverage Purchasing” category we were stated as currently “Not Pursuing” sustainability and received a 0.00/4.00 ranking. Also per the report, we received a 1.55/5.00 on “Waste Minimization” and 0.91/3.00 for “Waste Diversion” (7). According to these numbers and my personal experiences, I would say our preached values of student health and wellness along with the importance of sustainability have been falsely proclaimed. We are an elite institution, a leader in medicine, engineering, art, business, and many more facets. I believe our administrators well as parents and families need to take closer look at how we manage our food services and waste management. We need to start truly putting our core values as Buckeye’s ahead of big corporate sponsors and their false support of our university.

Comments

The Power of Education

Education has always been an important aspect of our society. It gives people the necessary skills to be successful in life. Education creates opportunities for people who otherwise wouldn’t have them. One freedom given to us as Americans is our right to free public school education. This freedom has improved our country’s in many ways. I believe that expanding that freedom to free college education would continue to help our society and would be worth the extra cost.

        College is now seen as a necessary step to get a quality job. The number of students going to college has been increasing throughout history. Many students see this tend and start college unaware of what they want to study. They continue to rack up student loans as they major in something that isn’t a fit for them. The debt pressures the student to continue with something that makes them unhappy. Imagine being able to switch studies without the massive penalty of student loans. Many are unable to switch from the fear of too much debt. Also, some students decide that college isn’t the right fit for them and drop out. This combination of student loans and being unable to get a college required job can be devastating. Some students that find the right major and graduate may be unable to find a job. This could be cause by a lack of jobs or a change in society that makes the job obsolete. Many different issues could create situations where students have massive amounts of debt and are unable to succeed.

        Another reason college education should be free is many people who deserve to go cannot afford it. Most people deserve to attend college no matter their financial situation. They are forced to find a job that only requires a high school education which limits their opportunities. This causes the same issue where their children are unable to attend college and the cycle continues. Free college would improve the quality of many lives.

        The education gained at college can help improve many people’s ways of living. Free college has been found to be very effective in other countries. Education helps the society improve socially and economically while also decreasing poverty and crime rates. Education is a very powerful tool that can be more impactful with free college.

Works Cited

Butcher, Amy. “What Exactly Is the Impact of Free Higher Education?” Non Profit News For Nonprofit Organizations | Nonprofit Quarterly. N.p., 02 Sept. 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

Google doc version

When most people think of pool lifeguards, they probably think of a bunch of lazy teenagers and young college kids that just want a job where they can sit around and tan. Parents may think of lifeguards as an excuse to not watch their kids, a sort of poolside babysitter. Very few people see them for who they actually are: highly trained individuals that are constantly aware of their surroundings, ready for anything and everything to go wrong.

Lifeguards begin their training with three in-water tasks. They must first swim 300 yards continuously, then they must tread water for 2 minutes using only their legs, and then they must perform an underwater brick retrieval, starting 20 yards away, diving to a depth of ten feet or more, and then swimming back to the start and exiting the pool, all under a minute and a half. An aspiring lifeguard must finish these tasks in order to even complete their training, failure to do so results in having to retake the course until they can complete these physical tasks. Following this portion, is the actual training process. Lifeguards must complete about twenty hours of skills training, both in water and in a classroom setting. They learn to perform CPR on adults, children and infants, how to use an automated external defibrillator to restart someone’s heart, how to perform multiple first aid tasks, and they learn over ten different water rescues and ways of entry. Despite their intensive training, lifeguards are often quick to be judged as lazy freeloaders that are nothing but glorified babysitters.

As a lifeguard, I speak first hand when I say that we are not there to babysit your kids while you sit and chat with your friends. We are there to make sure that all patrons remain safe, and to perform rescues only if absolutely necessary. Countless times I have had to pull toddlers off the slides because they thought it would be a fantastic idea to climb up them, instead of sliding down them, the way they were intended to be used. Countless times I have had to blow my whistle at a group of eight-year-olds that think it’s hilarious to race each other to the big slide, where they launch themselves headfirst into the shallow pool below. Countless times I have had to reprimand kids for trying to do backflips off the side of the pool into the “deep” end, having a mini heart attack every time I watch their heads barely miss the edge. While some kids do listen to my authority, most of them just ignore me until they injure themselves (and some of them don’t even stop there), or I inform my head guard and take away their pool privileges. In the end, this whole ordeal just makes me the enemy in their eyes, when all I want is for them to have fun, while staying safe.

In all simplicity, this hostility could be avoided if the parents of these children could just do their job and parent their children. If Anne could just keep an eye on her one-year-old, I wouldn’t have to be distracted with pulling him off the slide, while another child could be going a bit too quick and slip off the play structure, needing my immediate help. If John and Linda could just inform their three rambunctious rug rats to not run on the pool deck, and to listen to the lifeguard’s rules, I wouldn’t have to worry about them slipping and falling, or hitting their heads at the bottom of the pool. If Stacy could simply just tell her ten-year-old to not play stupid dunking games with his three-year-old sister, then I wouldn’t have to jump in and pull her out when he goes too far, and she can no longer stay afloat.

I am trained to identify the signs of stroke and diabetic shock. I am trained to remove a seizing, face down victim from the water without causing them any harm. I am trained to rescue a victim with a spinal injury from ten feet below the surface, strap them to a spinal board while in the water, and remove them from the pool without further injuring their spine, all under five minutes. I am trained to be the first responder in an emergency, not to parent your kids for you.

In the end, my job mostly consists of being prepared for anything to go wrong, even though the chances of the worst possible injuries are quite slim. Despite this, I always have to be aware of everything going on around me, and I have to be prepared for surprise skills checks at any given time. Overall, I just want all patrons to enjoy their time at the facility, while also being safe and smart in their actions.

Original Version for Commenting

     The paper was titled “Common Sense”. What is “common sense” though? Is it something we assume everybody knows? If it is, then this view is very skewed and hypocritical. It should be obvious that the only appropriate common sense would be the common sense that everyone has their own common sense. Making a claim that something is common sense really means, that thing makes sense in your head and that everybody else should think the same way about said subject.

     One could say that common sense stems from religion. Behind it, groups hold a basis for how they interact and govern themselves. History has shown that, because their morals are “common sense”, they usually battle groups, with different beliefs. They did so because they felt justified through their deity. Overtime humanity has come to this sense that different does not necessarily mean different. Stretch forward to today’s generation, and although humans still lack the common sense of individual “common sense”, there is a drastic shift in their reasoning. Some hate still stems from religion, but technological advances have made it easier for humans with different ideals to gain exposure among each other and to come to common grounds on subjects. There is a line that exists in each individual though. A line where all things exceeding it go beyond their acceptable “sense”. It has proven tedious if at all possible to remove that divide within people, forcing them to see the right in “wrong” action.

     With that history it is time humanity redefine “common sense”. Common sense does not mean an understanding that everyone holds; it means an understanding that everyone is expected to hold. Common sense does not mean using good judgment; it means acting in a way where others cannot criticize your judgment. It would be hypocritical to say that the only acceptable common sense is that “common sense” varies from person to person. In such a case, it easier to describe it as: an overused phrase that describes one’s frustration about another’s action.  

Comments

Police officers rush to a bar at a normal night. A group of college aged boys and girls get caught. A boy swings the beer bottle in the air, swaying left and right. Two girls wearing tight skirts hugging together, and another girl starts crying, either because seeing those police, or just broke up with her boyfriend. All kids are below 21. What a tragedy for these families.

Twenty-One is magic number in the United States. People cannot drink under 21; people have different driver license under 21. Everywhere is reminding me how important to be 21 years old and I’m too young. However, I don’t think it’s smart to distinguish people at 21, and the society should not amplify this age difference.

Statistically, in the world 115 out of 190 countries (Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) in 190 Countries) have a have a minimum age of drinking at eighteen. America is one of the few countries with such a high minimum drinking age. I do not mean it’s good to drink earlier, but it promotes the difference between young adults. I still remember my 18^th birthday that everyone told me I was not a kid anymore, then, I still held a horizontal driving license. Especially in the college, as a freshman, we may join a bunch of student organizations, make friends with students in different ages. Considering you are going a club social with your friends who are mostly above 21 years old, and they want to have some drinks, you are deciding whether break the law or not. Not guaranteed that everyone will follow the law. As the inconvenience this law brings, some students would choose to break the law maintaining a better friendship and social relationship.

From the first time I entered the United States, 21 years old as a distinguish was mentioned everywhere. A tour guide told us not going to the bar; health books stated the laws clearly; beer and wine culture class started with minimum age of drinking law. The United States attaches great attendance on this magic age. The government’s goal is reducing the crime rate and protection of adolescents. However, it leads some serious side effects.

We always hear the news like “Deadly 21st Birthday”, “Binge Drinking on 21^st Birthday”, etc. Lots of young adult dead right on the first day of the 21^st year of their lives. Curiosity is a leading cause. Teenagers are inquisitive to new things. Especially during puberty, the more frequently teenagers are told not to drink in school, family and the society, the more curious they could be, leading to two extreme possible results. One is that those kids can’t wait till 21, and drink illegally. The other one is like the tragedies in news that they are so excited reaching the legal drinking age and binge drinking, totally destroyed their bodies. According to the 2015 NSDUH, “an estimated 623000 adolescents ages 12-17 had Alcohol Use Disorder” (Alcohol Facts and Statistics). A research in a college randomly collected data from 2518 current and former college students who has already turned 21, asking them whether they had drink on their 21^st birthday, and how much they have drunken.  The report showed 4/5 participants reporting they have consumed some alcohol on their birthday.  “34% of men and 24% of women reported consuming 21 drinks or more” (Rutlege).

People want to drink illegally may cause more troubles. For example, some people buy fake ID. They choose to break another law to drink, increasing the criminal rate among teenagers. From a journal in 2009, “fake ID ownership increased over time (12.5% precollege to 32.2% fourth semester.” In this study, 7% of high school students, 14% of college freshman reported they have used fake ID (Martinez). Statistic research has some levels of bias because people want to be looked good. The actual percentage can only be higher.

The 21-age marks terribly gap of people, may lead to huge damage to young people’s personal health, and cause tremendous family change. Overall, the society should not emphasis on distinguishing people below and above 21. Instead, let teenagers know what their responsibilities are and know the harm of alcohol. 21 should not represent a level of matureness or a scale of a real adult. It is only a number.

Work Cited

Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) in 190 Countries. 02/12/2017. Web.

http://drinkingage.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004294

Alcohol Facts and Statistics. 02/13/2017. Web.

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics

Rutlege, Patricia C., Sher, Kenneth J., Park, Aesson. 21^st Birthday Drinking: Extremely Extreme. 2008Web.

Martinez, Julia A., Rutlege, Patricia C., Sher, Kenneth J. Fake ID ownership and Heavy Drinking in Underage College Students: Prospective Findings

Comments

The environment issues are always to be taken seriously by human beings. Recently, the serious air pollution has been a very popular social issue in China since 2011. Before 2011, there was slightly air pollution but the problem was not that serious. However, the pollution became more and more serious at the beginning of 2011 and the decreasing air quality can be seen visually. According to China’s Ministry of Environment Protection, the key polluters are vehicle exhausts, industrial productions, coal burning, and construction sites, with dust contributing to 85%-90% of pollution woes (Zhang).

For most cities in China, the air quality is extremely bad. Because of the heavy air pollution, every day the sky is dark and grey. As a result, there is no sunlight, and visibility is greatly decreased to meters. If you haven’t been to China before, you may not have a clear idea how serious the air pollution is. Columbus is completely different than Beijing, which is the most polluted city in China.  For example, the weather in Beijing is the same almost every day, dark and gray sky, no sunlight, and hard to see things clearly far away. However, in Columbus, the sky is totally blue with golden bright sunlight and the air is so fresh. Statistically, the PM 2.5, which is an index to calculate the polluted particle amount in the air, in China is about 500-900 unit, much higher than Columbus which is about 20-40 unit. (AIRNow) Thus, it’s very obvious to see that the air quality in Columbus is much higher than Beijing.

Through the history, only Britain had the similar situation before, which was called “Great smog of London”. Since the Industrial Revolution, London is famous for its fog. Although the technology and economy developed very fast, it followed with the serious air pollution. London was accustomed to heavy fogs, but this one in 1952 was denser and longer lasting than any previous fog. Visibility was reduced to meters (It’s like you were “blind”) making driving difficult or impossible (The Great Smog). More seriously, according to the statistics compiled by medical services, there were 4,000 people killed by the fog. Finally, London spent 13 years to treat this great fog. China now is facing the similar situation with past London.

Before I went to the United States, I breathed the heavily polluted air in Beijing almost every day. Almost every day the weather is similar, the sky is dark and there is no sunlight. After I come to OSU, I finally can enjoy the fresh air and see the blue sky with bright sunlight. I really appreciate my parents that they provide me an opportunity to study abroad. However, most of Chinese people are not as lucky. They had to stay in China and could not get rid of the heavy air pollution. They are still suffering the heavy pollution and facing the great potential diseases induced by the bad air. Do they deserve to get sick from the heavy pollution? Of course the answer is no! No one should suffer. Everyone has the right to breathe the fresh air. The government and people should focus on how to treat the pollution by limiting the industrial productions and coal burning.

Imagine that you are living in the United States, and one day you travel to a city in China with heavy air pollution, what will happen to you? You may get serious heart or lung diseases and even die. There is a real example in my senior high school. My American English teacher came to Beijing to teach us English. Unfortunately, he only stayed in Beijing for nearly two weeks then he went back to the United States since the polluted air induced his lung disease. Even if a foreigner come to China for a very short time period could get serious lung and heart diseases, what about the Chinese people who live in the heavy air pollution every day? They have much more possibilities to get those diseases! Furthermore, it’s very normal that people in China get a sore throat and find it hard to breathe almost every day.

I do not want to live in a country with great air pollution since my health is threatened by the polluted air and my life span decreases a lot compare to people live in the clean air environment. Also, I do not want my children and my grand-children to suffer this again. Thus, Chinese people and government should take it very seriously. This can be achieved by decreasing our daily car uses, and government should shut down those industries which cause the heavy pollution.

It’s no doubt that it will take China a very long time to completely treat the air pollution, but as long as government and people try their best, there will be one day that we can enjoy the fresh air! I am really looking forward to the day that I can breathe the fresh air freely and see the blue sky and bright sunlight.

References

“AIRNow – Columbus, OH Air Quality.” AIRNow – Columbus, OH Air Quality. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.

Jingya, Zhang. “Major Causes of Air Pollution in China – CCTV News – CCTV.com English.”Major Causes of Air Pollution in China – CCTV News – CCTV.com English. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.

“The Great Smog.” The Great Smog | History Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.