Tyra IS NOT FAT!

The news world has been buzzing lately with Tyra Banks and her supposed 40 pound weight gain. She's been featured in tabloids, she's spoken out about on several talk shows (including Larry King Live and it will be the subject of her own show on Thursday) and in People magazine.

Tyra is a five foot eleven inch woman who has spent the majority of her career as a model whose natural weight rests between 136-167 pounds. She claims that she is at 161 pounds which is in her natural weight range. She is a positive role model for young girls around the globe and I think its travesty that the news is making such a huge deal about her gaining weight. Especially when the media knows what kind of influence they have on young girls who suffer from eating disorders. It's utterly disgusting that the media finds it necessary to publish this kind of thing. I'm ashamed.

The media is saying that it's not ok for young women to gain weight and that if you are almost six feet tall that you are fat at 161 pounds. This is a very sensitive subject to me because I suffered from an eating disorder for several years during high school and I still have difficulties dealing with my image. And I know that there are many young women (and men) who are just as image conscious.

In our "healthy" living of today, it is extremely important to not stress the number associated with weight. It's not about the number. It's about health and how you feel about yourself. People who suffer from eating disorders never feel thin; it's part of the disease. They think that they can always stand to lose more weight because they still envision themselves as fat. And when the media stresses weight, instead of health, it makes it difficult for people to get better and to get away from their disorder. It's such a vicious cycle and the media is only perpetuating it.

What the media should be stressing in this situation is the kind of role modeling that Tyra is doing: she is showing the world that it is ok to fluctuate in weight and that fluctuating, is in fact, normal. They should not focus on Tyra getting "fat", because that is not what is happening. She is returning to a natural weight, something that she potentially never achieved in the tough and competitive world of modeling where your size is everything.

In my opinion, Tyra is a beautiful woman, who looks like a woman. She is not a twig. She is not fat. She represents what a woman should look like. She's healthy and happy with her appearance, which is all that truly matters.

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First Week of Classes

Forgive the lack of an update…I've been UBER busy with the first week of classes, meetings and I'm trying to get everything done.

There hasn't been much going on that I've gotten myself wrapped up in. There was the State of the Union address this week. Billy and I watched it together and ate popcorn. I was waiting for Bush to make a fool of himself, but he didn't. I feel like listening to him is what it must have felt like to be Charlie Brown listening to his teacher in class—Wha Wha Wha. I hope that everyone reading that gets that reference, otherwise that would make me feel entirely too old.

I'm taking four classes this semester: Intercultural Communications, Public Relations, Sportswriting and Genocide. Yes, I am taking Genocide. I'm not a morbid freak, on the contrary I believe it is important to read and learn as much as we can about the past so that we can prevent similar atrocities from happening again. The class is dedicated to learning about the sociological and historical implications associated with genocide. For example: what exactly makes society commit genocide? How can someone have so many disregards for human life? That's the problem. Generally speaking, genocide is committed by a "superior" group on an "inferior" group; therefore the superior group doesn't see the inferior group worthy of living. To be able to accomplish genocide, you do not have to be a cold hearted killer; you just have to be a person who is incapable of accepting differences and the unknown. Scary to think, isn't it? With this theory any person is capable of committing genocide given the correct tools and opportunity.

That's all I have for now. I'm exhausted—I just spent the entire day working on the layout for the school newspaper that I am the Editor-In-Chief for. That takes a lot out of you, but it's worth it, I love journalism.

 

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Rosie vs. Donald

When did a feud between Rosie O'Donnell, Barbara Walters and Donald Trump become worthy of an article in New York Times? When did this feud become relevant enough to even talk about, much less write about? I don't even know what started the whole thing, but all I know is that it's ridiculous. Rosie is mad at Donald for allowing Miss America to stay in her position after months of rampant partying and drug use. So Donald fires back by not only insulting her appearance but by dragging Barbara into the mix by claiming that Barbara disapproves of Rosie and her job on The View. But to be honest, who isn't appalled by the job that Rosie is doing on The View? What happened to the Rosie that we all knew and loved from 10 years ago when she had her own talk show? She, along with her idol Tom Cruise, both jumped on the crazy ship and set sail for the magically island where they can insult anyone they choose and still manage to get press coverage.

 

Why do people care so much about the lives of these people? I will never get it. And here I am, finding myself dedicated brain cells and time to write a blog about it. Huh, funny isn't it? Strange world we live in when it is more important to know what celebrity hates what celebrity when more people are being sent off to war, a genocide is claiming more and more lives everyday and where countries of the world are arming themselves with nuclear weapons.

 

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Media?

I am very content with the new Democratic Congress that was just sworn into office. I do not like how the media is focusing on the one Muslim Congressmen who choose to be sworn in on a Koran instead of a Bible. At least he made the effort to be sworn in on something that he believed in. I mean how would it have looked if he put his hand on the Bible and said that oath when he doesn't believe what the Bible has to say? I think it would have been hypocritical and offensive (or even more so for those who already found his actions to be so). Another thing that has been bothering me is the constant comparison of Presidential hopeful Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and most recently to the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the way he dresses. The buzz surrounding this candidate and the comparisons that are being made do not belong in politics. They belong in the tabloids and now it is safe for you to assume that they should not be written about at all.

 

Moving on now to Bush's address to the nation this past week and his "new" Iraq strategy. First things first, he finally admitted that he made a mistake. It only took four years for him to do, but I see that as a step in the right direction. However, I think he's making another mistake by suggesting that sending another 20,000 troops into the mouth of hell will fix his first mistake. We've already lost over 3,000 hard working, patriotic Americans. The number of Iraqi civilians killed is unable to be measured. It is time for Iraq to stand on its own two feet that we as a nation have forced under them. We as a country do not understand that culture and the atmosphere of their nation, and we think that by giving them the democratic freedoms that we cherish so dearly will make them like us. They don't want to be like us, and they cannot be like us. It is arrogant and pigheaded for the United States to believe that it can change the way their country functions and works. Yes, they could become a great democratic nation, but not the same democratic nation that we are.  

 

Many Americans, politicians and analysts do not see the war in Iraq as having a favorable outcome. Not only is Bush's decision to send more troops going against what countless people have told him, but it is challenging the new Democratic Congress. I think he's testing to see if Congress will have what it takes to put an end to all of this. They can cut funding to the war, which would make it difficult to proceed with his plan, and here's an even better idea, they could use the evidence that has mounted over the past six years of his administration to perhaps impeach him…something that should have been done when it was revealed that he went behind the Congress's back and began his domestic spying endeavor. It's all turning into one big cluster that I don't think anyone will be getting out of anytime soon.

 

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New Year, People!

A new year has begun, and with that new year everyone is starting over. It's a nice idea to be able to start fresh at the beginning of every year, what I don't understand however is why don't people think that they can start over every single day? Every morning that we wake up is a fresh start where we can take what happened the day before and move on. This isn't something that happens on January first at 12am, it is something that can happen every day at 12am. That's how I like to think about it anyway. Everyday is a chance for me to start over. Forgive and forget what happened the day before and move on.  

This year is going to be a big year. It's 2007 and I graduate from undergrad. That's huge. I'm so nervous and afraid of what is out there for me. I've sent in all my graduate school applications and am just waiting to hear from them, and I'm not even sure how long that will take. This waiting game is torture; the entire process of graduate school is torture actually. From the personal statements to the GRE test to the letters of recommendation to the outrageous fees they charge you to just apply. It's ridiculous really. But if you want to continue your education I guess it's what you have to do. In the end it will all be worth it because it's what I really want to do. And anything you really want hard enough is worth whatever you have to go through to get it. If that even makes sense. I just had the realization that I am justifying cruel and unusual punishment.  

Speaking of…what is with the whole Saddam execution? Honestly, he did deserve to die, but the way that it happened, the way it was rushed, the way he was mocked and ridiculed right before hand has turned him into the martyr that he always wanted to be. Hussein did some terrible things while he was alive, but people will only remember how he died, when he had more dignity that his executioners. It's a shame really. So much time and man power and effort put into his capture, his trial and to have it end in such a way is anti climatic. I sometimes think that he and the rest of the world would have been better off if he was just left to rot in that whole he was found in. He would have suffered an undignified death that no person is worthy of…which is precisely what he deserved. He didn't deserve that trial. We just allowed him to stand at a podium spouting his "wisdom" to everyone who was tuned in. We gave him the power again and he used it.  

Capital punishment in general confuses me. I grew up in a town where everyone works at the Correction Facility down the road. Great Meadow was the place where Sing Sing's rejects are sent; not a pleasant place at all in the middle of the countryside of Upstate New York. Even though New York doesn't have capital punishment anymore, it did for a very long time and there are still states out there that do. I'm divided on this issue because I can see both sides of the conflict. On the one side, capital punishment makes sense because A. the punishment should fit the crime, B. why should taxpayers pay for someone to live in a prison cell for the rest of their lives, and C. the victims' families deserve it. The other side however is rather compelling to. It can be considered cruel and unusual, but is what the person did to deserve the death penalty not the same? The person may be innocent, which has happened and unfortunately in some cases, the truth comes out too late.  And then there is the debate of rehabilitation, which I personally do not believe in. There are certain criminals out there that deserve to be punished, and perhaps even have the cruel and unusual punishment clause waved. Those criminals are rapists, murderers and child molesters. They are the lowest of the low in my opinion and deserve to suffer. Honestly, I wish we could make an island (similar to Alcatraz), ship them there, but instead of a prison, they all live in wholes in the ground where they are never allowed to see the light of day…ever again. The prison system is set up to cater to criminals. They are handed everything on the inside: a warm bed, a hot meal, a job, and sometimes even an education. That's why there are so many incidences of revolving door offenders. Granted, prison life is not the most pleasant thing to endure, but they don't have to worry about the essentials, and that is more than what half of the law abiding Americans can say.  

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Well hello blogging world!

I'm Sarah...your normal scared to death of the real world undergraduate senior. I am finishing up my last fall semester as an undergrad and getting ready for real life. Scary. I plan on going to graduate school to not only delay the inevitable of the real world, but to hopefully better my chances at eventually becoming a professor in my field of choice; Journalism. That's right ladies and gentlemen; I want to be a Journalist...the Anderson Cooper of the writing world. That's the best way I can sum it up. Unfortunately, that might be able to happen. Why you ask yourself? Because the world of journalism is rapidly changing and blogs like this are making it happen.

People in the profession are worried that people will only turn to what they call "citizen journalists" for their news and information. Some think that pretty soon the field of journalism will be obsolete...I however, disagree. I believe that with a society like the one that we are currently living in, needs real, fair and impartial journalists more than ever. If we relied solely on bloggers for our information, not only would we be sifting through mountains of opinions on a daily basis and never really know what was happening in the world, but we would be subjected to incorrect information. I'm not saying that bloggers don't portray the news correctly; in fact I think bloggers can. However, I do not believe that human beings, by nature, get all the facts before reacting to some situations. We are emotional and instinctual creatures and go with our gut instincts. What I am saying is that journalists who are trained to represent the world in a fair and unbiased light are able to weed out emotion when it comes to hard news stories.

I'm not really sure if my point is getting across to all you who may be reading this. And I'm not sure that I can adequately portray what I am thinking at 1am. But the coffee and the pure adrenaline of knowing that I am almost done with my undergraduate career has sparked this rant. I guess that's why Billy Hallowell decided to call this The Vent: With Sarah Rivette...he knew what I would end up talking about: random things that come into my head.

Well I'll leave you with this thought for right now: what do you think will happen in the future with how we get our news? Do you think that the internet will take over and that sooner than we think television, newspapers and magazines will be a thing of the past? Or do you think that the people who say all of this are just full of it and want to obsess over something that they won't even be around to see happen? Let me know what you think...post a comment, share your thoughts, speak your mind.

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