One of the big issues being addressed this week in DCU is that of safe sex. It is "SHAG WEEK". There are a number of events being planned around the campus, all with the aim of promoting safer sex. Free condoms are being distibuted and the college magazine did a two page spread on the different STIs that can be contracted.
I think that it's a brilliant initiative for a college to promote safe sex. We are, after all, at THAT age. We're coming to the end of our puberty and have discovered sex. The trouble with it is that we have also discovered the joys of being legally allowed to drink alcohol. That means that many (not all) of us like to do so as much as we can. And alcohol, as we are all aware, impairs judgement. It happens to many. You go out and you get, for want of a better word, locked. There's that person you've wanted the confidence to approach for months. You're keen. They're keen. Before you know it you've gone too far and made possibly the biggest mistake of your life.
It seems that the majority of young guys will carry a condom on a night out but the majority of girls will not. I can't comprehend why this is. Why should it be left up to the guy? If you're both there and you're both involved, I don't see that it is a responsibility for the man. If anything carrying a condom should be the responsibility of both partners.
There are hige risks involved in having sex without a condom and I'm not just talking about pregnancy. How about herpes, gonorrhea, siphilis, AIDS, chlamydia etc. In my opinion colleges have a responsibility to look out for the welfare of thier students and promoting sexual health and safe sex is all part of it. Don't get me wrong. I'm not against sex but I think that if you're not going to be responsible about it then you shouldn't be having it. End of.
FOR MORE INFO:
www.positive.org
www.life.dcu.ie
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
BUS SAFETY
Is it just me or have buses in Ireland proved to be absolutely lethal in recent years? I'm talking about this after it came up in the media again today. Bus Eireann has pleaded guilty to two charges connected to the Navan bus crash in 05. There are just too many accidents involving buses in this country. Passengers, in my opinion, cannot be guaranteed safety on their trip because the bus system in Ireland is just diabloical.
First up was the incident in Meath in May of 2005. 5 schoolgirls were killed in that accident when their bus overturned. Following that, there was also a schoolbus crashed in Offaly in April of 2006 in which a boy was killed. But it's not only schoool buses that have been under scrutiny in recent times. In February of 2004 a Dublin Bus was involved in an incident on Wellington Quays. Five people weremowed down by the bus as they stood on the footpath.
I don't know what is going on with the state of the bus system in this country but surely three serious accidents in just two years is three too many. Of course after all of this, there was a big furore concerning the safety of school buses. And rightly so, but it seems to me that the frenzy and talk of changes on buses is just that, all talk. I can't see that there have been any major changes on buses. A number of buses now have seatbelts but I know for certain that there is noone on a school bus encouraging children to put them on. And lets face it, if a child has the option of not wearing a seatbelt, that's the option they're going to take.
I think that the only acceptable course of action that can be taken to ensure saftey on school buses is to train bus drivers properly for the specific job and to have a second adult present on the bus to supervise. The driver of a bus cannot be held responsible for supervising the children on a journey. It is his/her job to drive the bus, not to watch children.
I know that if I was a parent I would not be comfortable allowing my child to take a bus to school knowing what goes on. Children do not wear seatbelts, bags are placed in the aisles and children do not stay in their seats. It's simply unacceptable and I think major changes are required before we can say we won't have more major accidents.
http://dynimg.rte.ie/00004cbb0b2.jpg
FOR MORE GO TO:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0726/navan.html
First up was the incident in Meath in May of 2005. 5 schoolgirls were killed in that accident when their bus overturned. Following that, there was also a schoolbus crashed in Offaly in April of 2006 in which a boy was killed. But it's not only schoool buses that have been under scrutiny in recent times. In February of 2004 a Dublin Bus was involved in an incident on Wellington Quays. Five people weremowed down by the bus as they stood on the footpath.
I don't know what is going on with the state of the bus system in this country but surely three serious accidents in just two years is three too many. Of course after all of this, there was a big furore concerning the safety of school buses. And rightly so, but it seems to me that the frenzy and talk of changes on buses is just that, all talk. I can't see that there have been any major changes on buses. A number of buses now have seatbelts but I know for certain that there is noone on a school bus encouraging children to put them on. And lets face it, if a child has the option of not wearing a seatbelt, that's the option they're going to take.
I think that the only acceptable course of action that can be taken to ensure saftey on school buses is to train bus drivers properly for the specific job and to have a second adult present on the bus to supervise. The driver of a bus cannot be held responsible for supervising the children on a journey. It is his/her job to drive the bus, not to watch children.
I know that if I was a parent I would not be comfortable allowing my child to take a bus to school knowing what goes on. Children do not wear seatbelts, bags are placed in the aisles and children do not stay in their seats. It's simply unacceptable and I think major changes are required before we can say we won't have more major accidents.
http://dynimg.rte.ie/00004cbb0b2.jpgFOR MORE GO TO:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0726/navan.html
Monday, March 5, 2007
Downfall of a Princess
Britney was, a few years ago, America's princess. She was the girl everybody loved. Young, talented, innocent and, above all, virginal. Britters vowed she would be a virgin until her wedding night. She was one of the biggest female artists in the world. but it all, went downhill for Britney the day she drunkenly got hitched to her childhood friend, Jason Alexander, in Las Vegas. Since then the angelic popstar has been on a steep downward spiral.
Like many others, I was in the "anti-Britney" camp for a long time. Her hopeless attempts to justify her marraige to pathetic golddigger Kevin Federline (or K-Fed, if you will) were enough to make me gag and her public appearances in her beloved trailer trash chic just served to increase my despise for the mindless one. I will even go so far as to admit that I accused Britney of being a bad mother when, a) she almost dropped her son, b) she drove her car with him on her lap and, c) he took a tumble from his high-chair. Britney Spears could hardly have been called miss Popularity.
Last year, many thought that Britters had finally seen the light when she applied for a divorce from K-Fed. She would get away and maybe, just maybe she could salvage a few shards of her once wildly successful career. Alas, it seems that Britney has gone in a different driection and has hit rock bottom instead. No longer do I have a seat in the "I HATE BRITNEY" camp. Now I am filled with sympathy. The poor girl just needs some help. She's crying out for it. So far Britney has fled rehab twice, has shaved her head completely bald and has attacked a 4x4 parked outside Kevin's home with an umbrella. Now forgive me for jumping to conclusions but this is hardly the behaviour of a sane person. I can't help but thinking that unless someone jumps to the rescue of this girl then we might have a tragedy on our hands, think Anna Nicole Smith.
At this stage I am not hesitant to say that I doubt Britney can ever see the success she saw in her heyday. She has taken too many wrong turns in her life but I do think that she can be okay if someone just steps in and does the right thing before Britney Spears goes too far.
Like many others, I was in the "anti-Britney" camp for a long time. Her hopeless attempts to justify her marraige to pathetic golddigger Kevin Federline (or K-Fed, if you will) were enough to make me gag and her public appearances in her beloved trailer trash chic just served to increase my despise for the mindless one. I will even go so far as to admit that I accused Britney of being a bad mother when, a) she almost dropped her son, b) she drove her car with him on her lap and, c) he took a tumble from his high-chair. Britney Spears could hardly have been called miss Popularity.
Last year, many thought that Britters had finally seen the light when she applied for a divorce from K-Fed. She would get away and maybe, just maybe she could salvage a few shards of her once wildly successful career. Alas, it seems that Britney has gone in a different driection and has hit rock bottom instead. No longer do I have a seat in the "I HATE BRITNEY" camp. Now I am filled with sympathy. The poor girl just needs some help. She's crying out for it. So far Britney has fled rehab twice, has shaved her head completely bald and has attacked a 4x4 parked outside Kevin's home with an umbrella. Now forgive me for jumping to conclusions but this is hardly the behaviour of a sane person. I can't help but thinking that unless someone jumps to the rescue of this girl then we might have a tragedy on our hands, think Anna Nicole Smith.
At this stage I am not hesitant to say that I doubt Britney can ever see the success she saw in her heyday. She has taken too many wrong turns in her life but I do think that she can be okay if someone just steps in and does the right thing before Britney Spears goes too far.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
ASBOs Welcome!
So Ireland has introduced Anti Social Behaviour Orders for children. The orders were brought into effect on the first of this month and are in operation for children of 12 years to 18. I think it's high time we had something like this in our fair country. A common misconception is that crime is something only adults are capable of. That is just not true. With the rate that children these days are growing up it's hardly surprising that it was necessary to bring some form of discipline into action.
I go to college in DCU which, as most are aware, is just a hop, skip and a jump from Ballymun, a known trouble area. There have been times when I've gone for walks and had to deal with heckles and general verbal abuse from, for want of a better word, kids. It's just not on and it's not something that anyone should have to deal with.
Maybe a slap on the wrist and a behavior order is exactly what these youths deserve. Even better yet is that if a child fails to comply with the conditions of an ASBO there is a delilghtful fine of up to E800 OR 3 months in a detention centre. Good enough for them in my opinion.
Apparently the decision to introduce the ASBOs hasn't gone down to well with children's rights and civil liberties groups. The reasoning behind their opposition is just beyond me. My view is that without this new move youth crime would just get out of hand. Anti Social Behaviour Orders are way overdue. They have, after all, been in effect in England since 1998. It seems to me that Ireland will generally play simon says with the UK and follow suit so why has this taken so long to be introduced? Does our government have better things to deal with than tackling crime? Or is it simply because it is the youths that are the centre? The big wigs generally ignore what's happening with the kids in favour of less important issues. As a result innocent people have had to deal with abuse, theft, underage drinking and the like from youths.
Enter punishment! I envisage a drop in the amount of crime we see in Ireland and citizens finally able to walk the streets safely and without fear. High time.
www.rte.ie/news/2007/0301/asbo.html - 19k
www.iprt.ie/iprt/1230 - 21k
I go to college in DCU which, as most are aware, is just a hop, skip and a jump from Ballymun, a known trouble area. There have been times when I've gone for walks and had to deal with heckles and general verbal abuse from, for want of a better word, kids. It's just not on and it's not something that anyone should have to deal with.
Maybe a slap on the wrist and a behavior order is exactly what these youths deserve. Even better yet is that if a child fails to comply with the conditions of an ASBO there is a delilghtful fine of up to E800 OR 3 months in a detention centre. Good enough for them in my opinion.
Apparently the decision to introduce the ASBOs hasn't gone down to well with children's rights and civil liberties groups. The reasoning behind their opposition is just beyond me. My view is that without this new move youth crime would just get out of hand. Anti Social Behaviour Orders are way overdue. They have, after all, been in effect in England since 1998. It seems to me that Ireland will generally play simon says with the UK and follow suit so why has this taken so long to be introduced? Does our government have better things to deal with than tackling crime? Or is it simply because it is the youths that are the centre? The big wigs generally ignore what's happening with the kids in favour of less important issues. As a result innocent people have had to deal with abuse, theft, underage drinking and the like from youths.
Enter punishment! I envisage a drop in the amount of crime we see in Ireland and citizens finally able to walk the streets safely and without fear. High time.
www.rte.ie/news/2007/0301/asbo.html - 19k
www.iprt.ie/iprt/1230 - 21k
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
