munky.org|v3.0

Believe in me, because you know no other answers

This is in response to one of the repertoire of questions generally asked to atheists, which would be where did the Universe come from.

Now that I’ve said that, you have probably guessed I am an atheist. And you guess would be, correct! Sorry, you don’t win a prize though. Was I always this way? Well, no. But I did start this way. When I was born (and you too!) I was an atheist. Then God and Jesus and all of Christianity was introduced to me. Now, I did not live in an evangelical house hold. But Christianity was a part of my life, although all of the facts were not, since my parents were both more on the “Faith” side of Christianity, vs the religious side. I was baptised as a Catholic (sadly enough, that priest has been accused of molesting a couple of boys back in the day, one at the same church I was baptised, a few years before I was born, eeek!). Eventually I spent a year at Catholic school, was an altar boy (no, I was not molested, it was a different priest, and I still hold him in high regard, as he really is a genuinely nice man), and even contemplated being a priest.

I was brought up on creationism was a proven concept, with evolution being just a “theory.” Even as a drifted away from the Catholic church, I still was a by-faith Christian. Problem was, I never realized just how hypocritical I was. Why? Because beyond religion, I thoroughly enjoyed science. And science teaches you to question EVERYTHING. If we didn’t, well, we’d still be living in caves, chasing  animals and foraging for food.

The older I got, the more I questioned. As I began to be more technical in my life, I questioned even further, and smarter. This more technical side? I began going to college finally, spending 3 years at night to get a general Associate of Science, spending a year on my Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Physics (which I am currently on break from due to financial hardships I had to address).

The more I questioned, the less I believed, until eventually I discovered that my faith was nothing more than a hollow shell, supported by 0 evidence. None. In fact, the only viable question that would have me to question is, where did the universe come from.

And there are theories out there regarding this, but in all reality, it is going to be extremely difficult to prove or disprove particular theories. And either way, it still leaves the question of what was around before the universe, etc., and since infinity is not a real number, the answer is difficult.

But you know, that particular question made me think onto a number of other things. First, let’s take a look at Christianity and its Jewish origins. Remember, back then scientific knowledge wasn’t like it was today. We now know about how hallucinations result from mental illness or drug use. We know the full motions of the moon (and it is a giant rock in the sky reflecting sunlight, not just a bright light). We know what causes earthquakes, whether patterns, disease, retardation, etc. There are reasons for these things, scientifically explainable, and without the need of theological thought.

Now read the Bible. It is a HUGE book, so I will not argue specific passages, because the passages alone already fill a book. Read about the signs that god presents. Nowadays, most people hear about an earthquake, they make think of a tectonic plate before they think “oh, this is a sign from God that ______.” Or the guys, walking around on the streets, screaming about whatever prophecy, we think mental illness, not that God has chosen to speak through him. Now, I say most, because some people still believe that God uses earthquakes and tsunamis to punish the wicked, etc. Except that these natural events have occurred much longer than people have been around.

The argument here is simple. If we could go back in time, and live in that lifetime, with the knowledge we have today, our beliefs would be shaken. Solar Eclipse would be cool, while people run frightened because it was an ominous sign from God.

Which is the same thing that all belief systems have done, probably even before recorded history. It is an attempt to explain the world around, because there were no better options around at the time. And if those answers become apparent, then the belief system either changes, disappears, or is ignorant of the knowledge. Christianity has been a prime example of the mixture of change and ignorance. As ancient knowledge was challenged and proven wrong, Christianity, and not just the Catholic church, has either been ignorant of it, contesting that these challenges are heresy. Or they have come to accept them, and change the belief to fit around it. Think about germ theory. Some faiths are ignorant of current knowledge, claiming them to be sinful, and instead rely on prayer to cure. The power of prayer is equal to the power of the placebo.

Other faiths have accepted germ theory and modern medicine, but they still believe that it is up to God if you live, or that the illness is still from God, even though we know that no divine hand is needed to spread bacteria and viruses.

Faith is a belief in something without evidence. Faith was needed in a time when there was no knowledge of why things happened the way they did. However, we now have knowledge, so that faith becomes ignorance.

While I may pity those who buy into religion or faith of a supreme being or beings, I generally don’t have a problem with those who hold those beliefs. Religion is more like a treatable mental health problem. However, I do I have problem with a person or persons who try to use their beliefs to be little and intimidate others, attempting to control them. Like the heated debates with gay marriage and abortion, the root of the underlying argument is a religious belief. Marriage is “sacred,” and must be between a man and a woman. Just because some man wrote that thousands of years ago, and it was put in a book that other men said was from the hand of god, doesn’t give someone the authority to force another human to submit to and live by their beliefs.

So to answer the question, where did the universe come from? I don’t know. But really, the only faith I need is that scientists are asking the same questions, trying to answer it too. It doesn’t prove the existence of a god or gods, only that we still have no unlocked all of the knowledge of physics in the universe. But science gives humanity a better outlook on how to deal with the future than a book of legends can ever provide.

Ok, maybe not that easy.

So what in the hell am I talking about? Anyone who is, has, or will be pursuing engineering at UNC Charlotte will have to go through ENGR 1201. Part of the project is creating a simply supported beam capable of holding a specific load within specified deflections. For the proportionally lightest beam with the least deflection wins the extra credit.

I’m a competition nut. Tell me it’s a competition and it is on. So today we had our beam testing. Our weight was low (110 grams, roughly .29 lbs) and deflection was good (0.135 inches under a 300 lbs load). Our ratio was 2.045, smoking everyone out of the water. The closest beam (that didn’t fail) was at a 1.600.

So yea, I’m stoked, and no, I don’t care that you don’t care. Its nice to win, even if it was a simple beam.

Ok, so it’s not that joyful. Ok, maybe a psychology major might enjoy it, I’m just saying. As you can see, its been months since I’ve posted. Why? Because my “relatively light” 13 credit hours towards my dual bachelor’s of science in mechanical engineering and physics are a real drag on my time. What little time I do have is spent with the family or working on the house. That’s my life.

So it may not be all sweet roses and candy, but is it worth it? Absolutely! I’m challenging myself to be better all around and to be able to do something I enjoy for a living. Is it for everyone? Probably not.

Coming in as a non-traditional student has its advantages and disadvantages. Most non-traditionals are there because they want to be there. Something about growing up gives a new perspective to time and money, and it seems most non-trads have decided it is worth the time and money to come back to school, so they give it their all.  We’re not here because mommy and daddy or the school counselor said we had to go. We’re most here because either we never went the first time and have personally lived through the difficulties of not having that paper, or because we’ve decided to change career directions.

It’s easier because we know we want to be here, and we are willing to give it our all. But on the same note, it is also more difficult. We have mortgages or rent payments to make, car payments, credit cards, the works. We’re more like the typical college student’s parents than the student his or herself. A lot of us also have spouses and children. Our time gets eaten up between the school/family balance, and I haven’t even included what a job puts into the equation as well.

We are also further away from the high school education that in theory prepared us for college. I find it humurous that when I first started going back, I was in a high school algebra 2 equivalent development class. I’m in calculus 3 now, working towards degree requirements plus an additional minor in math. All of that math and chemistry and biology, well, most of us never needed much of it in the real world, so it all went to the wayside.

We’re also more willing to participate in more leadership positions within the student organizations we join. Sometimes we are too limited by work to be involved, but if we are not, then we stretch our valuable time even more.

So basically, for all of those 18,19, 20, 21 year old students who are in college or will soon be in college, make sure you give plenty of respect to those older students in your class. They have worked harder than you go get to this point, and they also have the wisdom and experience that only comes from age.

Was there a point to this? Maybe, maybe not. But I pay the bills for this domain, so if I want to vent, then I’ll vent =)

Off to go test my beam for the required freshman engineering class I’m in. Thank god for next semester when I’ll be a bonefide sophomore soon to be junior.

Is it just me, or is the economy giving us mixed signals. The Dow Jones has recovered nearly 3000 points from it’s low, yet 84 banks have failed this year as of last week. That averages out to 2.5 bank failures per week. Ouch! There are still signs of things sinking, particularly in commercial real estate. Yet other signs show we are improving. Mix signals? As the only vice presidential candidate we’d wanna see in a centerfold would say, “you betcha!”

However, this is a little bit of silver to an otherwise dreary lining. Our recession is moving through its progressions, which equals progress.  Our markets are also clueing us in that the big picture ahead is looking brighter. Just remember that the markets don’t reflect our current reality, but our perceived future. We’re continuing to hit turning points, which is good news for our future.

Unfortunately for us laid off folk, future doesn’t fix the present.

But being laid off does have its advantages. Especially in a recession. This is the perfect time to step back and take stock in our life. Do we like where we were going being we were laid off? Should we change paths? Would furthering my education advance me, or should I look at another career. Some of us may be used to working in industries that routinely lay off and rehire (defense contractors and the like are notorious for this. My friend’s dad has been laid off and rehired between Solectron and General Dynamics for almost two decades, ouch!). Maybe this one stings a little bit more, and makes us realize we need to find something more stable.

So to all my fellow unemployed/underemployed persons, use this as your opportunity to start going in the direction you want to go. Although the “potential employee” pool is larger than normal, we now have the opportunity to make a move and shine. So take advantage,

As for me, I used this as my sign to go ahead and finish school. I was almost done with my associates when I was laid off (I graduated in July), but instead of taking time off before transferring to a 4-year, I took being laid off as my sign to go ahead and get it done with. I’m now in my first semester at UNCC, majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Physics, with a minor in Mathematics. I still have withdrawal pains from the job world, and it is still weird being the “old fart” around campus. yet it has already been challenging and rewarding, and I can now focus on everything a lot more. By the time we’ve mostly recovered from this recession, I will have positioned myself to be a strong candidate for anywhere I want to go.

So use this opportunity wisely, recessions don’t happen everyday.

North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue attempts to bring teachers back to her camp. Too little, too late

My god, this is the most indecisive wretch in state history. One minute she’s a bloodsucking vampire, trying to suck the living out of teachers and school employees across the state. Now she’s kissing ass, siding with the teachers. What the hell?!

I had sent her an email a few weeks back, voicing my concerns about the potentially illegal methods to make the budget. I’m referring to the retroactive paycuts that were forced upon teachers and school employees statewide. Here was my response:

Dear Mr. Hamm:

Thank you for your recent e-mail regarding the flexible furlough program for all state employees.  I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter.

Due to the national economic crisis, our state faces a budget shortfall of nearly $5 billion next year, almost 20% of our entire budget.  In these very difficult times, we are making some very tough decisions to deal with the significant budget shortfall.  While I am constitutionally bound to balance the budget, I am considering each choice very carefully, and I am always aware of the consequences of my decisions.  I will keep your ideas in mind as we work to improve the quality of life in North Carolina.

I realize that during these difficult times, this may present a hardship for many. Please know that I considered this choice and its consequences very carefully.  I made this decision keeping in mind the ultimate goal of protecting jobs and ensuring a strong future for North Carolina.

If you have additional questions please visit the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) website at: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/.  They have developed a “question and answer” section you may wish to review. For immediate assistance, you may contact Allison XXXXXXXX at DPI by dialing 919-XXX-XXXX.

Again, thank you for writing.

Office of Governor Bev Perdue

It never really answered my question (as I presumed). I wanted to know where the state has the power to disregard its own statutes. I have talked to some lawyers, many of who are unclear if the state could legally enact a retroactive paycut, even though the governor is constitutionally bound to balance the budget. I did a little more digging on it, and found this little bit about discretion.

Discretion is the power or right to make official decisions using reason and judgment to choose from among acceptable alternatives.

Legislatures, the president and the governors of the various states, trial and appellate judges, and administrative agencies are among the public officers and offices charged with making discretionary decisions in the discharge of public duties. All discretionary decisions made are subject to some kind of review and are also subject to reversal or modification if there has been an Abuse of Discretion.

An abuse of discretion occurs when a decision is not an acceptable alternative. The decision may be unacceptable because it is logically unsound, because it is Arbitrary and clearly not supported by the facts at hand, or because it is explicitly prohibited by a statute or Rule of Law.

We’ll see. This move clearly is prohibited by a statute. Too bad it is going to be held up in the courts for years, although it may end up being a landmark decision one of these days.

Back to the topic at hand. As you can see, Perdue is clearly behind the pay cuts. But wait a second, she’s now standing behind the teachers? That’s more akin to letting sexual predators hang out at schools. Here’s a quote from one of her emails

“I applaud the General Assembly for their work to put a budget together. But – and that’s a big word – in North Carolina we must act boldly to protect the classroom. … We cannot and must not cripple education. Cutting education means cutting short our economic future. … That’s why I call on the General Assembly to make smart, tough cuts in the budget and to raise the revenue necessary to protect North Carolina’s classrooms. … We will cut deep. We will do more with less. But as state leaders we cannot increase class size, we cannot lay off teachers and we cannot sacrifice our economic future.”

That’s nice, but I fear it is yet a double edged sword. Do I see more illegal pay cuts in the future? Or what will it be next, cutting more law enforcement funds. Highways, who needs those?! Those bridges don’t need repair, I don’t care if the inspector says they are only standing because that is the only thing they can remember to do! Parks, why should we have those.

Bev Perdue has been a burden for our state since day one. She came in off a highly inaccurate smear campaign against Mayor Pat McCrory. She rode the wave of democratic straight tickets. Just about anybody you ask refuses to admit to voting for her, although some I’m sure have. She has plagued this state and will continue to cripple it with her barbaric and uneffective measures. She is intent on policies that will destroys many things we hold sacred. She talked a talked and rubbed her lucky rabbit foot to get in, yet now that she is here, she doesn’t know how to walk the walk. She is setting up this state for failure, and then she will blame the general assembly for it.

Can somebody please impeach this woman?

The real world can be daunting to those who've never been in it.

Some people may not realize this, but being a non-traditional college student may be one of the hardest experiences in someone’s life. And when I refer to non-traditional, I’m referring to that rare breed of student: independent, with a family, a mortgage, a full-time job. Actually, you need not to even include to full-time job. Just consider someone like myself – a husband and a father – those alone being a full-time commitment. Then add in a full-time job, and we’ll sprinkle a full-time education on top. So go ahead and work three full-time jobs, all three requiring a lot out of you, and you will soon get a taste of their life.

The typical traditional student is much younger, still considered a dependent. Many of the permanent concepts of real life, including the real responsibilities, are not yet on the plate. Their school might be paid by family, by scholarships, or through student loans. They may work a part time job – wait staff is probably the number one college job – and the rest of the time is either in class, studying, or hanging out and having fun.

Non-traditionals, not so much. They generally don’t have the option of hanging out and having fun. The concepts of the real world are real to them. The bills are real, the responsibilities are real. The traditional student concept of owing for college “oh, that’s in the future,” doesn’t apply: they see that amount and they KNOW what that costs.

Non-traditional students are a very important mix into the college community too. While the younger students may bring in fresher minds (and bodies), non-traditional students usually bring in a ground sense that is required to survive the real world. They provide a balance to the free-living lifestyle of so many college students.

I’m writing this because I’m a non-traditional student, I understand the difficulties first hand. The stress of waking up early, putting in 40, 50, even 60+ hours a week, dragging myself to class in the evening, doping myself with steady streams of caffeine half the night in order to get my homework done. How to spend so much time away from your family, while doing everything you can to hold it together. I also know how it begins to wear you down, slowly at first, then eventually depleting your energy, yet still fighting on to get it over and done with.

And it surprises me that there are not more financial options out there for non-traditionals. Sure, there are some scholarships out there specifically for non-traditionals, but not too much else. In the FAFSA application, we might be treated as dependant students, but generally, we are treated the same as traditionals. We don’t have parents to help, and we didn’t spend the last 18 years of our lives planning on sending ourselves to college.

It also shocks me, given the number of MBA grads who completed their MBA’s at night, while working full-time. Every one I’ve talked to who went down this path made many points to which I can easily relate. Working full-time while doing it may make you stronger, but after a couple of years it wears you out. Grades drift down towards the end, and we are thankful for just getting through it alive. But for those MBA students, they had the easy option of calling it done.

But what about students like myself. Finishing up at a 2 year, getting ready to begin my 4 year this fall. Hopefully early entry into the graduate program. By the time it is all said and done, I will have been through this for around 8 years. Yet what extra help will I get for this? Minimal at best.

I think it is time we start making some changes for non-traditional students. The government (and society) has incentives to do this too. Let’s take people who were in the workforce earning X dollars, people are productive members of society who already understand the realities of society, and get them a college education. Now you have people earning 2X, 3X, 4X, even 5X, who bring in extremely valuable skill sets not found in the typical college grad. The government gets more taxes; society gains more knowledgeable, productive members. Companies get well trained employees that are naturally more adept at being responsible and is already used to making tough decisions that affect others.

What I suggest is a program specifically for non-traditional students. Students who are independent and receive no financial help from their parents. Students who have families of their own. Students who own their own home or have been long time renters. Students who are working full-time and have a history of working full-time. Why can’t the government subsidize a percentage of their income, provide health insurance benefits, pay for school or mostly pay for school. Not off of standardized numbers. Based upon how much their earn compared to how much they pay out.

Provide these students an opportunity to reduce their working hours, to help even up the playing field with traditional students. Non-traditionals are proud, we take care of ourselves, but we wouldn’t mind the hand up. Can’t we get a break?

What a day. At 7PM, I was at my graduation ceremony at CPCC. Although I won’t technically graduate until this summer, since I’m a summer graduate I could attend. I’ve never been to my own graduation ceremony before, so it was finally a tangible taste after all those years of hard work. It was also nice graduating with honors (Mu Alpha Theta, Phi Theta Kappa, 3.7-3.99 GPA), at one point being one of only a couple of students standing to show off their honors (I’m a member of Mu Alpha Theta, a national mathematics honor society, and we are a rare breed apparently). I’ll tell you what though, it’s a pain keeping all of those cords and the stole in place.

The commencement ceremonies were nice, the guest speaker may have been a bit better ( she had occasional fits of verbal diarrhea), and it was a relief to finally see something tangible for all of my hard work. Now that I am past that, I can focus on my final course and be over and done with (oh yea, and getting that CPCC accounting issue resolved).

But the day only got better. After a wonderful after graduation dinner with my daughter – or as she would say, we had a date – we got home and I got her to bed, and I started putting everything up. Then I remembered a conversation from earlier in the day with a lady from UNCC. They had a few questions regarding some of the answers on my application (yes, I was a bit of a hellraiser in highschool, but I wasn’t that bad.. they just needed to know that), then let me know I could go online the next day and check my status. So I checked it.

I GOT ACCEPTED! So now the day ends on an even better note. Starting this fall, I will be somewhere in the area of a Sophomore/Junior at UNCC (depends on how all of the credits transfer over). Another 2-3 more years, plus another 2 if I can do an accelerated master’s program, and I’ll be at the mark I’m aiming for. Wow. Will I ever get a break? Sure, when I die.

Was there a point to this post other than to brag? No, not really. I’m just really… stoked… about the events of today. It’s nice to know that I have written this current chapter in life to be a good one, and I now have direction of where I am going to go for the next chapter. Tomorrow is my day.

Students beware.

A little history. Last spring, I was on financial aid, and taking 3 courses – Calculus 2 (4 credits), Physics 251 (4 credits), and orienteering (1 credit). I was also working on the first project at my last job. When I signed up for the job, I agreed to occasional day trips, but a monthinto the semester, the requirements changed. I was to go to Greensboro (and shortly enough, travel around the country), and to be up there the whole week for quite some time. I wasn’t happy, but I worked with my Calculus and Physics professors, and came to a resolution. Orienteering didn’t matter, it was a weekend class for 2 weeks. My second weekend for the class came after my first few days in Greensboro (anyone who knew me then should remember I had the flu, running a 103 degree fever…).

The next week, I tried the arrangement, but realized the only person I was cheating was myself, so, against my principles, I withdrew. Prior to withdrawing, I spoke with financial aid, and they said I wouldn’t have to pay anything back, which helped seal that fateful decision.

Well, apparently you can’t trust everything your told, even by a college official that specializes in that particular field. After returning from my nationwide tour, installing equipment for the US Trust transition, I registered for a summer course. Unfortunately, I couldn’t register. The system showed I owed the school $819.

So I went up to the school, spoke with financial aid, apparently the person I spoke to forgot some, uh, important stuff. Thanks guy! Then I go to the cashier’s office. I admitted that fine, whatever, I owe the college money. Tried to set up a payment plan, since $819 is a large chunk to swallow, especially when your told that you would owe $819 less! Oh, they would, but they wouldn’t let me register until it was paid. According to the supervisor I dealt with, that was financial aid, not the cashier’s office. Talk about accountability. “You’re a representative of the college.” Yea yea, he was a boneheaded jerk. Sure, I know there are people who try to scam their way through, but given I had never owed the college anything (I always paid my tuition, that was only my second semester on financial aid), and the fact that at the time I had a 3.7 GPA. Ok, whatever, he’s a jerk. I ended up paying for it on my credit card (shooting it back to the limit, but hey, I got my financing), and was told that I owed no more money to the college.

Fast forward a year. Today is May 11th, 2009. I just took my 2 finals today (Calculus 2 and Physics 251, only a year later), and after my first exam, I went to the graduation office. I had some concerns about what showed up on my program evaluation, and I wanted to ensure that I would get to walk Thursday and I would have no issues with getting my degree in July.

One of the issues was that it showed that I had no PE class, yet when I check my transcript on CPCC’s MyCollege, it shows I passed it with an A. I noticed that on her system it showed a status “NP,” and she had to call someone to find out what it meant. Means Non-Payment (which was my guess). But hey! I paid this thing a year ago!

So once again, I trudge up to the cashier’s office. After standing around for about 15 or 20, they finally showed me where, according to their system, I didn’t pay it. Here’s how:

• 11/9/07 - I registered - $526.50+
• 1/2/08  – I bought books, supplies, and a new calculator – $352.22+ , new balance – $878.72+
• 2/7/08 – Federal Pell Grant payment pf $472.00, new balance of $406.72+
• 2/7/08 – NC Community College Grant payment of $337.00, new balance of $69.72+
• 2/7/08 – NC Education Lottery Scholarship payment of $310.00, new balance of $240.28-
• 2/8/08 – Financial Aid Refund of $240.28 dispersed, new balance – $0
• 2/21/08 – Dropped Calculus and Physics, account credited then recharged $526.50, balance still $0
• 3/24/08 – Federal Pell Grant charge-back of $272.00, new balance $272.00+
• 3/24/08 – NC Community College Grant charge-back of $337.00, new balance of $609.00+
• 3/24/09 – NC Education Lottery Scholarship charge-back of $310(including refunded amount), new balance $919.00+

Apparently, this is the amount that I should have been charged for, and had I been charged that at the time of payment, I would have paid it. When you want my money, best to ask me while my wallet is open. However, check out the next bit of, umm, curious accounting that I have yet to understand the purpose:

• 3/25/08 – Account credited $526.50 (price of tuition), new balance $392.50+
• 3/25/08 – Account now charged $426.50 (price of Calculus and Physics), new balance $819.00+
• 5/13/2008 – Payment of $819.00, new balance $0

For some ungodly reason, they dropped my PED class. Why? I don’t know. I had already completed it (0ver a monthbefore), and had a grade associated with it (A, the easiest A ever). That is a financial obligation, yet they arbitrarily didn’t include it. The only thing I can assume is a sick joke, but irregardless, at this point, I will not pay it. If they wanted the money for it, they should’ve asked then. They didn’t. They told me they would not allow me to register if I did not pay my financial obligations to the college, so I paid. I’ve now registered for my 4th straight semester, yet they say I didn’t pay for a completed class,which is a financial obligation.

In fact, from the Students’ Rights and Responsibilities, Code of Conduct, and Disciplinary Procedures section of the CPCC Student Handbook, section V (Sanctions), number 6

Withholding transcript, diploma, or right to register or participate in graduation ceremonies: Imposed when financial obligations are not met—the student will not be allowed to register until all financial obligations are met.

At the time I paid the $819, I was informed that all financial obligations are met. Now they say I didn’t pay for a class, which was financial obligation at the time I paid. As I see it, they have forfeited their right to make that claim, given that the policies explicitly state that I would be unable to register for further classes. By the fact that I made payment and have continued my studies at the college, that explicit statement also means that I have no financial obligations with the college (I have already paid the summer tuition, so I owe $0).

So sorry Charlie, don’t come to be and cry about spilled milk. The college (or as that jerk in cashiering would state, “the cashier’s office”) informed me at the time I made that payment that I was paying my financial obligations to the college. So the cashier’s office can now fix their mistake, and eat their $100. Because I will graduate this summer, and I will not pay a financial obligation that was resolved a year ago. Paying an extra $100 then might have hurt, but now it is outrageous, and will not be tolerated. Even if I were still working, I’d still tell them no.

So where’s the scam? Make sure that when making payments to the college, insure that your full payment is covering everything it is intended too. The cashiering department, including the supervisors I have had experience with, will not get you anywhere, even when you have a valid claim. The department cares little of fault, and through experience claims allegiance to any other part of the college.

Tomorrow I am going up there to speak to the supervisor, or the supervisor’s supervisor, or God knows who else. If I have to make an appeal I will. But don’t hold it against me to try and get Action 9 involved. The last thing we need in a bad economy is for public colleges and universities to screw around with their students on financial matters.

I’ll post an update tomorrow with whatever I got out of my meeting.

In one of the most pathetic violations of constitutional rights, along with smacking down basic education rights of every American student (in the name of God have you), a senior from Heritage Christian School in northwest Ohio was suspended after attending his girlfriend’s prom. Tyler Frost, a senior from the private, fundamentalist baptist school, went to prom with his girlfriend, a public school student.

So why was he suspended? He violated the school’s policies on dancing, rock music, hand-holding, and kissing. In fact, if it turns out he drank or had sex, he could be expelled. Woah. Guess they would’ve kicked me out before I even attended, although it would’ve been fun being caught screwing the Principal’s daughter on his desk, while school was in session ;-D

But this takes everyone into a precarious position. Just how much authority does a school have to enforce specific policies outside of it’s campus? Even further, how much can religion be contorted into making such decisions? While I have no law degree, I will look at a few things. If I’m wrong, let me know.

First off, what ever happened to the first amendment? I got to reading a landmark decision ( Tinker vs. Des Moines School District, 1969 ) regarding a school’s right to infringe upon the first amendment rights’ of its students. This case came about because the school system - afraid of controversy – suspended 5 students for wearing black armbands, which signified their objections against the hostilities in Vietnam. They were told they could not come back until they did not wear the armbands. It was during the holiday season, and they planned to wear them until New Year’s. They returned after New Years. Me, I’m proud of those students.

Even though this case is in regards to a public school system, it is still in effect regarding private schools, as has been shown in following cases.

Basically it comes down to this. School’s can implement their rules loco parentis (in place of a parent). Basically, they can implement them on campus or at places the school operates (i.e. school rules apply on a field trip). Although not allowing dancing and hand-holding on campus may seem to infringe upon the students rights, it is part of the prevailing religion, plus it has its place in disrupting the other students in a significant fashion. Regardless of how strange and backward-ass christian it is, we’ll leave it at that.

I’m going to highlight a couple of key points from that landmark decision that I see fit in with this situation.

As we have discussed, the record does not demonstrate any facts which might reasonably have led school authorities to forecast substantial disruption of or material interference with school activities, and no disturbances or disorders on the school premises in fact occurred. These petitioners merely went about their ordained rounds in school… They neither interrupted school activities nor sought to intrude in the school affairs or the lives of others. They caused discussion outside of the classrooms, but no interference with work and no disorder. In the circumstances, our Constitution does not permit officials of the State to deny their form of expression.

and West Virginia vs. Barnett (quoted in the opinion)

“The Fourteenth Amendment, as now applied to the States, protects the citizen against the State itself and all of its creatures–Boards of Education not excepted. These have, of course, important, delicate, and highly discretionary functions, but none that they may not perform within the limits of the Bill of Rights. That they are educating the young for citizenship is reason for scrupulous protection of Constitutional freedoms of the individual, if we are not to strangle the free mind at its source and teach youth to discount important principles of our government as mere platitudes.” 319 U.S., at 637.

Basically, they perverting this students Constitutional rights in the name of their religion.

What makes this tricky, however, is the form the student had to sign at the beginning of the year, consenting to the school’s policies. Given that this is a private school, his attendance is a privilege, not a right. However, I doubt that that consent will hold much water, given that it violates his first amendment rights’.

How I have been reading about how a students rights’ at private institutions are subject to contract law. However, it has also been shown that a student in a private institution is still protected under constitutional rights, irregardless. Lest we forget that these schools must still be accredited by the proper authorities (in this case, the Ohio State Board of Education), to ensure that all students receive a proper education.

Either way, that school is subjecting themselves to a potentially nasty lawsuit; don’t be surprised if the ACLU gets involved. Just remember that when it comes down to it, this is still a school, and as a school, they have responsibilities to the students, the parents, and the community. To deny a student his education and delay his graduation for actions far away from the institution, which caused no serious disruption to the school, is a gross indulgence in the name of contract law and of God. This school is opening its pockets to indoctrinate students with narrow and perverse interpretations of the bible, while holding them to arbitrary and natural rights’ infringing rules, that serve no purpose towards the greater good of their education, which is the PRIMARY reason why parents are paying for it in the first place. They are denying students of their constitutional rights, while hiding behind the veil of the constition. They serve almost no greater purpose for this country whatsoever, but to teach students to be submissive to a singular line of thought. Legal dictatorship, and parents are paying for it.

This is why I, personally, would never send my child to a school such as that. No principal would want to meet me after finding out my daughter was suspended a few weeks from graduation for such a reason. Plus I wouldn’t give me money to support such an institution either. It is this same dogged narrow-mindedness that fuels the flame of hate all around the world.

For more information on Heritage Christian School in Finlay, Ohio, please visit http://www.heritagefindlay.org/. While you are at it, why don’t you contact this school and let em know what you think. I have it on my to do list on Tuesday.

For one final thought, maybe they need to take a look around. Every other Heritage Christian School in Ohio that I came across, they quickly point out that they are NOT that school. No one wants to be associated with such rubble. Maybe they consider themselves a city upon a hill, but maybe need to realize that they just called out volunteers to be shot by firing squad, and they were the only ones who didn’t step back.

Read the full article on ABCNEWS.com. More on this to come.

After spending the last 3 years of my life battling the fatigue and burnout of maintaining full time employment, full time school loads, a family of your own, and all the added responsibilities of taken care of the house, cars, and finances, one chapter of that is about to end soon. Last Friday I got to thinking “Wow, I’m going to be graduating this summer. Wait a tick, I should have gone by the graduation office last month!” So after a couple of forms, I got my “permission slip” to get my cap, gown, and purple cord (for having a program GPA between a 3.7 and 3.99), I was reading to walk. That evening, it finally hit me again: I’m walking on May 14th, which is just around the corner! Oh my god, I’m almost done!

It’s been a very long, uphill battle, but I think I’ve done good dealing with it. So far I only have 3 B’s, of which all 3 I can contribute somehow to work (they should have been A’s, damnit!). I may not far my best this semester, with everything going on. But I can say I am proud of everything I have accomplished up until now. People can say what they want too, but I could write a book on the difficulties of being a full-time college student while living out the life of a typical middle-class working man. I have heard too many classmates complain about their waitering jobs and such, and I always offer to switch with them. For some reason they always decline.

The best and worst thing I did do though was to get a job that required thinking for most of the day. My second job back, I was a mindless drone, entering in serial numbers and information all day long. Thinking was an occasional benefit, but the job bored me to hell. Then my contract was ended, and I picked up my last job. All of a sudden I’m thinking, planning, troubleshooting, etc. all day long. Sometimes working 60-70 hour weeks. It grinds away at you, especially when you are already shot.

My other main set back came from this same job. Last spring I was taking the same courses I am taking now, when my work did a 180, and I went from potential day trips to travelling cross country. I had to withdraw, which hurt in many ways, and also cost me my chance to graduate last fall, 1 semester ahead of when I drew up my plan back in the summer of 2006. I lost one and paid it back with two. Ugh. I have one course to take this summer, a hard one too. The second calculus based physics, 4 nights a week for 8 weeks. Everyone who took it last summer told me it was a 2 month marathon.

Either way, I can taste this it is so close. I spent most of this semester always playing catch-up, between all of the extreme stresses at work, the stresses at home, the stresses financially. But now it has hit me, and I’ve been catching up quick.

Either way, I’m almost done, and for the first time in my life I get the chance to “walk.” Nothing like that to get you going. Now all I need is to hear back from UNCC regarding my application to transfer.