Party

Hundreds of teens threw a party in an Ex. NFL player’s vacation home. Brian Holloway, a former New England Patriots and Los Angeles Raiders offensive linemen signed papers saying to make arrests after a party that ruined his home. Over 400 kids attended the party. So far 6 arrests have been made. Holloway says that one of the kids who have been charged was a former homeless kid he took into his home. He is being accused of helping to organize the party and get a lot of people to attend it. Holloway is mad because only 4 people came forward and so he says that anyone who broke the law will have charges pressed against them. Brian Holloway played football in the 80’s. He got a lot of attention because he reposted pictures on twitter that kids who attended the party posted.  This angered parents and they tried pressing charges on him for doing this. However, Holloway broke no laws because due to the twitter policies, any pictures posted on Twitter are fair game. The party caused at least $20,000 in damage to the home.
 “Police said a ringleader of the party was 19-year-old Seth Hawk, the young man Holloway said he had taken into his family a few years ago. Hawk, of Grafton, faces felony charges of burglary and criminal mischief and misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child and unlawfully dealing with a child. He's accused of advertising the party and providing alcohol.”

Other teens at the party are being charged with larceny, burglary, and trespassing. The range of the ages from kids at the party is 17-21.

Where's Molly?

“MDMA is an empathogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine classes of drugs. MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy", usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants.”

                Molly is becoming an increasingly popular drug among high school and college students. The problem is, just like any other drugs, it has dangers and people don’t take time to learn about them. The DEA (drug enforcement administration) considers MDMA to be a Schedule I Control Substance. This means that it has a high potential for abuse, and has no accepted medical use. The list of effects from Molly goes on and on. It causes confusion, anxiety, depression, paranoia, sleep problems, drug craving, muscle tension, tremors, involuntary teeth clenching, muscle cramps, nausea, faintness, chills, sweating, and blurred vision. Molly is very popular at music festivals. Molly is said to be the purest form of ecstasy but can be laced with fertilizer, ammonia, and other drugs like bath salts. When MDMA is taken it high doses it causes even more problems. It interferes with the body’s ability to regulate its temperature, thus causing hypothermia which leads to kidney, liver, and cardiovascular failure. Users may also become extremely dehydrated.  

                From 2004 to 2013 there was a 123% increase in emergency room visits caused by the use of Molly taken alone, with alcohol, or other pharmaceutical drugs. This is no surprise because of how popular it has become. There are many songs that talk about the use of Molly in them.  Artists who reference molly include Kanye West, Rick Ross, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, French Montana, and more.

                Here in NY the use of Molly is affecting us. Four people across the country have died from Molly, and one right near us in Rochester. Senator Chuck Schumor is looking to take action against MDMA. He is calling for a law that would increase the law enforcement against the drug as well as make it harder to manufacture and obtain.

Say yeahh!

    For this blog, I think it is a must to pay a little respect to a man who had such an impact on the Alden community. For anyone who has ever attended an Alden Football game and sat in the stands they would have noticed someone right away. His positivity and happy personality always got the crowd into the game. Tom wasn’t just an average Alden football fan, he was the number one fan. Despite not having any children who ever played for Alden he went to every game. Tom would be at any game, home or away, with his horn that any Alden fan would recognize. He was famous for his line, “say yeah!” Tom would socialize with every fan around. He always sat in the student section, and would talk with everyone. He was just such a happy man and made everyone in his presence smile. One small act, that was very generous and always got everyone excited, was that at half time he would buy a whole pizza from the concession stand and bring it to the stands and give it to the students. When news got to Alden of the passing of Tom the news spread very quickly. Everyone was shocked and very upset. It is hard to imagine a game without him there cheering the team and and getting the stands pumped up. The facebook statuses and tweets just go to show how much his kind spirit was appreciated in the Alden community. We all know that even though Tom is no longer with us here on Earth, he will still be watching every game. It is crazy that one man, whose enthusiasm for one team could make him have so many people who cared about him and were excited to see him at every game. Tom is someone who will never be forgotten, and sitting in the stands at al Alden Varsity football game will just never be the same. Rest in peace, Tom.

Raising Minimum Wage?

            The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives introduced the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012. This bill, if passed, would raise minimum wage to $9.80 by 2014. Christine Owens stated “Millions of the nation’s lowest-paid workers are putting in long hours and working multiple jobs, yet are still struggling to afford basic expenses,”. The bill would also raise the very low minimum wage of tipped workers from $2.13 per hour, where it has been since 1991, to $6.85 over five years. The paychecks of millions of hard working people making minimum wage have been falling while corporate profits are reaching record levels. Before Barack Obama was president he pledged to raise minimum wage to $10 by 2011. Raising minimum wage would help in national economic recovery. “The Economic Policy Institute estimates that the Harkin-Miller proposal would generate more than $25 billion in new consumer spending, which would result in more than 100,000 new full-time jobs.” Here are some facts about minimum wage as it is today at $7.25: Minimum wage would be $10.74 if we had kept up with inflation over the past 40 years. If one person worked full time for a whole year making minimum wage they would only make $15,080. No person working 40 hours a week making minimum wage could afford a two bedroom apartment anywhere in the US. There are only 19 states that have raised the minimum wage over $7.25. As of an October 2010 poll, 67% of Americans agree to raise minimum wage to $10. This sounds great, and one would think it would be a big help to many families trying to survive on minimum wage. However, when minimum wage increases, so does the price of everything else. Employers need to spend more to employ workers, therefore they need to make just as much of a profit, so the cost of goods will increase. It is very hard to say whether or not it is a good idea to raise minimum wage. Won’t it just equal out in the end with the raising of other prices?

College Choices

One challenge almost every high school senior faces is whether or not they will attend college, and if so, where. For many kids, including myself, it is very tough decision. Not only is college a very important and expensive choice, it is hard to make because most 17 or 18 year old young adults don't know what they want to do for the rest of their life. For me, I don't know if I want to work for a few years and save up a little before starting college. One thing that is really affecting my decision is seeing where my sister is at after graduating with her bachelor’s degree. She has a ton of money in student loans and is working making a little more money than I am. If college is something I chose today another big decision is whether to go away to school or to stay home. Many adults have told me it is a great experience. However, is a great experience worth a great amount of money? Going away does sound like a lot of fun. There is a lot of freedom and it is a good opportunity to meet a lot of new people and build great friendships. I am envious of the kids who already have their hearts set on a career path. My dad gets annoyed when I say I might take a few years off before attending college. I think it would be a smarter choice to because it would be a waste of money to go to college and end up not wanting to do what you went to school for. So far I have been thinking a lot about what to do after high school. It is a very stressful choice and I hope I will make the right decision.