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(12/04/14 11:21pm)
The market for drones has significantly dropped in price and risen in popularity, allowing the intrusive devices to fall in the wrong hands of troublemakers and cause public unrest over privacy.
A recent report by The New York Times shows police are increasingly responding to incidents involving the invasive use of drones in interrupting sporting events, stalking hunters and recording public prank attempts.
“It’s now in the hands of all types of people — good people, bad people, tricksters, pranksters, kids,” Patrick Egan, editor at sUAS News, told The New York Times. “All hell is going to break loose as far as the shenanigans that are perpetrated with drones.”
While the footage seems harmless, the public is starting to question the legality of individuals using drones to record without the subject’s consent. Drones have become a one-stop-shop for spying and snooping on others.
However, little regulation impacts the use of drones in a public setting, especially those who fly for fun.
The Federal Aviation Administration lists three types of aircrafts allowed in public: civil unmanned aircraft systems, public UAS, and model aircraft, according to Business Insider. These devices can be flown freely without regulation, but businesses must get approval from the F.A.A. All devices must remain below 400 feet.
The F.A.A. stops there, leaving the door wide open for mischief-makers to pick up a drone and peep into the lives of the public without any cause for worry.
“There’s very little in American privacy law that would limit the use of drones for surveillance,” Ryan Calo, an assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Law, told The New York Times.
Drones have become a staple in research and investigations and have provided great coverage of sights from above. The use of drones shouldn’t be terminated, but strictly regulated for the average joe.
The public is entitled to its privacy, and that should include protection from flying cameras peeping in and out of our lives. Drones could become real-life flying monkeys that follow us around if someone doesn’t put a foot down for privacy.
"There are drones flying over the air randomly that are recording everything that’s happening on what we consider our private property,” Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said while speaking at Oklahoma City University. “That type of technology has to stimulate us to think about what is it that we cherish in privacy and how far we want to protect it and from whom."
Careless drone flying has also put other aircrafts in danger when in flight. Getting in the path of a large aircraft puts the lives of many at risk, a concern that would disappear with reasonable laws.
Drone technology is quickly advancing and the dangers they pose are escalating at an even faster rate. The benefits of the device in the right hands are evolving the technology industry, but in the wrong hands, drones jeopardize our rights.Reach the columnist at rsmouse@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @BeccaSmouseEditor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
(11/21/14 12:53am)
A new doll hoping to promote individuality has consumed the toy market with its realistic body structure and comical, yet slightly creepy, add-ons.
“Normal Barbie,” released by toy creator Nickolay Lamm, looks like an average teenage girl with a little more meat around her plastic bones than your typical Barbie doll. She was made based on “human body proportions to promote realistic beauty standards," according to the website.
“I wanted to show that reality is cool,” Lamm told TIME. “And a lot of toys make kids go into fantasy, but why don’t they show real life is cool?”
The doll is successful in capturing the “average” looks of a teen, and is equipped with moveable joints and a wardrobe popular for the masses.
“She looks like a real person,” a second-grader reacting to the doll says in the latest viral video.
In a separate sticker pack, doll lovers can buy glasses, moles and freckles to customize their girl. This reminds girls that everyone is unique with different features and marks that differentiate us from any other girl (or doll) on the street (or shelf).
However, the doll pushes this realness to a strange level with add-on stickers for acne, scars, cuts and bruises. The idea behind the addition is a cute one, reminding kids that things like acne happen as we grow with age and there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, but it also makes playing with dolls a much less innocent pastime. More than anything, kids should be having fun with dolls.
The doll also goes overboard with stickers that resemble cellulite and stretch marks, something most kids don’t really know about until later in life.
“Unleashing a doll with stretch marks on the Internet is basically asking for trouble,” TIME reporter Laura Stampler said.
The doll itself, in terms of proportions and make, seems really authentic and stands out from every other size-0 Barbie doll lining the shelves of toy stores, pretending to make a difference in the toy world.
Children may appreciate the cuts, bruises and scratches on stickers because these are the boo-boo’s most kids under 10 are use to seeing on their own body. But the stretch marks and the mosquito bites are just a little too strange to be feasibly used during playtime.
The doll comes at pretty penny for parents, starting at $25.00 for the “exclusive first addition”, not to mention all of the extra costs for the worldly clothing packs and body blemish stickers.
The doll was a crowdfunding effort produced by Lamm who responded to a call from an audience asking, “When are we going to get a realistic looking doll?” Now a doll like that is here — albeit a somewhat creepy one — but the momentum needs to keep moving forward with encouragement that individuality doesn’t come from just looks, but from personality, too.
Toy makers are on the right path to normalizing dolls through changing skin color and body structure. Dolls aren’t just skinny blonde replicas of what we wish we looked like. These toys are becoming mirror images of who we are happy to be.Reach the columnist at rsmouse@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @BeccaSmouseEditor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
(11/13/14 12:08am)
Education in Arizona has taken a giant step forward by accepting a new testing system that does not label students as a test score but instead measures student retention of information from classroom.
(11/05/14 11:44pm)
While supporters of the feminist movement continue to spread their message, recently through viral videos, some are taking inappropriate and distasteful stabs at Disney classics.
(10/28/14 11:56pm)
Couples who have waited decades for the right to utter "I do” celebrated last week when a federal court finally repealed Arizona's gay marriage ban.
(10/22/14 11:47pm)
Flip on the TV, open the latest tabloid or scroll through wedding boards on Pinterest, and it seems like our public is obsessed with marriage fever. The love doctor ought to recommend a cheap budget, which has proven to decrease the chance of divorce in a recent study.
(10/08/14 12:13am)
Wandering through elementary school, through middle school and up to high school, students’ worries used to center on making friends and finishing that last chapter of homework. Now, kids are plagued by the concern of unwanted advances from their instructors.
(09/28/14 8:46pm)
The NFL has found itself in hot water yet again after public scrutiny has blasted the organization for its handling of domestic violence cases involving players.
(09/17/14 10:36pm)
Anti-smoking organizations have successfully revamped their marketing techniques to reach America’s youth through a revolutionary campaign designed to promote better decisions and shame bad influences.
MTV began airing commercials that featured scrolling photos of celebrity cigarette smokers in late August. Chris Brown, Robert Pattinson and Lady GaGa were among the familiar faces in the ad, along with the message “Unpaid Tabaco Spokesperson” in big bold letters across their photo.
The photos are a stark contrast to the usual photoshopped perfection of the celebs the public is used to seeing; these act as a reminder of the disgusting realities of smoking. This ad is a part of the latest national anti-smoking movement called “Finish It.”
The campaign is being spearheaded by the anti-smoking American Legacy Foundation. The group funds its projects through the settlement of $206 billion between the tobacco companies and 46 states in the U.S. back in 1998, according the The Des Moines Register.
The foundation's advocacy runs under the umbrella of the "Truth" campaign. One of their first ads shocked audiences with the depiction of 1,200 body bags to represent the amount of lives lost to smoking every day.
"The 'Truth Campaign' took the approach that the tobacco companies are manipulating you, the tobacco companies are using you," Iowa Attorney General and Legacy board member Tom Miller told The Des Moines Register.
The American Legacy Foundation is now veering away from their informative style of campaigning, instead focusing on the self-promoting attitude that the coming generation can “finish” teenage smoking through a collective effort.
The foundation has been credited with preventing thousands of potential smokers and helping others quit, but the health risk message ran dry for many audiences. The organization made the best move to now put the movement back in the hands of teens.
The coming generation has been considered one that is obsessed with change. By encouraging the “Finish It” campaign, the younger generation is able to make a difference because it has the proper tools and national influence.
“All the best marketing research today shows that today’s young people are take-charge and want to be involved with the confidence that they can make a difference,” Matthew L. Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, told The New York Times.
Shaming celebrities for their poor behavior has also been a great step forward in the marketing technique for the campaign. While many disagree that celebrity behavior has any effect on the public, the message that is tacked on to the behavior of a big name in Hollywood really can be influential because celebrities help define our social norms.
As a society, we are becoming more confident in calling out the unfavorable actions of celebrities. In turn, this behavior is going to be translated to confidence in calling out our friends, family or anyone else we think needs to “finish it”.
According to the American Legacy Foundation, only 9 percent of teenagers smoke cigarettes.
“We can get it to zero percent. We’re already so close,” they advertise on their website. “If we all join forces — smokers and non-smokers — we can end smoking once and for all.”Reach the columnist at rsmouse@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @BeccaSmouseEditor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
(09/04/14 11:27pm)
Many teenyboppers try to use their TV success to catapult themselves into the music industry and often fall with the lack of public support. However, one artist had no problem making a bang this summer with her fresh style.
Former Nickelodeon star Ariana Grande has taken over the world of commanding vocals by dominating radios across the country this summer. Grande topped the charts and filled our summer playlists with her hits “Problem,” “Break Free” and “Bang Bang.” There’s an important commonality between these hits: They are all collaborations. Grande shows her ability to grow as an artist by working with others in the industry that share similarities and differ in taste from her own personal style.
Seven of the 12 songs on her latest album “My Everything,” which was released in late August, were recorded in collaboration with other artists. And each song sounds like collaborations should: two artists fusing their different styles in a complementary three-minute jam.
Her journey as a budding recording artist has been supported by her thousands of fans, whom she nicknamed her “Arianators.” Grande has been known to address her followers via Twitter and Instagram as herself, not through a PR agent.
“The hits clicked, the fans rallied, the tastemakers found in Grande’s revivalism something paradoxically timely … and, with just one album in the can, critics already charted Grande on a career as long as (Mariah) Carey’s,” Katherine St. Asaph of Slate.com said. Some may say that Grande has piggy-backed off of the success of other artists in her collaborations, but in truth, she has been to great lengths to triumph in finding her own individuality. Asaph uses the world “revivalism” to describe Grande’s recent success, but I disagree. She's gone through a journey. Grande started her music career in 2011 with “Put Your Hearts Up,” a pop hit that she didn’t share the authenticity of her current hits.
The artist then fought struggles through the cast of Victorious, found success in Sam and Cat, which was later cancelled in late July 2014. She began to develop her own sound during this journey. Grande released her first album, “Yours Truly,” in August of 2013, which topped charts with her hit “The Way,” a collaboration with Mac Miller.
Here we are a year later, and Grande continues to grow from the lessons of her life as an actress and a rising pop artist. Grande seems to mature with every new single and “My Everything” acts a representation of the poise adult this 21-year-old former Nick star has become.
“Yet what's truly grown-up about 'My Everything' isn't the bedroom talk but the confidence with which Grande expresses herself, a real shift from her charmingly tentative manner on 'Yours Truly,'” Mikael Wood of the LA Times said.
Grande has developed a healthy level of confidence in her own abilities as an artist in her transition from Nick kid to chart topping music phenomenon. Her progression as an individual has been an inspiring one, proving that even through times of insecurities, success is attainable.
“But what leaves an impression is Grande herself, deeply cheerful yet with guns blazing, an innocent newcomer no more,” Wood said.
Grande has left a promising mark in the music market and will continue to rise in the industry with her successful collaborations and personal understanding of her voice. She acts as a great role model for an industry lacking in stable, uncontroversial artists like herself.Reach the columnist at rsmouse@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @BeccaSmouseEditor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
(08/29/14 12:51am)
Monsoon season has packed a major punch for residents across the state by damaging property and forcing road closures due to extreme flooding. Yet, in a state known for our bone-dry heat, flooding comes as a shock for natives and newcomers to town.While there are plenty of jokes about Phoenix lacking any type of moisture, those who live here know first-hand how quickly the valley can be swallowed up by dark clouds, heavy rain and our infamous dust walls. These storms seemingly come out of thin air, shake the city, and breeze on their merry way after a short time. But the damage caused amounts to a much larger ticket than just wet roads and dirty cars.
Occasionally, roads will be completely flooded by the influx of random rain, like we’ve seen in the past few weeks. Shortly after, anyone with a smart phone received that annoying notification from the National Weather Service: Flash Flood Warning in the area.
“Flash floods in Phoenix? Yeah right; that’s not going to affect me” is the thought process of many, including me. And if you do find yourself in an area of a lot of water, most avoid it. Seems like a simple enough concept, right?
If keeping your car away from floods wasn’t a good enough incentive, Arizona has a law that fines individuals for getting caught in a flood called the “Stupid Motorist Law.”“The 'Stupid Motorist Law,' which corresponds to section 28-910 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, states that any motorist who becomes stranded after driving around barricades to enter a flooded stretch of roadway may be charged for the cost of his/her rescue,” according to Wikipedia.
However, The Arizona Republic and Channel 12 took a closer look at this law and found that very few have been fined, even though perennial monsoons seem to endanger at least one individual.
Not only is this law’s title relatively condescending, the weak implementation of the rule shows that very few actively choose to drive in flooded waters. Rather, some just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"There was a number of people who were driving along and just got stuck in the middle of some rushing water and had to find their way out," Phoenix Police Department Sgt. Steve Martos told Channel 12 concerning the most recent rescues.
Yes, the public is not encouraged to drive into flooded waters and the rescues can be very costly. But doesn’t this law pour more salt in the wound of the mistake the driver has already made? Humans are known to make mistakes; if individuals are just passing through, some may not know about the possible dangers monsoon season can bring.
I think the actual punishment associated with the law, the fine drivers are slapped with for their poor decision, is not a bad idea and probably scares off many from such risky choices. But calling our drivers “stupid” is a bit extreme.
“If you somehow think it's OK to drive through a water-covered area where water wouldn't normally be, you deserve to get punished,” Brian Pedersen of Tucson Weekly said.
Moral of the story: Don’t get stuck in a flooded road on your own accord. It could cost you an arm and a leg and a whole lot of embarrassment.Reach the columnist at rsmouse@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @BeccaSmouseEditor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
(08/24/14 8:49pm)
As parents clear the bustling activity of ASU’s welcome week mayhem, some students are overwhelmed with their newly found freedom from their childhood rules. But with freedom comes responsibility, especially when it comes to our hearts.
(07/10/14 3:30pm)
As beach breezes and bikini bods fill summer agendas, young adults are yet again being influenced by the negative summer body obsessions. This time, social media sites are stepping in.
Last summer, the space between a woman’s inner thighs when she stands with her feet together was nicknamed the “thigh gap” and became the fascination of the season. Summer 2k14 has brought a new fixation: the bikini bridge.
The bikini bridge is the space between a woman’s swimsuit and her stomach when she is lying down. Photos of women with flat stomachs, skinny thighs and bony bikini bottoms flooded popular social sites like Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest.
The hashtag of choice to gather these images? #thinspiration.
“You've probably heard of it, and more than likely seen it — the countless #thinspo-tagged photographs of often disturbingly skinny bodies posted online with the intention, as the name suggests, of inspiring girls to be thinner,” Kristen Mascia of Teen Vogue said.
Young adults, girls especially, are heavily influenced by these images. A simple #thinspiration search can lure body-conscious girls and women to hundreds of photos, sending them into a spiral of discouraging thoughts focused on body hate.
Some turn to dangerous methods to combat these thoughts. More than one-half of teenage girls and roughly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy behaviors like skipping meals, taking laxatives and vomiting to lose weight, according to the National Eating Disorder Association.
“And the self-doubt, envy and inadequacy often sparked by the comments and photos of strangers and ‘friends’ is harder to escape,” Colleen Shalby wrote for PBS NewsHour. “For adults, these feelings sting. But for young people, the wounds can cut deeper.”
Social media moguls are starting to a take a stand against this trend popping up on their sites. Popular photo sharing app Instagram has banned the hashtag from being searchable.
Pinterest tells its users: “Eating disorders are not lifestyle choices, they are mental disorders that if left untreated can cause serious health problems or could even be life-threatening.” It also offers multiple contacts for users to get help.
Negative body image is a nationwide problem that has continued to be a growing beast. The rate eating disorders continue to develop has been increasing since 1950, and the rise in anorexia in teens 15-19 has grown every decade since 1930, NEDA found in a national study.
Social media sites are taking proactive steps in reversing the adverse use of their platforms by thinspo-happy users. These sites realize they have a great influence over their users and are now using that inspiration to encourage positive thoughts and behaviors.
"We need to change the dialogue," NEDA president and CEO Lynn Grefe told Teen Vogue. "With thinspo trends like the bikini bridge, the message is that nothing is ever enough: You're never good enough, pretty enough, or small enough.”
However, in the mix of the madness of body image qualms, it is important to remember there is no shame in inspiring to lose weight, healthily.
Former "Man v. Food" host Adam Richman realized his weight was a danger to his health and took steps to burn the calories he’d gained after four seasons of large portions and unhealthy prepping for the show. Richman posted a photo of his 70-pound weight loss on Instagram in early July and used #thinspiration in the caption.
He was bashed by fans who felt he was supporting anorexia and bulimia so often associated with the hashtag.
“There's no doubt that as a cultural phenomenon, ‘thinspiration’ is dangerous,” Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett for The Guardian said about the definition the word has taken. “It has been dubbed offensive, problematic and triggering, and so anyone who employs it needs to be ‘called out’.”
Yet, his “inspiration” for being thin was not because of an expectation set by our generation, but rather his own personal health being at risk. He lost weight because he had to, not because images of skinny girls made him self-conscious.
Being inspired to shed a few pounds off the scale shouldn’t be shamed. The danger arises when this inspiration to be thin doesn’t stem from a want to be healthy, but a yearn to fit in with the latest body-conscious summer trend.Reach the columnist at rsmouse@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @BeccaSmouseEditor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
(06/19/14 2:00pm)
As summer continues to sizzle on the vacant ASU campuses, spending time with friends from high school acts as a sharp reminder that there’s a little more to life than my university.
Six weeks into the summer, I’ve run into a number of friends who are attending universities across the nation, bringing their tales of ridiculous adventures in the dorms and interesting teachers in the classroom.
Every time I hear these stories, I think the same thing:
There is life outside of ASU?
Yes, a completely crazy concept to most collegiates who get so sucked into the routine of their college campus. This reminder is not only a shocking one, but also an important one to keep in mind.
Sometimes the stress of the school day seems so incredibly overwhelming — trust me, we’ve all felt that wave of “my life is over” at some point during the school year. Whether that’s triggered by grades, club obligations, significant others or petty friend drama, it consumes us, leaving us in a state of despair until we reach the weekend.
After talking with friends who’ve gone to school outside of the ASU community, these meltdowns don’t seem as extreme or overwhelming. It’s a refreshing reminder to hear about those who are also pursuing a higher education as they go through a completely different type of college experience than myself.
Six weeks into summer, I’ve also come to appreciate ASU that much more. A year ago, I had high hopes of leaving the state, dreading ASU because 80 percent of my high school always went there.
Now, I couldn’t image myself anywhere else.
Yes, ASU doesn’t get the best reputation. Google us and the headlines read about parties, drinking and unfortunately accidents. But this campus is much more than that.
A partnership with ASU and Starbucks now offers tuition reimbursement for Starbucks employees that earn their degree through ASU’s online programs.
The W. P. Carey School of Business’s Small Business Leadership Academy and the Salt River Project are working together to help small businesses get a foot in the door.
Students are around the world completing internships and fellowships, making a mark in the industry of their major and proudly stating they’re from Arizona State.
The ASU community is a hard-working group of individuals who have impacted my life in just two semesters. From the friendships I’ve made that I know will last a lifetime to the faculty who have placed me on their list of priorities, being supported is something I’ve yet to go without.
But most importantly, and this is something I think makes ASU one of the best schools in my unbiased eyes, ASU is there for its students. At the end of four years, I’m confident that I will not come away with a piece of paper that says I passed my classes, but a true sense of personal accomplishment.
Too bad this side of ASU doesn’t make headlines.Reach the columnist at rsmouse@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @BeccaSmouseEditor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.