Jennifer Islam: Done... But Not Done

This is part of our monthly series 'Mission: Accepted,' in partnership with Minds Matter, which chronicles the lives of three students as they apply for college in their senior year.

Have you ever listened to the cover of Busta Rhyme's "Look at Me Now" by Karmin (aka the best YouTube band ever)? There is one line that directly relates to this post: "I'm done... No, really though, I'm not done." Common app and CUNY and Rutgers apps? Done and sent. SAT scores? Sent. Teacher recommendations? Written and sent. Fee waiver applications? Filled out and sent. College application process? Done. But no, really though, I'm not done.

I can't consider myself officially done because I have not been accepted anywhere yet. I won't be truly done until I make my final decision about what school to attend. Besides, now I have to enter Financial Aid-topia. There is so much paperwork to complete and family tax info to track down. Then there are scholarships! There are so many to scour through so I can find the perfect ones for me. I will be applying for anything and everything that I am eligible for. My favorite site for scholarships is Fastweb, which emails you opportunities that match up with the profile you create when you sign up (and yes, you can edit this profile). This saves searching time, but you still have to endure the hours of applications. I also like the weekly three-sentence scholarship offered by Zinch. You have 52 chances per year to earn $1,000 by answering a simple question in 280 characters. How awesometastic is that??? Many students enter each week, but Zinch only chooses about four of the best responses. One recent question I liked was, "If you could create your own national holiday, what would it be and how would you celebrate it?" There are definitely more scholarship sites to check out, and you should do what I do: take advantage of every opportunity you get.

Another thing that was keeping me from feeling truly done was having to deal with the scariest people in my reality -- my family -- about where I will be living for the next four years. I want to go to school somewhere dorm-able, but my parents have always wanted me to stay in New York City and live at home. I'd tried to talk to them about this many times, but they tended to avoid the question. They're worried about my security and how I'll pay for housing, food, books, and other things. They don't feel that I am ready to survive on my own. This may sound typical, but there's more to my situation: both of my parents are ill. My mom has kidney disease and is expected to get a new kidney within the next year. Her social worker has said that she'll need as much care as possible after the transplant. My dad has diabetes and heart problems. On top of this, my sister drops off her son four days a week so we can babysit him while she's at work.

They all want me to go to school in NYC and commute from home so I can continue helping around the house. I completely understand this, and it's one of the reasons I don't want to go too far away. My limit is a state bordering New York, but I'm also willing to stay in NYC. It's a great city and I'd have a lot of advantages, like already knowing how to get around and where to eat. More importantly, I'd be closer to my family. I would still like the chance to live on campus, though. Right now, I never have time to myself. Living in the dorms would give me freedom and teach me how to live on my own. I'd be able to have closer bonds with friends, clubs, and the mascot. Basically, I'd have the full college experience -- and I'd be able to tell nifty stories to my future kids. Though I worry about my family, I know that my two other siblings would be there to help take care of my parents, and that makes me feel better. And, of course, I'd come home to see them as often as I could.

Fortunately, my Minds Matter mentors and team leader succeeded in talking to my dad about my college living situation, They convinced him to let me dorm by using these arguments:

• Dorming can cost less than commuting if a school's financial aid package covers it. Of course, I won't know what kind of packages my schools provide until I apply for aid.
• Living on campus saves time. After my last class of the day, I'll be able to scurry back to my dorm within 15 minutes, as opposed to taking an hour-long subway ride home.
• I am old enough to take care of myself. I need to learn the significance of responsibility and explore the world outside my neighborhood; the best way for me to do that is to start off on my own. My family will always be there for me, but I will never get far in life if I don't take some steps on my own now.

I've overcome a lot of obstacles to get to where I am. But whether it was stressing out over what sentence would make me sound better in one of my essays or talking to my parents about my future, I overcame it. I'm still not done with senior year, though. I haven't even gotten any college acceptances yet! But when I do make that decision about my future, the first thing I will say is, "Look at me now."

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-islam/done-but-not-done_b_1194736.html

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Occupy Oakland protests bring 300 arrests

Occupy Oakland protests turned violent Saturday as?demonstrators broke into a historic building and burned an American flag, and officers fired tear gas to disperse people throwing rocks and tearing down fencing at a convention center.

Dozens of police maintained a late-night guard around City Hall in Oakland, California, following daylong protests that resulted in 300 arrests. Earlier, Occupy Oakland demonstrators broke into the historic building and burned a U.S. flag, and officers earlier fired tear gas to disperse people throwing rocks and tearing down fencing at a convention center.

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Saturday's protests ? the most turbulent since Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment in November ? came just days after the group said it planned to use a vacant building as a social center and political hub and threatened to try to shut down the port, occupy the airport and take over City Hall.

An exasperated Mayor Jean Quan, who faced heavy criticism for the police action last fall, called on the Occupy movement to "stop using Oakland as its playground."

"People in the community and people in the Occupy movement have to stop making excuses for this behavior," Quan said.

IN PICTURES: Occupy LA and other Occupy protests

Protesters clashed with police throughout the day, at times throwing rocks, bottles and other objects at officers. Police responded by deploying smoke, tear gas and bean bag rounds, City Administrator Deanna Santanta said.

Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said about 300 arrests were made.

"These demonstrators stated their intention was to provoke officers and engage in illegal activity and that's exactly what has occurred today," Santana said.

The group assembled outside City Hall late Saturday morning and marched through the streets, disrupting traffic as they threatened to take over the vacant Henry Kaiser Convention Center.

The protesters walked to the vacant convention center, where some started tearing down perimeter fencing and "destroying construction equipment" shortly before 3 p.m., police said.

Police said they issued a dispersal order and used smoke and tear gas after some protesters pelted them with bottles, rocks, burning flares and other objects.

The number of demonstrators swelled as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging from about 1,000 to 2,000 people.

A majority of the arrests came after police took scores of protesters into custody as they marched through the city's downtown, with some entering a YMCA building, said Sgt. Jeff Thomason, a police spokesman.

Quan said that at one point, many protesters forced their way into City Hall, where they burned flags, broke an electrical box and damaged several art structures, including a recycled art exhibit created by children.

She blamed the destruction on a small "very radical, violent" splinter group within Occupy Oakland.

"This is not a situation where we had 1,000 peaceful people and a few violent people. If you look at what's happening today in terms of destructing property, throwing at and charging the police, it's almost like they are begging for attention and hoping that the police will make an error."

Dozens of officers surrounded City Hall, while others swept the inside of the building looking for protesters who had broken into the building, then ran out of the building with American flags before officers arrived.

The protest group issued an email criticizing police, saying "Occupy Oakland's building occupation, an act of constitutionally protected civil disobedience was disrupted by a brutal police response today."

Michael Davis, 32, who is originally from Ohio and was in the Occupy movement in Cincinnati, said Saturday was a very hectic day that originally started off calm but escalated when police began using "flash bangs, tear gas, smoke grenades and bean bags."

"What could've been handled differently is the way the Oakland police came at us," Davis said. "We were peaceful."

The national Occupy Wall Street movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, began in New York City in the fall but has been largely dormant lately.

Oakland, New York and Los Angeles were among the cities with the largest and most vocal Occupy protests early on. The demonstrations ebbed after those cities used force to move out hundreds of demonstrators who had set up tent cities.

In Oakland, the police department received heavy criticism for using force to break up earlier protests. Quan was among the critics, but on Saturday, she seemed to have changed her tune.

"Our officers have been very measured," Quan said. "Were there some mistakes made? There may be. I would say the Oakland police and our allies, so far a small percentage of mistakes. But quite frankly, a majority of protesters who were charging the police were clearly not being peaceful.?

IN PICTURES: Occupy LA and other Occupy protests

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/d2cxQrdpvnY/Occupy-Oakland-protests-bring-300-arrests

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Making the Blackest of Black Materials

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Making the Blackest of Black Materials
"We made carbon nanotubes that are blacker than anything else." Our material absorbs more than 99 percent of visible and ultraviolet light and 98 percent of infrared light.

Source: POPSCI
Posted on: Friday, Jan 27, 2012, 8:55am
Views: 39

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117148/Making_the_Blackest_of_Black_Materials

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Steam community app available, access limited to beta participants for now

If you're a PC or Mac gamer, chances are you've used Steam, Valve Software's leading digital distribution platform for games. Today sees the launch of the official Steam app for Android, a new application that gives you access to the Steam store and community features like Steam chat on-the-go. If you're big on Steam and the Steam community, this could definitely be worth a look.

It's worth clarifying that this isn't a fully-fledged Steam client for Android, so you won't be playing Portal 2 on your Galaxy Tab any time soon, unfortunately. All it lets you do is buy PC and Mac games and chat to your Steam friends.

While the app itself is freely available on the Android Market (see the link after the jump), you'll need to be part of the Steam Mobile beta group in order to use it, or you'll be rejected at the login screen. This is a little strange given that the app is openly advertised on SteamPowered.com with no mention that a beta invite is required. So keep an eye on this one, folks. All signs point to a possible public launch in the near future. If you are in the beta group, however, you'll find a handy Market link after the break.

Source: SteamPowered.com

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/ZBNzeQrjQ2M/story01.htm

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Dem NC governor faced tough re-election fight (AP)

RALEIGH, N.C. ? Gov. Beverly Perdue said Thursday she will not seek re-election because she fears a fight with Republicans over public education would become too political. But she entered the election year with some baggage: a campaign finance investigation, sagging poll numbers and worries from fellow Democrats she would drag them down in a key battleground state for President Barack Obama.

Perdue, the state's first woman governor, rode into office partly on the coattails of Obama's surprise 2008 victory in North Carolina. Her departure created a wide-open gubernatorial primary in a state that is so key to Obama, Democrats are hosting their national convention in Charlotte in September.

Perdue, a former school teacher, said her decision was about protecting public education from spending cuts by the GOP-led Legislature. She said in highly partisan times, her re-election bid would "only further politicize the fight to adequately fund our schools."

"The thing I care about most right now is making sure that our schools and schoolchildren do not continue to be the victims of shortsighted legislative actions and severe budget cuts inflicted by a legislative majority with the wrong priorities," Perdue said in a statement.

The statement made no mention of what Perdue, 65, planned to do in the future. Perdue campaign spokesman Marc Farinella said the governor declined to speak to reporters Thursday because she is spending time with her family after making "this very difficult decision."

"For now she wants her statement to speak for itself," he said.

Perdue's decision caught many by surprise, and means it will be the first time a sitting North Carolina governor has failed to get elected to a second term since voters gave chief executives authority to succeed themselves in the 1970s.

"It is really uncommon for a sitting governor to have the opportunity to run for re-election to not do so, even in a harsh political climate," said Steven Greene, a political science professor at North Carolina State University. "But an objective analysis of the political situation suggests she'd have an extremely uphill fight for re-election."

Perdue faced a tough rematch against former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, a Republican she narrowly defeated in 2008 in the state's closest gubernatorial contest since 1972. Only two Republicans have been governor in more than 100 years.

Obama's win here was the first in 32 years for a Democratic nominee for president. He praised Perdue for breaking down barriers during her political career.

"For over 25 years, she has fought for the people of the Tar Heel state ? working to transform the state's public schools, improve the health care system, protect and attract jobs for members of the military and their families, and create the jobs of the future," Obama said in a statement.

Perdue's decision could help Obama and the party's eventual nominee by removing Perdue as a liability, said Brad Crone, a Raleigh-based Democratic consultant.

"It strengthens the Democratic Party's top of the ticket, and that's definitely going to be good news for Obama," Crone said.

Perdue faced scrutiny about her 2008 campaign and more than three dozen flights that she didn't initially report on campaign filings required by state election officials. A local prosecutor has said the governor wasn't the focus of his investigation, but four people were indicted last year related to the flight investigation, including her former campaign finance director.

"To those of you who have supported me throughout my years of public service, I will always be grateful for the confidence you have placed in me," Perdue said. "In my remaining months in office, I look forward to continuing to fight for the priorities we share, by putting North Carolinians back to work and investing in our children's future."

She also struggled with a state economy hit hard by the recession and an unemployment rate persistently above the national average. Perdue and fellow Democrats raised the sales tax by a penny in 2009 and had to make deep cuts to education and health care.

Republicans let the temporary sales tax increase expire last summer. Just last week, Perdue proposed raising it nearly a penny again for education. At least one legislative leader called her proposal dead on arrival.

Perdue often clashed with the new Republican leadership in the General Assembly, which swept into power after the 2010 elections and gave GOP control of the Legislature for the first time since the 1870s. In a sign of the tension, she vetoed a record 16 bills last year.

Polling throughout her term has consistently shown her approval ratings hovering around 40 percent.

Perdue's re-election campaign raised more than $2.6 million in 2011 ? only slightly more than what McCrory had raised during last year ? a poor showing in a state where Democratic candidates routinely outspend Republicans in statewide elections.

A native of Virginia, Perdue moved in the 1970s to the coastal town of New Bern, where she became director of geriatric services at a hospital before entering politics. She served in the Legislature and as the state's first female lieutenant governor before being elected governor.

As word of her exit spread, several candidates said they were considering jumping into the fray, and Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, another Democrat elected in 2008, announced he would run. Dalton had nearly $600,000 in cash on hand as of Dec. 31.

Democratic state Rep. Bill Faison, a Perdue critic, said he'll make an announcement soon, setting up a May 8 primary. He said prominent leaders in the party worried for weeks about Perdue's low poll numbers and had suggested she not run.

Former State Treasurer Richard Moore, who lost to Perdue in the 2008 primary, and Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines, also are considering bids. Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx also said he's considering future plans.

Candidate filing begins Feb. 13.

Longtime Washington-based Perdue pollster Fred Yang said he believed she still had a pathway to victory and knew how much she liked being governor.

"I know how hard she tried," Yang said.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Biesecker and Tom Breen in Raleigh and Ken Thomas in Washington also contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/democrats/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_us/us_nc_governor

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Where to Check In After You've Checked Out [Video]

The rising death rate in Japan has lengthened the average wait for cremation to roughly four days. That's a long 96 hours to let you lay there and ripen. So what do you do after shuffling off this mortal coil? You get yourself to a corpse hotel, obviously. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8PPocKT1JM0/where-to-check-in-after-youve-checked-out

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Romney, Gingrich exchange barbs on immigration

CORRECTS LOCATION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA, INSTEAD OF UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA - Republican presidential candidates former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney participate in the Republican presidential candidates debate at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

CORRECTS LOCATION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA, INSTEAD OF UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA - Republican presidential candidates former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney participate in the Republican presidential candidates debate at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

CORRECTS LOCATION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA, INSTEAD OF UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA - Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, stand during the National Anthem at the Republican presidential candidates debate at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential candidates former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney participates in the Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich participates in the Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) ? Newt Gingrich cast Mitt Romney as the most anti-immigrant candidate of the four contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in campaign debate Thursday night in Hispanic-heavy Florida. "That's simply inexcusable," the former Massachusetts governor shot back, heatedly denying the accusation.

Romney quickly added that Gingrich's campaign had stopped running a radio ad that made the "anti-immigrant charge" after Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called on him to do so. Romney said to Gingrich concerning the ad, "I think you should apologize for it."

The exchange came near the beginning of the second debate in four days in advance of next Tuesday's Florida primary. Opinion polls make the race a close one, with two other contenders, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, trailing far behind.

But Santorum drew applause from the audience when he called on the two front-runners to stop attacking one another and "focus on the issues."

"Can we set aside that Newt was a member of Congress ... and that Mitt Romney is a wealthy guy?" he said in a tone of exasperation.

That seemed unlikely, given the stakes in the primary now five days distant.

Gingrich picked up on the theme quickly, calling on moderator Wolf Blitzer of CNN to let the four candidates discuss the issues.

The audience booed, as if in agreement with Gingrich, but Romney jumped in, saying, "Wouldn't it be nice if people didn't make accusations somewhere else that they weren't willing to defend here."

Moments earlier, Romney and Gingrich had exchanged jabs over investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two mortgage giants that played a role in the national foreclosure crisis that has hit Florida particularly hard.

Gingrich said Romney was making money from investments in funds that were "foreclosing on Floridians."

Romney quickly noted that Gingrich, too, was invested in mutual funds with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He then added that the former House speaker "was a spokesman" for the two. That was a reference to a contract that one of Gingrich's businesses had for consulting services. The firm was paid $300,000 in 2006.

There were some moments of levity, including when Paul, 76, was asked whether he would be willing to release his medical records.

He said he was, then challenged the other three men on the debate stage to a 25-mile bike race.

He got no takers.

Romney and Gingrich had clashed repeatedly in the first debate of the week, held Monday in Tampa.

Gingrich's unexpected victory in the South Carolina primary last weekend upended the race to pick a Republican opponent for Democratic President Barack Obama in the fall, and Romney can ill afford another setback.

In the days since his loss, he has tried to seize the initiative, playing the aggressor in the Tampa debate and assailing Gingrich in campaign speeches and a TV commercial.

An outside group formed to support Romney has spent more than his own campaign's millions on ads, some of them designed to stop Gingrich's campaign momentum before it is too late to deny him the nomination.

Gingrich's performance in a pair of South Carolina debates are generally believed to have helped him to his victory there, and Romney's aides have expressed concern that the debate audience might benefit the former House speaker.

The issue was clearly on Romney's mind as he campaigned at a factory several hours before the debate began.

"There may be some give and take. That's always entertaining," he said. "If you all could get in there we'd love to see you all there cheering."

A voice from the audience responded that there were no more tickets, and Romney replied: 'No tickets? Just storm in."

Gingrich seemed far less confident as he campaigned his way into the debate.

He unleashed an attack reminiscent of his rhetoric a month ago when he was being outspent heavily on television and falling sharply in the polls just before the Iowa caucuses.

He accused Romney and Restore Our Future, the independent group, of dishonest ads, and said, "This is the desperate last stand of the old order. This is the kind of gall they have, to think we're so stupid and we're so timid."

He later told reporters he decided to sharpen his criticisms after Romney released his tax returns. "Here's a guy who owns Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae stock," Gingrich said. "He owns a Goldman Sachs subsidiary, which is foreclosing on Floridians. And on that front he decides to lie about my career? There's something about the hypocrisy that should make every American angry."

Romney released his income tax returns for 2010 and an estimate for 2011 after declining to do so in South Carolina.

Gingrich, also under pressure, disclosed the consulting contract one of his firms had with Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage giant that played a role in the foreclosure crisis that hit Florida especially hard. It showed payments of $300,000 in 2006 for unspecified consulting services.

Romney has pummeled Gingrich in the days since, calling him an influence peddler and a lobbyist who was taking money from the very organization that was harming Floridians.

___

Associated Press writers Brian Bakst and Kasie Hunt contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-26-Republicans-Debate/id-9810be2bcb1342d38463b8914b13ec99

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