Jun 29
When you think about Women’s rights what comes to your mind? The right to receive an education? Abortion? What about the right to plan their own families? Whenever women’s reproductive and health rights are being discussed, there is always controversy surrounding this issue. Especially when it comes to using contraceptives, also known as birth control. …
Jun 28
It’s officially less than one month until the Olympics. Twenty-nine days to be exact. (Not that I’ve been counting…) Ever since I’ve been young, I’ve loved the Olympics. From the moment the Opening Ceremony starts, I’m glued to my television set- through all the events, the award ceremonies, and straight through to the Closing Ceremony.There’s …
Jun 26
Did you know water was declared a human right in 2010 by the United Nations? Yet, 884 million people are still without access to safe drinking water and, more than 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. These statistics are pretty shocking to me because despite many advances, we are facing this problem in …
Jun 22
Another week, another UN holiday commemorating a global social issue. This week we had World Refugee Day on June 20th, a day to “honor the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.” With the situations ongoing in the Middle …
Jun 21
While chocolate might taste sweet, it’s history is anything but. There is a long history of exploitation and unethical practices surrounding the West African cocoa beans used by “Big Chocolate” corporations such as Hershey, Kraft (which recently bought Cadbury), Nestle, and Mars. There are news reports of unfair pricing. Poor working conditions. There are …
Jun 20
Have you noticed lately that Brazil has been in the international spotlight… a lot? It seems like every week I see some new headline about Brazil in relation to:1) a major international convention, 2) a major international sports event or 3) an issue involving development in the Amazon. The attention is good, bad and/ or …
Jun 15
The other day I was cleaning out my room and found a pile of old CDs that I no longer had any use for (Hanson and I parted ways a long time ago). Now, I know what I’m supposed to do when I want to get rid of old electrics and the like: recycle them. …
Jun 14
Cupcakes. Skinny jeans. Reality shows. All are trends that have exploded in popularity within the United States in the last decade. Another recent trend? “Saving Africa”. Earlier in the week, I wrote about the common myths and misconceptions having to do with the continent of Africa, many of which stem from the mainstream American media. …
Jun 08
Have you seen much news media coverage about the crisis in the Sahel? I haven’t. Not much at all, actually. The first I heard of the Sahel food and refugee crisis ravaging Africa’s Sahel region was in a tweet. There has actually been a lot of social media coverage on what’s happening thanks to an …
Jun 06
Did you know that June 5th is World Environment Day? Yeah, me either. That is until I noticed a tweet a few days ago that alerted me to this fact. If you’re into all things environmental you probably already know about this. If you’re not, you’re probably asking yourself “Wait, what is she talking about?” …
