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Meg Omecene

In The Know With Meg O: Wastefulness is seen beyond the dining hall

Oct. 1, 2014

I will be the first to admit that I was wasteful when I had the luxury of a meal plan.Shively’s mashed potatoes and brisket is bland today? At least there is always the dependable burrito station. Nelson breakfast not up to par? The salad bar and a cup of soup will do.When I could pick up whatever I wanted without having to pay per ounce, it was easy to throw out sometimes-untouched plates of food.And now that I have to buy all of my own groceries, I can guarantee that I would never buy bananas with brown spots on them.My thoughtlessness is an example of the overall wastefulness documented in a recent NPR article that details how nearly one-third of the 400 million-plus pounds of food sold in grocery stores are never actually eaten.According to the article, 10 percent of all food is wasted in grocery stores themselves because many people, myself included, equate brown spotted bananas with them going bad.After being sold, 20 percent of all food in homes goes to waste, whether it ends up going bad or tossed out at the end of dinner, the article said. And while 30 percent of food is thrown out, the USDA reported that one in seven Americans don’t get enough to eat.The article said that the main reason food is wasted is because grocery stores overstock their shelves. “It comes down to shoppers demanding stocked shelves,” the article says. Everyone can change their habits, and I know this is something I could change about myself. Something as easy as buying apples that aren’t the prettiest to ensure that someone buys it could go a long way. Or informing my roommates when something is about to go bad could help eliminate a lot of waste.Other ways to prevent waste is by using kitchen composters to eat all that cabbage that you bought with full intention of eating, or even bringing it to the community gardens.Maybe you could even eat a dry burger at Shively … but then again, I don’t want to suggest anything too crazy.Meg Omecene is a junior studying strategic communication and the public relations director for The Post. Email her at mo403411@ohio.edu.

Gabby McDaris

Red, Blue & You: NRA instills fear of gun control

Oct. 1, 2014

The National Rifle Association is one of the biggest political machines in America.Each year, the NRA spends millions of dollars in lobbying campaigns and this year alone has set aside $11.4 million for fall advertising, according to Politico.The group has 4.5 million members and has a large influence over the outcomes of elections. They air ads for Republican candidates across the country and have more of an impact on elections than people may realize.One of their most recent campaign ads is airing in Louisiana against Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu. In the ad, a woman is shown putting her child to bed and then texting her husband who is out of town, “Love you. Good night.” In the next scene, a man is shown breaking into the house, and then it cuts to a shot of yellow police tape.The ad ends with the narrator saying, “How you defend yourself is up to you. It’s your choice. But Mary Landrieu voted to take away your gun rights. Vote like your safety depends on it.”Gun owners have a certain level of paranoia, and the NRA knows all of the right buttons to push in order to turn this paranoia into millions of dollars.Ads similar to the anti-Landrieu ad help coerce Americans into thinking that the only way to keep themselves and their family safe is to arm themselves, and that anyone who supports gun control in any form is a threat to their safety.The main reason Americans purchase guns is out of fear. According to a Gallup Poll, 60 percent of gun owners have it for their personal safety.The NRA fuels the mindset in America that the only way to truly protect yourself is to be armed.The NRA will never accept or admit that the main cause of gun homicides and mass shootings are the guns themselves. After the Sandy Hook shooting, NRA President Wayne LaPierre blamed the shooting on a lack of protection at schools, saying “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”Time and time again the NRA has made it clear that they think the only solution to violence is more guns when guns are what created the problem in the first place.According to ABC News, “A study by two New York City cardiologists found that the U.S. has 88 guns per 100 people and 10 gun-related deaths per 100,000 people — more than any of the other 27 developed countries they studied.”There is a clear correlation between the two statistics and it is important for America to finally accept that throwing more guns at a problem will not make it go away.The NRA will never blame guns as the main cause of mass shootings and homicides because without guns, their organization becomes obsolete.Once the gun culture in America changes, the homicide rate will change too. The only way for this to happen is for the NRA to finally accept and admit that guns may be a major part of the problem and that scaring people into thinking otherwise will not have a positive impact.There is a fear and paranoia in America created by a pro-gun culture and in order for this fear to go away, the NRA will have to go away as well.Gabby McDaris is a freshman studying screenwriting. Email her at gm573913@ohio.edu.

The Post

New app aims to help smooth roommate relations

By Bret Jamerson | Sep. 29, 2014

Ever have to harass your roommate every month to pay the utility bill?Or maybe you, with a group of friends, bought a couch for your dorm and can’t remember who owes who how much.The creators of the smartphone app Yabber would argue that with their product, issues like that will be a thing of the past.Chief Executive Jonathan Miller and Chief Technology Officer Sean Thielen, the co-founders of the company University Niche who were college roommates, came up with the idea from innocent conversations. The pair said they knew firsthand how much life can be easier when all relationships at home are healthy.“From talking with our friends who live together, we learned that a lot of them wanted an easier and more efficient way to stay in touch with each other,” Miller said.The app acts as a private timeline for roommates to stay in touch, split expenses and pay bills. Miller said the prompts in the app include everyday reminders, such as “Jonathan spent $60 on groceries, you owe him $20,” to “Chase is going to the beach,” to scheduled recurring events like “tomorrow is trash day.” Users can link a debit card to send and receive money from roommates for shared expenses.“We want people to enjoy living with roommates and strived to make this experience even better,” Thielen said. “We’re not trying to reinvent group chatting. Rather we are making a unique platform designed specifically for roommates.”Yabber, free to download from Apple’s App Store, adds up all expenses and automatically figures out how much you owe your roommates and how much they owe you. The app is coming soon to Android-powered devices, Miller said, adding that the company is currently raising money for and talking to several venture capital firms about future updates.The app’s creators say it is more convenient and less intrusive than texting apps and allows roommates to publish what they are doing just by pressing an icon. Roommates can then interact with these icons in intuitive ways such as “ Chase wants to go too,” “Sean has seen this,” or “Jonathan has taken care of it” — and with one tap roommates can pay each other back for expenses.Adam Arnett, a junior studying civil engineering said he sees value in the app.“Often times my roommates and I can’t remember who owes who and how much,” Arnett said. “After looking at the app I am going to make my roommates use it, too.”Dustin Hamon, a junior studying screenwriting and production said he doesn’t see why it should be a necessity in his lifestyle the app as redundant that tries to fix something that works perfectly fine.“My roommates and I use a system that works for us and communicating face to face is more convenient to me. I don’t see why we can’t just text each other.”

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