I think the perception that unmarried individuals are less happy than married ones just reflects the idea that marriage is the ultimate goal and necessary to achieve happiness, which, as shown, is not always true. It’s strange to me, because I’ve seen so many abusive, strained, and unhappy marriages and so many divorces that I would think people would be much more cautious about marriage. In my family, marriage is viewed this way, as a very necessary step in life, and one that should be taken early. I am open to the idea of that kind of depth in love, and maybe I’ll feel differently once I’ve experienced it, but at this point in my life, I do not see marriage as something desirable or even useful for me.

The idea of interdependence versus self-sufficiency is brought up many times in this article. I don’t think that marriage should be used a crutch, however it often is, especially for the woman. I think marriages should be well balanced, with two self-sufficient individuals joining together. Some degree of interdependence can be expected, but the individual should remain an individual. I am opposed to the practice of women changing their names when married. This is a European tradition that literally changes the identity of the woman into the property of her husband by changing her name. The same practice was used for slaves, once bought by a master; the slave’s last name would change to reflect ownership. I come from a Middle Eastern background, where the idea is held that you are who you are, whether or not you are married. Middle Eastern women generally do not practice name changes.

While I’m sure there are people who would like to be married but simply haven’t found someone, this article shows that this is not the majority. The other view presented in the article, that the unmarried individual is somehow flawed and incapable of finding a mate, is false. Some people are self-reliant and find joy from other aspects of their life.
—Yasmine El-Safy

What’s happening to the Raiders? As a native of Oakland you would want the Raiders to win, but yet they haven’t. Over the years the Oakland Raiders haven’t been doing to good. 2002 was the last time the Raiders had a winning season finishing at 11-5. 2002 was also the last time the Raiders went to the playoffs. Since then, the Raiders have gone through 3 head coaches. They drafted, Jamarcus Russell, who suppose to be a good, he’s yet to step up to the plate.

I don’t know whether to blame the coaches or the players. It seems like people from the Raider Nation know who should be running the Raiders. Raiders fans formed a group called “the MessagetoAL”, made a website, and a billboard saying “MR. DAVIS, DO THE RIGHT THING PLEASE HIRE A GM”. Raiders fans feel they been getting beat up too many years in a row, and now it’s time for a change. A lot of the fans think Al Davis is too old and needs to let some one younger who knows how to manage a team.

Personally, I agree with the fans, because Al is rather old and if a new GM could turn it around it would be nice to see both of the Bay Area teams winning. The 49ers aren’t having this problem. I’m surprised the Raider Nation hasn’t tried to stomp Al Davis car or something.

The Raiders Nation does not like losing.

Hopefully, Al Davis will make a good decision. If he doesn’t the Nation will start a riot… A few brews and the Black Hole a.k.a. The Raider Nation is the perfect combination for a fight. I’m just playing, I don’t know what they might do but I would be mad if some old ass man was the reason my team is weak as f—k!!!
—Young D

On Tuesday morning police in the Sunset District of San Francisco detained a suspect in a recent MUNI stabbing. The district attorney Kamala Harris said, “That the man arrested for the MUNI stabbing is also accused of three other stabbings.” The defendant in the four stabbings is a thirty-year-old man name Bobby Brown. One of the victims in the stabbings was stabbed on Thanksgiving Day in front of her three children. She said that the man said, “gotcha” before he stabbed her. Brown faces 15 felonies including four counts of attempted first-degree murder and if convicted could be sentence up to 72 years or life in prison.

I feel good that this type of man is now in custody and cannot hurt anyone. When I first started reading I was shocked to see that there has been multiple stabbings lately in San Francisco and are linked to one man. The surprising fact is that this man stabbed a woman in front of her three daughters on Thanksgiving Day. My question is why did he do this? It’s takes a really morally evil person to commit an action like the one he did. I’m just relieved that this running around free to stab more people.
—Alexi Drier

From January to August there were 95 incidents on the 14-Line Muni bus in San Francisco. The bus’s route is one of the most heavily lines for San Francisco residents.

On November 13, a 24-year-old woman was stabbed in the morning on the J train MUNI system. The suspect is supposedly an African American male in his 30’s.

This is just another example of why Muni isn’t the safest way to travel. Knowing that there are a lot of incidents like these on the bus makes me want to keep a weapon on me.
I think the reason why so many altercations happen on the bus is because it’s a public place. Nine times out of 10 you might bump into someone you have problems with and potentially get into a fight.

I’ve had a few incidents on the bus myself. For instance, one early morning in HP (Hunters Point) I was on my way to school. I met up with my partners Black Black and Uso. We met up on Third Street. We were talking about what bus to get on to get to school. We decided to get on the 44 O’Shaughnessy to get to the 9 San Bruno. When the 44 came I saw somebody I had problems with the day before. We had an argument, my partners and me got on the bus.

As soon as he saw me he started talking s—t, I walked to the back of the bus, he stood up, I swung first, my fist connected and smacked his chin. He fell on the back seat. I kept punching him in the face; I was really beating his ass. I continued punching until somebody pulled me off. Some of the people were excited, some were scared, and some were mad cause they had to get off. People started yelling “beat his ass some more” while some were screaming to stop. The bus driver was saying, “Get the f—k off the bus”. After that I had to get off the bus. Everybody got off besides the dude whose ass I whooped and his friends.
He and his friends kept talking s—t out the windows of the bus, but the bus hadn’t driven off yet.

I guess the bus driver called the police. While that was happening, another friend of mine came to over to Third Street and I let him know what happened and he instantly started walking towards the bus. One of them n——s opened up the back door of the bus, and as soon as it opened my partner Young Thug swung and hit him in the face then Young Thug lost his balance and fell back as the door closed. The dudes on the bus tried again to open the door, that’s when Young Thug went up to the door again this time and he booted the closest person to the door. After that we didn’t want to stick around for the police to arrive so we left.

Knowing all the incidents that happen on Muni makes me feel the city is a hard place to grow up in. The bus wasn’t the best place to fight but I feel this dude I fought deserved his ass whipping because you need to watch what you say to people.
—David Cunningham

Lincoln University, located in Oxford, Pennsylvania, has created a Too-Fat-To-Graduate Rule that has made people upset. At Lincoln University, students with a body mass index of 30 or above are required to take a thrice-weekly fitness course. Students who are required to take the course, but do not complete it, can’t graduate from Lincoln University.

One Lincoln university student named Tiana Lawson, 21, is upset because the policy affects if she can graduate. As reported in a CNN article, Tiana is over the maximum index for the rule’s body mass requirement. Lawson put off getting her BMI tested until this year, and now she’s learned she must take the class to graduate. She believes her weight should not prevent her from graduating. Lawsom said, “I didn’t come to Lincoln to be told that my weight is not in acceptable range. I came here to get an education which as a three-timer honor student, is something I have been doing quite well, despite the fact that I have a slight high body mass index.”

The chairman of Lincoln’s Department of Health and Physical Education, James Deboy, says the requirement intends to bring the success for the students.

“We, as educators, must tell students when we believe, in our heart of hearts, when certain factors, certain behaviors, attitudes, whatever, are going to hinder that student from achieving and maximizing their life goals,” he said in the CNN article.

Some students aren’t upset by the BMI rule. Brittani Panton, a 19-year-old Lincoln University student, likes the rule. The way she looks at it, the requirement rule is an easy way to earn extra credit.

This topic really intrigues me because I really don’t believe you can prevent somebody from graduating just because he or she is overweight. Just because you do not fits a certain weight class don’t mean you shouldn’t receive a diploma. School should be a place where you can learn and excel, not a place where you get put down for your weight. Some people can’t help that they are overweight. The rule is basically telling a person who loves to eat that should not eat as much as they normally would.

Obesity is an issue that some people really struggle with. When I started researching statistics on obesity, I found some astonishing facts. According to buzzle.com, obese young people, especially teenagers, have a 70% chance of being obese as adults. What is even worse is that the percentage increases to 80% if either one or both of the parents are obese as well. In my opinion, being obese is not a good thing, but obesity is not a reason to prevent someone from college graduation.
—Alexi Drier