Budget Cuts, Doctor Who, Midterms, Walking, and Swine Flu

-------

Today they had another rally on campus, where all the students gather together and march across campus shouting slogans and what not, hoping that something will actually come of it. They were holding signs, wearing buttons, and were led by a few Associated students members, one of them holding a megaphone in one hand and waving an upside-down flag in the other. How much attention they actually got, I don’t know. If it will actually make a difference, I doubt it. The cost of tuition has been raised by almost 40%, enrollment fees have been hiked, they’ve been making teachers take furlough days, they’ve made it harder to get accepted into the college, and they’ve been cutting classes left and right. The cutting of classes will make it harder for me to graduate in 2 years. I looked at the schedule for next semester, and they aren’t even offering most of the classes I will need. I may have to end up taking an equivalent class that focuses on a subject I don’t want to focus on. Realistically, I looks like I’ll end up fulfilling my graduate requirements at the end of fall 2011, instead of spring 2011. The only way I’d be able to make it by spring 2011 is if I got every single class I needed when I need it, and if I took two classes during the summer. Also, I’m sure they will be raising tuition again next year. But hopefully I will be able to get about the same amount of financial aid as I got this year, which will cover it. If they cut financial aid, I don’t know what I’m going to do. These budget cuts really affect people’s ability to get a proper education, and I’m sure that a lot of poor people have been affected to the point where only the rich white kids who only know how to party will be able to afford to get in and go here. Knowing how hard it is to get into this school, it does seem strange why there are so many rich white kids who are dumber than rocks wandering the halls.
I was going to talk about health care and my experiences with the student health services, but I think I’ll keep that for another blog, as it deserves its own blog.

The next Doctor Who special aired yesterday. It’s called the Waters of Mars, and it’s supposed to be a scary one. I haven’t watched it yet, but I plan on doing so tonight. I hope its better than the Planet of the Dead; that one was kinda lame. So after this one, there will be a special on Christmas Day, which will end with a cliffhanger that will be resolved in a special that airs on new years. These last two specials will be David Tennant’s last episodes, and will mark the end of this doctor’s journey. So expect it to be good!

Here’s some interesting news I recently found out. Mom and dad, you might like this. The UK show Primeval has been given a second chance, and is now considered NOT cancelled. This is good news, seeing as the last episode that aired left us kind of hanging.

This week my midterms are finishing, so it’s going to be pretty stressful. I just wanna get through it and make it to thanksgiving. I have a presentation in Biolab this week that I’ve been dreading. I hate the teacher and she hates me. That class also sucks because it’s a one unit class, and they make us do more work than I do in my ASL class, which is a four unit class! It’s ridiculous! Tomorrow I have a midterm in my Natural Resource Conservation class, and it is on air and water pollution. I’ve enjoyed learning about water resources. We’ve gone a lot into the history of water in California, the water wars, and the current controversy in the central valley concerning the water shortage and the Delta Smelt. I think I’ll do all right.

I’ve started walking a bit now. I’ve been only using one crutch for a week, and this weekend I found that I can walk without crutches for a short distance. Without a crutch I go very slow and I limp, so It may take a little longer to be able to walk fast enough without a crutch.

Sarah: I’m sure you know this, but I figured that I’d mention it since I have been learning about it in my biology class. The H1N1 flu virus is going around and people who are particularly at risk include women who are pregnant. When you’re pregnant, your immune system is not as efficient because you have a foreign object in ya, so if you get infected with a virus, your immune system will not be able to fight it off as well. This exact thing happened to a women who lives in San Diego. So just to be sure, you might want to ask your doctor it would be smart to get a flu vaccine. Since only 4000 people have died from it, and that is a very low number for a flu virus, it may not be as big a deal. But still, it’s something to be aware of.

I have noticed that all of you are horrible at this blogging thing. You need to start blogging more and commenting more. Do this, or get Skype already! Sheesh.

---------