Campus News Flash:
Monadnock Mountain Boys
play Saturday 8:00 p.m.
in Outing Hut

 


The Exchange
 "It's a beautiful morning"*



ISSUE 47
April 26-May 3, 2007
[Past Issues]
 
FRONT PAGE  LOCAL NEWS

FRONT PAGE

 CAMPUS NEWS:
     RALLY
     RALLY PICS
     LOTTERY
     LOBBYIST
     MEDIA
     BEER PONG
      RUGBY
     DIALOG
    SAFE FUN
   
FEATURES:
     SEXUALITY
     PEP
  
 PROFS:
     LEDOUX

A&E:
     PERCUSSION

SPORTS:
      PRIOR
      HUNTERS GIFT

BLOGS:
     SCOTT
      JOE
PAST ISSUES




 
Slideshow image
INTERNATIONAL NEWS NATIONAL NEWS


Russian President Boris Yeltsin passes away

Monday, former Russian President Boris Yeltsin died of heart failure at the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow; he was 76.
     Yeltsin is to be buried Wednesday at Novodevichy Cemetery unlike most of Russia's former leaders which are buried at the Kremlin Walls. Unlike the mundane burial grounds at the Kremlin walls, the Novodevichy Cemetery is a beautiful burial ground which is the final resting place of many of Russia's "Dreamers and Artists" according to a report by Fox News.
     Anton Chekhov, Sergei Prokofiev and Mikhail Bulgakov are some of the famous Russians buried at Novodevichy. Yeltsin will be only the second political leader buried at this site, the only other is Nikita Khrushchev.
     Yeltsin is well known for making a strong stand against Communism Coup of 1990 and making efforts to put Russia on the path to "political pluralism." He is also well known for the economic struggles that affected tens of millions of Russians during his presidency.
     According to another report Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Russian President summed up Yeltsin's career in a condolences speech saying Yeltsin was someone "on whose shoulders are both great deeds for the country and serious errors."
     A public viewing of Yeltsin's body was to be held until burial on Wednesday. It is unclear how the Russian people will react to the passing of the President who changed every one of his citizen's lives.  The United States planned to send former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to the funeral.
   


Congress Voting to Bring Soldiers Home

      This week Congress will vote on a bill that proposes to pull American troops out of Iraq in six months.
     President Bush has threatened to veto the 124.2 billion dollar bill, which calls for the withdrawal of most American combat forces beginning no later than October 1, 2007. This plan is to be executed by April 1, 2008.
     President Bush has vocalized his opposition to the bill, and was expected to do so again in a statement made at the White House on Tuesday.
    Despite Bush's opinions, Democrats feel that this bill serves the interest of the American people, and their desire to bring U.S. troops back home.
    ''The legislation reflects the will of the American people and the best interests of our nation,'' said Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Robert Byrd.
    Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, said the compromise legislation realistically reflects the limits to what the United States can achieve militarily in Iraq.
    In response to the President's opposition, Congress and leaders of the Democrat-run Congress urged Bush to abandon his veto plan and offer a workable alternative.
    "The agreement reached between the House and the Senate rejects the president's failed policies in Iraq and his open-ended commitment to keep American troops there indefinitely and forges a new direction for a responsible end to the war," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a joint statement.
    "It is now up to the president to make a decision: continue to stay his failed course or join us to give our troops a strategy for success," they said.
 

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
     
The Spring Concert series has started up. Scott Farr gives us the scoop on the Percussion Ensemble and information on the other concerts that are happening for the remainder of the semester.   

The Monadnock Mountain Boys will play their final concert
ever at Franklin Pierce this Saturday.
 

HEALTH AWARENESS
 
Overweight workers costing their bosses  

    According to a Duke University Study, overweight employees are costing their employers much more than employees who aren't overweight by filing twice as many disability claims.

     Researchers also found that 13 times more workdays were lost because of work related injuries to obese people as opposed to more fit employees.  The study shows that the medical claims related to those injuries were seven times higher than injuries to other workers.

     The study was based on 11,728 people over an eight year span that were employed by Duke and its health system.  Over weight workers were more likely to have claims involving injuries to their back, arms, neck, knee, shoulders and hips. 

     Workers with a body mass index (BMI) of over 40 had the highest rate of missing workdays due to injuries.  An example of a person with a BMI of 40 is someone who is 6 foot tall and weighs 300 pounds. 

     Many people are hoping that this study will help employers feel motivated to provide programs to fight obesity.  The effects of that however is that it could lead to discrimination complaints.
 

                  
  *Old fogeys will recognize this line, but who needs a translation now that spring is finally here?
          
                                 Hit Countervisitors


 
CAMPUS NEWS

Read about what's happening on campus:

NEW! - EDITORIAL - NEW!

Making a place for ourselves

by Molly Jackson, Exchange Staff

     On my first day at Franklin Pierce I listened to Dr. Sarah Dangelantonio give a speech telling the incoming freshman to "make a place for yourself."  And so we have.

     In my three years as a member of the Mass Communications department I have witnessed students take active roles in their campus community.  Mass Communications students are active, involved, informed. . . continued
    
FEATURES
    
     Alex's struggle to reveal her sexuality.

     Being there for Pep, a family's strength when faced with tragedy.
    

PROFS INTO PEOPLE

     This is Mary Ledoux's last few weeks at Franklin Pierce.  She'll be
     getting married this Saturday and will be moving to Cincinnati
     this summer.
 
SPORTS STUFF

     
     Mark Prior is out for the 2007 season. Scott Farr
     looks at his career and his future.

     Torii Hunter was pleased when the Royals swept the
     Tigers last fall, thus clinching the Division title for his
     Twins. So pleased that he gave them four bottles of
     champagne for it. Joe Fagella explains why his
     generous gift is a no-no.
 

DINOSAUR CHALLENGE

    


Someone's complaint about the cost of calling home for a series
of interviews for a class assignment demonstrated that not
     everyone knows about Skype, an internet-based phone service
     developed by the same people who create Kazaa.  Skype allows
     you to call another computer anywhere in the U.S. for free.  If
     you have a microphone and they have a microphone, you can have
     a conversation.  For $30 a year Skype also allows you to call any
     telephone number in the U.S. or Canada, in case the other party
     is truly a member of Generation Dinosaur.  Skype also offers
     international calling for varying fees that are reputedly much
     cheaper than regular phone calls.
 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
 
Execution review calls lethal injection inhumane

      In the US 37 states have opted for lethal injection as a more cost effective and "humane" alternative to execution by the gas chamber or electrocution, but a 2005 review has suggested that the drugs, "caused slow and painful deaths," said the Associated Press.

    Three drugs are  given during the execution process that are suppose to paralyze the muscles, desensitize nerves, and stop the heart all while the inmate is unconscious. The review states that these drugs do not always work properly leaving prisoners to "suffocate" while still conscious.  

"You wouldn't be able to use this protocol to kill a pig at the University of Miami without more proof that it worked as intended," said AP.

    The dose of drugs given are not calculated with the inmate's weight and other factors. "Some inmate's got too little, and in some cases, the anesthetic wore off before the execution was complete," said the AP. Another inmate required a second dose of the final drug in California which was not the first time that it had occurred.

    The 2005 review has said their findings from these executions could be a violation on "cruel and unusual punishment," said AP. Scientific groups have called lethal injection inhumane, and medical ethics look down on health professionals that are involved in the execution.  

    In 2005 2,148 inmates were executed by lethal injection in 22 countries. In 2006 only one out of 53 executions was not done by lethal injection in the US.
 

BLOGS
       
   Scott's Blog: Tips on doing good deeds for others and more
   of the Epic Piece.
  
   Joe's First Blog: Avoiding senioritis.
 
THE EXCHANGE: WHO WE ARE


      We always welcome your questions
        and comments. You can contact us at
        exchange@franklinpierce.edu. Drop us a line  
        and let us know your thoughts. This  
        week's managing editor is Michael McGlone.
                  Exchange Staff photos.