How much is a life worth? Is there a price for medical treatment beyond which a life should be terminated because the person or his family cannot afford to pay any longer? Most people would agree that it is not ethical to put a price limit in this way on human life. On the other hand, this ethical dilemma happens every day in veterinary medicine. According to DVM Newsmagazine, a monthly veterinary popular magazine, the average price at which a pet owner decides to stop medical treatment for his pet and have it euthanized is $1,451 (“Of Life and Death”).

Every week, child protective services around the United States receive more than 50,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. In 2002 alone, 2.6 million reports concerning the safety of approximately 4.5 million children were made. As a result of investigations in only the reports that seemed extreme enough, approximately 896,000 children were found to have been victims of abuse or neglect, which is an average of more than 2,450 children per day (Iannelli).

Have you ever found yourself questioning the actions of your family or friends? Do you worry that their behaviors are destructive to their health or a risk to their survival? Smoking, for instance, is one of the unhealthiest habits a person can have. Not only does it affect our lung capacity but the chemicals in cigarettes have been correlated with causing cancer. Many of us wonder why individuals insist on using cigarettes despite this well-known fact.

"Always do right--this will gratify some and astonish the rest" - Mark Twain

Fairly recently, universities have begun working to address the considerable risk of first generation student dropout.  This dropout problem threatens to keep potential scholars from being able to bring valuable new knowledge to the world by forcing them out of college before they can finish their education. First generation students appear to drop out after failing to overcome a disproportionally large amount of problems with adjusting to, and succeeding in, college.

Like many other developing countries, India has poor health care delivery.  This problem can be attributed to the underdevelopment of historical institutions, corruption within the system, and many other factors.  It is a mistake, however, to lose faith in the government’s capacity to remedy health care.  Recently introduced public-private partnerships pose hope for the system, but are not as beneficial to reform as has been suggested.   The Indian government is fully capable of improving health care without the help of private enterprise. 

Despite the long and winding road of struggle for women’s rights, the pinnacle of the journey has not yet been reached even in 2008. Why do women still earn less then men? Why are sexually promiscuous women looked down upon and ostracized while men who are considered “playboys” and “studs” praised? And why are women still forced to face the choice of either being a good mother or having a successful career?

Like many others, I was brought up with very rigid views of sexuality, especially with regards to sexual orientation.  People came in one of two packages: heterosexual and homosexual.  For a while I never questioned this categorization, assuming it was a natural state.  However, as I learned more, I started to see flaws in a polarized construct of human sexuality.  As history shows, a binomial definition of sexual orientation has not always existed.  Historians have postulated that homosexuality is largely a social construction.  Scientific surveys and psycho-a

“Alright, class, why do you think we study art in school?  Yes, Katie, what do you think?”

“Uh… well… I think we do art here cause it’s fun to paint in pretty colors!”  In that moment, the whole class jerked their heads around to glare at her.  Was that a joke?  Is she serious?  There must be something wrong with her.

I stood in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in November of 2002, along side my brother Hans, with whom I share a love of rubber chickens. Hans and I always bring a small stash of rubber chickens with us on our travels because we have found that they cause perfect strangers to smile, laugh, and respond in ways they would not otherwise. On this comfortable fall day, within sight of the fabled Forbidden City, the Great Hall of the People, and the Tiananmen Gate (“the Gate of Heavenly Peace”), we felt the warmth of thousands of Chinese tourists whose language we did not speak.