Recently by Tracy Simon

KU School of Architecture Studio 804 celebrated the completion of the first LEED-certified building in Kansas May 4, 2008, in Greensburg. The 22 graduate students have constructed the green building under the guidance of Professor Dan Rockhill the past five months. Studio 804 students have mentioned they are exhausted and will not be able to come home until the Friday preceding graduation, but they are overjoyed to help the community. The 5.4.7 Arts Center was named after the date the tornado destructed Greensburg; it is a commemoration of the tragedy. Here is a video from the CBS Early Show:

The KU Web site has a detailed feature story about Studio 804 and the construction and planning process:

feature story .

In the 1990s, California led the way for all 50 states to create anti-stalking laws, but with the growth of the Internet, people are not only being stalked physically, but are also being cyber-stalked. Computer harassment, or "cyber-stalking," has become a rampant problem in the late 20th and the early 21st centuries, and therefore, 44 states have created some form of cyber-stalking laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Several news articles cite that there have been problems with unattended children who communicate with others online and navigate through unmonitored Web pages. The Internet is a global network at which legislatures are taking a deep look because the abundance of content available on the Internet is not highly monitored right now. These news articles include stories of children who are physically bullied at school but then arrive home to their computer, only to be cyber-bullied again.

Many issues come to light from cyber-bullying cases, including the daunting question, how far is too far? How far can a cyber-stalking law go before it infringes one's First Amendment rights? We all have the right to browse Internet sites and chat without harassment, and hopefully cyber-stalking laws will continue to be amended to not infringe people's rights but to also protect people from being harassed.

AirTran Airways will start its promotional campaign, "Fly Free ‘til You're 23," this week and will target its entire campaign to the college crowd to foster customer loyalty. Viewers of the ads, which feature the tagline "Everyone will want to be college age" and show an old woman trying to use a fake ID to get into the theater as a student, will be directed to http://www.airtranu.com to enter in a drawing for two round-trip tickets anywhere per calendar quarter. Anyone between the ages of 18 and 22 has the chance to register for the A+ Rewards frequent flyer program, which will help AirTran build loyalty with customers! Do you think AirTran is smart for targeting a college-age audience? How do you think the youth will respond?

Please visit http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/creative/news/e3id751287ff1c2313ed26d9f1e64f380aeto check this article written by Brandweek reporter Mike Bierne!

Tara Parker-Pope's April 8, 2008, NY Times article Drinking to Extremes to Celebrate 21 received 128 comments from bloggers who discussed their opinions on youth culture thinking it is normal to participate in the ritual to drink 21 to celebrate your 21st birthday. The online article includes a picture of Jesse Drews who died on his March birthday from a drinking binge and an all-too familiar story that listed the facts about youth drinking to extremes. Many of us binge drink or know of friends who binge drink on weekends because the week is difficult and we want to forget everything and get "wasted." Some students go so far as to start their weekend partying on Thirsty Thursdays, which signify a tradition that influences a drinking culture with bar drink specials and "no cover for female" nights. Parker-Pope said that people need to understand the meaning of blood alcohol content and how alcohol affects each person differently; just because all your friends persuade you to drink more because you're celebrating the completion of finals week, if you suspect you've had too much, stop, then maybe society will consider us adults instead of "kids." We can die for our country so why not use alcohol responsibly and know when to stop? How far do we have to go until there is no point of return?

Check out the article: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/drinking-to-extremes-to-celebrate-21/!

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Rebecca Thomas, a University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh senior, spoke about her life as a tall girl in her journalism class essay, which was published in the New York Times Web site health section March 24, 2008. Her experience as a tall child coincides with our spotlight effect class discussion because a child starts to develop the concept that everyone is watching his every move at an early age, but Thomas, now a 6-foot-4 woman, developed this concept more rapidly than others. She was 6-foot-3 in ninth grade and began to make friends through sports and to be able to walk around the small town without being stared out. Whenever Thomas traveled outside of her town people would gawk at her height, thinking that she couldn't hear their remarks. Thomas experienced the spotlight effect because of her height, but it has not all been negative; instead it is a basic part of her personal fable that makes her unique. We all have experienced and may still experience the spotlight effect to some extent, but wouldn't it make it more difficult for the child who actually has to deal with everyone gawking at her for a reason? Just a thought…

You can find the article at http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/life-as-a-tall-girl/.

UPS "Conveyer Belt," shows a simple commercial created by The Martin Agency, Inc.. The United Parcel Service (UPS) started its "Whiteboard" campaign March 05, 2008, with the TV commercial that shows a creative director drawing on a white board and telling businesses how they can go international with UPS. A few advertising execs commented on the commercial; some commented that it was too boring, and some said it was genious and straightforward. Please tell me what you think after you watch the commercial!

http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/obama-rated-more-electable-in-poll/20080226092109990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Sens. Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama
Photo: Associated Press