The Almanian

September, 17 2002

Journalist Lectures on Adolescence

Whitney Hopkins
Staff Writer
For several days last week, Alma College found its campus graced with the presence of a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, David L. Marcus. Marcus is a contributing editor for US News and World Report, and took a leave of absence to observe 16 adolescents going through a rehabilitation program in Massachusetts. During this time he watched closely, and gave back to the school by volunteering as an English teacher.
Marcus attended several classes, dinners, and lectures while on campus. During one, he spoke of growing up in today’s world, saying the cocaine use, pregnancy, and ecstasy use are all down, and suicide rates have leveled off since the 1990’s.

: the True Story of American Adolescence, is an anecdotal book, aimed to be readable by teens, “tweens”, and even the busiest parents. With it, Marcus hopes to show how even the upper-middleclass students he followed could have lives that fell apart around them, and hopefully open the eyes of some of the readers.
Not all of the students used drugs. Some suffered from depression, some from eating disorders, some from unhealthy relationships, and some from a combination of many factors. Adoption and divorce were also issues.
Marcus stresses the lack of adult role models for these kids as a key reason things got out of hand. “Where were the parents? Teachers? Guidance Counselors? . . Some kids in America are disconnected and have no adult influence.”
FULL STORY

“However,” he says, “there is a sub-group of teenagers who suffer from severe problems. One in ten adolescents suffer from severe mental illness.”
Marcus’ book, scheduled for release by Houghton Mifflin under the working title Laugh Now, Cry Later:

Service Reduction From Michigan State Police Likely

JOEL RENDER
Staff Writer
In a time when security is at its most important, Michigan citizens will be dismayed to find out that the number of State Police Troopers will continue its strong decline. Back in 2000, the number of officers was at its highest point ever of 1,344. Since that time the downturn has resulted in a loss of 202 officers, leaving a total of 1,142 left to patrol the state. It is also predicted that the numbers will continue to decline heavily possibly to less than 1,000 by as soon as next year.
The decline will mean a wide variety of problems besides the obvious of a decrease in security. First of all, response times to all kinds of situations especially traffic accidents will increase considerably. For a routine traffic accident, the response time now is approximately 10 minutes, but could increase to as much as 20 minutes if the decline in officers continues. FULL STORY

Debate Over Attempts to Alter Controversial Law

Wendy Wohlfeill
Staff Writer
Title IX, a landmark civil rights law, which has profoundly affected many aspects of schooling by requiring equal opportunities for males and females may soon be seeing revisions. The law, which is notorious for pushing equal opportunities in athletics for women, is seen by some as an unnecessary elimination of male sports. A commission appointed by Education Secretary Rod Paige has suggested updating the 30-year-old law to ensure fairness to all athletes. At this point the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics has considered about two-dozen different recommendations for Title IX. The commission proposed changes on how roster spots, non-scholarship and non-traditional athletes would be counted. Although it takes an act of Congress to essentially change the law, Paige can alter the way in which compliance is measured. Paige said in a statement, “I am very pleased that the commission has agreed on a number of reforms that will strengthen Title IX.” FULL STORY