Special Olympics at SRU

Slippery Rock University hosted the Western Fall Sectional of the 2015 Special Olympics on September 27, 2015. Different events were held all over campus, with an opening ceremony starting in the ARC. Events included volleyball, soccer, power lifting, long-distance running, and boccie ball.


 
Teams walk down the tunnel and get cheered on by participants and volunteers.


Brittany Nulph explains about the fall sectional


After the opening ceremony, participants went to their events. 


Two teams compete in a volleyball game


 
Teams compete in different soccer games in the inter-mural fields

After the events are complete, a closing ceremony was held inside of the ARC. 




Dr. Norton tells her feelings about the Special Olympics.

All-in-all, it was a beautiful day at Slippery Rock to host the Fall Sectional of the 2015 Special Olympics. 

Bailey Library Renovations

They say that the library is the heart of a college campus...or maybe I just read that online somewhere. Bailey Library here at SRU is definitely the heart of our campus. Three floors full of reference books, fiction, non-fiction, biographies, and journals are sure to win your heart over. However something is new this year...the library was renovated! I figured not many students would actually look around to take in the new lay-out of the second floor and this is why I chose to take pictures here. It's new bright, inviting colors really allow the students to get their creativity juices flowing. Plus, there are new study areas, a new young adult fiction section, and new chairs and couches. If you have yet to take a look on the second floor, I would recommend you take a walk and look around. It's absolutely gorgeous. 

The newly renovated 2nd floor of Bailey Library allow for more group work space and creativity.

Students Larissa Zeigler (left) and Courtney Marotto (right) use some of the new features of the 2nd floor, such as the whiteboards and new study desks.

The popular serpentine seating incorporates more personality and comfort to studying for student Rachel Brand.

Whiteboard tables add to the group studying experience for Lauren Harvey (left), Katie Teed (center), and Sohpie Mazza (right).

The bright, blue walls give the 2nd floor a cheery appearance, especially while working on the computer like Devan Zanaglio.

The new tables, as well as chairs, really make group work an easy task for these students.

Emily Reed is keeping an eye on things at the entirely new student assistant desk.

Bria Roney uses the new chairs for private studying that are toward the back of the 2nd floor.

Does Teen Pregnancy Depend on Condom Access?

In 2013, a total of 273,105 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a live birth rate of 26.5  per 1,000 women in this age group. They are at a record low...but is this just a fluke? Are the number of teenage pregnancies lower because they are using condoms or is the study wrong? Let's take a look.

Photograph courtesy of: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/472103973411278742/

When used correctly, condoms are highly effective in preventing pregnancy, as well as HIV and some STI's. However, when people have more access to condoms, they have sex more often. Sometimes condom's aren't even used, and if they are, they are used inconsistently which can increase pregnancy and STI's. There is a delicate balance to these two: more condoms increase the amount of sex which can result in more pregnancies if people are not careful. 

But what if the teens were more educated on the topic of sex, especially in school? Would the number of pregnancies increase or decrease? A study compared public high schools in New York City to those in Chicago, and it found that there was a positive effect of condom availability programs. Sexually active students in NY, who had the condom availability program, were more likely to use a condom than students in Chicago where no program was in place. 

Photograph courtesy of:
 http://zap2it.com/2014/01/16-and-pregnant-found-to-have-lowered-teen-pregnancy-rates/

Teen pregnancy costs billions of dollars that U.S. taxpayers must give up. These costs help cover lost tax revenue, public assistance payments, public health care, foster care and criminal justice services. In 2010 alone, teen pregnancy cost taxpayers $9.4 billion, 

according to the National Campaign. 

Are condoms helping the situation, or are they making it worse? Despite the drop in teenage pregnancies, the United States teen birthrate is still higher than many other developed countries. Sexually transmitted infection rates are also climbing, not dropping. 25 % of people diagnosed with infections are teenagers. Even though condom availability is extremely high, using condoms are sometimes not a priority to those teens who are sexually active.

Regardless of any study done, the most effective form of birth control remains as abstinence. We can only prepare teenagers for what lies ahead if they wish to have sex. That is their choice.