Author Archive

By Briana Kerensky Men and women in the United States spend more than $23 billion dollars per year on vitamin supplements. And in 2009, the Nutrition Business Journal released a report stating that the recession actually brought about an 8 percent, or $9.2 billion increase in sales. As the economy tanked but the high price [...]

The story of a coffee shop’s struggle to unionize By Briana Kerensky In a world where Starbucks has wrapped its grande double mocha latte-coated tentacles around society,  Ithaca Coffee Company has somehow managed to continue being two things that beverage giant is not: local and fair trade. All of the coffees offered at their two locations [...]

On March 18, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) unveiled a new, bi-partisan plan for immigration reform. How nice. Right? Not really.  The new bill has four pillars, one of which is the creation of a guest worker program. Here’s what Schumer and Graham said in their proposal, the text of which can [...]

Guest worker programs and legal slavery in America By Briana Kerensky We always hear about illegal immigrants who fight to get into the U.S. for their slice of sweet American pie, but end up working dangerous jobs in industries like agriculture and food processing. And they can’t do anything about it without risking a one-way [...]

Tracking los desaparecidos in Argentina’s Dirty War By Briana Kerensky The people of Buenos Aires, Argentina love to complain about their government. When Argentina’s current president, Kristina Fernandez de Kirchner, makes a decision people don’t agree with, they quickly take to the streets to voice their discontent. On any given day multiple groups of protesters [...]

Europeans, South Americans, Asians and other citizens of foreign countries idolize American culture. So why do they care about McDonald’s, U.S. pop music and Friends?

The miniskirt’s move from empowerment to objectification By Briana Kerensky In 2008, the mini-skirt is an article of fashion that seems to be reserved for a few different types of people. These include but are not limited to: women just “trying to put themselves through college,” women working too hard for attention, models, drag queens, [...]

Why America isn’t a democracy By Briana Kerensky The 2008 presidential election had the highest voter turnout since Jimmy Carter was elected in 1976. Unfortunately, there were about five million Americans who weren’t allowed to participate in this year’s historic event. Considering that President George W. Bush won by a matter of a few hundred [...]

Some parents opt to hold kids back before kindergarten By Briana Kerensky When I was about seven, my mom was always on the phone. Sometimes during dinner she would just get up from the table without a word, grab the kitchen phone and walk to a quiet corner of the house while my brother, father [...]

By Briana Kerensky In 2008, the mini-skirt is an an article of fashion that seems to be reserved for a few different type of people. These include but are not limited to: women just “trying to put themselves through college,” women working too hard for attention, models, drag queens, and Photoshopped pictures of Sarah Palin. [...]