Why the illusion of safety may be more important

By Sam McCann
The Department of Homeland Security’s latest creation sounds like it was ripped straight from an Orwellian novel: After a failed plane bombing Christmas Day, the government debuted a device that virtually strip-searches citizens when they arrive at the airport. Civil liberty advocates are up in arms about the invasion of privacy. Critics claim the scanners don’t even do their job properly. But here’s the secret no one’s talking about: None of it matters. In the world of aviation security, perception trumps all. As long as we feel safer, it doesn’t matter if the scanners actually slow down terrorists at all.

The future of public transportation is here.  But are we ready?
By Brian Tetrud
With nearly 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. spewing out of the transportation sector alone, it has become apparent that it is in dire need of fundamental change. Sure, the Prius was a hit, sparking the whole hybridification movement; [...]

College students criss-cross the nation for long-distance-relationships
By Gena Mangiaratti
On the wall above the desk of Ithaca College freshman music education major Erika St. Denis are three different pictures of her and her girlfriend, Gibby, an animal science major at the University of Maryland. They met while both attending high school in Amherst, Mass. One [...]

The ups and downs of being a frequent flyer
By Matt Reis
Waiting for a flight in an airport often brings forth memories of a lobby with sticky vinyl seats, overpriced food and drinks, and that one screaming kid that’s just asking for a punch in the face.
Frequent flyers used to be stuck in the same [...]

Why pilots’ salaries have decreased over the years
By Amy Obarski
So it’s the 1970s. You are a newly trained commercial airline pilot, and you are a god. People see your uniform, and a sense of admiration fills their eyes as they watch you walk through the airport from one terminal to the next. They whisper, “He [...]

Establishments add preferential parking for eco-friendly vehicles
By Kacey Deamer
Parking has become a new experience in recent years. When pulling into a parking lot you pass the commonly reserved handicap parking spaces and maybe a few “with child” spaces. Now, you may even have to drive past some prime parking spaces reserved for green vehicles.
In recent [...]

Getting a driver’s license in the U.S. and abroad
By Alyssa Figueroa
Sophomore Cherrie Rhodes from Japan said it “never even occurred to [her] to get [her] driver’s license.”  After all, it costs over $4,200 to get one, and since Japan has no permit period, many drivers often have to take the test about five times [...]

The evolution of waiting on the road to waiting on Craigslist
By Isabel Braverman
Gone are the days of Kerouac-inspired hitchhiking frenzies and hippies driving VW vans, picking up teenage stragglers destined for San Francisco. In place of this we now have hitchhiking horror stories and a color-coded security system. If it is true that hitchhiking [...]

Cupcake truck tweets locations to customers
By Carly Sitzer
To reflect the surge in popularity of cupcakes in the U.S., the expression “selling like hotcakes” should be changed to “selling like cupcakes.” After all, the expression “selling like hotcakes” first came into play in the early 19th century, when the demand for hotcakes, cooked in [...]

Cyber Stalking: When the Internet becomes a weapon

By Shaza Elsheshtawy
The new generation has grown up online. Gone are the days of scary men following young victims in alleys. They’re quickly being replaced by a newly popular weapon: cyber stalking.