On the Merit of the Issues

The 46th Ward Aldermanic election contest drew down two contestants, Molly Phelan and James Cappleman a week before the Election Day.

The two candidates faced off in a runoff debate held at Truman on Monday, Mar. 28, between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Two moderators asked both candidates many tough questions from public education, to arts, new businesses and security in the streets and they both appeared to be holding to positions of strength from the way they answered the questions.

How to solve the security-related problems on Uptown streets was, however, a hot button issue. If this was the only deciding factor and I was residing in Uptown, I would have voted for Cappleman.

 In her defense, Phelan argued for more police patrol on Uptown streets; while this may help arrest and incarcerate criminals, it does not go deep enough to address the roots causes of crime in Uptown.

On the other hand, to his credit, Cappleman promised to roll out resources that would provide meaningful engagements to young people including athletics and more funding for schools and afterschool programs. He stressed that prevention is better and would probably cost much less than fighting crime.   

For details, please check out http://www.uptownupdate.com/2011/03/reading-nook.html

Is it Stealing or Ignorance?

 It occurred to me last night, just before I went to bed, to write about theft of library resources such as books, Magazines or DVDs from Ray Cosgrove library for my next blog. I saw this happen before but it never crossed my mind to cover it for my blog.

 I saw several times in the past students who attempted to take books out of the library without checking them out properly. Just this semester alone, I saw this happen on three different occasions while I was studying at the library. I should tell you that I don’t even visit the library every day. Just three or four times a week, at most. So for me to witness three attempts of theft of resources belonging to all of us was odd enough and has thus generated interest in me.

So, I deliberately went to the library today and stayed there until I witnessed two such attempts.  In the first case, a student packed books in his backpack and strolled through the exit like they he was a king. The good thing is that Ray Cosgrove books have magnetic strips which activate the antitheft alarm system whenever students exit the library with books that are not scanned for check out.

The library staffs are ready and trained to investigate and recover such books. But the reaction of the students who do such uncivil behavior is mostly unexpected. Some just drop the materials and walk out quietly while others try to cover up their actions by not cooperating with the library staffs. It’s this later group that becomes a thorn in the flesh of the librarian at the counter because then the Security Officer on duty has to be called in.

Either case, today’s attempters were humble enough to drop the books without further complicating the situation. Students who attempt to steal books can still check out the same books if they have a valid library card.

Librarian Kehinde Akinnlolu-Ale told me that she witnesses such behavior, on average, five times a month.

 The interesting thing is what motivates students to steal library resources. Those who would want to attempt such indecency must first understand that library resources belong to all the faculty, staff and students who call Truman home and stealing books from shelves affects all of us who want to use those books.

Check out the link about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7GSIxd896E