In the past few weeks, three violent shootings have occurred on college campuses, two of them very close to home. Within 36 hours of each other, a student at Mississippi State University was killed in a residence hall and a student at Jackson State University was slain at a party off campus. Not long after, a shooter at Oikos University in Oakland, Calif., killed seven people and wounded several others.

As university students, this obviously concerns us. Yet we aren’t sure where to focus that concern. The nature of these violent acts is shocking, heartbreaking, and above all confusing, even more so than it was when we were in middle school hearing horror stories from Columbine High School.

Once upon a time, not long after the tragic events in Littleton, Colo., we thought we could make sense of school shootings. The perpetrators were bad seeds, bullied and misunderstood high schoolers who didn’t know how to handle the complex emotions brought on by cruel treatment from others. Back then, teachers had warning signs they could decipher, and the jail-like public school system offered a semblance of security.

But now, things are different. Shootings are moving from high schools to university campuses. We thought we had left the danger zone, but it has followed us.

The recent tragedies at MSU, JSU and Oikos have left students everywhere shocked and uncertain of how to proceed. The reasons for why each shooter picks up a gun are so varied – psychological problems, revenge, power, copycatting – that we can’t even understand why they really happen. We are vulnerable because there is no hard and fast answer to the ever-present cry of “Why?” Students feel as though they should be afraid, but no one is sure what to be afraid of.

It is this uncertainty that frightens us the most. But there is no cure for confusion, and no way to predict such an event. The best we can do is hope that the most recent school shootings will be the last the world ever sees.

Editor

The hype surrounding Lionsgate’s new film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” is getting ridiculous. The “Team Peeta vs. Team Gale” craze and the obnoxious merchandising of the stars’ faces (smeared across everything from lipstick tubes to pillowcases) have reduced a story about war, oppression, fear and survival to a “Twilight”-esque teen love triangle. It’s enough to make the truest fan of the books – an English major who sees so much depth to the story, if not the writing – want to boycott the theatres.

Of course, I totally went to the midnight premiere anyway.

But I walked out of the theatre with a big ball of confusion and disappointment in my chest. I really enjoyed the movie, and was very pleased with the actors and with the director’s vision in some aspects of the adaptation. However, I was not at all impressed with the film in general.

Granted, I speak as one who read the entire “Hunger Games” trilogy in the first 48 hours that she owned it, and as one who views the books as an almost ready-made screenplay. While I don’t consider myself a purist – I know books have to change in the transition from page to screen, and often I like the changes better – there were several changes to this one that I found to be useless and detrimental to the movie as a whole.

Now, for those of you who have somehow made it this long without knowing what the story is about despite the outrageous hype surrounding it, here’s a quick synopsis: In our distant future, North America has fallen. It is now divided into 12 Districts, all oppressed by the central government in the Capitol. Each year, every district must randomly select two tributes – a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 – to compete in a gladiatorial fight to the death called the Hunger Games. Twenty-four children enter the arena, which is plagued with traps and monsters. Only one comes out to be crowned the victor.

Our heroine, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), volunteers to replace her younger sister Primrose (Willow Shields) when Prim’s name is selected at the annual “reaping.” Along with her fellow tribute from District 12, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), she is sent to the capitol to train for the showdown. Then they enter the arena and the games begin.

Let’s start with what I loved best about the movie: the actors. Whoever cast this movie is a genius. Lawrence, already nominated for the Best Actress Oscar last year for “Winter’s Bone,” is a true gem. She captures Katniss’s conflicted emotions perfectly, and somehow manages to make clear with a single facial expression feelings I thought would be impossible to discern without Katniss narrating, as in the book. Hutcherson also manages to hold his own with Lawrence. Even though I feared he would reduce Peeta to a stereotypical, hopeless lover, Hutcherson rises to the challenge that Peeta’s complex character offers, and somehow does him justice.

Then there are the minor characters – Lenny Kravitz lends gravity and power to Cinna’s reduced role in the story; Woody Harrelson blends the tragic mentor Haymitch Abernathy with his own comic style to produce a sad sort of strength which is lovely to watch; and Shields’ portrayal of Prim’s misery and horror at the knowledge that her sister and protector must leave for the Games is truly remarkable for such a young actress. But I think perhaps the best actor in the whole movie is one of the smallest roles: Dayo Okeniyi plays Thresh, the male tribute from District 8. He has only two short lines, but in those two lines Okeniyi convinces his audience of his character’s intense desperation, his brutality, his fear, and his inner nobility in a way that no other character in the arena could do. That is a sign of some true acting chops.

The design of the movie is also lovely. While the Capitol setting was a little more “Star Wars”-eque than I would have liked (to be honest, it looked like scenes of Naboo had been spliced in), it is both modern and ancient, lending to the idea of a futuristic society inspired by the Roman Empire. The costume design is also particularly nice, blending outrageous styles with decadent colors. The color palette is fascinating – one minute, the cheering crowds put one in mind of a candy store – the next, of rotting flesh or a new bruise. I can only congratulate the designer, Judianna Makovsky, on making visible the dichotomy between self indulgence and brutality that the Capitol embodies.

But then there are the things that I didn’t like, the things that I felt detracted from the whole story and made the transition from book to film less of a leap and more of a fall. First off, the whole storyline is rushed. I don’t mean that it is over quickly – the movie is almost three hours long. No, what I mean is that the filmmakers rushed through important scenes, scenes which developed characters or plot points. These sorts of scenes were sacrificed in the name of art and replaced with “artistic insertions” – elongated flashbacks, emotional gazes, or explanation of the unimportant details going on offstage. Somehow these additions and subtractions just dragged the movie out longer, and left the audience hungry for a lot more than was given.

Also, I was extremely irritated by the use of the shaky camera. I believe the point of using the shaky cam was to make the action seem more like reality television. However, it just succeeded in making everything blurry and difficult to discern. In several fight scenes, I didn’t know who was who, or which side to be rooting for, simply because I couldn’t see anything!

And speaking of fight scenes – did no one inform these kids that they are fighting to the death for their own survival? The level of brutality – which is so crucial to this story about how war and violence change people – was drastically reduced. I, who cry at the sight of a bruise, found the Hunger Games fight scenes and resultant deaths to be positively tame. I didn’t really believe that these kids were killing each other, or that they had real reason to fear death.

Overall, I was disappointed with “The Hunger Games.” That is not to say that I didn’t like it, or that I don’t recommend it, but I definitely expected better from one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year. I wanted more, and I didn’t get it. Hopefully Lionsgate will get the green light for the sequel, “Catching Fire,” and will rectify my dissatisfaction next year. 

Copy Editor

The second quarter of 2012 is already here! That means that we gamers have seen our fair share of new releases. Some were bad, but most were good. 2012 has seen the return of both new and old franchises. We’re going to show you the highlights among these releases.

Soul Calibur V - PS3, Xbox 360 — Jan. 31, 2012 

The 6^th  main entry in the Soul Blade series is sure to please any fighting game enthusiasts during the opening months of spring. Taking place 17 years after Soul Calibur 4 left off, the game introduces 10 new characters, including Ezio Auditore da Firenze of the Assassin Creed series. The game also sees the return of 18 veteran characters, bringing the full roster of the game to a decent 28 characters. As expected of the Soul series, players can welcome the return of the popular Create-a-Character system and online multiplayer gameplay. The game has new amazing graphics, a new story mode and new ways to customize your characters. Soul Calibur V is clearly everything that a fan of Soul Calibur IV could ask for in a sequel.

Final Fantasy XIII-2- PS3, Xbox 360 — Jan. 31

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a great game for any RPG fan who is looking to relax with a meaty story and an intense turn-based battle system. Taking place three years after the events of Final Fantasy XIII, the players guide Serah Farron and Noel Kreiss through their journey on the planet of Gran Pulse. New to the game’s exploration is the addition of time traveling through the various regions of the game. As players progress through the game, they will be able to freely travel through time and perform multiple quests and events. The battle system is an active turn-based model similar to that found in Final Fantasy XIII. The player plays as three characters (Serah, Noel and a monster), with the third character, being the monster, found and captured through battle. The game allows the player to assign various roles to his or her AI-controlled allies, giving them much flexibility during battle. The game also added quick-time events to battles similar to those found in games such as God of War and Heavy Rain. These events are used to deal heavy damage to enemies and end certain battles. As expected from the Final Fantasy series, the game is an audio-visual masterpiece and is sure to awe any gamer who decides to play this.

Twisted Metal - PS3 - Feb. 14

The four-year wait for the next entry in the Twisted Metal series is finally over and comes in the form of the new, simply-named Twisted Metal for the Playstation 3. The game reflects the time that went into its development with amazing graphics, sound, new weapons and many other additions. With 15 cars, new weapons, and multiple tracks, there are many ways for the player to enjoy this game. The largest addition to this game is the addition of online multiplayer. With up to 16 players being able to battle it out at once in multiple game modes, including free-for-all and team deathmatch, the series introduces its largest multi-player field yet. Local four-player split-screen co-op is available for those who are looking to battle it out with their friends. The return of Twisted Metal is an explosive one and definitely worth checking out.

Lumines Electronic Symphony - PS Vita - Feb. 14

With the launch of the Playstation Vita still being fresh on the minds of most gamers, looking for new games to play has been hard for some. One game that should not be overlooked by gamers, though, is Lumines Electronic Symphony. This game is the third installment in this rhythmic puzzle series and is looking to awe players with its amazing visuals and sound. The goal of the game is to use falling 2x2 blocks to match four of the same color together in a square pattern in timing with a bar of light that is constantly moving to the right of the screen. The game ends if the stacks of blocks become taller than the bar of light. The trait that makes this puzzle game unique is the fact that it uses the colors and designs of the blocks and stages to challenge the player. The patterns of the blocks are all unique to each stage and are fairly unpredictable in design. The stages also run a background animation that is relative to the music track of the stage and can also present a visual challenge to the player. Unlike the first two games in the series, Electronic Symphony uses full 3-D blocks and stages instead of 2-D sprites. This creates a game that is breathtakingly beautiful on the Vita’s large, bright screen. The game also utilizes the Vita’s touch functionality while still retaining the button scheme from earlier installments of the series. The game features 37 stages with musical tracks by popular electronica and house musicians such as Kaskade and Bebel Gilberto. With tons of replay value in the form of multiple gameplay modes, visual flare and an amazing electro-house soundtrack, Electronic Symphony is sure to keep any player happy for hours.

Mario Party 9 - Nintendo Wii - March 11

The 9^th installment in the popular Mario Party series fails to disappoint players with its plethora of new mini-games and board rules. Be sure to grab your helmets to protect yourself from the stray wiimote that may “accidentally” fly in your direction during all the fun. The most interesting addition to the series that can be found in Mario Party 9 is that players now all move together during each turn and that the game length has been shortened to 45 minutes per board. Whether this is a positive or negative change is relative to the person playing the game. The game is still the Mario Party that we love with dozens of boards and mini-games. It is worth checking out for anyone who is looking for a fun and casual game to play with friends.

Managing Editor

I have been covering the development of the Playstation Vita since before Sony even knew what to call the thing. From the Playstation Portable 2, to the Next Generation Portable, I have been on Sony’s heels ready to purchase and review its next offering to the portable gaming market. Last Wednesday, that moment was thrust upon me when I received my Playstation Vita one week before its retail release date. Since its announcement, the Vita’s main selling point has been what it has, rather than what it can do. The Vita has a built in GPS, a SixAxis motion sensing system, a three-axis electronic compass, two 640 x 480 front- and rear-facing cameras, a 5-inch OLED multi-touch screen and a rear-facing multi-touch counterpart on back of the device. All those specifications sound great, but how well do they work together? Is the Vita worth its $250 price tag? Let’s unbox the pricey, powerful portable and find out.

Design

Everything from the box that was placed in my hand was elaborately thought out to be appealing to the buyer’s eyes. The beautiful, brilliant blue of the box was a stark contrast to deep black of the actual console that was hidden inside a little bag that was inside another box inside the initial box. Once you get past all the user manuals and instructions, you will find the prize you have been waiting for: there in all of its glitz, glam and glory is the Playstation Vita. I was honestly afraid to touch the expensive thing for fear that it might crumble to pieces in my inadequate hands. But after about 10 minutes of mulling it over, I finally decided to give the device a once over.

Though the Vita lacks the functions for output that the older PSP had, the Vita clearly has more slots for input. On the outside of the device, the Vita sports a PS Vita card slot, a memory card slot, a SIM card slot (only on the 3G versions), a headset jack, an accessory port and a multi-use port for its charger cable, nearly all of which are made specifically for this console.

Aside from all the ports and slots around the outside of the machine, the Vita is downright sexy. The Vita features what Sony calls, a “Super Oval Shape” design. Much like its predecessor, the PSP, the Vita draws inspiration from the cousin of the circle. But in this incarnation, it is on a much larger scale. Vita’s 5-inch OLED screen alone is larger than not a Nintendo 3DS screen, but larger than the entire console when closed.

The familiar face buttons on the Vita are all there: a D-Pad, L and R buttons, the PS Button, Start and Select keys and the traditional Triangle, Square, Circle and Cross buttons. Joining the portable party are the two full-fledged analog sticks poking somewhat awkwardly out of the device. The back of the Vita sports two little grooves for hand comfort and the much talked about rear multi-touch pad and rear facing camera.

All in all, the Vita couldn’t look more sleek and futuristic. The awkwardness of the analog nubs is completely made up for by the undeniable coolness of the rear touchpad, which is emblazoned with Sony’s trademark shape buttons. The whole system keeps a color scheme of black and silver and a font that demands to be taken seriously. Sony wasted no effort in making the Vita its most visually appealing console to date.

Features

If you could ever snatch yourself away from gazing at the sheer beauty of the Vita and turn it on, you will see that it is packed with unique. During the initial set up, you will notice that the traditional face buttons have absolutely no use in the latest iteration of Sony’s GUI, Live Area, which took the place of the PSP’s and PS3’s XMB (XrossMediaBar). Everything – and I mean every little aspect – is controlled by the touch screen, which was refreshing and new at first, but is now proving to be a bit of a nuisance. Setting up your date, time and account settings would be easy work with a few presses of the D-Pad and a few face buttons, but “No way” says the Vita, “we would rather you use the touch controls.” The touch controls on the Vita are far more responsive than those of my cell phone and 3DS put together. With that being said, I’m not sure that is necessarily a good thing. While I was putting in my information, I often accidentally pressed the wrong command, or ended up scrolling over too far. As refreshing and new as it is, the touch controls will take some getting used to, and boy does the Vita have just the thing for you to do so.

Before you go off and play your first game, the Vita urges you to play through what it calls “Welcome Park,” which is a suite of mini-games designed to get you used to working your Playstation Vita. “Welcome Park” is composed of five tutorials, each with their own focus. The first tutorial is designed to get you familiar with touching. The user must tap numbers on the screen in the correct ascending order to pass on to the next area. As fun as it is, “Digit Chase” is merely a tap-tap-tutorial, and once completed, the game goes on to the next part of the touching tutorial, dragging. The second tutorial of “Welcome Park” is “Skate Axis,” a game designed to show of the SixAxis motion controls of the Vita. The third tutorial, “Sound Loop,” is an odd microphone enhanced tutorial, designed to show off the microphone, but only ends up confusing the user. “Snap + Slide” uses the front and rear facing cameras to instantly create a puzzle of any captured picture for use in a fun puzzle sliding game. The last “Welcome Park” tutorial game is by far the most odd. In “Hello Face,” using the Vita’s cameras, the user is to find different scenes in real life that are shaped enough like the face displayed on the system and take a picture of it. If the “face” looks enough like the one on the Vita, the picture will come to life, thus showing off the Vita’s augmented reality features, much like those of the Nintendo 3DS.

Along with “Welcome Park,” the Vita comes preloaded with various Apps including ones for party chatting, downloading games, trophy support, web browsing, taking pictures, viewing video, listening to music, remote playing games from the PS3 and display maps. Though the fun of Welcome Park can be enjoyed anywhere, most features of the Vita are absolutely useless without a working connection to the Internet and to the Playstation Network. When connected to the Internet and Playstation Network, a user can download new games, sync their trophies with the Playstation Network, watch movies on Netflix and even use the GPS function. But without Internet and the amazing library of one game at this time, all the user can do is play Welcome Park and show off their sleek heavy paperweight. The Vita, much to the dismay of its fan base, has to be connected to the Internet to transfer one’s own music, pictures, and videos to the device. This strategy was surely implemented to stop tech-pirates from trying to hack the device, but it ended up only inconveniencing the people who have legitimately spent money on the Vita.

Sound

The sound of the Vita was only talked about once during pre-release. Sony stated that the system would have built-in stereo speakers instead of the two mono speakers present in the PSP. In theory, this should be a huge step up quality-wise, but after doing a sound test comparing the two models, the older PSP 3000 outclasses the Vita embarrassingly. When listening to the Vita through standard headphones, the sound is crisp, clear and welcoming, but the second you take out the headphones, the sound quality is diminished severely. The sound from the Vita is not only muffled, but also distorted; it sounds as if the music is being played too loudly for the speakers to handle it, despite only being on about half volume. No matter what setting the equalizer is set to, the music sounds exactly the same. From the standpoint of an amateur audiophile and an avid musician, this aspect of the Vita is devastating.

Games

The Playstation Vita, on many occasions, has been touted by Sony to have the power of a Playstation 3 when it comes to playing games. With all the power the device is supposed to have, why is it that it has no games? Buyers who purchased the pre-release version of the Vita like I did were treated to one free game. Little did we know, that would be the only game. The other “launch titles” will not be sold until Feb. 22, and even then the titles are a scattered mess of rushed releases that wouldn’t last 20 seconds in the disc drive of a real console. The game shipped with the Playstation Vita First Edition Bundle is “Little Deviants.” “Deviants” has been poised to be the new face of the Vita. Every aspect of the game tells the player that the cute little Deviants are meant to give the Vita a face and a mascot much like Sackboy from Little Big Planet for the Playstation 3. The game itself isn’t so bad. The collection of “Mario Party”-esque mini-game escapades is great and fun for about the minute and a half it takes to complete each one of them. But after about 15 minutes with the game, you’ll start to feel like you got cheated out of a real game with their “one free game” offer.

Along with about 25 “launch titles” including the only real game, “Uncharted: Golden Abyss,” the Vita will be about to support 275 “Legacy” PSP titles. Because the Vita lacks the needed UMD drive to play these games natively, the games have to be downloaded from the Playstation Network via the Vita or the PS3 and transferred to the speedy, yet highly expensive, memory card. Though 275 sounds like a sizeable number, this isn’t 10 percent of the PSP’s library. Also, once I reviewed the games on the list, the list had none of the PSP’s best selling games like “Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep” or any of the many “God of War” PSP tie-in games. The list is composed of much lesser known and very old PSP titles.

Overview

Aside from not being able to play much on it, I have been thoroughly impressed with the Playstation Vita. Though it has only one game, that one game is quite solid. I can almost smell the potential seeping out of every open slot of the Vita. The screen is astounding, the interface is promising and the list of upcoming games has me thoroughly excited. But after buying the expensive monster of a portable, I’m not sure if I will be able to buy another game. My advice to other gamers is even though the Vita is definitely worth its price tag, I would wait until more suitable games arrive for the console. It has tons of potential, but has yet to realize it. Buying a Vita right now would be like winning the lottery but only being able to spend your money at Dollar General.

Editor

More and more lately I have been noticing a lack of writing skills in people with whom I have to communicate. I often receive emails from people – professional adults, not just college-age friends – who ignore the basic rules of grammar or spelling.

And it isn’t just the basics. In reading over formal essays written by students right here at the W, I have noticed major issues, such as the use of “text-talk” in educational and professional writing.

As an English major and a newspaper editor, this really upsets me. Ignore the upper-level literature and composition courses under my belt for just a moment: I have gone through the same basic classes that everyone else has, and I can tell you that they are perfectly adequate for teaching students how to write a proper essay. How, then, can it be possible that students can still write so badly?

In my opinion, it has a great deal to do with the current state of communications in the world. Technological messaging – text messages, emails, and social media messages – comprise a vast majority of our communication skills these days. Due to this, we are losing the ability to “properly” communicate with each other in writing and replacing it with a format more suited to the high-speed world we live in.

I don’t think this technology is necessarily a bad thing. I don’t have a problem with the evolution of language and communication either. However, I do not view this as language evolution. To me, it is a language devolution – a lowering of vocabulary, a lack of learning and a dearth of meaning behind words. It isn’t a failure of education, necessarily, but a failure of understanding the importance of writing in general.

I am a writer, so I understand that my opinion on this is a little biased. But writing is something which has shaped the course of human history, something which allows us to remember the past and look to the future. We need to remember the importance of writing, and to think about that every time we put our fingers on the keyboard.

Managing Editor

There are two types of movies that are certain to continue being made in Hollywood: Oscar-grubbing tear-jerkers and awesome superhero movies. “Chronicle” is the latter of the two.

“Chronicle,” which opened last Friday, is a fast-paced, thrill-driven, amazingly detailed example of the magic that is still left in the superhero genre. The most endearing aspect of the film, and what sets it apart from the many other superhero movies, is that it is in no way, shape or form a superhero movie.

“Chronicle” follows the life of 17-year-old Andrew Detmer, portrayed by “True Blood’s” Dane DeHaan. The movie opens with Andrew turning on his newly purchased, technologically obsolete camera and proclaiming that he will now be recording every moment of his life on it. Within the next minute, we meet antagonist No. 1 of the film, Andrew’s drunken, abusive father Richard, played by an unrecognizable Michael Kelly from the “Sopranos.” Richard violently beats on the door until Andrew informs his father that he is recording everything, and Richard leaves him alone. Before heading to school, Andrew goes to show his new camera to his ailing mother, who is bedridden with an unspecified disease.

On his way to school we are introduced to the second main character, Andrew’s cousin Matt (Alex Russell) who is visibly annoyed by his uncool cousin. Inevitably, Andrew gets into nothing but trouble because of his videotaping, and almost gets his camera broken by the head bully.

Up to this point, “Chronicle” seems like a run-of-the-mill, struggling high school teen movie. However, the action picks up when Andrew, along with Matt and Steve (Michael B. Jordan), the school’s popular do-it-all jock character, discover the weird underground object that gives them amazing telekinetic powers.

The movie paces amazingly after this point, as this is where the audience can start to really appreciate the visuals and different framing devices used in the film.

 The entire movie is filmed from a handheld camera, whether it is Andrew’s first out-of-date camera, his newer one later on in the film, or cell phone and surveillance cameras much later in the film. Some may see this as a bit gimmicky, but if you are totally enthralled in the movie like I was, you will really enjoy the subtly of it. The direction is impeccable; many movies have tried the “this whole movie is being recorded by the people in it with a handy cam” approach, and this movie has done it the best by far. If you have seen “Cloverfield” or “Paranormal Activity" and are put off by this device, I beg you to watch this movie to see how it’s done correctly.

With that being said, the reality factor is shattered to pieces when it comes to the sometimes horribly executed CGI elements of the film. Early on, when Andrew, Matt and Steve are testing out their powers by throwing a baseball at each and trying to stop it with their mind, the ball looks like it has been Photoshopped in from an old Playstation One game. The floating objects looked completely ridiculous in almost every instance they were used in the film.

But when it came to the superpowered teens themselves taking flight, it was surprisingly convincing. What made it even more compelling was that the characters didn’t just up and start flying all over the world – they have to learn how to do it first. The film takes us through every step of the characters’ process of learning how to control their abilities, and by the time they get the hang of it, it is totally believable and utterly natural to watch.

The music in this movie is an eclectic mix of newer pop songs, with the likes of Jessie J., and classic rock ballads from David Bowie. An interesting thing to note about this movie is that it lacks the usual deep, booming, dramatic score that you would usually find in a movie of this genre. This could be attributed to the fact that this movie is presented as real footage of someone’s life and that in real life there are no John Williams-esque stringed quartets playing in the background during hard times and no arias from Madam Butterfly playing when you meet a cute girl.

All in all, this movie is amazing. The action is insane, the backgrounds are solid, and the lengthy expositional opening ends exactly twenty seconds before you would get bored with the movie. The story itself is brilliant. One could liken it the 1988 cult classic anime movie “Akira.” We can only hope that the remake of “Akira” slated for 2013 is a quarter as amazing as “Chronicle” is. “Chronicle” is a fresh new take on the regular super-powered teen movies and is sure to be on everyone’s list of favorite movies of 2012. I give “Chronicle” four and a half stars out of five.

Editor

One of my very dear friends, a psychology major who specializes in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), mentioned to me recently that the U.S. is experiencing a shortage in ADHD medications. The prices of many brand-name medications are being inflated and generic alternatives are becoming almost impossible to come by.

According to an article on WebMD, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is responsible for deciding how much of any prescription drug is legitimately needed in the U.S. At the moment, the allotted amount of active ingredients for most ADHD medication (usually methylphenidate or amphetamine) allowed for production is not nearly enough to keep up with the public’s demand. Thus the shortage.

Since 2007, the limit of methylphenidate allowed to be produced in the U.S. was 50,000 kilograms, and since 2009 amphetamine has been limited to 18,600 kilograms. However, this year those quotas will rise to 56,000 kilograms and 25,300 kilograms respectively.

It remains to be seen if this will ease the shortage, as rates of reported ADHD in children are growing steadily. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2003 and 2007, the number of children diagnosed with ADHD rose by 22%, and that number is continuing to rise.

But in my experience, I am of the opinion that those numbers are overblown by the tendency of parents and psychologists to overdiagnose the disorder, simply because the symptoms – inability to concentrate and high levels of energy – are so common in normally functioning children.

While I am no expert in psychology or pharmaceuticals, I am an expert when it comes to kids with ADHD. I worked for a number of years at a summer camp, and often had to deal with children between the ages of 6 and 16 who had ADHD.

Over the years, most of my fellow staffmates and I began to notice that many of the kids who were being medicated for ADHD, when removed from their medications (as many parents choose to do when they send a child to summer camp), were as normal as could be. Excitable, sure – what child isn’t excitable? – but in comparison to kids with normal to severe cases of ADHD, who were not allowed to go one day without their meds, they seemed to not need the meds at all. In fact, I often noticed that the medications seemed to cause them to act oddly.

And it’s not just nonprofessionals like me and my colleagues who are observing this trend. The tendency of doctors to overdiagnose the disorder is being noted by experts in the field. In an article on the American Psychological Association’s website, written by Eileen O’Connor, Dr. Gretchen LeFever calls for "a public health agenda that includes improved systems for tracking ADHD diagnoses, treatments and outcomes and primary prevention initiatives." Other experts agree with LeFever, calling for alternatives to heavy medication, such as behavioral therapy from teachers or parents.

ADHD is nearly impossible to conclusively diagnose. But I feel that in that case, it should be much harder to get a prescription for serious ADHD medication. However, it is incredibly easy for a doctor to chalk up behavior or hyperactivity issues to ADHD. A kid with lots of energy is likely to be put on Ritalin or Adderall, when in reality he just needs to join little league.

I’ve seen kids who need the meds and who don’t have them, and I’ve seen kids who have them and don’t need them. It’s a difficult situation, and I understand that it is hard to accurately gauge what is best for each individual child. But this national shortage makes me nervous. If the DEA feels there is enough for the legitimate needs of the country – and is increasing that amount no less – why is the demand still so high?

I feel that too many children are being overmedicated for ADHD, and that frightens me. Prescription drugs are drugs all the same, and I don’t like to think about what long-term effects they could have on children who don’t need them in the first place.

Editor

The end is near for me. Actually, the end of too many things is near.

First of all, Monday was my last first day of classes. After three and a half years, I am finally within sight of graduation, and the end of my time at the W. I’m so excited to take the plunge, to get out and move on, but saying goodbye to the Spectator office, to the gingko trees, to my social club insignia, and to Painter Hall might just break my heart into pieces.

Columbus is my home in a way that no other place has ever been. It’s where, for the first time, I found people who liked me for me – who were, themselves, like me. I don’t want to go – and yet I’m ready, so ready, to move on to a new world. I’m ready to find more people like me, and to try new things. It’s not time to grow up, not just yet. But it is time to go.

Second, the end of my reign as Spectator editor is creeping up on me. I’ve held this position for two years now, and I feel that I have learned more from this job than I have in any class. It has become a part of me, and it has taught me a great deal about myself. I had no idea when I took the position what I was capable of – how strong-willed, passionate and fearless I could be when the mood struck me. And though I know I will be leaving the paper in capable and confident hands, a part of me will always claim the blue swivel chair behind the middle desk in the office as “my chair.”

Last of all, the end of my dependence on others is slowly rolling closer. It’s the end of living off of scholarship money, of letting the cafeteria cook for me, of asking my mother to come visit just so she can bring me something I left at home. Once May rolls around, I will be completely and utterly on my own. It makes me breathless just to think about, like I’m standing on the high dive, waiting to jump off into a pool with no lifeguard on duty. But it’s exciting too, and exhilarating, and I just know that I am ready for it.

People say the end of all things is coming, anyway – the end of the world, the end of an age. 2012 has a lot in store for us, and especially for me. But in all these endings, I know there will be far more beginnings. I can’t wait for the beginnings of my new adventures, even if I have to say goodbye to everything I know. If I learned one thing when I came to the W, it’s that starting over in a new place where you know absolutely nothing and no one is the most rewarding adventure of all.

So bring it on, world. I’m ready for the end.



Contributing writer

The characters in “In Time” really have some time on their hands.

For real. It is a glowing green watch that ticks down the years, months, minutes and seconds they have left before they die. “In Time” is set in a reality where everyone stops growing old at age 25, but they can continue to live on by earning, stealing or gaining extra time to spend on Earth. The rich citizens can live forever by taxing the poor and earning more time for themselves. Time is thought of as currency, and with a job you can earn a few days or a month of continued life.

Directed and written by Andrew Niccol, I cannot say this plot was an original idea. I could see a similarity in the cinematography of this film and “The Terminal,” which he also wrote.

Will Salsa (Justin Timberlake) and Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried) co-star in this ci-fi thriller. Will is fleeing the Time Keeper, (Cillian Murphy) a man whose job is to track the time being circulated in each time zone. The Time Keeper has accused Will of murdering a man who had a century stored on his arm. It is common for people in to kill others to steal the time they have acquired and a century is an unbelievable amount for someone to have.

My problem with the plot is that I have seen it before in Disney movies. It became “Aladdin” for a while — the street rat takes the princess away and shows her a life of poverty.  Likewise, Will from the ghetto takes Sylvia from high society as a hostage in hopes he can teach her to be grateful for all the time or riches she has acquired.

Later the plot became that of “Robin Hood.” Sylvia’s father happens to own one of the largest time banks in the world, and the couple begin robbing the banks and distributing the stolen time amongst the lower class. Their thinking is: why should just a few be wealthy when many are suffering? Sylvia’s father alone had acquired a million years to live on, making himself immortal. He (Vincent Kartheiser) says to Will, “Many have to die for a few to be immortal.”

One thing I did not like about “In Time” was all the cheesy dialogue between characters. I understand the dialogue was appropriate for the movie, but it just went on and on. Some common conversations included, “If I had all that time, I wouldn’t be wasting it,” “Don’t waste my time,” “I’ve finally got the time to do what I want” and “I’m not giving you a second of my time.”

Even some dialogue not directly related to the wordplay was cheesy. Sylvia tells Will something like “I never lived a day in my life before I met you.” Later she tells him that he saved her life, because he taught her how to live. I cannot understand why someone would write such boring dialogue for the characters to have. I felt like the two were reciting greeting cards to each other during every intimate moment they shared.

The overall message of the movie was to remember you do not have a lot of time left in this life, and each day you should live like it is your last. I liked the message, and it made me stop and think, which I’m sure was the goal. But I only give it a two-star rating. The cheesy dialogue was too much for me, and the plot, being a familiar one, was a turnoff.

Reporter

As an alumna and current student of the W, I have longed for this university to bring organized sports teams back to campus.

In November 2002, the W was hit by a tornado which destroyed the gym.  This greatly affected the school’s athletic department and eventually led to athletic programs being closed down completely. 

Since then, intramural sports, social clubs, fraternities, sororities and other organizations have become the main source of entertainment at the W.

Although these organizations provide plenty of entertainment and excitement, especially to me as a student, I still wish that we had organized sports teams for students and alums to enjoy.  

As an alumna, the only reason for me to come back and visit the W is to see my Coretta sisters and brothers.  

The desire to bring back sports teams recently hit me after visiting several college football games and experiencing the hype.  Even though I am not a fan of any college football team, I enjoyed being in the crowd, making noise, watching the band, buying souvenirs, etc. 

Also, if we had competitive sports teams, such as football, baseball and basketball, more men may choose to attend the W. Besides that, it may increase enrollment altogether as many individuals seek scholarships from athletic departments.

Academics are certainly the most important reason for attending college, but student involvement is important too.  I just wonder if I am the only one who has this sense of emptiness.  Is it just me, or is anyone else disappointed in our lack of competitive sports teams?

Would you rather have sports teams, or are you satisfied with the way that things are right now?