Accordingly, the administration rolled out a new campaign advertisement this morning featuring higher education as its central theme, Bloomberg reported.

In the spot, a female narrator references the president’s early education before saying that “today, higher education means even more for the middle class, giving young people the chance to compete like he did.” The ad goes on to mention a few key policy achievements over the last four years.

The ad is part of a larger campaign strategy that aims to re-energize disenchanted young voters. The president doesn’t need much help attracting voters from this demographic, however. The 2008 election showed that young people voted for Obama and other Democrats more than Republicans by a pretty large margin. 

Hey I think I’m a cowboy! Look at all the dirt I can put in my trunk and my 3 golden retrievers. I never take off my jeans full of holes. Don’t I look all sexy with all my dirty, kinky stickers I have in the back window? Like I just came out of a Marlboro commercial? Of course I can be a sensitive guy, I mean I can put a blanket in the back and have a picnic under the stars with you.

Huge SUVs

I am rich and famous, or at least I think I am. Tinted windows are my thing and I secretly wish people stare inside to try to see who it is. I have amazing rims in my car all shiny and I have two hanging pink puffy dice in the rearview mirror. I consider myself the big daddy-o and I am a reckless driver.

Hummers 1/2/3

Macho, macho man. Come on, of course I was in the army, look at my ride! I am a badass, I eat children for breakfast and shattered glass for dessert. I even workout inside of my car, that’s how awesome it is. I also have so much money that I decide to spend it all on $200 gas every time I fill ‘er up. The only place that Hummers belong is in a combat zone, the desert, mountains, not in the very flat Florida.

Honda Civics, Toyota Corollas,  Mitsubishi Lancers, and hybrid cars

I like to play it safe. I am a cool dude/chick who just wants to use the car for what it was invented, to get to places. I am not conspicuous but I am very reliable. I love to save money and help the planet =)

All cars that look like CUBES

I have absolutely zero taste in cars, men/women, food, clothing style and everything that pertains to appearances. Apparently I love refrigerators since my car is shaped like one. I don’t understand the concept of beauty and I am in desperate need of a makeover in my life! HELP!

Minivans

I’m late to my son’s soccer game and I am half dressed in what seemed to be my pajamas from this morning. I have gum stuck in my hair from the arcades from yesterday with my five kids and there is a stain of red cherry slurpee in the backseat from three years ago. I have been married for probably 15 years and will most definitely leave my family soon because I can’t take it anymore!

Expensive cars (Lambos and Ferraris)

I am so fly, seriously. I don’t know what to do with my money so I just want to spend $400,000 (which is the price of some houses) in picking up sexy people from the streets. I think I am superior to everyone and I don’t care if I get a speeding ticket because hey, that’s what sports cars are for, to ignore speed limits. I also think I can park wherever I want because officers and tow trucks are afraid of scratching my beautiful baby.

Classy, expensive cars (Bentley and Aston Martin)

Sir/Madam. Kudos. Definitely a whiskey drinker and cuban smoker. High class, good manners, in fact I believe I am Moses with this car, every time I roll by it’s like the roads clear up for me.

Beetle and Mini Cooper

Hopefully a girl. Beetles have a vase where you are supposed to put a flower (I just don’t do that). Both of these are for college students meaning you are probably single, you don’t like to give car rides to your friends so you don’t get your car dirty. I am happy all the time (probably because it takes like 10 seconds to wash the car) I am most likely a sweet heart and easy going. I keep my cool at all times and I am a safe driver.

Which one are you?

Police say freshman Bria Shante Hunter was beaten and bruised on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Three band members were arrested in the case, just weeks before the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion.

Aaron Golson, 19, and Sean Hobson, 23, were sentenced Thursday in Tallahassee to 30 days in the Leon County work camp followed by 12 months of probation.

The students had originally been charged with felony hazing, and the state chose to also drop the battery charges.

Assistant State Attorney Stefanie Walters said medical records did not provide the required proof of serious bodily injury.

Hunter was bruised and initially thought to have a cracked femur, but further examination showed that was not the case after she returned home to the Atlanta area, the victim’s lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, told the AP.

She also said Hunter and her parents were satisfied with the plea deal because the sentences were serious punishment for young, first-time offenders.

Hunter, who gave up an $80,000 scholarship when she withdrew from school after the hazing, is planning legal action against Florida A&M, Bernstein said. Hunter is now taking courses at another school in Georgia.

Golson is one of 11 former band members charged with felony hazing in the Nov. 19 death of Champion in Orlando.

Eleven of the 13 people charged face a more-severe charge of felony hazing. The others will face misdemeanor-hazing charges.

University President James Ammons announced on Monday the Marching 100 band, which has been suspended since November, will remain suspended for at least another year as the school tries to come up with a strategy for stamping out the hazing tradition.

The legendary fighting actor announced he is leaving the movie genre, saying, “I don’t just want to be an action star … I want to be a true actor. I want to be an Asian Robert De Niro.”

He also said he has decided to change his image. “I want the audience to know I’m not just about fighting or comedy, also I can act.”

By leaving his fighting film days behind, Chan leaves his Guinness World Record— the most stunts by a living actor—open to being broken.

Here’s arguably one of the best fight scenes Chan was ever apart of from the movie “Meals on Wheels” (1984). Chan faces off against 6 time kickboxing world champion Benny “The Jet” Urquidez. 

One Houston dad, Marc Ostrofsky, will have to shell out about $1.5 million to pay the tuition for his five daughters.

“We’re looking at roughly $60,000 to $70,000 per child per year,” Ostrofsky told Houston’s KHOU 11 News.

Ostrofsky has been shuttling around the country to attend three graduations this week—twin sisters Kelly and Shelly graduate from Duke and Washington University in St. Louis, respectively, and Mary Grace graduates from high school in Houston before heading to Boston University this fall.

Daughter Tracy attends the University of Denver and Maddy graduated from Berklee School of Music last year.

The daughter’s choices in school across the country only add to their father’s expenses. Their choices to all go to different schools was reportedly influenced by family friend former U.S. President George W. Bush.

When the twins graduated from high school four years ago, Bush told them, “Ladies, I advised my twins not to go to the same college. It may have been the last time they ever listened to me.”

As you may have realized by Ostrofsky’s choice in friends, he doesn’t worry too much on how he’s going to pay for his daughter’s education.

Ostrofsky is an Internet tycoon and best-selling author, whose Get Rich Click! Website advises budding entrepreneurs on how to make money. One deal of his—selling the domain name Business.com for $7.5 million— landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records. 

But women are not the only group afflicted by this terrible disease. According to a study that appeared in the American Journal of Psychiatry, an estimated 10-15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are male.

Although eating disorders in and of themselves are a major concern and prominent issue in our modern society, they are not the problem I present to you. There is nothing wrong with those who suffer; they did not choose the disease.

Rather, the problem I implore you to acknowledge is found in those who do not suffer, for these people often exhibit an unprecedented lack of understanding of and empathy for those who are, in fact, struggling with eating disorders of all varieties.

When I bring up the topic of eating disorders I receive very different reactions. Some people are supportive, some relieved, some uncertain, some indifferent, and some react in a way that manifest the necessity of this article, making joking remarks, perhaps out of discomfort, but even more likely out of a simple lack of understanding of the nature of eating disorders.

It is important to know that eating disorders are not about the food; they are about other deeper issues, such as a hard time coping with anxiety, depression, trauma, abuse, or any number of experiences. These things influence our self-confidence, self-love, self-esteem, and self-worth. These underlying issues are the true roots of eating disorders.

However, these true roots go overlooked in the overwhelming presence of misconceptions about eating disorders. In order to combat this increasingly prominent issue, it is imperative that we dispel these myths through whatever means possible.

I would need many more than a few hundred words to dispel all the myths about eating disorders, so for now I will outline just a few of the most common misconceptions.

 The first common misconception is that, “Eating disorders are not an illness, and they occur in insolation,” which is undeniably false. The American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-IV classifies eating disorders as mental illnesses, ones of which are often accompanied by other mental illnesses. Almost 50% of people with eating disorders meet the criteria for depression, according to the American Journal of Psychiatry. Furthermore, an article that appeared in Health Magazine stated that 72% of alcoholic women under the age of 30 also suffer from an eating disorder.

A second common misconception is that, “Eating disorders are a choice.” Also false. People do not choose to have eating disorders, even though the media glorifies them as some sought after victory over the intrinsic human characteristic of need. As expressed by the Eating Disorders Coalition, “The risk of developing an eating disorder is 50-80% determined by genetics.”

“You can tell if a person has an eating disorder,” another falsehood.

“People with eating disorders are vain and self-absorbed.” False.

“People with eating disorders are either anorexic or bulimic.” False.

These myths continue to penetrate the minds of the general public and do nothing but perpetuate the vicious grip that disordered eating has over American society. Fallacies such as these are ones that are largely due to a lack of education, but even more so to an absence of compassion. They are entirely perpetuated by the taboo-nature of eating disorders, creating a terrible stigma about them.

This stigma, however, is not only seen with regard to eating disorders. There is an unfortunate unwritten rule in our society that we do not talk about mental illness of any form. But how does that fix the problem? The answer is it doesn’t.

In order to truly combat the rising rate of eating disorders in American society, we need to make a valiant effort to remove the stigma. They should not be a taboo topic.

“It’s time to talk about it,” as NEDA, the National Eating Disorders Association, emphasized in the 2012 Eating Disorders Awareness Week, for it is in our secrets that we find our sickness.

And it is not only those suffering from eating disorders that are sick; it is our entire society. Perhaps only the victims of eating disorders are physically sick, but it goes without saying that the rest of society, as a whole, is mentally unwell.

Mentally, socially, emotionally, and environmentally we live in a place that teaches us to value perfection, to strive for success over happiness, achievement over compassion, beauty over intuition. It is a harsh atmosphere, one where softer qualities are dismissed as “weak.” Hence, the lack of compassion, empathy, and understanding.

Naturally we cannot change society as a whole. Much of these things are ingrained firmly in our heads. But we can, collectively and as individuals, take steps to counter the misconceptions about eating disorders.  Above all I implore us as a collective body to make a conscious effort to appreciate the contribution of everyone, to reach out unselfishly to those around us, to take time to learn about each other, and to, before judging, take steps in another’s shoes— no matter what size they are.

And their reputation is about to get a long worse, at least when it comes to the ones collecting from students.

It was revealed this week that some student-loan debt collectors make over $450,000, more than twice the pay of the U.S. Secretary of Education.

Seven employees at Educational Credit Management, a Minnesota nonprofit group that works with the government to collect on loans in default, earned more than $400,000 through commissions up to 31 percent, reports Bloomberg News. ECM, whose CEO Richard Boyle earned $1.1 million in 2010, is one of 32 groups that oversee student loans for the government.

Complaints against student loan debt collectors are increasing, according to a report by the National Consumer Law Center. Last year, the number of complaints (1,406) received by the Department of Education increased by 41% over 2010.

And the NCLC faulted the Department of Education for failing to provide effective oversight of collectors, many of which do not have their own process for responding to complaints. The agency has “abdicated its responsibility to uphold the borrower protections” by creating financial incentives for collectors that encourage high collections at the expense of debtors.

Student loans have come under increasing scrutiny with student loan debt reaching $1 trillion this year and Senate Republicans blocking a bill that would keep interest rates from doubling, not to mention that 60 percent of reported borrower were confused by their loan instructions.

His $75 haircut poses as a distraction to his peers in his teachers’ minds, and Gonzalez now faces an in-class suspension at Woodlake Hills Middle School. 

Firstly, the best part of a suspension is that it gets you out of class. Secondly, if the trim is deemed a distraction to fellow students, why would he be left in school to serve his punishment? Thirdly, Patrick and his mother allegedly called the school prior to going to the barber to ask if the haircut would be allowed.

The boy has been a fan of Matt Bonner “ever since her can remember” because they’re both redheads. With the Spurs two wins away from the Western Final, Patrick now has to shave his head fully to avoid any discipline on his record.

Matt Bonner–whose mother is a teacher–suggested that Patrick should have been allowed to simply move to the back of the room to avoid diverting attention from the lesson. When the Spurs learned of Patrick’s situation, they invited the Gonzalez family to the next home game, with Bonner encouraging the boy to “keep supporting us redheads in the NBA”. 

The NBA player met up with Patrick before the tipoff and thanked him for the tribute: “By far the nicest thing any fan has ever done for me,” Bonner said. “I’m just really excited to have him here.”

Twenty-six Boston University students were in New Zealand and Australia this semester and were traveling in three minivans to a well-known volcanic crater hike May 12 when one of the minivans rolled.

Killed were Austin Brashears, of Huntington Beach, Calif.; Daniela Lekhno, of Manalapan, N.J.; and Roch Jauberty, of Paris, France.

The driver and four other students were injured. One of them, Meg Theriault, remains in critical condition at a local hospital, but the others have been released.

Police filed three charges of careless driving causing death and another four charges of careless driving causing injury against the driver. Each of the charges carries a maximum jail term of three months.

Police said earlier that the single-vehicle wreck appeared to happen after the minivan drifted to the side of the road. The driver tried to correct his course, and the minivan then rolled several times. They do not believe the driver or any other students involved used alcohol or drugs before the crash.

Police did not name the male U.S. student because New Zealand law allows defendants to apply for name suppression under certain circumstances.

The student was to make his first court appearance Friday afternoon in Auckland.

In a statement Friday, police inspector Kevin Taylor said charging the student “is not a decision taken lightly and we understand the tragedy will already have had a significant impact on this young man. However, we are faced with a situation where three people have died and others are seriously injured and we must apply the law in an objective and dispassionate way.”

Taylor told the AP that he has met with the surviving students and their families to explain New Zealand’s legal process and to return their belongings.

The BU community and the family and friends of the victims have held candle light vigils and memorials in the days since the accident.

Social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter have now become principal vehicles for anyone to express their ideas, thoughts and feelings to the world. According to CNN, nearly forty percent of the 1.7 billion people on earth who have internet access use Facebook.

However, with all the positives of Facebook, could it possibly be making us anti-social?

As a junior at Arcadia University, I can’t tell you how many students I know spend a great portion of their daily lives constantly on Facebook. Yet, for those who use Facebook too much, it’s easy to see how people use the internet as an outlet for their personal lives.

According to Libby Copeland of Slate Magazine, Facebook has made numerous people unhappy when it comes to drawing negative comparisons with the seemingly perfect lives of their friends online. For those who have serious confidence and insecurity issues, Facebook has become a platform for expression of anxieties and fears in order to find sympathy and attention from cyber-friends.    

There is also no doubt that Facebook adds unnecessary stress.

As in real life, the pressures of dealing with others even if they are your friends can anger and frustrate people. There are numerous negative aspects of Facebook like adding or deleting undesirable contacts, the pressures of being interesting, and the lack of self-confidence along with subsequent jealousy which comes from observing the seemingly perfect lives of friends.

Yet, my biggest peeve with Facebook is how people use social media as a way to avoid confronting others on serious manners.

In my time at Arcadia, I’ve noticed how students who act as my “friends” say obnoxious, offensive remarks in my direction without a second thought which, of course, then get “liked” by other Facebook “friends.” Facebook is a breeding-ground for the worst sides of people to come out because they can avoid the awkwardness of being mean to others to their face.

Overall, I still find Facebook to be a great tool for communication with others. However, like everything else, too much time spent on one thing never ends well and interactions via the internet are no exception.

People may likely end up with lousy interpersonal skills as a result of spending too much time on Facebook. As a Communications major, being forthright and confident when interacting with others is how I know I’ll find success in life beyond college.

While Facebook is a blessing, it is also a curse that is stifling the human interactions of our generation.