Bravo to Aamira Fetuga, the 8-year-old Tennessee girl whose civic activism persuaded one Tennessee lawmaker to drop his "Education to End Poverty" bill in the state legislature. The bill would have reduced the amount of financial assistance available to low-income families whose children perform poorly in school, aiming to increase parental involvement in children's education.
Boo to a particularly harsh allergy season made worse by the recent spurt of high winds across the state. Colds and sinus infections are no fun on their own, but add in winds stirring up pollen and other allergens and you have mild misery among those who are prone to allergy attacks.
Bravo to ASU's various media outlets for putting up such a strong showing at Saturday's Society of Professional Journalists' annual Mark of Excellence awards. Students from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, broadcast journalists from Cronkite NewsWatch, reporters at Cronkite News Service and State Press staff took home a combined 39 awards.
Boo to Justin Bieber for leaving an insensitive comment in the guest book at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. After professing what an "inspiring" experience it was to visit the house where Anne Frank and her family hid during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Bieber wrote that he hoped Frank would have been a "Belieber." While this is only slightly tacky, the really discouraging aspect of the whole incident is the frightening number of younger Bieber fans who tweeted, "Who is Anne Frank?"
Bravo to Jackie Robinson Day. Monday was Jackie Robinson Day around the MLB. Every player for every team wears No. 42 in honor of Robinson, who broke the color barrier in baseball 66 years ago.
Boo to the increased prices for the ASU Student U-Pass, which allows students to pay a flat rate for unlimited access to the public transportation system across the Valley. The pass was priced at $75 for the 2013 spring session, but will cost $200 for the 2013-14 academic year.
Bravo to McDonald's for offering free breakfast to Arizona students taking the AIMS tests this week if they were accompanied by a parent. This is a great way to help students improve their test-taking ability, as many studies have indicated that students perform better in school if they have eaten breakfast. McDonald's might do well to offer something similar to college students during finals week — hint, hint.
Boo to the latest idiotic trend circulating through YouTube: condom snorting, the cousin of web phenomenons such as the cinnamon challenge or the much more innocuous "planking." Multiple videos in which people (usually teenagers) unroll an unused prophylactic and snort it through the nose before pulling it back through the mouth have surfaced. The sheer idiocy cannot be understated.
Bravo to to FlashFood, an ASU start-up that uses a phone application to give extra food from businesses and vendors to the needy, for being considered "one of the coolest college start-ups in the nation" in 2013 by Inc. Magazine.
Boo to the man who allegedly stabbed another festival-goer at Country Thunder in Florence, Ariz. Country Thunder is the only place where you can ask to walk through someone's campsite, and they let you — only if you join them for a beer first. It is not the place to assault someone with a deadly weapon. Leave your knives at home, violent country fans. Lighten up, grab a beer and have an awesome time instead.
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