Climate and Happiness

Although happiness is subjective, many scientists argue that the climate can have a lot to do with a persons mood. Most believe that warmer weather usually has a positive effect on the way people feel, however the facts lead in a different direction, suggesting that people living in colder climates tend to be happier.

The Huffington Post online reported that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is an actual disease which makes living in colder months or places more difficult for individuals, likely due to the lack of sunlight, and people tend to be more depressed during this time.With that being said, a conclusion can be made that in places or months where there is more sunlight, people are more likely to be in better moods and have a happier and easier time getting along. The article also stated that “Increased temperature had a mostly positive effect on negative mood, while increased wind and decreased sunlight had a mostly negative effect on negative mood, though these effects varied from one individual to another,” to prove that weather could in fact have something to do with the way a person feels.

As convincing as this sounds, the Huffington Post forgot to mention that some of the happiest countries are the northernmost ones, such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Canada and Finland. Studies meant to prove that warm weather equates to happiness, are all beginning to find the complete opposite. BBC News acknowledged the existence of SAD, but brought up the point that “The link between cold, dark climates and depression seems so plausible and yet Icelanders exhibit remarkably low levels of SAD.” Along with that, they stated that “proportionately, far more people kill themselves in the warmth of South Korea than in the ice of Scandinavia. Finland, which has the highest suicide rate of the Nordic nations, has a similar level to France and Belgium.”

Summer weather is known to reduce attention and energy levels,create an increase in crime, especially in cities and has been shown to correlate with higher suicide rates. These are some key factors in the flaws of happiness as it relates to warmer temperature. It is understandable to think that people tend to be in better moods during summer months, however it has been said that in places where there is constant warm weather, this is likely to have little to no effect in mood. Examples of places like this would be southern California and the midwest, where it is generally a warmer climate, however the population does not contribute much of their happiness to the weather at all.  

Natural Hair

Recently, more and more African American women have been “going natural,” a term used to describe the growing out of natural hair instead of continuing to use the harsh chemicals in a relaxer to straighten it. The Boston Globe reported that “In less than a year, the Boston Naturals Hair Meet Up Group has grown from 200 to 800 active members”  and that “the consumer research group Mintel reported that hair relaxer sales dropped from $206 million in 2008 to $152 million in 2013, while sales of products to maintain natural hair are on the rise.” Although it is a long and difficult process, more and more women are finding it in some way beneficial to them.

One predicted reason for the rapid growth of “naturals” is that the chemicals in relaxers breaks and destroys their hair. Most women who have used a relaxer have reported that they have experienced breakage, scalp damage and even balding due to chemical relaxers. However, with natural hair and a proper hair care routine, one will experience very little of this.

Another reason why there has been an increase in women sporting their natural hair is because it is generally costs less for a woman to keep up with her natural hair versus relaxed hair. Patrice Rosser, a local at Princess Hair Salon, reported that she “would spend close to $100 every few weeks at the salon, just for a touch up and press, which isn’t much.” Beyond that, spending money on weaves, hot combs, blow dryers and flat irons to make the afro texture match the straight hair, will run up anyones bank account.

Also, along with more products being made to help maintain natural hair, there has been a rise in “vlogs” and tutorials on how to manage, take care of and style natural hair. Because most naturals are “newly natural” and have to go through the process of transitioning and sometimes cutting off their hair, they do not know how to immediately deal with the dramatic change in texture. Tressa Rosser stated that she “hadn’t seen her natural hair texture in over 20 years, so having to learn about this new hair was incredibly difficult. However the number of YouTube videos and products specifically made for afro textured hair made it a lot easier.”

With all of these newly combined resources, more and more women are finding it easier and increasingly more beneficial to ditch the relaxer and endless trips to the salon, and instead, rock the hair that comes out of their head. Although it may be hard at first, the rewards outweigh the risks, and many see the numbers of naturals continuing to rise.

Dear White People

For Justin Simien’s first “real” film, Dear White People makes a grand statement about race relations and racial identity in America, causing conversation about what most Americans have attempted to avoid. The depth and development of the characters, along with the mix of humorous and serious content provided in the script is what makes this movie such a hit.

The movie is about black students who attend a predominantly white, ivy league school, and are trying to get back their rights to have an all black house on campus, not supported by the recent changes to housing. When Samantha White (played by Tessa Thompson) runs for president of the residence hall and wins, she has plans to change things around, not realizing how hard it might be. On the way, she finds herself the subject of a reality show called “Black Face/White Place,” and the envy of fellow black student, Coco Conners (played by Teyonah Parris). The rise of Sam’s “fame” among the school community also helps to establish the quirky freshman Lionel Higgins’ place on the all white staffed campus newspaper, with the incorrect assumption that he is familiar with black culture, in order to get an inside look on what’s really going on.

Although the storyline and plot development do the film great justice, the acting is what tops it off. Simien starts Tessa Thompson’s character, Samantha White, off as a self assured and incredibly outspoken young woman, using her radio show “Dear White People” and her new presidency as her platform. Instead of keeping her in this mold, holes in her character emerge, telling the story of a biracial girl trying to stand up for social change for a people who don’t fully believe in her.

The development of Tyler James Williams’ character, Lionel Higgins, was equally important in its showing of the difficulties he goes through being gay and trying to fit into a culture that he doesn’t believe understands, represents or supports him. The development of his character is essential to the story because the way he grows to find where he fits in helps to demonstrate the depth of black culture, as well as to show the perspective of a gay youth that viewers don’t usually see.

This movie did exactly what it was intended to do, which was to get people talking. The movie, however, was not just about having these conversations, but it also served as great entertainment. The intellect mixed with humor of the script are reasons why this movie could be watched again and again.

On-Campus Rapes Cause Controversy Between Students and Administration

During the 2014 Fall Semester at Bridgewater State University, the student body was uninformed about two on-campus rapes because the police determined that there was no immediate threat, leaving students to find out only through news and media and causing distrust between students and officials.

“It was late afternoon when I got the email from the Presidents Office,” freshman Ilenny Nunez said, “but that was not the first I had heard of the incident.” She reported that she first heard about the sexual assaults from her aunt, who called her two nights before to ask if she knew what was going on.

Another student, Josh Rosa, said that he was “shocked that he heard the news from the television before hearing anything from school.” He expressed the importance of informing the entire campus of events like this, even if they are believed to be taken care of. “We deserve to know what’s going on, especially if we live here.”

Bridgewater police and administration felt slightly differently about the situation.  The police reported that there was “no longer an immediate threat” and felt no need to notify residents promptly. This caused controversy and a large disconnect between students and officials because, as reported by students, it felt as though they were trying to “cover it up” instead of addressing the situations.

Administration is aware, however, that according the the Clery Act, they are required to “disseminate information about certain crimes occurring on and near their respective campuses, including timely warnings of crimes that may represent a ‘serious or continuing threat’ to the safety of students and employees,” which was revealed in an email sent to students and faculty two weeks after the incidents had occurred.

Although things started off rough, students have reported that administration has gotten better at communicating. According to Jassmine Munoz-Torres, the police department and administration sent out an email quickly after a student was sexually harassed on November 8th, 2014. “Although it doesn’t seem like a lot, it matters to me,” she said. “I actually feel safer knowing what’s going on around campus, even if it’s hearing about the bad things. And I’d rather hear it from campus police than Fox25, that way I know they’re doing something to handle it.”

Students have expressed their concern with the timing of these messages getting out, and it seems that administration is responding openly and quickly, and hopefully this cooperation will continue.

"Creamy Crack"

Relaxer, perm, creamy crack- the name may change but it product stays the same. This product, most commonly called relaxer, is predominantly used by African-American and Latina women, or in general people with a tighter curl pattern, in order to straighten out the hair. The problem with relaxers are the chemicals they contain, and what they can actually do.

On the back of a box of relaxer that can be purchased at places like CVS or walgreens,

ingredients such as sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, guanidine carbonate, guanidine hydroxide, thioglycolic acid and lithium hydroxide can be found. These chemicals together, when placed in the hair, break down the bonds of the hair in order to straighten it. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? Well they actually do a lot more than that. These chemicals, if left on the scalp for too long, can cause severe burns, scars and hair loss that are incredibly painful and sometimes permanent, deep ulcerations in the skin, drying and cracking of the skin, and if they get into the eyes, they can cause eye damage and even blindness. A study by Boston University in 2012 found that “black women who use hair relaxers are at slightly higher risk of developing uterine fibroids” which causes non cancerous tumors to grow on the walls of the uterus causing heavy bleeding and painful periods, and are a leading cause of hysterectomies.

Beyond this, it’s equally surprising to hear what else these chemicals are found in, besides products some women put in their hair every four to six weeks. Sodium hydroxide can be found in drain and pipe cleaners such as Drano, septic tank and cesspool cleaners and oven and grill cleaners. Sodium hydroxide is used to dissolve hair in sinks, so why would anyone knowingly use a product like relaxer in their hair when it’s one of the main ingredients? Even with all the risks, millions of women and girls take their chances.

However, the numbers of women discontinuing their relaxers and “going natural” are growing. Thankfully, the stigma of “bad hair” is dying away, and more and more women are not only embracing their natural kinks and curls, but they’re choosing safer ways to take care of their hair, like using protective styles, instead of just relaxing and flat ironing it. This change is definitely for the better, seeing as it will dramatically reduce the health issues that can come with relaxing ones hair, and will help to build confidence in wearing natural hair.