Monthly Archives: January 2015

Athletes Academic Freud Scandal at UNC, Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) is being sued by former athletes due to “empty degree” allegations and is also currently under investigation by the NCAA due to Academic Freud Allegations. According to investigations, UNC at Chapel Hill has been enrolling athletes in fake classes and has been providing them with tutors in order to ensure the athletes eligibility for the sports program and therefore the University can benefit from the sports program proceeds. As former basketball player Rashad McCant’s states in his allegations against the University “You’re not there [the university] for your education, you’re there to make revenue for the college.” (McCart, 2014) As investigations continue, information has risen proving that UNC at Chapel Hill has been handing empty degrees to students for the past 18 years and that the number of empty degrees can go as high as 3,100.

Because the number of empty degrees is so high, many people may wonder how it was possible for the University to hide the evidence for such an extended period of time. To the surprise of many, this was possible due to the commerce that exists underneath collegian sports world. As former athletes state, the tutors they were provided would either write them or help them write a paper and in return the tutors received free merchandise and free game tickets. As Rashad McCant recalls, on the fall of 2004 he received a call from Coach Roy Williams, in which Williams solicited an immediate meeting to go over his current academic standing. That semester Rashad had received one A and one B on an two independent study courses, one C on a Introduction to Psychology course and one F on Algebra course, therefore he sought himself on the boarder line of academic suspension. Both, Williams and McCant, feared what an academic suspension might cause on the team and thereby Williams told McCant not to worry, “we will be able to fix.” (McCart, 2014) The following semester McCant was enrolled in AFAM classes (African American an Afro study courses), which at the time where famous among athletes for being a one-paper course, and received straight A’s. This did not only take McCant out of the risk of academic suspension, but also allowed him to be on the dean’s list. Similar to Rashad McCants experience with AFAM classes, numerous athletes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found themselves receiving external academic help, grade changes and forged faculty signatures in order to keep their eligibility. The academic fraud in which the player’s were engaged in caused no harm in their daily student life since “it was part of the program” (McCart, 2014) but once they graduated they found themselves in a tough position holding an empty degree.

As shocking as these number and allegations might sound, currently UNC at Chapel Hill is struggling even more since they are being accused of admitting the wrong students into their college as long as their athletic department reputation keeps receiving profits from their admission decisions. A current study made to 183 UNC Chapel Hill basketball and football players showed that about 60% of those athletes could only read material that ranged among the 4^th and 8^th grade level, that 8 to 10% could only read material below the 3^rd grade level and that only about 27 to 30% of them could read at a college level (Riley, 2014). The skeptical decisions made by the admission committee can also be seen by the simple actions that are embedded at the start of every basketball season through sports brackets, which portray the predictions of the experts at the beginning of every season. Every year it is expected to see the tar heels succeed because they have always had the best players in the court. Nevertheless, in the history of the University of North Carolina, no basketball player has ever been suspended due to poor academic performance. In fact, in the history of the University only one football player has ever been suspended due to poor academic performance. As investigation continues more information has been found that proves that the tar heels athletes are unable to preform as successfully in classroom as in the court without the use of any external help.

Work Cited:

Ganim, Sara and Devon Sayer. “UNC Report Finds 18Years of Academic Fraud to Keep Athletes Playing.” CNN. Cable News Network, 18 Oct. 2014. Web. 28 Jan. 2015.

“Rashad McCants: UNC Academic Freud Scandals Details.” Outside The Lines. YouTube, May 2014. Web 28 Jan. 2015

Riley, Naomi. “UNC Scandal Isn’t about Athletics – It’s about Empty Degrees. “New York Post. N.p. 16 Nov. 2014. Web. 28 Jan. 2015

The Butterbeer Frappuccino

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Currently my roommate is reading the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book, so I decided to commemorate Harry Potter by uncovering the Butterbeer Frappuccino from the Starbucks secret menu. As tasty as this beverage might sound it is probably one of the most tedious beverage’s to order because, as some of you may know, the items from the secret menu are ordered by naming what elements you want in your beverages (e.g. what kind of milk, how many shots of coffee, what type and how many pumps of syrup you want in your beverage etc.) rather than by name.

Once you are ready to place your order ask your barista for a tall Crème Frappuccino Base, but make sure not to “skim” the base by asking for soy or non-fat milk since whole milk is required for this specific beverage, then, ask for 3 pumps of caramel syrup, 3 pumps of toffee nut syrup and top your beverage with whipped cream and caramel drizzle. Please note that this is the recipe for a Tall (small) Butterbeer Frappuccino, therefore if you wish to order your beverage on a larger size you will need to adjust the syrup pumps by adding half a pump per size. For example, if you wish to order your Butterbeer Frappuccino on a Grande cup (medium) you would ask for three and a half pumps of each syrup, and if you wish to order your Butterbeer Frappuccino on a Trenta cup (extra-large) you would ask for four pumps of each syrup.

The Butterbeer Frappuccino texture can be best described as a marriage between a float and a slushy, which means it contains just the right amount of sugar for it to be sweet yet still remain smooth. In addition to its already curious yet sticking taste, the Butterbeer Frappuccino has some sort of “air” bubbles that give this Frappuccino a unique texture. However, because of its peculiar texture make sure to order it as a Frappuccino because if not your beverage will taste very unpleasant and overwhelmingly sugary. Thus if you really want your beverage to be in a more liquid texture rather than a icy-frappuccino texture, I would recommend ordering it iced since the ice might balance the over-powering sugar taste.

To be quite honest, there is no word I can think if to describe its flavor rather than yummy. For starters, its flavor is very peculiar (I at least, had never drank anything like it) it sort of resembles the taste of the butterscotch candy that comes in the golden wrapper made into a slushy-float. Additionally, the smoothness of the float and the clumpy sensation of the slushy leave a refreshing yet addicting taste in your pallet that makes you want to have more every time you sip your beverage. The Starbucks Butterbeer Frappuccino is indeed quiet a wizardly drink.

Works Cited: “The Butterbeer Frappuccino” Starbucks Secret Menu. Starbucks Coorporation, n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2015.

Updated This I Believe Script

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I believe that books in its physical form are superior than any other form of text. Books in its physical form have a certain je ne se pas that transmits to readers that virtual books cannot not. Perhaps it’s the feeling of pride in between your hands when you noticed you are holding a significant amount of pages read, or the glorious sensation of pages being flipped, that virtual books lack of. I believe that books are supposed to be personal, not virtual; the only virtual part of book is supposed to be your own creations not what technology has created for you.

I will admit though, it does get weary to pay extra dollars for your favorite books and drive to your nearest library in order to emerge into a new adventure, as you know that your next book is hidden somewhere in the technological world and it can probably be found for a more reasonable price with the press of a button. But, is scrolling down and swiping your finger around back and fourth a screen as exiting and joyful as getting lost inside a maze of bookcases?

When did we get so obsessed with technology that even the simple task of reading now involves a charger and an outlet? As kids we were taught that two of the greatest inventions of mankind were the papyrus and the printmaking process because it allowed us to keep records more organized and efficiently, yet today we are over-looking history with technology. When did relying on battery supply and a compressed glass become more efficient than print? How is it that we believe that something that can easily run out of battery, or break and no longer supply our demands be better than paper and ink?

Today we are so centered in technological advances that we are beginning to lose trait of what brought us pleasure. As a child I remember reaching out for books and watching a hungry caterpillar pop out of one page and dive into the next, and I’m proud to say such because I doubt that the future generations will experience the same. The future generations will learn how to enable shortcuts to find out who are the new trending authors on the latest kindle version, but I will always believe that the moments I spent sitting down in the floor of the library skimming through a book in order to figure out if it followed my trend of story telling will be of more value.

I believe in technological advances, and I also believe in modernization, however I still believe that physical printed books embark readers in an adventure that virtualized forms of text are unable to supply.

Blog Topics

I Believe In Books

Topic Ideas for Future Blogs and Project #1

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Even after an entire semester of blogging, I still find myself sitting on top of my bed trying to brainstorm topics for future blogs. In relation to my passion blog I think I am going to keep my current topic, which is uncovering the secret menu from Starbucks. By uncovering the secret menu in every blog post I will describe the beverage, name reasons why you should purchase it or why you shouldn’t purchase it, and give you a home made recipe version of the beverage. However, if I were to change my topic I would blog about different traveling destinations every week. I would blog about locations that you would think are unusual to go to, or have never even thought about going to, like the Peshawar in Pakistan.

As far as my “This I Believe” topics I have managed to come up with a couple of ideas. The first idea is about virtual books versus print books. I strongly believe that books that are printed are much more enjoyable than any virtual book you can find on a kindle, for example. Personally, I think that grasping the paper between your fingers and actually turning the page around feels more comforting than just swiping your finger across the screen. The second topic that I am considering to talk about is about the power of gazing. I strongly believe that with a gaze, or a look, you can communicate as efficiently with anyone. Even as a child, it didn’t take much for my mother to know that I was hungry or sad. Today, with only a look I can communicate to my peers if I’m sad, annoyed or even exited. I strongly believe that gazing can deliver a message, just like sentences do.

For my civic issue bog I am torn in between two topics I really like that are completely different. The first topic would love to blog about centers itself around athletes in colleges. Recently I watched a report in which former University of North Carolina (UNC) athletes made allegations against the university, because the university granted special academic treatment to athletes in order for them to obtain the grade needed to stay in the sports programs. This issue is still under investigation, and therefore I think it would be an interesting topic to keep up with in my blog, while concentrating in the question of whether universities should grant athletes special academic treatment. Further discussion questions I could focus on with this issue are: Should universities lower their standards in order to avoid these frauds from happening? Or should universities treat athletes like regular students? The second idea I have for my civic issue blog is about the racial inequality that exists among women in the work area. Recently I have been reading some studies and articles that show how certain stereotypes of women are less likely to get a job. Oversized African American women, for instance, are less likely to get a job if they are applying for the same job position as other petit African American women. If I chose to blog about this issue I would try to find more articles about why this inequality exist, or why it occurs predominantly among the female gender.