living

By: Sarah Saltzman

In 1998 alone, there were 24,537,600 crimes committed in the United States according to Heritage, a public policy research institute. If you were a parent from outside of the United States and you read that statistic, would you let your child visit the U.S.?

By Michelle Norris

Editor's Note: This Fall's issue of Stand Up! is the Taboo Issue. Each article will focus on "something you wouldn't bring up over Thanksgiving dinner." Topics will include everything from poverty to masturbation, so get ready to blush on Nov 16! Until then, staffers have put together teaser pieces for the issue, including Mrs. Norris' personal column on a topic about which many Stand Up staffers have first-hand knowledge: interracial dating.

Picture this: A loving mother heads back to her hometown in Missouri to visit family, and like any loving mother would, brings her son’s prom pictures. He, his girlfriend and two of his closest friends are huddled together in the typical prom pose, all linked arm in arm, smiling intensely for the best possible impression. The mother’s family is tentatively pleased, but cannot resist asking the question.

By Ashley Strickland

In the world of music, what’s old is new again.

The original boys of rock are still here and better than ever. The reigning kings haven’t lost their touch and continue to make innovative music.

By Josh White

The Al Huda Islamic Center sits on South Milledge Avenue, tucked between a car wash and a shopping center. The single-story building is a mosque, the house of worship for Muslims, and it’s the only one in Athens. This is the place for local Muslims to attend prayer services with their fellow worshippers, people who work, pray and live in the famed college town.

A look at the history of marijuana in the U.S. through the lens of film

By Jessica Cole

The masterminds behind the Golden Globe nominations inadvertently pleased the pot culture this year, as James Franco was announced as a nominee for his role as lovable stoner Saul Silver in the hit comedy “Pineapple Express.” The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards were held on January 11th, and though Franco did not take home the statue for Best Actor in a Comedy or Drama, the nomination alone spoke volumes about the ever increasing popularity of the stoner movie. It is incredible to think that only 40 years ago, there was no such thing as a marijuana-based movie genre. So what happened within these few years that sparked this “reefer revolution?” The answer can only be found by looking to the past to see which films breathed life into this genre. Inhale deeply, you’ll get more out of it.

By Imann Gad

It is 2009, and the world of fashion is going green. Who would have imagined that organic cotton, pesticide-free cotton, and bamboo would become popular amongst fashion designers today? The “Go Green” campaign is going strong, and many are trying to get in where they can fit in.

By Courtney Holbrook

It begins with the harassment of a naïve woman by her middle-aged lover in a small hotel room. It ends with intense brutality as private conflict evolves into the public devastation of war.

A birthday party for a guest ends with a man broken by the rhetorical dominance of others. The downfall of a guest reiterates the destruction of the individual by the authoritarianism of civilization.

A woman in a Brazilian village acts out her anger against her abusive husband. Through improvisation, she is able to take control and fight.

Whether they are works by Sarah Kane or Pinter, or an artistic form with a definite social bent, theatre in all its forms is on the front line of activism.

Cutting A Clear Path Through the Social Stigma of Living with HIV / AIDS

By Jennifer Johnson

Duwayne Carter wrapped his spindly legs around the Uga on Broad Street and leaned over the statue’s massive head to ask a University student for a dollar. The well-dressed blonde walked past without responding, but when Carter shouted that the money wasn’t for booze, but for his AIDS meds, she quickened her step.

The response isn’t unusual.

By Seung Song / Kit

Who hasn’t felt cheated? Even to a minor point, who hasn’t wondered if the balance was tipped against their favor? The United States has been called the “Land of Opportunities,” and no one can deny that there is an implication for monetary gain and comfort as the gateway to such promised happiness. And it infuriates us when the country tries to take and not give. However, no one can deny the call for moral tendencies inherent in the American dream. Few are likely to want to make their living ducking authorities and judgment for the rest of their lives to build their dreams out of America’s underbelly- even criminals commit crimes to achieve a better state of living.

By Cathryne Keller

The University of Georgia campus provides a diverse learning environment with students, faculty and staff from all over the state, country and world, each bringing their unique backgrounds and perspectives to the university community. The university emphasizes this diversity in its mission statement, which states that UGA “provides for cultural, ethnic, gender and racial diversity in the faculty, staff, and student body.”

While this commitment to diversity is a major point of pride for UGA, students Naila and Samia Ansari feel that it needs to be consistently supported in the classroom by providing students with a learning environment that nurtures openness and understanding.