I am discussing the need for a tax policy on the harvesting of Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania in my persuasive essay. One aspect of the need for compensation from the oil companies for drilling in Pennsylvania hits especially close to home for me. In fact it hits so close to home that it was the cover story 2 weeks ago for my home-town paper, the Scranton Times. The article was pathos driven, and it described an adverse side effect of oil drilling that is easily overlooked by companies and states concerned with the bottom line.
The article was a story of a retired couple from New York, Maurice and Anna Aubree, who bought a house in the Poconos to retire and enjoy the peace and quiet of nature. I live in the Poconos, and it is a popular tourist location for couples looking for the serenity of nature...well at least it was until the oil drilling began. The Aubree's are now looking to sell their house and leave the Poconos because the 24 hour drilling is disrupting their sleeping and waking life.
The drill sites are not only a noise nuisance, but also an obstruction to the surrounding countryside. In the article as the Aubree's walked their property, a 150 ft. oil well could be seen through the blue spruce trees just 200 ft. away from their property. The drillers have extracted more than oil, they have extracted the appeal of living in the woods in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
I believe that if done properly, Marcellus Shale can be a great resource and source of economic development for our state's economy. However, without compensation for the negative externalities that oil drilling produces on the tourist industry, infrastructure, and local governments the oil companies are stripping Pennsylvania bare at no cost to the companies. The cost instead is transferred to citizens and taxpayers are paying to lose the pristine beauty of Pennsylvania. Taxes on oil drilling would place these costs back on the oil companies and provide some compensation for the extraction of a valuable resource.
It is sad to see a retired couple who enjoyed living in Northeastern Pennsylvania for 17 years leave because of oil drilling. It would soften the home-hitting blow to know that that state government was being directly compensated for the negative side-effects of a valuable mineral market.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Walk it Out Penn State
On Monday April 4th I had finished my morning classes starting at an unspeakable 8 AM and was looking forward to going back to my dorm to take a quick nap before my next class and a busy day of work. My friend reminded me on my walk back from class that there was going to be a rally at Old Main at 12PM for students to collectively assemble against the cuts in state appropriations in preparation for Capital Day in Harrisburg the following day.
When he reminded me of the rally I thought once more about my restful nap and then decided to support myself, the other students, and the future of Penn State by showing the administration and the local politicians that we are outraged at the cuts we are facing, and we as students will take collective action for our school and our education.
Though I was grumpy after all my morning classes, when I arrived at the rally I was rejuvenated by the energy of the crowd and happy I came. There were what seemed like a couple hundred students gathered, more students than I have ever seen at a Penn State rally for tuition. There we bongo drums and signs and plenty of media attention. Our voice was being heard on Monday even if it was only in the surrounding Penn State community.
Students, Union Leaders, administration, and local politicians all went to the podium to speak out against the budget cuts for education. Many students shared their personal tuition stories, and finally one junior came to the podium to close with her personal story. She began to speak of education as an emancipating force, like so many other speakers we had heard. After her intro though, her story became real. She told her audience how she dropped out of high school after having her second child, and then four children later she applied to Penn State. She was accepted and lives in town, and is now a junior about to obtain her degree. I stood in the audience dumbfounded. This is why we have to fight for the right to an affordable education. Because education is a second chance, it is a way for people stuck in poverty to make a stable lives for themselves. It is a way for a young mother of four to get the skills for a job that will be high paying enough to support her four children. This was a story of the power of education, but it carried a haunting tone. I could not stop thinking that success stories such as this will disappear with the rise in cost of higher education from lack of funding. If the state appropriation cuts stay the way they are, we will lose the dream of the middle class. A dream of making a name for yourself that is embedded in our country's history. On Monday Penn State Walked it Out and showed its commitment to making this dream live on.
When he reminded me of the rally I thought once more about my restful nap and then decided to support myself, the other students, and the future of Penn State by showing the administration and the local politicians that we are outraged at the cuts we are facing, and we as students will take collective action for our school and our education.
Though I was grumpy after all my morning classes, when I arrived at the rally I was rejuvenated by the energy of the crowd and happy I came. There were what seemed like a couple hundred students gathered, more students than I have ever seen at a Penn State rally for tuition. There we bongo drums and signs and plenty of media attention. Our voice was being heard on Monday even if it was only in the surrounding Penn State community.
Students, Union Leaders, administration, and local politicians all went to the podium to speak out against the budget cuts for education. Many students shared their personal tuition stories, and finally one junior came to the podium to close with her personal story. She began to speak of education as an emancipating force, like so many other speakers we had heard. After her intro though, her story became real. She told her audience how she dropped out of high school after having her second child, and then four children later she applied to Penn State. She was accepted and lives in town, and is now a junior about to obtain her degree. I stood in the audience dumbfounded. This is why we have to fight for the right to an affordable education. Because education is a second chance, it is a way for people stuck in poverty to make a stable lives for themselves. It is a way for a young mother of four to get the skills for a job that will be high paying enough to support her four children. This was a story of the power of education, but it carried a haunting tone. I could not stop thinking that success stories such as this will disappear with the rise in cost of higher education from lack of funding. If the state appropriation cuts stay the way they are, we will lose the dream of the middle class. A dream of making a name for yourself that is embedded in our country's history. On Monday Penn State Walked it Out and showed its commitment to making this dream live on.
Friday, April 1, 2011
The Elections are Over and the Results are in!
Phew! Talk about a busy two weeks!! The UPUA elections are finally over and I am extraordinarily grateful for their success and my new position as UPUA On-Campus Representative!! Thank you to everyone who voted for me in this class!! And I'm sorry about spamming your inboxes with my Angel plea. haha.
Campaigning at a large-scale university was a great experience, and it was like nothing I have ever done before. It was also a very time consuming experience and I am looking forward to having a little more free time over the next few weeks, or at least some more time to study as we approach finals! Even though I spent many days in the last two weeks on little sleep, I loved campaigning because government and political action is something I am interested on all levels. However, it is not something that everyone is interested in, and I will do my best explaining my campaigning experience in a way that will interest people who have little interest in government.
The campaigning period lasted for two weeks. It started on the first Monday back from spring break until election day last Wednesday. The first week was very chill and my campaigning involved nothing more than a facebook group and constant work on revising my platform. However, being a freshman, I had no idea what lay in store for me in the upcoming weeks because the elections were more competitive this year than they have ever been.
I talked with alot of my friends who are upperclassmen and know how the UPUA elections are run. With their help, I made my first batch of fliers and then became subject to a slew of formalities and technicalities from the UPUA Elections Commission. The Election's Commission exists to prevent cheating, but mostly they just serve as an added pain to the candidates. I was expected to attend stamping sessions and stamp each of my hundreds of flies with an official UPUA elections stamp. Then I had to fill out endorement forms for anyone I wanted to support, and weekly financial statements for any money I spent. This aspect of my campaign was a time-gobbling chore.
However, I loved interacting with the other candidates, students, and student-leaders on campus during my campaign. I broadened my network looking for support from many groups across campus such as the music majors and business majors in North Halls, traveling from my home in Pollock up to the rest of the freshman in East, the Panhellenic and IFC coucils, and support from many of the current members of UPUA.
The day of elections became colder and colder as the day went on, but my friends would stop by to help pass out flyers, and keep my attention off of the winter-like conditions. Finally, after a day of campaigning, I decided that I was finished and I went to the Lil Wayne Concert. The election results were announced at the HUB so I had no idea I had won until one of my friends in UPUA texted me and told me that I had gotten the spot as 1-of-7 On-Campus Reps, and that I had received the most votes in my category!! I was shocked to hear that I won and that my campaigning style of "figure it out as you go" had got me 1,473 votes!!
That number is small compared to all the students that attend U-Park, but most students do not care to vote in the elections. UPUA is going to work to increase voter participation each year, but every vote really did count on this small scale, and again thank you for anyone who voted for me and your support! It meant alot and I am excited to serve you as On-Campus Rep next semester!! Thanks!!:)
Campaigning at a large-scale university was a great experience, and it was like nothing I have ever done before. It was also a very time consuming experience and I am looking forward to having a little more free time over the next few weeks, or at least some more time to study as we approach finals! Even though I spent many days in the last two weeks on little sleep, I loved campaigning because government and political action is something I am interested on all levels. However, it is not something that everyone is interested in, and I will do my best explaining my campaigning experience in a way that will interest people who have little interest in government.
The campaigning period lasted for two weeks. It started on the first Monday back from spring break until election day last Wednesday. The first week was very chill and my campaigning involved nothing more than a facebook group and constant work on revising my platform. However, being a freshman, I had no idea what lay in store for me in the upcoming weeks because the elections were more competitive this year than they have ever been.
I talked with alot of my friends who are upperclassmen and know how the UPUA elections are run. With their help, I made my first batch of fliers and then became subject to a slew of formalities and technicalities from the UPUA Elections Commission. The Election's Commission exists to prevent cheating, but mostly they just serve as an added pain to the candidates. I was expected to attend stamping sessions and stamp each of my hundreds of flies with an official UPUA elections stamp. Then I had to fill out endorement forms for anyone I wanted to support, and weekly financial statements for any money I spent. This aspect of my campaign was a time-gobbling chore.
However, I loved interacting with the other candidates, students, and student-leaders on campus during my campaign. I broadened my network looking for support from many groups across campus such as the music majors and business majors in North Halls, traveling from my home in Pollock up to the rest of the freshman in East, the Panhellenic and IFC coucils, and support from many of the current members of UPUA.
The day of elections became colder and colder as the day went on, but my friends would stop by to help pass out flyers, and keep my attention off of the winter-like conditions. Finally, after a day of campaigning, I decided that I was finished and I went to the Lil Wayne Concert. The election results were announced at the HUB so I had no idea I had won until one of my friends in UPUA texted me and told me that I had gotten the spot as 1-of-7 On-Campus Reps, and that I had received the most votes in my category!! I was shocked to hear that I won and that my campaigning style of "figure it out as you go" had got me 1,473 votes!!
That number is small compared to all the students that attend U-Park, but most students do not care to vote in the elections. UPUA is going to work to increase voter participation each year, but every vote really did count on this small scale, and again thank you for anyone who voted for me and your support! It meant alot and I am excited to serve you as On-Campus Rep next semester!! Thanks!!:)
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