Last Tuesday, scientists in Japan and Wisconsin reported that they had discovered a way to turn human skin cells into cells that behave similarly to embryonic stem cells. The new method, developed by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University, requires just four genes to be placed into a skin cell. Since the need for destroying an embryo seems to no longer be required, it is assumed that the bitter ethical debate should come to an end. click to read more

For New York State residents, the estimated cost per credit hour at Fredonia for the undergraduate degree is about $230 for the fall and spring semesters. That price shoots up to $492 for non-residential students. For graduate courses, it is over $100 more for New York state students. Meal plans range from $495 to $1,795. To live on campus in a double occupancy is $2,525. These necessities do not include other expenses such as books, activity and other fees and leisure spending money.

Yes, there are scholarships, assistantships, work-study and financial aid packages that can help with these hefty prices, but not all students receive help. Many take up part- or full-time jobs. To assist with the job search, Fredonia offers many outlets of employment to help students pay education expenses. One of these locations is Erie dining hall. click to read more

The Student Association presidential elections commenced yesterday at 8 a.m. and continued until 9 p.m. in the Williams Center. Today (11/14/2007) is the last day to vote until 9 p.m.

Running for SA president are Kelly Gunio, a junior photography major with a minor in business who has been an SA representative since the beginning of the semester and Cody Meyers, a senior political science major who has been an SA representative since the beginning of his junior year. Running for vice president with Gunio is sophomore music education major Nicole Guarino, a junior class representative who sits on the SA rules committee and with Meyers is Nick Dhimitri, a junior political science major and an SA supreme court justice. More information on candidates can be found on the front page of the last issue of The Leaderclick to read more

The smell of snow once warmed me. There was something about the scent of freshly fallen flakes that made me smile, while I watched the wrinkled leaves become dusted with sparkling winter. As a child, the scent reminded me of hot chocolate, sledding and making snow angels with my father. As a woman, those memories were transformed into a sort of numbing frost. click to read more

Tensions surrounding the already unstable issue of illegal immigrants became additionally rickety after the attacks of September 11; people instantly started to question who is with us and who is our enemy? Considerations about how 35 known IDs were forged by the hijackers became a central motive for expanding identification requirements within state governments.

One example of these expanded requirements is The Real ID Act, which Congress passed in 2005. This act created national standards for state-issued documents including driver's licenses - to obtain these licenses and other forms of identification, applicants had to prove citizenship or legal residency. When New York Governor Eliot Spitzer mandated a plan to provide three kinds of driver's licenses, two that would meet the new federal security regulations and a third that would be available to illegal immigrants, memories of the past set off intense criticism....click to read more

Money: what a tricky little word. We hate it, but we want more of it. Most students are being robbed of it without realizing it.

One way to save a little money is by consolidating multiple loans taken out for higher education. Ideally, making one single monthly payment would lower the overall interest rate. However, just last year, loan companies and alumni associations were coming up with agreements that certain lenders would promise a payment for access to the names of graduates. The lender would theoretically pay the association more if more graduates used its consolidation loans.

While students continued to put trust into their financial aid departments to provide them with the best economic plan possible for this expensive time of life, many schools were allowing kickbacks for "preferred lender" status. Students thought they were getting the best deal, when in reality someone else was getting a payoff....click to read more

Most people know what a hacky sack is. Its a little bean-filled sack that people kick around to pass the time. Ask someone what footbag is and they are bound to respond with a blank stare.

After the initial confusion wears off, the most common response is probably "You mean hacky sack?" In short, yes, I do mean hacky sack but there is a lot more to footbag than most people would suspect....click to read more

Women should wear knee-length skirts and dresses, cover their shoulders, refrain from wearing more than a one-inch heel, be virtuous and remain abstinent until marriage. This is the only way that they will be protected against sexual violence. No, this is not the mantra of The Leader, but of a current modesty movement that has been brewing since the late 1990s....click to read more

When Fredonia students reach their third year, many of them are excited to move off campus. Even sophomores try to escape by pretending they are commuting from home. As someone who has had only positive experiences dorming, I do not understand the rush to live off campus. My freshman year in Kasling...click to read more

It was Samantha's first field experience in a kindergarten classroom in Silver Creek. She had learned about No Child Left Behind (NCLB), but had never seen the program implemented. Her supervising teacher was giving a math assessment to keep students on track for NCLB, which started testing in third grade. All of a sudden, a five-year-old boy started crying because he could not understand the questions. The child received a zero for the review and the teacher went on to the next set of lessons. Four years later, Samantha is now a full-time teacher at the Dunkirk Head Start and is feeling the pressure of NCLB in her own classroom. ...click to read more

I wonder if the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was serious when it sued Russian download site allofmp3.com for $1.65 trillion in November 2006. Did it expect a challenge when they filed a lawsuit against 87-year-old Hurricane Rita survivor Rhonda Crain in the summer of 2007 for downloading music through the KaZaa file sharing network? ...click to read more

"To encourage worldwide, 24-hour spiritual observations for peace and nonviolence on the International Day of Peace, 21 September in every house of worship and place of spiritual practice, by all religious and spiritually based groups and individuals, and by all men, women and children who seek peace in the world." ~The International Day of Peace Vigil ...click to read more

How strategic that fall break lands a weekend before midterm papers and tests are generally due. Whether this was a thought-out plan on behalf of the administration or pure luck of the draw, many students take advantage of a Thursday and Friday off from classes to do final preparation for midterms. Class time is not the only hours that are decreased during fall break ...click to read more

We all encounter various situations in life when we are forced to step outside of our comfort zone. Over the past several weeks I have had to step out of my comfort zone and into unfamiliar territory ...click to read more

To the Editor,
In a recently published issue, The Leader printed an editorial regarding the case of Idaho Senator Larry Craig, who recently gained media attention after he was arrested during a police sting operation in a Minneapolis Airport restroom. During the initial arrest Craig pleaded guilty after supposedly making advances towards an undercover police officer ...click to read more