Fact checking Water.org & Stella Artois controversy
Speculation has been circling for the past week regarding Matt Damon’s ad in the Super Bowl involving beer company Stella Artois and nonprofit group Water.org. Damon himself is a co-founder of Water.org. The mission of this non-profit, according to their website, is to provide access to clean water and sanitation in the developing world, as well as empowerment to natives through affordable financing. Previously, nonprofits trying to fix a community’s water problem would provide short-term solutions by building wells and then disappearing. However, this wasn’t really solving the problem, as the wells would often malfunction or become contaminated within a few months. Locals without the knowledge or tools to fix the wells would have to return to walking several miles a day to retrieve water. Water.org uses a different approach when solving the drinking water issue by placing the...
Read MoreScience behind seasonal changes
For many of us, the changing of colors and falling of leaves in autumn is only an accepted fact of life. However, not every region in the world gets to experience different seasons or the brilliant transformation from green leaves to reds, oranges, golds and browns. In fact, the Earth can be divided into separate biomes by characteristics such as average rainfall and temperature. These aspects strongly influence the species diversity present in each biome. The Smoky Mountains as well as most of the Eastern United States falls within the “temperate deciduous” forest biome. This is because we are inside a low-pressure zone of the global air circulation, allowing for a great amount of precipitation. In fact, temperate deciduous forests are second only to the tropics regarding annual rainfall amounts. Temperate deciduous forests are among the oldest and most...
Read MoreThe history of Halloween
Headlines have recently filtered in regarding an elementary school in Massachusetts dropping its typical Halloween costume party and picking up a “Black and Orange Spirit Day” instead. The reasoning behind this change in tradition as stated by the principle was to remain inclusive to all students and to ensure safety. Instead of dressing up in costumes, students were encouraged to dress in black and orange colors. This raised concerns from local parents who disapproved of the political correctness being inserted into school policy regarding a holiday so popular with children. Also, some were worried this would create a ripple effect of fun events being cancelled due to being non-inclusive. With all this drama circulating around a holiday that dates back to long before political correctness and costume parties even existed, it’s important to consider the roots of Halloween, something...
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ACS and tri-BETA host fifth annual STEMfest
On Sunday Oct. 8, at 2:00 p.m. in the Alumni Gym, Maryville College American Chemical Society (ACS) and Tri-BETA biology club hosted their fifth annual STEMfest: a celebration of all things science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Despite condensed droplets of water vapor causing a rainy day, the event was still a huge success and was moved from its usual location in front of Sutton to the Alumni Gym and Bartlett Hall. Maryville College students, staff and faculty along with the Maryville community were welcomed to enjoy the science fair-themed festival with games such as “Life-Sized Operation,” “Beat the Heart” and many more. There was also a very competitive pie-eating contest with MC junior Boomer Russell taking the first first place award and the esteemed champion pie hat. Fabulous prizes were given away to lucky winners in exchange for tickets...
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