Editorial: Casual Fridays 2/15

Snail Mail

According to an article from the Associated Press, a woman received a postcard earlier this week that her son sent her — 46 years ago. Bert Jacobson sent his mother the postcard when he was 13 years old in 1967. The postcard had a four-cent Abraham Lincoln stamp on it. The Postal Service must be getting caught up on their to-do list of deliveries before they discontinue Saturday mail delivery.

#FirstWorldProblems

According to an article from the Associated Press, a graduate student named Megan Thode received a C-minus in a course necessary for her degree to become a licensed therapist, setting her behind in her coursework and causing her to switch to a master’s program in human development instead. According to her lawyer, she was unfairly given a poor grade in the course, and she should be compensated for $1.3 million in lost wages associated with her change in programs. Based on this precedent, perhaps all students who have taken organic chemistry should consider filing a class-action lawsuit.

Why wasn’t sex ed. like this?

According to an article in the University of Illinois’ student paper The Daily Illini, a woman named Annie Sprinkle, who works as a “porn star, pleasure activist, performance artist, ecosex pioneer and prostitute” attended the campus sex education seminar to give a presentation to dorm residents and other students. The presentation involved Tarot card readings, showing students an anatomically correct model of a vagina and some clips of Sprinkle’s pornographic films. Pitt’s freshman-dorm educational program, Sex in the Lounge, might consider following suit.

Snakes on a Plain

According to an article from the Associated Press, Pastor Jamie Coots of Kentucky was arrested for driving five snakes across the state of Tennessee. Coots handles snakes as part of his worship services at Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church in Middlesboro, Ky. Snake handling is a custom among some Pentecostal churches, mostly in the Appalachian states. Coots was stopped in Tennessee and told that only zoos or wildlife parks can obtain permits to have poisonous snakes. We wonder if Britney Spears went through the same hassle when she made her 2001 music video “I’m a Slave 4 U.”

Sheetz vs. Wawa: even more divisive than soda vs. pop

On Feb. 9, The New York Times published a feature about the Pennsylvania divide between Wawa and Sheetz. Anyone from Pennsylvania or the East Coast has a preferred snack-food, coffee and milkshake vendor. Sheetz dominates western Pennsylvania, while Wawa has more locations in eastern Pennsylvania and the East Coast. Central Pennsylvania remains a no man’s land of snack food confusion.

Note: The Pitt News was unable to finish this article because of staff violence that broke out during discussion on this segment.