Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 12 (June 2010). World Leaders by Casey. Recently, during a class discussion, I was shocked to realize how many of my classmates did not know who the current world leaders were. Right now, there are 181 nations listed on the CIA's website, although not all of them are recognized as nations by the United States. Can you name a third (sixty nations) of them? I can name eighty-seven. Of those I cannot name, , some I have never heard of and...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 11 (May 2010). Doughnut Madness By Cheyenne (Desert) With Doughnut Week coming up in May, you may be wondering where this delicious, sweet food came from. The exact origins of the doughnut are shadowy, but there are many different theories and stories as to where it might have come from. In prehistoric Native American settlements, archaeologists have unearthed bits of what look like donuts!. Donuts first arrived in Manhattan, then known...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 11 (May 2010). Special Olympics By Katrina Many of us see Special Olympics related programs at our schools or places of employment. In theory, it's great, but in practice, it's far more inspiring than even describable! Think about it, the Special Olympics is giving athletic opportunities to individuals who would not have the same opportunities with any other organization. What's more important than the athletic opportunities given to these...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 11 (May 2010). LGBT Mental Health By Maria (Gidig) Mental health is brought up in many topics we talk about in this era. A huge part of living in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community is hearing about our own mental health. There is unfortunately a large difference between the mental health of LGBT people and that of ‘straight’ (heterosexual) people. We have finally reached a point in our culture that identifying as...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 11 (May 2010). The Truth about Eating Disorders By Jessie (Asylum) Eating disorders are characterized by abnormal eating habits resulting in insufficient or excessive food intake. There are many types of eating disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and eating disorder not otherwise specified. Like many other psychiatric disorders, there are misconceptions surrounding eating disorders and those living...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 11 (May 2010). UK Elections Casey (Cas*) General elections in the UK will be held on 6 May 2010. Whether you're registered or not (and we hope you or your parents are!) it is important to know what is going on in the government. Do you know who is running and what they stand for? First, let's have a quick lesson on the basics of political parties in the UK. There are many parties in the UK, including minor ones like the Green Party or the...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 11 (May 2010). News that Affects You: April 2010 in Review By Jessie (Asylum) Absent in April? Would you rather spend your spring outside than indoors reading the news? In case you missed the headlines, here’s a glimpse of what people were talking about, or should have been, in April 2010! Mental Health

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 10 (April 2010). Oscar Overview By Brittany (.Brittany.) The 82nd annual Oscar Awards were held Sunday March 7th, 2010. Whether it was for the gorgeous red carpet dresses, or just to find out who won the Oscar's, an estimated 41.62 million people watched as hosts Alex Baldwin and Steven Martin ran the show. Here are some of the night's big winners! The Hurt Locker is an American war movie about elite soldiers in Iraq that have the most...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 10 (April 2010). Choosing A Short Haircut By Cheyenne (Desert) It’s a big decision, one that takes a lot of time and planning. It’s also something that’s right next to irreversible. If you go through with it and change your mind when it’s over, you have months and possibly years to rectify your mistake. What decision am I talking about, you ask? Cutting your hair! How many times have you had a friend with beautiful, long locks which they...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 10 (April 2010). 10 Points of Light By Katrina You may remember Take Back the Night's Avatar debut when it was featured as Cause of the Month in the November 2009 edition. In conjunction with Take Back the Night's first ever nationwide event, 10 Points of Light, we wanted to remind our Cause of the Month readers of the great work this foundation is doing each and every day, and to encourage participation in this event! On April 29, 2010,...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 10 (April 2010). Self Care By Maria (Gidig) Many of us have heard something about “self care” at least once. While it may seem like we already do a significant amount of self care by sleeping, eating, and even breathing, many people do not take enough time for themselves. Without self care, stress levels are much higher, relationships can be compromised, and depression creeps up. You can even physically feel better when you practice better...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 10 (April 2010). Stand Up for Autism By Marie (Rie) What do you imagine when you hear the word autism? How do you personally picture a person with autism? Do you see the child repeating words over and over again? The teenager who has still never uttered a word? Do you picture the adult curled around rocking back and forth in a fetal position? Can you imagine visiting a country when you neither speak nor understand a word of their language?...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 10 (April 2010). News That Affects you: March 2010 in Review By Jessie (Asylum) Missed March? Just downright dislike sifting through news reports you could care less about? Want the lowdown? Here’s a glimpse of what people were talking about in March 2010! Human Rights

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 10 (April 2010). Earthquakes By Casey (Cas*) Earthquake! Wait, what? March was a month full of earthquakes, and now you're telling me that April will be too? Not necessarily, even though the world was shaken up after Haiti, this past month, it still hasn't gotten the chance to settle down. It started in Chile. The first earthquake, 8.8 magnitude, hit February 27th. It was a massive earthquake, that caused Tsunamis to hit Hawaii and that...

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 9 (March 2010). Drugs and your Brain By Maria (Gidig) Many teenagers and adults do drugs everyday, whether they’re legal or not. But very few of those people know how exactly each drug works or the effects of drug use. It’s important and healthy to know what may happen inside your body, if you choose to use drugs. So here some of the most common drugs, and how they affect you, are explained. Marijuana: Most commonly marijuana, also known...