A survey of Canadian women showed that they are using birth control less than they did a decade ago, and, according to an article by Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), are opting for “less effective” methods. The survey conducted by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), polled more than 3,200 Canadian women and found that more women than ever are moving away from oral contraceptives and opting for the notably less successful condom or “pull out” method. To

We’ve known for a while that the birth-control implant Essure is responsible for causing severe side effects and health problems for women including sterilization, extreme sweating, bleeding, blood clots and chronic pain. This past week, this information was affirmed by an investigative report from the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC). According to the CBC, “as of October, about 500 Canadian women claiming issues with Essure have registered with a class-action lawsuit that’s waiting certific

Despite the many problems pornography causes for women today, there are some glimmers of hope on the topic. It may seem like we’re always being hit with a new discouraging fact about pornography. Whether it’s statistics on the age at which kids start watching porn (now kids are having first exposure to porn as young as ten and eleven) or the increase in searches for violent or dangerous content (incest is a new trend, according to Ernie Allen, former president of the National Center for Missing

On Friday July 20, the medical technology company Bayer announced that they will be removing the form of birth control, Essure, from the U.S. market as of December 31 of this year. Essure is a sterilization device in the form of a flexible, 4 centimeter metallic coil. It’s inserted into the fallopian tubes through the vagina. It is intentionally designed to cause inflammation leading to the formation of scar tissue, effectively closing the fallopian tube, which prevents the egg and sperm from m

The United Nations Global Health meeting held back in May is receiving renewed attention after the New York Times reported that a resolution intended to encourage breastfeeding, particularly in underdeveloped countries, was usurped by the United States of America. The initiative, intended to be introduced by Ecuador but ultimately introduced by Russia, was meant to promote the spread of factual information about breastmilk and to limit unsupported information about breastmilk substitutes. It wa

Prof. Jack G. Shaheen, a former CBS News consultant on Middle East affairs, began studying how Arabs are portrayed in the media when his children came to him saying, “Daddy, they’ve got bad Arabs on television.” The Lebanese-American mass media professor spent the next eight years examining and documenting Arab stereotypes in more than 200 television programs, and writing The TV Arab (1984). Next came Arab and Muslim Stereotyping in American Popular Culture (1997), and finally—after 20 years of

Grand Valley State University will host its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Week. Though this event will follow a similar pattern to past years, this year is expected to be a more sobering and thought provoking event. Recent controversies such as the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. and Eric Garner’s infamous, “I can’t breathe” in New York City make this year’s theme hit closer to home. The theme, “No More Silence” comes from Dr. King’s famous quote, “In the end, we will

Grand Valley State University students will have chance to learn what a Machiavellian mindset might mean for the presidency during an American conversation with historian H.W. Brands entitled, “The Prez: Machiavelli comes to the White House.” The lecture is being hosted by the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies in partnership with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum and Foundation. The lecture will be presented Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. in the L.V. Eberhard Center on the GVSU Pe

Pepper spray will now be permissible at Grand Valley State University due to a change of language in the student code. However the student who inquired into this change does not want to stop there. He is hoping that this will be the beginning step to lifting GVSU’s long-standing gun ban. GVSU reviewed its student code of conduct this past summer, and in September it was presented to members of the Student Senate. Benjamin Soltis, a member of the Student Senate Finance Committee, began to look

Herb Meyer, a Reagan administration intelligence official, believes we are living through one of the greatest times in history. Meyer, known for predicting the collapse of the Soviet Union, shared his predictions for the future with a crowd at Grand Valley State University’s Eberhard Center on Tuesday night as a part of the Hauenstein Center’s American Conversations series. Meyer said that despite the difficult times we are faced with, he believes that there is a bright future down the road.

ISIS stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Jonathan White, professor of interdisciplinary studies at Grand Valley State University and a consultant to state, local and federal governments, said they are a disenfranchised Ba’athist militant group led by an Iraqi, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. White said they originally emerged in 2006 and according to Terrorist Research & Analysis Consortium (TRAC), it “evolved in one of the main jihadist groups fighting government forces in Syria and Iraq.”

Famous playwright William Shakespeare said, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.” Grand Valley State University will play host to one of the greats – Shakespearean scholar Tony Simotes – who will be coming to GVSU as the keynote speaker for the biannual Shakespeare Conference. Simotes’ presentation will be held on Friday, Sept. 26 at 4 p.m. The lecture is LIB 100 approved and will be preceded by a food reception at 3 p.m. Toting a seemingly end

In light of the recent ceasefire agreements created between Israel and Palestine on Aug. 26, Ali Abunimah, executive director of The Electronic Intifada, an online publication that is known for its incisive coverage and advocacy of Palestinian people, politics and culture, came to speak to Grand Valley State University. The discussion was sponsored by Healing Children of Conflict and co-sponsored by GVSU’s Middle East studies program, GVSU’s Peace M.E.ans and Hope Equals. Abunimah’s lecture co

Jennifer Knickerbocker was walking to class on Friday, Aug. 29 when she noticed a crowd gathering around the Transformational Link. Knickerbocker and other veteran Grand Valley State University students were not surprised to see the commotion caused by The Campus Ministry USA wielding signs that said “Repent or Perish” and “Fear God and Keep His Commandments.” Knickerbocker stopped to encourage other students to continue moving and avoid antagonizing the group. In return, members of The Campu

In 1984 Prof. Jack Shaheen, former CBS consultant on Middle East affairs, and Dr. Edmund Ghareeb of American University both published works on the portrayal of Arabs and Muslims by Western media. Shaheen’s TV Arab studied the images of Arabs on television, and Ghareeb’s Split Vision examined news, print and broadcast media. On June 11, the Palestine Center welcomed the two authors, who discussed “Portraying Arabs: 30 Years Later.” Shaheen became interested in studying how Arabs and Muslims are

Demonstrators in front of the White House on May 23 urged President Barack Obama to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. Speakers from a broad coalition of human rights and faith organizations, including CODEPINK, Amnesty International and the National Coalition Against Torture, sponsored the action, which also took place in six other countries and more than 40 U.S. cities, including San Francisco and Chicago. Protest participants chanted the phrase, “One day more is one day too

During a May 8 discussion based on her book, Citizen Strangers: Palestinians and the Birth of Israel’s Liberal Settler State, author Shira Robinson stated that the years leading up to the 1948 war were crucial in determining the second-class status of Palestinians in their homeland today. Robinson explained the systematic marginalization of Palestinians living in what became predominantly Israeli territory at an event hosted by the New America Foundation and moderated by Lisa Goldman, director o

Members of the Syrian opposition to President Bashar al-Assad made their first official visit to Washington, DC in May. During their meetings with government officials and think-tank audiences, the representatives urged the U.S. to provide more moral and military support to the Syrian opposition. Speaking at the U.S. Institute of Peace on May 7, Ahmad Jarba, president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, asked Washington to send weapons, but not troops, to S

The Grand Valley State University physical therapy program united with the local organization, Alternatives in Motion, to host about 150 participants in the 18th annual Wheel Run Together 5k on Saturday. Alternatives in Motion is a nonprofit organization that provides mobility devices for people who are unable to afford them by their own means. “This race works well for us because it is with the physical therapy students,” said Matt Chapman, the interim executive director for Alternatives in M

When professor Bruce Ostrow walks down the hallways in the Padnos Hall of Science at Grand Valley State University, he is used to being stopped or stared at by students. This is not necessarily because they have tons of probing science questions or because they are rude, but rather because of Ostrow’s companion, Tucker. Tucker is a 12-week-old golden lab, a mix between a golden retriever and a labrador. He is being trained as a companion puppy for Paws With a Cause, a national organization that