Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A17
NATHANAEL RUBIN
ARTHUR OCHS SULZBERGER JR., Publisher Founded in 1851 ADOLPH S. OCHS Publisher 1896-1935 ARTHUR HAYS SULZBERGER Publisher 1935-1961 ORVIL E. DRYFOOS Publisher 1961-1963 ARTHUR OCHS SULZBERGER Publisher 1963-1992 The News Sections JILL ABRAMSON, Executive Editor DEAN BAQUET, Managing Editor JOHN M. GEDDED, Managing Editor TOM BODKIN, Deputy Managing Editor WILLIAM E. SCHMIDT, Deputy Managing Editor Assistant Managing Editors RICHARD L. BERKE SUSAN CHIRA GLENN KRAMON MICHELE McNALLY JIM ROBERTS The Business Management SCOTT H. HEEKIN-CANEDY, President, General Manager DENISE F. WARREN, Senior V.P., Chief Advertising Officer, General Manager, NYTimes.com YASMIN NAMINI, Senior V.P., Marketing and Circulation, General Manager, Reader Applications ALEXIS BURYK, Senior V.P., Advertising ROLAND A, CAPUTO, Senior V.P., Chief Financial Officer THOMAS K. CARLEY, Senior V.P., Planning TERRY L. HAYES, Senior V.P., Operations and Labor The New York Times Company ARTHUR OCHS SULZBERGER JR., Chairman, Chief Executive Officer MICHAEL GOLDEN, Vice Chairman JAMES M. FOLLO, Chief Financial Officer R. ANTHONY BENTEN, Senior V.P. ROBERT H. CHRISTIE, Senior, V.P. MARC FRONS, Senior V.P., Chief Information Officer TODD C. McCARTY, Senior V.P. KENNETH A. RICHIERI, Senior V.P., General Counsel LAURENA L. EMHOFF, V.P., Treasurer DIANE BRAYTON, Secretary
ERIC FLEMENS
BROOKE FARRIOR
The Opinion Pages ANDREW ROSENTHAL, Editorial Page Editor TRISH HALL, Deputy Editorial Page Editor
Facebook: A Detriment
TO THE EDITOR:
I really enjoyed the piece that was published regarding the effects of Facebook on society. The author made great points and I agree with just about everything that was written. To expand upon the authors point, I believe that children are the ones being harmed the most by our societys addiction to Facebook. Instead of climbing trees, riding bikes, and as the author suggested, throwing around a football, our children are all huddled over their electronic devices waiting for the next status update. Children learn by example, and I believe we all would benefit by following this articles example and stepping away from Facebook. TO THE EDITOR: I thoroughly enjoyed reading the OP-ED about Facebook and how it is slowly destroying our society and especially our social skills and the way we communicate with one another. This article touched on how it is convenient and takes less effort to simply log into a website and see what your friends are up to, rather than giving them a call or going over to their house. I agree with the author in the sense that Facebook gives a bit too much insight into peoples lives and an invitation for negative habits such as analyzing and criticizing fellow Facebook-ers. I also think When people talk about how bad Facebook has gotten, we tend to laugh it off, but as the article states, the problem is more serious than that. Thank you for allowing this authors message to be heard. JOSEPH LESHO Florida, September 25, 2012
Facebook can be an outlet for jealousy. This article made me wonder where Facebook is taking us and how we can prevent it from consuming our lives and causing us to be inferior communicators. I liked the suggestions of how to better spend our time rather than going on Facebook for hours on end and actually pay attention to those around us. It makes me wonder if our society is capable of cutting back on social networking and if this phenomenon could possibly get much worse. BROOKE FARRIOR Florida, September 25, 2012
Doping in Sports
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was created in 1999, after major doping scandals hit the world of sports. The organization was created to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against doping in sports around the world. As an athlete in todays world, exceptional hard work must be executed in each performance. Doping in sports, however, prevents athletes from proving themselves as genuine hard workers. Doping in sports is not a new phenomenon; athletes have taken performanceenhancing agents since the beginning of time. Doping causes an individuals health to be at stake. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency, anabolic steroids affect cardiovascular and mental health and are associated with an increased risk of neoplasms. Dietary supplements containing ephedra alkaloids have been linked to serious health risks including hypertension, tachycardia, stroke, seizures and death. Although these risks are not common, it does not necessarily mean that the occurrences are impossible depending on the individual. For example, one of Americas best track stars in history, Florence Griffith Joyner, Flo-Jo, and the Cuban runner Chelimo both died from cardiovascular events at 38 years of age. The speculation that rose from their deaths was whether or not each case dealt with natural causes or doping. The causes, until this day, are unknown. Furthermore, the WADA states, accurate data on the prevalence of doping is difficult to control as it is not financially possible to screen all athletes. Selection for doping is usually random. Medal winners, team captains, goal scorers, the number on a shirt or bib, or athletes who show a sudden or unexpected improvement in personal bests are usually those who get tested for doping. The most commonly abused group of drugs is: stimulants, followed by anabolic steroids. Also, alcohol is one of the most widely used drugs in the athletic population as a whole; it is associated in sports injury and poor physiological performance and should be avoided by the serious athlete. As earlier noted, in order for an athlete to demonstrate how great he/she is, it is not through doping methods. It is not necessary use drugs as a scapegoat to make ones athletic ability seem tainted or well-deserving for public acceptance. Natural talent and obvious hard work is more respected. Once doping is involved, it gives an athlete a bad image. Bad images will not reflect a positive influence to aspiring athletes.