The following was originally broadcast on 11/12/11, WABE-FM Atlanta

By: Aaron Choi

I immigrated to the United States from South Korea when I was twelve years old. My first fast food experience was a few days after I arrived. I strolled into a local Burger King to try out their famous burgers. After a short glance at the menu, I ordered what looked to be the most American meal the store had to offer: the number six combo. A rich steakhouse burger with fries and a large coke.

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The following originally aired on KCBS.

By Ross Andrews

To say that American consumers are being tricked is an understatement.

Like most Americans, I eat packaged foods every day. Fortunately, I have a fast metabolism so I rarely look at the nutrition labels on the foods I eat. But for the majority of Americans who do check labels, many don’t understand the loopholes and intricacies of the labeling system.

The other night my mom brought a microwaveable pizza home for dinner. “I just couldn’t believe how few calories were in this, I just had to buy it!” she said excitedly. Then after eating three quarters of the pizza, I realized that I had eaten two servings amounting to about half my recommended calories for the day.

Shiny labels, exaggerated health claims, and misleading serving sizes, trick us into eating things we shouldn’t. There’s a reason Americans don’t check serving sizes - they don’t make sense. We need to find ways for consumers to make healthy choices. Changing serving sizes on packaged foods to what people actually eat is just the start.

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The following originally aired on KCBS.

BY:Jaylyn Burns

Thanks to 10 cent rubber wrist bands which make silly shapes when you’re not wearing them, teenagers like me are finding it easier to make friends.

I’m a high school sophomore, and it can be scary for me to leave my comfort zone. One day my math teacher put me at a table away from my friends. She sat me with this boy who has been in my class all year, but I never noticed. When I saw he had a humming bird shaped silly band around his wrist I asked if he would trade me for my elephant. Now we sometimes talk when we have free time in class.

Kids have been trading things forever, but Silly Bandz are different because they appeal to everyone. Unlike Yugio cards and Barbies, they’re not just for girls or boys.

High school cliques are a powerful thing, and at my school they too often fall on racial lines. If you’re not in the clique, then you can’t even talk to the kids who are, but Silly Bandz are breaking down these walls.

Sure, I admit these rubber bands are silly, but their affects are profound.

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The following originally aired on KCBS.

By Fareeza Ali

I’ve tried teaching my friends about Islam, but it seems like even though they accept me, they’re unwilling to accept my religion.

Recently, a guy from my school started an Islamic Club and asked people what they’d be interested in learning about. I heard one girl tell him she wanted to learn how to make bombs.

WHAT!? The thing that killed me is that I think she was actually serious. It made me think different about my peer’s jokes. Jokes, I admit, I used to make sometimes. But they seemed more hurtful after I heard this. The fact that she felt this way about Muslims made me question what she thinks about me.

The way I see it, Islam is not just a faith, it’s away of life because devout Muslims are dedicated to living a life incompliance to their religion.

It seems like because I don’t fit the stereotypes of the violent Muslim, my peers accept me, but not my religion. What they don’t get is that because it’s such a big part of the way I live my life, the religion is me.

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What is music? No really, what is music? This was my personal conquest for the past week or so. I can take a guess, but a guess wasn’t good enough for me, I wanted to understand music further with a definition, and personally I accomplished that. Read more...

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Gothic industrial culture is a culture in itself, where people who have like interests come together. I really enjoy this subculture because of the music, art and fashion. The music tells stories about certain things in my life. There was a time when I was constantly fighting with my grandmother and it really hurt me. The way I eased my hurt inside was by listening to this music to let out what I was feeling. I really related to what I was listening to. The music is very sad, slow, angry, loud, or even screaming. Some artists that contribute to this subculture play metal, rock, grunge, techno, and alternative music. In my opinion, the music is very important to this subculture. To me the lyrics really ment more than they literatlly were. Read more...

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How do you identify yourself? People identify themselves as all types of different races but they don’t know anything about them. Do they actually get involved with the culture and traditions? I think people think its cool to just identify themselves as all these different races because they think being what they are is too plain. Maybe if they focus on what they are they could actually learn something about themselves. I think if someone actually do say that they are a particular race they should associate with customs and background. I mean what's the point of claiming something if you don’t know anything about. So okay, you are 12% Japanese…do you at least know how to cook something related from the Japanese culture? I just think it would be a lot more fun to actually get involved with the culture instead of just claiming it. Read more...

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