Volume XXV, Issue 21
Educating Women to Excel
April 2, 2008
ON THE
INSIDE:
Continuation
p. 2
Editorial
p. 3
Editorial
p. 4
WEATHER
TODAY: P.M. Showers.
Low 46, High 59.
Thursday: P.M. Showers.
Low 52, High 58.
Friday: Scattered T-
Storms. Low 62, High 70.
Saturday: T-Showers.
Low 53, High 73.
Sunday: Partly Cloudy.
Low 49, High 72.
Monday: Partly Cloudy.
Low 52, High 74.
T^iesday: Showers. Low
50, High 74.
Source: www.weather.com
Information retrieved
'Dies. Apr. I at 3:45 p.m.
Autism
Chelsea McGlaughlin
Staff Writer
April is Autism
Awareness Month, and
April 2 is World Autism
Awareness Day, so I
thought some informa
tion about the complex
neurobiological disorder
would be appropri
ate. Autism is part of a
group of disorders called
autism spectrum disor
ders (ASD). Affecting
one in every 150 people,
autism is four times more
likely to be found in boys
than in girls. According
to a January issue of
Parade Magazine, autism
is the "fastest-growing
developmental disability
in the U.S."
While the exact cause
of autism is thus far
unknown, autism may be
caused by a genetic flaw
or environmental chemi
cals. Autism impairs ver
bal and nonverbal com
munication, affects social
interaction and often
leads to strict routines
and repetitive behaviors
and obsessions. Each case
of autism is unique—
each individual with
autism has a different
experience and can show
±
AUTISM SKAKS
mild to very severe signs
of autism. Treatments
for autism vary, but early
diagnosis is crucial for
children with autism.
With the help of early
intervention programs,
many children with
autism can enter school
right alongside their typi
cally developing peers.
Autism at Meredith
Meredith Autism
Program (MAP) is a
f«aa4«i*«a
program in which pre
school-age children with
autism receive behavioral
intervention. Meredith
students work one-
on-one with children
with autism and their
families. According to
the Meredith Autism.
Program website, "The
mission of the Meredith
College Autism Program
(MAP) is to provide a
behavioral intervention
in which children with
autism can develop to
their fullest potential,
provide undergraduate
students experience and
education in the field of
autism, while validating
and expanding the cur-
Autism Speaks and The Bubel/Aiken Foundation support Autism cont. on pg. 2
autism awareness
Society Makes the Difference
Lauren Williams
Contributing Writer
Men and women
think and communicate
differently. Some, like
writer Deborah Tannen,
believe this difference
can be attributed to soci
ety. In her essay "Women
and Men Talking on the
Job," Tannen explains
that women are taught to
be overly humble and to
suppress their aggressive
fighting side. If they do
not comply with these
understood rules, they
are looked down on by
society and thought to be
bragging, bossy females.
Men, on the other hand,
are admired if they are
aggressive, going after
what they want and tak
ing credit for it! Another
theory is that this differ
ence in men and women
is related to biology. In
his essay "How Men and
Women Think," Nicholas
Wade claims that men
and women are naturally
better at different things.
Men tend to be better at
math while women have
better verbal skills, and
these natural differences
affect the way each sex
thinks and communi
cates. While biology may
play a role, the differ
ences concerning think
ing and communicating
in men and women seem
to be shaped more by
society.
Society, whether right
or wrong, has a strong
influence on people.
Everybody wants to
be accepted in soci
ety; nobody wants to
be shunned. However,
most of the time, being
accepted means conform
ing to what is expected
or "in." Although society
claims that confidence
is "in," society encour
ages women to suppress
their certainty. Tannen
writes that "it seems that
women are more likely
to downplay fheir cer
tainty, men more likely to
downplay their doubts."
Even in today's world
this idea appears to still
be true for the majority
of women. For example,
if a woman is in some
kind of business meeting
which ideas are pitched,
she is likely to pitch hers
differently from the way
a man would. She would
suggest something and
sprinkle her ideas with
phrases like "I'm not sure
if this is a good idea or
not but...." She presents
her idea with built-in
doubts and apologies. A
man, however, usually
jumps in, presenting an
idea about which he is
confident on the surface,
even if this confidence is
not what he is really feel
ing underneath. He sells
his ideas with assurances
such as, "I'd bet on it."
Even if he isn't as sure as
he appears, he is going to
get Ws pitch noticed.
Men and women
do things differently
because society has influ
enced their way of think
ing and communicating.
Men and women are dif
ferent biologically, but if
Society cont. on pg. 4