Week of 10/22/07

Alright... so I read on our announcement that we will be re-vising all of the work we've done thus far when the marking period closes, therefore I decided that I will incorporate all of your comments/criticisms about my blog into the final draft. I know last week, there were some pretty heated comments left, so I can not wait to address them in my final draft. This week I think my topic is way less controversial, you guys all might actually agree with me for once. It is most certainly something that pertains to all of our lives. I'm going to experiment with different formats for my posts (ex. movie/television reviews, essays, speeches, bulleted points {my two blogs thus far}). This one is an essay obviously, tell me what you think. I am pretty sure my next blog will be a movie/television/newspaper article/book review on something political of nature.

The latest Quinnipiac University Poll indicated that 88 percent of the adults surveyed believe that the State of New Jersey has a serious or somewhat serious problem with corruption. A recent Monmouth University Poll found that 49 % of the respondents would rather live somewhere else. New Jersey’s political scandals abound from a disgraced Governors resignation to numerous indictments and convictions of political leaders at all levels. Yet I have always had a certain affinity for my adopted home state, the Garden State, New Jersey. Contrary to popular belief portions of the State are gorgeous lush farm lands with rolling hills and large populations of wild animals. Other areas are cosmopolitan with wonderful cultural venues, shopping and restaurants. As a student interested in politics, New Jersey problematic government has always provided me with wonderful debate or essay topics. Generally, few issues have effected me personally until this year. As of September 2007, the state has issued a mandatory School Nutrition Policy. In theory, this was an effort by the New Jersey state legislature to combat childhood obesity. In practice, the plan is much too broad for the areas it covers and its guidelines are too regimented. The plan prohibits the selling and serving of soda, candy, food with a certain percentage of trans- fats, and any food or drink item that lists sugar as the first ingredient. This plan implemented in elementary school and middle school cafeterias is an excellent idea, and forces children to make healthy decisions. Clearly, the plan goes too far as the exact same guidelines apply to all New Jersey high schools. As a seventeen year old, the state of New Jersey trusts me to drive a 2,000 pound car on the road, but does not trust me enough to make healthy eating decisions during school hours. The emphasis is taken off the promoting a healthy life style and instead instills a certain frustration with students who feel like they are being treated like children. My peers are annoyed that the vending machines are turned off until the end of the school day, soda can not be sold, and you can no longer buy homemade cookies in the cafeteria. Our entire school store had to replace its inventory, consisting of candies and gum, with muffins and nutra-grain bars. In my choir class we were unable to serve cupcakes for a surprise party for our teacher who was getting married. I baked cupcakes, unaware that frosting was a “prohibited” item. Obviously, the nutrition plan is very difficult in its implementation as it forces schools to be “food police” instead of education administrators. Most students are free to make their own unregulated selections at home. Next year at college a variety of food choices will be made available to me and my peers. Instead of being educated in our high school as to nutrition guidelines, healthy choices, and the types of food we should be eating, the only thing we have been hearing is “NO” to certain foods. High school should promote an atmosphere of learning and independence, yet the New Jersey State Nutrition Plan hinders the learning of proper nutrition and takes away the students’ right to choose from a variety of food options.

It may seem that this issue is trivial in light of New Jersey’s real problems, yet to me it is a prime example of what might be causing such high levels of dissatisfaction. New Jersey’s micro management legislation is invasive and broad reaching. The constant implementations of new programs designed to fix societal ills is generally misplaced. With a recent budget shortfall announced of three billion dollars, it would seem imperative to reduce the number of programs instead of creating new ones. While the plan to hinder the consumption of “foods of minimal nutritional value” is a valid idea, students will just bring snacks from home, thus taking away revenue that the schools would otherwise generate from the sale of these products. The State of New Jersey obviously has good intentions but a failed execution with their mandatory Nutrition Plan. As the adage states, “Instead of the law serving the people, it’s the people that serve the law.”
For more information on the New Jersey State Nutrition Plan:

http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/fn/childadult/school_model.html