Measure aims to tone down cheerleading performances

AUSTIN - The Friday night lights in Texas could soon be without bumpin' and grindin' cheerleaders.

Legislation filed by state Rep. Al Edwards of Houston would put an end to "sexually suggestive" performances at high school athletic events and other extracurricular competitions.

"It's just too sexually oriented, you know, the way they're shaking their behinds and going on, breaking it down," said Edwards, a 26-year veteran of the Texas House. advertisement

"And then we say to them, 'don't get involved in sex unless it's marriage or love, it's dangerous out there' and yet the teachers and directors are helping them go through those kind of gyrations."

Under Edwards' bill, if a school district knowingly permits such a performance, state funds would be reduced in an amount to be determined by the education commissioner.

Edwards said he filed the bill after seeing several instances of such ribald performances in his district.

J.M. Farias, owner of Austin Cheer Factory, said cheerleading aficionados would welcome the law. Cheering competitions penalize for suggestive movements or any vulgarity, he said.

"Any coaches that are good won't put that in their routines," he said.

Woman finds freedom laws mean no free man

LONDON (Reuters) - When the government introduced its new freedom of information laws, Angela Wright seized on them as a chance to find an unattached man in uniform.

Wright sent an email to her local police force asking about "eligible bachelors within Hampshire constabulary between the ages of 35 and 49 and details of their email addresses, salary details and pension values", the Guardian reported on Saturday.

But police said the names and addresses were personal and exempt from the laws, which came into force in January. They were prepared to tell her, however, that the Hampshire force had 266 eligible bachelors, of whom 201 were in uniform.

"I was amazed that I was told that the information could not be practically released," said Wright, adding she had two reasons for making her request.

"The first was to amuse the (freedom of information) team. The second was to see what response I could get."

Sex 'bomb' causes panic at German post office

BERLIN (AFP) - A parcel which vibrated and made strange noises caused panic in a post office in eastern Germany before it was revealed that it was an inflatable erotic doll, police said.


AFP/File Photo



"The post office worker thought it could have been a dangerous object, even a bomb," a spokesman for Chemnitz police said.


The police were called and noticed that the sender's address was on the package.


When they confronted the red-faced sender of the parcel, he explained it was a lifesize doll which he had folded up to send back to the manufacturers because it had failed to have the desired effect.


"He opened the package and expertly removed the batteries," said the spokesman. "It was rather embarrassing for the sender

Internet dating much more successful than previously thought

Internet dating is proving a much more successful way to find long-term romance and friendship for thousands of people than was previously thought, new research shows. A new study of online dating site members has found that when couples who had built up a significant relationship by e-mailing or chatting online met for the first time, 94 per cent went on to see each other again.

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Perhaps surprisingly, the study, by Dr Jeff Gavin, of the University of Bath, also found that men were more emotionally dependent on their ‘e-partners’ than women, and more committed to the relationship.

Old-fashioned romance isn’t dead, however: among the survey’s findings were that exchanging gifts was the best way to ensure commitment in the relationship.

Dr Gavin’s research comes at a time when the numbers using internet dating agencies have steadily increased: around six million Britons are now believed to have signed up.

Dr Gavin, with Dr Adrian Scott of the University of Bath and Dr Jill Duffield of the University of the West of England, carried out an online survey of 229 people, aged 18 to 65, who have used UK internet dating sites, asking them about their main relationship that they had had online. Dr Gavin’s paper will be read at an international psychology conference next month.

The research showed that:

• 94 per cent of those surveyed saw their ‘e-partner’ again after first meeting them, and the relationships lasted for an average of at least seven months, with 18 per cent of them lasting over a year.

• men online were significantly more likely to be committed to the relationship than women and were more dependent on their ‘e-partner’.

• the more the couple engaged in simultaneous online chat before meeting rather than simply e-mailing one another, the more they were found to depend on one another emotionally and the more they understood one another.

• those who exchanged gifts before meeting had a more committed and deeper relationship.

• the more the couple talked on the telephone before they met, the deeper the relationship.

Dr Gavin, of the University of Bath's Psychology Department, and his co-authors, found that people using the internet rarely used webcams, which allow computer users to see one another, because they preferred the greater anonymity of writing and using the telephone.

“This study shows that online dating can work for many people, leading to a successful meeting for almost everyone we surveyed,” said Dr Gavin.

“Given that the most successful relationships lasted at least seven months, and in some case over a year, it seems that these relationships have a similar level of success as ones formed in more conventional ways.

“We found that men tend to be more committed to the online relationships than women, possibly because the anonymity of writing gives them a chance to express their emotions more readily than in real life.

“We also found that people are shying away from using webcams because they feel it’s important not see their partners for some time – there is something special about text-based relationships.”

Dr Gavin believes that the reason that using the telephone and online chatting indicates a deeper relationship is that these are methods of simultaneous communication, whereas e-mails are more formal.

Of the relationships, 39 per cent were still going on at the time of the survey, and of these 24 per cent had been going for at least a year, and eight per cent for at least two years. Of the relationships that had already ended at the time of the survey, 14 per cent had lasted over a year, and four per cent had lasted over two years.

Acapulco catching up to Cancun as hot spring-break destination

canada.com - travel

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) - For tens of thousands of college students fleeing frozen campuses for a week of sun, sand and Jell-O shots, spring break south of the border has a new home.

Acapulco, the Pacific playground of the 1950s for movie stars like John Wayne and Cary Grant, has become a major destination for their great-grandchildren's generation.

A surge in student interest here comes as Mexico's spring-break king - the Caribbean resort of Cancun - is taking baby steps to restrict the college crowd's increasingly reckless behaviour and to tone down its nonstop party image.

"It's time for a change. People have been coming to Cancun for years," said Jon Lanza, a senior majoring in public relations at Seton Hall University, in South Orange, N.J., who was enjoying pre-noon bottles of Corona on the beach with friends. "This is a nicer place. Cleaner, more mature."

Acapulco, which has always attracted some spring-breakers, experienced a college-student boom three years ago - despite the fact that a flight to Mexico's Pacific side is longer and more expensive for many cash-strapped undergrads.

Mario Ricciardelli, CEO of studentcity.com, a website devoted to spring-break travel, said Acapulco is now his company's top destination and that bookings for the resort are up 70 per cent from 2004, compared to a booking increase of from 10 per cent to 15 per cent this year in Cancun.

"Word of mouth is critical," Ricciardelli said. "Acapulco has generated a reputation as a fun, high-quality place to visit and that message is spreading."

The Student Travel Services' website lists Acapulco as its "fastest-growing spring break destination."

Many U.S. tourism operators expect at least 50,000 spring breakers to descend on Acapulco this year, and others say as many as 90,000-plus could arrive. At least 100,000 spring breakers will hit the beaches in Cancun, American industry watchers say, although officials of Quintano Roo state, where Cancun is located, estimate only half that number will show up.

Sean Keener, president of BootsnAll Travel Network, the parent company of StudentSpringBreak.com, said Acapulco "has officially tied or is near No. 1 with Cancun."

"It's not because of the beaches - it's because they have a variety of hotels and most importantly, the people and the hotels want college students there, unlike some destinations," Keener said.

The granddaddy of Mexican resorts, Acapulco was glorified in Frank Sinatra songs and Elvis movies. Elizabeth Taylor was married here, John F. and Jackie Kennedy came on their honeymoon, and Howard Hughes spent his later years hiding out in a suite at the Princess Hotel, a pyramid-shaped icon on the exclusive Punta Diamante, or Diamond Point.

"We thought half our school was going to Cancun and we came here to get away from them," said Kate Senzamici, a 20-year-old English major at Providence College in Rhode Island. "It turns out, they're all here too."

Many students said they had already visited Cancun and were looking for something more upscale.

"In Cancun, you see people falling over. You see people puking," said Chris Lelli, a sophomore business major at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., who was wading around a hotel swimming pool. "Here the clubs are fun, you drink, but there's a line most of the people don't cross."

As in Cancun, Acapulco's drinking age is 18, and bars and night clubs crowd the resort's golden-sand bays. Students roam from alcohol-soaked pool parties to booze cruises to beach beer blasts by day, then pack into all-you-can drink discotheques at night.

But many clubs here require slacks and dress shoes for men, unlike in Cancun. Also, most of the hotels in this city of 800,000 were built decades ago, offering a more traditional feel than the Caribbean resort's ultramodern facilities.

"In Cancun, it's Mexico but it doesn't feel like it," said Rob LePage, a business ethics sophomore at Wayne State University in Detroit. "Here you have more culture."

Cancun, meanwhile, has begun a push to attract more families and business travellers - heading slowly down a trail blazed by Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which has worked hard to expand its reputation beyond a destination for students on spring break.

A "civility pact" signed by Cancun travel agents, hotel operators and bar owners in 2002 prevents drunken patrons from entering restaurants and clubs, and restricts contests and advertising aimed at students that promote drinking. More recently, some hotels have limited the number of spring-breakers who can pack into a room and have added extra security staff to guard against damage or unruliness.

Keener, whose travel network is based in Eugene, Ore., said it was too early to say Cancun is giving spring-breakers the cold shoulder.

"Some of the folks we talk to down there want to get more market share other than spring break," he said. "But I don't think they're ready to ditch it completely."

Nicole LaVecchia, a 22-year-old Seton Hall senior, said she could understand why communities might want to put the brakes on spring break.

"I would hate us. I mean, not us, but spring-breakers in general," LaVecchia said. "I feel bad for the families staying at our hotel. Look at what they're exposed to! Wet T-shirt contests in front of kids?"

Sarah Healey, a Providence College junior studying biology and Spanish, said Acapulco offered a mix of spring-breakers and visitors on "normal vacations."

Why isn't spring break normal?

"It's not very relaxing," Healey said. "You don't sleep. You drink all day and before you know it, it's time to go out. Then it's dawn again."

WESH.com - News - Spring Break Arrives As Bike Week Ends

WESH.com - News - Spring Break Arrives As Bike Week EndsDAYTONA BEACH, Fl. -- Daytona Beach wants to tone down Spring Break, but students said this is the place to party anyway.

Spring break gets under way in Daytona Beach.

Tens of thousands of college students will begin flocking to the city, which prepared itself for the annual onslaught of sun-worshipping, beer-chugging college kids.

"We drove through the night. We left at midnight and got here at 8:30 a.m.," said North Carolina student Brook Marck. "It was crazy, but we made it."

The city welcome center said all hotels in the center of town are booked solid with thousands of students.

More than 100,000 students are expected to come to Daytona Beach this year.

Meanwhile, as Spring Break arrives, the roar of bikes is quickly fading across central Florida.

Bike Week is officially over Sunday night.

Hundreds of thousands of bikers are leaving the area to head back home.

Organizers said about 500,000 bikers were in the area for the annual event

Harvard in Lather Over Campus Maid Service

Yahoo! News - Harvard in Lather Over Campus Maid Service

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters) - A Harvard University student's fledgling dorm-cleaning business faced the threat of a campus boycott on Thursday after the school's daily newspaper slammed it for dividing students along economic lines.



The Harvard Crimson newspaper urged students to shun Dormaid, a business launched by Harvard sophomore Michael Kopko that cleans up for messy students.


"By creating yet another differential between the haves and have-nots on campus, Dormaid threatens our student unity," the Crimson said in an editorial.


"We urge the student body to boycott Dormaid."


Like many elite American universities, Harvard comprises a mix of affluent students as well as those who are less well-off.


But Kopko, 20, said he could not understand the Crimson's reaction to his business, which he said was all about creating jobs and wealth at the Ivy League school.


"In a free economy it's all about choice, and the Crimson is trying to take choice away from people," the student entrepreneur told Reuters. "I think it's a very uneconomic and narrow view. It's essentially against creating wealth for society."


Kopko said since launching his dormitory-cleaning service last month in the Boston area, he has signed up 50 clients. He plans to expand the service to other parts of the country and is aiming for $200,000 in annual sales in a year's time.