States are now clamoring to move the Republican primary up early, leaving the traditional first states left in the dust. Florida Republican presidential primary is likely going to be held five weeks earlier than normal, moving the primary to January 31, 2012 instead of early March.

The Florida GOP has selected the early date by a vote of 7 to 2, according to GOP insiders. This move is in violation of Republican National Committee guidelines. It also upsets the traditional standards that allows the states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina to be the first primary states in every presidential election.

Although Florida may be sanctioned by the RNC, Florida’s Republican officials seem to be looking past any punishment. They believe by moving up their primary, they will be the fifth and deciding primary of the season. Early primary states are upset by Florida and other states leapfrogging moves.

Arizona had previously announced that they were moving their primary up to the same day as South Carolina’s primary. South Carolina has asked that the Republican National Convention be moved out of Florida where it is scheduled. New Hampshire is also unhappy since they have a state law mandating that the state have the first primary in the nation.

Officials in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada have already said that they will be moving their contests. When Chuck Todd played this out on MSNBC last week, he anticipated that the Iowa caucuses, the first contest of the season , would be moved to Jan. 5. But by the time this all shakes out, it could end up being worse.

As CNN’s Peter Hamby tweets this morning: “NH Sec of State does not rule out holding New Hampshire primary this year. As in, 2011.” This means those potential candidates that are still lingering in the dust better start to announce their candidacy if they are interested. Yes, I am talking to you Sarah Palin, Chris Christie or even Mr. Huckabee.

The chance to build up a campaign was just shortened by a month.
R. Gino Santa Maria / Shutterstock.com

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A kindergarten class in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan, uses dolls with lifelike parts – including genitalia with pubic hair – to teach children about sex. An agency, Imagine China, provided photographs of the dolls to the Huffington Post. The photos were taken in April at Yaolan Kindergarten.

The Shanghaiist, reported that a typical conversation in a Yaolan classroom involves a 4 or 5-year-old student asking if babies fell from the sky only to be corrected by another student who explains: “Daddy’s sperm finds mommy’s egg, and then a baby grows inside mommy’s stomach!”

The graphic dolls used to teach kindergarteners about sex have produced debate and concern among parents. “I am worried that it’s not good for the kids to know sexual knowledge so early,” a parent said, according to The Shanghai Daily. Yaolan has “managed to transcend traditionally retrograde attitudes on sex education, having reportedly taught 4 and 5-year-old children sex-ed since 2008,” The Shanghaiist said.

Discussion on whether or not to teach sexual education to children of various ages is taking place in many places in China. According to CNN, a report in a local Beijing newspaper about a new sex education textbook for elementary school students has spurred much debate on this issue online and beyond.

The Beijing Times, a popular local tabloid, said that the textbook titled “The Steps of Growth,” uses images that are too graphic for young children. “Is it for elementary school students? That’s way too early for them…unacceptable!” a person wrote on Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.

According to CNN, authorities in China said the textbook is only an experiment in some schools but claimed that the teachings of the textbook are important.  In a fax statement to CNN, they said, “it’s very important to carry out health education, including sex education, to elementary and middle school students.”

Those in support of teaching sexual education point to China’s abortion rates to prove the need for early education on sex. China has one of the highest abortion rates in the world – a number which is growing. According to a government tally, 9.2 million abortions were performed in 2008, up from 7.6 million in 2007.

But the count only includes hospitals, and state media report the total could be as high as 13 million. The Huffington Post said that many blame the high abortion rate on liberal attitudes toward premarital sex, as well as a lack of sex education.

According to a report by China’s National Working Committee on Children and Women under State Council in 2010, 60% of young Chinese aged 15-24 were open to pre-marriage sex, while 22.4% actually had sexual experience. Among those who got pregnant before marriage, 91% had an abortion, while only 4.4% of unmarried people aged 15-24 had the “correct knowledge” about reproduction.

It also added that only 14.4% of that group understood the risks of HIV, CNN reported. Deciding on the right age to teach children sexual education remains a heated, ongoing debate. “Children still need sex education when they’re little,” opined Li Yinhe, a sociologist who specializes in sexology studies in China.

“They need to know basic knowledge such as gender differences. What matters is that the teachers should also tell children what is right and what is wrong in terms of sex morality, and teach the children to protect themselves from sexual assaults.” China is not the only place where opinion is split on the issue of sexual education.

On August 31, The Vatican referred to New York City’s new sexual education classes as “useless, and even harmful.” The curriculum involves teaching middle school students how to correctly use condoms.

 
Hung Chung Chih / Shutterstock.com

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The NY Times posted an article in February about a recent trend among college students: getting married to save money on college tuition. It has sparked a heated debate that is still continuing four months later on a number of web sites. The most common objections to this practice are the trampling of the sanctity of marriage, and the loss of ethics. Despite the public interest in debating this topic, it is difficult to find people who are willing to openly discuss their own “paper marriages”.

The people interviewed in the NY Times article refused to be named, and it is for more than simply legal reasons. This article focuses on the legal and ethic ramifications of getting married for lowered tuition, but it ignores the emotions that are often involved in a situation such as this. Different expectations between the bride and groom, family expectations, and criticism from everyone from your friends to your coworkers can make this personal decision fodder for public gossip.

More than just enduring criticism from those around you, there are also the emotional ramifications. Unless you follow the advice of Rick Conley from whypaytuition.com by marrying a complete stranger and securing a prenup that costs thousands of dollars, there is always the danger of someone developing feelings of love or higher expectations than the other. Sure you saved $30,000 in tuition, but now your convenient money-saving technique has backfired. Your friend decides to fall in love with you, while you want to end the marriage as soon as you have your diploma. Even if it is only for financial reasons, getting married is a huge decision, and all possible repercussions should be considered before making this life-changing choice.

As someone who has done it, it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be, and a lot of unexpected things can happen.

Step back to the summer of 2007. After having to get a high interest loan from a private company to pay for my sophomore year of school, I complained to my ex-boyfriend that unless I got married or had a baby, I was going to end up paying a lot more in school loans than I wanted to. That’s when he suggested that I just go down with him to Las Vegas that winter while he saw his dad for a quick forty dollar ceremony. I wouldn’t even have to tell anyone about it. I agreed and we began to make plans for our winter excursion.

Then in October we got back together, I told my parents about us getting married, and things began to get complicated. My parents pushed for a real ceremony, even though they really wanted me to change my mind. I had started to want a real relationship and a real wedding since we had gotten back together, so I ended up agreeing to the ceremony. My groom dealt with this unpleasant surprise by limiting the guest list to as few people as possible. We spent about $200 total for everything, and got married with about 30 people in attendance.

We stayed with my mother-in-law for the first few months, and then moved into a cheap apartment. The first year we were married was hard on both of us. I wanted our marriage to be real, while he wasn’t ready to commit to staying together. It created a huge discord between us, resulting in tears and hurt feelings. It was only after I learned to not take things so personally, and he decided he really wanted to stay that our marriage began to get better. We were finally together for more than just money or convenience. It was for us, and it was for love.

For all of the pains that we endured, I only ended up getting one $2,000 grant that first year. Because my husband was working full-time at a place that paid $10 an hour, and I was working part-time at Walmart, our income was too high every year after that. If anyone decides to take the plunge and get married, whether it is because you are madly in love with each other, or because you want to get that coveted in-state tuition, make sure to think it over very thoroughly. If you don’t the results could be disastrous.

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