When thinking about hunger, you probably imagine the homeless or families in impoverished nations, but you might want to re-think that. Because UC students are starving themselves at a surprising rate. Check out this story by Alex Cwalinski.

Hunger On UC Campuses

Admission to the University of California at Berkeley is not easy. Last year, only 17% of freshman applicants were accepted and the University typically ranks at the top among other well-known institutions like Yale or Stanford. But Berkeley is a public university, which makes getting a world class education affordable for Californians. Tuition and fees cost in-state residents only 14,000 per year, 24,000 less than it would for out-of-state residents. But classification for In-state residency isn’t so clear and California students could find themselves paying a lot more than expected. 

UC Residency Requirements Cost Students Thousands

For years, Veterans wondered why their disability claims took so long to get processed. Many took more than a year, while some Vets never heard back from the VA at all. Whistleblowers from the VA have been exposing, what they claim is, a chaotic environment at processing centers that has led to these failures.

Why Veterans Are Being Denied Their Benefits: VA Mailroom And A Work Culture Of Fear

In the Spring of 2014, Whistleblowers at the VA Hospital in Phoenix revealed that patients had died while waiting months for treatment. Appointment backlogs had Veterans waiting months to see a doctor, but hospital executives were still getting performance bonuses, claiming they were seeing patients in under 14 days. New measure have been put in place to fix these issues, but they may not be enough.

VA Healthcare Still Facing Delays Despite New Secretary

NEWSPOP
 
This week, Alex and Gina talk about the latest in news and pop culture, starting out with a hugely complex topic: Russia’s involvement in Syria. It’s fascinating to think of the continuing conflict in Syria as a power grab between the U.S. and Russia, especially in comparison to the Cold War. Can much of the foreign involvement in the region be traced back to the old story of two superpowers vying for control of a country and its people? Is media coverage of ISIS (and the resulting escalation of fear) a PR move by the U.S. government to change the way American’s feel about our involvement? Why does Gina think that everything is a conspiracy? Tell us what you think in the comments.
 
For our second topic, Gina discusses something that seems to affect all female celebrities and women in positions of power: the double standard of online commenters. Everyone receives rude comments all the time on social media (it’s probably inevitable), but why are women consistently having to deal with rape and death threats on their Instagram accounts. Does this just come with the territory for being a public figure? Check out Gina’s medium post—a side by side comparison between the comments on selfies posted by Lena Dunham and Seth Rogan.  For additional viewing, watch this parody by Amy Schumer, where she topples the concept of angry commenters by preemptively criticizing herself in a brilliant satire, “12 Angry Men.” Maybe the best way to beat commenters is to join them. And here's the photo of Dunham we were talking about if you want to see for yourself.
 
Next, discuss what’s in store for next week in the Democratic Primary debate.  Will Hillary Clinton have a comeback for Bernie Sanders' secret weapon (the fact that he does not accept money from super PACSs)? Or will she just evade the question and talk about how great America is…only time will tell.  Here’s some additional reading. Tune in on Tuesday and let us know your thoughts.
 
And lastly, we discuss The Martian, the newest Ridley Scott film, starring Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded on the red planet.  Fun fact that we didn’t have time to mention on the air: the NY Times suggested that the entire film release was orchestrated in conjunction with NASA’s findings of water on mars. Meaning that NASA realized the only way to get the public to care about the potential colonization of mars, is to watch Matt Damon grow a teenage beard. Well played, NASA. 
 
What do you want to hear us talk about next week? Find us on twitter@newspop5 and let us know your latest thoughts on news and pop culture. No Lena Dunham insults, please.

Alex Cwalinski

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