News Display: Sweden Bans Aerosols, Thursday, 1/29

The Everett Cafe features thematic news displays on a wide range of educational topics, in addition to daily postings of headlines from around the world. Stay tuned into current events and consider how the news may impact teaching and learning.

• First State of the Union Address, Thursday, 1/8


Did you know that on January 8, 1790 George Washington delivered the first State of the Union Address, comprising seven handwritten pages, and that it occurred in New York City, the provisional capital of the United States? That, in 1801, Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice of a formal speech, submitting instead a paper to be read by a clerk to members of Congress? That Woodrow Wilson reinstated presidential reading in 1913?

Outlining proposed legislation for the coming year – usually in the month of January--, State of the Union addresses or annual messages to Congress, are not usually given in years when new presidents are inaugurated. With the upcoming inauguration of President elect Barack Obama, the Gottesman Libraries tributes key addresses from former presidents as we usher in a historically significant new presidency. Join the Gottesman Libraries as we post headlines of stories documenting the State of the Union speeches, from General Washington through to George W. Bush, the forty-third President.


• Inaugural Addresses & Barack Obama, Live, Tuesday, 1/20


On January, 20, 2009, President-elect Barack Obama will deliver his inaugural address as he begins his service as the forty-fourth President of the United States. Obama is the first African American to be elected as President of the United States; he was an Illinois State Senator in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2004, prior to serving three terms in the Illinois State Senate. He also taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992-2004. Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the first African American President of the Harvard Law Review.

In recognition of this historic day the Gottesman Libraries will post headlines about presidential inaugurations, including key addresses of the past, current protocols, and ceremonial proceedings. Barack Obama’s inauguration, including events and commentary, will be broadcast live from Washington, D.C. on the television stations in the Everett Café, Everett Lounge, and Milbank Chapel from 10am until 3pm.


• Roe Versus Wade, Thursday, 1/22


Roe versus Wade is one of the most significant and politically controversial cases in Supreme Court history. The case, focusing on “Jane Roe”, or Norma McCorvey, a Texan woman who claimed her pregnancy was a result of rape, was argued on December 13, 1971; reargued on October 11, 1972; and decided on January 22, 1973; the decision overturned state and federal laws that outlawed or restricted abortion inconsistent with its holdings. The central holding is that abortions are permissible for any reason a woman chooses up until viability of the fetus, usually at 28 weeks, but sometimes at 24. In a companion case, Doe versus Bolton, it was decided that abortion after viability must be available when needed to protect a woman’s health.

Hotly contested, the debate continues to this day as to whether abortion should be illegal, who should decide, and whether moral and religious values should influence the decision. Come review papers covering the Supreme Court decision and the continuing story, and be sure to catch concomitant discussion in the Socratic conversation, What's Your Resposibility? and related University Seminar on Innovation in Education, Getting Them to Care: Helping Schools Develop Social Responsibility in Young People.


• Sweden Bans Aerosols, Thursday, 1/29

Aerosol spray is a type of dispensing system which creates a mist of liquid particles. Used with a can or bottle that contains liquid under pressure, the substance – typically paint, pesticide, furniture polish, or deodorant, is forced out of the small hole and emerges as a mist or aerosol.

The first aerosol spray can was invented in 1926 by Erik Rotheim, a chemical engineer from Oslo, Norway, and the patent was sold to a US company for 100,000 kroners. In 1978 Sweden became the first nation to ban aerosol sprays that are thought to damage earth's ozone layer.

Just what effect do aerosols have on the environment? How thin is the ozone? Have other countries followed suit? What can we do to be more “green” and educate our children to be environmentally conscious? Media stories lend insight into these important questions with implications for science education and active citizenry.

Where: Everett Cafe