President Barack Obama’s sit-down for his MTV “youth town hall” this Thursday might as well be played out by actors. The audience of young people who will ask the questions in this played-out debacle will be gathered by a casting call. We not only disagree with this loss of individual thought, but we also find Obama’s decision to appear on MTV to be another pointless attempt to reconnect with a dissatisfied audience.

Apart from Obama’s questionable decision to appear on MTV, it is absurd that the teen-filled audience should have to be pre-screened. As a result then, the few of us who will be watching will be subjected to a series of juvenile, pointless questions. MTV, BET and CMT are the networks casting the audience – “Seeking Audience Members: males and females, 18+.” There will likely be no quality dialogue to makes us sway in favor of the Democrats or the Republicans come midterm elections or even the 2012 presidential elections.

MTV’s lack of legitimacy in American politics will also undoubtedly undermine Obama’s reputation. With his ever-decreasing popularity, this appearance will only hurt him. MTV has lately become an outlet for shows such as “Jersey Shore” and “Real World – the nth edition.” Why then is Obama appearing on the channel? Ultimately, he will lose the respect of legitimate voters and will instead bring a group of 18-year-old girls to tears if only for the fact that they just shook our president’s hand.

This debacle will be a repetition of President Bill Clinton’s 1994 MTV town hall meetings.

“The world’s dying to know,” asked Laetitia Thompson, 17. “Is it boxers or briefs?” Clinton’s response: “Usually briefs.”

It is publicity – plain and simple. But in this time of economic distress and Obama’s falling ratings – currently 29 percent of polled people strongly approve of him – he should be attempting, or at least pretending, to repair the economy or create more jobs. Appearing on MTV is one thing, but casting the audience turns the town hall into a joke. The decision to do this publicity stunt is a mistake. Fans of “Jersey Shore” who fervently model their lives after the show will tune in to watch the town hall meeting and there may be a few 16-year-olds, but otherwise this will just decrease Obama’s image.

Albany Student Press: What advice do you have for today’s college students hoping to be successful?

Barbara Walters: Well the first thing, and it’s cliché but it’s true, is follow your bliss. What do you want to do? What do you really love? That’s the hardest decision, especially when everybody else seems to know exactly what they want to do, and you’re the only one that doesn’t. I didn’t. My career didn’t start until I was in my 30’s. The second thing is get your foot in the door. Don’t be too proud. If you want to get into television or radio or newspapers, take any kind of a job. Get there before everybody, stay there later than everybody, and do what you love.

ASP: What attracted you to journalism?

BW: I’m not sure I was attracted, per say, to journalism. I went to work for the local station – this has been a long time, I have to go back a few years. I loved television. I started in the publicity department. My father was very well known in show business and so I knew a lot of the people and I started in the publicity department at was what was then NBC’s local station. Then I was made a producer, and then I was made a network producer. I had no thought of being on the air, it wasn’t going to happen with me. And part of it was that I was in the right place at the right time on the Today show and they knew me because I had been writing for everyone else. So in a way, it was accidental. I never set out and said, “I’m going to be a journalist.” I had a knack for writing and that was helpful. I wrote the way I talked and in television, that’s very helpful. Unless you don’t like the way I talk, and then it’s no help at all.

ASP: What were your college years like?

BW: I went to a school so different from your university. It was very small, I went to Sarah Lawrence College which was in Bronxville, NY. When I was there it was an all girls school. I loved that it was an all girls school. I didn’t have to worry about putting make-up on or being the most popular girl in the class or in the school. And it was very small, so when I see the University at Albany here, I think, “How do you manage?” and “Don’t you get lost in the beginning?” I’m assured that in its own way, it gets to be very cozy and very familiar. For me, it was an extremely different experience — very personal, we all knew each other. If there was a bad side, it was that there were no required courses and I think that’s a mistake. I missed a very great deal.

ASP: Were you studious?

BW: I was very serious. I worked very hard. But again because you could choose the subjects you studied – we didn’t even have majors! – I liked what I was learning, but I missed a lot. I sometimes joke and say if I really learned — I didn’t take a language, I didn’t take math, I didn’t take science – if I had taken all these courses, I might have made something of my life. But what it did instill in me was a curiosity, and it enabled me to work on my own, and to not be afraid to ask questions.

ASP: Why do you think young people don’t follow the news?

BW: I think you do follow the news, you just don’t follow the news the way I follow news. I mean, you have the Internet, and some of you may have iPods. I don’t know why you don’t. There’s so much going on in this country now and you need to be involved with what’s going on. You need to understand why there’s anger in this country and why there’s frustration. If you’re going to be going out there and trying to get a job, you better know what’s going on. But the way I follow the news, newspapers and magazines is not the way that you’re learning news.

ASP: What do you think of Twitter?

BW: I did it for a bit and then I thought it was kind of silly. I think it’s a good thing to use for me if I have special coming up and I want people to know about it. It would have been nice to say “speaking at the University at Albany,” that would have been nice. But when I see people saying “I went to the movies” or “I had my hair done” – who cares? I think it’s a waste of time. Isn’t there something better to do than twitter? Do you think there’s something to better to do than Twitter?

ASP: I know a lot of news stations and journalists use Twitter to link to their articles, and it’s becoming a way to share news.

BW: Well so is Facebook and so is.. well, if it’s a way to share news, I think that’s very good. Most of the people I know who Twitter are not sharing news.

ASP: Have you tried using Facebook?

BW: I haven’t. I interviewed at one point some of the people who made Myspace, and and it’s not for me. I have ways of communicating, although, I can understand that it’s a way of dealing with people and making friends. Andrew Sorkin was on The View, a television program I’m involved with, and he has just written The Social Network. He said, which I thought was very interesting, that he thought Facebook didn’t bring people together as much as it separated them. He thought that because you could do everything now through Facebook, you didn’t have to meet people face-to-face; you didn’t have to talk the way you and I are talking. People are becoming uninvolved rather than involved. When at a time, especially for young people like yourself, there is so much technically that’s happening and there’s so many ways that you can communicate. You can get lost in it. You can spend hours in it and avoid perhaps doing some of the things you might have done if you didn’t use Twitter, and Facebook, and Myspace, and YouTube, and Perez Hilton and Politico and Huffington Post and Daily Beast, and whatever I left out. So you can spend all your time doing that, which is interesting, but maybe there are some other things to spend time on.

After the United States Men’s National soccer team lost to Ghana 2-1 in the knockout round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Sunil Gulati was looking for a replacement. The president of the U.S. Soccer federation wanted a big name coach. Jurgen Klinsmen, former German men’s national team and Bayern Munich Football Club head coach, was asked by Gulati to be the coach. But Klinsmen turned down Gulati after the USSF did not offer terms to a contract.

According to Mark Young, a freelance contributor to ESPN Soccernet, Gulati made the safe choice and should have been more aggressive in pursuing a big name coach. In Bob Bradley’s defense, and the state of soccer in America, Mark Young could not be more incorrect.

Bradley is not an international big name. He has never coached a big time European club like Klinsmen with German Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich or Sir Alex Ferguson with Manchester United. However, Bob Bradley knows how to win.

Bradley has been coaching collegiate and international soccer since 1981. During his four years at the helm of the United States men’s national team, Bradley has amassed 38 wins. 24 of those wins came during the 2009 World Cup qualifying campaign.

In international competitions, such as CONCACAF Gold Cup and others, Bradley’s teams have performed at the best the United States men’s soccer has had to offer.

Because he has been through the system with former Men’s national team head coach and now Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena, Bradley knows the inner workings of American soccer better than any big name European coach.

In the past the USSF has tried using high priced European coaches, like Bora Milutinović who coached the Americans during the 1995 World Cup in the United States and it has not brought the most effective result.

The best solution to American soccer to make it to the next level of international competition is to help develop young American players both abroad and at home. Tim Howard, the American goalkeeper who plays for English Premier League squad Everton, is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe because the competition level in American has risen to a higher level than 10 years ago.

Some may argue that Bradley’s son, Michael, being part of the team is an example of nepotism. But Michael Bradley, who plays in the German Bundesilga’s top flight with Borussia Mochenglabach, has more than earned a role as the holding midfielder.

The United States will maybe never win the FIFA World Cup. But at least with Bradley at the helm for the next four years, the Red White and Blue will be in the best position to win. One thing that they would have to improve on would be the backline. It seems that the Americans have to battle back far too often.

Since Twitter began as a microblogging service, the vast majority of its content has been, to be quite frank, boring. Blog diaries on the Internet. The average person’s diary is mundane, the average person’s blog is mundane and I don’t see why the average person’s Twitter would be any different. But I digress.

The self-deprecating comment of “I don’t know why you people follow me” only proves that we’ve succumbed to Twitter’s other purpose: celebrity promotion.

Twitter has become just another outlet for celebrity vanity, as demonstrated by the number of “verified accounts” the common Twitter user follows. We seem to care a lot more about what, say, Justin Bieber is tweeting instead of what our best friends have to say. We are tantalized with blurry set pictures of the upcoming season of “The Office” and bombarded with the wisdom of Oprah in 140 characters or less. Twitter gives us a look into famous people’s lives in real time. We consume their lives, constantly fascinated with figures that seem so unlike us.

Thus, our mortal tweets seem to pale in comparison. This may be the reason why billions of people create Twitter accounts, but only a million or so regularly tweet. It’s like we feel discouraged to tell everybody about what we ate for breakfast (“Brunch at Palladium, lol. Chocolate fountain!”). I mean, when Twitter began, it was about the people. The common folk. The ones who wanted to spew out Facebook statuses every 15 minutes but didn’t want to feel annoying.

Still, if Twitter had remained the generic microblogging site it was intended to be, it probably would have stayed under the radar. It could have fallen the way of LiveJournal: dead and decaying. Celebrities and newsgroups and store promotions may have saved Twitter from a certain demise, even though they have changed its inherent purpose.

The famous have saved Twitter from certain death, but also contributed to the awkward upswing of users who sign up and don’t say anything at all. So let’s not let the affluent make us feel bad about ourselves, shall we? Go ahead, tweet about your awesome Saturday night. Or you can succumb and retweet that really funny thing Kanye just posted. That’s probably the better option. People will actually read that.

Go to college.

If you are reading this, you have probably heard it before – from your high school counselor.

What your counselor didn’t tell you is how to find a job after you rack up tens of thousands of dollars in student loans.

As we struggle to survive the latent effects of the national credit crunch and the housing market fallout, we are entering the beginning stages of an education bubble.

Education bubble?

I thought education was necessary.

Well, it is; and it isn’t.

During his last visit to YSU, Gov. Ted Strickland touted an increase of more than 65,000 students enrolled in Ohio colleges as a direct result of his plan for higher education.

YSU’s enrollment has increased by more than 2,000 students in the last six years. The Eastern Gateway Community College added more than 2,000 bodies to the local student population last year.

Ohio’s unemployment rate jumped from 6.6 percent in 2008 to 10.2 percent in 2009, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Youngstown-Warren-Boardman area has lost nearly 30,000 jobs since July 2005.

While 65,000 more students are enrolled today, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services projects only 25,200 new jobs by 2016.

It’s simple: more graduates, less jobs.

The bubble occurs when these extra 65,000 college students graduate, fail to find employment, default on their student loans and the bottom falls out on the higher education idea.

Penniless and unemployed, students will be treading debt and compounded interest before they ever see a paycheck. Unless Ohio creates more jobs, and YSU focuses on job placement.

Nowhere on the YSU website do they express the percentage of graduate students who have found employment.

We do not discourage higher education. We only promote practicality.

Be careful what you wish for. A college education is not your end-all ticket to employment.

Market yourself, take advantage of every opportunity possible and initiate your job search long before you graduate.

To be considered “good” in college football, teams have to go undefeated. But, to be considered for the BCS national title game, teams have to go undefeated and stomp a bloody mud hole in every opponent they face.

It’s the second part that the Oklahoma Sooners are sorely lacking as a football team with national title aspirations.

Saturday, the No. 10-ranked Utah Utes dropped a college basketball score on the Iowa State Cyclones. With a final score of 68-27, you’d think the scoreboard would tell you all you needed to know about this one, but you’d be wrong.

It was worse than it seems.

The Utes put up 593 total yards of offense, amassed 28 first downs and averaged 5.6 yards per every one of their 43 rushing attempts. The Cyclones, on the other hand, had just 19 first downs, 348 yards of total offense and did not convert on any one of 11 third downs.

The game got nasty for the Cyclones quick and more ridiculous every time the Utes took over possession. The Utes (5-0) will play a stout Air Force team Oct. 30 and also will have a make-or-break game against the No. 5-ranked TCU Horned Frogs the following week.

OU is also 5-0 and boasts a No. 6 ranking, but let’s face it: The Sooners are one of the sketchiest undefeated teams left in the top 10.

Close wins over the paltry Cincinnati Bearcats, the unranked Utah State Aggies and a morbid final three minutes against the Texas Longhorns aren’t going to impress pollsters or — more importantly — the contemptible BCS computers.

In this poor excuse for a bowl system that determines an NCAA national champion, it seems only an SEC team can get away with winning games closely and still make it into the BCS national title game.

For OU, this means not only will the Sooners most definitely have to come to play on Saturday, but they’ll have to prove they are at least every bit the equal of the Utah Utes.

Coach Bob Stoops and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson will have to channel their inner 1996 Steve Spurrier and break the scoreboard at Owen Field.

No coach will admit to going into a game thinking his team has to run up the score, but that’s what the BCS has done. Teams have to win big over unranked and inferior opponents to justify a high ranking or bid to a BCS bowl game.

Winning used to be the only piece of information that mattered in deciding who should play for or be awarded the national championship. Now — thanks entirely to the BCS — winning margin, ranking and the bias of regional sportswriters are a part of the “formula” for “selecting” a national champion.

So, if you’re watching the OU-Iowa State game this weekend and find yourself asking why Stoops is going for it on fourth and short in the fourth quarter with a 35 point lead, you’ll know exactly why.

John Brantley says his ribs aren’t cracked and his thumb isn’t broken, but that doesn’t mean Florida’s quarterback — not to mention the rest of the team — isn’t battling injury.

Brantley said his ribs are doing better but are still sore, and he experienced some soreness in his throwing arm after altering his motion due to the pain in his ribs.

Still, he felt some of the reports leading up to the game with LSU were overblown.

“I wasn’t limited too much,” Brantley said. “I took the reps I needed to take. I wouldn’t really call it limited. Maybe one or two less throws, but I wouldn’t call it limited.”

UF coach Urban Meyer said his quarterback proved his toughness when he led the offense down the field on its last drive of the game, connecting with Carl Moore for 51 yards on a third-down play and finding Frankie Hammond Jr. for the two-point conversion.

“That really showed us a lot about who Johnny is,” Meyer said.

Meyer also said guard Jon Halapio (middle finger on right hand), who started against the Tigers but left the game early, had surgery on a finger, and safety Matt Elam and wide receiver Deonte Thompson have concussions.

Elam and Thompson did not practice Sunday and are considered day-to-day.

Running back Jeff Demps (foot) is expected to return this week after missing Saturday’s contest.

Meyer, Brantley support Addazio: Gators fans showed their disapproval of the play calling at the end of Saturday’s game by booing runs up the middle and swing passes on the final offensive drive of the fourth quarter.

Monday, Meyer was asked if offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, who also coaches the offensive line, is spread too thin considering the boos and the inconsistent play of the line.

“I think he’s got a tough job, I think he can handle it,” Meyer said. “Obviously, he showed it a year ago and he’s shown it at times this year.”

Meyer said he is also “very involved in the offense,” and cited a lack of production in the red zone and lack of big plays as the offense’s biggest problems.

Brantley also supported Addazio when asked if he would prefer to throw the ball more often and down the field.

“I trust coach Addazio and his play calling,” Brantley said. “I’m going to do what he says. I’m not going to complain because I trust coach Addazio. I think he’s a great coach and he’s trying to put us in the best position to win and I believe that.”

Comparisons: Some have started to notice similarities between this year’s UF team and the 2007 squad that lost four games.

Linebacker Brandon Hicks believes that the comparisons are accurate.

“When I came in [2007], everthing was passing us by like real fast,” he said. “But then again after a while we started to adjust to it and the game slowed down.”

The 2007 team responded the following season with a national championship.

“Bagel Bites never tasted sooooo good.” “Just finished all my applications wooooo!” “I hate my lifeee why can’t I just not have to do anything and sleep all the time… so much work, lib all day :(.”

Those were typical status updates on my Facebook newsfeed last week.

Every day, UConn students scroll through their newsfeed, checking out what their friends have to say. Whether it is funny, informative or depressing, we read it all. There used to be a time when the majority of statuses were short and sweet, a quick and cheery update about a friend’s life. More and more, however, negative statuses are bombarding newsfeeds and bringing down the whole vibe of the Facebook experience.

Having a negative attitude not only brings down yourself, but others as well. Take this status for instance: “My life sucks I have like 17 tests this week and just stubbed my toe and my throat hurts. Oy vay.” Now the reader’s thinking about what work he or she has to do and how to dodge his or her sick friend to avoid getting sick themselves. We go on Facebook to distract ourselves from everything we have to do, this completely defeats that purpose.

When someone posts a negative status such as “my life sucks,” “FML” and “I hate everything,” it often brings about reassuring comments such as “You’re great!” or “Hang in there the week is almost done!” or my personal favorite, the frowning face. It’s almost like the negative status poster is fishing for comments. When someone is scrolling through his or her news feed and reads a depressing post, most of the time they feel bad not commenting.

I can see if you’re having a bad day and just want to vent. We’ve all had a day where you step in a puddle and half of your leg gets wet. But instead of posting something like “OMG I hate my life I want to die,” just say “ahhhh.” We’ll get the point. Because your leg will eventually dry and life will go on.

When does a status cross the line? When should we actually be concerned? It’s hard to tell. If a friend is truly crying out for help, most of us wouldn’t know. I know I don’t personally talk to over half of my facebook friends on a daily basis, and I’m sure most facebook users don’t. If we talked in person to all our facebook friends, it would be easier to tell if something was truly wrong. But since most people probably don’t talk to all their friends every day, it makes it difficult to decipher a serious problem.

Good news like: “I learned how to ride a unicycle!” is the kind of thing a status is intended for. The problem is that a status update is supposed to be fun and frivolous, and when people take it beyond that, it puts the reader in a rough spot and debating whether it’s an actual problem or just a venting from a bad day.

Who knows, if we shift our statuses away from unnecessary negativity, maybe those knee-deep puddles will disappear.

San Francisco is moving forward with a city ordinance that would ban toys from McDonald’s Happy Meals. The city wants the toys pulled unless McDonald’s adds fruit and vegetable options and limits sodium, sugar and fat content. The ordinance was designed with McDonald’s in mind, but its demands apply to all restaurants.

This ordinance is a silly attempt to lower childhood obesity. There is no evidence that banning toys from Happy Meals will lower the obesity rate or that adding choices for fruit and vegetables will do the same. McDonald’s began offering its premium salad in 2003, but the obesity rate still climbed. Making further alterations to its menu will not fix the root causes of obesity in the nation.

Yes, children like the toys in Happy Meals and sometimes they don’t even eat the food because all they want is the toy. Supporters might be relying on the following scenario: If there are no toys in Happy Meals, children will concentrate on their food, realize how bad it is, and never want to go to McDonald’s again. But this idea is flawed. Undoubtedly, some spoiled children will still throw fits because they want their french fries and chicken nuggets. But it is the responsibility of the parents to put their foot down and stand up to their children. If they care about their kids, they will make them eat healthier, not cater to their every whim.

McDonald’s is a private business, not a public service. Therefore, it should not have to pay for the poor choices parents make. McDonald’s offers healthier, low-calorie alternatives to the traditional Happy Meal. Parents who can afford the more expensive options should consider getting a Premier Caesar Salad (without chicken) for 90 calories instead of the 540-calorie Big Mac. Or they can consider having children eat their own adult portions that have fewer calories. Or they can choose to skip McDonald’s altogether. When McDonald’s sees its profits tank, it will reevaluate its nutritional policy.

Regulatory ordinances like this one take the responsibility away from individuals and place it on the government. Parents should control what food their children eat and if they cannot, the problem is theirs. Fifty years from now, will residents of San Francisco be able to take care of themselves?

This ordinance isn’t about McDonald’s responsibility to provide healthier options for its customers; it’s about regulating public health. San Francisco recently banned the sale of tobacco in grocery stores and big-box retailers, like Wal-Mart, with in-store pharmacies. Mayor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order banning Coca Cola and Pepsi from vending machines located on city property. Thankfully, the mayor has promised to veto this measure because of its threat to local chains, not just McDonald’s. Businesses are hurting enough. They cannot afford to spend even more money complying with futile regulations.

Then there is the money problem. Most people buy from McDonald’s because they get a lot of food for very little money. With the standard of living going up every year, McDonald’s is an economic necessity – especially to the poor. If poor families could afford to eat organic, “all-natural” food, they would. The Dollar Menu keeps their children from starving. To solve the obesity crisis, there must be healthier and cheaper food for poor families. Until then, regulations like San Francisco’s will go nowhere.