Portagers' Point May 23, 2003, page 2

Airline Bankruptcy

Ben Finan, , Senior

As if September 11 was not devastating enough on the United States Airlines Industry, the war with Iraq could be the determining blows to some U.S. airlines demise.

Major airlines such as American, United, and U.S. Airways are filing for bankruptcy. Some of the already bailed out airlines are again asking for much needed financial assistance from the federal government.

Continental airlines, whose finances were after 9-11, are now announcing an additional 12,000 employee cut. International bookings of travelers going into and out of the U.S. are down by 40%. Now that the war with Iraq has started, bookings are down an additional 10%-15%. Toni Finan, a five-year flight attendant, said, “I'm not sure what impact the war will have on my job. Northwest is in better financial shape than most major carriers. We are paying for a portion of our health insurance and will be asked to take a pay cut to avoid layoffs.” The war will have a definite influence on many spring break trips. With the nations national security level at high, many plans will be rethought. Brethren High Schools trip to France has been cancelled twice now. They are now left with the decision to reschedule for July or lose the down payment they originally paid for the trip. Terry Gann's from Manistee has a trip planned with her family and some friends to Jamaica. She says, “We are going to go. I think Jamaica is a safe enough destination and we are traveling on a chartered plane, not a major carrier.”

Many people have and are still losing their jobs in the airline industry.

Employees randing factory worlers who make the parts for carriers to preservationists and luggage handlers. Barb Sommerville's daughter recently lost her job as a flight attendant. “Emily is young and didn't have many years invested. She is going back to school and is persuing a career in education,” said Somerville. With oil prices at an all time high, it's one more hurdle to overcome with the talk that Suddam Hussein plans to blow up oil fields in Iraq. If this threat was taken into affect, oil prices could soar even higher, putting an even tighter grip on the airlines economic survival. Bookings on U.S. carriers are plunging due to the U.S. populations fear of flying and economic woes. With these changes, how will the airlines industry survive?

Written By: Ben Finan

Stevie Gillespie, Freshmen

It Ìs amazing how many young men and women have either a piercing, tattoo, or even both. Did you ever wonder what drives these young individuals to get something so permanent on their body? Maybe they want to be different from the crowd, and want to be noticed for their belly ring, nose ring, or whatever they got pierced. But if you look around, mostly every teen has something pierced, from ears to eyebrows.

As most of you know, the legal age to get a piercing or a tattoo is 18 years old, when there are 13 and 15 year olds walking around with tattoos, or some kind of body art on them. “My mom finally let me get a tattoo when I was 16. I got my family symbol and my last name under it.” Andy Norton, junior, said. Many people think that it Ìs really dumb that you have to be 18 to get a piercing or a tattoo without your parents there because most people will end up getting what they want done anyways. So why is it that we are not able to make the decision whether or not to get any kind of body art done?

“We should be making the decisions on what to do to our bodies, I mean it Ìs our body and we know what we want done to it,” Freshmen, Nichole Baranek argued. When our parents say “No” to body piercing, however old, some kids just do it themselves.When they do this they are

risking getting an infection because they may do it wrong and maybe with an unsanitized needle. A lot of the time kids don't even know what they are doing either, they just cringe and poke the needle through themselves or have a friend do it for them.

Maybe body art isn't the best thing goingon around the world today, but it is considered socially acceptable and by far the best way to express yourself in many different ways. It is still something to think about, whether it is what you really want to do to yourself or not. “Ever since I saw how cool my friend's belly buttons looked pierced, I have wanted to get it done.” stated Sarah Acker, sophomore. Kids just need to know that most displays of body art are permanent, and even if removed, they do most often leave scars or deformalities.

Written By: Stevie GIllespie