About Blue Mounds:

Blue Mounds is a town in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 statistics, the town had a populace of 855. The town is neighboring the Town of Blue Mounds, and is some piece of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. Blue Mounds is spotted 25 miles (40 km) west of Madison in Dane County close to its outskirt with Iowa County. The town is close Brigham Park, the Cave of the Mounds, and Blue Mound State Park, the most noteworthy point in southern Wisconsin. As per the United States Census Bureau, the town has an aggregate range of 0.91 square miles (2.36 km2), every last bit of it land.

Mound:

A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically higher elevation on any surface. Artificial mounds have been created for a variety of reasons throughout history, including ceremonial (platform mound), burial (tumulus), and commemorative purposes.

Mound

A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically higher elevation on any surface. Artificial mounds have been created for a variety of reasons throughout history, including ceremonial (platform mound), burial (tumulus), and commemorative purposes (e.g. Kościuszko Mound).

The Next President of India?

"I want my president to be non-political. He/She should have a corrupt–free past record. With no compromise in intelligence, he/she should be a 'man/woman of stature' we can all look up to," says 62-year-old retired central government employee Mr. Khushal Rao. No doubt a president should be intelligent. But why should he be not a member of any political party. Rajeev Mallar, a 30-year old IT-professional feels that the president should be somebody who has done the country proud. "A president who belongs to a political party would obviously support the legislative amendments proposed by his or her party. I believe the politicians are doing no good to the country and its people. They don't even have a 'fulfilment model' for any of their urban development projects."

It seems the urban population is very clear about the qualities they expect from the new president of India. They would want someone who is intellectually blessed and is well aware of the current developments in the country. However, there are some who believe the president should be a member of a political party. Aakash Vijay, a 32-year-old entrepreneur votes for a politician president. Says he, "Only a politician understands the nitty-gritty's involved in parliamentary affairs. Appointing a non-political president would first require the government to invest in training the prospective president on legislative affairs. And by the time he understands the subtleties his term gets over. Then what do you do? Extend his term. You see, it's not practical at all."

As you can see, the nation is divided on their views of a prospective president. Only time will tell who'll win the battle (backed by political parties), APJ Kalam, Pratibha Patil or Bhairon Singh Shekhawat?

There is going to be some real tough competition over the issue of presidential candidate in India for quite some time now.

Students Should Cut The Net, Not Themselves

Students Should Cut The Net, Not Themselves
It used to be, if you wanted to "properly"express anger or frustration, you confront the source of your problems and register your complaints. At least, that's what we're told in school. But a wealth of studies indicate college students aren't dealing with their problems by getting help or finding other ways to resolve them. As a college student, I was stunned to learn that one of six of my peers opted to injure themselves intentionally rather than reaching out for help from their peers or institution.

College is a stressful time for everyone. The professors are overworked, underpaid, and in some cases under appreciated. Administrations need to operate on a budget and make their college attractive in light of the rising price of attendance. And the students have to navigate the "triangle of death", better known as future life, current life (class and work), and social life. Sometimes a friendly ear can be hard to find. As a Resident Assistant, we're trained to help students who may have problems adjusting or navigating through troubled waters. But the amount of students who come to us, or come to their student-counseling center pale in comparison to students who need help the most.

So what do these students do? Do they drink themselves stupid? No. That's for the weekend. Do they medicate themselves? Half of all Americans are on one prescription drug or another, so the odds are they're medicated already. According to the Associated Press, twenty-five percent of students who visit their counseling center take medication to deal with mental disorders. The seventy-five percent of students who don't? Most deal with it rationally by subjecting themselves to other forms of punishment, such as watching Comedy Central, going to the DMV, or attending a New York Mets game.

But then we have that one student out of every six. You might be wondering, what possesses that sixth person to injure themselves in the first place? Did they see "The Lake House" and want to put themselves out of their misery afterward? Maybe. But research of self-injury has shown people injure themselves for escapism, depression, and to exercise control over their life when they feel they've lost it. The rise of self-injury may indicate a greater existential crisis among today's college students.

This crisis is best be reflected by the growing popularity of social networking sites like Facebook. Students are flocking to them not because it's the trendy thing to do, but because students want to feel connected to each other. Some media outlets have it all wrong with their "Generation Tech" idea. The technology usage among young adults has more to do with community than leisure because there is no longer a sense of community among today's college students. With a growing number of transfer students, the emergence of non-traditional students, and the rise of in room entertainment has effectively choked the life out of vibrant college communities around the country. As the baby boomers and previous generations of college students will tell you, the social scene was completely different than it is now. Instead of interacting with neighbors, students camp out in their dorm talking online and surfing the Internet. And colleges have responded for the most part with silence and paternalistic measures like forcing Freshman to pass a test about the dangerous of alcohol before they can register for class.

If a student feels they have no control over their life, and no one to communicate with because their peers are all online watching sub par programming on YouTube, they're going to do foolish and potentially harmful things to resolve their issues. While an effective resolution to this problem may not be clear cut, the burden is on colleges around the country to focus more on student life than construction and paternalism. Parents need to do their part and ask the right questions to college administrators while students need to lose their World Of Warcraft account and reach out to their fellow students in need. That would be a rational choice for all of us.