Don’t have time to watch or read the news? No problem! The Butler Collegian’s editor-in-chief has compiled a list of the top five things he thinks readers should know this week.
Let’s keep this relatively short, sweet and to the point. ¡Vámanos! Let’s Go!
Fact 1: College students are partying less: Undergraduate students are spending less time partying than those in years past, though they are interacting more through online social networks such as Facebook, according to The Atlantic. The survey included 150,000 freshmen at 227 four-year colleges in the United States and was conducted by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program in partnership with the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1987, 38 percent of incoming freshmen socialized at least 16 hours each week with friends, while 18 percent socialized for five hours or less. Last year, those figures were 18 and 39 percent—an all-time low and an all-time high, respectively, according to the report. Kevin Eagan, lead author of the study, said economics and stress are factors that determine how often a student socializes during a given semester. “Years ago, it may have been wanting to become a cultured person and having a fulfilling social life that motivated students,” Eagan said. “Now we are seeing more concerns from them about finance while enrolled in college and getting a high-paying job after graduating.”
Fact 2: Money Mayweather and Pacquiao agree to fight: After years of frustration and disappointment from fans, boxers Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have agreed to fight in a welterweight bout May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, according to Yahoo! Sports. Mayweather is an undefeated champion, and he is officially the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer, according to Ring Magazine. Pacquiao ranks third on the list, trailing behind Wladimir Klitschko, a heavyweight champion. The matchup between Mayweather and Pacquiao has been in negotiation since 2009, but the agreement was disrupted due to contractual issues, according to ESPN. Mayweather is expected to take home $120 million and Pacquiao will receive $80 million based on the contractual agreement. Television deals has also slowed down the negotiation process during the past six years. HBO has exclusive rights to Pacquiao fights while Mayweather recently switched from that network to a rival station, Showtime. HBO and Showtime has now agreed to air the fight simultaneously and share the record-breaking estimated revenues of $400 million, effectively ending the holdout. The only time a fight has been shared by the two networks was in 2002, between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson in a heavyweight bout.
Fact 3: Walmart “turns up”: Half a million low-wage workers will get a raise in April from Walmart. Hourly wages are expected to increase to at least $9, according to the Washington Post. The raise appears to be an attempt to improve public relations after politicians, labor groups and employees pressured the company, according to the New York Times. The boost will mostly impact the 6,000 workers—out of a workforce of 1.3 million—who currently make the federal minimum wage which is $7.25 an hour. For many others, the increase will be less than a dollar an hour. Because of that, some economists say the effects of the increase will be minor, according to the Wall Street Journal. The majority of retailers already pay more than Wal-Mart, “so this isn’t going to move the needle much,” Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, said.
Fact 4: The history behind lynching in the south: Although African-Americans were the main target of lynching attacks, other racial and ethnic minorities were attacked throughout history, according to a recent study by the Equal Justice Initiative. Lynchers in the United States also targeted Native Americans, Italians, Chinese and, especially, Mexicans, according to the study. Mexicans were the second largest group of lynching victims, second only to African-Americans. In one example, seven Mexican shepherds were hanged by white vigilantes near Corpus Christi, Texas, in late November 1873, according to a New York Times article. None of the killers were arrested. From 1848 to 1928, mobs murdered thousands of Mexicans, according to the researchers. These lynchings occurred not only in the southwestern states of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, but also in states far from the border, such as Nebraska and Wyoming.
Fact 5: Nascar is a predictable sport: A new Nascar season is underway and oddsmakers believe it will be another runaway season for Hendrick Motorsports, according to The New York Times. Jimmie Johnson, a driver for Hendrick, has won six of the last nine Sprint Cup championships. In addition, eight of the last nine Sprint Cup champions won using Hendrick’s engines and equipment. Because of its dominance in the past decade, the team has been labeled “the Yankees of Nascar.” The cycle is expected to continue because, in racing, winning leads to sponsors, sponsors lead to money, and money buys even more wins. The more money a team has, the more it can invest in equipment and engineers to find ways to go faster. As of now, Hendrick Motorsports is valued at $350 million. The next closest company is Joe Gibbs racing at $201 million, according to Forbes.
There you have it. Check the news section next week for another set of facts you can use to impress (and annoy) your friends with. Who doesn’t love a smart aleck, right?
P.S. I know I’m not the only one that hopes Mayweather loses badly.
Written and compiled by Julian Wyllie
