Articles written by Marti Wilkinson

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About me - Marti Wilkinson

Non-Traditional Graduate Student
Crazy Cat Lady
Cancer Survivor
Single Mom

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Politics, News & Issues > US Politics (Other) Should the Sangamon County Health Department be enforcing the state's indoor smoking ban?: 1 of 10
The responsibility for enforcing the State of Illinois smoking ban lies in the hands of the public health department. By not enforcing the law the Sangamon County Health Department is showing an unwillingness to act in the interest of the public. Regardless as to how anyone feels about the smoking ban the bottom line is that ... More..
Sciences > Genetics The genetics of intelligence and race: Nobel Prize winner James Watson sets back race relations: 3 of 22
There is a far bigger picture here than a few words that have been attributed to James Watson. It needs to be considered that he is a physical scientist and most tests that measure reasoning and intelligence come from the social sciences. One of the biggest criticisms of IQ tests is the inherent tendency for these measures to... More..
Education > College Courses & Majors The benefits of creative writing courses and workshops: 4 of 17
I once had the opportunity to talk to a local writer about how he developed his ideas. The most valuable piece of advice he gave me was to observe people. Notice how people walk and how they handle situations. Sometimes when I am behind specific customers in the grocery aisle I can feel the poisonous anger when they decide to... More..
Health & Fitness > Health Care Is Michael Moore right about the US health care system?: 4 of 14
The smartest thing that Moore did in this movie was not focus on the uninsured. What he did was focus on people who have insurance, yet were financially and physically devastated by the insurance system that places profits ahead of people. One of the funniest stories shared involved the website owner of an anti Michael Moore ... More..
Education > Homeschooling The struggles of homeschooling: 6 of 20
It's my understanding that parents who home-school their kids do make an effort to connect with other families for the purpose of socializing the home-schooled student. As such the perception that a kid will grow up to be a social misfit is perhaps misleading. I went through the wonderful public schools here and I never did m... More..
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Social injustice: 10 of 33
A group marches down the streetUnited against social injusticePeople look out the doors and don't know what to doDo they stand on the sidelines or do they joinUnited against social injusticeAt one corner the group stops and remembersA man whose life came to an endOn a residential street in a quiet neighborhoodHe suffered from... More..
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Cancer: 30 of 95
In the year 2003, I am 35working, raising a child, trying to get by.I go to the women's clinic for my yearly probe.It becomes more than a matter of routinewhen the nurse says, "Hey you're 35 andthat means, baseline mammogram time."No big deal, a lot of women do it.I make the appointment and get my breastsclamped, so a technic... More..
Education > Adult Education Networking for graduate students: Building professional relationships: 2 of 4
I'm a non-traditional graduate student who is attending graduate school part-time and much of what I have learned in the workplace is something that I've been able to apply in grad school.First - Professors who teach at the graduate level will look at you as a junior colleague. The expectations are different and I've seen new... More..
Health & Fitness > Cancer How to talk to your children about your breast cancer: 1 of 2
I had many assumptions and misconceptions about breast cancer. First it never occurred to me that a woman under the age of 40 could be diagnosed with the disease. Most of the images I saw on television and read about in articles presented the image of the typical breast cancer patient as being over 40 and post menopause. When... More..
Business > Marketing A guide to marketing to single women: 1 of 2
All marketing strategies ideally begin and end with the product. Since the demographic being targeted are single women the first thing to do is engage in focus groups comprised of single women and have them test the product. A questionnaire can then be distributed to gain feedback on how effective the product is and if there ... More..