What does Obama’s presidency mean for America’s racial divides among African Americans and Hispanics?

Picture courtesy of www.washingtonpost.com

Written by: Liz Reyna
Edited by: Chelcee Johns

As the excitement of the inauguration of America’s first black president boils over in the world’s melting pot, many are concerned about how Obama’s promise of change will alter their life.

Minorities such as Oralia Contreras wonder what this promise means for her and her students.

Contreras, an ELL (English Language Learner) teacher and guidance clerk at Westview High School, worries if the change is indeed reserved for her students. Many of her students are illegal immigrants.

Nevertheless, Contreras is hopeful. She said she sees the message of change beating in the hearts of her students.

“They are all hopeful,” she said. “I have students come to me daily to tell me they are very hopeful that (Barack) Obama can make a change for them.”

She said one promise Obama must keep is to tackle immigration reform. Without it, she said, she sees little progress for Hispanics.

“Whether they are illegal or have gotten their papers, Obama needs to fight for them and welcome them,” she said.

Contreras is still optimistic and like many, supports Obama—a deviation from what was expected from Hispanics, due to so-called Hispanic-African American divide.

Hispanics such as Contreras are looking to Obama to see what might be done for this racial divide.

According to the article in Newsweek, “The Black-Brown Divide” by Jamie Reno, author Earl Hutchinson said there would be reluctance among many Hispanics to vote for an African American candidate.

José Reyna, assistant to the city manager of Grand Rapids, said in fact, many Hispanics from the start found support in another candidate.

“Hispanics initially identified with (Hillary) Clinton because of their loyalty to Democratic Party and the Clintons’ support of their community,” Reyna said.

“Many were deaf to Obama’s message about empathy with Hispanic community.” He added once the race between Obama and McCain begun, Obama’s message finally resonated with Hispanic community.

Exit polls, done by the Pew Research Center, showed Hispanics voted 67 percent Obama to 31 percent McCain.

As it stands, Obama has proposed an immigration reform plan which includes border surveillance with new technologies and reprimanding employers who hire undocumented workers.



For undocumented immigrants, Obama has proposed to have them register, pay a fine for entering illegally, pay taxes and learn English.

With this, the immigration matter is particularly crucial, Reyna said, and if Obama ignores these promises, a rift between racial groups might occur.

Andrew Schlewitz, GVSU Latin American Studies and Political Science professor, said the immigration issue resonates differently with both African Americans and Hispanics depending on geography.

Those closer to the border might feel more affected. But there is some common ground through it all.

“Political analysts are now looking at race as a generational thing,” Schlewitz said. “The baby-boomers are getting old and race and ethnicity are gaining a different take among the younger generations.”

Schlewitz believes there are issues, like the creation of jobs, which can unite this perceived divide. There is one thing complicating this pursuit, however, the pursuit for unity, Schlewitz added.

“All of the issues depend on how quickly and how thoroughly we can recover from the economy because it has been putting all sorts of groups against each other,” he said.

Danny Aldaco, a department tech for the State of Michigan, echoed those sentiments and said the economy is much to blame for these divides.

“I think that people are realizing what race you are is not important now,” Aldaco said. “Everyone is struggling right now and I think fixing these issues will unite people.”

Obama’s economic plan is to create or save up to 4 million jobs through renewable energy jobs.

Since African Americans and Hispanics face similar discrimination in housing, jobs and education, Daniel McClure, GVSU professor of Liberal and African American studies, said this economic plan should benefit both groups.

Courtney Baker, a photography student of African American and Caucasian decent, said that since Obama is multi-racial he can appeal to all races and narrow the divide.

With this, the question remains: Is the nation moving toward a post-racial America, without divides? McClure said the notion of a post-racial America is ridiculous and unappealing.

“Race is a fundamental…fact of American history, culture and identity and will not disappear simply because President Obama is no longer interested in discussing the ways it shapes all of our lives,” McClure said.

Instead, he suggested tackling the issue head-first in order to break down divides. But for many, such as Baker, those divides cannot be understood without an example from the top.

“I think many are looking toward Obama right now for the next step in breaking down racial barriers,” Baker said.

DTV Transition not embraced by everyone

Photo courtesy of blog.usa.gov.

Written by: Lindsey Romain
Edited by: Kenneth Cotto

Stephanie Fetting’s television is face down in her garage, where it’s been collecting dust since December.

Fetting, 19, made the conscious decision to ditch her bedroom TV set at her house as soon as she heard of the planned digital television, or DTV, switchover in February. She is part of a very small percentage of people who’ve been opposing the transition since the decision was solidified last year.

Raised in a strict Catholic household in Peck, Mich., Fetting gave up television for Lent last year at her mother’s suggestion. She’s been anti-TV since.

“I use my set at school to watch movies with my roommates, and that’s it,” says Fetting, a sophomore at Central Michigan University, majoring in communication disorders and gerontology.

While her gadget-obsessed peers type texts on their BlackBerrys or upload music to iTunes, Fetting considers herself a technology pacifist. She owns a cell phone, a laptop and an MP3 player (not an iPod, as she’s quick to point out), but is a minimalist with all three. She prefers reading and writing, or playing intramural sports like volleyball and basketball. She’s the head of her campus’ gerontology and language hearing clubs, and is on her dorm’s hall council.

“I could care less about television for the most part,” she says. “I get my news from the newspaper or online. And any TV shows that I want to watch come out on DVD, so I just watch them then.”

She even convinced her parents to neglect purchasing a new television set or converter box for the DTV transition, admitting they utilize their radio more than most modern families.

“It just doesn’t really matter to us,” says Fetting.

By this point, the digital television transition is hardly news. Commercials and corner-of-the-screen ads have been reminding us since December that TV is about to take it to the next level. The transition date was set for Feb. 17, 2009, but a bill passed by the House on Feb. 4 pushed the date to June 12 after Nielsen Media predicted 6.5 million American households weren’t prepared for the switch.

The bill, signed by President Obama on Feb. 11, was designated to give those households a little more time to get with the program (literally).

Digital TV is the latest nationwide technology advancement craze, a way of transforming static analog cable to crystal-clear, high definition television images. The transition has been in progress since early 2007, when televisions were first required to be produced with HDTV tuners.



Network TV stations have been preparing for the transition for the past year, several of which already to switched to DTV on Feb. 17 despite the bill. Since that day, more than 600 broadcasters have already terminated their analog signals.

The majority of Americans have embraced the transition. In fact, millions of people remain on waiting lists for converter coupons, which offer a major discount on the pricey boxes. Households that have satellite TV or have bought sets in the last few years won’t even have to bother with converter boxes.

In a country immersed in updating technology whenever new versions are available, DTV seems like another step in the right direction.

However some, like Fetting, have seen the transition as a way of bidding farewell to the TVs that plague them. For others, like Erin Reynolds, 21, a Washington College senior from College Park, Md., price constraints have also factored into the decision to part with TV.

Reynolds, an English major graduating in June, says she’s troubled by the hassle of having to replace her beloved “bunny-eared” TV set, a fixture in her room since she was a child. Unfortunately, the bunny-eared receivers will be rendered ineffective come June 12. No bother for Reynolds, who, like Fetting, plans to keep the set for the sole purpose of watching movies.

Reynolds is in the process of finding an apartment for her June departure from her college housing complex. She had plans to buy a new TV before she was let go from her part-time job tuning pianos at a music store last month. Now that money is harder to come by. She blacklisted the hopes of buying a new TV, or a converter box for her old one, and saw the transition as an opportunity to give it all up.

“If I really wanted to watch TV, I’d make it work,” she says. “But I’d rather pay for wireless internet so I can watch my shows online anyway.”

Somewhere in the process of actively not caring, she got swept into the politics of the situation, joining the Facebook group Boycott DTV, where users have expressed a radical opposition to the transition.

The Boycott DTV group description expresses a governmental concern with the DTV switch, likening the officials mandating the transition to Big Brother, stating that the “terrorist rhetoric has begun.” Members share links to other articles and websites, one in particular from Yahoo! that asks “Is the change from analog to digital TV a conspiracy?”

The group was founded by Facebook user Louise M. Doire, a religious studies instructor at the College of Charleston in Charleston, Sc., who claims she is irritated with the “heavy-handedness” and “complete lack of choice” about the transition.

“There was a threatening tone of the advertising that went along with, ‘If you don’t switch to cable or get a converter box, your television reception will end!’” she says in regards to her opposition to the switch.

Doire created the group in January after consistent annoyance with ads and complaints from students and faculty. She penned the hard-hitting words found in the group's description.

Reynolds, who joined the group last month, claims she’s on the quieter end of the spectrum, laughing off the totalitarian angle her fellow group members are professing.

“I see it as more of an innocent thing,” she says. “The word ‘boycott’ for me just meant ‘hell yeah, goodbye TV.’”

Facebook isn’t the only outlet for angry Americans in opposition to DTV. Media blog New Media Musings points out that digital video recording devices, such as VCRs, will no longer be able to record programs because of a “broadcast flag” encoded in DTV streams. The blog suggests boycotting DTV because it’s a “lockdown regime,” taking away the traditional rights we had with analog TV.

Fetting hasn’t gone as far as boycotting, but she does express concern that the transition is a little drastic, especially during the country’s current economic crisis.

“When my parents’ jobs are being threatened, I don’t really think it’s appropriate to expect them to go out and buy all of this new stuff just to watch the news,” she says.

DTV is, and that mandating the switch is “too much to ask.”

Doire agrees.

“[I resent] the assumption that everyone has computer access to get a converter box coupon,”she said. “I keep wondering what will happen to those who cannot afford cable, cannot afford a computer. I suspect that is a reality that accounts for more American families than we think.”

Part-time librarian Cynthia Morningstar, of Shelbyville, Ind., offers a different take on the matter. A long-time reading advocate, Morningstar stresses the importance of the written word as opposed to the superficial world of television.

“The most important thing about reading is that it strengthens a person’s vocabulary,” she said. “People with better vocabularies come off as articulate, intelligent, and more interesting. You don’t get that from watching TV.”

Fetting also credits reading with her decision to stay away from the tube.

“My mom was a school librarian,” she explains. “We were always reading. I’m never not reading.”

Is that one reason for her anti-TV antics?

“It’s definitely one of the main reasons, if not the reason.”

“The lack of television inspires imagination,” Morningstar said. “We didn’t have a TV when I was growing up, so I had to work at paying attention to clues and character details in the stories. With TV, you see it, and the magic of the imagination disappears.”

Despite boycotts and online bantering, June 12, 2009 will mark America’s final transition to digital television. That is, of course, permitting another bill isn’t passed for a further delay.

By late June, July, the months following, or next year, it seems inevitable that some of DTV’s opponents will succumb to the trend. Doire, once so adamantly against the switch, has already bought a coupon for a converter box, admitting that she’s lost the drive to commit to the boycott.

Fetting admits that purchasing a new TV or converter might be inevitable down the road.

“Never say never. But for right now, I could care less,” she said.

Reynolds is a little less carefree, admitting her apartment will seem quiet without the presence of a TV, but that she’ll be proud of herself.

“I’ll probably read more, like I’ve been meaning to. And I’ll have more money in my purse.”

“Mostly,” she said, “I’ll miss channel surfing.”

Sandusky, Michigan's Mayor Lukshaitis becomes unlikely career politician

Written by: Lindsey Romain
Edited by: Maggie Reed

Tom Lukshaitis (pictured left courtesy of www.sc4.edu) doesn’t strike a very intimidating presence. Clocking in at barely five feet, he seems an unlikely mayor. With an olive green, striped polo standing in for a suit and tie, shorts instead of slacks, a pair of yellow-tinted sunglasses on his nose, he gives the impression of a gentle uncle or an old family friend.

“People think I wear these to be cool,” he says, acknowledging the odd-colored frames. “Truth is, I’m about as dyslexic as they come. These are supposed to slow my eyeballs down.”

He’s personable, stocky, a little too loud and a little, as he says, “too Polish.” There are times he laughs himself hoarse at his own jokes, and when I inform him that he’s an image of respect in the town of Sandusky, Mich., where he’s been mayor since 2005, he kindly thanks me, but his sarcasm gives way to embarrassment.

Perhaps this pride is the reason he didn’t have a citywide campaign, didn’t knock on any doors, and didn’t even expect his candidacy until two days before the election.

“I was a write-in candidate,” he says. “I wasn’t expecting a thing.”

Did that make the victory a pleasant surprise? “Oh yeah. Not only did I beat the two other write-ins, but I also beat the 34 mis-spellings of my last name.”

His position as mayor may not have been planned, but Lukshaitis is quick to point out it wasn’t exactly an accident either.

“When I heard there was no one running, I knew I wanted to try,” he says, then pauses and adds, “if only for the bragging rights.”

The first thing you pick up on when talking to Lukshaitis is his smart-as-a-whip sensibility. His self-professed “no bullshit” attitude is no doubt what’s made him a topic of praise and controversy in Sandusky, the county seat of Sanilac County.

Sandusky, a conservative, Republican city (the Michigan Republican Party shows a majority of Republican victories for Sanilac County in congressional and local elections over the past eight years) seems an odd conquest for Lukshaitis, who doesn’t name his political affiliation, but speaks highly of President Barack Obama, saying, “Do I believe he’ll do the things he says he will? Absolutely.”

Lukshaitis admits to appreciating the sense of power that comes from being a politician, likening the feeling to winning the lottery.

So what made him decide to run for mayor? Ginny Bisset, a secretary at the school he taught at encouraged him to register for a write-in mayor position.

“The ballots were just blank,” recalls Bisset of the 2005 election. “Jim Nolan, the mayor at that time, had just retired. No one wanted to fill his shoes. But I thought ‘if one guy should do this, it’s Tom.’”

“I needed a new page in my life,” he says. His kids were in college, and his wife had passed away in 2001. “I had some familiarity with politics. I used to attend city council meetings when I was a kid, and I was elected president of the teacher’s union when I’d first gotten into education.”

But it wasn’t just a political flair that attracted him.

“I knew this town by now. I knew the schools, I knew the families, I knew the people.”

After winning the election, he was met with an influx of excitement and happiness. “All seemed well,” he recalls. His daughter was off at Western Michigan University, and his son was teaching in Wyoming. The city of Sandusky was in a good place. He was mayor of the town he’d grown to love and spokesperson for the people he had come to admire.

Lukshaitis’ first challenge as a mayor was dealing with the pull-out of Swedish manufacturing giant Trelleborg, who threatened to shut down their plant in Sandusky. Trelleborg, whose plant employs more residents of Sandusky than any other institution, was the bubbling vessel of hope in the looming economic crisis. Though the company ended up keeping the plant open, it refused to build another, despite showing previous interest.

“The only reason they didn’t shut down the other plant was because Sandusky is their most profitable plant in the Americas. And do you want to know why?” Lukshaitis asks. “Work ethic. Our guys show up to work, they make their money, they do their jobs.”

It was the loss of the potential Trelleborg plant that aided in Sandusky’s current state of dissolve. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s U.S. Census Bureau’s predictions, Sandusky’s population was 2,645 in 2007, a 3.64 percent decrease from 2000. The loss of students from the public schools has triggered new budget issues. Several teachers are on strike, and all face unemployment as the school continues to lay off positions.

Lukshaitis isn’t quiet about the ordeals with the school and city population, a fact the people close to him are quick to point out.

“My dad is good about separating home from work,” says Margie Lukshaitis, daughter of the mayor, “but if there’s one thing I’ve picked up on, it’s that he wants so desperately for people to have jobs. He watches people moving away, sees the schools losing students. I know it kills him.”

His unorthodox approach to attracting more people to the city: “I think we should build a huge casino. The people on the city council think I’m crazy for that.”

“He’s not quiet about wanting to try new things,” says Bisset, who also serves as councilwoman on the city council with Lukshaitis twice a month. “It gets him into a little bit of trouble.”

“I’m not the mayor walking around at the parades, shaking the kids’ hands,” Lukshaitis professes. “I’m the guy rallying on the sidelines for what I think is right. And it scares people sometimes. It should. But I won’t admit defeat."

When asked about the disadvantages of being mayor, he is quick to answer.

“I get the 11 o’clock phone calls from the town drunks telling me how to improve the city,” he says with a sigh, “or the couples asking me to marry them on the courthouse lawn.

“But really,” he says, his sarcasm fading, “the worst thing is being second-guessed. I’m bombarded with the sense of trying to do my best in such a lousy time. Our town is dying. I drive through the streets and see empty houses, bad roads. I hate raising water rates, but I have to raise water rates. People hate that, and people hate me for doing that, but it’s what has to be done.”

“My dad’s just trying to do the best he can for that town,” says Margie. “He has high hopes, but he’s practical. He takes into account what the people around him are saying. He isn’t cheating anyone. He’s smarter than most people I know, and what’s more, he has common sense.”

“What’s helped me remain successful and self-confident is that I’ve always showed up,” Lukshaitis says, the strength of his voice flaring. “Just like those workers at Trelleborg show up. And I’m honest. I’ve been interviewed enough to know that that blunt honesty isn’t what people always want to hear. It’s the worst, and best, of me.”

It is a policy that is working for him. Lukshaitis was re-elected as Mayor of Sandusky in 2007.
“That either means I’m doing something right,” he says, “or it shows you how much people really care.”

Former Grand Rapids Press editor finds new career in teaching

Written by: Tom Mitsos
Edited by: Natasa Crljencia

After 15 years in the newspaper industry, Grand Valley State University Professor Amorak Huey has decided it was time for a change.

Huey (pictured left courtesy of his Twitter) is far from alone. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, mid-life career changes are on the rise.

Prior to his career as a university professor, Huey worked in the news industry. He has worked at newspapers all over the U.S. including the Tallahassee Democrat in Tallahassee, Florida, the News-Enterprise in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, the Lexington Herald-Leader in Lexington, Kentucky, and the Grand Rapids Press in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

At the Grand Rapids Press, Huey was the assistant sports editor. He was a copy editor at the other three locations.

Like many other Americans, Huey cites changes in his original field as the major motivation for a career change.

“I didn’t like where the paper was going,” he said referring to the state of newspapers in today’s society.

Huey said many people are getting their news online rather than in the newspaper. There are fewer journalism jobs available, and those that are available are lower paying.

Huey said in order to stop newspapers from becoming extinct, there needs to be more public journalism like National Public Radio. He said it’s so hard for newspapers because they are trying to make a profit whereas NPR is trying to break even.

Despite the criticism of the newspaper, Huey said he enjoyed his time at the newspaper and the tight deadlines gave him an adrenaline rush he loved.

“It’s like publishing a book a day,” he said.

Huey enjoyed explaining the news to the readers, which he related to what a professor does everyday. In addition to being able to explain information to others, Huey said both the newspaper job and the teaching job require you to be “on” everyday.

“There is no time to stop and get lazy,” he said.

For the majority of his newspaper career, Huey was a copy editor. As a copy editor, it was Huey’s job to edit other reporters’ articles. However, he said he did do some writing occasionally.

He joined the Grand Rapids Press in 2000, where he was the assistant sports editor. His job was to oversee the copy editors and also planned the stories that would go into the paper.

Mary Ullmer, executive sports editor at the Grand Rapids Press, said Huey was quiet when he first started working at the Press.

“However, it became apparent he knew what he was doing,” she said.

Ullmer also said Huey is an intelligent person and has good leadership skills.

“He’s in the top three of people that I’ve worked with,” she said. “He always has an explanation and a reason for doing things.”

Ullmer said she still talks to Huey today. She said she talks to him about how to approach problems or if she just wants to run some ideas by him.

One of the aspects that Huey hated at the Press was the hours. He said his day started at 3 a.m. and he would work until noon. On weekends, he worked from 4 p.m. until 1 a.m.

“I worked every weekend for 15 years,” he said. “That’s when sports happen; weekends.”

Huey said the hours were another reason he wanted to leave the newspaper business. As a professor, he works regular hours and he doesn’t have to work on weekends. Like other Americans, demanding schedules are difficult to maintain for a lifetime. Career changes are often sought to cope with changes in family or civic demands.

When Huey was going to college, he knew he wanted to write for a living, but he wasn’t exactly sure how he would go about doing that. In 1992, he graduated from Birmingham-Southern College with a degree in English and a minor in political science. He then went to Florida State University to get a master’s degree in English. However, he transferred to Western Michigan University, which is located in his hometown of Kalamazoo. He soon realized graduate school was not for him.

“If you don’t have a goal, graduate school is tough,” he said.

Despite knowing graduate school wasn’t for him, he finished his master’s degree in 2007 receiving his M.F.A. in English. In the fall of 2007, while working at the Grand Rapids Press, Huey participated in adjunct teaching at GVSU. He still worked full-time at the paper, but he also taught at the university on the side.

Becky Beard, a former student of Huey’s, liked his teaching style.

“He made us think outside the box,” she said. Beard had Huey for WRT381, a writing and sports course at GVSU. Beard said Huey’s class made her want to become a sports writer.

“I’ve always thought about it, but now I really want to focus on it,” she said.

Beard admitted she did not know what to expect going into the class. She thought it might have been a “blow-off” class. However, she said she worked very hard in Huey’s class.

In the fall of 2008, Huey was offered a full-time job at GVSU. While Huey may no longer write on a daily basis, he still writes, and is hoping to get his work published.

He writes poetry and is also working on a novel. He described the novel as a mystery thriller.

Huey is living proof that it is never too late to change your career. While he went to graduate school with no plan, it worked out in the end as he would have never been able to teach without a master’s degree.

This is an excerpt of an article Huey wrote for the Grand Rapids Press. The article is Huey’s opinion that Barry Bonds is great despite the steroid controversy.

“The Historic home run stands as the next benchmark in Bonds’ controversial career. Instead of acclaim, instead of celebration of his achievement, instead of the breathless glee that accompanied Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s chase of Roger Maris and Cal Ripken’s pursuit of Lou Gehrig, Bonds has been subjected to a withering barrage of criticism from the mostly white, mostly middle-aged American sports media establishment.
…It is utterly inconceivable that no one in power in the sport had any idea what a rampant problem steroids were becoming. It’s just as improbable that reporters didn’t suspect, either. Yet everyone turned a blind eye, until Caminiti died of a drug overdose and Canseco’s book bared the game’s secrets.”

If you're interested in reading some of Huey’s writing you can read his blog.

You can also follow Huey on twitter.

Is your New Year's resolution still on track? University professors explain how to overcome resolution failures

Written by: Ingrid Sjostrand
Edited by: Tom Mitsos

It's the middle of March, and excitement about resolutions is starting to fade. Those who failed are beginning to wonder, “Where did I go wrong?”

After the first month, only 64 percent of people are still committed to their resolutions, according to a study performed by John Norcross (pictured left courtesy of www.scranton.edu), a Professor of Psychology at the University of Scranton. This number declines to less than half after six months.


The reasons people fail are varied, but there are several common themes. Amber Roberts, a student counselor at Grand Valley State University, explained why many people don’t keep their resolutions.

“The type of goals people make are one key to their failure,” Roberts said. “Many attempt to make big lifestyle changes.”

John Adamopoulos, a professor of psychology at GVSU, agreed with Roberts.

"People may not keep their resolutions because they are unrealistically optimistic and involve goals that are very difficult to achieve," he said.

Expecting to change an entire aspect of their life without a plan can set people up for failure. Another common mistake people make is having a lack of drive and motivation. According to Roberts, many people give up if they make a mistake.

“You have to expect some mistakes,” she said. “If you falter, you shouldn’t give up; you just need to get back on track and try again.”

The lack of success has caused some people to give up New Year’s resolutions altogether. Allison Lipka, a senior at GVSU, said she doesn’t make resolutions anymore.

“All the resolutions I made in the past were about losing weight and I failed every time,” Lipka said.

She said it causes more stress and disappointment when she fails.

Another GVSU student, Andres Rodriguez, has had more success but is still struggling. He said all his former attempts were failures but he is more motivated this year. His goal is to stay focused on school and work and to remember what’s important in his life.

“I’m doing pretty good right now,” Rodriguez said, “but as I get further into the semester and my classes get harder it’s going to be a challenge.”

He worries that the pressures from classes will set him off track and lead to another failure.
Setting short-term goals and rewarding yourself are the best way to stay on track, Adamopoulos said.

“Actions should have some immediate consequences so that people can feel they are getting some results early in their effort,” he said.

Adamopoulos said rewards keep you focused on your goals and motivate you to keep trying.
Roberts said making a change doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to New Year’s. She said the expectation and buildup of New Year’s can add pressure for success and is often what leads to failure.

All goals should be broken down into a plan, Adamopoulos said. That way, the goals are clearer and can be more easily rewarded.

“Overall, people can make long-term goals,” he said, “but these should also involve some smaller, more easily achievable short-term ‘sub-goals’ that can help people feel they are making progress with their plans and wishes.”

Here is a top 10 list of New Year's resolutions from Pittsburgh's about.com Web site. Did your resolution make their top 10 list?

1. Spend more time with family and friends
2. Get fit
3. Lose weight
4. Quit smoking
5. Enjoy life more
6. Quit drinking
7. Get out of debt
8. Learn something new
9. Help others
10. Get organized