Cruelty Free Organizations

Keep free speech a right

Freedom of speech is a right passed down and promised from the hearts and desks of America's founding fathers. It's a right so basic and understood it is printed daily within the core of this very paper. But as basic as the idea of free speech is, it has been a topic for debate since the time it was put into the constitution.

In recent years Marshall University has been called into question over its speech and conduct code. So much so that the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) chose the school as January's winner of the "Speech Code of the Month" award. While it was an award that Marshall grudgingly accepted, it brought out much deeper questions. One of which is: what is Marshall not letting its students say?

FIRE sited Marshall' s ‘Standard 3' of its Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities as the silencing culprit. ‘Standard 3' states that Marshall University "Students and student groups respect and honor the human rights and dignity of other persons, groups and organizations". This was this code that was found so ‘dubious'.

But it isn't the content of the code that is being questioned by FIRE, more that the wording is vague. Contained in the policy is the offense of incivility. Again, something that in context is an understandably punishable thing. Unfortunately, the writers of the code simply did not see the danger in keeping the wording so loose.

Overall this brings to mind a larger issue than technicality wording and loopholes. Does this not, at its heart, simply point to a gaping hole in basic humanity and kindness?

Clearly we do not live in a utopia. But blatantly belittling a fellow student's lifestyle choices and ideas should be a punishable offense. Students should not have to deal with insults or cruelty from anyone, let alone at the institution into which they are pinning their future on. Vague or not, Marshall put it's standards on paper as to protect it's students, not set them up for unjust expulsion. Yes the code needs to rewritten and it is but hate speech is not the right Thomas Jefferson set out to protect.

Pure Alima » Blog Archive » Alima Pure Profile: White Rabbit Beauty

Alima Pure Profile: White Rabbit Beauty

We’re delighted to introduce Jean Knight from White Rabbit Beauty , one of Alima Pure’s Online retail partners. White Rabbit Beauty carries a full line of natural cosmetics and skin care products, and is based in lovely Half Moon Bay, California. They primarily offer online sales, but occasionally devoted clients drop by for coffee.

1. What inspired you to start White Rabbit Beauty? A small battered red tabby in Plano, Texas. I brought him home, named him Plano, and he’s doing great now, but that was a tipping point for me. It forced me to confront animal cruelty head-on. As part of that, I wanted to buy only cruelty-free products, but finding true cruelty-free products was difficult. In talking with other women, I discovered we all preferred to buy cruelty free, but we wanted good products, too. White Rabbit Beauty was born to showcase great cruelty-free products.

2. Please tell us about your background & past experiences? I’m an environmental engineer with a water resources specialty and worked for many years on hazardous waste cleanups. Like many people living near Silicon Valley, I jumped to the computer industry during the Internet boom, working for startups in almost every conceivable capacity. White Rabbit is now my third career. At first glance, people say “Huh!?” But there is a common thread: all have been challenging and rewarding. And the environmental work has been very relevant to White Rabbit Beauty, particularly in evaluating conflicting claims about ingredients. Some issues are clear-cut, but most are not, and my chemistry and toxicology knowledge has definitely informed my decisions about ingredients. My environmental work also taught me that once people fear something, you rarely can reverse that fear, even if there is no basis for the fear. That is why the rampant misinformation on the Internet is so distressing; the fear it generates is almost certainly more damaging to health than any ingredient is. The bunny got a save at the Winter Olympics. One of White Rabbit’s long-time customers is a sportscaster for NBC. She arrived at the Vancouver Olympics only to find that her makeup didn’t make it intact. White Rabbit express-shipped her makeup in time for her to go on air. The Half Moon Bay post office (the hub here for USPS and FedEx) was buzzing. Everyone was so excited to be even a small part of the Olympics!

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