It is old news by now but Osama bin Laden, mastermind behind the terrible attacks on September 11, 2001 and symbolic leader of the terrorist group Al Qaeda, is dead.

Nearly an entire decade after planes crashed into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, a special unit of Navy SEALs caught bin Laden in a million dollar mansion and shot him after a brief fire-fight.

We at The Franklin are glad he is finally gone and cannot continue to kill innocent victims. As President Obama stated, “justice has been done.”

However, we also wonder whether this really changes anything. Sure, it is nice to finally exact revenge on the man responsible for the death of nearly 3,000 Americans; he deserved every bit of his death. But Osama had almost completely dropped off the social map until Sunday evening when the president proudly told us that bin Laden had been killed by a U.S. strike force. Ten years to track down one person seems to far too long.

President George W. Bush declared war on terrorism after 9/11, he did not declare war on Osama bin Laden and for the next seven years of his presidency, Bush proceeded to not get Osama and start wars in both Afghanistan, the supposed location of bin Laden, and Iraq, where dictator Saddam Hussein harbored terrorists who were on the run from other countries. Whether these invasions made sense or not, the fact that troops were bogged down in the Middle East was something that haunted his presidency.

Despite the fact that bin Laden is dead, those that think we can bring the troops home are wrong. Killing bin Laden gives the U.S. a huge morale boost and makes citizens once again proud to be Americans and part of this great nation. But terrorism still abounds and now the next target will have to shift to whoever the next Al Qaeda leader is. Maybe that death will come a little faster than ten years.

Rest assured, we are glad that he has passed on. Bin Laden was about as evil as they come, and the fact that he killed thousands of innocent people legitamizes the fact that he needed to die. The hundreds of people cheering in the streets after Obama’s announcement shows just how hated bin Laden was. Death is never something to celebrate but now that bin Laden is gone and swimming with the fishes is a good thing for human beings everywhere.

This is no doubt a devastating blow for Al Qaeda and shows that America does have the intelligence and force to kill a high leader like Osama. Yet, it took the troops almost ten years so maybe Osama just got careless in hiding in a million dollar compound in a suburb of Islamabad, Pakistan. Either way, terrorism will certainly not end just because one leader is now dead.

Al Qaeda is not exactly a tightly run organization, basically it is just made up of loose groups of terrorists without any clear definition of leadership. Really, killing bin Laden served two purposes; it angered his followers and made many Americans very happy. It also gave every, single news organization on cable TV something to cover for a solid two or three days even though the amount of details dealing with his death were few and very far between.

Thanks to U.S. forces killing bin Laden, there is now the worry about the retaliation that might come from other Al Qaeda agents. Imagine the outrage in America if President Obama had been killed by Al Qaeda operatives and then they dumped his body overboard into the ocean. The rage is going to equal the reaction of most of the Al Qaeda members and retaliation is something that is probably coming; hopefully U.S. security will be ready.

A small piece of this outrage was seen on Wednesday when Pakistan citizens began protesting the actions forces took against bin Laden in their country. They even went so far as to claim that bin Laden was not dead. Clearly, these people are not at all happy with what American troops did and retaliation could follow soon.

The death of bin Laden completely surprised Americans but it also gave them a moment to celebrate. From the almost giddy crowd outside the White House to the cheering people at ground zero in New York to the crowd on ESPN’s Sunday Night baseball chanting “U-S-A, U-S-A” it was clear that this was something many, many people were excited about.

It is nice to exact some small token of revenge but the show must go on. This sends a message to terrorists everywhere that the U.S. is still a powerhouse capable of finding anyone anywhere, but the death of bin Laden might just make the Middle East that much more hostile to American troops.

Yes, we won this battle but the war against terrorism will surely continue to slog on. Something as hard to pin down as terrorism will be extremely difficult if not impossible to completely wipe out. Terrorism certainly did not die with bin Laden.

 

Last week, an incredible friend brought me to tears as we put the finishing touches on my second-to-last issue as editor of The Franklin.

Now it’s my turn to say goodbye.

I’ll start by thanking the many people who have helped me grow along the way.

First and foremost: my incredible PSJ family. I’ll never forget the moments I spent roaming around Shirk Hall, blowing raspberries at Joel, chatting AP style with Ray, harassing Hank about his dart-playing date, fighting computer problems with Dennis and Ginger, grabbing a snack from Ann’s office drawer, sharing IHSPA pride with Diana or sneaking into Cindy’s room to secure my afternoon homework spot.

You’ve been the guiding light to my future and the stepping-stones of my success, and I am eternally grateful for everything you’ve done for me.

John, a special thanks for your endless support – for being there for me as both a professor and mentor that I admire more than anyone I’ve ever met and a friend that means the world to me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate our conversations about life and the many laughs we’ve shared along the way. You’ve taught me that although life is hard sometimes, it’s always worth it. Take care, John. Take care.

When people ask me what I enjoyed about college, I’ll probably breeze over a grocery list of liberal arts knowledge, cruise through a few funny stories of nights at JSL and perhaps throw in a thought or two about the experiences I’ve had along the way.

But if I’m honest, I’ll tell them about how a group of unruly guys – Dan, Goobie, Eric, Ike, Steeb and Eban – changed my life forever. I’ll share stories of my adventures in Uganda, the horrors of a newspaper night gone wrong, and recall how late night Steak ‘n Shake runs are the best cure for sleep deprivation.

I’ll tell them about the time I “discovered” Boston with my best friend, the time she talked me into sleeping in a tent lined with sniffing warthogs, the night that the Tide To Go pen saved the dress and the moment when I knew who would be standing next to me as I marry the man of my dreams.

She’s been my rock for the past three years, the one I could turn to when the stress of deadlines became too much, a shoulder to cry on when break-ups ended badly and a travel buddy for my first flight out of the country – or a spring break road-trip across 11 states.

We’ve laughed together, cried together and at the end of the day, we’ve made it through together. Through thick and thin, this friendship truly wins.

Readers, I’ve grown up sharing stories with you. You’ve challenged me to make the best better by catching my mess ups and helped me to grow by patting me on the back for a job well done.

Eighty-one times The Franklin has hit the newsstands during my four years as a student. For thirty of those, I’ve had the honor of serving as executive editor of a staff of the most incredible student journalists I’ve ever met.

I’m proud to say that this year at The Franklin has been one of our strongest to date. We’ve taken the good and made it exceptional. We’ve worked harder than ever to provide you with the news that matters most and quite frankly, I think we’ve done a damn good job.

With the last paper in the hands of you, our readers, it’s time to step down and pass the torch.

Behind every successful editor is an incredibly talented group of journalists. The Franklin’s staff is no exception.

Staffers and editors, it’s been my honor to work alongside you and share with you the love I have for our campus media. I already see in you what I’ve spent four years learning for myself – a passion for journalism will make your success unstoppable.

This week, for the very last time, I’ll be the one leading this courageous group of student journalists through what will be my final issue of The Franklin. I’m honored they’ve kept me around, but the truth is they no longer need me.
They’ve taken the reins and proven to me, though I needed no proof, they can do it.

My job here is done.

Thank you, Franklin College and the Pulliam School of Journalism. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me.

 

Most Franklin College students have heard of Greg Mortensen. Last year, nearly every freshman purchased his best-selling book, “Three Cups of Tea,” and Mortensen highlighted the college’s convocation series, bringing in an audience to Spurlock not just from the local community, but also from neighboring cities and states.

His story was an admirable one,  full of tragedy and triumph, struggles and success, failures and friendships. Most who heard his story were proud a selfless person like Mortensen would care about the education of poor children, especially girls, in Pakistan and Afghanistan. That is why we at The Franklin are saddened and upset about the fact that Mortensen allegedly made up part of his story ,and his institute, the Central Asia Institute, is taking credit for building schools that don’t exist.

For those not familiar with Mortensen’s story, he tried to climb K2, located on the border between Pakistan and China, but got lost and stumbled upon the village of Korphe. The people there took care of him, and while there, he noticed they had no school, so a few years later he came back to Korphe and built them a school in their village. He then made it his mission to bring education to the surrounding area with an emphasis on educating women.

Or so he led many of his readers and fans to believe.

According to a “60 Minutes” report, people are questioning many accounts of his story, such as getting lost climbing K2 and stumbling upon the village of Korphe. There is also the even more troubling claims that some of the schools the CAI claims to have built are either nonexistent or were built by someone else.

In a society where greed runs rampant and everyone is trying to make more money and take advantage of others, it was refreshing to see someone like Mortensen who made sacrifices to help others, especially poor, underprivileged children in a place like Pakistan and Afghanistan.

But it turns out that Mortensen was just another person after the money if he was willing to stretch the truth to unprecedented levels with his book. In fact, some of the “facts” in his book are so bad it probably should be moved to the fiction section of the library if not completely removed.

When so many role models are being shown as selfish mortals like the rest of us, it should come as no surprise that Mortensen was lying, but it still hurts. Here was a man who students thought was one of the true good guys, they paid their hard earned money for his book which turned out to be full of fabrications. They spent hours of their time preparing for his speech, attending his speech and writing essays about what they liked about his speech only to find out that half of that speech is false.

Given the strict policy Franklin takes with those students that are guilty of plagiarism on term papers or tests, they should look at making Mortensen return the thousands of dollars he took for giving that speech.

Essentially, the college paid Mortensen a lot of money so he could tell its students about things he never did. Yes, he has built schools. Yes, he probably wants to help girls in the Middle East get an education. But he also claimed to do more than he did by telling lies and making events up. Lying to students so that his story sounds better with more action and adventure is completely unforgivable.

And to those students who bought a false book, it is doubtful that Mortensen will care enough about their education to give them the money back. That money probably already went to build an imaginary school in Pakistan.

 

At Franklin College, students are asked to give money for a lot of different things. There’re always different people sitting in the cafeteria with jars or containers displayed so people can donate if they want to. Students are asked to give to all kinds of organizations from Student Congress to whatever new thing the Greek organizations are doing.

Recently, though, there has been one important money drive here on campus that we at The Franklin think should be applauded: the ‘Coins for Kuji’ relief effort. With the recent hardships that have befallen the nation of Japan, people everywhere have stepped up to try and help ease the pain that was caused by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plants possibly leaking toxic and deadly fumes into the Japanese air.
With all these problems and the fact that Kuji is Franklin’s sister city, it is no surprise that the relief effort has made its way all to Franklin, Indiana and this campus.

Earlier this semester, there was a battle among different organizations to see who could raise the most money. That’s the one time when a little friendly competition makes sense instead of seeing who can run the fastest with a balloon between their legs.

There is also a city program going on in Franklin that will try to raise more money to the Kuji area which several of Franklin’s students are going to attend.

This type of community involvement is good to see but it’s interesting to contemplate why this generosity only pops up when crisis strikes. Why is it only when we see others suffering that we feel we should give money? Why is it only when travesty strikes that people empty their pockets to help?

It is understandable that people try to save money and only give when it seems necessary. But given the incredible amounts of money that were raised for tragedies like Hurricane Katrina, the terrible earthquake in Haiti and now the earthquake-tsunami combination that struck the island of Japan, it makes many wonder what kind of problems could be taken care of if people simply dug into their pockets more often.
Citizens of America have privileges that they take for granted way, way too often. Most families have a car for every driver, whether that be two or four, while some people in other parts of the world have to walk five miles to get water.

Some students don’t like walking from Elsey to Old Main; it’s hard to imagine what would happen if they had to walk to the local Wal-Mart just to get water.

The problems of this world can be solved if more people would give money in the amounts they do when tragedy strikes, but for some reason no one likes spending unless all hell is breaking loose somewhere on the planet. Once something terrible happens, people feel grateful that it didn’t happen to them and gladly give a couple of bucks.

Good for the city and college of Franklin for stepping up and deciding to do something to help ease the plight of the Japanese. This generosity should be something that goes on all the time if it is for legitimate reasons, instead of just when tragedy strikes.

Don’t just feel bad when something unfortunate happens, feel bad for not giving until something unfortunate happens.

 

The fact that it costs a lot of money to go to Franklin College is a fact that has been well documented in this column in the past. It takes a lot of money to run the programs and fund the extracurriculars that students enjoy at Franklin, and the college is very good at figuring out ways to get more of that money.

The housing selection Tuesday night brought to light another money-making scheme in which students are forced to live on campus, and pay for a room and a $3,000 meal plan, until their senior year. We at The Franklin believe there should be some revision by the college allowing all upperclassmen to live off campus if they so choose.

By the time sophomore year is over for Franklin students, they are aware that there usually is not a whole lot to do on campus, so what incentive do they have to stay? By the time junior year rolls around, nearly all students have found at least a couple of close friends – people with whom could get an apartment or house.

Considering those reasons and the fact that living off campus is drastically less expensive than living on campus, it is easy to see why a lot of seniors live off campus once they’re given the chance, and imagining juniors jumping at the opportunity to live off campus is not hard either.

But for some reason Franklin demands that all students who are not commuters or seniors live on campus and pay over $7,000 a year for dorm rooms with roofs that leak occasionally and faulty air conditioners. Half the time the rooms are too cold when students want heat and too hot when they need relief from their blazing dorm rooms.

On top of all that, every year there is a problem with the college not having enough room for the incoming class of freshmen. New students are forced to sleep in lounges because sophomores and juniors must take up rooms in Elsey and Cline since they are not allowed to move off campus.

What it comes down to is Franklin needs the money, so Franklin makes its students stay and pay for three long years. Part of the college experience is living in an 18’ by 14’ room with another person, but after a year that experience tends to get old quick. And it is understandable that freshmen stay on campus during their first year – paying for a house while trying to make new friends and figuring out how to survive college courses would be way too much for 18-year-olds to handle – but post-freshman year, students should be able to be on their own.

It seems like a relatively easy fix since there are not a plethora of houses and apartments in the greater Franklin area. Those upper-class students who know people they can live with and have the financial stability to get a house should be able to move out and live off campus by the time they are juniors, or even sophomores. If they can’t find a house or simply prefer living in dorm rooms there is nothing saying that they can’t.

It isn’t like a bunch of party houses are going to suddenly pop up either. After two years of college, the students that are still attending have invested way too much time and money in their education to start letting grades slip just because they suddenly have a house.

Clearly, the college is in it for the money, but the time has come for some sort of change to be made. Most of these kids are over 21; they know how to take care of themselves and can deal with the financial responsibility of having their own house.

Trapping students in dorm rooms and offering them no other choice is an obvious exploitation of students that has to end.

Will America hire business magnate and billionaire, Donald  Trump for our next GOP presidential nominee, or will another candidate like Mitt Romney, former Republican Massachusetts governor, “trump” the real estate king?

A recent public policy polling survey put Trump in a close second to Romney in New Hampshire, a state known historically for holding the first presidential primary.

Trump stated on numerous news programs that he would make his final decision regarding a bid for the White House in June. His successful NBC show,  “Celebrity Apprentice,” would be over by June, and Trump would then be allowed to make his announcement.

Trump’s passion for America is evident. He claims his concern for the direction our country is headed is the primary reason why he would run for office.  

Trump could very well become a serious contender in the Republican primary.  The number one trait he has going for him is that he is not a politician. Most Americans have a negative view of politics and the people with their hands in it.  Possibly this election, Americans could vote for a businessman as the “CEO” of our nation.

Followers of the Tea Party movement may support Trump if he chooses to run due to his real-life experience, common sense and strong-willed personality when it comes to fiscal issues.
However, he would have to win Tea Party favoritism away from other potential GOP candidates like Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty.  

Trump stands firm on many issues, especially when it comes to our relations with China. As a person who works with businessmen around the globe, he says that other nations have no respect for the U.S.  He explains that Americans are the main consumers of goods for nations like China, so in a sense, the ball is in our court and we must take charge.

“I do business with China and they laugh at us,”  Trump said.

Trump’s stance on foreign policy is to take care of our nation’s needs first before heading oversees to fight someone else’s battles.   

He is also against the current plans for socialized medicine, but is for allowing businesses and people to buy health insurance across state lines to increase competition and help lower prices.

Trump’s party affiliation has changed over the years. He changed parties four times over the past decades.  

This party bouncing could cause voters to question what he truly stands for and if his motives for running are legitimate.
 

Since the recession hit the economy a few years ago, layoffs and budget cuts have been a prominent issue in the news. Although experts say the recession is over, American workers, especially teachers, are still impacted by the aftershocks.

In recent news, Indianapolis Public Schools will have to layoff almost 300 employees, 271 of those teachers, due to declining enrollment and state funding cuts.

The question I have to ask our government and the IPS corporation is how they think a school system, that is already known to have a socio-economic disadvantage to other growing suburbanite schools, can effectively instruct their student body with these kinds of layoffs?

This is the education of our future leaders, doctors and teachers. Our children deserve the best education, and our state government is turning the entire institution into business first, education last.

Despite what our Governor Mitch Daniels believes, a classroom cannot operate effectively, efficiently and up to its most potential with 30 to 40 students per teacher. That is exactly what education is coming to, with teachers cut and budgets balanced.

Even if that teacher, has won Teacher of the Year 20 times, 40 students in a classroom is absolutely absurd. One-on-one attention with students will become a legend, and teachers actually making connections with students who need guiding figures in their life will cease to exist.

What the government needs to do, and I believe at one point they were trying to do, is put the students first.

While having money follow the student makes sense theoretically, the elimination of the deghosting program is not a smart choice. The deghosting program phases out funding for every student who moves away from a school district. This process stretches over three years, allowing the school to make a transition from those lost funds in their future budgets. The money is then phased in to the school corporation the student moved to. By eliminating this program, declining enrollment in schools can harshly impact a school, and the budgets they have to set, in a short amount of time.

Also, the new school funding formula negatively impacts schools like the Gary School Corporation and IPS as well. These schools already struggle to meet the needs of their student body, and these financial issues are just piling more burdens onto the backs of already overstretched resources.

The loss of those 271 teachers, who are working to make a difference in the lives of our future, is just one more mark on the scoreboard against a failing educational system.

 

Everyone is familiar with the old adage, that April showers bring May flowers. When all the Franklin College students come back from Spring Break March will be finished and April will have arrived. But here at Franklin College there is also another thing that comes as a result of all the April rain; floods on campus.

There was a huge flood in the year of 2008 at Franklin College that caused huge losses not only to the college but also to students who lost valuables as the flood waters stormed through Elsey and other dormitories on campus. And yet, even with that obvious warning sign, there have not been a whole lot of changes that the college has enacted in order to prevent something like this from happening again. As a warning to the students and those that run this college, we say take a lesson from the past and start doing something about the flooding that occurs on a regular basis here at Franklin.

Although this year has yet to bring a flood equal in proportion to the flood of 2008, there have been several instances where it is easy to see why Franklin is so vulnerable to this type of devastation. Even a rain storm lasting a couple of hours leaves puddles everywhere and the sidewalks that students have to traverse in order to get to classes covered in water and mud. Puddles on the grass? Sure that wouldn’t be a problem and most students would not even mind, but once they have to walk through the soggy grass and mud to get to class because the sidewalks resemble swimming pools there is an obvious problem that needs to be fixed. It is almost like Franklin is sitting in a giant bowl and the sidewalks of Dame Mall just happen to be at the very bottom of the dish.

The move to put the new convenience store, “Ben’s Den” at the bottom of the student center is also a very puzzling move on the part of the college. In 2008, the bookstore lost a ton of money when the flood destroyed many of their items, yet the bookstore is still downstairs in a flood possible area. Not only is the bookstore still there but this summer the college decided to put “Ben’s Den” down there as well as a brand new commuter lounge complete with hot-off-the-assembly-line furniture and a giant, flat panel television.

Not exactly things that would be flood-proof.

Considering the flood history of Franklin College it would make sense to make some decisions as if you realized there was a problem. Unless the college is going to give everyone brand new rain boots, no one is going to be excited about walking through a swamp to get to class.

Do something about the problem. It really isn’t that hard to design something that would divert the water into something besides the sidewalks. And as for all the valuable items in the basement, move them. There are a lot of classrooms in the student center that are upstairs that could easily be moved downstairs, and if they get soaked the only thing that needs to be replaced is the carpet.

Having the bookstore upstairs would also bring in a lot of revenue since most of the events that bring a lot of people onto campus besides football games, are held in the Branigin room. Simply not having to walk down two flights of stairs would probably increase sales.

Students are tired of worrying about whether their room is going to flood the next time the college experiences substantial rainfall. They are also tired of walking through water and worms on their way to class. The college needs to work to fix the problem.

 

The Earth Club is considering taking away paper cups as a way to force Franklin College students to rely solely on plastic cups every time they want to get a drink.

We think this is a bad idea and that it could lead to a lot more problems than solutions.

The reason they want to get rid of paper cups is obvious: Students here go through paper cups extremely quickly, and then they just throw them away, thus wasting paper and ultimately killing trees.

When students are sitting down to eat, they usually go for the paper option even when they’re not going to refill it and take it back to their room. The concern is that students are simply wasting these cups when they could be helping the environment by using the less popular plastic cups.

On paper it seems like a good idea, but when thought about further, several holes stand out. Chiefly among these problems is that students will still take drinks back with them to their dorm rooms or to classes.

With no paper cups, the general consensus might be that students would just stop grabbing extra drinks. The reality of the situation is that students are still going to take drinks back with them, they’ll just start using the plastic cups to transport their Coke back to Elsey or Section G.

With plastic cups slowly leaving the cafeteria there will be less cups available to people who actually want a drink while they are eating.
The other question arises as to how many of those cups will ever make their way back to the cafeteria.

Students are used to finishing their drink and pitching the cup, so they may be less likely to bring their cups back to the cafeteria. Will the ban of paper cups slow down the trail of cups to the landfill or will it simply be a case of plastic over paper?

Once the plastic cups start disappearing, the college is going to be forced to buy more.Where is that money going to come from? The money might come from the pockets of students, and it is going to be more expensive  to replace plastic cups than simply buying more paper cups.

There is also the problem with washing the plastic cups. Two years ago, the college made a decision to get rid of trays that had been offered to students to help them carry all their plates, bowls and cups as they went to find a table. The reasoning behind the ban was that the trays were encouraging students to get more food then they could actually eat, thus leading to wasted food.

The trays were also a pain to wash, and it cost the college a lot of money with the extra gallons of water that it took to get the trays clean and back to the students.

Now it seems that the dishwashers should be fired back up because with the ban on paper cups there are going to be hundreds of dirty plastic cups rolling into the dish area that are going to have to be cleaned before they can get back out into the cafeteria.

Just two years after moving away from more washing does it makes any sense to make a new policy that will cause more dishes to have to be washed?

Sure the move to save trees makes sense but our planet is also facing a water crisis, and limiting our use of one so we can use more of the other does not solve anything. Instead it would make more sense to keep the paper cups or get cups that can actually be recycled instead of forcing plastic cups on students.   

 

Devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the gay marriage ban discussion at the Indiana Statehouse and another nervous breakdown by actor Charlie Sheen. Now I ask you, which one of these things is not like the other?

The “Two and a Half Men” star has been in the news lately for his personal behavior, his battle with drugs and alcohol and his domestic spats with ex-wife Denise Richards. That with his one-on-one interviews with reporters and his out-of-control behavior have put Sheen in America’s spotlight.

As an avid media consumer, I find another 30 minute special dedicated to Sheen’s alcohol and drug addiction and his outlandish antics to be a nuisance and a waste of my time. Why are Americans so obsessed with celebrities who have more issues and addictions than Krispy Kreme has donuts?

The media industry is just that, an industry. It is a business as well as news and entertainment outlet.

One of their ultimate goals is to make money. They pitch and submit stories based on what the consumers demand to see or are interested in. So what are we demanding?

It is “news” like Sheen’s behavior, Britney Spears’ marriages, Lindsey Lohan’s ever-changing sexuality and whatever happened on last night’s episode of Jersey Shore, that makes me cringe when news outlets run them.

I understand that programs like Entertainment Tonight thrive solely off stories that include the crazy things celebrities do, and I can choose not to watch those types of programs. But what bothers me is the amount of air-time and print space “information” these “shows” receive in the harder news outlets.

Information and news are food for the brain. Right now, Americans are ordering an extra-large fry, a Big-Mac and a 32 oz. soda, with a little shake on the side.

To counteract this type of “news” I ask consumers to demand something a little more green, a little more healthy for our brains. In the entertainment industry and celebrity hawk-watchers, why can’t we discuss what celebrities are doing right, what positive actions they are taking?

Look at Natalie Portman. I’m guessing most people recognize that she was Queen Amidala from the new “Star Wars” films, or that she played in the new release “Black Swan.” But does anyone know that she studied psychology at Harvard University? Or that she graduated high school with honors and academic achievement?

While Sheen’s actions warrant some attention, does it really deserve the focus the entertainment media has put on it?