Can new website unveiled by President Obama shake up higher education?

President Obama has been trying to shake up higher education for a while now. His initial vision to create Consumer Reports-style college ratings system got stuck in the political mud. However, he rebounded and unveiled his new College Scorecard this week. "You'll be able to see how much each school's graduates earn, how much debt they graduate with, and what percentage of a school's students can pay back their loans," the president said in his weekly address.

President Obama thinks arming students with critical information to help them make their college choices and making public how schools are performing on the metrics mentioned above will shake up the higher education market. Do you think he is all hat (all talk) or all that (can back it up)?

Will report from Ferguson commission result in any tangible results in changing how we deal with racial inequity?

In response to the shooting of Michael Brown and the racial tensions in and around Ferguson, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon organized a commission to look into reforms especially for the justice and educations systems with a focus on race. The commission released nearly 200 pages of proposed reforms and recommendations. However, many wonder if anything will actually be implemented.  

Who showed more beauty from within: HS students or FTL Moda?

Landon Patterson, a transgender teen from Kansas City, was elected homecoming queen by her high school. Madeleine Stuart, a teen model with Down Syndrome, was hired to walk down the runway for FTL Moda during New York Fashion Week. Did Patterson’s classmates or FTL Moda show more beauty from within?

Can James Blake use his incident w/ police to make change?

While in NYC for the U.S. Open, former tennis star James Blake was tackled, handcuffed and briefly detained by an under cover NYPD officer (see video below). It was a case of mistaken identity and Blake was soon released. The arresting officer, James Frascatore has been accused of excessive force in several other incidents.

Blake was not physically injured but said: "The emotional scars are going to take a little more time to heal, because I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed to be handcuffed, in the middle of the day, on 42nd Street."

Blake believes the officer should lose his badge for conduct that he feels "was completely unnecessary, whether I was a criminal or not." " He added: "I still don't think the person they were looking for deserved to be treated the way I was treated. So that is the bigger issue right now, correcting that kind of behavior."

Blake hopes to "use my voice to turn this unfortunate incident into a catalyst for change in the relationship between the police and the public they serve."

Can Blake actually make change on the issue of excessive force by police officers? Is he all that or is he all hat (won't be able to turn his words into action). 

Are moving walkways instead of trains the next big innovation for mass transit?

Architecture firm NBBJ has come up with a design that could change the way Londoners use public transportation: a three-lane walkway replacing the trains on the London Underground’s Circle Line. The three adjacent walkways would have different speeds, allowing commuters to adjust to the slowest speed before moving to a faster one. NBBJ’s proposal could make commute quicker and more efficient for its users, as it would not have the time spent on trains waiting at each station. What do you think about this interesting concept?

Do floating farms on the ocean smell like the next big thing for food sustainability?

Forward Thinking Architecture has imagined 'Smart Floating Farms,’ which are giant farms that would float on the ocean and house hydroponic farms above water and fish farms below. These practically self-sustaining farms would be powered by solar panels, wind turbines, and wave energy converters. Apart from the plant and fish farms, there would also be water-access points and desalination processes carried out.

Do ‘Smart Floating Farms’ sound like a good way to create food sustainability?

Does Timberland’s new ad campaign show beauty from within?

Timberland’s new ad campaign features model Paloma Elsesser, a “full-figured woman with an ethnically ambiguous look.” The brand is being praised for using a model different from the typical white, slender model . Critics of brands that label fuller-figured women as “plus size models” are also praising the brand for treating Elsesser like every other model. Do you think Timberland is showing beauty from within for its decision to feature Elsesser in their campaign without making a big deal about her body size?

Is J.K. Rowling or Matt McGorry showing more beauty from within?

Orange Is the New Black’s Matt McGorry has been active on Twitter and in interviews about being a feminist. Recently, he teamed up with Mic to show how "dudes can be feminists too." J.K. Rowling has been tweeting to show her support of #refugeeswelcome in response to the large amount of refugees and migrants that currently have nowhere to go. She has also retweeted posts like petitions calling the U.K. Parliament to accept more refugees.

Who is showing more beauty from within?

Does Taylor Swift or LeBron James show more beauty from within?

Taylor Swift continually demonstrates beauty from within by showing love and support towards her fans. In recent news, she did a meet-and-greet with a fan that is battling cystic fibrosis. She has also donated money to her fans’ GoFundMe accounts for medical treatment and helped other fans pay off their student debts.

LeBron James, who has become a prominent activist athlete, has launched a program to provide four-year scholarship for city kids and another program to help parents earn their high school GED credits. He has organized athlete protests over police brutality towards black people and pledged to help young black men who have been written off by society as part of the "dead or in jail” narrative.

Who do you think shows more beauty from within?