The Sugar Daddy Scholarship

An interesting press release came across my desk this morning. The website SeekingArrangement.com touts itself as "the world's largest Sugar Daddy dating site" and has released its annual list of the top 20 Fastest Growing Sugar Baby Schools.

According to the release, 42 percent of the website's members are college students. The website says that the popularity of the "sugar" lifestyle is growing and students using the site receive an average of $3,000 per month in allowances and gifts from these sugar daddies. The website's founder, Brandon Wade, says "why hope for financial aid when you can guarantee it with a Sugar Daddy?"

At the top of the top 20 Fastest Growing Sugar Baby Schools list is the University of Central Florida, where 474 students signed up for the SeekingArrangement.com website in 2013. Other schools on the top 20 list include Arizona State University (#2 on the list) and the University of Southern California (#8 on the list). Six of the 20 schools are located in the South; three are in Florida (UCF, FIU, USF), two in Georgia (GSU and UGA) and one in Louisiana (LSU).

The University of Alabama, whose Board of Trustees this summer approved tuition hikes for all three campuses across the state, did not make the top 20 list -- barely. The 97 University of Alabama students that signed up for SeekingArrangement.com in 2013 put their school at number 23 on the list.

College isn't cheap. A single, full-time semester at UA can cost over $12,000. A CNNMoney report from 2012 indicates that tuition at private, nonprofit, four-year colleges has jumped 60 percent in the decade prior; tuition at public colleges more than doubled during the same time.

The most obvious point of contention lies in the types of relationships these students might have to shape with an opulent partner. One side of an online discussion this morning likened these arrangements to prostitution. Another side said that mutually beneficial relationships are a personal choice and that any sort of social stigma could be eliminated if society could "mind it's [sic] own business."

But how would those social stigmas change when the gender roles are reversed? Does society collectively cringe when a young woman engages in a "mutually beneficial relationship" with an older man with money, but not give a second thought to a young man engaging in a similar relationship with an older woman with money?

What about the perception of people with money being able to essentially "purchase" their status? Is a wealthy man in his 50s forming a relationship with a woman in her teens a sign of benevolence, or a sociopathic disorder?

The most important part of this conversation, in my opinion, should focus on just how difficult it is to become successful in the U.S. Education is out of reach for a growing number of Americans. Parents and students alike are trying to figure out how to afford college -- and everything else promised to us by the American Dream. The expectation that hard work will make a person successful is a farce in the 21st century.

Elbow grease and all-night study sessions don't cover the cost of admission into the hallowed halls of success anymore. Proof of that can be found on the press release on my desk this morning:

"One Million Students Seek Sugar Daddies in 2013"

What will society look like in 20 years after those million sugar babies are out of college and walking those halls of success?

What will society look like in 20 years after the rest of us who couldn't graduate college or land a wealthy benefactor are relegated to second-class citizen?

My guess: not much will change.

Clockwise from top left: John Ensign, Tim Mahoney, John Edwards, Chris Lee, Anthony Weiner, David Petraeus. All men were found to have had relationships with women to which they were not married. (Photos are public domain)

- MDS

Logging a Model City Winter: January 6, 2014

The following is a collection of a day's worth of broadcast news copy with a personal forward.

January 6, 2014 - 12:18 a.m.

[NOTES] As traffic lights downtown switched to two-way flashing stops and residents of the Model City prepared for a new work week on Sunday night, a mass of cold air continued its push through the United States. By 11 p.m., the cold air has already affected millions of people across the North and Midwest and prompted all schools in Calhoun County to delay classes by two hours on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 

It came in as bells from the courthouse tolled in the distance; a burning wind caused sharp ripples in the puddles in the street. A steady wind sent a cold mist whipping around WDNG Broadcasting Central and continues to shake the front door a full 15 minutes later. 

The current conditions are not necessarily out of the ordinary; temperatures are currently 40 degrees at the Anniston Municipal Airport. Temperatures appear normal compared for the average low for January, but temperatures further northwest show the nature of what is in store for Calhoun County. Areas surrounding Gadsden are currently around the freezing mark, while temperatures in north Alabama are already in the mid-20s. 

Temperatures are expected to dip into the 20s around the Model City by Monday, and blustery winds have prompted a Wind Chill Advisory from the National Weather Service until noon on Tuesday. A Hard Freeze Warning will be in effect for Calhoun County until 8 a.m. Wednesday morning. 

Students and staff of the Calhoun County School System along with schools in Anniston, Jacksonville, Oxford, Piedmont and surrounding counties have planned to delay the start of school days by at least two hours Monday through Wednesday. 

With the risk of freezing roads in higher elevations, this reporter has taken refuge inside the newsroom. As midnight nears and Monday looms, I will sign off until Monday morning at 7 a.m. to begin regular news updates every 30 minutes -- live if warranted and possible. Until then, keep your head up (and your neck warm). 

- MDS

7 o'clock broadcast

[WDNG] - Cold weather pushing across the state has prompted delays for some Calhoun County schools. Bitterly cold temperatures moved into the area late Sunday night, which sent temperatures diving below the freezing mark shortly before midnight. By 6 a.m. Monday morning, conditions at the Anniston Municipal Airport saw temperatures in the mid-20s with a wind chill of 14 degrees.  

The National Weather Service issued a Wind Chill Warning for Calhoun County until noon on Tuesday and a Hard Freeze Warning until Wednesday morning. As a result, students and staff of all schools in Calhoun County have been delayed by two hours on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  

Information from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office indicates that the Calhoun County Administration Building will not open until 10 a.m. and residents scheduled for jury duty on Monday are to report two hours later than originally planned.  

Oxford police chief Bill Partridge tweeted early Monday morning that city streets were open and passable as of 4 a.m. but adds spots of nearly invisible black ice are possible in untraveled areas. 

-MDS

8 o'clock broadcast

[WDNG] - Warming stations are being opened up across the Model City to help the less fortunate deal with brutally cold temperatures. Cold temperatures moved into the area late Sunday night and sent thermometer reading diving below the freezing mark shortly before midnight.  

By 7 a.m. Monday morning, conditions at the Anniston Municipal Airport saw temperatures in the mid-20s with a wind chill of 14 degrees. The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Chill Warning for Calhoun County until noon on Tuesday and a Hard Freeze Warning until Wednesday morning.  

Anniston City Council member Seyram Selase said on Twitter Monday morning that the cold weather has prompted warming stations to open at the Salvation Army on Noble St. and the Carver Community Center on W. 14th Street. Schools and offices across the county have also delayed opening on Monday.  

Law enforcement officials have said there are no major problems on main roadways in the area but warn that black ice can still be a threat on roads that are less frequently traveled.
-MDS

9 o'clock broadcast

[WDNG] - Calhoun County residents are waking up Monday morning to cold weather and light snow as a polar vortex pushes into the deep South. Temperatures across Calhoun County dropped below freezing Sunday night and remained in the low 20s by 9 a.m. Monday morning. Reports of light snow have been reported on Monday morning in parts of the Model City as well as flurries in Coldwater, Gadsden, Jacksonville and Heflin.   

Anniston city officials announced warming stations will be available for those in need at the Salvation Army on Noble Street and the Carver Community Center on W. 14th St. The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Chill Warning for Calhoun County until noon on Tuesday and a Hard Freeze Warning until Wednesday morning. 

All schools in Calhoun County have delayed the start of classes by two hours on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. High temperatures in Anniston are not expected to go higher than 24 degrees and low temperatures on Monday night are expected to fall into single digits.  

Law enforcement across the county say there are no widespread problems with ice on major roadways but several reports indicate rural and less traveled roads in Calhoun and Talladega counties do have patches of black ice. 

Police in Weaver warn residents that officers in that city will be patrolling during the cold weather to ensure pets have proper shelter. Weaver police Lt. Charles Plitt says that pet owners neglecting animals kept outside will be charged with animal cruelty.

2 o'clock report

[WDNG] - Anniston residents without adequate shelter during this week’s cold weather will get a little help from two warming stations set up in the Model City. The Salvation Army and the City of Anniston are each providing warming stations to needy residents who may otherwise be unable to protect themselves from frigid arctic air that moved into the area on Sunday night.  

Salvation Army Capt. Bert Lind says up to 150 people will be able to use the organization’s facilities on the 400 block of Noble St. between Monday and Thursday evening. He said beds and cots will be available and that snacks and meals will also be provided.  

The Salvation Army warming station will be open 24 hours a day and Lind asks that only those people that have no other option to protect themselves from the dangerously cold weather utilize the facility.  

The Carver Community Center on W. 14th St. will open their doors at 1 p.m. beginning on Monday. Center program director Angie Shockley says City Manager Brian Johnson and Mayor Vaughn Stewart on Sunday made the decision to open the city-owned center because of available shower facilities. Shockley says the Carver Center has room for about 30 people and will be open 24 hours a day until Wednesday.  

Residents taking shelter at Carver Community Center are being asked to take any toiletry items they will need, and Shockley says pets, drugs, or alcohol will not be allowed. She says residents needing a warm place to stay for the night must be signed in by 10:30 p.m. and lights out will be at 11 p.m. 

An Anniston police officer will also be at the Carver Center from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. each night, according to Shockley. She says donations are not needed at the Carver Center at this time. Capt. Lind with the Salvation Army says that, while donations will not be turned away, anyone wanting to support the shelter can give monetary donations.