Michelle Luhtala's List: Luongo's Controversial Issues

According to the work of Daniel Russell, Ph.D., professor of applied physics at Kettering University in Flint, Mich., that does not mean metal bats hit balls at "dangerously high speeds." According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injuries, based at the University of North Carolina and headed by Fred Mueller, there were 11 high school fatalities directly attributable to baseball from 1983 through 2009.

On May 19, the Associated Press reported that "the family of a boy who suffered brain damage after being struck in the chest by a line drive off a metal bat while playing baseball filed a lawsuit" against the manufacturer of the bat, Hillerich & Bradsby Co., alleging metal baseball bats are inherently unsafe for youth games because the ball comes off of them faster than from wooden bats. In considering whether to approve the petition, CPSC regulations required a determination of (1) whether the product presents an unreasonable risk of injury, (2) whether a rule is reasonably necessary to eliminate the risk of injury, and (3) whether failure to initiate rulemaking would unreasonably expose the petitioner or other consumers to the risk of injury alleged by the petition [16 C.F.R. §1051.9(a)].\n Having found that a conceivable rational relationship exists between the Bat Ordinance and the legitimate purpose of public safety, the federal district court characterized the link between a perceived danger and the Bat Ordinance as a classic legislative judgment that the City Council could constitutionally make.

The only fatality figures comparing metal to wood bats come from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. In 2002, it reported 17 deaths due to impact with a batted ball between 1991 and 2001. Of those, eight were known to involve nonwood bats and two to involve wood ones, but in the remaining seven cases the type of bat was unknown. That overall group, however, was dominated by players using metal bats -- at least 90%, according to bat manufacturers. The report found there was "not sufficient" data to rule nonwood bats unsafe. A current study funded by the National Federation of State High School Associations examines wood and metal bat use in Illinois high schools; the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research is comparing college leagues using metal and those using wood. The earliest report is due this fall.

"You couldn't see the ball until it happened -- it was absolutely horrible," Ms. [Debbie Patch] said in a recent phone call from her Montana home. "Everybody around me said, 'Oh, he's just got a concussion; he'll be OK.' But then he went into seizures, right there on the field, and I knew it wasn't good."

"If nonwood bats were banned across America tomorrow and everybody were forced to use wood, we might make more money because of all those broken bats," says Louisville Slugger's Rick Redman. His company makes about a million wood and nonwood bats a year, he says. And Mr. Redman claims that they all perform pretty much the same: "By regulations of the governing bodies, the performance of these bats is capped," he says, "and the nonmetal bats perform no greater than wood."

Since the Council voted in April to ban the use of non-wood bats for all high school baseball teams in the city, three New York Yankees have been injured, two seriously, as a result of accidents involving wood bats. To the Council's credit, it didn't react by trying to ban wood bats, but oddly Council members and some politicians in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania still think aluminum is a threat to safety and should be banned.

Even though no evidence of recent injuries in New York City from a ball hit by an aluminum bat was presented to the Council, the Council said children's safety was at risk so all metal bats will be taken away from high school players, beginning this fall. ''This bill will prevent injuries among high school athletes and make the game of baseball safer,'' said Christine Quinn, the Council speaker.

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission looked at this issue in 2002 and concluded that ''available incident data are not sufficient to indicate that non-wood bats may pose an unreasonable risk of injury.'' There is no safety-related reason for the government to ban aluminum bats, just as there is no safety-related reason to ban wood bats, despite the injuries suffered by the Yankees.

As for New Yorkers, the peril of getting beaned with a line drive is hardly the most pressing concern for the city's kids. Little League Baseball leaves the choice of wood or metal up to its local chapters because it says "there are no facts -- none at all -- to support" the claim that aluminum bats are more dangerous. Even at the college level, where metal bats are common, baseball is among the safer sports, with serious injury rates roughly on par with women's volleyball.

Since then, the Cook's Hamilton homestead has extended to Spaulding, where doctors say Matt will remain until May 2. [Ann Cook], 46, and her husband, [Tom Cook], 49, alternate nights sleeping by Matt's side. Their two daughters, Jennifer, 12, and Carolyn, 10, have also logged so many hours there that they can deftly navigate the maze-like corridors of the hospital to lead a visitor back to the parking lot.

[Matt Cooks] injury, however, is unlikely to prompt Hamilton-Wenham's varsity baseball team to switch to wooden bats, said School Committee vice chairman Richard Boroff. While the School Committee sets school policy, Boroff said that if it "unilaterally" decided to switch to wooden bats, the decision would likely get the school district kicked out of the Cape Ann League, which uses metal bats. And even if the team wasn't expelled, competitors would be using metal bats, so Hamilton-Wenham's players would still be exposed to them, he said.

As of now, Maryland, the District and Virginia will continue to use metal bats, high school sports officials in those three jurisdictions say. But the argument against metal might be gaining traction, with recent deaths and traumatic injuries blamed on the high-tech metal sticks and their so-called trampoline effect, which makes balls go faster and farther, thanks to their larger "sweet spots," the part of the bat that produces the truest hit. Third basemen and pitchers sometimes have less time to react to a rocket hit at them with aluminum.

The durability of metal bats has made them the economic choice for high school baseball -- their affordability was the bats' main selling point upon their arrival in the 1970s. Others say that claim has diminished, with metal bats now costing around $250 and not being as durable as they used to be, and with top-of-the-line maple bats, which go for about a third of the cost, becoming more crack- resistant.

A Brown University study in 2002 determined that balls hit off an aluminum bat averaged 93.3 mph, compared with 86.1 mph off wood. Thirty-seven percent of balls hit off metal bats topped 100 mph; 2 percent of balls off wood bats exceeded that mark.

The debate over metal or wood is nothing new. A Little League in Weymouth switched to wood bats three years ago, partly for safety and also to join Weymouth High School's switch to wood. Weymouth coach and parent Chuck Tuplin said he was skeptical at first but now believes wood bats give pitchers and infielders extra time to react.

In Weymouth, coaches and parents say there were more broken bats in the first year after the switch from aluminum, but as better bats were used and players adjusted, fewer bats were broken. The Weymouth Little League provides bats for its teams.

To see the Little League's statement on baseball bats, visit www.littleleague.org/news/ bats.htm. The report on Brown University's study that shows that metal bats outperform wood bats can be found at www.brown.edu /Administration/News-Bureau/2002 03/ 02-037.html.

Pirates hitting coach Don Long, standing on the dugout steps, never saw the shattered barrel that hit him in the face as he was watching a ball hit down the right field line by Nate McLouth for a double. When he was an executive with the Padres in 1976, Port was at San Diego Stadium the night a splintered bat struck Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager in the neck as he stood in the on-deck circle.

Byline: Michael Aubele

Sept. 12--The explosion in popularity of social networking sites has given new meaning to the adage "Choose your friends wisely." Nowhere is this getting more attention than in the realm of public education.

[...] in a series of occasional articles on bullying and its impact on children, adults, and institutions. With a rash of high-profile suicides by students harassed at school in recent years and a new belief that bullying can cause severe emotional damage, incidents that once might have been dismissed as routine events of childhood are now viewed by many as clear and present dangers.

[...] behavior recently took a high-profile turn in Peachtree City, a planned community 30 miles southwest of Atlanta, where middle school students are suspected of creating a Facebook page that targeted peers with anti-gay slurs and offered inappropriate photos of at least one female student. According to a poll compiled by Harris Interactive Inc. for the National Crime Prevention Council, 43 percent of teens have reported becoming victims of cyber-bullying."

This is the first generation to grow up beyond the digital divide - now that social networks are available on mobiles and there is free internet access in schools and libraries, the barrier is no longer about hardware but literacy. It is the first generation to be socialised in hyper-connectivity from primary school. But for all the potential of an instant global voice, Jimmy, an eight-year-old Club Penguin devotee, is far more circumspect in his reach. Research shows that most social network contacts are local, based on pre-existing networks, and Jimmy is no different. "I'm in touch with people from school, people from my area," he tells me. "I feel safer with people I know already, because you don't know who is on the other end of the line."

The concept of "friends" on a social network is similarly contested by adults, who wonder how meaningful it is to have 1,001 friends on MySpace. But young people are finding ways to differentiate. "If you're a private person, you can still be private online," says 15-year-old Alice. With 3,852 friends on the site devoted to her band, Pull in Emergency, she would seem to fit the definition of exposure. But Alice makes a distinction between her band's site and the personal profiles she keeps on MySpace and Facebook. "MySpace is the main way that people find out about the band and book us for gigs. There's nothing personal on it. But with my own profiles, I don't accept anyone I don't know or like. With the band, the web connects you so you can find out what's going on. But I'd only use my own profiles to talk to friends." So it has become possible to create private space publicly. Just as another teenager I spoke to has a named YouTube account that his parents and other family members can access, plus a pseudonymous one he only allows his friends to see.

Adults between ages 27 and 45 primarily use e-mail but are migrating toward using some social networking tools for communication (MediaBadger 2009). [...] according to Rapleaf, an Internet software company, women are at the forefront of using social media (Hoffman 2008). [...] it should be no surprise that teachers are yearning for some form of connection by using social media.

What students seem to value are wireless networks, off-site connections, course-management systems, online learning opportunities in the classroom and social media. The Internet has made access to factual information extremely easy, yet our learning activities too often emphasize rote memorization of facts instead of understanding and practical application.

A significant number of educational institutions and businesses are using social networking sites to make professional decisions. In "Reaching the Wired Generation: How Social Media Is Changing College Admission," a report written by Nora Ganim Barnes, 21% of the colleges and universities surveyed stated that they research and recruit potential students on social networking sites. However, this practice is mostly employed in decisions involving scholarships, prestigious programs with limited seats, or other awards that receive a high level of publicity. A "statistically significant" number of businesses are also taking a look at applicants' Facebook profiles when making hiring decisions. As Facebook has grown, so has the use of the site as a vetting tool. As such, potential students and employees should make their profiles as restricted as possible via Facebook's privacy settings. Make sure everything you're putting on Facebook you would be proud to have your grandmother read.

Huffington Post

Hundreds of angry parents, worried teachers and even terrorized kids are reporting ugly episodes of brutal bullying at schools across Massachusetts as the heartwrenching case of Phoebe Prince continues to expose a painful nerve.