Topics that Interest Me in Saint Louis

1. Obesity in young children-
Obesity is a problem that threatens our entire nation however it is a rather big problem in our community. I want to know what people are doing to truly make activeness a cultural norm early in a child's life. It is so important that we teach children good eating habits. I truly believe that healthier generation is happier and functions better overall.

2. Lack of public transportation-
Many people have problems with the lack of public transit in the Saint Louis area. There places you can go using the bus or metro are very few and far between and this makes the necessity for a car go up. Not everyone can afford to have a personal car. I would like to know how people are trying to share rides or how people are pushing to broaden the area public transportation in Saint Louis covers. I would like to know how many people are effected negatively by this issue and how many people feel strongly about this.

3. Segregation
Although laws on segregation have long fallen (or not so long ago depending how you look at it) segregation racially still exists for more economic reasons these days. You can drive for 5 minutes and go from an extremely wealthy area to an obviously blocked off oppressed poor area that is predominantly black. When I visited North Side Community School in North Saint Louis (a school with all black children) some of the children told me I was the first white person they had seen and touched my hair curiously. This reminded me that segregation is a reality in Saint Louis. However it exists because of economic divides. All of these students (average family of 4) lived in a household with income under 20,000. Many of them were living near or under the poverty line. How are working as a community to make sure that we close these gaps and make sure that economic differences do not continue to result in racial differences and misconnections?