Curfew in Philadelphia

I lobbying changing the curfew enforced due to flash mobs. The city decided to make the curfew laws more stricter due to flash mob being in the raise recently. I fell as though the city could handle this issue of flash mobs a little bit better. I am lobbying to changing the curfew. My motivation to lobby this topic is from my own experiences. I am a responsible teenaged citizen of Philadelphia. I drive around the city and participate in activities with family functions and community service that involves me to be out later than 10:00. The supporter of my lobbying topic is mainly teenagers, mostly who aren't associated with flash mobs like the organization "We are F.L.A.S.H. mobs." A group of young adult who want to discourage the current idea of flash mobs. The main opponent of this law is the police and government officials of the city of Philadelphia. I fell as though the real solution to flash mob, is more penalties for the parents. They have to step up and discipline their children anyway they see fit. Most parents in Philadelphia are below the age 35. And that number is getting smaller and smaller, and the rates for young pregnancies raises. I think the government should talk more time to think out their decisions and stop making radical ones. 

Lobbying Against Hydraulic Fracturing

Hydraulic fracturing has been a big part the contribution to chemical infested water in the United States for fifty years now. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking is a process in which workers send highly pressurized water and chemicals to propagate a fracture in a rock layer to release petroleum and other natural gases for extraction. In order to extract these natural gases, tracking companies must pass their drill through our states drinking water, and the chemicals (which have not all been named) are slowly seeping into our drinking water, causing many health concerns. Some chemicals that have been named that are used in the tracking process are carcinogens.

For a detailed description of hydraulic fracturing click HERE.

Many communities in Pennsylvania, especially Philadelphia have been staging protests against fracking...

There are countless protesters against fracking as well as lobbyist fighting to abolish it in our states, but there are the few who are looking to ensure their short term political wealth by lobbying for hydraulic fracturing and disregarding the welfare of those who drink the chemical infested water.





Lobbying Topic - Solar Energy

      I want to lobby for the use of clean solar energy. Within the city there has been use of this energy on city trash disposal units. This energy obviously works and can easily help to reduce the cost of electricity. What i want to lobby for is the spread of this energy usage and bring it to the outer laying neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Putting solar panel units on homes could easily save hundreds of dollars which can be put back into the community.

      Public policy allows for individual homes to have solar, or wind power energy if is it visually pleasing. Certain communities have been telling homes to remove Dish TV units because it doesn't look goon on the homes. But on most houses a flat solar panel roofing would not cause any problems, nor would look bad at all.

      Scientists, engineers, and architects are all trying to promote and integrate clean energy into society. And i don't know of anyone strongly against having these attachments to their homes. However many legislative documents have been submitted for the use of clean energy. Just like hydro fracking, solar energy has been around for a while yet it feel there isn't much publicity. I want to get the idea out there and made a change in my neighborhood and other communities around Philadelphia.

Future Leaders Advancing Self Help

​With my organization and support elsewhere, I am lobbying an idea to change the way Philadelphian's portray the phrase Flash Mob from its negative connotation to a positive one. Future Leaders Advancing Self Help via Mind Over Body is the acronym the spells out Flash Mob.

The issue with Flash Mobs are the kids have generally nothing to do that grabs their interest other then party and dance. In a nut shell, they use parties and dancing as promotion for themselves with the expectation to gain more publicity and recognition for being Philly's best party crew or dance team. Some of the events that are created through these goals turn violent, disruptive, and go sour really quickly, which is when media more them often refers to the children as a flash mob.


The only piece of legislation that has any correlation to Flash Mobs is the curfew which is broken down my age and location. In this Flash project, I'm not looking to change the curfew back to what it was originally, I am looking to change the image of the cities youth through having Flash events, program initiatives, supporters, and more to be examples of our cities progression int he right direction.


My support is the entire city of Philadelphia. So far, the people who've worked with me to push this initiative are Brick Bandits Ent, Party Krusherz Ent, DJ Damage, Jordan Harris of City Council, Tony Payton of the House Of Reps, Mayor Nutter, OIC of America, 100 Black Men Philly, United Philly, Ebony Suns Enterprises, The Enterprise Center, the Philly Youth Poetry Movement, and many many more 
.

Lobbying Issue

My lobbying topic is sort of two things. I want to change the curfew/consequence and also I want to stop the profiling that many have on groups of young kids. I want to change the curfew because it is stopping those who are having a good time and not being a flash mob from having fun. Also it just seems unfair that there is a fee for the parents to pay if the child is caught for curfew. It isn't my mother's fault that the city is profiling me as a flash mobber just because I want to go out and have fun with my friends. And as for the profiling, not every group of kids or young adults are going to be a flash mob. Some are just out to have fun and that's simply it, but not every cop or adult wants to believe that. I chose this because when I plan events or outing with my friends I know for a fact we have to keep that in mind because we are all not over 18. My friends and I normally go out in groups and we like to have fun, although we are not a flash mob and will never be I know that because of the multitude that we come in many may think that and it is not okay.
The main supportes of my idea would be the young adults that feel the same way, and possibly the parents of the young people. But the opponents would be the police officers and others who believe that all young people are out waiting to be a flash mob. Also another opponent would be the students actually out there being a flash mob. I believe that Mayor Nutter has put certain restrictions on different age groups. As for the profiling part I am sure that there is nothing being passes to stop that. But I think something should be done because it is putting a bad name on the young people. Some of them may have brought it upon themselves but the majority doesn't have to suffer, I think somebody should make it where you just wait to see if something happens but you are still close by. Only because nothing may happen but just in case i does somebody should be there and don't always breathe down the young people's neck give them enough space so that they can have fun. 

Revision Essay

Sara Nesbitt

Iron Stream

Getting over your fears.

Everyone has a negative mind about something. We all do. We have fear, anxiety, and struggle towards things. That’s what makes us human. But we have to learn how to take that fear and turn it into something we are brave about facing.

Art was always something I didn’t truly understand, but always had curiosity for. I never thought I was good at art. I would fear art class because I didn’t have the confidence within myself. But then I learned that life is full of unexpected moments, and we should just go with it. I started to not fear, but to stand up to the things I wasn’t comfortable with, and go out of my safety zone. I ended up loving art. One time I was taken completely off guard when I did a project that I didn’t want to do, but ended up enjoying it.

It was 8:15am on a Wednesday morning and I woke up anxious to what we would do today. I arose, brush my teeth, put on the clothes I picked out the night before, and took a quick glance at the mirror, not thinking twice about what I looked like. I was too eager to go to school, but not for art class that was first period. I rush into the classroom, passing the morning chatter, heading straight to the stool with my name on it. Ring Ring. “Good morning class, I’m very excited for the assignment we’re doing today.” My mind then jumping to the array of projects we could possibly do. Drawing still life? Going outside and painting? “In front of you, there is a small black bag, in it is clay. You will be making whatever I say to, without looking at it.” My jaw dropped, this is so stupid I thought. We started the project, and it was strange. Not being able to see what you were doing gave you a whole new perspective on art and how to interpret it. The warm clay, soft but fragile in your hands, as you change it into different pictures you realize different views of art. I thought too much on what my peers might think, and it made me scared that I had to try something new. But going through the process, really not knowing that I could see my creation gave me confidence because I had nothing to worry about. It was supposed to be a fun project that reminds you not to take everything seriously, and if your having fun what your doing you will turn out with amazing results. By the end of class, I was in love with this assignment. It taught me to be patient and to never give up on your work, to always listen and go along with different things. And lastly, to always recognize the views of other people.

Art can resemble many other life situations. A lot of times we are so caught up in something, and if it gets ruined we’re devastated. But to me, that’s why we make mistakes, to learn from them and to make the second time even better than the first. I remember one time I worked all year on a painting, and then only had a few hours to make another. But, in the end I was happy I did it, because it was better than I ever imagined.

I wobble as I walk through the door, my book bag taking up my left shoulder, and my equipment bag taking up the right. As I finally get in I drop the things on the floor, my eyes droopy and my back slouched over from the tiring day. When I walked over to grab a snack, a slow smile started to take up my face. My mom hung up my painting, the one I worked all year on, I was so proud.

I remember it. Last Thursday, wait maybe Tuesday? No, Thursday. I went in the art room at 1:30pm. The atmosphere was loud. Chatter, stools screeching, paint splatter, brushes falling, it was a mess. I put my orange, black, and red paint on a pallet with a big fluffy brush and walk over to my canvas. “Hey Sara, come here I got to tell you something.” My art teacher said slowly with a worried look on her face. “Sure” I say shaky, not knowing what was going to happen. “Rachel spilled water on your painting, I’m sorry but it got ruined.” The room suddenly started spinning, my heart, every beat was faster and louder. My mouth was so dry I couldn’t swallow. I was very silent for what seemed like forever, but was only a few minutes. My head was full of anger, frustration, and failure. “Umm, Uhh” were the only things I could get out. My teacher let me work in the backroom because I had to start over, and it would give me some quiet.

I worked there for over 6 hours. Painting, repainting, drawing, critiquing, moving, sliding, everything.

And there it was, completed. It was actually better than I ever imagined. Seeing it on my wall in my house made it even better. All my work had finally paid off.

It’s very hard to get over fear. But once you do, your entire world is open to new experience with great opportunities. Art is like a clean slate, and you can create anything within your imagination and yourself. This reminds me of coming to SLA for the first time. It was first day of freshman year. I was a tiny little freshman that people mistaken for a shadow, I didn’t know anyone. I walked in, looked around, and only talked when I needed to. But when I went into the bathroom I met this tall blonde girl that hated Justin Bieber. Excitedly, we never left each other’s side the entire day. Luckily, I was blessed with a best friend from the start. Friends can always help you get over fears. She has helped me so much from the first day, to projects, to random things I have to get over. Good friends are always there for you and can help so much with your fears and once you overcome them, nothing can stop you from being the best you can be.

 

Revised Descriptive essay by Ryan Shaw

Ryan Shaw September 20, 2011

Copper-English 2 Freedom in School


My high school is very different from my middle school. In my middle school, we had to wear uniforms, navy blue shirts with khaki’s with the school logo on the shirt. You had to go to classes with the rest of our homeroom class, and had little to no freedom. My old school was demanding, filling our thoughts with false freedom, saying how we had a small locker in the room, we could bring in whatever we want, and that we didn’t need a policeman in the building. In reality, my middle school was just an extension of elementary school, and it had just as many freedoms as middle school. Timed classes that you were escorted to by teachers, coinciding lunches, in which you had to sit at the cafeteria, and you couldn't move from your assigned seat.

My high school is far more laid back, and it gives me freedom, where before, there was none. In my old school, I learned much of what I know now, but I didn’t like it. I expected that to be the best there is, since it’s a charter school. One day, at lunch in my old school, I was sitting at my assigned seat, eating lunch peacefully, with the logorrhea of hundreds of other student’s voices in the background. All of a sudden, the cacophony grew exponentially larger, and there was a disturbance in the lunchroom. I looked behind me, and there was a lunch aide, a school official who makes sure that the students follow the rules, yelling at a couple of the students. The tiled floor was shaking from her voice combined with the student’s loud conversations. It’s a large room, but it had great acoustics, and the sounds of everything resonated within the room.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! THIS IS THE FIFTH TIME! GO TO MS. D’s OFFICE!” Ms. D was the principal and a former nun, she was a tall, lanky woman with a short brown perm, and large spectacles. Before she could walk into the hallway to her office, she came walking into the lunchroom with a frown on her face, yelling,
“I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON HERE,” the lunchroom was quiet, for the moment, “but you all need to stop talking now!” She lowered her voice, but it still sounded above the current volume. “Now it’s a silent lunch.” A ‘silent lunch’ was something that she had made up a few years ago, this was the first instance of such a phenomenon. “In a silent lunch, no one talks, you just eat your lunch, and go back to class.” Quietly, she said to the lunch aide nearest to her, Ms. Sidney, the head of the lunch aids, “Send anyone who talks to my office” She was careful to say it quietly so that it seemed like it was meant for Ms. Sidney, but loudly enough for the lunchroom to hear her.
It was humiliating, being quieted for the only free time in the day, and yet we were still being silenced by the school’s policies. My old school was filled with dread with simply following the strict rules. My old school was just like a Catholic school, without the church! In my school, everyone looked happy, with the colorful walls, and the multitude of posters scattering the walls, but inside, we all hated it there.
One day, at the lunch room, my friend Brianna wore 4 bracelets at the same time, and the principal told her to take them off. The principal actually told her to take off her bracelets, because she was wearing too many. My school was so strict with their rules that they wouldn’t let my friend wear some bracelets.  
My old school was very strict. The part that really bothered me about my old school isn’t the rules, it’s the fact that in that school, you have to keep your identity hidden. You have to wear a uniform, but not just wear it, you have to be uniform. Everyone has to be a perfect cookie cutter after another; any difference or individuality had to be dealt with immediately. That’s why I like my school so much now. There is no dress code, and everyone is so laid back. It’s calming. Instead of having to keep your guard up, you can relax. While being cliché, it’s true that in this new school, I can be myself.

Discovering My Own Life; Revisied

Discovering My Own Life

Adventure is defined as an unusual or exciting experience; however, I personally think it’s more then that. Experiences change and shape people. My life is full of adventure; I love to move through life unplanned and on instinct. It brings me joy to discover new things unintentionally.

Books help me discover places I thought I would never get to see, especially autobiographies. I recently read, “If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won’t) by Betty White. You’d think there was nothing significant about it, but when I look at it, I see way beyond the plain white background. From the start, I was hooked. It seemed as if every time I turned the page, I was running through doors. The doors would open up to another time, place, event, in her life. When it was over, I would grab the next knob and the process would continue. Through 252 pages, I could vividly picture each moment, each emotion, each breath she took.

Angela Carter once said, “Reading a book is like rewriting it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history and you read it in your own terms.” It’s funny to think how much life parallels to reading. Through books, you can discover a whole new world or even look further into a world that you are missing out on. Every book I have ever read took me on its own adventure; however, I was really leading the journey myself.

I’ve been on journeys beyond any text I have ever read. My life is full of exciting adventures, especially with my cousin Charlie. He and I decided to visit the mall on a rainy Saturday afternoon. It started out with our first steps off the bus into the shallow puddles of rain. Once we walked through the door, we had unspoken agreement to head to the comic book store.

           One of the escalators was broken and we could not stop hysterically laughing as our imaginations ran wild about why it was in that condition. After the comic book store, we ran around yelling movie titles and artists to each other in FYE. Nothing compares to when we scrolled through posters, making comments on each one. The best part was the fact that we were the only ones who understood our jokes.

The mini adventure in FYE ended with a purchase of strawberry candies. The mall looked evacuated with an exception of a few small groups of teenagers. Charlie and I began to move down the row of stores looking for something interesting. Since the building was close to silent with the lack of people, I could here the roaring thunder; it echoed throughout the bare, plain, white walls. As I pressed on, down the glimmering tiny tiles, I could hear little pitter-patters. It seemed as if the rain was falling right next to my ears. I started to glance up at the skylights taking note of the splattering tears of a storm and the electrifying light, which shined throughout the second floor.
           I have seen plenty of thunderstorms before, but none like this. It was as if the lighting was coming right for us and the dark, mysterious clouds were only intimidating this mall. We kept walking, chatting, and laughing. Our bonding was interrupted when we came across the Halloween store. We turned towards each other and said in sync, “I cannot wait till Halloween!” While we went into detail about my Halloween costume, we came across the bookstore. I decided to pick up an autobiography; I searched past different musicians, politicians, and celebrities to come across, “From This Moment On” by Shania Twain. As soon as I looked at the picture of the brunette country legend, I remembered when I grabbed my hairbrush and sang her songs on the glass coffee table for my “audience.”
           With that purchase, we ate and strolled through the mall. Traditionally, we always sit for hours talking about everything. We are not ones to break a routine; we grabbed a bench and relaxed. As we talked about personal issues, feelings, and secrets, I began to imagine this bench turning into a bubble of trust that only we knew the entrance to. This bubble was unbreakable with a million protective shells containing our deepest conversations. While we were getting wrapped up in each other's lives, we almost did not notice the puddles beginning to submerge through the roof in spots around the entire mall. We did not even realize the fact that half the building was pitch black and the room seemed emptier then before. Apparently the power went out and the only reason we could see was the lightning peaking in and emergency lights. So even though it started out as a regular rainy Saturday, it turned into a memorable and eventful day that I will cherish forever.

Through that mall experience, I learned more about the bond Charlie and I had. I never took the time to notice how alike we are. We love the same shows, movies, food, and music. Of course, family isn’t the only way to experience life or discover new things. Friends have a way of opening your mind to whole new experiences, leading to tons of new adventures.

It was a Saturday morning; Karly and I were heading off to the Arden Theatre in Old City. After hours of becoming someone new and immersing in imagination and creativity in our acting class, we opened the big wooden doors. The exposed sunshine was warm on my face, which added to my happiness. At this point it was about eleven in the morning and Karly and I had an hour to kill. Instead of waiting around forever on the cement steps, we went looking for adventure.

Across the street, I spotted a comic book store. Faster then a cheetah, I ran across the street as if I was playing Frogger. I was greeted with a life size Spiderman welcoming me to this new land. Each wall was covered from top to bottom with colorful covers and victorious heroes of all shapes and sizes. There were so many characters throughout the store; they all screamed, “Pick me!” While looking for the perfect one, each one tended to take me on a different kind of adventure.

After leaving the store, we came to Second Street and looked from left to right. Where to go, where to go… From the corner of my right eye I could see Soho Pizza. After pointing it out to Karly, she remembered being there before. We crossed the street on a search for a great slice of pizza. When you walk through the narrow passageway, you can see the small, yet warm environment. My nostrils filed with the smell of pizza sauce and freshly kneaded dough.

While admiring the autumn colors and empty tables, I almost didn’t hear the man behind the counter. “What can I get you?” he asked, looking confused at the fact that I was staring into space. After ordering, Karly and I sat and ate. I couldn’t help but notice that the guy behind the counter continued to make excuses to come over to our table; as if he wanted to start a conversation but couldn’t. Let’s just say we made a new friend that day. Together we realized that this would be a regular Saturday routine for us; every week, we’d look forward to the weekend.

It is important for me to remember these times when I sat down with a good book and when I enjoyed the company of others because without these individual mini-scenes of my life, I would not be where I am now. Adventure has really shaped my love for new things such as: language, cultures, places, food, etc. It has also taught me to keep an open mind. For these reasons, I will continue to encourage others to take the time to stop thinking and planning every moment because sometimes while in the midst of all the stress you miss out on a lot. Every day is a new opportunity to learn and get everything out of life.

 

Lobbying - Curb your dog & Waste Bins

No one enjoys going for a walk and then noticing that the streets are littered with trash or people refuse to clean up after their pets. If you were in Center City however this would never happen. There are many things already in place that would lower the chances of you seeing these nuisances. First there are trash cans in Center City virtually on every street corner. Secondly their are "please curb your dog" signs posted up all over every park and trails. These are both due to the face that when tourists come to visit Philadelphia most of the traffic is in the Center City area, which requires us to keep these parts especially clean. 

I would propose that "please curb your dog" and public trash bins be of greater for the other parts of the city also. In most parts of the city outside of Center City there is trash on the streets in great abundance. This is because there aren't public trash cans on the corners of those parts of the city. Also the "please curb you dog" law isn't enforced at all so animal droppings are on people's lawn and on private property. I would very much like to see cleaner streets in Philadelphia. I also want to see tourism not only be mainly concentrated in Center City but in other parts that make up philadelphia as well, and I feel as though cleaning up the streets is a very good place to start.

The main people I can get support from while trying to get these enforced or enacted would be the district representatives of the different parts of the city. They would be the main supporters because they would like the thought of having cleaner streets and improving on tourism. Even though I can get the most support from them they can also give me the most opposition. Placing a trash can on street corners isn't a very cheap tasks. Especially managing the trash pickup. If there isn't room in the budget to pay for this then they may not even consider it. 

Currently there isn't any legislation dealing with my topic. But I would like to see one regarding the enforcement of people not cleaning up after their dogs. There are already laws in place that say that it is illegal to not clean up after your pets but there isn't anything regarding the enforcement of that law. 

Law referencing not cleaning up after animals.

(Amending Chapter 10-100 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Animals," by amending Section 10-105, entitled "Animals Committing Nuisances," by expanding the section to include nuisances committed upon the private property of the owner and animal noises which cause unreasonable annoyance, disturbance or discomfort to a person or persons, all under certain terms and conditions.
Legislative File ID   000103-A)

Lobbying-Education Reform

The United States of America. Hearing these words used to make other nations tremble, but now we are falling behind on education because the students don't feel compelled enough to learn. Comparing America to Asia and Europe our primary and secondary education standards have been increasingly decreasing. For example a school in Asia had a higher rate in test score then one in Europe. Several places in Asia require students go to school year round, in South Korea the students are in school from 8am to 5pm everyday and many stay much later for study. Europe ranging from around 4-8 hours per day.

I want to lobby for the better education reform so that the U.S will once again be the greatest nation for education. We all know that the universities in the U.S are the greatest, but I believe that fundamental education should be just as important. We know that we have Harvard, Yale, Princeton and many more incredible universities but we are laking in elementary, middle and high schools were the students will feel secure and willing to learn instead of  feeling forced to. 

There are of course high schools that graduate students that end up attending these Ivey League universities, but what about the rest, what happens to the students that don't get into big named school, and not to mention the students that drop out of high school all together. I believe there needs to be an education reform, we need to create more schools such as Science Leadership Academy were the students feel welcome, were the teachers are first our teachers, our friends , our councilors, our back up, our safe place. 

In January of 2010 violence erupted at South Philadelphia high school  where off-campus and lunchrooms attacks targeted about 50 asian students, injuring 30, primarily by African-American students. The Asian students, boycotted classes for more than a week after the attack, stating that they had endured relentless bullying by African-American students while school officials did nothing about their complaints. I want there to be a change in education and in schools because there are many kids that come from "The Hood" or bad neighborhoods, and I believe that schools should be a safe haven as much as a place of learning, kids need to have a place or person they trust and I believe that this is a part of a teachers job. 

Some of the main supporters for my lobbying idea are the Education Reform Center, and the Education Reform now Foundation. One of the biggest posing challenges for this however, is the budget crisis, schools have had to lay-off teacher because they cant afford to pay them, and some of the neighborhood high schools cant even afford supplies needed for every student let alone higher teachers. The United States needs to spend more money on education because it is one most important things that keeps the nation together. And it is necessary for the continues growth of a nation and the well being and comfortable life for its people.  


 http://www.edreform.com/http://www.edreformnow.org/


http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-01-22-asian-bullying-philadelphia_N.htm


http://www.cfr.org/education/education-reform-us-competitiveness/p25816


Lobbying- Education reform

The United States of America. Hearing these words used to make other nations tremble, but now we are falling behind on education because the students don't feel compelled enough to learn. Comparing America to Asia and Europe our primary and secondary education standards have been increasingly decreasing. For example a school in Asia had a higher rate in test score then one in Europe. Several places in Asia require students go to school year round, in South Korea the students are in school from 8am to 5pm everyday and many stay much later for study. Europe ranging from around 4-8 hours per day.

I want to lobby for the better education reform so that the U.S will once again be the greatest nation for education. We all know that the universities in the U.S are the greatest, but I believe that fundamental education should be just as important. We know that we have Harvard, Yale, Princeton and many more incredible universities but we are laking in elementary, middle and high schools were the students will feel secure and willing to learn instead of  feeling forced to. 

There are of course high schools that graduate students that end up attending these Ivey League universities, but what about the rest, what happens to the students that don't get into big named school, and not to mention the students that drop out of high school all together. I believe there needs to be an education reform, we need to create more schools such as Science Leadership Academy were the students feel welcome, were the teachers are first our teachers, our friends , our councilors, our back up, our safe place. 

In January of 2010 violence erupted at South Philadelphia high school  where off-campus and lunchrooms attacks targeted about 50 asian students, injuring 30, primarily by African-American students. The Asian students, boycotted classes for more than a week after the attack, stating that they had endured relentless bullying by African-American students while school officials did nothing about their complaints. I want there to be a change in education and in schools because there are many kids that come from "The Hood" or bad neighborhoods, and I believe that schools should be a safe haven as much as a place of learning, kids need to have a place or person they trust and I believe that this is a part of a teachers job. 

Some of the main supporters for my lobbying idea are the Education Reform Center, and the Education Reform now Foundation. One of the biggest posing challenges for this however, is the budget crisis, schools have had to lay-off teacher because they cant afford to pay them, and some of the neighborhood high schools cant even afford supplies needed for every student let alone higher teachers. The United States needs to spend more money on education because it is one most important things that keeps the nation together. And it is necessary for the continues growth of a nation and the well being and comfortable life for its people.  


 http://www.edreform.com/http://www.edreformnow.org/


http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-01-22-asian-bullying-philadelphia_N.htm


http://www.cfr.org/education/education-reform-us-competitiveness/p25816


Desc Essay Revision: Can I Tell You Why?

I started poetry club in the beginning of my freshman year. First meeting, first day, so many new people. I had never thought about writing poetry. I never believed I had the skill to. My typical image of a poet was an African talking about the struggles of it’s continent. Maybe a regular person with a lot of life experiences. To my surprise, I wasn’t the only freshman in that room. I sat down on the far left side of the room near the windows. I could still feel the sting on my butt from my friends hand, so I sat with a wince. Thankfully no one saw. My advisor, Mr. Kay, introduced me to the room. I was kind of shy, so if my skin was a tad bit lighter, there may have been a hint of a blush. I was with people I didn’t know. Then we went around the room and said our names. Frdea… De… Imani… Taylor… Jameka… Marchella… They all seemed to be pleased with everyone there. Mr. Kay went on about his long journeys with the seniors in the room. It was interesting to see his enthusiasm about such a topic.  My first task that Tuesday evening, in room 309, was to write about myself. That was the worst thing I could’ve been told, but I ended up doing it. It started out like this:

“Highschool.

The summer before I was an anxious little 8th grader that knew nothing.

Thoughts going through my mind

Like

Am I going to be cool enough?

Am I going to fit in?

I think of my anxiety of that first year.”

With my first stanza, I felt like a spark had jolted inside me. Words continued to flow…

“That year adults have legit conversations with me

That year my individually blossomed

That year when I asked myself

Who are you?

 

I came to a new school to start fresh.

I came because I wanted something different.

I came to finally be accepted.”

 

Second… Then third… Came right out of me. I didn’t think about it much. As I continued to write, I didn’t realize the key things I had actually observed, but never thought about.

“Accepted that I am weird.

Accepted that I have a different way of seeing the world.

Accepted that I love to have fun.”

Then the last and final stanza came of my first poem, written in room 309…

“I look at myself now.

I look at what I made of myself through these years.

I look at the fact that

I am no more an anxious freshman.

I am no more that person that thought she wasn’t worth much

I am no more that girl that questioned herself about being ‘cool’

I am a confident girl.

I am that girl that you see walking the streets with priority

I am that girl you see walking into a room knowing I have the respect of e            veryone.

I am that girl that thinks something of herself”

That was it. I was finished. With my fresh, new, raw, poem, I wanted to say it out loud. I was the first to share. “Highschool…..” I didn’t get much of a reaction from the room. To them, it was just another poem read by a freshman. But Kay lightened my mood, by commenting on my strong voice. But that was it. Others said their poems and it was time to go.

Later that month, I had acquired a few skills about writing. I had some free time and I sat in a dimly lit living room. The couch to the right, the foyer to left. The piano in front of me. Over head of it was a painting. The background has a jazz theme. On the right side, black, fading into a deep red, to a bright red blood color. The left has deep violet turning into rich light purple. Down at the bottom of the picture of piano keys. The keys come out in a fine curved way. Black sharp keys and the regular white keys. But since it’s a jazz theme to it, the ends of the keys are a chalky brown. Over the keys is a fine colored black man. His body is positioned so his ear is close to the keys he feels over with his large hands. Eyes closed, he looks as if he’s engrossed into the sounds coming from his big instrument. One hand at the end of the piano with the other accompanying it not too far away. This man has large lips, with a large nose. But his facial attributes are all proportional. His close cut beard matches his hair which is buzz cut. Eyes slightly strained with tense eye brows, he seems to be concentrating of the sounds coming with, what it looks like, his precious noise making object. His right hands glides over keys, with big knuckles and great embedded nails. With great hands, they have a angular look to them. Not rounded like normal fingers. This painting has many basic shapes to it. Angular knuckles with angular tips. But his thumb has a curve to it as it’s bent. His pinky stands out feels a key on it’s own. His shadow slightly covers the keys. Mainly his face’s shadow slightly over edge of the keys. The front part of this man’s shirt is yellow faded into a light green. The back is a violet color. The collar is split, so, half is purple and half is yellow and green. His sleeve is rolled up on the right side of the painted. On the arm with the hand at the edge of the piano. Other than that artwork, there were detailed Chinese vases. They had scenes of their culture  on each side. Then the coffee table with parallel to the piano on a tan rug. I sat in the office chair. Pondering… The beginning of this self motivated poem started out like this:

“Darkness.

Darkness.

Darkness.

Dark is black.

Dark is cold.

Dark is dark.

Dark is heartless, emotionless, endless…..”

I stopped. This start wasn’t myself. I wasn’t a dark person. I began to think of colors. Then this is what flowed through my finger tips:

“Can you tell me?

Tell me why the sky is blue.

Tell me why fire is red.

Tell me why the birds sing those unknown songs that wake me in the morning.

Tell me why….”

I halted. There needed to be some order in this poem. The colors needed to be in their natural pattern. I thought about each color. Red… Orange… Yellow… Green… Blue…. Violet… White… Black… Then this came from my mind:

“Can you tell me why?

Can you tell me why roses are red?

Can you tell me why fire is orange?

Can you tell me why the sun is yellow?

Can you tell me why the grass is green?

Can you tell me why the sky is blue?

Can you tell me why lilies are purple?

Can you tell me why the clouds are white?

Can you tell me why darkness is black?

Can you tell me why?”

I wanted to tie in all the colors together. To show a certain relationship they had with each other.

“I can tell you red roses burn in orange fire.

Each peddle falling

Falling

Falling to the ground withering from the hot serpent that has taken away it’s red beauty.

I can tell you the yellow sun beats down on the green grass leaving it dry and brittle, taking away it source of life. Water.

I can tell you the clear, blue sky protects the purple, velvet lilies in the streams they wade in.

I can tell you, you can’t see the white, fluffy clouds in the pure darkness that is black.

That’s what I can tell you.

Now, can you tell me why?”

I felt so proud of my final product. I was so eager, I needed to read it to someone. My mom was the only one in the house at the time and she sat down to hear my poem.

“Can you tell me why?.....” I said the poem with a pure confidence. My mom enjoyed it, so that was a definite “GO” to read it in poetry club that next Tuesday.            

Once basketball season started, the teacher supporting poetry club, the basketball coach, couldn’t come to the Tuesday get together. The students ran it. I kept saying to myself, “I’ll go next week,” I kept saying that in my mind until I didn’t care about it anymore. I didn’t even think about going. I’d always hear talk among the club goers about the poetry slams that happened on Saturdays and the about California trip to nationals. It made me feel guilty. So, I felt it’d be awkward if I stepped in room 309 to venture in my poetry writing. The shame inside myself overcame the courage I needed to walk back in  that door again. I felt like the longtime writers going there would give me weird stares and talk about me. I just had this internal fear inside my self that I let sway my decision to start writing again.

What made me change my mind was this summer. I had taken a trip to Atlantic City and while on our way to catch some lunch at a burger place, I had read my Can you tell me why? poem to my friend. He thought my poem was absolutely amazing. I was flabbergasted at his reaction. I didn’t expect to have such a great response because I’m my worst critic.

            My sophomore year, I wanted to take up poetry again. Now, here’s my chance.

 

Curfew In Philadelphia

 ​I am lobbying to change the curfew for the youth in University City and Center City, Philadelphia. In the summer of August Mayor Michael Nutter enforced a curfew on the children of Philadelphia 18 and younger. The curfew restrictions are 10:00 p.m. for those under 13 10:30 p.m. for those 13 to 17 years old Sunday through Thursday and 12:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. If the curfew was violated parents would be contacted and will receive a fine from $100 to $300 for first violation and will face time in custody. The curfew was enforced because of the youth of Philadelphia is out at unreasonable hours "flash mobbing". There have been several incidents where the "flash mob" has assaulted people randomly out of pure ignorance. Not only is Mayor Nutter holding the children responsible he's holding their parents saying in one interview (to parents) "it is your responsibility to know where they are, what they are doing and who they are with. They are your children. You need to raise them. You are responsible for them." Parents will be fined and can face time in jail because of what their child committed and if parents did not come pick their child up the Department of Human Services and the parent could be taken to court for other violations, including neglect of their child. Towards the end of August the curfew was strictly enforced that minors 18 and younger have to be the house by 9 pm.

 

I am lobbying against the curfew in Philadelphia because I feel as though every minor has to suffer the consequences because of what a group of kids continue to do. I am 17 teen years old and I have never been apart of a "flash mob" and there are many other teens that have not been apart of one also. I like to go downtown to restaurants, parks and concerts.  And I can no longer enjoy myself in the city of Philadelphia because I can get arrested for violating curfew. I also have a job and the curfew makes it very hard for me to transport to work.

 

I do not think that the curfew should be completely canceled but I think the older teens should not have to be restricted to certain things.


 

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/video?id=8304098




Screen Shot 2011-10-16 at 8.08.32 PM
Screen Shot 2011-10-16 at 8.08.32 PM

Lobbying For Better Schools In Philadelphia

    Children are the future and as such should be treated with the utmost respect and guided with discipline.  However this is a difficult task.  Children are changing but the methods of which they are dealt with have not.  Schools aren’t as stimulating the minds of the youngsters nor are the extra curricular activities provided.

    In relatively recent years access to information has rose exponentially.  What a child can get from a teacher, a text book, or even his or her parent is only a mouse click away.  This can can and has caused many children to develop authority issues.  With children knowing more than the people set to teach them there is very little left for them to use to differentiate themselves from adults.  They start to see themselves as equals to adults and some times police or other law enforcement officers.

Lobbying For Better Schools In Philadelphia

    Children are the future and as such should be treated with the utmost respect and guided with discipline.  However this is a difficult task.  Children are changing but the methods of which they are dealt with have not.  Schools aren’t as stimulating the minds of the youngsters nor are the extra curricular activities provided.

    In relatively recent years access to information has rose exponentially.  What a child can get from a teacher, a text book, or even his or her parent is only a mouse click away.  This can can and has caused many children to develop authority issues.  With children knowing more than the people set to teach them there is very little left for them to use to differentiate themselves from adults.  They start to see themselves as equals to adults and some times police or other law enforcement officers.

Lobbying Topic-Benchmark

 

Philadelphia which is a corrupted city, is experiencing major problems which seems all connected to each other. Education, Poverty and Crime are three major problems that are going on in our community. Our crime rates keep increasing by a humungous amount and why? I believe it has a lot to do with educating our youth and poverty issues. Many teenagers don’t value education and one of the reasons is the household they live in.

Have you ever heard of the motto, “Education starts at home.”?  Many people disagree with that statement, but I agree.  Teens who grew up in a household where parents do not push education or aren’t as strict as most parents are about education don’t value education as much as he/she should. Teens, who live in poverty, turn to violence and selling drugs to make money because that’s the easy way out. The same teens who doesn’t value education and don’t have money get involved into the wrong things.

Many people around Philadelphia are sick of the violence that goes on in our community and are creating organizations to prevent this and to have people come out and talk to our youth about how serious this situation is. Plenty of organizations are trying to create more after school activities and other major events to keep teens and everyone.

Our city is trying to control our youth by setting curfews but I realized that is only in effect during the safer parts of Philly. Living in South Philly, nothing has changed and no curfews were enforced. Without police enforcing laws in every part of Philadelphia, how do they expect teens to take them seriously? If we have more people stand up instead of just letting things happen, if we have parents be a parent and actually take care of a responsibility and to have our officials make sure laws are set for every section and part of Philadelphia, I believe it’ll be a huge change.

 

Martinez v. Ryan

My SCOTUSblog case was Martinez v. Ryan case. Some background information on this case is that Martinez is serving 2 consecutive sentences for having sex with a person under the age of 15. Martinez filed for a direct appeal with the help of a state appointed counsel. But the Arizona Supreme Court denied him.
The question is if the the prisoners have the right to argue that their lawyers were inadequate during post-conviction proceedings, does the the defendant have a right to appointed counsel during that proceeding? Or in other words he has a right to an effective assistance of post-conviction counsel in raising his ineffective-assistance-of-trial-counsel claim. Martinez knows he has this right so he is trying to get an appeal so that things may be reconsidered. Arizona is arguing the whole right to counsel or lack there of as an opinion and that recognition should have been made prior to of the fact that the counsel was ineffective. In my opinion I don't think they will rule in his favor because it seems as though their mind is already made up. But I think that they will at least consider the constitution but still decide against it and go with the state's rules. This case is still pending. 

SCOTUS Case :Douglas v. The Independent Living Center Of Southern California


I was assigned to following the case "Douglas v. The independent Living Center of Southern California". in California there is a tight financial situation and one of the states larger  expense is Healthcare. As a result in 2008 and 2009 the state cut 1-10% of the Medi - Cal reimbursement budget .The main topic (question/concern) of "Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern California" is  not the legality of the actual cuts to the health care budget. It is whether or not the healthcare beneficiaries and providers can sue the state for not meeting the required reimbursement rates.
Medicaid is  federally funded healthcare that reimburses healthcare providers for servicing individuals who qualify. If a state chooses accept federal funding it is mandatory  that the state  give out a reasonable amount of money to medicare providers, If not the funding for healthcare for the state will be shut down.
Medicaid providers and recipients in California attempted  to sue the state  to prevent budget cuts. The healthcare providers are using the  Supremacy Clause , which basically states that federal law trumps state law. If the state is not following the federal law then the state can be sued under there Ex Parte Young , which would allow the state to be sued for acting in a unconstitutional manner .
The case reached the Supreme Court in October of 2011. The defense has made a point that if this is allowed federal agencies will be bombarded with other cases thats are also arguing that the state is not following the federal law. Making it difficult for them to handle anything but the cases.The prosecution responded saying they had no intention of doing this they just simply wanted to make sure they are allowed to exercise their rights to fight.
A decision has not been reach as of yet. The Supreme Court is expected to have a final ruling  sometime next year. The case is not expected to rule in favor of the people and providers  of the California medicare system. Personally I do not expect to see them come out completely successful either because the defense most laws likely correct when they said that other organizations or people will also try and sue the, state arguing that it has acted unconstitutionally. If the state has acted as such it should be handled fairly and not given a final ruling under the impression that if it as allowed it will only bring chaos. Sadly the case will most likely be given a ruling with future cases in mind.Therefore not allowing these organizations to sue the state.

Lobbying For: Council Votes 15-2 to OK sick-leave bill; veto chances unclear

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/20111014_Council_votes_15-2_to_OK_sick-leave_bill__veto_chances_unclear.html

With the economy today I know we are trying to save money and be as resourceful as possible with our money. Recently introduced by Wilson Goode Jr. the council voted on what is being called the Ok sick-leave bill, which is basically saying that when you are sick and cannot come into work you should be payed for that day. Some people such as Brian O'Neil feel that this is not fair because you should be payed only fot the work that you do, and some people such as Bill Greenlee and Darrell Clarke which were two men who had the bill sick-leave measure but did not get the the council enough votes to override Mayor Nutter veto they also felt as though if you feel your sick you can't work but you still need to get payed so why not just pay them. I feel as though you should be payed on a sick day, the reason being is that for one thing when you are sick you do not work as efficiently as you would if you were in good health, another thing is if you come into the work place sick and their sickness is contagious that will spread to other workers and now instead of having one person call out at a time you have three or four people calling out at a time. Today we look at things through one lens we and we see the money money money issue but we fail to realize that we need people humans to make this money and as a human at one point or another you are going to get sick and you are going to need a break, but why be punished for something that is out of your control. There has not been any final decisions made on the case so far but the are going to keep trying to get the bill passed and have the votes override the mayoral vote or veto so that they can pass this bill and hopefully for once not only look for the money in things but realize that sometimes we have to remember that as a government we put them in place to have things in order and be able to make decisions fo us the people.


images-1
images-1

Electoral College Reform.

For my lobbying project I will be lobbying against the electoral college. The electoral college is a compromise between election of the president by Congress and election by popular vote. The people of the United States vote for the electors who then vote for the President. I feel like we the people should be able to vote on who we want to represent us and our votes should be the actual reasons the candidate is put into The White House. If there are any opponents of allowing our votes to be the actual deciding votes of our president and representatives would be candidates who usually win or get higher votes from the electoral college. I think the people who vote would be the main supporters of my topic because they can feel like their votes are being counted and their voice is being heard for what they actually have to say.

The pending legislation dealing with The Electoral College is the:

H.J.Res.36 - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to abolish the Electoral College and provide for the direct election of the President and Vice President by the popular vote of all citizens of the United States regardless of place of residence.

I believe this can really help my lobbying topic because with this and the graphs and explanations that let people know exactly how their votes are being used and counted if counted at all will really make people stop and think twice about whether or not they agree with the electoral college. 





voting-booth
voting-booth

SLA Playwrights Shine!!

Numerous SLA students won awards in the Philadelphia Young Playwrights Annual Playwriting Festival!

Congratulations to Manna-Symone Middlebrooks for winning first place!! Her play will be performed at Temple November 3rd-5th. Click here to get a free ticket. (Also, check out the picture of Gina Dukes on the front page!)

Congratulations also to Aja Wallace, Martha Robles, Maddie Walls, Taylor Stover, and Bernicia Guercio for their awards. Look for their names to appear shortly on the Philadelphia Young Playwrights website (link above).

Click here to see all these play, videos, and other examples of amazing work students did last year during their World History class.

Curfew Lobbying: Bettering Philadelphia Curfew Laws

I am lobbying to change the curfew in Philadelphia. I am not 100% for the curfew but I am not against it neither. Personally, the curfew laws is not a bad idea but there needs to be some adjustments. I feel like it’s a bit crazy for the curfew for those under 18 is 9pm. Me personally, on Saturdays, I attend a program called Teenshop which lasts until 1pm. From there I have to go home in which I will arrive about 1:45pm then from there, I have house cleaning I must do before I think about going anywhere. Around 6:30ish, I am done cleaning and if I plan to go somewhere, it’ll take me about a hour to get ready and when I finally do get out of the house, I have to come right back inside? That’s ridiculous. I feel like we should go back to regular curfew laws but raise the fine if children are caught out past 12:00am. I find that pretty fair because for one, if kids are given an extra mile, the consequences should be more severe if they take advantage of the scenario. I feel like the main supporters of my idea would be teenagers under the age of 18 who more than likely really wish to be outside beyond 9:00pm but my opponents would be the mayor, police and many adults. There isn’t any pending legislation dealing with my topic but I would like to see a way to make these laws fair. I mean yes, I understand how terrible our youth has been in recent years but should the entire generation be punished for the wrong doings of the few? I hope soon that there’s a lot of discussion about raising the curfew fine but going back to previous curfew laws.

Caraco v. Novo Nordisk

The Case I was giving was Caraco vs. Novo Nordisk
which will be argued December 5, 20ll 
Dockett Number: 10-844

Caraco v. Novo Nordisk: 

Summarization- basically the argument stems from whether or not a generic drug making company can sue for having another company for making the name brand version of that exact drug without the prior knowledge of the FDA.

Constitutional issue: Commerce clause; which says that "no person shall introduce or deliver for introduction into interstate commerce any new drug unless with an approval.


From the Scotus Blog: 


Whether a generic drug manufacturer may sue the company that produces the brand-name version of the drug to require it to correct information filed with the Food and Drug Administration, information that is relevant to the agency's decision whether to approve the generic version of the drug.


With this case it looks at whether states can legally sell drugs under a different name in a different state without The Food and Drug Administration knowing anything about the effects of granting the state the right to sell the product in pharmacy stores or over the counter.

Reynold Vs. US.

 

 

 

Issue: Does petitioner have standing to challenge the Attorney General's interim rule making the requirements of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act retroactively applicable to those who committed their underlying offenses prior to its enactment date?

 

 

The case I was given was Reynolds vs. Us, and the case went before the Supreme Court on October 3, 2011. The constitutional question surrounding the case is does Mr. Reynolds have standing under the reading of the S.O.R.N.A. statute to raise claims concerning the attorney general's Interim rule. As well as does S.O.R.N.A. Violate the Constitution and should this Court hear Billy Joe Reynolds' case to resolve conflicting court opinions concerning the commerce clause, the ex post facto clause and due process?

            If you’re wondering what S.O.R.N.A its sex offender registration and notification act which is Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248). SORNA requires sex offenders to register and notify the United States. To summarize the case, “Billy Joe Reynolds became a convicted sex offender Missouri in 2001 and sentenced to imprisonment.  Upon his release in 2005, he registered under Missouri law and subsequently updated and verified his registration as required by Missouri law. In November 2007, Reynolds was charged and indicted with violating SORNA’s registration requirements after he moved to Pennsylvania without updating his registration. Reynolds tried to dismiss the indictment saying that the Attorney General’s rule violated the APA. The district court denied the motion, and Reynolds entered a conditional plea, reserving the right to appeal the denial of his motion to dismiss.  The Third Circuit affirmed, ruling that SORNA’s registration requirements applied to pre-enactment offenders by their own force, even without the additional rule by the Attorney General.” Above was quoted from the scouts blog.” To put this into plain language Reynolds committed a sex crime before the SORNA ruling was enacted but section 1613(d) of the act says the attorney general has the authority to say whether and how the requirements apply to sex offenders that committed crimes before the act was created. The only problem with this is that Reynolds argues that this means that the Attorney General gets to say whether they apply at all.  He also claims that the second clause contradicts the language of the first clause. It give the attorney general the authorization to prescribe rules meaning the attorney general get to say how they are applied.

            The government/ court argues that the plain language of SORNA’s registration requirements means that all sex offenders, including pre-enactment offenders, must register.  The court also argues that it says that SORNA’s delegation to the Attorney General to is just to establish how it applies. The registration requirements further suggests that the SORNA’s requirements apply by their own force. The court also argues that the case is temporary and unimportant because this only applies to a small amount of sex offender that committed crimes before the act. And even after the ruling, either way, won’t affect the ability of pre-enforcement offenders to challenge registration requirements under SORNA.

            The decision has not yet been made on the case although I feel like its more than likely that the court will not rule in the favor of Reynolds