Speech and Debate Team at State Qualifiers

The SLA Speech and Debate team sent two entries to PHSSL state championship qualifiers at LaSalle College High School last Saturday.
Senior captains Lydia Anderson and Tigidankay Saccoh competed in Public Forum Debate, while junior Nzinga Suluki took third place in Oral Interpretation of Prose. 
Nzinga is now the District 11 Alternate to the State Championship tournament on March 16th and 17th.
Lydia had already auto-qualified for the tournament in Impromptu Speaking, while Tigidankay is similarly auto-qualified for Congressional Debate in the House of Representatives.

Minimum Wage in Pennsylvania

Did you know that the minimum wage in America is $7.25 an hour? Meaning that you make just over $15,000 a year for 2080 hours of work. And in Philadelphia, that is nowhere near the estimated minimum amount needed to live off of. According to the Huffington Post, you would need to make just under $60,000 to support a family in Philadelphia and $15,000 certainly isn’t enough. America ranks 11th in the world for the highest minimum wage according to OECD. Australia's minimum wage is over $15 an hour and 80% of the country makes over 5% more than the minimum wage.

The 2017 minimum wage by state in the United States. Pennsylvania is tied with many other states for the lowest minimum wage.


Pennsylvania is 1 of 3 states who host one of the 10 largest cities in America who have the minimum possible wage. When growing up and going to inter-city schools, I notice how some kids can’t go out with their friends, because they don’t have the money to. The government is limiting the amount of money people can make, and it is causing children to be unhappy with their lives. Everybody deserves to spend time with their friends, to go get pizza or see a movie.

Chart of the current minimum wage and the future of the US minimum wage. Source: US Gov.

When a father figure isn’t around, it is difficult to support a family when you have to take care of your children and also work. According to The Heritage Foundation, 4.2% of minimum wage workers are single parents. That is around 2 million people in the US.



Annotated Bibliography: here

Safe Sex in Philadelphia (or lack thereof)

A teenager in the United States is likely to experiment sexually at some point before adulthood. While perfectly natural and fun, if preventative measures are not taken against STDs, STIs, or pregnancies, embarrassing and possibly threatening ailments can change teenager’s life forever. There are so many things that can be done to prevent something like this from happening. I want to highlight this exact point throughout my project, and make prevention an easy thing to do.  I am interested in the subject of safe sex awareness because of the fact that if you are still in highschool, you should NOT be in a situation where you have a child, or need to deal with an unflattering illness for years on end. That is something a student should never need to worry about!

Image result for diagram
In this diagram, it is illustrated that Philadelphia has a large amount of STDs, when compared to other cities. Philly has a very high rate of both gonorrhea and chlamydia.

I have zero personal connection to this topic. The people I know that do choose to have sex usually do it safely, and make it a casual and not unusual thing. I admire this, because I feel like there is a weird stigma towards safe sex, or rather, having to worry about putting a condom on, having  a conversation, or making sure you’re ready before sex. It matters to me that this stigma is wiped away, and replaced by an enthusiasm to be safe! That being said, it is important for teenagers to realize that it is essential to take precautions and be careful before, during, and after sex.


Within the various resources I explored, I grimaced at the various statistics, stories, and other sources that ultimately paint a disgusting portrait of chlamydia, different pregnancy rates between races, and infertility. The CDC reported in 2015 that 229,715 children were born to 15-19 year old women. While actually being lower than previous years, the CDC incidentally reports that that the U.S has a “teen pregnancy rate [which is] substantially higher than other western industrialized nations”. While unwanted teen pregnancy certainly affects the individual, it’s essential to consider how the people living among this problem go through. The CDC has also reported that “teen pregnancy and childbirth accounted for at least $9.4 billion in costs to U.S. taxpayers for increased health care and foster care, increased incarceration rates among children of teen parents, and lost tax revenue because of lower educational attainment and income among teen mothers.” Pregnancy and STIs can be avoided using multiple tools and dialogue. There are multiple tools (condoms, lubricant, dental dams, etc.) that make sex between you and another person safer, and more comfortable.

Conversation and preparation before sex, albeit awkward, can make sex easier, and possibly less harmful. Many agree that even though it may be weird to talk about wearing condoms, or using other measures to prevent STDs, it is better than a possible lifetime of embarrassment from an STD.  (image gathered from this source).


To conclude,  throughout my research, my pre-obtained knowledge of the subject I decided to dive into was added on by facts I had no idea were true! Who knew that race, economic status, and other factors contribute to pregnancy statistics? Prevention is a very easy thing to accomplish with you and  sexual partner. When you take the precautions needed before sex, both you and your partners are safer as a result.

Such as the ones included in this photo, there are many ways to use birth control. Often, you can find condoms or other methods to prevent pregnancy/STDs for free in school, or outside location.


Transphobia in America

A sensitive social issue in America is Transphobia. For clarification Transphobia is “intense dislike of or prejudice against transsexual or transgender people” by word of the dictionary. My goal in learning about this topic is to educate myself about a community I am surrounded by. The reason I leached to this social issue is because I am a Transgender male. I find this topic underrated and I want to open it up to the world more. Although my topic is centered to a specific group of people, it connects everyone in a different way. These people are apart of family, have friends, are someone’s coworker or partner. Events that occur to trans people effect others lives and emotions.

Ever since the precidency of Donald Trump sprung on the United States, hate towards groups of individuals has become more exposed due to the bravery our presdient gives to people who spill hate speech. In 2016 after Trump was elected the rate of hate crimes went up by 300. Since January 2017 at least twenty-five transgender individuals have been killed, 80% are transgender people of color, the most ever reported. The Trump administration has continued to put public attacks on the transgender community including his attempt to ban transgender people from the military.

The first reported transgender death of 2017 was on January 4th, Mesha Caldwell was a fourty-four year old African American woman who was a hair and makeup artist. She was shot to her death on a Mississippi road. Her murder is still being investigated to this very day but this is seems to be a trend among the other twenty-four deaths that have occured since 2017. Since the beginning of 2018 at least four trangender people have been shot or killed by any other violent means.  There is 1.6 million to 2.8 million homeless youth in the United states, twenty to forty precent of those children are trangender youth. More than 1 in 10 trandgender people are evicted from their homes. When seeking for a homeless shelter most do not have LGBT friendly communities and supplies. 22% of homeless transgender people are assulted while staying at shelters. The ignorance to the community has been recognized and several people have made their own shelter specifically for LGBTQ people and if not they are open to making theirs LGBTQ friendly. For example, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has promoted and created educational rescources for serving LGBTQ youth.

Sexual abuse is a big factor in most LGBTQ people’s lives. 47% of transgender people are sexually assualted during some point in their life. One in two transgender people are sexaully abused or assulted. Transgender youth and Transgender people are color are more commonly sexually abused than anyone. 13% of African American transgender people are sexually assaulted in their work place.  

My research has impacted my thoughts on this social situation because I always knew hate crimes occured but I never thought about how frequently they occur. Social actions to handle this problem occur all the time, including, awareness on social media, protests and contributing at local activist centers. Hate crimes transpire every day but its up to the youth to set a path of equality and freedom of speech for the generation after us. It’s up to you if you take part.

annotated bibliography






Violent deaths of transgender people throughout the years
Violent deaths of transgender people throughout the years

Why are colleges so expensive?

Why are colleges so expensive?

Click here for more info.

This graph shows how colleges are getting more and more expensive over the years.



Colleges are so expensive these days. It’s one of the main reasons to why some people don’t or can’t go to college. But it doesn’t make any sense. If elders are always trying to tell you to get a good education, then why is education so expensive? I have a personal connection to this topic because I am hoping to eventually go to college. Also, my sister is in college and she is struggling to pay for college. It’s important to know because almost everyone wants to go to college and get a good education. Colleges are really expensive.  But why? It’s because colleges know a few things according to Andrew Jenson. They know that you need college more than college needs you. Colleges are also trying to compete with each other at all times. So when one not so famous college goes up the famous colleges like Drexel and MIT goes up to look better.

Another reason college is so expensive is that they need to pay for a lot of things, from staff and building says Wendover Productions.  Paying the right staff for things kids are interested in means more money. When a new popular major comes in, the college has to spend lots of money to find a good professor to teach that major. So money is used to get professors. Professors are used to attract students. And students are used to get more money. Also, the colleges want to attract students with a nice building. The bigger and more attractive the building, the more expensive the building is to make so colleges need to cover that cost. Lastly, there is Federal and State money. Federal and State money helps colleges cover the cost.But with less federal and state money the more students have to pay.

click here for more info.

This graph shows that inflation is a big reason on why colleges are so expensive. Also, it rises much higher than any other thing like house prices.



Some countries like Germany, Sweden, and Norway have free college. You're probably wondering how the college makes money. Well the college isn’t completely free says Abby Jackson. Colleges get money from taxes. But paying a little more on taxes is still better than paying thousands of dollars as a student. Now I’m not saying that that college should be free in America.

Anya Kamenetz and Eric Westervelt say that free college would not work in America like it does in Germany. In the article it does say that, “There's rising concern that this debt is stopping young people from buying homes, starting families or businesses, saving for their futures and generally being launched into their lives.” But the difference is that Germany has much fewer people going to college than the US, so free college wouldn’t work that well. All im saying is that colleges shouldn’t be that expensive. In 1980, one year of college was $10,200 dollars. But in 2016 it’s around $32,000. That’s three times as much. I believe colleges should be way more cheaper, especially since education is really important. By not going to college, you are possibly missing out on half a million dollars.  I hope that by learning more about this topic, I can find sway to make colleges cheaper for middle-class  middle class and lower class students.

The War on Violence

The War on Violence

Here is a word cloud of gang violence. Image source

Imagine hearing gunshots not blocks away your own home. For some people this is an everyday occurrence. Gangs are organized social groups who commit crimes. Some gangs partake in violence to receive social status, partake in theft, vandalism, murder, etc… to receive respect from their gang members that they probably haven’t received or earned in their own lives. Gangs are very passionate about respect, so passionate that they will do anything to protect their own members or their turf, this is where the violence part comes in. Out of passion, gangs inflict violence on each other to maintain respect. Not only is this problematic because of the deaths it is causing in gangs, but it is also harming innocent people who might just be pedestrians or bystanders. This issue is growing, because now it is affecting whole neighborhoods and branding them as “bad” or dangerous neighborhoods. This leaves a bad reputation on the neighborhood, the people who live in the neighborhood, and the entire city.


This is a photo of the streets of Kensington. Image source

I live in Kensington, gang violence is a huge problem there. I have a personal connection to gang violence because it could affect the way I live or harm me. Not only me but my friends, family, and neighbors could all suffer from gang violence. I don’t want to see my neighborhood have a bad reputation or be dangerous. My neighborhood isn’t the only neighborhood with this problem. People need to be informed if they want to be safe or to have a positive effect on their neighborhood. Making a change to make your neighborhood a safer place is not hard. You can make a change in a big way or small way. It is important to have safe living conditions for our generation growing up and the next generation to come.

















Poster against gang violence. Image source

Gang violence is something that has a long history. Sadly there is a lot of facts to back it up. A statement from USLegal says that “Gang violence means criminal and non political acts of violence committed by a group of people who regularly engage in criminal activity against innocent people.” This source is a negative towards gangs but it can still be true. This means that gangs can and do that stuff. That it why it is important to be aware and be safe. Another statement from NCBI says “During childhood and adolescence, the formation of groups or gangs is a normal part of the growing process. Playmates, school friends, Boy and Girl Scout troops are each examples of the natural inclination to form group attachments that provide a stable social outlet.” this source is important because it is explaining how gangs start and what to look out for. It is important to be educated in subjects like gang violence which are very dangerous and can affect your safety and security.














Poster for victims who suffered violence. Image source

Through extensive research about gang violence, I have concluded that gang violence is not just a two-sided topic. Gang violence is something that has been completely stereotyped, but stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason. I do not understand the pride that gangs need to maintain. I question the reliability of the opinions of those who are not victims of gang violence or gang members. Going forward in research I hope to find a simple way to improve this solution.


Annotated Bibliography


Wildlife Preservation

In Africa, African Wild Dogs used to range to 500,000 in 39 countries. But now because of issues like roadkill and destroying habitats, there are only thought to be about 6,600 left. Seeing that big of a change in the world is quite upsetting, especially when there are tons of other endangered animals out there. Just from seeing those few sentences I can tell that there are some people who would already like to read more into this topic and how much of an impact this has in the world.

Personally I feel connected to this topic because I love animals. I know it seems like such a basic thing to say but it’s really is true. I haven’t had any real pets besides from a turtle if that counts but if or whenever I see a pet in public I take any chance I can to pet them and be all over them. I think this topic on endangered animals and protecting their habitats is something others should know because besides from them being needed for loving and caring for, but as a source of inspiration. From what I heard from The Wildlife Conservation, protecting animals and their habitats lets us protect the planet as a whole. There are so many things that we can still learn about them. Plus, they haven't done anything to us, there just species living on the Earth same as us. So there's no reason to hurt the space they live in in any way, shape, or form.


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Now, for those wondering what some of the issues going around are, there's a lot. But I picked out some of the worst ones I saw. Starting with small wild cats very little is known about them but that's what makes it much of a problem. Of all the unique different types of animals out there if you can’t say much for just a simple cat then there's the problem right there. But from what was gathered these small cats are being threatened by loss of habitats, killing, and conflicts with humans, livestock and domestic animals. They can be found in parts of South America, Asia, and Europe.

Image result for ethiopian wolf


Moving onto another animal that is in need of help is the Ethiopian Wolf. These wolves are one of the rarest and most endangered canid in the world so that on it’s own speaks for itself. But ironically another thing that stops the wolves from thriving is the growth of the human population. With more and more humans in the Ethiopian highlands it forces the wolves out only into domestic dogs that carry diseases. As a result of these diseases three out of four of the wolves die. Now with only 500 left to remain in the wilds of Ethiopian people want to do anything they can to find a place for these animals and to get them treated for their diseases.

In conclusion I think that people should take the time to look around and start seeing issues in life that they should be more aware of. From all the research I was able to do I feel like it has really changed my view on how animals have to struggle to survive. If there was anything I could do in order to help out in any way I would do it. I think I would start with donating money to the Wildlife Conservation Network just to any animal I can. As I dig more into this matter I don’t really know what I hope to find but whatever I do find I'll be sure to have all the info down.

Don't Drink Poopy Water

Nobody likes poopy water so I wanted to know how to avoid being in the situation where I have to drink the poopy water. So for the you and the word project, I am focusing on green vs grey infrastructure, and how all of the bigger cities have outdated sewage systems and pipes. It’s a really big problem that I had no idea about. Throughout the states the storm water management is mostly comprised of pipes that lead to bigger pipes or “grey infrastructure.” This is only a problem when there's just a little too much rain for the sewers to handle. So when that happens there is a backup which causes the mixed waste and rain water to overflow into the water sources. Just a reminder that's where we get our our drinking water from. This is a big enough of a issue for the EPA to address it., and so , that gave the cities some time to fix it. Philly, in particular is very far ahead in our green infrastructure with green roofs and  other things like that to help slow down the stormwater runoff as much as possible. The Philadelphia Water Department (PGW) has great explanations of their visions that they have for the city that you can check out here.


philly green roof concepts- https://technical.ly/philly/2011/06/06/city-of-philadelphia-sets-sights-on-the-most-comprehensive-network-of-green-infrastructure-in-country/
philly green roof concepts- https://technical.ly/philly/2011/06/06/city-of-philadelphia-sets-sights-on-the-most-comprehensive-network-of-green-infrastructure-in-country/

The general idea of green infrastructure is pretty simple actually. We all know that plants are living things, and they consume water just like we do. So green infrastructure is just using that to slow down the stormwater, not necessarily to catch it all in the soil, more like giving the sewers enough time so the storm water can get through without overflowing everything. It’s really smart if you think about it because usually it only rains hard for 5 or 10 minutes. With grey infrastructure the sewers will overflow pretty quickly but that wouldn’t happen with green infrastructure. The plants would soak in and hold up the water long enough so that the water that fell onto the streets and roofs can get down the drain fine without overflowing. Then the water in then soil will get released and there would be no problem with there being too much water for the sewer to handle.


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http-planphilly-com-sites-planphilly-com-files-gray_to_green_0-jpg.752.337.s
CSO_diagram_US_EPA
CSO_diagram_US_EPA

Although bad drinking water can be disgusting and undesirable from the city you live in, that's not the only problem caused by stormwater overflow. The other big one in cities would be flooding streets from extreme backups in the sewer. Other than that there can be really bad for outcomes for wildlife around the area or even downstream. Wanting to improve the city's stormwater management for our purposes is a perfectly good reason but there are other life forms suffering from polluted water coming into the city's watershed. The Delaware river is Philly's watershed, meaning we use it for our drinking water but it is also home to other living animals. The Delaware river is one of the most polluted rivers. Most of the pollution comes from dumping toxic chemicals in waterways that lead to the river but other than that when the sewers overflow with the waste water that is also going into the river.

For some more information, annotated bibliography: do a click


Bodies Are Not For Sale

When this project was introduced, I knew I was meant to choose child sex trafficking. There was one class in English in 7th grade that made it so. We watched a documentary called Very Young Girls where my teacher knew a lady who helped with the program that was shown in the documentary. The documentary took about two class periods to finish and afterwards, we had two projects pertaining to this topic. In the project we focused mainly on African American exploited girls. This time, I wanted to show statistically how many and what kinds of children are prostituted in the United States. I found the information presented horrifying, but what really spoke to me was what little was being done to help these children. Many children are arrested for prostitution, and many go right back to doing it after being freed. Officials may think that because they return to that life, then they want to be there, but Very Young Girls shined a light of what mentally goes on in the child's head. The documentary focused on about 7 different girls stories, so they can’t really speak for the entire population, but here is what I've gathered.


  • Pimps are very persistent

  • They look for girls who are most vulnerable and need help.

  • It's better for a pimp to take a low-profile girl because nobody will come looking for them

  • Once he’s helped you out of whatever problems you have, then he starts to force you to go out on corners and help him with his business.

  • Many girls feel like they owe their pimp something because he gave them what their parents couldn’t  

  • They help him because they think that if they don’t, then he will leave them and they will go back to being homeless, or unwanted in their homes, or whatever the case may be.Related image

  • Many Pimps also threaten them saying that they would find them wherever they are and kill them if they ever leave.

  • They don’t see a way out. So they stay.  

  • After leaving a life where you are sold 4-6 times a day, it’s very hard to adjust.



Like I said, these points are just some things I thought of while watching the documentary. It may not necessarily be what you gathered. In addition, these are points from many different stories, not just the account of one girl.

Once I refreshed my memory on what I saw in seventh grade, I started to do even more research on a broader plane. I looked into a Huffington Post blog which more or so focused on the statistics and found that there are 2 million children are victims of child sex trafficking each year across the globe and 300,000 of those kids are in America. America still isn’t the most common place for children to be trafficked. Children are constantly being pursued by predators. They showed that there are many online predators looking for children. The blog states, “ The number of children being contacted by sexual predators online is disturbing and astounding at the same time. Approximately one out of every seven children is sexually contacted, or solicited, by a predator while online.” The documentary showed girls that were pursued in person at random times in the day, but this blog shows that there are many other ways that predators hunt for kids and they are relentless.


Furthermore, I decided to get information on the type of kids predators look for. I looked into the website Thorn, which is devoted to teaching people about various problems in the world. I found there study on child sex trafficking and found some interesting statistics. Kids who are homeless or runaways, LGBTQ, African American or Latino, and youth interacting with the child welfare system are more vulnerable to this type of exploitation. 52% of child arrests relating to prostitution are African American Children. Runaways and homeless kids are at an even greater risk of being exploited. 25% of children sampled for a survey admitted that they felt the need to trade sex for money or food. In another study, 86% of the children were in the care of social services or foster care. These statistics support some of my findings from the documentary because they show that low profile children are at a higher risk for child sex prostitution.


Afterwards, I looked into the impact of child sex trafficking physically and mentally on the exploited children. I read through a article on a site called Ark of Hope for Children. Where I looked specifically into the section titled Physical and Mental Consequences of Trafficking for Victims. Victims of child sex trafficking struggle significant problem, physically and mentally. Of course, the physical comes from having sex involuntarily many times daily. They may catch STDs, pelvic pains, rectal pains, and urinary difficulties. Mentally, they can suffer from a variety of problems. Depression, self-hate, shame, eating disorders, PTSD, fear, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, drug addiction and many more. Prostitution is ruining the lives of thousands of children. during and many years after the crimes are committed. Related image

Also, in the documentary, the girls who spoke out about how their lives were like were all apart of this program called G.E.M.S which stands for Girls Educational and Mentoring Services. This program had directors who really cared about the girls and wanted to really help them out of their situation. So went to their official site. They’re purpose is to empower girls and women, ages 12-24, who have been victims of sex trafficking and help them exit the commercial sex industry. They are centered in New York state. The founder is Rachel Lloyd who started this program in 1998 because she had been sexually exploited as a teenager and she wanted to help others like her. They want to focus on building girls up and showing them that they are beautiful and have potential for future success.


For more information and research, click here for my annotated bibliography

Trouble in Ecuador


I spent the first four years of my life in the country of Ecuador. When I was younger I thought that Ecuador was this amazing country that had no problems at all, but as I got older I realized this was not the case.  I go back to Ecuador almost every summer, and every time without fail, I will always see a story on the news about companies take resources from the Amazon Rainforest. companies take the wood, oil etc. and ruin the whole ecosystem for the animals and indigenous people that live there.

Ecuador is a very ecologically diverse country. Ecuador is split into 3 terrains the Sierra, the Amazon jungle and the coast. All these places are rich with natural resources. Since Ecuador is rich with many natural resources, they trade with many countries all over the world. Ecuador has sold about 11.3 (1) billion dollars in non oil exports. One of the biggest exports from Ecuador is Oil. With about 8 billion barrels of crude oil in the reserve, Ecuador has the third (2) largest reserve of any South American country.

With oil being such a big part of the economy since the 1970’s  there are many companies trying to profit off this business. Some of these business include Petroecuador, Chevron and Texaco.  Most of the oil in Ecuador is located in the Orient.  The Orient is also home to many indigenous people. These communities (3) include Kichwas, Shuar, Achuar, and Cofán. The constant drilling of oil has affected these communities profusely.

There have been statements (4)  by natives about Chevron's impact on their towns that are horrendous.“Many people in our community now have red stains on their skin and others have been vomiting and fainting. Some little children have died because their parents did not know they should not drink the river water."  says a Secoya tribe member as a statement against Chevron. Texaco has dumped 18 (5)  billion gallons of toxic waste into water into the rivers of Ecuador. Not only does this pollution affect millions of people every year, it affects the beautiful wildlife of Ecuador. Animals are drenched in a toxic sludge, fruit is being grown in water that has strong traces of chemicals such as Naphtha and Kerosene. Poisoning anything that consumes it.


    This is a photo of just one of the thousands of toxic pools scattered around the rainforest of Ecuador.


This topic is important currently because of Yasuni National Park. If you did not know, Yasuni is one of (if not) one of the most biodiverse areas in the whole world. It is heavily protected by many organizations. This area has been fracked and extracted since 2015. Just as of February 12th, 6.1 (6) million Ecuadorians voted to reduce exploitation in that area. The bill passed and d'exploitation is now in the works. This is one step on the right path to ending the exploitation of Ecuadorian resources and people.


                                     This is a photo of the diverse Yasuni National Park ]


This injustice of explosion isn’t just one thing happening in Ecuador. There are so many countries that are dealing with the same  issue that Ecuador is dealing with. There are big companies all over the world taking people's land and resources and not paying for it. What we have to do is open our eyes. We need to be look at all these problems and learn to not just ignore them. They may seem big and whatever you do is insignificant. It may sound cliche but no action is too small. Vote for someone you know will stand for the issues you care about, educate yourself about topics that are important in today's society so you are able to have a conversation about it. Find what you are passionate about and fight for it with every fiber of your body.

Writing this made me feel more connected to my home.  I have learned much more about this topic. I want to use all this information and passion to make an actual difference. I know I'm not going to single-handedly take down Chevron in one night, but just starting a conversation and exposing people to this would be amazing.

Before letting you go I would like to give you the link  to my bibliography and the link to a wonderful documentary  about this whole topic.


Just a Loss of 30 Cents

Just A Loss of 30 Cents a Day

Run down buildings in a once what was popular shopping district is now almost destitute-like.

Image Credits


For a country (or kingdom as it was previously called), that was once flourished with royalty and riches has now fallen to one of the most poorest countries in the world. Coming from a family who almost entirely immigrated from Cambodia, the country holds a special place in my heart and it was painful for me to see millions of people living under harsh conditions. This past summer, I myself visited the country for the 4th time in my life, and it was like day and night between America and Cambodia. My family members who live in Cambodia mostly classifies as middle class and I lived with them during my sojourn there. We often traveled and visited family members who were living in poverty in order to support them and give them some basic necessities. One day you’re in the middle of a rich and wealthy neighborhood, and the next you’re struggling to find a running faucet or toilet. It was an experience that I cannot describe having to witness firsthand of people without the normal amenities such as water or food. Some signs were scattered alongside an unmarked path which roughly translates to “DANGER: Landmines ahead. Use extreme caution.” I’ve read about thousands of landmines that are still armed from decades ago, so this did not surprise me at all.  As a child before, I didn’t really understand that much and paid no attention to what people’s social status because you know, children only see vacations as having fun! Now as a 15 year old, (14 at the time of the visit), it breaks my heart to see people live like this. My parents also told me that they had to live like this when they were little and lived in Cambodia. It just all felt surreal and hit a little too close to home.  


Daily, people wait alongside on the road in order to busses or pickup trucks to pick them up for work in a factory. Dozens of these trucks can be on the road at one time, and up to 50 people can be squeezed in on each one, often crowded.

Image Credits


Poverty in America is nothing compared to what poverty in Cambodia is like. Over 70% of the population is classified as “poor” or “near poor”. The situation is so dire that in fact if those people who are classified as “poor” or “near poor” just lost 30 cents from their daily income, then they would fall into extreme poverty. Education quality is one of the biggest reasons to why poverty exists in Cambodia. Even though private schools become more and more affordable, public schools just cannot keep up. In 2014 75% of Cambodia’s high schoolers failed their graduation exam due to inadequate teaching and funding. Another major factor was history of the country itself. It experienced a bloody massacre which killed most highly educated scholars and farmers. Once it ended, the country was left to rebuild but the only people remaining were either children or small-scale farmers. Today, the country relies on textile manufacturing and tourism as its main source of income,but even so, this is not enough to revive the economy on its own as these are two very weak compared to things such as fishing, technology manufacturing and the car industries that are present in big countries such as Australia, Japan and the United States.. There is also a source of income from foreign relief as in 2015, the country received a total of $677 million dollars from foreign aid. Compared to other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, Cambodia does not farewell in terms of employment and the economy itself. Let’s take a look at a poverty map for Cambodia.


Here we can see two maps, one being from 2009 and the other being from 2012. In 2009, almost 70 percent of the country was in the red area which means over 40 percent of households were identified as “poor”. In 2012, the situation improved, with over 45% of the country dropping from red to green, but a large portion of the country still remains in the red.

Image Credits


Now let’s take a look at a comparison bar graph.

Cambodia has the highest poverty rate at 30% with Singapore and Laos coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively. The lowest is Malaysia with just 3.8% of the population being in poverty.

Image Credits


Finally, let’s take a look at where Cambodia stands in education ratings.

Like I said before, education plays a big part in why Cambodia has a lot of poverty. As we can see, Cambodia is ranked 116 out of 146, which is lower than average.  Compared to other SE Asia countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, they just do not fare well with them.

Image Credits


Every day that passes by, that could be tens, hundreds, even thousands of people suffering from the effects of poverty. A staggering 37 percent of all children under the age of 5 suffer from some form of malnutrition. The main question we are looking for here is: Can we save Cambodia from poverty? The answer is yes and no. We can support from relief aids and taking down corruption, but we are only so limited in our power to end poverty in Cambodia. That is up to the government and its people to change themselves. No one deserves to live like this. The government has turned a blind eye to its people, and that is a dangerous place to live in. Extirpating the cause of the problem will help, but won’t solve it completely.


Even in their dark situations, Khmer children always finds a way to smile. One reason I can think of this is because maybe they were taught that everything will be fine or to just be happy. Either way, you can’t just help but smile looking at them.

Image Credits


Ever since I embarked on to that trip, it opened my eyes wider than before and burned the issue into my mind from then to now. It will always be a shadow in my vision until the day that it’s fixed. I plan to be a helping hand in the issue. For me, this IS my community. My international community of Cambodia. Educating others about this issue is something that I hope to accomplish by writing this, and I believe they will have a change in their way of thinking towards Cambodia after this. I am confident that the moment you finish reading this, you are going to do a Google search of Cambodia and learn about its history, photos, and the amazing landscape that it has to offer. Please, help save Kampuchea ( កម្ពុជា)!


Annotated Bibliography


The Dream Act

The Dream Act was first introduced in 2001 but unforntally the bills never came law, until 2010 there is one bill that almost came law but then it came five votes short so it couldn't  become law. What is The Dream Act?... So The Dream Act is about kids that immigrated to the U.S. with their families when they were little kids. On June 2012 young kids received permission to stay in the U.S lawful and they could apply to renew that permission. These permission papers allow immigrants to legally remain in the United States for as long as their expiration date states. Leading organizations in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of immigrants with low income. This changed a number of young immigrants’ lives until Donald Trump made the decision to make the DACA into a 6 month grace period. Meaning that after 6 months you can no longer get a DACA.


Here is picture of students protesting.


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061812_dream_act_reaction_617x347

This topic is really important as a whole because I have a lot of friends that immigrated to the U.S. that have a huge possibility of getting deported. It's not just about my friends, it is also about all these other children that came here for a better future because maybe where they came from they didn't have any schools or they didn't have any good jobs so they couldn't really afford a lot of stuff. There are many reasons why a person would leave their whole family began and come to a whole different country that they don't know anything about. I think people need to know about this because not a lot of people understand the fact the immigrating to the U.S wasn't really their choice, it was their parents, and their parents brought them here because they think if they came here they would have way more chances and have a better future.  

   This issue is really important because the Dreamers (Young migrants) don't really want anything but to follow their dreams and have a good future and make their families proud, and most of them came to the U.S. when they were really little so they don't really know much about their countries, so it's going to be really hard for them to go back to a country they don't really know and start their whole lives from zero. Most importantly this migrant will work 10x harder as people that were just born here because as an immigrant you know what it feels like to not have anything, and you know that being here in America is just a blessing.


Here is another picture od more people protesting to pass The Dream Act.


Since I don't really know everything about The dream act I had to do research. Researching really did help me understand the subject better, but until this day There are still people that prostate and fight to make this a Law. I really wanna continue on this project because this topic is really interesting and it means alot not just to me but to many other people, most of them this topic means the whole world to them. Most importantly this topic is honestly heartbreaking.


Bullying in Schools: The Physical/Mental Struggle

Christopher Jacobs

Orange Stream




Bullying in Schools: The Mental/Physical Struggle


    Bullying in schools is a very serious problem in not just the United States but all over the world. I would know as I personally was a victim of this as in my middle school. Bullying in schools happen mostly in the hallway or staircases with it being 42% of where bullying occurs.When students report bullying the statistics show that of students who reported being bullied, 13% were made fun of, called names, or insulted; 12% were the subject of rumors; 5% were pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on; and 5% were excluded from activities on purpose. This shows a big variety of how people are bullied by others as well, and this isn’t even including cyber bullying as well, which is just as or even more harmful. Now cyberbullying by definition is bullying but in a digital form usually over social media such as Snapchat, Instagram and so much more.




Image result for bullying Here is a picture of modern day bullying where instead of actually helping and is very accurate as I have seen this firsthand.

Taken From “When Bad Behavior Becomes Bullying Behavior” https://www.simplemost.com/difference-between-bad-behavior-bullying/




Bullying is sometimes related to suicide as well and this isn't statistically correct it has happened before. An example of this is Amanda Todd who was a 15-year-old Canadian  girl who after being blackmailed into showing her breasts on a webcam. From there afterwards she was mocked over and over from her classmates and even friends alike because of this. She took her story to youtube and after her suicide the video had gone viral. This story is something that truly shows how horrible bullying is and the type of things that it can lead too. WHile the sad thing is its only one of the thousands of stories of its kind.

Image result for amanda toddA screenshot of the video of amanda Todd´s suicide taken from Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Amanda_Todd





    After seeing this I'm pretty sure you are thinking “man I wish I could do something about all of this” and there's some good news you can actually do something about it. Studies show that 57% of bullying stops when reported by someone meaning that if you see it you can be someone to stop it. Also, studies have shown that anti bullying organizations have helped out as well with a quarter (25%) of bullying stopped due to those! So by donating or even becoming a part of anti bullying associations you can help out someone in dire need!



 Bullying has many effects on people such as things like having lowered self-esteem, not liking  school as much and as a result their attendance rates can go down as well. This can lead to affecting people getting into high schools and colleges which could really kill even the best of students future. Also bullying can lead to anxiety, depression and can also make someone feel weary and suspicious of everyone and can mess up their social life.


I was personally bullied and I can say that from a first-person view this is all true. I have overcome most of the difficulties but I find it I am very self-conscious about my looks and my hair and head due to people always talking about me because of it. Now I could go more into depth on it but that could be whole different story to tell.  I  have gotten over it but it still has had some time that took and made me as a person a lot more shy around people. But this is only 1 side of the spectrum. Bullies usually were bullied at a time or have bad conditions at home or other aspects.Also being a bully has more risks of being a thief or even worse and becoming a criminal in general.



 In conclusion bullying, more specifically in school is a big deal that I feel isn't talked about as much but can have long-lasting effects or even lead to some very bad mental illnesses. There are some things people have tried but this is something I personally think we all should know about



For more information on this topic check out my annotated bibliography:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ir9GL1stvGdU6-QBAzoREZ49DQpITADvoQ2oIMPZYA8/edit?usp=sharing

























Sources:

http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/stats.asp

https://www.stopbullying.gov/media/facts/index.html

Us department of health and human services.

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/impact.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Amanda_Todd

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/impact.aspx