Blog Feed

Create a Post

Lobbying for Curfew- Mustapha Idriss

Posted by Mustapha Idriss in American Government - Laufenberg on
​I plan am lobbying for there to be a strict curfew on teens under the age of 16. There has been an uprising of teen related in our lovely city. Though not teens who re out at night are engaging in such acts, majority are and it is becoming a nuisance to the citizen of the city. Everyone deserves to feel safe in the city when there out to dinner, enjoying a movie, or simply taking a stroll downtown. 

The reason I decided to lobby for this topic is because I have been attacked recently from these "flash mobs" that have been popping up all over the city. Aslo I feel strongly about having that comfort to walk down the street and not feel like they should be watching out for ever little noise. Also it gives teens like me and other teens as well more credibility. Instead of seeing a group of teens and instantly wondering if they so go hide in a store, or if their going to have to run, we should just be accepted as equals in the community. 

To help lobby this topic, I think the idea of more after school activities would benifit both the community and the teens in them. These could be run by schools, recreation centers, or neighborhoods. Teens who have a fun way to outlet all their extra energy, stress, anger are much less likely to run amuck in downtown philadelphia. With this in mind Philadelphia can once again become the great city it was ment to be.
 

Story of a Bill: TSCA

Posted by Sofia Frank-Fischer in American Government - Laufenberg on
This is the story of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, as told by the bill's own diary!

I chose to research the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) because it is so closely related to my lobbying project, which focuses on legislation that, if passed, would replace TSCA. I expected that a deep understanding of the history of TSCA would help me argue for the Clean Chemicals Act of 2011.
TSCA started as an idea by the President's Council on Environmental Quality, and six years later it finally became a law. My research illuminated the many ways in which a bill can fail – because TSCA encountered or almost encountered plenty of failures. It was edited from its original version before it even went to Congress, died in conference committee several times, and was almost subject to a pocket veto. I imagined that TSCA's progression from idea to law would be difficult because of the chemical industries, but was impressed at the scope of the difficulties. Despite all these obstacles, the environmental groups and the concerns of citizens still got the bill through Congress eventually.
The most difficult part of this project for me was how much general information I found. I didn't know what to do with all of it, or how to find more specific facts about moments in the process. I was able to fix this problem by coming up with a method of presentation that restricted what I the information I needed. I chose the format of diary partly because of the specific information it would require (like particular dates and that kind of thing). I also chose the format because it allowed me to highlight the particular failures and accomplishments of TSCA by making up emotions for the bill itself. I had a lot of fun personifying TSCA.
If I had to do this project again, I think I would add in information about other bills, contemporaries of TSCA. There were many bills related to the Toxic Substances Control Act that were in Congress at the same time, and I'd love to explore what TSCA would have thought of those bills and their successes and failures.
sfrankfischer TSCA Diary
sfrankfischer TSCA Diary

Story of a Bill - Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 - Blase Biello

Posted by Blase Biello in American Government - Laufenberg on

Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 on Dipity.

Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 on Dipity.



Both pieces contain the same information, but the top is a timeline and the bottom is a flipbook. 

Use whichever you'd like. The TimeLine is good to put all of the steps into perspective. Also, 
you can adjust the scale by months/years using the slider to the left. 

Reflection:

I chose my bill because I wanted to go into a non-concrete bill. The bill was based around Reagan's "War on Drugs" so I thought it'd be interesting. Also, drugs in the U.S. is a huge problem and I wanted to investigate the U.S.'s first step in stopping the drug problem. I chose the presentation format of a timeline because I wanted the audience to be able to see the time perspective and how long each step took to become completed. The only challenge I had was finding good information on my topic because of how long ago it occurred. But, I had a good website that told me a lot of information, which was the point at which I overcame my challenge. If I had to do the project over again I wouldn't do anything differently because I am completely satisfied with the final project. The research and investigation aspects showed me a lot about the creation process. I used a site that literally told me every step behind the bill and how the name of the act even changed once it was signed by the President. But, it is very interesting to see how many amendments go into the bill when its still going through the House and Senate. The process was not harder than I imagined, the only difficulty came in finding the information and doing the research, but I used a great site that showed me everything I needed in order to put together a solid project. 

Story of a Bill: Endangered Species Act

Posted by Julia Boyer in American Government - Laufenberg on
The story I have chosen to tell is of the Endangered Species Act. It's presented as a magazine interview with the reporter and the bill herself. It also has links to other interesting sites. 

Reflection:
This benchmark was very educational for me. I learned a lot about the legislative process by focusing on the Endangered Species Act. This act was very interesting to me because I feel very strongly about how we handle this issue. After doing initial research, I had to consider different ways to present my story. I thought it would be great to have a video of the Act telling her story. I would be the act, and I had some clips and photographs from that time period that would add to the viewers understanding. However, I was not prepared for the fact that my iMovie wasn't functioning. I sat down to record myself as the Act and the camera was picking up different sounds, was delayed and distorting my image. I had to think of something different to do; I made a magazine article interview. I chose this because it didn't require excessive work and I could still use my material from the movie. While I am very proud of my final product, I wish that I could have done my original idea. However, I think that I learned a lot from this project. I see now what has to be done to pass a bill, even though my bill passed fairly easily, and I see how acts cause big changes in the way we live our lives. For example, my act caused a big legal battle over a dam, and to this day, our government is still finding their paths blocked by my Act. It is very interesting to think about how we interact with the law everyday and I understand that more clearly now that I've done this project.  

Story of a Bill – Passenger Rail

Posted by Jeffrey Kessler in American Government - Laufenberg on
Learn how a bill becomes a law! Follow the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007/2008 on it's path to becoming an act of legislation! Does it get passed? Who supported it? Find out all of this and more with "Story of a Bill – Passenger Rail"!



——————————————————————————————————


As a railfan, I wanted to focus on a bill that affected Amtrak or rail transportation. As such, I decided to research the failed Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007/2008. Since the information would revolve around the bill's movement, I decided to make a Prezi such that it would be easy to visualize how a bill goes through the process of becoming a law. The most challenging portion of this project was researching the factors that influenced the bills movement throughout congress. However, once it was completed, it was easy to present and design the Prezi.

If I were to re-create the project, I would probably want to incorporate multiple bills such that it would be easy to understand how bills can take different paths throughout congress. This would better allow me to present the information regarding the bill creation process. The process itself, while very intricate and with multiple steps, is rather simple in that one idea gets presented, researched, debated, drafted, budgeted, sent to the other portion of congress, at which point the system repeats itself. This long process makes it easy for congresspeople and the president to prevent a bill from becoming a law. However, the measures in place to override nay votes and vetoes allows for the government to go forth and pass legislation when a large majority of the persons agree.

The Story of a Bill: Electronics Communications Privacy Act of 1986

Posted by William Marsh in American Government - Laufenberg on

Story of a bill: Electronics Communications Privacy Act of 1986 on Prezi

Reflection:
For my benchmark, I chose to investigate the story of the Electronics Communications Privacy Act of 1986. I chose this bill because the internet and our access to it has a huge influence on current events. In the past year we've seen huge stories develop because of videos posted to the internet from peoples phones. This really solidified how important technology is in the world today. I chose to present this act through a prezi because it's a very interesting medium and quite dynamic in my opinion. I really enjoy working with prezi, but I had some real issues trying to fill in the prezi in the first place. When I was researching my act I found that there was relatively little history to it. From being introduced to the House to being signed into law, it only took four months, and a large amount of that time was waiting for the act to be voted on by the Senate. If I had to do this project again, I would research more about the voting history regarding the bill, such as who voted for or against, and what they're reasoning was for their decision. That said, the entire process was not all that difficult. I can't say it's what I expected because I found so little. I expected it to be about as difficult as it was, but for different reasons. I anticipated spending a lot of time researching a specific branch of it, only to find more branches; but that was not the case. My research was a very 'open-closed' sort of thing. 

Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956

Posted by Brooke Thompson in American Government - Laufenberg on
Screen Shot 2011-11-04 at 12.46.52 PM
Screen Shot 2011-11-04 at 12.46.52 PM
Screen Shot 2011-11-04 at 12.47.01 PM
Screen Shot 2011-11-04 at 12.47.01 PM
Screen Shot 2011-11-04 at 12.47.08 PM
Screen Shot 2011-11-04 at 12.47.08 PM
Screen Shot 2011-11-04 at 12.47.15 PM
Screen Shot 2011-11-04 at 12.47.15 PM
Screen Shot 2011-11-04 at 12.47.32 PM
Screen Shot 2011-11-04 at 12.47.32 PM
  • Explain your decision making for choosing the bill.
When I choose to do my benchmark based around this bill it wasn't my first choice. I wanted to do the something based on the drinking age act. But I learned that they came from the federal high way act so then I decide to do the federal high way act of 1956.
  • Why did you choose the particular presentation format?
I choose to do a comic book/ story bored because I feel as though everything looks better with pictures added to it. And people can normally learn better with pictures.
  • What challenges did you overcome in completing the project?
Understanding certain terms and vocabulary when doing researching my project was a challenge. As well as trying to compress the story of the bill.
  • How would you do the project differently if you had to do it over again
If I were to do it over again I would choose a different bill and do more in depth research so that i would understand it more.
  • What did the research and investigation tell you about the creation process... from idea to bill to law?
My research and investigation told me that bills take forever to become laws. And that congress cant really agree on anything.
  • Was the process easier or harder than you imagined based on your particular bill/law research?
It was harder because I was expecting the research part of the project to be easy.

Got Democracy audio Advertisement

Posted by Zachary Castro in American History - Laufenberg on
This audio document is expressing that Electoral college does not help Electoral Voting. And its advertising that we should replace it with National popular & Instant Run-Off voting.
The reason i made the audio this way is because its catchy to the people that listen to the radio. I got the idea from listening to a radio and heard some commercials and then if you listen they usually play something catchy like a new song. But they usually play something that goes with the mean of the commercial, so thats when my group members told me to use "Run the World" by Beyonce. We chose Beyonce's song because she is a role model and her songs are a huge hit. And we chose to use that song because it had some part of Democracy in it. So i edited the song to just have it say who runs the world.

i would like to thank my group members for helping me out with everything. Manna, Keaisha, Marina, and Allison

Advertisment1

Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias

Posted by Maria Hernandez-Pico in Reading, Writing, and Rising Up - Rami on
​I selected a character from Venezuela. In the beginning I was worry in how I could present this project because through my experience living in the country I have my own judgments so I want to be fair, but at the same time show the thing exactly like happens being faithful with the true.

Thinking in the audience who will be seeing my project, I believed that the best way would be a presentation. But then, when I was looking the resources I thought that I should let the articles speaking by themselves.

All this led me to think in make a newspaper library, but that is to boring for teen years. Finally I considered in mixing these two ideas and made an interactive newspaper library, in this presentation the people could see videos with short explanations and can made your own conclusions.

Chavez

Quarter One Work

Posted by Kamilah Hudson in Advanced Art - Hull on
Title: ​The Gabe

So in art class I was told to look at a model and draw him. Simple. And Simple it was. I drew the model out and he looked pretty plain but nice. When I thought I was done though, fellow classmates encouraged me to do more with it. They inspired me to blend my creativity with the picture so that it looked more. More what, I'm not sure, but I definitely did give it more. Experimenting with shading and lines and different colored charcoals, I ended up with this colorful creation called "The Gabe". 
DSC_0143
DSC_0143
DSC_0141
DSC_0141
Title: Clear Glass

With this picture, we were told to use charcoal to draw a clear object. So, I took my charcoal and 20 minutes in, I had a decent looking see through glass cup. The only problem was that it was a plain, simple, see through glass cup at the center of a very large piece of paper. It just seemed, like the previous picture, that it needed more. So I gave it more. First I drew the random flames in the back of the vase and then the smoke that goes from inside of the glass out. Spacing out for a moment, I noticed that I could see one of my friends through the glass. Inspired by seeing him, I decided to draw him in the glass. Feeling silly, I drew him to look like a face from a famous painting called "Scream". Out of boredom I added all the extra jazz around the outside of the glass and ended up with this abstract and morbid picture. 
DSC_0149
DSC_0149

No Child Left Behind Act

Posted by Chelsea Starks in American Government - Laufenberg on
This is the No Child Left behind Act


Reflection:
I chose this bill because I felt like it was really relevant to our every day life and has been for a while. I know that because of this bill our school exists to prove it wrong. To prove that we don't need these test to improve academic achievement among students. I chose this particular presentation format because I wanted to do something engaging, thought provoking, as well as intriguing visually. The challenges I overcame in this project was figuring out how exactly I could get my point across about the bill without seeming boring or over the top. Another challenge I had was getting the footage that I needed and getting the timing for each clip. If I had to do this project all over again I'd very well try to add more to it but I would have also made two or three videos showing information on the bill, how one side feels about it, and how the opposing side feels about the bill instead of kind of lumping everything together. It was a very quick video that was straight and to the point but I think it could have been better.The research and investigation told me that if you an idea and you feel strongly about it, especially something that can impact people's every day life, all it needs is support and possibly money as well so that it can move forward. Teachers don't agree with standardized testing and though to their protests and because of bureaucrats with money and politicians taking bribes, the Senate voted to pass this bill anyway. My process was pretty easy because you could find information almost anywhere on it. I could find both perspectives from their standpoints and I could easily understand it. Overall this bill was really cool to learn about and I had fun making this media and I hope to continue making projects like these.

Hydro Fracking in Philadelphia (#2)

Posted by Thomas Nicolella in American Government - Laufenberg on
            ​In the past five years, Philadelphia’s drinking water has gone from the top five cleanest bodies of drinking water to dead last. Many officials this is due to hydraulic fracturing since fracking has recently started in Philadelphia in the past couple of years. Many feel that the chemicals used to break through bedrock and go through a pipe that is plunged through are drinking water are leaking into the bodies of water, infecting what we drink on a daily basis. However, this cannot be found out entirely because companies that practice hydraulic fracturing will not release a full list of chemicals that are used in the process. However, many of the chemicals that they have told the public about are cancerous substances.

Officials from the Philadelphia Water Department are some of the most avid fighters against fracking. They have realized that hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River is a major factor in the quality of drinking water in Philly, as about 60 percent of the city’s residents get their drinking water from the river. The water department also realizes that drilling is only one of the problems that plagues our city’s drinking water and Christopher S. Crockett, director of planning and research at the water department of Philadelphia says that the company is going to take a scientific approach to the situation as apposed to jumping out of their seat and being sloppy about it.

Other officials against fracking are taking a quicker approach to shutting down hydraulic fracturing in Philadelphia. The executive director of PennEnvironment, David Masur has frowned upon the Water Department because of their lack of urgency when it comes to stopping hydraulic fracking in the Delaware River.

 

For more info on PennEnvironment’s approach on the halt of fracking (http://www.pennenvironment.org/drilling/water)

Detailed Fracking Information


pb-110114-frack-jb.photoblog900
pb-110114-frack-jb.photoblog900

Why I Write - Ian McClendon

Posted by Ian McClendon in Reading, Writing, and Rising Up - Rami on
​ I could count the many ways why I write. I write to my friends, teachers, peers, family members, through text messaging, email, letters, tiny notes to pass across the class room. Other reason why I write is to express myself in the confinement of a two page paper about me. Or a sporadic impulse of rhythmic words travel through my mind into my hand wielding a ball point pen. Most of the time it all comes to a halt. Sometimes I'm not even able to conjure a sentence that doesn't sound odd or out of place… Slowly but surely the gears begging to move. To ask why I write is like a three step cycle for me. I contemplate, indorse, and produce. But like I said this giant boulder does not give way with the stroke of a pen, pencil, or even blood if I tried. 

Rugeiatu Bah ​ Overview of Assigned Project

Posted by Rugeiatu Bah in Advanced Art - Hull on

This quarter you have studied how to draw a clear object of a glass  in a 3D model using art skills.  You learned about the different ways you have to draw the picture depending on where you draw the picture from. The angles matters, because it is what you see, not what you think. I drew this picture using black charcal and a white even sides paper. I started of thinking about the clear object that I wanted to draw, the object that could best fits my skills towards art. I shaded the entire paper light with the charcal. However, I shaded the middle darker and rub it with a paper towel to lightly the shade. I first started with a circle, one on top and one at the bottom. I realize that the object wasn't a circle drawing figure therefore it would be hard to translate the image on the paper. After drawing my model, I beings to transform it, from a 2D model to a 3D model. I drew the light reflection. The parts that are light, I took an erase and erase the top and sides and I added shadows of my object and erase some parts of the object it self to show that the object is a clear drawing. 





Screen Shot 2011-11-10 at 2.33.02 PM
Screen Shot 2011-11-10 at 2.33.02 PM

Kimberly Cayamcela, Quarter 1 work.

Posted by Kimberly Cayamcela in Advanced Art - Hull on

-Figure Drawing

-Clear Object Drawing

-I wasn't satisfied with my final figure drawing because it wasn't as realistic as I planned it to be. I wasn't feeling creative throughout the process of its drawing so the ending results were this. Detail is cue; the details in this drawing could have been better. I learned that the way you make the body makes a difference. If I could draw this over, I would make it look more real and have it show the creativity I actually have in my head when drawing. 


-What I liked best about my clear object drawing was the result of it actually looking real, rather than looking at it and thinking: "this looks like my 5 year old brother drew it."  My favorite tool by far is charcoal because of its different shadings.  Also, it makes the drawing look rich and is easily used for smearing. When I'm done drawing something I like for people to critique my work so I can see the point of view of others instead of only mine, and can work on bettering my work.  I'm an amateur artist but I am willing to learn from my mistakes and am excited to become a better artist at the end of this school year.  Leave some feedback! please and thanks.  :D 
1104004515
1104004515
1103232731
1103232731

Quarter One: Artist Journal

Posted by Alexis Beckton in Art - Senior Art - Hull on
List Of Assignments: 
Full Length Drawing 
Clear Object 
IMG_0037Photo on 10-23-11 at 12.37 PM

This was my first quarter as an art student since freshman year. It was almost a culture shock to me to remember certain things about the class policies and the general feeling you get when you walk into Mrs. Hull's classroom. The first assignment we had to draw a six foot figure, being that I'm only five feet tall it seemed like it would be a huge challenge but it wasn't as hard as I talked myself into thinking it would be. We used pastels and charcoal to create the drawings. I didn't do a clear object drawing because I was working on the logo for my capstone which is shown above.

Glass and Figure Drawing _ Hunt

Posted by Katherine Hunt in Advanced Art - Hull on
The first assignment that Ms. Hull assigned us was a figuring drawing. A person from our class named Jamie modeled for us while we drew her. Throughout this drawing process shading and proportions was a large aspect of getting this assignment done correctly. Drawing what we see was something that was also important as well as making sure we disregarded what we thought we saw. I used many colors throughout my drawing because I am a strong believer in abstract art and I wanted to add that into this drawing because it seemed very necessary on my part. Although, this was slightly abstract I made sure to add the colors Jamie was wearing as well as the colors. 

This was the first figure drawing that I have done personally for the first time in my entire life. There were many things I could have improved on for example making better shoes and making sure that the legs were straight and didn't look like jello. Therefore, being that I was able to grasp many details, I can call it a success even though Jamie didn't look like "Jamie" within my drawing. When people see my artwork I would like them to think "wow, that has a great amount of detail , I wonder who drew it?".  



For our second assignment Ms. Hull told us to draw glass object figures. Going about this seemed like it would be difficult, but with different techniques drawing became one step simpler. The materials we used were an eraser and charcoal for this and of course paper.Two techniques that were done throughout this drawing process were the shading and erasing techniques. I shaded in different areas throughout this image to depict the portions were there were shadows and where the light hits the object. My shadow of my image on the table was lighter because that is the way it looked when I drew it. From this drawing one thing that Ms. Hull taught us to do as a class was to draw what you see, which is what I did. 

As seen from my second photo below, this glass object figure was on a table/surface and had water inside of it.










IMAG0055
IMAG0055
IMAG0049
IMAG0049

SCOTUS Case - Missouri v. Frye (10/31/11)

Posted by Blase Biello in American Government - Laufenberg on
​A link to the court case on the SCOTUSblog : http://bit.ly/ste9dt
Transcript : http://bit.ly/rJOMCF
6th Amendment : http://bit.ly/9L4u

 
Galin Frye's situation has brought up the question of (from SCOTUSblog): 
"Can a criminal defendant who was convicted after a jury trial later argue that his lawyer was inadequate because he failed to tell him that prosecutors had offered a deal to plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence? And, if so, what should courts do to correct the lawyer's error?"

Galin Frye was caught felony driving with a revoked license. He entered a plea of guilty and recieved a sentencing of 3 years in prison. However, his lawyer failed to tell him that the prosecutor offered a plea offer to a a misdemeanor charge instead, in which he'd only receive 90 days in prison. The lawyer exemplified "ineffective assistance of counsel". This situation brings up the issue of "fundamental fairness and reliability of criminal process". This issue states that a client's attorney provide him with ALL of the facts, especially a fact as detrimental as this one.

The only piece of the Constitution that is brought up throughout the case was the Sixth Amendement. Which reads: 

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense."  

This was brought up because of the last line, "and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense". Frye and his team of lawyers are arguing that his counsel gave ineffective assistance. Frye and his team are looking for some kind of correction to the lawyer's error. The last moment of dialogue of the argument was, "For this and other reasons stated in our briefing, the Missouri versus Court of Appeals should be reversed."

Some of the Judges seemed to agree that the lawyer had made a huge error. But, they argued that even if Frye had taken the offer made by the prosecutors the judge would've shot it down anyways. Time will tell, if this case will get reversed. I do not believe it will, though. 

Clear Object Drawing

Posted by Johniera McClain in Advanced Art - Hull on
​Artist Statement 

  The glass cup was more complex then what I actually believed it was. The goal I had was to make a clear object appear on a white paper. Although it was challenging, it was done. With shading, darkening spaces, and erasing. 

I first started by taking the black charcoal piece that I had and lighting scribbling over my paper. I then drew a outline of what I imagined the cup to look on paper. Heigh wise, the roundness of it... everything. Then by looking at the size of the paper, I realized that the proportions were off. I then made another attempt at the glass cup. I figured it was too dark for what my goal was to be so then I finally got it right and made my master piece. 

I made sure that there was lighting and the shape wasn't a black outline because evidently a clear object isn't black, it's clear. Over all the final product that was made, I was very content with. 

Art_ClearDrawing1
Art_ClearDrawing1
Art_ClearDrawing2
Art_ClearDrawing2
Art_ClearDrawingFinal
Art_ClearDrawingFinal
Art_ClearDrawingALL
Art_ClearDrawingALL

Life Size Figure Drawing

Posted by Johniera McClain in Advanced Art - Hull on
​
Artist Statement

I love the color yellow. I began with simple pastel strokes and it went from there. I choose to make an outline of the model on how I saw it at the moment. Her leaning to the side with her hand on her hip is what I needed and wanted to draw out. 

I decided to shape the model's body how she can be seen in person. She had on a hoodie and some jeans with her belt sticking out. As the kept going on I decided to add in the small details such as the knee shading and leg stance. I made the weight that she was putting her body on noticeable. I found myself making the head smaller than the body so I tried to adjust that by rounding out the strokes heavier and making the chin and neck thicker. I choose orange for the shirt under the model's hoodie because I believed that that well suited the color orange. 

In my future drawings of life size figures, I will choose to focus on even more lighting and shading. I also will continue to draw what I see in person. 


Art_FrontHalf-LifeSizeDrawing
Art_FrontHalf-LifeSizeDrawing
Art_BottomHalf-LifeSizeDrawing
Art_BottomHalf-LifeSizeDrawing
Art_Whole-LifeSizeDrawing
Art_Whole-LifeSizeDrawing