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In modern day America, people have taken to various outlets as their source of both entertainment and pleasure, and that includes recreational drug use. One heavily favored happens to be that of Cannabis, commonly known as Marijuana. The increased use of this drug, and perceived danger by many medical and legal officials, has led to highly contentious marijuana laws throughout the country. In discussion of this issue, different camps focus primarily on the state of the marijuana users, not anybody else involved. However, they are ignoring the larger benefit that the marijuana industry can have on the general public. . Marijuana and more specifically medical marijuana should be legal in the United States because of its health benefits and potential economic impact.

In the United States, marijuana is primarily used recreationally, but  there are copious instances of people utilizing cannabis to aid medical difficulties. According to the Marijuana Policy Project, there are 1,246,170 medical marijuana users in the twenty five states where it is legal. It’s also estimated that there would be an approximate 2,604,079 medical cannabis users if it were legal in all fifty states. Users are those who suffer from various conditions such as: epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, cancer, tourette’s syndrome, schizophrenia, sickle cell anemia, and others. Both the National Institute of Health and Food and Drug Administration are currently researching and putting some support behind cannabis being use to as a medicine, primarily in the case of chronic pain. The support for medical marijuana is increasing, as its impact is being discovered. It has the ability to help a significant amount of people with various illnesses to cope with the side affects that their condition gives them. For example, Charlotte Figi is a 5 year old girl who since the young age of 7 months had been suffering from a rare form of epilepsy, Dravet Syndrome, that caused her to have long uncontrollable seizures. Dravet syndrome could not be controlled by medicine and as Charlotte grew older, her seizures and overall life become much worse. Out of options, her family heard of another boy with Dravet Syndrome who used used marijuana to treat his seizures and the symptoms. They tried this method of extracting the oil from marijuana, giving it to Charlotte and saw an immediate decrease in the amount and frequency of her seizures. Over the last three years Charlotte seizures has stopped with the help of medical marijuana. While there may be relief in other medicine, marijuana is easily accessible, can be taken in various forms, and poses an immediate solution. The government has the responsibility of serving and maintaining the wellbeing of the public, and marijuana showing itself as a viable aid, further proves why it should be legalized.

The industry and selling of marijuana is one that has been embraced by several cities across the United States due to the possible economic growth that could be stimulated. The U.S World and News Report states that the implementation of medical marijuana can save U.S taxpayers approximately 468.1 million dollars every year. According to the California State Board of Equalization, the state took in about $50 million in sales taxes from 1,623 medical marijuana dispensaries across California that registered with the state and filed taxes in 2014. Similarly, in Illinois, medical marijuana dispensaries have generated 23.5 million dollars. For the states where marijuana is legalized, the access money is used to supply different demands within the city. In various cities in Colorado, where both medical and recreational marijuana has became a lucrative business, they are using funds to better the community. For example, In Aurora 12.4 million is being spent to address homelessness, outreach programs for the needy, and to build a new recreation center. Similarly, in Adams County they have earmarked more than 500,000 dollars in scholarships for low-income students, while the rest of the income is used for things like repairing infrastructure, and education efforts. In a time where many cities are struggling to adequately fund themselves, a device such as medical marijuana could prove a great solution. As seen with numerous cities, recreational and medical marijuana are producing large incomes for cities, that can be spread across various counties to assist in different things to better the city. This goes beyond the sick patients to help everyone for the better.

Even though medical marijuana and marijuana as a whole have positive impacts, they are often overlooked by the possible negative aspects that can be had. While there are negative factors that could come along with the legalization of medical marijuana, they all will be outweighed by the benefits. The overall well being of people should always be the most important piece of any governmental decision, and marijuana a proven it has benefits to those suffering with various illnesses, diseases, and disorders. The various economic impacts that can provide relief to many cities, would also allow them to implement different projects to help everyone. Money that could go towards several projects aimed to better society. In conclusion, the legalization of medical cannabis will not hurt, but those who need it as well as the country.

The legalization of medical marijuana is one that is highly debated amongst health and governmental officials for various reasons. These can include the fact that marijuana is indeed a drug, it can have risks to those taking it for health reasons, and there are other already legal alternatives. However, marijuana despite being classified as a drug, does something other banned substances don’t do and that's actually help people and society. It has been proven to help those affected by different illnesses and disabilities cope with side effects. As well as increasing the economy of the individual cities, and the country as a whole, which would benefit people all over as this money would be used to help them. With the potential drawbacks, there’s significant benefits that outweigh any negatives.  In conclusion, medical cannabis should legalized in the United States because of the positive impact it will have on everyone.

Works Cited

"Medical Marijuana Patient Numbers." Medical Marijuana Project, 6 July 2016. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <https://www.mpp.org/issues/medical-marijuana/state-by-state-medical-marijuana-laws/medical-marijuana-patient-numbers/>.

"PA.gov." Frequently Asked Questions. Pennsylvania Department of Health, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://www.health.pa.gov/My%20Health/Diseases%20and%20Conditions/M-P/MedicalMarijuana/Pages/FAQ.aspx#general>

Leonard, Kimberely. "Study: Medical Marijuana Laws Cut Drug Spending." U.S News and World Report. U.S News and World Report, 27 July 2016. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-07-07/medical-marijuana-availability-saves-taxpayers-money>.

Cillescas@denverpost.com, By Carlos Illescas |. "Marijuana Sales Tax Revenue Huge Boon for Colorado Cities." The Denver Post. The Denver Post, 02 Oct. 2016. Web. 16 Oct. 2016. <http://www.denverpost.com/2016/05/26/marijuana-sales-tax-revenue-huge-boon-for-colorado-cities/>.

Science

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is an actual disease of its own. Many people in the general public, even doctors and professionals have a hard time determining if the patient does have Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, also known as the Todd’s Syndrome. Dr. John Todd, a British psychiatrist, was first to acknowledge AIWS in 1955. This syndrome have many triggers, such as migraines, stress, brain tumors, Epstein-Barr Virus infection, drug (cough medicine), etc. Dr. Sheena Aurora, Stanford Neurologist had performed an MRI brain scan (in 2008) on a 13 year old boy during the active cause of AIWS, and found Electrical activity caused abnormal blood flow in areas of brain that controls process texture, shape, and size and that rain activity of patients diagnosed with AIWS are different from those who are not. My sources are reliable, because I went to sources that are known to be trustworthy, and researches done by universities such as Stanford are considered one. All of the sources I had used to better understand this topic, were very similar in the causes and the symptoms

Society

People who are affected by this syndrome, have a hard time describing what they are going through, or keep grounded and feel sane, because with AIWS, it causes Object or environment to appear too big  (macropsia) or too small (micropsia) than they actually are. Things around the person are perceived to be farther or closer than they actually are or at times themselves or other people’s entire body or body part changed in shape and size. Which can play in their mind or whatever it is they are seeing, as to what is reality and what is the thing that only they can see. It affects people lives in a very negative way, knowing that there is no treatment or much research done on this disorder.

Self

I think it is a very interesting disorder that is actually very similar to the experience of a made up cartoon character’s adventure. Alice had experienced the same thing in wonderland, as if she was going delusional. So it is intesting yet scary to see how that applies in our real world, how someone can cope with AIWS, because it distort memory and experience from reality and what the person can only see. I think this disorder deserve more attention towards than what’s it's given now, because there are people who are affected by this, even though this is a rare syndrome, but it’s not so rare where not many to no people diagnosed with it, when there are quite a lot of people affected by this, but compared to the bigger population, it’s considered rare. I don’t think this can be a positive thing at all, nor is it fun and games, even though it’s interesting, it is something very scary and can be very serious depending on the place and situation the person who is diagnosed with this is in.

Animated television has been a staple in households with children for decades. Cartoons  are known to teach children positivity but it's probably doing the opposite. In recent years shows like Family Guy and American Dad have taken cartoons from being innocent to being a delinquents favorite show. Animated TV shows opens young people’s minds to violence and negative behavior. However, when adults see the animated format they assume that it is automatically acceptable for children to watch.   

Shows like Family Guy and American Dad are shows that are animated but are not made for children. They have content about sex, drugs and other vulgar things, yet it’s watched heavily by young people because it’s animated and funny. According to the site USA Today and Nielsen Media research, Family Guy ranks at number 5 for the most watched show for people between the ages of 2-11. Among teens it's ranked as the second most watched television show. For the viewers it was made for, adults, it's ranked at no.18 for adults 18-49 and no.118 for adults 50 and over. When criticized by the parent groups, the executive producer says, “I think it's absolutely for adults, I don't let my kids watch it. They're 8 and 6. We're doing a show for us (the 14 writers). Most are over 30, a few over 40, but we all remember what we found funny.” Children are being exposed to things some people say they shouldn’t be exposed to. Because the show is animated and put on during the day, parents are being tricked into thinking it's okay to watch.

For people who think these shows are harmless, there is proof that they can impact behavior. In an article published by the Animation World Network (ANW), Dr. Ruebert gives cases in which children’s brains were altered by animation. One example was when a boy, by the name of Dickie Johnson, decided to take his family yacht on a spin in the lake. The boy crashed the yacht destroying the family dock. According to Dickie’s mother, after seeing The Mouse in theatres Dickie has became a “hellion” and wouldn’t stop torturing the family’s cat. The family sued Walt Disney for the corruption of a minor and inciting mischief. While on the stand, Dickie said, “I thought if a lowly, common mouse could drive a boat, surely I could too.”  This case proves that children are influenced to do things that they see on television, like Dickie, which takes over the child's mind and make things look fun.

The family of a boy by the name Devin Grimm sued Walt Disney, Fox, MGM, Warner Bros. and Universal for the mental abuse of their son. According to Devin Grimm's parents, between the ages of 2 and 17 Devin watched close to 21,000 hours of animation which eventually drove him to become a lunatic. In elementary school Devin developed split personality disorder,  where Devin would tie girls to tables and come back to save them after changing his leotards. Devin refused to take his cape off. Throughout his teen years Devin’s need for animation became so crazy he began stealing from video stores, until eventually he was banned. After he was banned from every store in town Devin came up with a plan to rob a store, which went wrong and caused an explosion. Devin was arrested and while going to trial was deemed unfit due to his obsession with animation. Devin was influenced by cartoons to do so many bad things that eventually led to him going to jail in his teens and becoming mentally unstable forever.

These examples show how and why animation affects young people. These young boys watched so much animation, that they thought they could do the things the characters did. Children are very curious and learn from what they see and know. Animation is not the same for every kid, but actually a unique experience for each one. Some children watch animation as a child and grow into healthy human beings who can look back and tell which tv show was there favorite and why. Some children grow into humans who need a little extra help because they're stuck in an animated world. The danger lies in the hands of the parents and what they expose their children to.

WORKS CITED

Dr. Ruebert Saturnine III. "The Adverse Effects of Cartoons on the Minds of Our Children."

Animation World Network, 1 April 2004. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

Christopher, By. "Fox’s Family Guy: For Children?" N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

The average student has been taught to always “aim for the A” in school. This belief will essentially give the mentality that to be the best, one must get a top grade. As a result, students  look at those that get the A as if they are they are better than their peers. However this belief is completely false because, Ambition is the key factor in defining a person’s position on the social pyramid.

There are many examples of individuals whose ambition mattered more than their formal education. According to Forbes, Li Ka-Shing is the richest man in China with a net worth of $31.9 billion. Mr. Shing is also one of the most influential/powerful people on the Earth, but the most amazing fact is that Mr. Shing is a high school dropout. At the tender age of 12 Mr. Shing left school to work in a watch strap factory, by 14 he worked in a plastic trading company. At 22 Mr. Shing had opened his first factory. Mr. Shing has become one of the most powerful people on the earth yet he holds no degree or even a highschool diploma. If Li Ka-Shing was placed in front of a trigonometric equation he would most likely not understand it, yet in the business world he is a rich and successful man. Even though Li does not have the ability to solve a quadratic equation, the one thing that Li has is Ambition. Li’s ambition has pushed him to the very top and allowed him to obtain both a high net worth and self worth, even though he has never graduated high school.

With ambition you can go much farther than what your grades predict. “I studied everything but never topped...but today the toppers of the best universities are my employes.” This quote is from the richest and most successful man on earth Bill Gates. Bill Gates has a net worth of $81.7 billion, and is one of the founders of Microsoft the world’s largest  PC software company. When discussing people that are at the top of the social pyramid, Bill Gates is a name that will be said at least twice. However, when discussing the highest grade point averages his name will not alway come up. Mr. Gates has never released his actual grades, but he has been quoted on numerous occasions saying how his grades were never the best. Society teaches that getting the best grades results in one being at the top of the social pyramid. But Mr. Gates proves that teaching incorrect. He himself has admitted to not getting the best grades, yet the majority of people in America know who he is. Since Bill Gates never got the best grades, his standing on the social pyramid should not be at number 1. But somehow it is. The reason for this is simple; Mr. Gates did not let his imperfect grades limit him, instead he used his ambition to succeed to fuel his trip to the top of the social pyramid.

If we all stopped to think about it we would realize that success is not a matter of grades but ambition. Society has implanted the idea that grades represent a person’s self worth and value. But this is nowhere near the case. It is possible for a student to have a C average and still become a multimillionaire. It is possible for a child to have little to no education, and become one of the most powerful people on the face of this planet. The true factor that defines a person’s self worth and value is their ambition. Ambition is what pushes a person to become great. Ambition is the key factor in defining a person’s position on the social pyramid. Those that dream big will be able to reach the top when their grades are not that great. Likewise it is also possible for a person to not dream big and have a lower position on the social pyramid because of the little ambition they have.

Americans value college a lot. It is encouraged heavily in schools and at homes. But the reality is that money is an issue for a lot of people. People are often excluded from success because the college they want to go to costs more than what their families can afford. One has to chose whether it is worth getting into more debt for a potentially better paying job or living within means and work hard to climb the ladder of success. The result of all of these costs makes a college education more of a barrier to success than a gateway.

College education has never been cheap, but it is more expensive than it has been in the past. According to the College Board,  inflation-adjusted increases were 0.8% in 2013 to 2014, 0.9% in 2014 to 2015, and 2.7% in 2015 to 2016. Average tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities increased by 13% over the five years from 2010-11 to 2015-16, following a 24% increase between 2005-06 and 2010-11. To put into better perspective, Harvard’s annual tuition and fees (not including room and board costs) will set a student  back with a $45,278 debt each year, which is more than 17 times the 1971-72 cost. This is showing how drastic things have changed overtime and is evidence of how the present people attending college are being affected.

With higher ranked universities, graduating from that particular school alone can land someone a better job with higher pay. Potential employees may think that the higher price tag is worth paying for that better job. But only a select few are able to afford to go to these schools, thus creating a cycle of people who can afford college getting paid more than those who cannot. High school dropouts make on average $18,734 annually, while high school graduates on average make $27,915. By contrast, people who can afford to earn  a bachelor's degree on average make a salary of 51,206, and advanced degree holders make an average salary of $74,602. More recently updated websites show an even larger gap between people that go to college than those who do not which shows that going to a college that has higher quality levels will benefit lots of people in the long run.

Reasons given of why some colleges charge more money than others varies, from better technology, to student housing, or expert teachers, than other colleges that do not have the extra perks. Specifically focusing on teachers or positions though, from 1978 to 2014, administrative positions rose 369 percent, according to the AAUP report. While the amount of part-time workers increased by 286 percent; and limited-time positions grew by 259 percent. Contrarily, full-time positions increased solely 23 percent during the same period. “These amenities are extremely expensive and contribute to the escalating cost of college,” [job title] Reich says. “Moreover, they have very little or anything to do with the education of most young people.” Additionally colleges tend to focus on eye-catching things like dining halls or marble staircases instead of focusing on getting quality professors that will actually help the students grow mentally. These aspects do not improve college education directly which makes it a not necessary addition.

College is a huge part of the system that Americans live by, and it being so expensive is not anything but a barrier some people can not overcome. As a potential college student it will be essential to have to weigh was in more important, the perks or the education. Sacrificing getting a high paying job for less debt, eventually will allow someone to be able to prove themselves at a position and get that promotion with the higher wage and be able to afford student loans. In the long run it is really up to the individual. Employers may make assumptions based on where someone graduated from, if that is from a prestigious school they assume that the person worked hard to get that degree because that school is a tough school to get into whereas a mediocre school may let most applicants in and may be more lenient in their courses.

Sources (MLA):

• Campos, Paul F. "The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much." The New York Times. The New York Times, 2015. Web. 24 Sept. 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/opinion/sunday/the-real-reason-college-tuition-costs-so-much.html?_r=0

• By 2020, an Estimated Two-thirds of Job Openings Will Require Postsecondary Education or Training.[3]. "Fact Sheet: Focusing Higher Education on Student Success." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2016. http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-focusing-higher-education-student-success

• The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2016. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/does-it-matter-where-you-go-to-college/257227/

• How To EDU RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2016. http://howtoedu.org/college-facts/how-much-more-money-do-college-grads-make/

• Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2016/03/01/why-college-is-so-expensive-and-how-to-fix-it/#7752370f265b

• US News. U.S.News & World Report, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2016. http://www.usnews.com/news/college-of-tomorrow/articles/2014/09/22/why-college-costs-so-much-overspending-on-faculty-amenities

• "The Real Reasons a College Degree Costs so Much." CNBC. Getty Images, 2015. Web. 24 Sept. 2016. http://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/16/why-college-costs-are-so-high-and-rising.html

Stories come in hundreds of shapes and sizes. They follow good guys and bad guys, likely heroes and unlikely heroes, humans and animals. The storylines range from the most generic to the most unique and complex. There’s been variations of every kind of story that the mind can think of, but arguably no basis for a story is as popular as the underdog story— that of the poor, unlikely hero who has to combat the evils that are much larger than themselves. In modern movies, this includes the Rocky movies to the Star Wars movies and hundreds in between. Why do people love underdog stories so much? The 1998 Pixar film A Bug’s Life proves humans innately love rooting for underdogs because subconsciously they believe that doing so makes them more unique and interesting than others.

In order to understand how A Bug’s Life proves this idea, one must first understand why people take such interest in underdog stories. In University of California Professor Abby Prestin’s research paper titled The Pursuit of Hopefulness: Operationalizing Hope in Entertainment Media Narratives, she found, “…those in the underdog condition felt more hopeful and reported greater motivation to pursue their own goals…” The  people watching the underdog stories felt more optimistic and capable of following their own motivations. It made them feel sanguine, but more importantly, individually capable and assured. Watching and rooting for someone that realistically shouldn’t win, but does win, makes them feel more unique and positive, partially due to the inspirational factor, but also as a boost for their own perseverance. They were able to stick with these underdogs in spite of the invariable realistic chances of them actually winning. It’s the rewarding feeling that the viewer gets that makes them motivated and like their own person, not the result itself.

This begs the question: How does the movie A Bug’s Life represent this idea? It all hinges on the main character, Flick. Similarly to the rest of the ants in the story, he is an underdog. He and the ants are much weaker than the grasshoppers, and seem incapable of defeating them. However, what makes Flick different is how he’s perceived by the other ants. He’s seen as an ant that’s even more incapable than the rest, as an inventor who only makes situations worse, and an idiot. When he sets out to find aid, it’s in order to get rid of him, not because they believe in him. He’s an individual within an ant colony, insects that supposedly lack individuality. He is, in essence, an underdog, within the underdogs, and when the ants, against all odds, defeated the grasshoppers, their victory can be attributed to him. He remained willing to fight and believe in the underdogs the whole way, unlike the ants who refuse to believe that they can defeat the grasshoppers. As such, he was the unique, while the rest of the ants were ordinary and members of the hive mind. Just as how to the viewer, they are unique, as they remain rooting for the underdogs, and are rewarded by a sense of individuality when they win.

To be entirely certain of this idea that people want to see an underdog tale, one needs to look no further than professional sports. Underdogs have existed in every competitive sports scene, one example as recent as March Madness of 2014. According to Forbes, the Brigham Young University did a research study on how underdog competition affects the viewership of basketball during March Madness. What they found is that a finals game that featured a expectation defying team, or “Cinderella Team,” would get around 35% more viewers than if the match was between to notoriously equal teams. This proves that more viewers would watch the finals if the match was statistically meant to be a stomp, regardless of if their team was in it or not. Viewers are more excited to watch if there is a chance that an underdog team could take the win. This also lines up with the idea that viewers want to root for an underdog team, for the same reasons as before. If the team that shouldn’t win does win, and the view was rooting for this team, then the viewer will get the same sense of morality and individuality as is seen with the example of movies.

It may seem odd to most people at first, to consider that A Bug’s Life is making a statement about the psychology of human beings, but when one stops to consider the facts, it becomes surprisingly evident. A Bug’s Life is a movie all about setting oneself apart from others, to be an individual and not just a part of the hive mind. So it would not be surprising if the creators intentionally made a main character that would insight these feelings in the viewer. When underdog stories are made and read, watched, listened to, and so on, the character isn’t the only one who feels like an underdog, the viewer is as well. A Bug’s Life embodies this idea, and as such makes it the perfect movie for explaining these underdog effects.

Works Cited

Becher, Jonathan. "Do Underdogs Boost March Madness Ratings?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

Prestin, Abby. "The Pursuit of Hopefulness: Operationalizing Hope in Entertainment Media Narratives." Media Psychology 16 March, 2013: 318-46.

A Bug's Life. Dir. John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton. By Andrew Stanton, Donald McEnery, and Bob Shaw. Pixar, 1998.

Dress codes are present in most schools across the country; whether it be a distinct uniform, or a set of regulations that determine what is acceptable by the school’s standards. The guidelines claim to define appropriate attire that will not take away from the purpose of school, which is to get an education and prepare students for the future. However, schools today seem to view the purpose of dress codes in a different light, creating a double standard of what apparel is and is not acceptable in school based on gender, and often targeting females. The sexist dress codes enforced in many high schools pose many negative effects for the young girls being scrutinized for their outfit choices.

In most cases, school dress codes end up being used to police female students’ bodies to make sure that they do not distract or ‘tempt’ their male peers. Schools even go as far as to slut-shame girls for the clothes they are wearing. The unfortunate part is that it is not only male teachers who administer these practices. The female headteacher of Trentham high school, Dr. Rowena Blencowe, banned skirts claiming that girls wearing skirts “isn’t fair for male members of students or staff… it is a distraction.”1 In 2014, the male principal of Devil’s Lake High School, located in North Dakota, punished a girl for wearing leggings. Following this, he called an assembly where two clips were shown from the movie Pretty Women, where the main character is a prostitute. He claimed that the clips were shown to show the students that “You are in charge of the image you project to others and how you want to be perceived.”2 Comparing adolescent girls who choose to dress comfortably to school to a prostitute implies that females bodies are sexual objects, and that young men are not expected to have self control when they come in contact with a female wearing a skirt that shows her knees.

By contrast to this policing of girls’ clothing, instances where a male student is told to change because their outfit is inappropriate or against school guidelines is very rare. In one entry of the Everyday Sexism Project, a forum where people can share their experiences with gender inequality, a young girl wrote of a time where she got penalized for wearing shorts. She left the principal's office and passed a male peer wearing a shirt with two stick figures, one was a male holding down the female's head in his crotch and saying ‘good girls swallow.’ The girl said that her teachers walked right by this young man without a word.3  This experience is just one of many where a female gets dress coded for a seemingly minor and unimportant reason, while her male peers walk around displaying offensive messages on their shirts and their pants sagging low, often times exposing their underwear. These types of situations occur because schools are more focused on there being ‘too much’ skin showing than what would actually be considered offensive to the community. Ignoring the attire of males, while scrutinizing females for their outfits inadvertently teaches girls that they are unequal to men. Gender inequality will never end if females are taught from a young age they they are unequal to their male counterparts.

Somewhere leading up this point, the concept of high school dress codes have gotten mixed up. When asked, people may say that dress codes are crucial, as they prepare students for their future, but on closer inspection, high school dress codes are a collection of sexist double standards that pose many negative effects for the young girls being scrutinized for their outfit choices. For the good of the future generations as a whole, dress codes must be updated. If they are not, females will continue growing up believing that they will always be a man’s target, simply due to the clothing they pick out in the morning. Rather than making girls feel uncomfortable for what they are wearing or shaming their bodies, schools should simply educate their students of what clothing will be acceptable when they begin to move into the workforce - both males and females alike.

Works Cited

1 Bates, Laura. "School Dress Codes Reinforce the Message That Women's Bodies Are Dangerous." The Guardian. 10 Sept. 2015. Web.

2 Klein, Rebecca. "High School Uses Clips From 'Pretty Woman' To Show Students How Not To Dress." The Huffington Post. October 2nd, 2014. Web.

3 "How School Dress Codes Shame Girls and Perpetuate Rape Culture." Time. 22 May 2015. Web.

In the recent years, it has become the new norm for children to be exposed to technology at a young age. iPads, TV’s and game devices are seen as an accessory or a toy for kids in this day age. However, an increasing number of pediatricians and parents are concerned about this trend, and they are right to be worried. Not only is it taking away their precious childhood, where they should be using their imagination and doing recreational activities, but it is affecting them as a whole.  Technology interferes with their physical, social and psychological development because it limits their opportunity to develop skills involving that will be critical in their life.

An article published by the Huffington Post called, “The Impact of Technology on Developing Children”, explains that a child needs four critical factors to develop properly being movement, touch, human connection, exposure to nature. Further analysis shows that the tactile and attachment systems are under stimulated, while the visual and auditory and in overload. With that said, with technology advancing rapidly, children spend up to 7.5 hours a day using overusing their certain systems,  and it defeats the purpose of children going outside to play and get their daily amount of exercise which results in various health issues such as obesity. Time outside offers to keep them healthy while their brains and learn necessary skills to help them later in life,  but many spend the majority of their days staring at a screen.

Social media is changing the way the future generation thinks, understands, and interacts with one another. In a report published by the University of Rhode island called “Determining the Effects of Technology on Children”, it explains the many negatives that come along with young children using technology. In the report it was found that when using technology, such as phones, computers etc.,  at a developing age, people then have a lessened ability to multitask and changes social norms. Children exposed to cellphones and computers that access social media offers them to hide behind a “digitally wall”, and is used as a coping method, when they should be learning how to socialize. In the article it states, “As children have more of their communication through electronic media, and less face to face they begin to feel more lonely or depressed.” With that said, shy children will often be able to communicate over the internet versus learning how to overcome those issues face to face. Social media is becoming a substitution for personal interaction, affecting how young children learn how to socialize because of their easy access to technology.

Video games and Apps also affects the health of children, as it refrains them from movement and touch. More than half of children in America have a TV in their room with a video, and a high percentage has access to iPads, computers and video games. According to British Columbia's Society of Occupational Therapists, in their 2009 newsletter it says, “Children now rely on technology for the majority of their play, grossly limiting necessary challenges to their bodies in order to achieve optimal sensory and motor development…”. With these devices scattered around their homes, it creates a world of 2D where there aren’t stimulating touch and movement into their playtime.

As technology advances, the risks only grow. Children need to be aware of these issues, alongside their parents to keep them on the right track to being healthy and developing properly. Technology should be used in small doses, to give children time to spend outside, socialize, and stimulated movement and touch in their everyday lives. If technology exposure is left unchecked, then these children risk growing up to be stuck in a world not knowing fundamental skills.

Works Cited

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cris-rowan/technology-children-negative-impact_b_3343245.html

Rowan, Cris. "The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 May 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

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Hetch, Kristina. "Determining the Effects of Technology on Children." Digital Commons. University of Rhode Island, 2011. Web.

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Rowan, Chris. "The Impact of Technology on Child Sensory and Motor Development." The Impact of Technology on Child Sensory and Motor Development by Cris Rowan, OTR (n.d.): n. pag. Sensomotorische. OTR. Web.

http://www.futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=45&articleid=200&sectionid=1303

Shields, Margie K., and Richard E. Behrnam. "The Future of Children, Princeton - Brookings: Providing Research and Analysis to Promote Effective Policies and Programs for Children."  - The Future of Children -. Princeton Brookings, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

How The Beatles Changed Music And Music History

By: Jamie polson

English 3

Pahomov

Paul Mccartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison are all famous for being in  The Beatles.  They all came from Liverpool, England, and became a singing group in 1960.  They used their vast knowledge of music styles to their advantage. They tried to make songs based on the types of music that they would listen too.  Although The Beatles knew a lot about music styles, they didn’t have extensive musical training.  The Beatles experimented with lots of instruments and music styles and sometimes combined them in new ways.  The Beatles influenced music and music history in many ways.  

In their early years, they would listen to all kinds of music such as: Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, Jazz, Classical, and even Indian. A song that they wrote that had Indian influence, was “Within You, Without you”.  They asked some friends whether they wanted to be in one of there songs to play some Indian instruments, the friends said yes. The song itself was written and inspired by the time that The Beatles spent in India.  George (who wrote the song) said that “ I had brought back a lot of instruments.” The instruments that he brought back included a Sitar, Tablas, a Swarabat, Finger cymbals, and flute. He experimented with many of these, however he didn’t really know how to play them.

The Beatles messed around with song form, as in the song A Day in A Life when they didn’t just have verses,a chorus and a bridge but also a fourth part and they would mix them up in an unconventional way.  A Day In A Life (by John Lennon and Paul Mccartney) was inspired by two news articles by the UK Daily Express that talked about this man who was killed in a car accident and another article that talked about how there was this group that had to count 4,000 holes, in order to figure out how to fill them.  This affected how other musicians saw music and what their possibilities could be.  Some of the ways that The Beatles got ideas for songs are pretty interesting like for Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite, they got their inspiration from a poster that had all those words on it [1].  They saw it, thought it was poetic and wanted to put music to it.

The Beatles changed music as we know it a lot by experimenting with different types of genres of music and with instruments and encouraging other groups to do the same like Nirvana, The Beach Boys, Billy Joel and many others.  They rarely sang other people's music because they had so much content. Many other groups followed suit.  They set trends for music and style for many years.  Over the years, The Beatles have made a huge impact on music and music history because they were willing to try things that were new and different..  

[1] http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=124

Being for the Benefit Of Mr. Kite

By: The Beatles

1967

Song Facts

http://diffuser.fm/druggiest-beatles-songs/

Day Tripping The top 10 druggiest Beatles songs

By: Will levith

2016

Defuse Network

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-lyrics/

Top 10 Beatles Lyrics

By: Bryan Wawzenek

2016

Diffuser network

https://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/

The Beatles songs

By: The Beatles Bible

2016

Beatles Bible

http://www.biography.com/news/we-love-them-yeah-yeah-yeah-7-ways-the-beatles-changed-american-culture (Links to an external site.)

We love them yeah, yeah, yeah: 7 ways The Beatles changed American culture

By:Joe Mcgasko

Feb.4th 2014

Bio.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/when-the-beatles-changed-everything/

When The Beatles changed everything

By: CBSNews.com

Feb 2nd 2014

CBS

http://time.com/4860/the-beatles-changed-rock-n-roll-but-not-in-the-way-you-think/

The Beatles Changed Rock-n-Roll But Not The Way You Think

Harold Bronson

Feb 6th 2014

Time Magazine

10/12/16

http://www.dailynews.com/arts-and-entertainment/20140206/10-ways-the-beatles-changed-american-culture

10 ways The Beatles changed American culture

By: LA Daily News

L.A Daily News

10/12/16

http://www.beatles-history.net/

All You Need to Know about The Beatles

By: Beatleshistory.net

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-fire-pete-best/

The Day The Beatles fired Pete Best

By:  Dave Lifton

8/16/15

Diffusion Network

http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2016/06/10/481256944/all-songs-1-a-conversation-with-paul-mccartney

All Songs +1: A conversation with Paul Mccartney

By: Robin Hilton and Bob Boilen

June 10, 2016

NPR (national Public Radio

http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2014/02/04/top-11-musicians-influenced-by-the-beatles-50th-anniversary

Top 11 Musicians influenced By The Beatles

By:Frank Mastropolo

2014

Rock Center Magazine

David heitler-Klevans

Musician/kids performer

http://twoofakind.com/

“What’s in a Name?”

Everyday a plethora of sounds pass people by: the beep of car horns, the explosion of a sneeze, and of course, the language spoken between humans . The sounds of words play a huge part in the daily lives of humans, yet many don’t think much of it. In conversation, there is a whole lot that goes into the words people choose to use, even if this process is subconscious. This is because different words convey different meanings, even if they are synonyms. This is in part because of their sound, it’s the difference between using a slit and a slot--different sounds are associated with different meanings. Although languages can be quite different, the same sounds are internationally recognized as symbolic for similar meanings. As a result,  changing the sound of these words would alter the symbols that people associate with the words.

A popular line from Shakespeare’s famous, Romeo and Juliet states, “What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; so Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title.” This line sounds sweet, but what Juliet claims may not be entirely true. Certainly the name of a rose is not what gives it its shape, or color, or sweet aroma but the sound of a word does do something to alter the perception of an object, if only in small amounts. Nico Lang, a former blogger for radio station WBEZ, makes a point of saying that, “The linguistic formula for a disgusting word is to make sure it contains phonetically abrasive letters like ‘b,’ ‘g,’ ‘m,’ ‘u’ and ‘o,’ which you’ll find to be common among the most hated.” This part of his argument goes to prove my point, though he then goes on to say that, “It’s not just the word, but what it represents to us. When we hear ‘vomit,’ we think not just of its unflattering construction but the very image it signifies.” and that, “our revulsions come socio-culturally loaded.” The second part of his argument is not incorrect. Yes, it’s true, the most hated words in the English language display similar characteristics, in that most of them are associated with unpleasant things, but that is not enough. Not all words associated with terrible meanings are so hated, half of reason for the hatred that boils to the surface of people’s feelings after hearing certain words is the sound of the words themselves. Many of the words that are held in such contempt are abrasive sounding and tend to linger in one’s mouth after saying them. After looking at several different lists of the most hated words in the English language, one will find that this statement is true for the majority of unfavorable words. If a rose, instead was named something like a “worpuss” or “gratak” it would seem much less appealing, at least at first, one would, on instinct be semi-repulsed by it, even without any knowledge of the definition. This is because of the sounds are harsh and associated with unkind things in the world, for example the long “s” sound in “worpuss” reminds us of words like “fester,” and “moist.” The sound that both “g” and “k” make are aggressive and in the word “gratak” the combination of the two provides no relief from the onslaught of harsh sounds.

Some words are so beautiful they could be played on repeat forever and no one would ever tire of them. Others are cringe worthy and will grate against ears whenever spoken. What determines whether they are in the category of music to the ears or nails against chalkboard widely has to do with sounds that are easier and more delicate on the ears being associated with beauty and goodness. David Crystal’s article, The Ugliest Words that appeared in The Guardian, a British national daily newspaper, states that, “Words with soft sounds such as 'l,' 'm,' and 'n,' and long vowels or diphthongs, reinforced by a gentle polysyllabic rhythm, are interpreted as 'nicer' than words with hard sounds such as 'g' and 'k,' short vowels and an abrupt rhythm." Though this may not be true for all people, because it is true that in some cases beauty is subjective, the majority will agree that when words sound softer they are more attractive or nicer.

It’s not a stretch to say that if people associate sounds with nice vs. mean, they associate them with many other things as well. Such is the argument of Dr. Richard Nordquist, an English and rhetoric emeritus professor of Armstrong Atlantic State University. He wrote an article stating that, “Sound symbolism is often a result of secondary association.” For example, words that begin with gl- convey an idea of a sheen, smoothness, or brightness, words like glory, glee, glimmer, glib, even glance and glimpse because sight is so closely tied to light. This is not the only case where this happens. Then there is the point where some words just sound smaller than others, like dints and dents, which were originally just different pronunciations of the same words, but when said aloud, instinctively one would think that a dint is smaller than a dent, it just sounds smaller. This is not only true for English, A study done by Berkeley professor John J. Ohala  shows that many other languages share these same sound associations, sounds with “High front vowels like [i I y e], [-grave] consonants, voiceless consonants, high tone etc.,” are often associated with “small” and “low back vowels like [A √ ç o], [+grave] consonants, voiced consonants, and low tone.” are often associated with “large.” This goes to say that, sound can have a lot more power in affecting perception than people may give it credit for and changing even the pronunciation of a word such as dent, can alter how it is seen, even if that alteration is only a dint.

When asked, people might say that the small attributes of language do not concern them. But on closer inspection, understanding what they are can lead to an easier pathway to worldwide communication. Though people do not yet all speak an international language, realizing that across all languages there are similarities that one can spot through the sound of those languages it can make communication across cultures much easier. When people are able to communicate ideas with each other, amazing things can happen, larger advancements in science, mathematics, art, and basic empathy and understanding are within grasp.

Works Cited

Kate Burridge, Gift of the Gob: Morsels of English Language History. HarperCollins Australia, 2011

David Crystal, "The Ugliest Words." The Guardian, July 18, 2009

Nordquist Grammar & Composition Expert, Richard. "What Is Sound Symbolism in English?"

About.com Education. N.p., 2016. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.

Lang, Nico. "“Moist” And 28 Other Gross-Sounding English Words That Everyone Hates." Thought

Catalog. N.p., 2013. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.

Shakespeare, William. "SCENE II. Capulet's Orchard." SCENE II. Capulet's Orchard. N.p., n.d.

Web. 25 Sept. 2016.

Ohala, John J. "Sound Symbolism." Linguistics. UC Regents, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.

At some point in everybody’s life, they will die. It happens for a variety of reasons, and most of the time it’s involuntary. It’s safe to say that a large majority of people do not want to die, or at least fear the moment of their own death, and so they fear the fact that they can and will eventually die. And although death is often pointed to as an unknown, it is not an abstract thing in the human mind. That fear of death stems from the active comparison to life and the individual’s quantification of life.

One of the things most people know about death is that, past a certain point, the older a person gets, the more prone they are to a “natural death”, as one’s organs have been keeping them alive for a long time and just get tired and fail, so they can no longer stay alive. What is surprising is that the older people get, the less and less they fear death. In a study done by Dr. Karl A. Pillemer on elderly people, “the vast majority of [the] respondents described themselves as not thinking about death much, and much less so than when they were younger. It’s true...that research shows lower death anxiety with advancing age.” Note that these people didn’t want to die; they simply didn’t fear it. The correlation is certainly there. This shows that people who think about death less fear death less. This isn’t simply a case of older one gets, the less one fears death. It’s also not a case of being scared of dying just being hardwired into the human mind. It’s a subconscious feeling of how much their life is worth. A person who has lived for 90 years would most likely feel that their experiences, if quantified, would be worth more than the experiences of one who has lived for 18 years. These elderly people aren’t afraid of death, because at this point in their life, they feel like what they’ve done is worth something.

What’s truly compelling is that, in this case, people with mental illnesses actually have similar mindsets when it comes to death as elderly people do. Mental illness is a big cause of a person wanting their life to end. According to the University of Santa Cruz, when talking about young people, “A major cause of suicide is mental illness, very commonly depression. People feeling suicidal are overwhelmed by painful emotions and see death as the only way out.” As opposed to people who simply don’t fear death, those who are feeling suicidal actually do want to die. This relates to this idea of comparing the knowledge of life to death. These suicidal people see that dying is a good alternative to living, as they think death is better than life. They think about it, and they say that dying, even if they don’t know what that entails, is a “way out” from the thing they know about. If one considers life like an object, they simply don’t want to own this thing that they know they don’t want, so they’re not scared to lose it.

So, what happens if a person does value their life, but still chooses the opposite? There’s another group of people who actually choose to die: Kamikaze. These are Japanese pilots who suicide into Allied ships with their own in order to kill large numbers of enemies will little to no possible opposition. However, according to English Online, “not all pilots volunteered out of love for their homeland…Pilots who didn't volunteer were seen as cowards.” This is a similar idea to how people with mental illnesses actually want to die. The Kamikaze usually didn’t actually want to end their life, but if one considers life like an object, the pilots didn’t want to have this life in which they are considered a coward. The value they placed on their life was low. The alternative, which is suiciding into an Allied ship and dying, seemed better than that life. They saw dying as a good alternative to life since they actually feared what they knew in this life.

Ultimately, every person is going to die at some point, and although many people might not think that being scared of death matters to them, its influence goes beyond being comfortable with dying to actually just being comfortable with living. This idea of quantifying life and giving it a value, while interesting at first, can very clearly have drastic consequences. If one constantly just thinks about whether or not their life is worth something, there is a chance they would come up with the answer, “No,” which begs the question, “Then why continue?”  Death is not something that should be thought about all the time, as a life lived in fear is not one lived in peace. The solution is simple: just stop thinking about it.

Introduction- When writing this essay, I gained even more knowledge about exactly what literacy is, and how it can effect how you portray anything from an environment to people, and also how it important when building relationships with others and getting to know them. My goal for this essay was to show, how literacy impacted my action and my identity in temporary short time period when on a college campus. I am proud of my scene of memory in this piece, I did a good job using descriptive wording and think I portrayed and structured my essay in a great way. Hope you enjoy!!

Literacy is the knowledge obtained by the observance of someone or something either physically, socially or emotionally. By observing, something or someone in these ways, we are then able to obtain cultural and educational literacy. We use literacy is the main component of most of our everyday lives. Whether we are the ones providing or taking it in. Literacy is often seen and thought of, to  simply  knowledge gained by reading a book or some other form of literature. However, real literacy can come  from analyzing a person or place as well. It is allows for you to determine what kind of person someone may be, the state of emotion they are feeling at the time, or even the content of a new book you picked up.  With all the information we may take in about the things and those around usIt is important that we do not let the literacy in which we take in, affect us negatively,  and shape our identities and how we view both ourselves and them.  This may cause for stereotypes and even tension, depending on the situation around us.

I know this from experience, because this is what I had done. It was during the week of my sister’s welcome week onto Drexel University. All families had been told to meet, in one of the campus’s halls. As I stepped into the crowded hall, close to my mom’s heels,  I looked around and a sea of white faces greeted me. We had arrived. We were at Drexel University. As I scanned the room I saw my sister and my dad, who were already there. I breathed a sigh of relief when I spotted her cocoa brown hair sticking out from the mass of blondes and brunettes. As I realized that there were few African- Americans families I immediately switched my speech unconsciously. I talked more proper and spoke even more politely than usual. I maintained a calmer demeanor. This was not me, my usual bubbly loud voice, and energetic demeanor had somehow vanished, thanks to the new environment and the people that surrounded me. As the day drew on, and we met other families, majority white with a sprinkle of African-American  my entire posture had changed. I sat up straighter, trying to blend in as much as possible. I could tell most of these white families had come from money, it showed in everything from their speech and the expectant proud look in their eyes as they acknowledged that they would be able to pay off their child’s tuition with or without help. I began to assume that they came from neighbors, commonly known for their large houses and educated schools. Suburbans, houses that one can only dream of living in. Upon acquiring this, I became a bit uncomfortable, because although my family is not poor, I knew we did not even come close to some of the standards by which they lived by. This being the reason why I tried to blend in, change my speech, and have some effect on the type of literacy they would get as they observed me, just as I was them.

In John Santiago Baca’s A Place To Stand, he too made similar cultural literacies as I had done about the people surrounding him. After being placed in one of the most dangerous prisons in the state, he had to make literacies of his own, literacies that would not only teach him about the people around him, but would save his life. Because of being in jail, he has plenty of time to make observations about the other men around him, which in turn allowed him to know the difference between danger and safety, life and death. He quotes about two  of his jail cell members by whom he felt uncomfortable and tense by , “JJ was short and Snake was long and tall, both had pale skin, from being in the dungeon too long. Their eyes gleamed furtively, and were lined with deception, Their blade like stares, and gaunt faces made them a lethal threat to anyone who looked at them.” (181). To be lethal means “sufficient to cause death.” This meant that Baca was aware and cautious of JJ and Snake, because he knew, that even just a look from them or at them could cause for him to be killed. He was able to determine such strongly a conclusion about them because of their appearance, and the way they came off to him and the other jail cell members. The way they looked and stared, shown that they were capable of murder and were dangerous. Therefore this causing, him to single them out as a threat and to be wary of his approach during later times. This literacy, and because of his observance allowed for him to know to stay away from them and avoid their stares at all cost. The more time he spends in jail, the more literacy he takes in and the more opinions he draws about the people around him. This allowed for him to know the difference between his friends and enemies.

I too, was continued to draw conclusions about people, and made some determining differences about the people around me as well. However, instead of friends and enemies,  I was drawing conclusions about the different educational backgrounds that many of the incoming students had. As the day went on, we came into contact with many of the families to get to know them better and to “break the ice”. This involved conversation and introductions. After what felt like hundreds, as the event continued I was able to see the difference between who had come from a great educational background and those who had not come from so great and educational background. I did this through the observance of language, and through listening to how people introduced themselves, and their demeanors and even the use of “ebonics”, which in other terms mean slang. I was able to tell about a good majority of the college kids. Whether they stuck out their hands, and politely introduced themselves, such as “my name is..” or if they jumped right to the point , without formality, with “My name..” This happened a few times, and I began to develop opinions about some of the students. The majority of them African-American. As much as I didn’t like to see it , it was unfortunately true. Many of them used slang and gave informal introductions, while the white students went out of their way to be formal and curt. It was because of this, that I was able to see the difference in educational background and systems, and the way in which it affected each racial group.

In  Mike Rose’s I just Want To Be Average, he too allowed for negative literacies about the people around him to affect not only his actions but even his identity. Upon accidentally being placed in a “slower vocational” class he writes about his observance about the people around him and how he was able to tell what kind of people they were, by not only their actions but appearance. “ Mercy relied on a series of test, mostly the Stanford Bennett mostly the stanford Binet for placement and somehow the results got switched and confused with those of another student named Rose. The other Rose apparently didn’t do very well, for I was placed in the vocational track a euphemism below level.” (17). Because of the results and outcomes of his class switch up, Mike was already able to determine that not only was Rose “slower” but that the test was not for her. He was using educational literacy, which allowed for him to analyze the level by which Rose was on and determine her status as a learner. Mike  used educational literacy to come to one conclusion, and to gain a certain type of knowledge. The author automatically was able to tell that Rose was not well prepared and was not very smart because of her test scores and the class he was placed in after the switch up. He was already able to conclude that she was “slow” and that she did not do well on standard tests because of this.

Just as Mike Rose and John Baca were able to use different literacies to determine things about the people and places around them, I too had did the same. John Baca’s literacies kept him alive in the dark confined prison by which he was placed and helped keep him afloat and connected to the real world, while Mike Rose’s literacies allowed for him to keep sane and constantly draw the line between him and his fellow vocational classmates. It reminded him that although placed in the slow class did not mean you were slow. Thus showing, that literacy and the gaining of it is not only important for how you view others and the environment around us, but even how it is a vital and ever-growing part of our identity and who we are as a person.

In the United States today, women are getting paid eighty cents for every dollar a man makes. This is an average across all fields of work, but in recent years, professional athletes, specifically women soccer players, have brought this to the attention to both the nation and the larger world. Women athletes are tired of feeling underappreciated for their work compared to their male peers, and they aren’t the only working population who feel this way. Professional soccer players should be paid based on team and individual performance, not by views and attendance count.

In March of 2016, five top players on the Women’s National Team filed for unfair pay with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The New York Times created a comparison of the women’s and men’s team finding in recent years the women's team has play as much as 50 percent more games than the men and doubling the men's team win count with 88 wins to the men's 44.  In this case, the Women are working more per year compared to men and they are doing much better than the men’s team. Many  competitions are based on statistics in this world, such as getting into college, based on how well an individual performs. At other regular jobs, people are paid based off of hours worked whether there is a pay per hour or salary, amount of time worked goes into it which should correlate with athletes too. Since women have a substantially larger amount of games played, therefore more minutes played than men, they should be paid more than men. The US Soccer Federation should be rewarding the team who continues to win, throughout the season and in international tournaments, instead of supporting the team that continues to lose.This helps base their income on performance and successfulness instead of views, which helps create  more equality in the wage gap for women.

What makes this situation even worse is that the male players are still getting paid more than women even with the increased profit the Women’s National Team has been producing in the past couple of years. PBS released a budget report from the US Soccer Federation predicting that the women's team will bring in over $17 million while their male peers are producing less than half of that in revenue. When the women are making a profit higher than the men in sales, even with less views and attendance, they should be getting paid more. The US Men’s National Team sales are predicted to go down which, should conclude to getting paid less. If men are getting paid more based off of views and the people who are coming to games, the merchandise being sold should be looked at too. Women’s sales are creating a much larger profit, and shouldn’t just being going to the clubs if the men are making money off of it. While it should be based on performance, if the board doesn’t change its salary distribution, sales and other profits should be looked into for paying women. If they are working harder and not getting paid for it, they need to be compensated in some other way. The better their performance gets, normally, the more memorabilia they will sell. Statisticians should look for correlation between these two to help women earn fair pay.

Another important concept to look at when it comes to fair pay is what the players are getting paid for. In an interview with the New York Times, Rich Nichols, the general counsel for the United States Women’s National Soccer Team Players Association, said, “Seventy-five percent of (their) compensation, the women have to perform at a world-beating level just to keep pace financially. And that victory tour money? The women had to play the extra games to get it. The men get paid just for showing up.¨ Even though the Men’s National Team hasn’t made it far in recent tournaments, they are still getting paid more than the women who have won multiple tournaments in recent years. Women have to do extra work to earn the same amount as the men regularly when the men aren’t even doing well. To earn 75% of what they are, the women have the be the best in the world. However the men continue to lose and are outperformed by other teams. Women should not have to continually being putting in more work and playing a lot more than the men just to earn the same amount of money. America needs to make way for equal pay. If the commissioners continue to do nothing about it, Americans need to step up and stand behind women and start supporting their careers as well.

This is one solution for this discrepancy that professional soccer players should be paid based on team and individual performance, not by views and attendance count. By paying men and women fairly for their work, a more equal society can be created. Although equal pay for women athletes may only seem important to women, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about an equal society. A high profile change in salary for these players could have a positive impact on youth and women alike looking up to women who lead as a role model and have the chance to work alongside and get paid the same as their male peers.

Works Cited

Das, Andrew. "Pay Disparity in U.S. Soccer? It’s Complicated." The New York Times. The New

York Times, 21 Apr. 2016. Web. 21 Sept. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/sports/soccer/usmnt-uswnt-soccer-equal-pay.html?_r=1>.

Santhanam, Laura. "Data: How Does the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Pay Compare to the

Men?" PBS. PBS, 31 Mar. 2016. Web. 21 Sept. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/data-how-does-the-u-s-womens-soccer-team-pay-compare-to-the-men/>.

Due to exploration being a part of human nature, it’s not a surprise that people would want to explore space. But before the thought of space came into mind, all humans could explore was the world laid out right before them. They began to explore the Earth; its vast lands and oceans. Before the thought of exploring what was out there, beyond our world, the only exploration sites humans had were land. Since the past, humans utilized the seas to travel to and from land. The exploration of land has been thoroughly investigated for many years; the only issue that was left was: “What is left to explore?” Which in turn, led people to explore the ocean. Humans to this day still continue their search for valuable information about the unknown parts of the Earth. It became a problem when space exploration became more of a topic than marine exploration. Exploration not only involves science, it also harbors fundamental values that add to the vast knowledge of human studies. Although the general public might not think that marine biological research does not matter as much as astronomic research, its influence goes beyond knowledge of marine life to gaining new ways of preserving human life. The fact that there are still more and more people delving into space exploration is great; however, future-astronomers and scientists should be more concerned about our own world at the moment.

In the early 1800s, Thomas Jefferson established the United States Coast Survey. Since then, people have been eager to conduct more research about the place that disconnected the lands. People of the United States were consistently willing to donate money or even volunteer to conduct this research. The organization studied several parts of the United States and gathered data about different subjects concerning the ocean, including tides, tidal currents, and seafloor characteristics. Knowing information such as plant and animal life in the ocean, they marine biologists keep track of the health of marine ecosystems. Upon understanding underwater habitats, marine biologists also help disaster relief efforts. There are many ways that they could help, such as: helping other scientists with oil spills or chemical outbreaks and restoring other habitats back to their rightful states. Other ways that marine research can help benefit humans even more is through developing technology that can eliminate waste. If waste eliminating machines can work in the ocean, then they can also be developed in order for them to be used on land.

Wanting to learn more about the oceans changed in the last half of the 20th century. Technology started to advance. The advancement of technology meant that humans are now able to conduct more exploration that consisted beyond the planet. Astronomy intrigued people more compared to the ocean because the Space Race occurred. People piled more money towards space instead of the ocean because everyone wanted to see which astronaut representative of the United States and the Soviet Union would reach space first. In fact, the astronaut that reached space first was from the Soviet Union, who only orbited space in a spacecraft for 108 minutes. This did not accomplish any research nor gain any knowledge from launching someone in space. All the while the Space Race was occurring, oceanic research remained ignored.

More recently, in 2012, the Congress awarded NASA with $18.7 billion to encourage scientific research and discovery. By contrast, NOAA only received $4.5 billion from Congress, which is $14.2 billion less than what they had given NASA. Alongside the downgraded funding from Congress, NOAA was also given $1 billion less than their original requested amount. This event clearly shows that people are more willing to provide money to explore space.

The NOAA (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has confirmed that at least 95% of the oceanic realm has never been explored nor even visited by a human. The space program hasn’t experienced any progress in research or knowledge in recent years. The space program needs to create intricate and elaborate spacecrafts in order to conduct research, at a terrific cost. While the ocean is right next to land, people can have research conducted fairly swiftly. Compared to space, humans have known for a fact that the Earth is not endless. At around 500 B.C., Pythagoras, a philosopher and mathematician in Ancient Greece, coined the theory of the Earth being round. This theory proves that it is possible for the Earth to end.  While having these theories about the Earth, they could've went and conducted research themselves because technology such as boats can be provided during that era. Theorists have coined several of their sayings, yet some of them don't prove whatever they say because they don't conduct actual research to support them. The only way for people to completely prove facts is when they've thoroughly investigated a topic or scene that they've made claims about. There are many theories that scientists have made about Earth and space, yet the only claims that they can prove at the moment are ones about Earth. There needs to be a lot of time and effort put into space exploration because people can't just create rockets and blast people into space. It takes a lot of effort into building a spacecraft that can harbour the needed materials into space along with space suits and the astronauts that are going to be conducting research. Although, it's just as hard to build ships and materials in order for people to conduct marine research, compared to astronomical research, it wouldn't take a lot of effort in building a ship.

Having knowledge about one’s own planet is more efficient at the moment compared to learning about the vast majority of the rest of the universe. It’s just as important to have knowledge about the ocean as it is with outer space. The knowledge of marine exploration contributes to human sustainability, and offers equal opportunities that space exploration also provides. Therefore, the world should be able to much needed research to devote themselves to exploring the oceans.

Works Cited

"What Is Marine Biology?" MarineBio Conservation Society ~ Marine Biology, Ocean Life Conservation, Sea Creatures, Biodiversity, Research… N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2016. <http://marinebio.org/oceans/marine-biology/>.

Nnamani, Sally. "Government Should Fund NOAA and Marine Research, Not NASA Space Research." Mic. N.p., 2015. Web. 11 Oct. 2016. <https://mic.com/articles/2218/government-should-fund-noaa-and-marine-research-not-nasa-space-research#.TFZofsL81>.

"Issues in Science and Technology." Issues in Science and Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2016. <http://issues.org/30-4/final-frontier-vs-fruitful-frontier-the-case-for-increasing-ocean-exploration/>.

Ocean Exploration. NASA, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2016. <https://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/oceanography/ocean-exploration>.

Drop It Like It’s Hot

School. In the best possible world, it’s a cooperation-filled learning hub viewed as the definitive setting for young children and older adults alike. Yet, most people know that the opposite of this description is true. Schools today are most often competitively-fueled proving grounds that label students based on test scores and numbers instead of actual ability. This causes unimaginable stress to students who only want to graduate or pursue higher education so that their lives in the future won’t be bereft of money or pleasure. However, this could easily end up as a pointless endeavor, since many with high school and even college level educations are without jobs, unable to support themselves financially. Therefore, students are better off dropping out of high school than staying or pursuing higher education.

Today, high school graduates have difficulty finding jobs. Multiple studies and censuses have been completed by various companies to determine the ratio of graduates with jobs and those without. One of these companies is the Economic Policy Institute, which has written a paper on this very subject. For example, it says “For young high school graduates, the unemployment rate is 19.5 percent (compared with 15.9 percent in 2007).” The stats show that today, there is about a 1 in 5 chance that high school graduates will be without a job. This means that 1 in every 5 students will be without a job when they exit high school. This makes their high school education pointless since they can’t express their knowledge anywhere. Furthermore, the Economic Policy Institute’s paper goes on to say “For young college graduates, the underemployment rate is 14.9 percent (compared with 9.6 percent in 2007).” This means that if high school graduates do go on to pursue higher education and major in a certain field, there is a 1 in 6.667 chance that they will not get the job that they went to school for. This means that they have to pay back student loans for practically no reason. Thus, pursuing higher education only wastes students’ time.

Another reason for students to drop out is because of their stress levels. Many of the students in today’s world have been compared to mental patients in the 1950s. Students have to juggle their own school work, family responsibilities, health issues and wellness, religious responsibilities, and other activities in their lives every day. Managing all of this stuff on a daily basis can easily cause a ton of stress that overcomes the students. For example, the National Public Radio’s website has an article that describes one student named Nora’s mental breakdown after not receive a GPA of 4.0 after working viciously for it. “Nora ‘had a total meltdown, cried for hours,’ her mother, Jennie Huynh of Alameda, Calif., says. ‘I couldn't believe her reaction.’" This is obviously not the good kind of stress. This type of stress not mentally hurts the students but causes physical reactions to them too. Crying for hours on end is not good for the body. It can cause headaches and pain around the rest of a student’s body. It can even cause depression. However, as the quote above shows, this stress can easily affect the rest of a student’s family. Nora’s mother was shocked to see her daughter react this way to a GPA score. The article also goes on to say that Nora was irritated with her siblings a lot more, thus showing how school related stress can easily destroy family relationships. However, this kind of stuff would not happen if students dropped out of school instead of pursuing higher education.

In conclusion, the stress high schools cause combined with the fact that higher education has an unreliability factor in terms of acquiring a good job proves that dropping out of high school is the best option open to students. Students’ go to school in order to learn more about how they can prepare for and be the best at their future occupations. Today, students like Nora commit a slow and painful suicide as they struggle with and submit themselves to an institution that causes them to endure both physical pain and mental agony. Therefore, in order to save the future of this wave of students, they need to stopping being students.

Works Cited

1. Davis, Alyssa, Will Kimball, and Elise Gould. "The Class of 2015: Despite an Improving Economy, Young Grads Still Face an Uphill Climb." Economic Policy Institute. Economic Policy Institute, 27 May 2015. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

A person’s education is considered essential because it places people in a box of being “intelligent” and gives them a better opportunity in finding a job. While being uneducated places people in a box of being “dumb” therefore, finding a job is a bit of a struggle. Due to the cycle of education and money, getting a quality education is not always a choice because of the fact that schools are not all free, so education is an investment in a person's life which means not everyone can afford. As a result, the biggest factor in how good of an education a person receives is not how smart they are, but how much money they have.

People who already have money are most likely to finish school than people who requires funding. The reason for this is because people who need cash has to work to support their family such as paying their bills or even school tuition or allowances. Based on an article published in the National Education Association, 30% of ages that ranges from 16-18 years old drop out of school due to working multiple jobs. The reason for these kids dropping out of school is because they have to take on so much responsibilities at such a young age which can lead to stress. If the person is unable to focus in school and does not attend frequently due to working multiple jobs, they are absent in their education. Therefore, they are lacking education since cash is something that everyone needs due to the fact that bills won’t pay on their own.

According to a report from the Albert Shanker Institute which is a nonprofit organization that honors the late president of Federation of Teaching, it stated that money matters and that people who have more money and use it correctly receive a better education. This is due to the fact that if the person seeking an education spends their money wisely, the people who do can basically get more help with their help of their rich parents when needed which equals more financial resources. This shows that people who have more money are able to buy more resources to help them excel in a subject that they are struggling with.

A better education includes being able to graduate college, and giving a person a better opportunity to be successful in their career. But due to the increasing cost of college, education has gotten harder, especially for the people who cannot afford to pay for their education. In the articles, College Board and Adventure In Education, it states four year classes in a public institution costs about twenty-three thousand eight hundred ninety dollars per year and can range up to thirty-two thousand dollars per year. The amount of payment needed for the tuition fees do not include the food, books, supplies, housing, or  transportation fee yet which costs nearly half of the price of the student’s tuition fee. Back in 2015,  based on College Board, tuition, room fees, and board costs about eighteen thousand nine hundred thirty one dollars. As of 2016, it has increased by 3.3% aka adding on an extra six hundred seventeen dollars. Although, different types of school varies from different amounts of tuition fees needed, a wealthier person can just go to the school they want to go to and pay it off. A person in the lower class has to work harder to satisfy their dreams which do not always go well.

The people with more cash have better advantages than people with less cash. This is because the people that are wealthier don’t even have to be smart and still be able to go to the school that person want to go too. In fact, the rich people can be the dumbest kid alive but be able to afford to get tutors to make them more wiser while a person who needs more financial support has to work harder to sustain their needs. Based on the article, Daily Mail, it states that being rich can actually increase brainpower. Researcher Dr. Kimberly Noble said, “This is the critical point. The brain is the product of both genetics and experience and experience is particularly powerful in moulding brain development in childhood.” People with less money are often more stressed out which can result in a bad behavior in school. Like the movie, Freedom Writer, Hilary makes the students write about their experience and some of them are caused by home problems. Not graduating college would affect the lower class knowledge and may force them to drop out of whatever dreams they have.

When asked, people with more money might say that they have their education hard, but on closer inspection, the people with less money have it harder. The rich people might say this because of the expectation their parent might expect from them. This results in them to be more stress out due to working multiples jobs and finding a job suitable for their living, it would result of them to have a higher rate of dropout from school which would interfere with their education. Even though, it is possible for people with less money to graduate and get a good education, it is more rare and most likely more stressful due to being indebted as well which would be difficult to pay off. Infact, based on Debt.org, it states that today the total U.S. student in debt is 1.2 trillions of dollars. This is a lot of money that needs to be paid off. This being said, the more money the person makes, the better education they get no matter how smart they are.

Works Cited:

"Education." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.

Baker, Bruce D. "Does Money Matter in Education? Second Edition." Shanker Institute. Bruce D. Baker, 2016. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.

By 2020, an Estimated Two-thirds of Job Openings Will Require Postsecondary Education or Training.[3]. "Fact Sheet: Focusing Higher Education on Student Success." Fact Sheet: Focusing Higher Education on Student Success. N.p., 27 July 2015. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.

Neatoday. "Why Students Drop Out: The Economic Pressures That Make Leaving School Unavoidable - NEA Today." NEA Today. N.p., 2015. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.

"Student Loan Resources: Financial Aid & Loan Debt Management."

Debt.org News. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Fiona Macrae for the Daily Mail. "Does Being Rich Make You SMART? Academic Success Is Linked to Your Parents' Wealth, Study Claims." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

"Average Published Undergraduate Charges by Sector, 2015-16." - Trends in Higher Education. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

"College Costs: FAQs." College Costs: FAQs. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

"Great Synonyms for "money" on the New Thesaurus.com!" www.thesaurus.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Aniya Linder

9/26/2016

A Band

“Why don't I have long straight hair, blue eyes, B-cup sized breasts and long legs? What is wrong with me?” On March 9, 1965, Barbie was introduced to the world. From that day forward, she was flying off the shelves. Many Americans think of Barbie as the quintessential plaything for young girls. However, the doll has a big problem.  That was the start of young black girls being brainwashed into thinking that having blue eyes, long silky hair, sunkissed skin, thin lips and a skinny nose was the only way a girl or woman could be considered beautiful as well as the only way to be accepted by society. For many years, European beauty standards are being taught and reinforced to all young girls, and specifically black girls, through Barbie dolls.

In 1939 the  “Clark Baby Doll Experiment” was conducted by Dr. Kenneth Clark, an African-American psychologist and his wife, Mamie Clark. The two  were both active in the Civil Rights Movement. The experiment was centered around the opinions of children. This experiment was to persuade the American Supreme Court during “Brown v. Board of Education” in 1954. The experiment tried to prove that separate but equal schools for blacks and whites were not equal in practice  which was against the law.  Dr. Clark conducted an experiment that involved them showing  black children a black doll and a white doll. He then asked a series of questions to see how they reacted to the different skin tones of the dolls. During the doll test, they are also asked which doll is the “bad doll” and most of the children said the black doll without being told a name, age, occupation, and or talent of the doll character. During the time of this test, white predominance was extremely active and the effect of it was extrusive.  White people gave African Americans a variety of names, such as monkey and banjo lips. Behind those names were a lot of animosities. African American men, women, and children were socially conditioned into thinking that they were monstrous and terrible people. It is easy for children to pick up the behavior that they see and hear so just imagine how easy it would be for a child to think that the men, women, and children around them are monsters along with the doll that laid lifelessly in front of them. Those children in that experiment were put through verbal abuse by another race , being constantly told that they're nothing  better than the ground they step on because of their skin,their nose, and their lips.

Mattel has made multiple attempts to make its dolls more diverse however they failed.  In 2014,  many department stores such as Walmart, Target, K-Mart, and others began to sell the African American Barbie doll collection. Most of the dolls of color were on sale and at extremely cheap prices, while the white dolls in some cases were 2-3 times the price.  There is a lot of controversy about this on the ABC news website. There is a photo of an African American doll placed next to a White American doll. Both are on sale but the African American doll is priced at $3.00 and the White American doll is priced at $5.93, the White American doll is practically doubled the price. Melissa O'brien a spokeswoman at a Walmart in Louisiana  says "... Both are great dolls. The red price sticker indicates that this particular doll was on clearance when the photo was taken, and though both dolls were priced the same to start, one was marked down due to its lower sales to hopefully increase purchase from customers... " Melissa O'brien a spokeswoman at a Walmart in Louisiana. To many customers, the implication of the lowering of the price is that's devaluing the black doll. Most African American parents would like to see the African American collection on shelves so that their daughter and or son doesn't have to automatically choose the white American Barbie doll. However, the lowered price reveals that  there are still little girls that don't want the African American Barbie. The parents of these young African American girls aren't the ones choosing which doll they'd rather play with- it's the young girls that are still drawn to what's been presented to them for years even though what's new is what resembles them the most.

This attraction to a white appearance goes way beyond dolls. On social media apps and sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and many other sites African American male and female celebrities  are changing themselves to fit in with society's beauty standards. Well, known celebrity Lil Kim took a picture to show her clearly bleached skin, beach blonde hair, and a nose job. This photo has been spotted on lots of social media sites so it's obvious that she isn't ashamed of the decision that she has made. There are thousands of African American women and even men who do this to have lighter skin because they feel as though it will fix their self-esteem issues. Female celebrities were children at one point as well, and they were and most likely still are affected by  European beauty standards that this society has created. To fit in, these women want to change themselves as much as they can to stay on top and be that woman that every little girl wants to be. A local musician in Cape Town South Africa Nomasonto "Mshoza” says "I've been black and dark-skinned for many years, I wanted to see the other side. I wanted to see what it would be like to be white and I'm happy, part of it was a self-esteem issue."  However, when these celebrities alter themselves to be a better role model they aren't understanding that they are doing the exact opposite. So when little girls see their celebrity role model change themselves it's definitely possible that they'll think that it's okay to change yourself according to everyone else's standards and that it's normal to not accept the way that you look.

Although the European beauty standards being taught and reinforced young African-American girls  through Barbie dolls  it may only seem important  to African-Americans , it should in fact concern anyone who cares about their child knowing embracing who they are  and that you shouldn't let European  beauty standards influence extremely low self-esteem. Young African-American girls need to know  that the racial background that they come from doesn’t make them flawed or less than their white counterparts. . The upcoming generations of African-American young women  need to know how to stay true to their roots so that it's reinforced to the other corrupted brains of other African-American young girls. When young African-Americans girls are offered little to no options to own dolls that look like themselves, it negatively influences their self-esteem and sense of identity.

Work Cited

"Barbie (doll)." Barbie Doll. Yona Zeldis McDonough, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.News about Barbie (Doll), including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

The Clark Doll Experiment. Abagond, 9 May 2009. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

Black Barbie Sold for Less Than White Barbie at Walmart Store. N.p., 9 Mar. 2010. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

"Africa: Where Black Is Not Really Beautiful." Pumza Fihlani, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

The Extrovert Ideal

Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks, Steven Spielberg, Sir Isaac Newton, and Eleanor Roosevelt have been some of the most influential people in society. They are also all documented introverts. Sadly, these people are seen as the exception, as being among a few introverts who have become successful. According to societal stereotypes, a leader must be confident, not reserved; commanding, not quiet. In most cases, the world revolves around the extrovert, which in turn forces introverts to either conform or to cope in their own ways.

The main difference between introverts and extroverts is how they relax and recharge after a long day. There are many stereotypes surrounding introverts and extroverts; the main assumptions here are that all introverts are shy and all extroverts are outgoing. According to Saul McLeod, a psychology lecturer, the psychiatrist Carl Jung decided that extroverts have an “outward flowing of personal energy” while introverts have an “inward flowing of personal energy”. Jung also bluntly points out that “Our Western attitude is extroverted; value is put on being outgoing which we consider being well adjusted.” During the Industrial Revolution, Americans started to not only sell their product, but also themselves. An important part of business and eventually success, was to put on a confident, extroverted persona. Powerful leaders in business and other work fields had to be sure of themselves and forthright with their ideas - being reserved and reflective are considered weak attributes. Extroverts are seen as ideal in the workplace possibly because introverts can get overlooked, tend to be less driven by monetary gain and find self-promoting ‘distasteful’. Extroverts are also more likely to take on higher paying management roles resulting in the extroverted personality types earning more money, as shown in the “Average Household Income by Type” graph (Share):

The Extrovert Ideal is a phrase that describes the way that society rewards those with extroverted tendencies and leadership. In Susan Cain’s words from her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, “We live with a value system that I call the Extrovert Ideal—the omnipresent belief that the ideal self is gregarious, alpha, and comfortable in the spotlight...” The Extrovert Ideal is supported by many scenarios, one of which is the way that office spaces are organized. Many office spaces are open spaces, allowing collaboration and the sharing of ideas. For some work fields, such as education or small businesses, collaboration is extremely useful; instead of one mind there could be five people pouring over one problem. Many people think this way of working is essential, but it is wrong to assume that everyone holds it to that same standard. Introvert blogger, Matt Blodgett said, “By forcing your whole team into an open plan, you are effectively telling your introverts, act like an extrovert! All the time! If you don’t like this, there’s something wrong with you!” While extraversion is an attractive personality to most people, modern workplace culture made it into an oppressive lifestyle so that many introverts feel they need to conform. Society is built in favor of the extroverted. Introverts should not be forced to change their lifestyle based off of their office space and coworkers and should not be shunned because they work a different way.

Introverts may not be able to change the way that they recharge, but they can adapt and find ways to cope with the Extrovert Ideal. Laura Vanderkam has developed strategies to be confident while giving speeches to large groups of people. As an introvert, Vanderkam has had to cope with the expectation of being instantly skilled with public speaking. Vanderkam has not become an extrovert - she still struggles with her speeches and needs time to herself to recharge - but she has found ways to make the lecturing process easier for her through strategies to make public speaking more comfortable for her. For example, Vanderkam says that she has “the organizers [of where I am lecturing] put me in touch with a few audience members beforehand... When I say hello before the talk, they become friendly faces, nodding and smiling in seats near the front [of the audience].” By practicing and tweaking her public speaking technique, Vanderkam has found ways to make her more comfortable with something that an extrovert could attempt without hours of preparation. A stereotype is that all introverts, being shy, are terrible at public speaking. Vanderkam proves this stereotype wrong and defends introverts’ personalities, but since the world expects the ideal person to be an extrovert, introverts must find ways to cope.

Although the Extrovert Ideal may only seem important to introverts, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about how the world treats those who function differently. Society should accept introverts and extroverts for who they are. As attractive of a trait that extroversion is, it should not be an oppressive standard. If no space is made for introverts, then society will lose people who crave solitude that gives them time to formulate ideas without distraction, people who rely on their inner compasses, not external affirmation, and realistic listeners would can shape the world with the passion and strength.

Works Cited:

1. Jung, Carl. "Jung's Theory of Temperaments." Philosophy Lander. Philosophy Lander, Web. 15 Oct. 2016. <http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/jung.html>.

2. Blodgett, Matt. "The Open Plan Office and the Extrovert Ideal." Blodgett, Matt. Matt Blodgett, 2016. Web. 15 Oct. 2016. <http://www.mattblodgett.com/2015/02/the-open-plan-office-and-extrovert-ideal.html>.

3. Vanderkam, Laura. "The Introvert on the Podium." The New York Times. The New York Times. Web. 15 Oct. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/business/the-introvert-on-the-podium.html?_r=1>.

4. Cain, Susan. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2012, 2013. Print.

5. Share, Jacob. "Do You Have This Moneymaking Personality Trait?" JobMob. JobMob, n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2016. <https://jobmob.co.il/blog/personality-trait-making-money/>.

6. Lebowitz, Shana. "Why Extroverts Earn More Money than Introverts." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 12 May 2015. Web. 01 Nov. 2016. <http://www.businessinsider.com/susan-cain-on-why-extroverts-earn-more-2015-5>.

7. Bernstein, Elizabeth. "Why Introverts Make Great Entrepreneurs." The Wall Street Journal. WSJ, 23 Aug. 2015. Web. 01 Nov. 2016. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-introverts-make-great-entrepreneurs-1440381699>.

Teen pregnancy: not a popular situation in America today. in general, parents do not want their teens to become pregnant before being able to provide a life for their child or being able to give themselves the best life possible. But what can be done to avoid it? Many Americans believe that the best way to prevent teen girls from getting pregnant is to convince them to not have sex. I believe that teen pregnancy rate has dropped significantly because more education and resources are being provided, as opposed to still promoting abstinence which I believe makes teen pregnancy rates increase.

Teen pregnancy is easily avoidable, and there are many accessible resources for families and young girls. A resource that serves 1 out of 5 women in their life is Planned Parenthood. PP has been providing STD screening services, general healthcare, and abortion services for 97 years. From 2013-2014 pregnancy rates dropped 9%, and from 1990 teen pregnancy rates have dropped 50%. Planned Parenthood was able to decrease pregnancy rates because they provide different forms of birth control. They provide the daily pill, implants, or abortion services. PP providing these services lets girls know that they are safe and have these preventative methods. Each year PP prevents 216,000 unwanted pregnancies each year.

Many states across the country provide their students with sex education, ranging from abstinence, sex ed, and HIV. Different states have different requirements to meet, such as that 28 states require courses on healthy sexual relationships. The University of Washington paired with the Center for Disease Control, conducted a study comparing young adults who received comprehensive to sex education to those who did not. The results concluded that educating kids in school greatly helps bring down teen pregnancy rates because knowledge is power. The young adults who had received proper education, had a 50% lower rate of teen pregnancy. Once these kids are given the proper knowledge, and taught that sex is not a taboo, they will stop feel like having sex proves them to be a rebellious teen.

The Federal Government conducted a research study on determining the effectiveness of teaching abstinence only programs. Abstinence only programs teach that students should not be having sex until marriage, and provide no information on Birth Control, STD’s, or HIV. Schools and programs believe that teaching abstinence will decrease the amount of sexual partners children chose to have and amount of sexually active teens. This study concluded that youth enrolled in these programs were no less likely to become sexually active, and it did not provide them the necessary resources to make informed decisions later on in life.

A resource like PP is necessary for young girls, and should be continued to receive funding because it clearly does an effective job.Knowing key statistics and the proper way to approach sexual education with young adults is essential to lowering teen pregnancy rates. This is significant because we need to be able to take care of our youth, including teens and newborns. Teens having newborns can cause many complications and hardships, to those surrounding them,and  those who take care of infants when situations are not ideal. Maintaining a persistent sexual education program has been proven to lower teen pregnancy rates, and is essential to maintain. Not every teen pregnancy can be avoided, sex is apart of life, but those who find themselves in situations of unwanted pregnancies should have the information and resources.

Works CIted

"Pregnancy and Childbearing." Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, July 2014. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.

"By the Numbers." Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Jan. 2014. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.

"Sexual Activity." Statistics. Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, 2015. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.

The Social Election

What can a person say in a few lines of text? Twitter, which was created in 2006, has been one of the most widespread social networking services. It is an easy way to interact with friends, family, and celebrities in just under 140 characters. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are active on Twitter daily and constantly share their thoughts, feelings, and views on current events. Twitter is another platform for the candidates to argue, as well as in interviews and debates. Twitter has a negative effect on how the 2016 presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, interact with each other, which indicates to the public their weaknesses in being a potential president.

Donald Trump’s twitter is controlled by himself, not by a managing team, and he has plenty of negative things to say. When reviewing Trump’s account, one will find many tweets towards people and current events. In August of 2016, The New York Times published “The 258 People, Places, and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter: A Complete List”. Under Hillary Clinton’s name, the word “crooked” appears 155 times. On July 29th 2016, Trump tweeted, “Crooked Hillary Clinton mentioned me 22 times in her very long and very boring speech. Many of her statements were lies and fabrications!” Throughout his tweets there are a wide collection of offensive adjectives. In this tweet in particular, he uses ‘crooked’, ‘very long’, and ‘very boring’.  His use of words and hostile tone towards Clinton’s speech indicates that he certainly wasn’t happy and felt her accusations were false. Instead of disagreeing with her, he chose to complain about it. Trump could easily cover up Clinton’s commentary by clearing the air and discussing the choices he would make if he is elected president. The public can use Twitter to read Trump’s personality.

Clinton’s Twitter reads differently:  future intentions for Clinton’s possible presidency, retweets about articles that praise her , and retweets and tweets that highlight Trump’s accused wrongdoings. For example, Clinton was startled by Newsweek’s article: “How the Trump Organization’s Foreign Business Ties Could Upend U.S. National Security”. The day the article was published, her reaction was to send out this tweet: “In light of @kurteichenwald’s report on the Trump Organization’s dangerous ties, here are 20 questions that Trump needs to answer- now.” This was followed by 20 questions tweeted to Trump, numbered and filled with intense questions about Trump’s future plans on foreign affairs. Since this was on Twitter, he had the right to ignore these questions and he did so. Clinton took the time to prepare thoughtful questions to Trump which she knew may never be answered.  Twitter isn’t exactly the place to fire an abundance of questions to your opponent. These questions would be viable when debating against Trump directly and would be more effective in making Trump answer them. Clinton uses Twitter as an extra platform to connect to the public. She wants to look better to them. Clinton's act does show what she does or doesn’t believe in, but it also reveals her character. The people can see that in Clinton’s possible presidency, she may use in appropriate timing and start unnecessary arguments.

Three students at Sam Houston State University conducted a study on Clinton and Trump’s tweets in July. In June, the students collected 794 tweets sent out by both sides during that month. They deciphered the tweets and examined what each candidate discussed. Their research found that “34 percent of Clinton’s tweets criticized Donald Trump, while only 22 percent of his tweets criticized her.” Criticizing, in Trump’s way, is using offensive terms and phrases and calling the other out on mistakes. Even though Clinton uses more of her tweets to strike at Trump, he spent 17 percent of his tweets bashing other Republicans, Democrats, media, etc.  Clinton tries to make herself seem like the better opponent by scrutinizing Trump. This displays that she wants to cover up her mistakes by shifting the attention on another’s mistakes, a skill she could use in her presidency. On the other hand, Trump focuses on condemning others. A judgemental and subjective person, like Trump, aren’t quality traits for a president. Twitter isn’t too effective in criticizing the other opponent. Each side has the possibility of hurting their image in the end.

Overall, Twitter is a platform that is used by the 2016 presidential candidates to spew their emotions and thoughts on anything they desire. Trump shows he is prone to complaining and judging others. Clinton focuses on calling out Trump’s mistakes. Twitter has helped the public gain an inside look by watching the candidates tweet each other that helps them determine what kind of potential president they could be. On a close inspection, the public can find their weaknesses within their accounts.

Works Cited

Lee, Jasmine C., and Kevin Quealy. "The 258 People, Places and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter: A Complete List." The New York Times. The New York Times, 2016. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.

Dreyfuss, Ben. "Does Donald Trump Send His Own Tweets? An Investigation." Mother Jones. N.p., 14 Sept. 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.  

Trump, Donald. @realDonaldTrump. 29th July 2016.

Eichenwald, Kurt. "How the Trump Organization’s Foreign Business Ties Could Upend U.S. National Security." Newsweek. N.p., 14 Sept. 2016. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.

Savransky, Rebecca. "Clinton Tweets 20 Questions Trump 'needs to Answer-now'" TheHill. N.p., 14 Sept. 2016. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.

Evans, Heather, Kayla Brown, and Tiffany Wimberly. Hillary Clinton Is Tweeting More than Donald Trump and Attacks Him More Often than He Does Her. N.p., 9 July 2016. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.