For the film conversion benchmark, we were tasked with remodeling a scene of a movie into a different genre or through the style of a different auteur. The purpose of this being to test our knowledge of cinematic and theatrical elements, and how they play a crucial role in deciding the kind of film that is created. My partner Siani and I focused on the 2012 blockbuster Hunger Games. The film centers on a young woman, Katniss, in postmodern North America, as she participates in an annual event entitled “The Hunger Games” which calls for teenagers to fight to the death until only one survives.

Written as a dystopian novel, and produced as a science fiction and fantasy film, we aimed to take the core aspects of danger and the will to survive and adjusted them into a new setting. With the usage of cinematic and theatrical elements, we adapted the film into a western. The scene we focused on, common titled, “Career Pack chase Katniss” shows the main character Katniss being hunted down by a group of fellow participants in the games. In order to make transform this scene into that of a western, we needed to employ and highlight the various techniques that are commonly found in westerns, techniques that would give the scene the smooth yet intense style of westerns.

Beginning with the cinematic elements, framing is one that played a critical role in capturing feeling. Often in western films, employs close ups to capture the emotion and facial expression of the character as well as to highlight important aspects. Similarly we used many close up shots on our characters faces along with their weapons to show the importance of feeling in the person and of their object, in this case their guns which were very much so apart of them. Long shots, which are used to show the character entire body, usually from a distance, were employed in instances where multiple characters were in the scene so that the audience could see everything that was happening in the scene. Medium shots, which shot from the waist up, were used in many of the scenes to show the characters while also keeping some of the background in view of the reader. Two angles were used in our storyboard. High angles, which are when a character is filmed from above, was implemented during scenes where the Career Pack chased Katniss, to emphasize the danger that she was in. The second being eye level, so that the audience could look at Katniss directly and see the emotion that she is trying to relay. In most western movements, dolly/tracking is used. This is to show the movement in the scene. We used this form of camera movement and included a few slow shots to build up tension as the scene goes along.

In the form of editing, we used two types, eyeline match and cut. A cut edit is when two shots are pieced together to make the illusion of an instantaneous shot. This was evident in scenes of action/confrontation where dialogue, bullets, and the overall action was taken place from different areas of the set. Eyeline match is a technique used to allow the audience to see what the characters are seeing. We used this, during dialogue between the characters to make them reader feel they are in the scene.

When it comes to sound, many westerns are absent of outside music, instead opting for diegetic sound which is sound that originates in the scenes of the movie. In westerns these are often things like the wind, footsteps, bullet sounds, cactus rolling etc. We used diegetic sound to emphasize the sound of the weapons and to catch things that would match the environment. Lastly, rounding out the cinematic features is lighting. In terms of lighting, we aimed to remain true to the time that a western would have taken place. This means natural light in the outside scenes, and dimmer in the indoors.

While cinematic elements are important to a movie’s conception, theatrical elements are just as necessary. First off, one of the most important aspects of a film is the set. This is where the movie takes place and ultimately provides a backing to the film. The particular scene in was taken from the arena, which showed a forest of sorts. Western’s usually take place on the American Frontier, so we made that the new set for our scene.

Like set, costumes also play an important role in distinguishing a film as a western. You will often find things such as cowboy hats, boots, vest, loosely based clothing in warm or earth tones. Instead of the modern clothes as seen in the movie, our characters wore cowboy hats and boots to make it clear they are in a western. In the Hunger Games, weapons such as arrows and knives were the main props utilized throughout the movie. To make it fit the time period, we traded in the arrows for guns, as big portion of westerns are the epic shootout scenes. Acting choices can set the tone of a movie, as it is the characters that the audience is following. We wanted to keep the same tone for the modified clip from the original as it the choices made emphasize the desire of fighting to stay alive. Overall, a lot of things go into creating any specific type of movie. These are the ways in which we were able to transform the Hunger Games into a traditional western movie.

For me, the capstone process was one filled with great highs and lows. The idea for my capstone towards the end of junior year. I wanted to take the science fiction short story that I worked on during junior year, and expand on it. I originally intended on it being a full length novel, but it did not end up as such. High school, working, and the college process caused me to spend a lot of time away from my capstone. Soon I realized I would not have enough time to write a full length novel of quality, so I changed my plan and turned it into a shortened novel. With my revised idea, I spent time writing, editing, and revising my story. Using the information given from my mentor Stephanie Sessa as well as the input of friends and family I was able to produce my final product. One that I am very proud of. The book titled, Control, is a combination of science fiction and dystopian fiction that take issues of the modern world and puts them a new and different perspective. Throughout my process, the most important lesson I learned was that in order for product to be as best as it can be, there must be time put into it. Had I been given the chance to do this process again, I would allow myself more time to work on the novel so that it could be my full and complete vision. Despite this, I delivered a solid final product. 

Link to buy book

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/cart

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10pmRkDrT9moYf5KuJby3HgNAd4mhBoLoMj90Z5LF7MQ/edit?usp=sharing

Chapter 3- Us Girls

(Section)

Lily was the optimistic one. The youngest, barely 18, she always tried to lift the mood of sorrow and anger. She tried to play games, tell stories, and such although we weren’t the cheeriest bunch up to have fun. She often spoke of her big loving family. How they spend every christmas at her grandparents cabin in the Poconos and roast marshmallows over the fire. She seemed to stay in a state of disbelief, and tried her best to remain in the past where everything was good. I guess this was her way of coping. Sit in a state of false bliss to avoid coming to terms with the actual problems. She would tell us about her life plans, and what she would do with her family once this entire “simulation” as she called it was over. She had her entire life planned. None of us had the courage to tell the poor girl that she’d probably never see them again. That she had come to the point of no return and would be stuck here forever. We let her live in a whatever bliss she created for herself to manage the pain.

Next was Alice. Quiet girl, soft spoken, around my age. Like me she had been taken on her way home from work, accept according to her accounts that had been very rough on her. She said once a main grabbed her she managed to kick his groin and run down the block, only to have three men tackle her to the ground. She was punched, gagged, and tied in down in the van. She was thrown in the cold room with the rest of us, with a bloody face and they didn’t seem to interesting her distressed appearance. I could tell she was still slightly traumatized from the experience, and was scared of anything else happening. She adopted the motto of “laying low” and never challenged the authority. After seeing a small portion of what they were capable off, she didn’t want to put herself through anymore unnecessary pain.

In most ways she was an ideal prisoner. Always did what she’s told, kept complaints to herself, and expressed no desire to leave. Accepting this as her fate, she had the mindset of listening and doing whatever it took to make it through both this day and the next. It was hard to get through her tough exterior, making it hard for any of us to get close to her. However, we would get glimpses at the girl beneath the exterior.

Sometimes, she would tell a story here and there about her family or life in general and she seemed more than a robot programed to do everything she was told, but just as the vulnerable and human side of her came out it would quickly close back up.

Lastly, there was Diamond. The exact opposite of Alice, Diamond was a spitfire, She wasn’t shy to speak her feelings of disdain for the government and the program. Something that nearly got her ruffed up by The General and a few of the guards on more than one occasion. That’s the nickname we gave to Joe. Every she expressed to us her strong desire to figure a way out, telling us that it would take the cooperation of all four of us to make it happen. It was her fierce personality and determination to never give up that brought me closer to her than the other two.

One night after dinner, she told us her story. She was a single mother, lived with her mother, and taking classes at Community College while working a full time job at the supermarket. One night she was late picking up her sun from daycare, and as she stepped out of her car was hit on the head and fell unconscious. The thing that plagued her mind most often was of the wellness of her family. She wanted to know that they were okay, and no one could give her the assurance that they indeed were. Despite her strong front, I could see the pain and sorrow within her eyes. Every so often she would utter her son’s name and her eyes would get watery. Unlike the rest of us girls, she was not just living for herself, but also for her child. The one she may not ever see again.

They tested our ovulation every other day trying to pick the perfect day. Diamond was the first one to experience the removal of her eggs. She was gone for about an hour and came back in a sea of rage and disgust feeling as though something had been stolen from her. She cursed at the gards and even flipped one of the beds. Eventually I was able to calm her down, but I had yet to experience the feeling that something had been stolen from me. But I would soon experience that very thing.

I remember slowing walked down the dimly lit hallway looking towards the big red doors. I took small steps, wanting to take up as much time as I could before I entered the room. I didn’t fully know what to expect nor did I want to find out. I walked into a what looked to be your average looking hospital room. White, clean, and abnormally silent. There was a man sitting at the desk, who if you weren’t paying attention could walk right past him. He had me completely undress and lay on an operating table. Not much interested in conversation, he was there to do a job and I was there to be used.

A man named Wayne introduced himself as the doctor. He said no more words to me before the procedure, instead just putting me to sleep. When I woke up, he was cleaning up and simply said, “You can go.” I sat up, confused at what just happened. Physically I looked the same, but my body felt as though it didn’t belong to me. Something was off, and I don’t think I ever felt the same after the procedure.

Walking back to the room, the emotions begin to fill my body. I’m not sure if I was more angered at my bodily possessions between forced out of me or the fact that those doing it had so little respect for what I was giving to them. We were giving them the “future of America” and they had not the decency to say thank you for our great contribution.

It was that night as I laid in bed staring at the ceiling that I decided I was done. Previously I tried to convince myself to go along with the program and to keep myself safe in hopes that one day I’d be able to go home, however that feeling was long gone.

I was no longer willing to actually give myself to those who were so unappreciative of it. I knew in that moment when he rudely told me to leave, that this was the end. I knew I had to escape. The next morning, right before The General, I told the girls we had something very important to discuss. When we got back to the room after retrieving breakfast, I expressed my strong feelings of disgust for the program and my desire to escape. Letting them know that if the four of us band together, we could possibly find a way out. Without even asking if there was a definite plan, they all agreed to participate. Even Alice who several times in the past spoke against escaping, arguing that dealing with our fate would be a better option. With the four of us in, we started to the planning. We realized early on that there would be a series of obstacles in our path. The first being The General.

Every four years the American public prepares for the always entertaining and important presidential election. The country comes together to decide by majority vote the person believed best suited to lead the most powerful country in the world. However, not everyone is included in this all important decision. The twenty-sixth amendment requires each citizen be a legal adult, age eighteen, to vote in any election whether it be presidential, congressional, or just district. The amendment does not take into consideration how the newly elected leaders will affect teenagers who had zero input in electing them. Because they are directly impacted from actions of the American government, the voting age in the United States should be decreased for those teens to have a say.

In the United States, the youth is eligible to partake in various adult activities. By sixteen teenagers can drive, work, pay taxes. At seventeen one can even enlist in the military and be transported overseas to fight in volatile battle in defense of the country. Despite all of this, teenagers are still considered too young to vote. The twenty-sixth amendment was ratified thus lowering the minimum voting age in the U.S from twenty-one to eighteen. This was primarily due to two major ideas. The first uttered by former president Franklin D. Roosevelt that “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote.” This meaning that since men could be drafted into the military at age eighteen, they were able to handle such responsibility as voting. Roosevelt’s slogan became popular during the youth voting movement.

The second idea being that by lowering the voting age, there would a greater voter turnout. This would allow more representation and opinions in elections. Richard Nixon once stated at a White House ceremony, “The reason I believe that your generation, the 11 million new voters, will do so much for America at home is that you will infuse into this nation some idealism, some courage, some stamina, some high moral purpose, that this country always needs.” This idea lead congress to pass the amendment. Voter turnout amongst the youth has proven vital in the presidential election. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, young voters (age 18 to 24) were the only group to show a statistically significant increase in turnout in 2008, despite an overall increase of some 5 million voters. In fact, The 2008 presidential election of Barack Obama saw a voter turnout of some 49 percent of 18- to 24 year-olds, the second highest in history. This clearly shows the vital impact young voters can have on elections as well as there need to vote. History has shown that while growing maturity and responsibility teenagers in these sixteen to seventeen range are old enough to vote.

When new leaders are chosen, they are given the great responsibility of implementing ideas that are meant to better the country and every citizen in it. Different politicians have different agendas, and it’s up to the public to decide which agenda will be most effective not just for the individual person, but for the majority of the public. The youth are directly impacted by these decisions that they aren’t apart of. Anything that policy makers implement will affect the youth who had zero opportunity to effectively voice their opinion and have adequate say. Even though many youth have opinions on policies and what should be done to fix not only the major issues within the country, but also the daily problems are legally quieted by the constitution.

This way of voting is not a true and complete representation as a large portion of the country does not have legal say. Other countries have implemented laws that allow for those sixteen and above to vote in different elections. For example, In Scotland, where 16- and 17-year-olds were eligible to vote in the independence referendum in 2014, an impressive three-quarters of those who registered turned out on the day, compared with 54% of 18- to 24-year-olds. In 2007 Austria became the only rich country where 16-year-olds could vote in all elections. If this is being allowed in other countries with consistently great turnouts, that more reason for the United States to decrease the voting age. Not only is it allowing representation for a wider range of people, it also connects to the previous point that voter turnout would increase significantly.

The United States has built its entire political system on the idea of democracy and fair say all. Every citizen has the right to one vote in any electoral vote in selecting who the new county, state, and national leaders will be. However, a large portion of people with valid opinions are being neglected their input. Teenagers, specifically sixteen and seventeen are knowledgeable enough and will be impacted just as much as legal adults. Because of this it only makes sense that they should be legally allowed to vote. If America wants to pride itself on democracy, then it must truly value and accept the input from all of those willing and eligible to give it.

Work Cited:

"Top Ten Reasons to Lower the Voting Age." Top Ten Reasons to Lower the Voting Age. National Youth Rights Association, 2016. Web. 01 May 2017.

History.com Staff. "The 26th Amendment." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 01 May 2017.

Why this is my best 2fer

I consider the 2fer to be my best or a good 2fer to end the year with because it reflects a cause that I firmly support, and allows me to inject a lot of opinions. Whereas some of my past 2fers have been on things that I found online or topics that I found interesting. This 2fer centers on an idea that I think should become a reality. I got to learn more information concerning why the voting age in the United States is eighteen, but also more information to support my claims that it should be lowered. I enjoyed writing this 2fer the most because it allowed my actual voice to come through so that it wasn’t just another essay. This 2fer is my best it was written well, had a unique topic that I cared about, and the most effort was put into it.

In both The Parent Trap and Taming of the Shrew, two relationships are formed through heavy influence by family members. In the Parent Trap, twin sisters Annie and Hallie used a series of tactics such as deception and trickery to reunite their long separated parents. While in Taming of the Shrew, Baptista used his being the lead male figure of the family as means to decide when and who his daughters, Bianca and Katherine would marry. Both situations see family members Annie, Hallie, and Baptista taking matters into their own hands to effect the relationship of others with varying success. The children in the Parent Trap, and the father in Taming of the Shrew. These reflect that the idea of familial influence and impact on relationships has transcended time, but time has equalized the power of women and men allowing for certain tactics that were once acceptable to be ended.

“Gentlemen, importune me no farther, For how I firmly am resolved you know: That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter Before I have a husband for the elder.”

(Act 1. Scene 1, 48-51)

In this quote, Baptista informs the male characters about the marital status and plans for his two daughters Katherine and Bianca. All of the male characters up to this point have shown great interest in marrying the beautiful and desirable Bianca, the youngest daughter. However, Baptista explains that Bianca is not allowed to court or contact any males excluding teachers until oldest sister Katherine, who has developed the reputation as a shrew or mean spirited is married off. Furthermore it is Baptista who has final say in both who and when his daughters are married to. Bianca and Katherine are at complete submission to their father who dictates their interaction and relationships with men Baptista displays a firm grasp and influence on the future of his daughters. His ability to do this also reflects the time period of the late 1500s where women had little to no choice in who they would be married of too. Instead this right given to parents, particularly fathers.

Annie and Hallie develop a similar mindset and plan however in this case it’s to get their long lost parents back together.

( The Parent Trap, 28:48)

In The Parent Trap, after Annie and Hallie discover that they’re twins, Hallie suggest switching places so they can experience the parent they never had. They soon realize that even with this plan, they’d eventually have to go back to their original parent and once again be separated. Because of this, Annie goes on to explain that this will also force their parents to come together after 11 years apart, and they’ll fall in love with one another. They spend the remainder of the film with their primary goal of getting their parents, Nick and Liz, to fall back in love and get remarried. The girls are faced with the obstacle of Meredith Blake, Nick’s fiancee, similarly as Baptista has the obstacle of Katherine’s raging temper which makes her undesirable. Baptista does have more power, wealth, and ability to attract someone to Katherine despite her bad reputation. Annie and Hallie go an unconventional route. There are equal in that both Annie, Hallie, and Baptista create an exact plan to get others to marry without receiving input for those they are trying to wed.

“ Then tell me, if I get your daughter’s love, What dowry shall I have with her to wife. (Baptista) After my death, the one half of my lands, And, in possession, twenty thousand crowns. (Petruchio) Let specialties be therefore drawn between us, That covenants may be kept on either hand.”

(Act 2. Scene 1, 126-134)

In this quote, Baptista is arranging for Katherine to marry Petruchio. The two men discuss the dowry that shall be given if the marriage does go forth. They go on to agree that if one dies before the other, they inherit whatever Katherine has inherited. Instead of giving his eldest daughter to someone who she has developed an actual relationship with, Baptista has done what resembles a business transaction in order to have Katherine married off. After figuring out the logistics and inheritance, Baptista is willing to let Katherine go, despite Katherine having no knowledge of their conversation or Petruchio to be her soon to be husband. Further in the book, Petruchio marries Katherine by force as she initially crys at the idea of being his wife. However at this time, Katherine could not do much about her circumstances, as dealings such as marriage were left to the father to decide.

Despite their plan seemed foolproof, Annie and Hallie were met with the obstacle of Nick’s fiancee who could make it so that Nick and Liz never have a chance to fall in love again.

( The Parent Trap, 1:52:31)

When Annie pretending to be Hallie returns from camp, she quickly discovers that her father is engaged to the young, beautiful, and manipulative Meredith Blake. Annie realizing the danger that Meredith poses to their plan and to Hallie when she returns from London, launches a plan to get Meredith and Nick to separate. In a later scene after all of the characters have gathered in California Annie, Hallie, Nick, and Meredith go on a camping trip where the girls pranks Meredith several times with the intent on breaking her. It proves successful when Meredith tells Nick, “The day we get married is the day I ship those brats off to Switzerland, get the picture? It’s me or them. Take your pick.” Nick ultimately chooses them therefore ending his engagement to Meredith which gives him the opportunity to get back with Liz which does happen at the end of the movie. Similarly to Baptista, Annie and Hallie develop a method of getting their family member to marry a specific person, and while Nick and Liz weren’t obligated to marriage like Katherine, they were still susceptible to the girls influence which caused them to get back together.

The Parent Trap and Taming of the Shrew are two fictional tales from different time periods with varying plots, but one theme that can be taken from both sources is that the idea family influence in relationship is a standard or accepted action. This may not be relevant for every single family, but it does reflect a common idea that many people have come to accept. One could only give the explanation that people trust their family the most, hence valuing their input on relationship most. Whether the idea of parental influence from a wealthy father marrying off his mean spirited daughter, or young twins scheming to get their long separated parents to once again fall in love. It is up to viewers if this idea is successful, beneficial, or an actual thing in the real. In the end, both the movie and play ended with successful relationships.

Works Cited:

Shakespeare, William, G. R. Hibbard, and Margaret Jane Kidnie. The Taming of the Shrew. UK: Penguin , 2015. Print.

The Parent Trap. Dir. Nancy Meyers. Perf. Lindsay Lohan. Walt Disney, 1998.ProjectFreeTv.com. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

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/>.

One could argue that structure is a key factor in not only the conservation, but for the advancement of humanity as a whole. The foundation of of all civilization comes from laws, which are meant to be a system of rules recognized to regulate the actions of members in a specific area. These laws by governmental viewpoint, aims for the protection of the people, as well as their desires. The very rules that people are almost manufactured to believe will be of help to society, can have significant impact on the people, and the system itself, even if they know this to be incorrect. This begs the question of whether people obey for the fact that one is expected to obey by law, or that it’s the laws themselves that influence people on whether they should follow. Laws are implemented with the intent to efficiently tend to a constant progression in society, and while not always effective, it’s up to the followers to decide. whether they should be obeyed

Throughout the duration of the book, Lord of the Flies, the boys made several rules they thought would be valuable in keeping the group civilized and calm until their eventual rescue. One of the  most important rules, was that of the conch shell. Shortly after crashing on the mysterious island, in uncertainty and disbelief concerning the actions that had just taken place, newfound companions Ralph and Piggy roamed in a confused state when after a short swim they found a shell. Ralph seduced by this new object carried it around, using it to signal the boys to come to the beach. After being appointed leader, Ralph claimed, “And another thing. We can’t have everybody talking at once. We’ll have to have hands up like school...Then I’ll give you the conch.”(page 33). The conch was used as both a source of communication where the boys could get their message across to the entire group, but more than that one of the most pivotal sources of power, as the person holding it was the temporary voice of the group. The conch was supposed to be a vessel to make the communication between the group better, and to create better group dynamic. It proved to be successful in the beginning of its implementation as Ralph was able to maintain order in the group as well giving everyone the opportunity to speak their opinions and offer suggestions. However, overtime it began to lose it power as the group increased into a more savage state. It was an object that the group highly respected when they were fresh and new to the island, but as the boys grew with time on the island, the conch couldn’t settle the boys who were no longer living in an immature state. The boys agreed to its terms, but once it became a hinderance to their plans, it would then be something they felt was unneeded. Specifically the boys on Jack’s who aimed to rebel against the rules, this was a core rule and the first one they chose to stop cooperating with.

This type of structure is not just something that takes place in fictional world, but very much so applies to the real world. A prime example of this would be the creation of the Jim Crow laws that lasted from the late nineteenth century to the mid twentieth century. The Jim Crow laws were a policy of segregating or discriminating against African Americans, in public places, public vehicles, or employment. Pbs states that they were put into place following “an incident where a black man in New Orleans attempted to sit down in a whites-only railway car, prompting the eventual 1896 Supreme Court which was founded on the scheme of equal but separate.” This is an instance where a law was meant to benefit a certain group of people, granting the thought of whether it actually worked. It was beneficial to prejudiced southern Americans as they did not have to have close interaction with blacks, and in turn maintained a firm grasp on the south as a whole. This very notion conflicts with the feelings and actions taken against Africans Americans during the very same time. Because of this law, blacks lost all of the progress they had made during the reconstruction period, and against their will once again settle as submissive. This also made it so where white americans could abuse the rights of blacks which created much friction in the south. This all came to head during the beginning of the civil rights movement when blacks began to fight back against their oppressors. Jim Crow laws came to an end in 1954, but proved that laws are not always meant to protect everyone. It showed that while a rule may help one group continue their ways of life, it can in turn force another to negatively change, which disrupts the entire system as everyone is not being defended. For a long period of time both African Americans and whites did in fact follow the law, but once the social injustice was really being pushed against by those oppressed, they did what they could to fight against it, which would then cause a change in the law or abolishment that would then be something that they could in fact follow because it suited their needs and wants.

While the severity of these rules might not always be on as grand scale as an entire region of a country and affecting an entire race the way Jim Crow laws did, they stilled showed the parallel between the differencing in how laws can work, and if there needed. Soon after the assembly of boys appointed Ralph chief and established a weak social order, in sudden excitement all of the boys, lead by Ralph ran to the mountaintop where they attempted to make a fire in a frenzied state that nearly got out of control causing Ralph to utter, “We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages.”(page 42). This is one of the first instances where Ralph commands control to almost set a law about following the rules so that they can progress and live accordingly. He thinks that by working together in a school like way they will be able to get rescued earlier. Being that it was the first day the boys, especially the little ones, did not oppose as they were just getting to know the island, and themselves. While Ralph was able to get this method to work as they constructed shelter and hunted quickly and efficiently, it proved to be a great flaw as the young boys were not in a state where the wished to be ordered around by a parent like figure, to do what they would consider to be uninteresting things. The modern mind would agree to this being a good vehicle to get things done, but being that Ralph’s audience was a group of younger boys to bask in the idea of no adults, did not agree with his style as they wanted to go have fun and quench their need for adventure rather than that of survival.

A means of survival can be the be what determines if people will determine whether it is in their best interest to take part in or support a ruling. The summer of June 26, 2015 saw the legalization of same sex marriage in all 50 states in the United States. This was a landmark moving to gay people all across America as they had been fighting for since the resurrection of the gay rights movement prompted by the Stonewall riots in the late 1960s according to CNN politics. The argument against same sex marriage has been fueled throughout years since the legalization by the Supreme Court that limiting marriage to only those of opposite sex does not violate the Constitution during the case of Baker vs Nelson in 1971. Or September 1996 when president Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act(DOMA) which would deny federal benefits to married same sex couples. For centuries, generations of same sex couples had to cope with the constant discrimination against them, applied in the form of many different laws, but with repeated opposition managed to achieve their goal. Despite having numerous road blocks they were not only able to prove that they should be granted the right to marry, but draw attention to a ruling that was unfair in their case. Not allowing them to wed, was only to benefit of those who had moral or political issues with the idea of same sex couples, but put those who were gay aside as they were forced out of their rights. They showed that a law can be discriminatory in itself, and can be something that does not prove worth in following.

Groups of people have the natural intuition to form rules to keep themselves and each other safe from a possible harm or things their uncomfortable with. It is the idea behind the laws, and the people who are affected to truly decide if the laws themselves are needed. It can be said that no one law can efficiently benefit every person, as the circumstances of people in America as well as across the world greatly vary. Despite this laws improve and decline society based on the group or person themselves. The point of laws in society are to effectively tend to a civilization that is always growing, and while they might not be considered the best functions originally, it’s the result of the people to decide so. Whether it’s a fictional book about boys discovering their inner savagery on an abandoned island, or real people fighting for their rights in modern society, laws are a staple in the interacting of people, and the way the system works. Controversial, acceptable, wonderful, and ludicrous, almost every law can be described in one of these ways, just depends on who you are.

Work Cited

Golding, William, Lord of the Flies. New York:Penguin Group,2003.

Wolf, Richard. "Timeline: Same-sex Marriage through the Years." USA Today. Gannett, 2015. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

PBS. PBS. Web. 06 Apr. 2016

"Supreme Court Rules States Must Allow Same-sex Marriage." CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

“ 17 years I been doing this...17 long years. Having four kids, spending everyday at home picking up Lego's, organizing lunches, cleaning rooms, cooking, being the cool mom, the devoted mom. Perfect wife. Making sure his clothes were laid out in the morning, having his breakfast on the table before 7, dinner hot on the table when he got home, minding my business by not asking questions. Letting him be the man. I did all these things for Mark and our family...my family just to get a text three weeks ago saying...oh Caroline I think we should get a divorce. Just like that. I knew he was seeing that little hoe at his job Amanda who was barely able to buy a drink or smoke a cigarette, but I didn’t think he would throw the family away. I thought if I just kept doing what a good mother and wife should do that everything would be okay.

It wasn’t too long ago that I seen him cuddling that bitch at that cozy little bar “Cush” on 52nd South street. I was on my way to pick up dinner for the kids when I glanced over and saw them through the eerily romantic glass windows. Shock, Panic, and anger all ran through my mind, but at the same time I knew I couldn’t leave my life. Being the somewhat strong woman I once thought I was I just turned a blind eye thinking he would eventually get his fill of her and come back home. Now I guess not. What did I expect tho, I mean all men want the cutest, hottest, blondest piece on the market to take home and show off to their friends. My father did...Mark did it. Guess I should have known. What middle aged stud executive wants a good wife and mother by their side. They want the new, the wrinkless, the dumb who can’t pee for themselves without asking for assistance. Me...I’m not going down like that. He can have his little fling, but I’ll get my laugh to.

You see, I’ve done way too much in these 17 years to be flushed out of a life, sulking in tissues in some no name town trying to figure out what I was or who I was before I achieved my so called american dream. I need something to give me joy, give me happiness. Mark wants a new life...but I..want to take it away. I want to make him suffer, make him scream, make him wither away for being the coward he is. Maybe I’ll write a book called how to kill your husband, and say it’s realistic fiction. Killing might be extreme, but who cares. A deep part of me wants to take his life, but at the same time his life belongs to my children as well. Despite our lives Mark has always been a good father to them, they love him. At one point he used to be good to me, he used to love me.

“ ‘I am’ is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that I do is the longest sentence,” says author George Carlin.

This somewhat philosophical quote on first glance seems to pose a great meaning that only the greatest professors or distinguished learners would be able to understand. If I were to have seen it just a couple of weeks ago it would have made me really have to think hard, or probably just continue on as it would not have made sense. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve made a clarification on something that never was a problem or even a thought before. The voice. My voice. The simple yet powerful substance that I have lived with for fifteen years after one day in English class proved to develop into something so incredibly new.

Succeeding the reading of the James Baldwin text on African American language, we watched a short documentary on the differentiating accents in specific regions throughout the United States. The film did not surprise me much as the stereotypical country southern accent, the rough and tough new york accent, and that of that of the “normal” person who chronicled. All of which I’m familiar with. It was the question Ms.Pahomav asked after the ending of the film that sparked that my interest in the voice. “ Do you have an accent?” This once seemed straightforward question lead into an energetic debate between myself and friend Tk.

“ I don’t have an accent, but you do,” I said.

“What! I don’t have an accent!” Tk hastily replied.

“Yes you do Tk.”

“Well if I have a accent then you do to.”

“ No Tk you definitely have an accent, I sound like me.”

The defiance Tk had in telling me that I did have an accent just did not make sense as I did not have anything too special or unique coming through. For me an accent was something that was distinct in giving a listener your history as of where you come from. The typical british, australian, or even south african accent. Those that give the severe sense of personality, and are without a doubt what the average person would call an accent. Me on the other hand felt that my “accent” was nonexistent. I heard people from Philadelphia have a certain type of speech so if anything I believed that is what Tk was referring to, but was there more. That night I went home thinking of whether I sounded of something that I had yet to hear. Even going as far as recording myself a few times saying different things trying to detect an oddity. Even then it was still similar to what I have been hearing my entire life. I couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting to know if I my voice was more than I knew it was. A few days later me and friends Ajanae and Tk were discussing Tk’s valley girl voice, and how she sounds like a girl from Seattle. Being that Tk told me that I had an accent I decided to get a second opinion by asking Ajanae what she thought of my voice.

“ You have a philly accent I guess.”

“ That’s what I thought but Tk said I had an big accent.” I replied.

With this I understood that there was a Philly sense in my voice. One that I had never picked up on since most people I encounter on a regular basis sound pretty similar. Although I had an answer I still felt that there was still something more to be discovered. The question had grown from the simple do I have an accent to what about my voice makes me...me. What about my voice set me apart from the millions of other people in Philadelphia, how different is it from those all across the country, across the world. The question of what about my voice made made me the individual I am. For most of my life I had not cared to much because as people we usually think of something like our voice as just something. Not much. That thing that we always had and will always have. The thing that if you’re lucky can lead to a successful music career or even make you the state’s most watched news anchor, but nothing ever to serious. It was now that I became so interested in discovering the answer to this simple yet extremely complex question. First thing I did after spending hours pondering this question was ask other people not specifically about them, but what they actually felt about their own voices, and how it made them who they are. Starting with my mother who gave me the simple “I don’t know, it’s just my voice,” to my friend Fatimah who believes “ I sound like I sound because that’s way I sound.” These answers not offering me as much help as I originally sought out. Finally I went to my close friend Danielle who I have known for a long time in hopes that she could give me what I was looking for. It was her answer that finally did it for me. All she said was “ your voice is just you I guess. You’re the only one who has it.” It was at that moment that I finally realized that my accent and my voice is me. Jevon. I kept trying to compare myself to everyone else, when everyone else is not me. The problem I faced was attempting to group myself into a category of people instead of seeing that everyone is their own group and they are all their own person. My accent might not be the most common one but it is not meant or supposed to be. The accent I have is mine and it’s one that only I’m supposed to have, and that I’m supposed to make as me. Throughout this I have learned that everyone has their accent, their voice, their ways, and their personalities that set them apart, and it is when you look at yourself that you realize you are you and nobody can be that.

Throughout this project, I feel that I've out my best foot forward to produce an accurate and all around high quality work. When looking back, there are things that if I had the opportunity to do over again, I would change. Starting with my initial research, I'm very pleased with what I had done, and the information I found. Being that it was the first stage I think the facts I got were good, but not as good as they could have been since I eventually did want a more complete illustration of this topic. I wish that at the time I had not only focused on the negative side of Affirmative Action, and try to advocate for the other side. I did do this in blog post two but it took time out of the other things I could have been focusing on. Adding this entire viewpoint would have without a doubt made my first blog post better. Being that the topic is so broad, I did not get to cover everything in this blog post and there are still questions to be answered. I did very little looking into this, so I wanted to know why the advancement of Affirmative Action for the physical and mental disabled has been so slow. The miniscule amount that I do know about it states that much is being done unlike the significant gains for African Americans and most frequently women.

When it comes to my original research, I believe I did an even better job than in the first stage of the research. I think it went very well due to me developing both a new idea of Affirmative Action, as well as really understanding the pros and cons of the issue. I used my original research to get a more personal understanding of the topic, and try to stray away from the facts and statistics that I used in the first blog post. Because I had set two exact opposite stances in one blog and gave sufficient backup to support both sides basically trying to really make a reader decide which one was good proved to be successful in this blog. The only thing that I would do differently is explaining the Bakke vs. California case which was a big event that promoted Affirmative Action into the public light. It would have been great to add one of the founding reasonings for why this became such a big thing, and use aspects of the case to support the negatives of Affirmative Action side. This would have breathed new life into that argument, and could have made it better than the side opting for Affirmative Action.

For my You and the World project, I have been working on the topic of Affirmative Action. For those who aren't familiar, Affirmative Action is the process in which an establishment uses special precaution to create equality between all genders and races. Briefly, for my first blog post, I chose to focus more on the data and statistics that accompany Affirmative Action. Basically bringing out a lot of the actual solid facts that would be used to develop a more well rounded opinion. For my second blog post I chose to invest in a more different approach. Even though I had quality information I wanted to see how real people felt. With this I interviewed four different people, two students and two teachers, to discover their reactions and surprisingly, they were very similar. I found that a general idea was that Affirmative Action is not the best solution, but it's something needed in society at the moment. For my Agent of Change I decided to make a website dedicated to the central ideas of what Affirmative Action consist of and how it works. I did a website because it's something that will always be there, and it would be accessible to the masses.

( This is an image depicting what a large community of people would consider Affirmative Action to be.)

Before assembling my website I did more research to find if anything is being done in support or in opposition to this issue. I actually found that the main thing being done are protest. At first I didn't think it was that much for trying to fix this issue, but upon thinking about it it's a great idea since attention is being drawn. The more protest that are being done the higher the chances change will occur if there is constant pressure from the public. Look at Black Lives Matter who basically did the same things and are known throughout the nation. I think that is a great way for all of the people who want more attention on Affirmative Action to get it. The best source of change that can be done is to physically going out there and fighting for what you want. I'm in complete support of it.

Back to my own Agent of Change, my website was meant to be a site that would provide viewers with all sides of the Affirmative Action debate. From the time I spent researching, it was evident that most websites were trying to convince you whether Affirmative Action was completely great or should be abolished immediately, but this website more informative than persuasive. Readers learn the ins and outs of Affirmative Action while viewing all sides to help create their own depiction of it. This way a very good way to change this because I got to put some of my own opinion on it but mostly informing those who don't know much about this as to what it is because it's something that's often swept under the rug. I think this has been a good change as long as people are reading it. As long as people are reading it, informing themselves, and leaving with at least more knowledge or a better understanding of the topic it has been a good change because I'm helping those who don't know, know about it.

I feel that doing this project really brought everyone closer to the a certain community, and made them more involved with their issues. Because we have spent so much time working on these issues and learning so much about them we have a more personal connection to them, and even no more than what we did before. While we informed the public and our peers, we did the same thing to ourselves. I also learned that that we have a diverse group of people who are all affected or have a strong connection for a wide variety of things. Most importantly, I learned that my classmates as well as myself a willing to put the hard work in for something we believe in. If I was to do this project all over, I would have given myself more time to do some of the task before they were do. I handed everything in on time, but there were times when I was trapped for time because I procrastinated. The only things that seems to be left are to monitor what our Agent of Change has done to help or bring awareness, and to simply keep following it.

The issue of affirmative action is one that has been intensely debated shortly succeeding its implement into society. My first blog post informed potential readers on the specific facts that are an effect of affirmative action as well how it's utilized in many higher education and working facilities. I explained how the use of affirmative action was to the support and disadvantage of multiple ethnic groups, while speaking on what generally happens to those who are affected by this. For my second blog post I chose to focus more on how individual people interpret this topic and its stance in our community. I also narrowed my information more on the general public and higher leveled businesses and institutions takes on this.

Since writing my last blog post, I aimed to get a better feel for how people themselves perceive affirmative action. Originally I believed that the masses were all on a similar viewpoint on this issue, but further research showed that we are split right down the middle. Both groups those being who support and are against affirmative action have strong reasons for why they feel the way they do. According to a poll done on debate.org, 57% of the population viewed affirmative action as a fraud, 70% said it was not needed to achieve equal opportunities, and 75% agreed that the United States does not need it. Prior to uncovering this, I was not aware that so many were against it. Opponents often point out that it's a reverse form of discrimination by favoring one group over another, it keeps societies aware of the barriers that divide it which would ultimately promote alienation and resentment between ethnic groups, it may be unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the fourteenth amendment. Critics have also pointed out that affirmative action is illegal under the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination based on color, race, national origin.

( This picture is a protest fighting for the abolishment of affirmative action, and was brought to the front line due to the case of Bakke vs. California.)

While there are many who are opposed to affirmative action, there are as many who are in complete support of it. Those who believe in it feel that without affirmative action in place the amount of space for minorities in the workplace as well as universities will increasingly drop. Statistics have shown that after the departure of affirmative action in California in 1998, the percentage of minority students admitted to the UC Berkeley fell 61% and UCLA fell 36%. Similarly, after Texas abolished affirmative action in 1996, Rice University freshman class had 46% fewer African Americans students and 22% fewer Hispanic. There have also been major universities and businesses who agree with affirmative action.

These businesses include: Coca-Cola, Intel, Microsoft, Nike, Pepsi, Reebok, Kraft Foods, and Johnson and Johnson just to name a few of more than sixty leading fortune 500 companies that believe this. Universities such as: Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, Duke, Princeton, Yale and Upenn voiced their support of race-conscious admission programs.

For a closer inspection of how people consider affirmative action, I interviewed four people of different race, age, and gender. With these interviews, I wanted to know how the people around me felt. I asked a series of questions ranging from ¨ what is affirmative action¨ to ¨ can it be noted as racism. From my findings I liked that teacher Mark Miles believes that we need affirmative right now because there is not a better option out there. Art and technology teacher Marcie Hull believes that because women are not given and expected as much as their male counterparts, that they should have special treatment. I did not think of this as a good option for short term not long term. It wasn't something that I thought of before and made me lean further to the side that we need it. One thing I kind of agree with is women getting special treatment. I'm all for equality, but I don't know if I would necessarily say special treatment. Another thing I found interesting was that both of the students felt that affirmative actions should only be used in some cases, and it should not just be tossed around. Doing these interviews gave me insight on things that I hadn't thought about, and kind of changed my opinions on a few things. I no longer feel that it is something that predominantly affects African Americans and Hispanics and have a sound effect on many different types of people. I know understand that there should be affirmative action in some cases and that the way it is being used known may not be the best way for it to be used. If there is anything else that I want to know it is how has this gone on for such a long time with so much negative publicity onto it. Also, how does this have an effect on people after they graduate on from college. Doing blog post two as given me a better understanding of this issue as a whole instead of statistics on a page. For my blog post three, I plan to get an editorial published somewhere that will inform those in the public who aren't aware of the issue.

( This is a poster made by The Conservative Coalition for American Values, a Purdue University student organization that was made to represent the University's racial division based on their affirmative action laws.)

Para quien es su menu? Rachel Reilly

No ella dieta especial.

Kali- Maria

Savannah -Linda    

Jevon - Jarome

Ajanae - luisa ‘

Script 1  :

Maria and  lisa walk down the hall

Maria : ¿Vienes a mi fiesta de luisa?

Linda: No, pero me gustaría ir

(Luisa walks down the hallway)

Luisa: Hola amigos , ¿Que tal?

Maria : Hola, bien y tú?

Linda: Hola , mas menos.

Luisa: Bueno, Bueno. ¿Te gustaría venir a mi fiesta?

Linda: ¡Claro que sí!

Maria: ¡Sí Sí!

Luisa: Bueno, Nos vemos allí en siete

(luisa Walks away)

Maria- ¡Estoy muy emocionado!

Linda- ¡Mi tambien!

(the next day lisa and maria are getting ready)

Linda- ¿Me prestas tu brillo de labios?

Maria - Si

Linda-¿Lista?

Maria - Si

( both walk to the party door)

Bouncer- Hola , ID porfavor

Linda- ¿ID? Nadie dijo nada acerca de ID

Maria - No tenemos ID

Bouncer- Lo siento la niña , nada ID,  nada la entrada

Linda  y Maria -Por Favor, Por favor, Por favor Quan Pablo

Bouncer - Llamo a la policía

Linda- No No lo siento

( girls walk away sadly )

Jevon Price

Ms.Giknis

English 1

24 April 2015

                                            I’m poor, I’m black, Yay I go to Harvard!

The project that will be focused on is the concept of whether Affirmative Action, an act that is committed throughout the United States, should be used in the selection process of higher level education. For those that are unaware of the issue, it’s the process in which people are selected predominantly based on both their race and geographical background, and in many cases the sum of yearly income that enters their household. It’s basically what allows the higher power to choose which of those can live their lifetime goals of achieving the dream college, but putting a huge racial stamp on the envelope. I know that at the ripe old age of fourteen that this has nothing to do with me, but in just a few short years myself as well as my fellow peers may fall victim to this flamboyant secret that is meant to be a figure of imagination that has since grown to national recognition. This matter that is often swept under the rug, should in fact be brought to the light as it does not clearly benefit the masses.

Perhaps one of the most principal problems facing young men and women every year is that of where they will go after they receive their high school education. For many that have made a clear choice to reach for the colleges of their dream thinking that it would be the most ideal place to nurture them through the beginning stages of adulthood, while constructing the foundation of an illustrious career in the making. But it is the broken spirits of those who are more than qualified that can’t draw their bulging eyes from the big REJECTION on the top of their letter simply because their not a poor black child from the mean streets of Compton, or a talented hispanic singer who’s mother worked hard to support multiple kids. What might seem to be ridiculous on paper is true for many all across the country. Something that is absent from many people minds is continuously being brought into the life due to working a modern use of racism. By striving for a look of diversity amongst its students, many campuses are using race to forge an image that does not deal with the quality of education that is being offered. Studies have shown that over the past twenty years, while trying to make a supposedly diverse campus many colleges are accepting more and more black and hispanics while limiting the amount of white and asians.

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21576658-first-three-pieces-race-based-preferences-around-world-we-look-americas

( This image illustrates the averaged enrollment of African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians in college.)

It is seen that despite your abilities, if your color is not what they want in their crayon boxed your don’t become a member. People have the right to know that their futures are depending on if they’re either black or poor enough. Darker or can be spared more pity. Minority is what can get you to a major. The dangerous part of this is that many who are accepted into these high level institutions are not at all ready for what comes with the acceptance letter. Law school as proven to be a case in which this is evident as African Americans have shown to generally do poorer both in school and on the LSAT exam.

http://www.newsbatch.com/race.htm

( The image illustrates the performance of African Americans, Whites, Asians, and Hispanics on the LSAT exam, percentage of getting into the law school, and grade point average. )

It should also be noted that African Americans students generally make up the bottom twenty percent of for those in law school. Probably the most shocking is that this idea is being approved by some of the public. A recent study showed that there are those who believe that Blacks and Hispanics deserve a little extra help compared to that of their Asian and Whites peers. Others also believed that they deserve special treatment as a result of inequalities faced in the path. Neither having to deal with whether an applicant is qualified enough. Interesting. For college the work doesn’t matter.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/americans-oppose-affirmative-action-for-race-if-you-only-ask-white-americans/276426/

( Study of Whether black and hispanics should have special preference when it comes to applying for college)

Affirmative Action was used to give African Americans equal opportunities, and in many ways it has, but on the other hand it is setting up many young black students for failure as their futures are being tampered with to make the cover of a brochure more...colorful. If the idea was to make blacks more apart of the grand scheme of things, it has worked but at the expense of many white and asians students who now seem to be thought of as to privileged for college, or not struggling to the capacity of gaining a quality education. I don’t understand why colleges continue to use the idea of affirmative action to only benefit themselves, when the whole point of college is to mold the new generation to be the best that they can be. I also want to know how can something that has severe origin in a dark time in history that was used to help those in need, do almost the same exact thing as those from its original time period but to a different set of people. More importantly why is this still being allowed to happen. As I continue, I want to center more on the individual effects that affirmative action has had on people. Affirmative Action is the secret that both makes and breaks dreams without a logical purpose, and from what I’ve come across is not needed in the modern society.

Annotated Bibliography

Jevon y Chuckie

Español Uno

3-28-15

Mini-Ensayo

Tigidankay también conocido como TK es un estudiante de primer año noveno grado en la Academia de Liderazgo de la Ciencia, y ella está en la mejor corriente, naranja. Ella es una persona muy interesante, que es muy divertido. Todo el mundo le encanta estar cerca de ella. TK es el mayor de tres hijos. Ella tiene dos hermanos gemelos más jóvenes que están cada diez años. Ella vive con tanto su mamá y papá, y su abuela solía residir con ellos. Conocimientos tradicionales proviene de una familia muy grande que se puede encontrar tanto en Sierra Leona y Filadelfia. Ella tiene un montón de tías, tíos y primos, que se refiere a por qué ella es tan estrecha con todos ellos. En cuanto a lo que ella hace por diversión, número uno lo es para pasar el rato con sus amigos. Porque yo soy uno de sus amigos, sé que a ella le gusta estar rodeado de gente y romper un montón de chistes muy cursi. Pero, su cosa favorita absoluta es comer los alimentos. CT le encanta la comida más que nadie que he conocido en mi vida. Ella va a comer cualquier cosa. Es bastante sorprendente. Si usted no sabe que vive en el suroeste de Filadelfia, y fue recientemente a punto de mudarse a una nueva casa. Uno con una piscina. La vida es buena para los conocimientos tradicionales. Ella disfruta pasar tiempo con su familia, y por lo que he oído que eres muy gracioso. Sus padres son extremadamente sin siquiera tratar de ser. Son un motín. Otra cosa que se debe saber acerca de los conocimientos tradicionales es que tanto ella como su familia en la educación de valores de un nivel muy alto. Cada desde que conocí a los conocimientos tradicionales que habían sido la persona más inteligente que he conocido. Pocas veces he visto nunca a conseguir cualquier cosa menos un a. Cómo? porque ella sabe todo acerca de todo. Para envolver los conocimientos tradicionales, ella está orientado a la familia super divertido educado joven de Filadelfia que es disfrutado por todo el mundo a su alrededor.

!Hola! ¡Bueños dias! Science Leadership Academy está en cincuenta y cinco de la calle veinte y dos, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Está cerca de Trader Joe’s y 7/11. Nuestra escuela es pequeña pero chevere. Hay quinientos estudiantes y treinta y tres profesores. Hay cuatro plantas en nuestra escuela. Tenemos que usar la computadora para todas las clases. Nosotros tenemos último disco volador, béisbol, baloncesto y muy más. Último disco volador es nosotros muy popular deportes. El entrenador es principio Lehmann. Nosotros Practicamos aperturas siete en la mañana en punto. Estudiantes muy muy encanta disco volador en menos mitad de escuela participa en este deportes.

Mi parte favorita de Science Leadership Academy es las computadoras. Para mí es perfecto para aprender.  Nuestros estudiantes nos encantan las computadoras como niños. Los estudiantes de noveno grado van al The Franklin Institute. Visitamos cada miércoles. Lo pasamos bien. Todas clases en SLA son divertidas y interesantes.Mií favorito es Inglés. En mí clase tenemos que leer To Kill A Mockingbird y Macbeth.También aprendemos en historia la información nueva. Aprendemos todos los días. Los profesores enseñan muy bien. Nos encantan nuestros profesores. Trabaja duro. Somos una escuela fantástica en Filadelfia. ¡Qué chévere!

En el escuela de Science Leadership Academy nosotros tenemos muchos profesores. La profesora Giknis enseña la clase de ingles. Enseña muy bien.  En la case de ingles nosotros leemos. El profesor Todd ensaña la clase de historia y es bastante estricto... Es una broma. El profesor Todd es tranquilo y muy divertido.  En la clase de historia nosotros participamos activamente. La profesora Sessa es nuestro profesora para clase de Bioquímica. Profesora Sessa es muy divertida y chévere. En la clase de Bioquímica nosotros trabajamos computadoras leemos libro de texto.

If fairness was rewarded,

It would pertain to me,

My life,

That of a great king,

I am certain that greatness is of me,

At the beginning,

Drowned in the unknowing,

As pure as the fresh from the womb,

My fire taking me to the top,

I at once was given the chance,

The chance to become one of the best,

At that, my problems on the horizon,

Come soon, come fast,

Not one or two,

They came in three,

With the purpose of reaping my destiny,

I heard of the idea to be king,

King mighty king is supposed to be me,

I hear of Banquo to bear lines of fruit,

But I hear of me being king,

The fear the fear,

It’s there I hear,

To hurt and harm for my goal thats near,

From Cawdor to the kingdom, I see my fate,

Take Duncan to doom,

Or keep ease with fate,

Little do I no, they were there to play,

The wife and witches made my bed,

Soon it shall be,

Many will be dead,

I did it the deed,

One that has made many seethe,

The want for power, My thirst took me to acquire,

The king be gone for I am here,

I shall rule,

What an adventure that waits ahead,

My goodness used for evil,

Again the wife and the witches,

Tug on the strings that is me,

The dream is accomplished,

I am now he,

The one with it all,

But yet there is one key,

The threat of Banquo is that of his line,

Spoken from the mouths of the mystical divine,

The work put in for the prize of someone else,

I have to stop this,

For no one can be safe,

Neither Thane nor wife,

Deep in the night may plan takes action,

Gone awry by the true issue escaping from my grasp,

What evil lurks to take my crown,

It can’t happen,

It won’t happen,

Doubters beware,

For I Macbeth is here,

It has now come to blows,

Anyone who does not believe,

Will have to go,

Overtime I make my presence known,

Scotland has now come to see,

Everything that happens will be seen and done through me,

To hell with the idiots that call themselves royals or even citizens,

My time has come to be obtained by the more important,

Maintaining my prestigious rank as the great king,

I have killed the foes that walk my way,

Sometimes for no reason,

Probably to play,

At last they come,

The traitors unite,

At first not scared my debt had been assured,

Here comes Macbeth with the threat to slay me,

No fears to be had, laughter actually comes through,

That is till he announced being ripped from the womb,

At that moment all dreams had crashed,

Just as my head came off with just one gash,

To think I had once been the fighter to be,

And them king with the citizens bowing at my feet,

Many decisions made be me,

But don’t forget,

Net neutrality is the process in which major internet companies have a direct connection to the use of internet that goes to customers of major companies who need access to internet. There are certain amount of rules and regulations put in place to protect the system. The people in control of this are the FCC. They work to try to promote fairness and equality for the internet companies and distributors. At the moment they are working on regulating the rules so that everyone agrees and benefits from them.

At the moment there are significant discrepancies between the ways things should be run and the way they are happening. There are two sides to the system that is net neutrality. One being the people in control of the internet flow, and the others being those trying to sell or give internet to their customers. The problem is that one side feels that they are being unfairly forced to pay for a service that should be given. Companies like Comcast can if they want can slow down their internet services to companies like Netflix if they feel like they are not being paid enough. This obviously causing conflict.

The unfair way of the system has caused each side to fight with the other. Because there is conflict, everyone is looking forward to the new rules to be announced soon. Tom Wheeler, chairman of the fcc, is going to make a new set of rules. This is known supposed to fix the issues that are currently taking place, so they both sides can be civil. It is going to be a step in the right direction in net neutrality.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/net-neutrality

http://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality

http://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality

For my second slide I took the advice to change the text because it went against the message I wanted to give. It was make things happen, but the text was broken,so i chose to use a more solid text. I put it at the bottom of the slide so the entire picture could be seen without the words interjecting it.  I chose a new picture that better correlates with my message, and would be more visually appealing.

Why did you make the slide the way you did?