When the media talks about rape, what comes to mind for you? Do you think blame the rapist, or unknowingly blame the victim? Rape culture and victim blaming for women. It’s a huge part of our society, and is shyed away for being taboo. There are two parts to this unpopular topic. But before I discuss that, I want to tell you my own feelings for choosing this topic. My goal in learning about this topic is so I can inform others in my own life exactly what rape culture is, and what they can do to prevent it, as well as victim blaming. This topic matters to me because I see behavior of rape culture in my own community, and hear victim blaming on the news and in the media all the time. Also, I believe that it important for others to know about because it is a topic that people don’t really recognize that much.

Now most people don’t know what exactly rape culture. The true definition of rape culture is society normalizing or trivializing rape of sexual abuse. There are so many examples and instances of rape culture, but to cover all would take at least a week. However, to name a few, rape culture is when people trivialize rape, saying things like “boys will be boys,” defending manhood as dominant and sexually aggressive, as well as putting pressure on men to “score.” Furthermore, assuming that men that are raped are “weak,” teaching women how to not “get” raped, pop music promoted messages such as “she wanted it.” To go on, women being called liars if they report rape is another example of rape culture. Further examples of rape culture include asking a rape victim how short her outfit was, how much she was drinking, or if she was flirting. The list goes on and on. All of these examples are real instances of rape culture.

This image depicts an example of a woman that was told this when she came forward about being raped. This another example of victim blaming in society.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/powerful-pictures-show-how-rape-8310169

On to part two, victim blaming. In society, there are two types of victim blaming. The people that intentionally blame the victim for the cause of the rape, and the people that don’t fully believe it was the victim's fault, but normalize her actions for being raped. For instance, victim blaming would count as the victim being flirtatious, wearing revealing clothing, making eye contact, and drinking. Sayings that are often associated with victim blaming include “she asked for it,” and “she didn’t say no.”

This picture is yet another example of victim blaming. Words like this is how society puts blame on the victim of rape. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/powerful-pictures-show-how-rape-8310169

There are ways to prevent victim blaming and rape culture within your community. Some examples include avoiding comments that degrades or objectifies women, let survivors know it is not their fault, not putting pressure on men to “score” with women, as well as supporting survivors. From learning about the topic, I know that I want to further educate my peers and community on the matter so they can educate others. Society has problems facing hard topics like this, because we all want to admit we would never trivialize such a horrible thing, but we do. Lastly, there are ways to prevent victim blaming and rape culture, as long as we are educated about it.

Cyberbullying Deadly Effects

Hi, my name is Orlando Aguayo and my passion for the You and The World project is to try to stop cyberbullying. I have a strong voice for cyberbullying because I wouldn't like to be bullied or have threats thrown at me. It would make me feel so weak and disowned by the world. I'm also interested in cyberbullying because, as of 2017, cyberbullying is one of the biggest reasons why teens have committed or attempted suicide, according to the cyberbullying hotline. It is also the third leading reason why teen deaths occur, the first reasons being car accidents and the second is homicide. One reason why I started off talking about cyberbullying and suicide is because there are many reasons how cyberbullying connects with suicide. It connects to suicide negatively because cyberbullying can be very damaging to teens’ minds. It can lead to anxiety, depression, and suicide. Also, once things are circulated on the internet, they never really disappear, causing the pain to resurface at later times to renew the pain of cyber bullying.

This image is from the movie and shows how cyber bullying affect victims “I feel like nothing”

I am interested in this topic because about a month ago, I watched a movie called Cyberbully, which was mostly showing how bullying can cause ripples in somebody’s reputation, and how cyberbullying can destroy the person (who is getting bullied online) mentally. Another reason I’m focusing on cyberbullying is because there isn't a reliable way to stop cyberbullying. For example, if I were to block the bully’s account, they can easily make a new one unless you stop the bully by controlling the hate. My goal for this project is for students to understand how things you say affect someone mentally and physically. My personal goal is to make someone who has been bullied feel valued by becoming their friend and showing them how important they are to me. My way of learning more about it is by researching more information on cyberbullying. I’ll also learn more by interviewing a victim of cyberbullying.

In this picture it shows that the two girls uploaded a rumor or an inapporiate picture.

Cyberbullying has a connection to me because a friend of mine has very bad anxiety and depression because she was bullied and cyberbullied. It also a connection to me because my friends are the reasons why I am so happy, so when my friends are being hurt physically or emotionally, it also hurts me because they don't feel worth something or they feel weak. This topic is important to know about because over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the internet. By cyberbullying someone, the victim might start to feel terrible about themselves, which the whole world can see.  

            This pictures shows how cyberbullying is on social media

Four years ago, one of the most controversial deaths of the decade kicked off the movement that we know today as Black Lives Matter movement. It all started with Florida teen, Trayvon Martin, when he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman on February 26th, 2012. George Zimmerman was acquitted (found not guilty) and many Black mothers in the state of Florida took to Instagram and twitter with the #BlackLivesMatter. This incident went viral after millions of people also shared their condolences to the Martin family. The rest was history.

My name is Emily. The topic I chose is domestic violence. Every year too many people are victims of domestic violence. About 1 in 3 women and 1 in 14 men are physically abused by an intimate partner .

A common misconception for victims of domestic violence are that it is purely physical violence. In some relationships there are violent threats made. Also there are many relationships where one partner is basically imprisoned in their own home. Another common misconception is that only women are affected by domestic violence. Male domestic violence charity The ManKind Initiative say that for every three victims of partner abuse, two will be female and one will be male. Domestic violence against men is real but not as recognized as much as domestic abuse against women.

I’ve lived through domestic violence. I watched my father hit my mother for years. Then came along my stepfather. He was just as bad. He hit my mother just as bad as my father did. I remember from when I was as young as 3 my father getting angry and punching walls and doors then eventually my mother would try to calm him down and he would hit her. My mother grew up in a home with an abuser. Her father was extremely abusive towards her mother and her. This being all she knew she married my father who abused her as well. After he left when I was 3 my mother remarried in 2010. This time everything was fine for about a year. Then he began to get angry and hit the doors and walls. Then my mother didn’t want my siblings and I to see him like this. She would then try to calm him down. This bringing him to do the same thing my father did. He would hit her. He left numerous bruises in her arms and legs. He stayed for 4 years before he left. My sister spent 9 days at a mental hospital for suicidal thoughts. She was so depressed. After the first day she was there my stepfather left. As soon as things got hard he left us.

Around 20 people are physically abused by an intimate partner per minute. Many victims never speak up about their experiences for fear that their abuser may find them. Other people never even escape abusive homes. They are to scared of being further abused if they are found escaping. There are also some cases where people are in denial about the abuse they are going through. In these cases people see the situation as normal. My mother thought that everything was normal for years until my father made her wear long sleeves in the summer to cover the bruises. He wanted everyone to think we were a normal family. To the public most relationships are completely normal but behind closed doors too many relationships have an abuser who controls their partner's every move. Domestic violence is an act of control. All acts of abuse are about controlling. Weather or not your partner keeps you from going out or physically abuses you, all of it is about control.

A woman named Lovern Gordon shared her domestic violence story to the huffington post. In her story she explains that she was given the option of her abuser or her friends and family. Being “young” she said she chose him. She said that the first time he hit her she thought it was a one time thing. He apologized and she thought it was over. Over the next month he became more and more violent. He slapped and punched her in private. Behind closed doors was a whole different story to what was seen outside. There was an altercation between her abuser and her brother and he again asked her to choose between him or her family. She was in denial and she again chose him. Over the course of the remainder of their relationship he continuously told her that he loved her. He got even more violent he kicked and choked her. SH thought since he apologized and said he loved her it was okay. There was one particular night, the night she finally got the help she needed where he beat her so bad and threatened to kill her that she thought she may die that night. In this case she was lucky. She got the help she needed. She was lucky. Too many people die from not seeking the help they need.

Annotated Bibliography

Overworked Public Defenders

Hello, my name is Payton McQuilkin. This project I am working on is named “You & The World Project”. In this project we are opened to find something in the world that we, the freshmen, feel as though is an issues that needs attention. My topic I’ve chosen is the public defenders in the United States are doing people no justice due to the overload of work they have everyday.  In court people who have little income and don’t have enough money for an attorney are given a public defender in replacement. An attorney, which costs a pretty penny, has much time to investigate and prepare for their client. The public defender will just meet their client when arriving in the courtroom. Multiple studies shows that in the United States, the public defenders are overworked, often underpaid, and not given enough to defend a client.

The whole public defender system started in January 1962, when a man in Florida received 5 years in prison for representing himself. He stole some beer, change, and cokes. Now there is a required “defense attorney” for a client who can not afford an attorney. The public defenders defend any type of cases which can be; felonies, misdemeanors, juvenile, and appeals. When arriving in the courtroom they meet their clients each day. Every day they get a load of cases. Doesn’t that seem hard to keep track of? Even if the public defender was to try to turn down another case to handle, they aren’t allowed. Many states do not allow any public defenders to deny any cases. This picture is from the show called, “60 Minutes”. This episode shows the public defenders. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-new-orleans-public-defenders-decision-to-refuse-felony-cases/

This is a link to watch is you would like!!

Normally because public defenders are so overloaded with the cases they are given, they end up encouraging the client to admit they’re guilty to get rid of the case. This seems pretty unfair to those clients, they are in a time of need of someone to help them. They need someone who cares about their case but all they're worried about is to get rid of their case. The percentage of cases with public defenders are 47%, while the assigned attorney is 12%.  The estimated time a public defender has with a client before appearing in front of the judge is 7 minutes. The public defender is said to work on a case for less than an hour. This shows how little the effort is for the client.  This shows how a public defender is not ready to defend their client. They have no time to look into the case to see if the client is actually guilty or innocent. This picture shows that on different types of cases, the public defender's does not get the time they need to defend their client properly.

I choose this topic because of my first experience with a public defender. My sister, who is in jail, doesn’t have enough money for an attorney, so received a public defender in replacement. My sister landed herself in jail for a year for having drugs on her. I think this is unfair not only because she’s my sister, but because she didn’t have the proper defense on her side. People who commit much more violent crimes get out faster than my sister who committed a nonviolent crime. I wanted to do this because before I had my first experience, I paid no mind to how unfair the justice system can be. I think this is relevant and it affects so many people in the world and this can’t go on forever because it’s unfair! The overload of cases on a public defender’s plate needs to come to an end.

The issue of the public defender's doesn’t stand out much if you don’t experience it. My hopes in this is to help people understand that the way the public defenders are being worked and the clients are suffering. I’ve learned how the system started and actual statics of the public defenders. I hope to find out the estimated cost of an attorney and the impact on the people in jail because their public defenders did them no justice.

You can go to my document on the websites I used here...

Hello my name is Siarra Cummings the topic I have decided to focus on for this project is feeding starving children. Feeding starving children is a serious thing in the world and is still continuing on till this day. Only groups of people work to make sure starvation  isn’t big in the future. More groups have to made because of the thousands of children all over are malnourished and not fed properly together we can end this hunger. This topic interests me because I can’t imagine not having access to food everyday. We waste food almost everyday and take it for granted when some kids don’t even have food.  I  want to create awareness so we can appreciate what we have. Which is why I made my title the way it is because we hear this from our parents almost all of the time, right?

In part of my research I looked up “feeding starving children.” I looked to see if this was a big topic. Were people  really interested in it? The first website that appeared was a feeding children organization, who packaged meals for kids in need of food. This organization is Christian based and they go around recruiting churches to help them out. The organization is  called Feed My Starving Children . I found a connection with the Feeding Starving Children organization, and decided I want to help. A few weeks ago this organization came to my church and presented  the idea of feeding starving children and helping them physically grow. I was so intrigued because I never knew how serious this topic was. The lady presenting gave empowering stories about different children they fed back to a healthy body. There are numerous amount of success stories (link to photos as well) that really just amazes me at what this organization does.

In this photo this one of the little boys they nursed this boy back to health, his success story is actually on the website too. He is sitting next to the a box filled with the food that feed my starving children send to his village.

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This is the pack of food they send to these children and it is scientifically tested to nurse them back to a healthy body. This food contains rice, soy, vitamins and vegetables. It may not seem like a lot but since these children are so malnourished they can’t stomach regular food (especially large amounts) and it will make them sick. So they needed something that could be manageable for them to eat.

For my second part of research I really wanted to find out different facts about malnourished children in the world. To reach this information I had to go onto a world hunger organization website to find out the facts. What I read was real heart breaking information and I realize again we Americans take food for granted. Not only does this site talk about world hunger for kids but it talks about how much food we waste a year. I think the numbers are absurd! About 3.1 million children die a year from being malnourished and not receiving the right amount of food. What we don’t know is how it’s affecting where we live right now. Most of us have the easiest access to food and it’s not hard to get what we want.

I wanted to see how much Philadelphians had children who were starving and see how much damage we are doing to ourselves. 30% of children in Philadelphia are starving. We don’t contribute as much to the starving children counts they take every year but since we are one of the poorest cities in the United States we have almost the highest count of starving children. I think starting small and working our way up to help this situation is a good thing! If we start small in Philadelphia and make sure this problem diminishes we could help others.  I feel really passionate about this topic and I hope that it really opens up other people’s eyes in this growing problem.

My goal moving forward is to become a regular volunteer with feed my starving children I think I would enjoy working with this organization!

The Truth Behind Deep Poverty In Philadelphia

My name is Kyla Gladney-Enos and I’m going to talk about an important topic for my You And The World project that some people are ignorant to, or that some people don’t like talking about. The topic that interests me the most is deep poverty in Philadelphia. More specifically, hunger as a result of deep poverty. Deep poverty means that the person or family is living under the average poverty rate of $20,000. This is a problem because when you’re impoverished, you may not have the things you need to survive like drinkable (running) water, electricity, heat, etc. The current population in Philadelphia is nearly 1.56 million. The population in Philadelphia who are impoverished is about 200,000 people. I plan on raising awareness by grabbing people's attention with actual facts instead of trying to make poverty seem not as bad as it actually is.

This is a picture of the nation’s 10 most populous cities. As you can see, Philadelphia has the highest rate of poverty and deep poverty within the nation’s most populous cities. About half the people who are living in poverty are living in deep poverty in Philadelphia.

I’m interested in this topic because it’s an issue that is inevitable to terminate due to the number of children being born each year. About four million children are being born in the United States each year. 14.5 percent of those babies are going to poor families. When I was a little girl, I didn’t know what poverty was, so how could I have known what deep poverty was? My mother was so good at hiding the fact that we were living in public housing, didn’t have a lot of money, and got most of our food from food banks.

This is a picture of kids in the lunch line getting food. This is important because in order for children to be healthy, they need the proper nutrients and protein from healthy food.

The official definition of hunger is feeling or displaying the need for food. In Philadelphia, 1 of 5 people are considered a risk for hunger. That’s about 260,000 people in Philadelphia who might be starving. This number has been increased 65% in the last eight years. The people who are hungry in Philadelphia are mostly children. 30% of Philadelphia’s children are hungry and 6% are senior citizens. 14% of the people who are hungry in Philadelphia are white, 18% are black, and 24% are Latino. 60% of hungry children are most likely to miss school than children who are not hungry. This is a serious problem because if these kids who are starving miss too much school, they’ll have to repeat the grade over.

These are pictures that I took on April 25, 2017 at 4:07 PM on 20th and Arch. This is a pretty popular avenue in Philadelphia that’s located in the city near a lot of museums. In the pictures, there doesn’t appear to be a lot of trash on the ground, the sidewalks aren’t cracked, and the streets look nice.

My goal moving forward is to volunteer at a food bank every once and awhile. When I started researching deep poverty in Philadelphia, I didn’t expect Philadelphia to be the poorest big city in the nation. I feel like the government is good at hiding this stuff. The other day I was talking to my friend who has never lived in poverty. She’s lives in a primarily white neighborhood with her white mom and sister. When I was explaining what deep poverty was and showing her pictures of North Philadelphia, she said those pictures make the city look bad and that Philadelphia doesn’t look like that. I started thinking how could she not know this? Why doesn’t she know this? But it’s not her fault. It’s the media’s fault. Even in school they don’t teach us that Philadelphia is the most poorest big city nation wide. I want to inform people (who haven’t experienced what the conditions of poverty are like) about what’s really going on in the real world. I want to learn more about why we don’t get educated about important things that’s going on in our city.

These are pictures I took on April 25, 2017 at 7:02 PM. This block is also a popular avenue in Southwest Philadelphia. In this picture, there appears to be trash in the street, cracked trolley tracks, and cracked sidewalks.

Here’s my annotated bibliography!

Hello! My name is Asnain Khan and I am currently a freshman at Science Leadership Academy. We are doing a project in my English class called, “You And The World” (Y&TW). What is a “You And The World” project? Well, it’s when we choose an issue in the United States, the world, or in our community, and do research on it. After that, we go out into the world and try to make a change on the issue we chose. The issue you choose isn’t just random, you choose an issue you are interested in and can probably relate to. I chose the issue of environmental pollution in Philadelphia. I chose this topic because I am very interested in pollution, and I believe that it affects everyone in Philadelphia, including me. I hope to make a change occur and let people know more about this topic. I am going to try to bring awareness and interview a person that suffers because of environmental pollution in Philadelphia.

One of the major problems that Philadelphia is facing today is that of environmental pollution. It’s increasing with every passing year and causing grave and irreparable damage to the environment. Environmental pollution refers to the introduction of harmful pollutants into the environment. It has a hazardous effect on the natural world and on the activities of living beings. According to Phillymag, Philadelphia is the 10th most polluted city in the United States. Because Philadelphia is so polluted, many people are affected by it. “Each year in Philadelphia, an estimated 126 lives are cut short and 284 people are hospitalized due to excess air pollution,” according to a report by the American Thoracic Society and New York University.

According to Environmental Pollution and Its Effects, “environmental pollution consists of five basic types of pollution, namely, air, water, soil, noise, and light.” Air pollution is the contamination of any environment by any chemical, a physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of that atmosphere. Driving cars and trucks, burning coal, oil, other fossil fuels, and even such everyday activities as dry cleaning, painting, and filling your car with gas are some main sources of air pollution. Water pollution is the contamination of different water bodies. Humans pollute water with large scale disposal of garbage, flowers, ashes, and other household waste. Soil pollution, which can also be called soil contamination, is a result of acid rain, polluted water, fertilizers etc., which leads to bad crops. Noise pollution is the excessive sound that may cause harm to the humanity. Noise pollution mainly includes machines and transportation systems, motor vehicles, aircraft, and trains. Last but not least, light pollution is excessive, misdirected or misused light that can harm human health, wildlife, ecosystems and astronomy. Although light pollution is one of the least known types of pollution, its effects on human health and ecosystems can be just as serious as some of the better-known forms of pollution. Light Pollution includes light trespass, over-illumination and astronomical interference.

This picture shows what light pollution looks like.

This picture conveys what soil pollution looks like.  

This picture express what noise pollution looks like.

  This picture proclaim what water pollution looks like.  

Air pollution is by far the most harmful form of pollution in Philadelphia. As I stated before, air pollution occurs when gases, dust particles, smoke or odor are introduced into the atmosphere in a way that makes it harmful to humans, animals, and plants. This is because the air becomes contaminated. Dust, dirt, harmful gases, and industrial emissions all form a part of air pollution. These pollutants cause a deterioration in air quality and are capable of harming life forms. Air pollution is a serious problem. Air pollution can cause harm to the lungs. Phillymag states, “air pollution poses a risk to children under 18, too, because their lungs are still developing; it can cause bronchitis or infection and puts them at a greater risk for lung disease later in life.” Not only does air pollution pose a risk to children under 18, but it also poses a risk to adults 65 and over. Phillymag states, “studies show that breathing in ozone and particle pollution puts older adults at a higher risk of respiratory and cardiovascular problems. This is bad news for the 185,309 people over 65 living in Philadelphia County.” As stated by Philly.com, “ozone and particulates also exacerbate chronic obstructive lung disease, requiring more than 280 Philadelphians each year to seek hospitalization or treatment in an emergency room, according to the study.” Air pollution can cause asthma as well. According to Phillymag, “out of the 1,526,006 people living in Philadelphia, 32,761 have pediatric asthma, 117,594 have adult asthma, 49,215 have chronic bronchitis and 20,494 have emphysema.” Because air pollution can cause different types of serious health problems, many people die and are hospitalized because of those conditions.

This photo betray what air pollution in Philadelphia looks like.  

Overall, you can see that environmental pollution is a very important and effective issue. Due the research I did on this issue, I learned a lot about all types of environmental pollution. There were so many things I didn’t know before, that I know now. Such as, Philadelphia is the 10th most polluted cities in the United States. My research has given me so much knowledge about the air pollution in Philadelphia and the effects it has on people and the environment. I wonder if students are educated about pollution in Philadelphia? I say this because I was never taught about pollution in Philadelphia and how impactful it is. I want to know more about what people in Philadelphia do about the air pollution and if there have been improvement. I hope after reading this blog you were able to take something away from it. The next blog is on it’s way!

Check out my annotated bibliography for more information!