Don't ask Don't Tell Repeal Questions

I dont agree that gay people should not be allowed to serve in the military. They should have the same rights and oppertunities as everyone else. I do understand the arguement that it could some how cause waves within the military structure because it is so "male" dominate. The article states that the armed forces reacted very well to culturual integration when Truman was in office, so there is hope that it will be the same in this case as well. There needs to be a careful method in changing this law so no side is at a disadvantage.

Globalization

I think that globalization has good and bad aspects. I think it is intersting that the American culture and styles are reaching across the globe to places like Africa and people from the South Sahara. American culture is apparently very popular and seeing other cultures adopt it is ok with me as long as they don't lose their own culture in doing so. McDonaldization is when tasks are broken down to the very baisics. One person has one specific job. That way productivity is maximized becuase everyone is a 'pro' at their own certain 'job'. Like at McDonalds, one person works the fryer, on person takes the orders, ect. Pessimistic hyperglobalizers and Optimistic hyperglobalizers are

Multi Genre

For my multi genre project I will be using a poster board to display the facts I have learned about my topic, which is underage teen drinking. I will probably incorperate a brochure hand out as a well to show other aspects and information of underage/binge drinking.

Social Class Questionaire

The socialeconomic questioniare focuses on social and economic statuses. I read about was origionally in poor social class during his/her childhood, but as an adult he/she has labeled his/herself as a 'lower-middle' class person. Such things like, :getting by, having good etiquette, getting a college degree, owning a home, and having faith in his/her religion". These values are very important when it comes to making a well adjusted American citizen. My participant has very homely values that are very personable. Being humble is one of the traits that my participant has gained from his/her background growing up. One thing my participant said he/she would never want to hear about them was that "you can't do that". That shows that the theme that my participant has learned for his/her past is that "No" will not stop my participant from achieving his/her goals. Another theme that was consisitant throughout this questinoaire was that your socioeconomic background does not necessairally mean who you will become. Ambition and hard work is somthing I learned that it does not matter what class you come from, but what moral values are what is most important

Comparative Data Analysis

Bryan's focus was on African American Venacular English course and linguistics within the African American English. He goes into a lot of detail in his essay and interview as well. He interviewed a 20 something black fellow classmate in his AAV class. Irving was in the army and lived in South West Atlanta. Bryan used his data using both direct and indirect quotes. Samantha's focus was on the infamous Columbine shooting, but she didn't use quotes like Bryan did. She formated her stories more narrative like fashion. Her participants, Linda and Jenny is someone who was a victim of this tragic event and seemed to pour a lot of voice and emotion into her essay.

What can I do with a Major in...

As a Criminal Justice major I have opportunities to work in many areas of law enforcement. My interest is in federal level law enforcement, either working with the F.B.I., C.I.A., or D.E.A.  I have always been interested in law enforcement and find nearly every aspect, good and bad, interesting. I am always watching Cops or D.E.A. on t.v. or something similar to it. I've been told I'm a little bit of a risk taker and anything to do with action, like sports or trying new things, is in my interest.

Free Writing Questions 10/26

When Sally French's manager says "I have worked with many blind people and they all wanted to be treated normally" it shows the lack of understanding and compassion the manager has towards people with disabilities. Even if people with disabilities want to be treated 'normally' they also might require special accomadations in order to function normally. French's managers's ignorace in relation to people with diabilities shows how difficult it is to overcome the adversity of having a disability in the workplace. I get mixed feelings when I read French's narrative. I noticed a tone of sadness and a sense of frustration. But more so, I believe that her tone was very strong and righteous. She wanted to inform her readers of her struggle and adress the problems she faced in order to help make a change.

When reading Shapiro's work I felt that language was one reason why minoritiy students were more likely to be placed in special education classes than majority races. What I learned from Shapiro has been this reiterated in my Latino Studies class that also states that many students who struggle with English are placed in special education classes simply because of the language barrier. The I.D.E.A. is an organization that has brought American's attention to the issues and needs that students with disabilities need. By educating people about certain learning disabilities and others disabilities they hope to level the playing ground education-wise to offer equal education to everyone.

Interview Analysis

My participant is a Political Sciences major studying in the are of pre-law. His reason for choosing college as a career path is because it offers "more money and it makes it easier to get a job". Currently a sophmore, he is striving to graduate within 4 years.  After the 4 years he will attend law school but is not sure exactally where yet. His ideal career would be a lawyer. A specific area in which he wants to practice law is still undertermined.

Asian Lesbian Struggles

An "invisible" minority is a minority that is not generally noticed or is not that common. Someone who looks white and "americanized" but has a European accent could be considered an "invisible" minority because they only sound like a minority, not by looks. "Sticking to your own kind" means associating yourself with people who are similar to you, by looks, gender, or race. I think people do this to feel comfortable with themselves. If you are around people who look and sound like you, you will not feel weird about your looks or sound. I don't think I tone down any aspect of my identity. I think that because I am "american enough" to feel comfortable in society because I blend in so well to the majority. If I had a weird accent I think I would either find friends that had the same acccent or try to lose it in order to fit in. Just because I don't hide my identity doesn't necessarially mean I wouldn't if I stood out somehow.

"Adopting the Principle of Pro-Feminism"

By socialization and the way that society works I have unintentionally adopted some sexist ways of thinking. However, I am for equal rights of women, some ways of thinking about "inferiorority" of women have affected me. For example thinking that men are better at certain sports that women, or the common sterotype that men are stronger mentally and physcially. I do agree that men are stronger physically than women, but that is based on my thought that biologically that is generally true. On the otherhand I think that men and women have an equal base for mental toughness. I don't know how to change this notion of women because I base a lot of my beliefs and ideas on rational thought and reason. Scientifically, men are phycially more able than women, but in no way shape or form do I think that women are "incapable" or "inferior" to men.

Paraphrasing Activity

Studends tend to overuse quotations. When direct quatations are overused in a research paper, it can be problematic. Only "10% of the [paper] should be acutal direct quotations". Cutting down on direct quotes should be a goal while taking notes. (Lester 45-47)

Child Trafficking in Cambodia

I have learned about child trafficking beofore but I have never read something like Laura's paper. She gives lots of information that deems her as a crediable writer. I find this to be a very upsetting and horrible topic, but reguardless it still needs to be researched. The statistics that she gave were really shocking. They way parents sell their children for money and as a means to survive is very sad.

Reflection on Reading a Research Article

I learned a lot about how to break down an article to get the most information out it. The methods we used in class gave me a good idea on what questions are important when looking into an article or journal. This was benificial doing this as a group rather than doing as a lecture style lesson or on my own.

Summary Practice

This passage is about whether not popular musicians make 'art' or if it is a fad. The author attempts to dertermine the difference between 'serious' and 'popular' music. Serious music is 'explained by social conditions determining its production and subsequent consumption we are dismissed as philistines'. Moreover, popular music is 'taken to be good only for sociological theory'. The main point is to 'uncover the social forces concealed in the talk of "trancendent" values'.

Research Articles 9/7

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa67/aa67.htm

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/cas/What-We-Learned-08.pdf

http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/20060517112345.html

Will Increasing Alcohol Availability By Lowering the Minimum
Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related
Consequences Among Youths?

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=105&sid=135ef3ac-36e3-4c90-8cd2-cf4294c984d7%40sessionmgr111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=50616981#db=a9h&AN=50616981


Underage College Students' Drinking Behavior, Access to Alcohol, and the Influence of Deterrence Policies.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=112&sid=5356b256-2157-4cdb-9968-6d5082cffb47%40sessionmgr112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=6755896#db=a9h&AN=6755896

Despite Alcohol Crackdown, the Party Goes on

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=2&hid=112&sid=a27d1b48-7bf4-4fd1-acdb-2045d75ad7ec%40sessionmgr112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=35633799

College presidents call for a debate on lowering the drinking age to 18.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=112&sid=da200fe4-e577-40ba-bb8f-d4aa7c75b526%40sessionmgr112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=34230203#db=a9h&AN=34230203

Exercise 1.5

Exercise 1.5 (pg. 50)

Why is underage drinking so common in today's society on college campuses?


-How is underage drinking viewed by authorities at colleges?
-What colleges have the biggest problems with undergage drinking?
-What consequences come from having a lower drinking age (foreign countries) from drinking at 21?
-What is the effects of students who drink and their school performance?

Exercise 1.1

Places: Aurora, IL, ISU, United States
Trends: facebook, iPods/iPhones,
Things: cellphones, notebooks,
Tech: iPods, Droid/cellphones, computers/laptops, Apple Inc., 3D movies
People: friends, family, co-workers, bosses, celebrities
Controversies: race, border control, heath care reform, war in Iraq
History: world wars, NIU shooting/Columbine, independence day, 9/11
Jobs: lifeguard, gym employee, f.b.i., c.i.a.
Habits: procrastination, chewing gum loudly
Hobbies: sports, swimming, working out, watching movies,

Exercise 2

-"I watch this flight and return again and again, and along with it I notice the pigeons, who participate in a similar performance of their own in these same squares."

-"Pigeons seem to inspire such paradoxical feelings. Pigeon racer in the Bronx tenderly kiss the beaks of their birds, finally home after flying 500 miles to their lofts after a remarkable feat of solar navigation"(Blechman).

I feel that the way he incorporated his sources into his paper was very technical. Usually when I site a source in the middle of my paper I struggle to have the information flow into the rest of the paper like Ballenger did. I think the main idea of this paper is to convey how was is beauty to one person can seem wrong and ugly to another person. It helps with anxiety of writing papers when you are trying to make sure you please 100% of your audience. Some of the most famous painters in history were mocked for their radical art styles and now they are praised as geniuses.

When writing a fact based paper I try to pick out information and facts that grab me as interesting, or ones that are not commonly known/ perceived as myths. I try to make sure that my reader learns a new fact that will shock or intrigue them into enjoying my paper. I really like the message I got from this short essay because of how it puts perspective on writing that people usually do not get to see.

Narrative on Social Diversity and Multiculturalism

The way I define social diversity is by how many different social structures and societies there are and how much they differ. The social units like race, gender, sexual preference are things that are ways people can be categorized in society. I define multiculturalism as the combination or tolerance for more than one type of culture within a society. Social diversity is important to all societies, especially the United States because we are sometimes called 'The Melting Pot' of societies and cultures. Social diversity is something that should not be suppressed in societies, it should be encouraged. I like learning about new cultures and different ways people from around the world do things. To me, culture is a live representation of a people's history and if a people's culture is suppressed it will eliminate that people's history forever. One main issue of diversity that is difficult for me is my past and experiences. I believe someone's past is just as troubling and someone who faces most other types of diversity issues.

Someone that has been really influential to me by shaping my ideas about these issues is my friend and neighbor Neal. He is my age and is African American. He has a great sense of humor and is not offended easily about his race. I have always heard excuses from my black friends that they get targeted by police because of their race. Being ignorant and not wanting to believe them I always thought of that as a poor excuse and just playing on stereotypes. To keep a long story short, one time Neal and I were at the mall in a pretty pricey clothing store. After spending a good amount of time in the store, we head out. But at the main door is two police officers claiming they got a call from the store we were in that there was a suspicious person that they believed was shoplifting. It was outrageous to see this first hand. He gave no reason that he was going to steal and was in a store that carried clothes he wouldn't be caught dead in. Seeing that the clerks got nervous based on his looks was a big eye-opener for me.

On of my favorite subjects in social justice is racism. It is so important to me because we as Americans still have preconceived notions and prejudices against certain people. Americans take a certain persons culture and makes stereotypes against them. I'm not arrogant enough to not believe that all stereotypes come from some sort of 'fact'. But I still see a big problem with racism today that needs to be addressed. Being a criminal justice major I think race is a pretty important matter. Cops NEED to use stereotypes and 'expected behavior' of certain people so they and the suspects can be safe.

Exercise 1

The top 5 statements I chose were:
-It's okay to say things the instructuor might disagree with
-You have to know your thesis before you start
-You can use your experiences and observations as evidence
-You can't use the pronoun I
- Form matters than content

 Some of these I agree with and some that I do not agree with. I believe that is it okay to say things that your instructor might disagree with as long as its done in a respectful and intelligent manner. You are writing to have your reader GAIN knowledge so even if its not what your teacher agrees with, as long as its factual it should be acceptable. I also do not think you have to know your thesis before you start. It might be good to have a slight idea, but you should be able to have the freedom to write first and form your thesis from that. I do not think that using your own experiences as evidence is acceptable. Furthermore, I think it is okay to use 'I' by a paper by paper basis. Meaning some papers you get might give you the freedom to use 'I' and some may not. I think it all depend on the format that the paper requires. I think content is more important than form. The content if your paper is what your reader is going to notice most. Form may be taken into account as well, but not as much as the quality of your words.

Part 2

I chose the statement "There is a big difference between facts and opinions". I agree with this in the sense that facts have proof that backs them up while opinions are just based on the thoughts of person. You can not present your opinion and try to pass it as fact. That happens a lot in common arguments and debates. I believe that everyone's opinion should matter, but opinions cannot trump cold hard facts.

In-Class Blog 8/26

1. Reading and writing is a vital factor to my academic and professional life. It has helped me learn new things on subjects I would otherwise be ignorant about. It has also helped a lot with my grammar. I have become a much better speller and proofreader as a result of reading. I do use facebook occasionally but I try not to use 'u' for you, or 'r' for are. Whenever I email I try my hardest to keep it formal and professional.

2. The most difficult part of academic writing for me is when I have to start the paper. I am terrible at figuring out how to start my paper in the introductory, that is one area I want to improve in.

3. I usually read a lot of crime and science-fiction novels. A lot of those challenge my vocabulary and after I figure out the meaning of some terms that I have not heard of before, I am able to put more sophisticated vocabulary into my writing.

4. In the past I have not enjoyed research papers that much. I am not a fan of Works Cited pages. I am entering this class with an open mind and I have hopes that I will be able to work on that weakness.

5. Off the top of my head I am not 100% sure of one particular topic I would prefer to research. But crime and corruption (Blagojevich) would be areas that would interest me.

6. My main method of reseaching would be online and book from the library.

Introduction Post

My name is Mike Anthony and I go to Illinois State University. I am going to be a Criminal Justice Major in the Spring. As a Jr. I am taking the rest of my Gen. Eds. and taking classes that are required to apply to the major for the spring. I am excited about this upcoming semester and I hope to do well in all my classes. I am a very open-minded person and love meeting new people.