As We Look At This Thing Called "Us" - Pt. II

The media is one of the most powerful and influential forces known to man during this present day. Considering this fact, it is easy to recognize why minorities (of race, gender, sexuality, etc.) would be upset since they are severely underrepresented. Turn on the television and almost any channel will be showing the same thing: white people, such as the photograph above. This may not seem like a big deal, but children of all ages, genders, and races who watch television (as most do) unknowingly begin to form generalities about the people and things they see. This is how discrimination is born, and next to nothing is being done to prevent or improve this situation. Advertising companies are reluctant to include minorities because whites make up the largest amount of cash flow. However, with minorities being the fastest growing group in terms of income, why are advertising companies still ignoring them? Are companies afraid of losing current customers; are minorities still not included in the term "us"?

Find out in my exciting new paper!

P.S. Sorry for the late post! :]

abstractionization

Every place in the world is a product of its own history-- and for that matter, every person, too. While the term 'Pennsylvania Dutch' is recognizable to most people, few know anything about their history or how they have shaped the culture of Central Pennsylvania. Who were the forefathers of the Kutztown area, and what significance did their presence have on our modern culture? Kutztown and the Pennsylvania Dutch explains that and more. Read it to gain a better understanding of Kutztown's past, a broader perspective on the present, and a vision of the future.

A little late but here goes

There are so many different places in a city. Each place has its own environment and is like its own contained world. It is very common to see these contained worlds existing so close to each other. All About Kutztown takes you on a guided tour of three very different environments in Kutztown that exist right next to each other. These places are beautifully detailed and there are many true stories of people that can be found in these environments.

LIBRARIES

Although many might view libraries are boring, dusty, and old, in today's world libraries are just the opposite. Libraries have reinvented themselves into a whole new meaning over the past decade. Tall ceilings, comfortable seating, and works of art make libraries glow with beauty. Along with libraries themselves, librarians have also begun to change the way in which they are viewed.
Steve Ambrose, a historian and well-known author, was quoted saying, " In small town America, the library is the heart of the society." A library wears many hats for the people of which is serves. A library offers resources such as collections of books, Internet access, and much more. Along with this, libraries offer many activities to their communities that stress the importance of reading.
Librarians are successfully changing the way in which they are portrayed by the public. Many perceive them to be uptight, sophisticated women, but in reality not all are this way. They are normal individuals just like you or I.
Libraries truly are works of art. Communities use libraries for resources, technolgy and pleasure reading. As far as the public is concerned, libraries hold the key to their world of knowledge; a world that will forever be in existence.

Stop.. BLOG TIME!

Illegal immigration is seen by some as a net loss and a drain on our American society as a whole. Nativist sentiment today has led to our current immigration debate, putting the lives of nearly 20 million illegal immigrants in this country into uncertainty. The funny thing is that people held the same views over a century ago when millions of immigrants came to the United States from all over the world. These immigrants faced rejection and hardship on a daily basis from the country that had accepted them as well as native-born Americans who wanted them out. However, despite all of this difficulty, these people defined the American melting pot and created the nation that we know today. “The Immigration Debate in a Historical Perspective.” is an in depth examination of immigration during the late 19th and early 20th century which strives to compare this period with our current debate and to place it in it's proper historical perspective. We shouldn't view new immigration as a threat or a drain on our society but rather a new wave in the growth and development of our nation and the people who inhabit it.

Abstract, wooohoooo!!!

Imagine a world with no laws… no morals, no values, no ethics… Would you survive?

Our world relies on morals, whether we realize it or not. Without “right and wrong” or “good and bad” our world would be nothing but chaos, pain, and torment. Our ethics dictate the places we go, the people we surround ourselves with, the things that we do…everything can be connected to morals in some way. They are essential for a functioning world. So then I ask you…

As humans, are we morally obligated to serve and better humanity?

Jane Jacobs seems to think so. In her essay, “The Use of Sidewalks-Safety” she discusses the “intricate, almost unconscious, network of voluntary controls and standards,” that are used by citizens to keep the streets and sidewalks safe when law enforcement cannot. These citizens are working for a better humanity by protecting one another from harm. The ethics and moral values of the world are discussed in Moral Philosophy. Many well-known philosophers studied why things are “right” and “wrong” and how we come to those conclusions.

Is it our duty to be good, caring citizens?

Are there certain moral “laws” that are universal?

Are we born hardwired with a certain sense of what is acceptable in the world?

Read “The Philosophy of Ethics” to find out.

Abstract, in the writing sense, not in the art one. Le sigh.

Archetecture and their surroundings isn't something that the common American would say crosses their mind daily, unless a job requires it. That's true in the fact that it's not a lie, but also untrue in the fact that the enviroment around us makes more of an impact than that. On a more emotional level, a "welcoming" or "forboding" space will affect how we relate to both it and each other. People can affect what feeling a space gives off, whether they mean to do so or not, which shows values, but the surroundings can also help shape these values. From right here on campus to other continents, "Architecture and the Formation and Maintenance of Community" takes a look at a few examples of what happens when buildings and/or communities have quality problems and what is, or isn't, being done to change this issue, and the repercussions from that.

English Testing Only: Better for Whom??

Is it fair to give students a standardized test in English, when they don’t understand English?? Will doing this help them learn English?? Will this assess if these students are “proficient” accurately? Basic logic tells us that students, who don’t know English, won’t do well on a test in English. Whether they know the subject matter or not, giving someone a test written in an unknown language doesn’t give accurate results. There are some accommodations on the PSSA tests that were made for students that don’t speak English, but these accommodations are not nearly enough to help the problem. A mixture of logic, statistical evidence, and stories show the ways these accommodations fail the students it is claimed they help. While it may not be important to everyone that Spanish-speaking students be given a fair deal when it comes to education and standardized tests, some of these students are a part of our generation. The future is in each generation and fostering communication instead of misinterpretation and alienation would create a better world during that time.

Illegal Participation on the Illegal Immigrants. 5 yard penalty, repeat 1st down

American society today gives a lot of attention to sports. The Super Bowl is an unofficial holiday in this country and what better way to give attention to an issue influencing the United States than with a comparison to sports. What is causing havoc in sports? Steroids. What is causing havoc in the United States? Illegal immigration.
The government has decided to take action on both steroids in sports and illegal immigration. Awkwardly enough, more progress seems to have been made with the steroids issue. This is where I come in. I will show you the comparative points of illegal immigration and steroids and how each are impacting this country. Athletes are role models to kids and what they do becomes the right thing to do. Illegal immigrants live in the US and take advantage of federal programs that they do not need to pay taxes for. What is being attempted to be done to stop or prevent both problems from occurring will be addressed thoroughly. Local and federal laws to punish illegal immigration are the starting point for curbing the impact of illegal immigration. Suspensions and fines by sports organizations are prevalent but are starting to increase in severity as well as federal government intervention. Within the paper, Major League Baseball is the main focus for the steroids portion of the paper since this is the most noticeable sport with a steroids problem.
So as I asked in my previous entry...what do a migrant worker and Mark McGuire have in common? A lot. The government is breathing down both of their necks and neither want the government to know about their actions. That's a start.

ABSTRACT!

Communication is a tool used by all trades. Farmers, salesmen, prostitutes - each uses communication in their own way. But could communication be an influential factor in our sense of belonging? Think about it. Is there any other way you could become a part of a community without any kind of communication? No pens, no paper, no words. No sounds, no pictures, no messages in the sand. Could we really build a sense of belonging without communication? "Communication and it's influence on our sense of belonging" builds an argument that yes, communication is a key factor in building our sense of belonging within a community. But what else about communication affects our sense of belonging? Read on to find out!

-------------------------------------------------------------

hey guys, last minute words... sw33t deal with the blog. WE'RE ALMOST DONE OUR FIRST SEMESTER YOU GUYS!! I'm stoked, so I don't know about you guys. It's been a great class [seriously, it's the only one I haven't skipped all semester], and I've really enjoyed sharing discussions with you guys. It's too bad we can't have a swap session and read everyone else's papers.. I feel like our discussions will go on with no sense of closure.. :\ anyway, good luck on finals you guys! and have a great holidays!! :)
- Jeni

American Apple Pie, but with out the American Apples

With Christmas around the corner, grocery stores are stocking up on all the must-haves of the holiday season. Items such as sweet potatoes, turkeys, green beans, and the like are being ordered in from across the country to satisfy Americans' stomachs. Before you take a spoonful of mashed potatoes, however, take a moment to think about where they cam from. If they aren't instant mashed potatoes, then they came from a farm, probably in the US. And who harvested these potatoes? Probably not the farmer, unless they happen to be organic, then the likelihood of being handpicked by the grower increases but isn't guaranteed. Most likely this potato was picked by hand, by an immigrant worker. According to farmers' own estimates, about 70 percent of the 1.2 million hired workers tilling fields and picking crops are illegal immigrants.
The United States agricultural community of today is in a position where it can NOT function without illegal immigrants. Right now there is a shortage of this labor force due to the tighter border control and the push for deporting all illegal immigrants. This nation can not afford to lose the immigrants because there is no one to replace them. There are countless tales where farmers who advertised for workers received little or no response to there ads. Americans do not want to do the work that these illegal immigrants are willing to do. As for the suggestions to replace the illegal immigrant work force with prisoners, a domestic work force, and/or machines is unrealistic and doomed to fail for a number of reasons. The solution needed is a way to let illegal immigrants become legal through a legal process. A certain program named AgJOBS can do this, however it is currently at a standstill in Congress. This country needs illegal immigrants, if: it wants its farms to stay on American soil, its economy to not crash, and its apples for its American pie to stay American apples.

An unwelcoming and discriminitory face

Recently Hollywood announced that the 29 year old actress, Reese Witherspoon would be earning 29Million dollars for her upcoming movie. With Hollywood dominating a bulk of the multibillion U.S economy, should we begin to question why there are 600,000 recorded homeless people in the United States? As crime rates, homicides, and newly formed antihomeless laws are continously growing the homeless population is becoming further removed from the rest of the nation. Is our nations sense of unity falling apart or have we simply excepted our countries lack of compassoin and care for its own citizens as common ground? Who deserves here, who belongs, and is our country turning on itself to keep the needy away? The facade the United States wears will only last so long before its unwelcoming and discriminitory face is revealed.

My Father the Alien

Growing up in Middle of Nowhere, PA a lot of people looked at my father differently. All of my friends' dads had blonde hair, blue eyes and had "normal names" like John or Mike. Whereas my dad was Aurelio Castilla, the guy with tan skin and a thick accent. I quickly became accustomed to explaining that he was from Colombia where everyone spoke Spanish and the sun shines all the time. One day a little boy who lived in my neighborhood overheard his parents discussing my father's "alien status" which led us to believe that my father was a Martian.As children we were completely unaccustomed to the ideas of green cards, and legal aliens.
It's apparent in today's society that a majority of American adults are foreign to these ideas as well. With the recent influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico and other countries, Americans often wonder why if these people claim to be so innocent and hardworking why they don't just come over here legally. Although there are a variety of ways for one to become "legal" through visas, citizenship, etc it is not as easy as many think. The process takes a lot of money and time, two things that people who are struggling to survive do not have.
This paper is not meant to condone illegal immigration. Its purpose is to make the average Joe understand a little bit more about the difficulties the immigration process entails.

I just want to say...

All I wanted to do was skip a line in my blog and add a nice little SIDEBAR but it wouldn't let me when I pressed enter...so...I just want to say goodbye to everyone! It has been FAB and FUNNY and I'll really miss writing...A special thanks to Dr. Mahoney for also being FAB and FUNNY and for all the help! Fare the well ! Say hello when you see me! -Colby

Honest Abe a Babe?

Image in politics? It's everything...from that foxy babe in the tie and suit to the steely gaze of the done-up eye, we are undeniably affected by these images, whether positively or negatively. For instance, it's not unusual for a woman to have a "campaign uniform," or for those devilishly handsome Presidents to have wicked affairs. We see it, acknowledge it, accept or reject it, and then vote depending on our feelings. I delve in to it, analyze it, wonder...wonder about Marilyn Monroe and JFK, wonder about Abe Lincoln and his (lack of?) looks...I get sentimental over George Bush and a turkey, and get sick over Clinton. Why? Supposedly, there are still people who pay attention to the words, who disregard the faces...but for those of us who judge that book by it's cover, beautiful or otherwise, we are moved by it, motivated to vote or abstain, to trust or refuse. Image in politics--it's intense, important, and above all, maddeningly interesting.

I Pledge Allegiance...

The process of becoming an American citizen is something many go through each year. At the same time, with so many immigrants coming into the country one has to wonder why more aren’t becoming naturalized. This process seems like the simple solution to reduce the number of illegal immigrants living in this country. Is it really that simple though? What is naturalization, how did it start, and what does it entail?

In my paper, I answer all these questions so you, the reader, can have a more complete understanding of an important aspect of our American culture. The information is presented in an informative manner in order to explain the naturalization With the issue of immigration being such a hot topic right now, it is important to know about what would appear to be an easy solution to the problem of illegal immigration. Find out about naturalization in this paper.

Forget the Apocalypse, Suburban Sprawl is Destroying the Earth

Space use efficiency is a little used term that has a large effect on the Earth and its future. The population of humanity is obviously rising, and to compromise for that increase, human living space is being expanded. The question is, is it over expanding?

Suburban sprawl is the migration of humans from compact cities to spread out housing developments. Suburban sprawl is obviously present in this country with its population density that is greatly decreasing from year to year. This wouldn't be a bad thing if it wasn't for all the negative effects that this has had. A short list of these effects includes offsetting fragile ecosystems, driving an array of species to near extinction, and increasing pollution levels. Believe it or not these factors are leading the planet to some potential major shifts in the environment that will have drastic consequences.

Interesting research has been done on what these effects consist of. As the dominant species on this planet, it should be our responsibility to control these negative effects to ensure that the future does not burden generations to come. There is no time like the present to start working on using the planet better. Before we destroy the future, the efficiency of the use of space on this planet must be addressed.

FACES not FIGURES
Is the way in which a person views the world a result of the combination of personal experience and his/her unique makeup as an individual? Or, conversally, are the sterotypical confines that are frequently imposed upon people just and accurate and really the key factor in the formation of a person's opinion?

Two Towns of Jasper is an ideal case study for this subject because its premise was the individual. The filmmakers did not focus on the hard facts of the case but more upon the individual reactions to the crime itself and to the issues the crime brought to light.

Using this example as a guideline, I explored the different personal responses to the subject of immigration. I found that it was clearly inadvisable to use characterizations such as "white people hate mexicans" or some such other stereotypical nonsense. I found white Americans who were activists for immigrants and others who were very much against it. I found immigrants themselves who had a highly degrading outlook on other immigrants. I found immigrant teens who were fired up about the "injustices" being shown to illegal immigrants and a legal teen who, despite a difficult life here, does not display any animous towards "real Americans."

Immigrants and natural-born citizens alike need to realize that numbers don't tell the real story- people do. Taking the time to listen to people instead of assuming how they will respond is the only way to truly understand another person.

My Challenge to YOU!

“Our county is spending too much on immigrants!” “Immigrants are dumb!” “Why should we be responsible for educating immigrants?!” “Immigrants are lazy!” “They should stay uneducated!” These are the types of things you may hear when it comes to the issue of illegal immigration or immigration in general. Through this paper we will explore some of these issues, keeping in mind immigrants are just as human as you and I, and everyone else.

Are there clear costs that immigrants are costing us?
Should immigrants be banned from education?
Are we criminalizing immigrants?
If we don’t educate immigrants will they cost us more money later?
Should we punish immigrant children for their parents’ decisions?
Do immigrants really want to learn?
Do immigrants want to assimilate into Americans?
How can we educate immigrants effectively?
What’s the purpose of education?

These questions help to guide this paper and shape it in a way that is educational and personal. I try to speak to you, the reader, in order to get you to figure out where you stand on some important issues associated with immigration. I want to give you a view into immigration that you may have never experienced before. I want to give a voice to a side of the immigration debate that often goes unheard. I want to challenge you to consider new thoughts and ideas.