supermoon

On Saturday night, the forcast predicted fog, clouds and a chance of rain. The lunar cycle also predicted the rare lunar phenomenon commonly known as "supermoon." Supermoon is the biggest, brightest moon of the year due to it being 15,000 miles closer to the earth on this day. NASA officials predicted the moon to be 16% brighter than an average full moon but do to a fluke in the lunar orbit, the supermoon of 2012 ended up actually being 30% brighter. Last year on March 19, 2011, the supermoon was a little bit closer to the Earth than it was this past Saturday night by about 248 miles. Spectaters were nervous about their ability to see the supermoon on Saturday because of the overcast weather and unclear conditions. However, in our area the weather began to clear up around 6 PM and I was able to see the supermoon! It was amazing to see such a bright moon and amazing spectacle. People all over the world were able to see the supermoon and the amazement of such a spectacle united our global community.

Furniture by political prisoners

Lately I have become pretty obsessed with shopping for furniture and decorative pieces for my dorm room for next year. One place that I often shop for these types of things is Ikea. Ikea is less expensive then their competiters, easy to assmble and who doesn't enjoy a ride on their giant escalater or a trip to their swedish cafe? However, threatening to tarnish the squeaky clean reputation of Ikea, are new allegations that the furniture manufacturer utilized free labor from political prisoners in Germany and Cuba. Ikea has responded to these allegations made by a swedish news station by launching their own investigation and interviewing employees.

Too young to be trusted?

Recently this weekened, the case of two year old Caliegh Anne Harrison developed and gained coverege from several news stations. Harrison was playing on the beach on the day of her disappearance; her mother stepped away for a short time to retrieve a ball that had bounced away and Harrison was left with her four year old sibling, the only direct witness at the time of the girls dissapearance. Harrison's sister claims that the two year old girl was carried out to the ocean by the strong rip tide. Authorities are now struggling to determine if this story is likely or a fable manufactured by a child's imagination; which raises the question, at what age do we allow ourselves to believe the words of a child. Is there a reason to doubt the story of Harrison's sister? When it would be the most likely story and she was the only direct witness... Another issue within this case is the fact that Harrison's mother left two young children unattended near the ocean and that her story has been modified a couple of times since her original questioning. This story seems mysterious. I think that Harrison's four year old sister is reliable seeing as shes the only witness. In my experience, four year olds are very verbal, and though imaginitive, know when a situation is serious and know when to stop playing make believe.

The Fresh Water Crisis

In the morning I drink a glass of water, take a shower and make breakfast. Using a lot of fresh water to complete my morning routines. With the close proximity of our community to Lake Michigan this seems obvious. However, stated in the constitution, is that nobody has complete power over lakes and rivers. Therefore, states like Nevada, Arizona and Texas have just as much access to our fresh water resources as we do. Can you imagine a giant pipeline running from Lake Michigan to Nevada? Desert states would suck the Great Lakes dry. People sometimes do not take the fresh water crisis seriously because they believe that we will be able to utilize desalinization or have new technology that will solve our issues with shortages on fresh water. However, this is our one planet and we have limited resources, so we need to start respecting these resources and stop pollutting them in an effort to avoid a crisis involving fresh water.

Overcoming a Reputation

Recently, Nadia Suleman, or more commonly known as 'Octomom' has recently come out in the media to say that she is ready to change her seemingly tainted reputation. A story about this 'breaking news' appeared on ABC. The reporter, had a sarcastic undertone in their presentation and conveyed the message that overcoming such a reputation would be nearly impossible. Is changing the way one is perceived by their peers impossible? In our sociecty, many factors point to yes. As a graduating senior I have heard countless numbers of my friends say that they wantt to change certain aspects of their identity in college or look forward to the fresh start. People who attempt to change their identity in high school often get ridiculed. With the inability to seek change, or even growth, it seems that as a society we are stunting our own growth by not allowing each other to change. It seems that, once someone has been stereotyped in a certain way they can't be taken seriously. This could be one factor that contributes to the stereotypical 'teenage angst' among adolescence.

Tumblr Fights Against Self Harm Among Users

"We aim to sustain Tumblr as a place that facilitates awareness, support and recovery, and to remove only those blogs that cross the line into active promotion or glorification of self-harm." Recently, many social media websites have vowed to crack down on posts and information regarding the promotion or glorification of eating disorders. Tumblr, being at the forefront of this movement has revised many of their policies with this motion in mind.

I think that this is a really interesting aspect of the social media world to sort of take on this issue. Why this issue? Why not censor posts regarding the glorification of gangs? Or drugs? Or the glorification of crude humor? I think that its a positive thing that eating disorders are getting this attention so that there isn't an online community created (or further sustained) via Facebook.

I think this movement stems from the general public in America becoming more accustomed to eating disorders, its becoming less of a stigma and less taboo to talk about. This is a good thing for those who are suffering from the diseases affiliated with body dismorphia but this openess shouldn't trancend to those who are aware they suffer from the disease but do not want to get better because it negatively affects the recovery of others.

"It Gets Better" MTV special

I think that this MTV special served as an uplifting and positive take on the situation of being a gay teen in the US. Although I did not feel that the made for TV special was entirely accurate (demonstrating only positive stories and none that might not have been so fluid) I think that the impact on the gay teenage community will be a positive one. The film makers might be critisized for their innacurate portrayal of life as a gay teen, but the name of the movement is "It Gets Better," not "It might get better for some of you but for others it might go horribly wrong for several more years to come."

This movement is really inspirational and I think help builds an online community for kids who might be feeling frustrated that they do not have anyone to connect with who is feeling the same way as them. Maybe if the kids we read about in the Rolling Stone article had a community like this, the outcome would have been different.

I also believe that the movement provides hope for these kids. Hope can be a very strong thing and its what a lot of people who are suffering from depression, suicidal thoughts or apathy, are lacking in their life. If this movement helps even just one kid to have hope that their life will improve then its doing a positive thing. I hope that these kids realize that they are not alone and that as a society we embrace each others differences rather than shunning them.

Bowling for Columbine and George Zimmerman

One of the first lessons that my parents taught me as a kindergartener was 'stranger danger.' Sometimes in elementary school, I would walk home a couple of short blocks from school. My parents would remind me to be aware of all of the bad people that might be out there and were constantly nervous about letting me go home by myself. The fear of strangers, is a phenomenon in the US that I believe is contributing to the surplus in deaths by gun fire. The fear that is instilled in our nation is driving people to believe that they need to protect themeslves and guns are often a justifiable mechinism for doing so.

In the film "Bowling for Columbine," Michael Moore makes the not so subtle arguement that people in our nation are overly paranoid, driving them to purchase weapons like guns. I agree with this arguement and believe that if our nations people were less paranoid then we woud have less deaths by gun.

Why did George Zimmerman, a man living in a gated community in a residential area of Florida feel the need to posses a concealed fire arm? Why did he feel that it was neccisary to protect himself from a child armed with skittles? Yesterday, Zimmerman was arrested for the murder of Trayvon Martin and I feel relieved that justice is being served finally.

If the US limited civilian access to fire arms then we would have less situation like the killing of Trayvon Martin, however, I feel like the paranoia that we experience as a society may never disipate.

Terrill Swift

When I walked into the room on Tuesday to hear our guest speaker, I was initially shocked at how young he looked. My friend and I began to discuss how this was possible, and then we realized that he must have been convicted at an extremely young age. As Terrill commenced his presentation, he shared that he had been wrongfully convicted at the age of 17. This is a scary concept to think about, because being 17, if the police told me that I could leave and go with my mom just by signing a paper I would probably do it.

I think one thing that was interesting, was how he had us write our names then sign our names next to it. I didn't even think twice about doing this, and didn't even review what exactly I was signing. It's scary to think how naive 17 year olds can be, and how much weight a signature can carry.

I was also shocked by how much injustice our legal system had done Terrill and how it isn't fair that the people that wrongfully convicted him don't have to suffer any consequences for their actions or inaction's. I think to make our legal system more just and to reduce the number of wrongful convictions that occur in our nation, we need to have a repercussion for officials who wrongfully convict an innocent person or for police who talk someone into signing their life away without being aware, or for police who bully false confessions out of people. In order for this to stop, we need to have punishments for those who do wrong.

I really enjoyed hearing Terrill speak and I think that the real world application was extremely interesting and relevant.

Affirmative Action

Ultimately, should race be a factor in college admissions?

This fall, I filled out 11 college applications. As I recall, each one asked my gender, race and even religion. And I have to admit, stating that I was a white, Roman Catholic, female, made me wonder if I was making myself seem 'average.' A lot of my friends wondered the same thing and complained that they wished they had some aspect of their heritage to make them self stand out. One of my friends even boasted about being 1/32 Native American (Cherokee to be exact). I constantly hear kids at DHS whining about how they wished that there was something about their race, ethnicity or religion that would make them 'stand out' or have an 'edge,' solely for the purpose of applying to schools.

I have two very qualified friends applying to similar schools. One who is white and one who is of a minority race. They both have very high GPAs and very high ACT scores, and they both are extremely involved in diverse clubs and activities. When my white friend got deffered from a school and my minority friend was accepted to the same institution, my white friend instantly explained that it was because of race. Regardless, if I agree or not, that race played a roll in the admissions decision, this topic if more than relevant for people at our age.

I do believe that affirmative action should be a factor when admissions boards are deciding on who to accept to specific schools. However, I also think that economic status (regardless of race) and social standings (regardless of race) should be considered with the same regard.

I don't like the way University of Michigan conducted this with a point system, because it was basically saying here are several points for being born the way you are (for race) and here are only a few points for explaining what you have gone through, what tribulations you have faced and the economic struggles you have endured (for the personal statement). I think that the best way to approach affirmative action is in a holistic way where all factors of admissions are considered.

Race Relations in the US

I think one of the most interesting ideas that I discovered while looking at these articles, is the concept that in the middle of the century, white will be the minority. Personally, I think that one of the reasons for this change in demographic, besides the obvious population influx of minorities, is the idea that maybe people in our nation are more willing to marry and have a family of people outside of their own race. I don't think the change in demographics has anything to do with white people leaving our country or that the influx of immigrants is so great that it alone would cause the percentage of minorities in Lake County to go increase 10 percent. I think that there has been a shift with younger generations to look past race when seeking suitors, and that the reason for a decrease in the white population would be due to more children being of mixed race.

I think that this shift in demographics is kind of exciting and demonstrates how our society is changing for the better. Race is no longer an exclusive club. I think that as a society we might be on the break of overcoming a lot of racisim and issues involving race, because the younger generations are so willing to interact with other races.

As white as the minority, I wonder what social and cultural issues will be presented in the future. I wonder if when my kids apply for college if affirmitive action will work in the opposite way it does today, to provide opportunities for white people.

"White Like Me"

Based on the chapter you read, do you agree with these assertions? Does racism and privelege benefit whites? Did you think the chapter was convincing even though it used anecdotal rather than statistical evidence? How does your own personal experience match up or relate to what Wise describes?

After reading the chapter titled "Privilege" of this book I was kind of annoyed. I feel like this author kind of exaggerated certain aspects to frame his 'stories' in a way that would put a twist on them that involved racism. I honestly don't see a correlation between some of these stories and to racism. For example, Tim Wise talks about a time when he was permitted to enter a classroom after a test had begun, he connects this to the concept that he must have not been turned away because of the fact that he is white. I see absolutely no way how this connects. And in my own experience have seen the exact opposite occur while taking the ACT.

I feel like Tim Wise is trying to make me feel guilty for being white and in fact chooses a quote by James Baldwin that exemplifies exactly this idea, "guilt is a luxury." The source of this quote is Playboy and this shows how Wise needed to look to outlandish sources in order to find evidence that supported this thesis.

While I do recognize some of the 'benefits' and 'priviliges' that Wise nods to, I don't think it is fair to compare these socially and culturally constructed notions, to cases involving the law and legality. His examples are a stretch to say the least.

One thing that I found interesting was his ideas regarding teachers. On page 20 and 21 Wise explains how our nation could be much more fair if all educators were not racist and were fair. However, one thing from this section that I don't neccisarily agree with the idea that whites/asians try harder or perform better than lations/blacks. I feel like the kids I know who aren't white try harder than the white kids in school because they often feel like they have something to overcome or their parents 'want better for them.'

All in all, I feel like Wise had some good points and I appreciated that he used stories rather than statistics to get his point accross, but I think that he is being slightly dramatic in his linking of the stories to racism. I don't think racism in our country at this point of time is as bad as Wise framed it to be. There is still a lot of room for improvement in the social and cultural sense, but in a legal sense things are fair in the United States.

Hidden Bias

Before taking the hidden bias test, I assumed that my results would show a slight preference for the white race as opposed to the black race. I have grown up in an almost completely white community and have not had much interaction with people that are black. Where one is comfortable is where one will prefer. I would in no way consider myself a racist, I am accepting of all people.
My results did indicate a slight preference for the white faces and revealed my 'hidden bias,' which wasn't so hidden because it was exactly what I was expecting. I am curious about how results over different parts of the city and the Chicagoland area vary. I wonder if there is an area where the majority of people's results would show no bias.
In the explanation of the test, they say that hidden bias' come from conformity. I don't think this is true. I think that hidden bias' come from the type of environment you live in. In Deerfield, I am not exposed to much diversity but that doesn't mean that I have negative feelings towards people who aren't white. Another thing that I am wondering is, how do communities where people are almost all the same race form? My parents always say that they chose to live in Deerfield because it is a safe community. This is true, but even the safest communities have major flaws. There have been bomb threats at my school, a murder in my neighborhood and the poverty rate in our town is at an all time high. I wonder if my parents associate safety with racial stereotypes.

Invisible Children Reflection

Last year in Human Rights Club we focused our attention on an organization called Invisible Children. I got really involved with the organization and attended events, met people from the organization, donated money and spread the word about what is going on in Uganda. I feel especially close to this organization and was elated when it was chosen for School Chest this year.
When we watched the Invisible Children film in class, it was the third time I had seen it. Every time I see the film I find a new aspect of it that really hits home. The first time I saw the movie, I remember being especially moved by Jacob's emotional breakdown. This time the aspect that stood out in my mind was the stark transition in emotion between the beginning and end of the film, it showed me how involvement with organizations that spark change can help the American youth view the world in a new light. I think that focusing on an international charity for School Chest this year was a good idea because it helps the student body attain a more worldly view.
When I was heavily involved with Invisible Children last year, I participated in a long term fundraiser for the organization. I remember asking my dad to donate money for the cause, and him recounting a time in his youth when his school focused on a charity in Peru. He asked me why I was focusing my attention on an organization outside of the United States when there are people in need here as well. At that time, I did not really know what to say to counter his point besides "you just don't get it." After hearing Jedidiah Jenkins speak on behalf of Invisible Children at this year’s School Chest assembly, I know why this organization means so much to me. If the youth in America and other developed countries don't do anything about this issue in Africa, well then who is? Jenkins explained how the adults of our country are mostly focused on domestic affairs and while many of these issues in the US are valid, children are not being slaughtered, forced to kill their families or brainwashed into joining an army of rebels. Another huge difference between the issues in America and Africa is that if even one child in the US faced an atrocity even close to what children in Africa face every day, it would make international news. Yet, hundreds of children every day in Africa face horrible conditions and ever present evils and most of the general population is not even aware of this.
Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and author once wrote, "The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference," this quote speaks to the issue of people in our world who are aware of what is happening in Uganda but do not take measures in order to make a difference. We need to eliminate the bystanders worldwide in order to stop Joseph Kony from dehumanizing the children of Africa.

Eating Animals 1

At the beginning of this year I decided that I would read Eating Animals for my independent reading book in Issues. At that time, I had been a vegetarian for several years and a strong supporter of that lifestyle. However, recently, under my doctor's recommendation I began to eat meat again; only organic, white meat... This transition has been awkward for me. Aside from getting used to meat again, I kind of felt like I was having an identity crisis. I have identified with this lifestyle for so long that transitioning this was very difficult for me. I am just beginning to read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer and I am excited to see how his transitions from being a vegetarian to an omnivore and vice versa have been and to see the parallels in my own life.

Death Penalty Final Response

“It is better that nine guilty men be set free than for one innocent man to be convicted.” The abolishment of the death penalty in Illinois was without a doubt just. Before this abolishment, the ability for innocent people to be convicted and executed was too likely. In his speech given in regards to the death penalty abolishment Gov. George Ryan explained how seventeen wrongfully convicted men had been condemned to death in Illinois, “together they spared the lives and secured freedom of 17 men who were wrongfully convicted and rotting in the condemned units of our state prison.”
It is not fair to allow the possibility of condemning wrongfully convicted inmate to face the death penalty. According to The United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, statistically 8% to 12% of all state prisoners are either actually or factually innocent. Even though that is a low percentage when factoring in the entire population of our nation, any amount of innocent people sent to death wrongfully is too large of a number. We must do everything in our power to prevent this from happening.
While watching the film The Execution it became clear that several of the men that were on death row along Clifford Boggus believed that they were innocent. It made me wonder how many of these people who claimed innocence were actually innocent?
Our nation’s court system has a lot of loop holes and I think our main priority should be to solve the issue of wrongful convictions rather than having the initiative to swiftly convict the accused. With the present loop holes, and the margin for mistake, it baffles me that some states still have a capital punishment law instigated. It seems barbaric and completely unjustifiable.

Abortion

I think that NARAL has a better website in general because it is visually appealing; it has a lot of colors and presents a picture of a woman that shows a lot of emotion. Another thing that I like about this website is that it presents its opinion on the matter right away on the site. I think that in general the pro-choice side is winning this debate in our country because of the influence of young people in politics recently. As we saw in the 2008 elections, the real power in America is within the young population. I think that most young people today in our country are pretty liberal and thus support the concept of pro-choice.
The age of consent in Illinois is 17, I think that if you are allowed to make the decision to have sex without parental consent then you should be able to make decisions regarding reproduction health on your own as well.
In regards to the abortion laws in Illinois, one that really bothers me is the rules regarding insurance company involvement with abortion. I think that insurance companies, and state coverage, should cover an abortion in full. If a woman is making a decision to get an abortion it is obviously because she is not ready for motherhood, this law further restricts her capabilities to access the necessary health care she needs. I think it also could further jeopardize a woman’s health, in the sense that she may attempt other abortion methods if unable to access an abortion from a medical clinic. However, I think almost all of the pro-choice laws are just, including the ones regarding low income patients and emergency contraceptives.

Drug Testing and Student Rights

In the case of Acton v. Earls, the court ruled that drug testing was justifiable and acceptable and that the students' rights were not violated. In some ways I agree with this ruling, and the drug testing policy in general, and in others I do not.

In a society where lying and cheating have been over utilized in an attempt to get ahead, I think there needs to be some sort of leveling to keep things fair for those people who are being truthful and thus not using performance enhancing drugs or recreational drugs. I think that it's a sad truth that our society has become a lying mecca obsessed with getting ahead at any cost.

I think that if, as a society, people unanimously agree that drug testing is unjust, we have to take some steps to preserve some sort of human aspect within America, before completely abolishing this policy.

On the other hand, I think that drug testing is pretty invasive. I do not have anything to hide, but I find the idea of someone collecting my urine kind of creepy and unsettling. In an effort to "preserve and maintain order," I think that schools who utilize drug testing are becoming more like prisons than educational institutes.

An education is not only what you learn in the classroom; learning occurs in all aspects relating to the school one attends, from social lessons to history lessons. With that in mind, I think that the schools should take less preventative measures and allow for students to screw up on their own. If someone fails a drug test and is out of a sport for half of a season or can't attend Student Council meetings for a month, they will probably be embarrassed but I don't think it serves as the wakeup call that school officials are aiming for. I think that the best way for students to learn the error of their ways when relating to real world issues is to deal with the real world consequences. It's a tough lesson to learn but i think that it’s a vital one. So, schools do these students a favor and don't drug test them and provide a warning; allow them to be caught by the police for using drugs and get arrested.



In response to the ACLU article on student privacy, I would personally be outraged if my personal information was shared with anyone other than those currently permitted. I think that be doing this, school officials are breeching the trust that students place within these school officials and could later make it hard for students to come forth with information. In the next ACLU article regarding the unlawful strip search of a middle school aged girl the prosecution insisted that schools are not 'constitutional dead zones,' and the Court agreed. I think that this was a key point in not only this case but in student privacy issues everywhere, students, you still have your rights as an American even when in school. As for the article on drug sniffing dogs, I don't see this as much of a threat to privacy. I wouldn't mind the dogs sniffing through the hallways, because frankly, I would never bring contraband inside my school and anyone that does deserves to be caught and arrested for being stupid enough to do so. In the past at DHS there have been incidences where students have been caught under the influence of or in possession of contraband at school. When something like that happens the news spreads like wildfire through the hallways and soon everyone is talking about it in class, there’s a Deerprints article being written and it's an opportunity for teachers to preach about how terrible drugs are to students who have never even heard of the drug that the kid who is now being hauled off in a Deerfield Police Department squad car... I think that people who bring drugs to school are creating a distraction from learning and for that; they probably deserve to be ousted by a 130 pound German Shepard named Nana.

In my opinion, my rights as a student right now are pretty fair. I feel that in some ways the rules regarding privacy at DHS protect me, and even though sometimes I am surprised that some of my information is such common knowledge and so easily attained, I have never experienced a dramatic event where I felt that my rights had been blatantly violated.

Saudi Arabia: a step in the right direction

When I heard on the news that in Saudi Arabia women would soon gain the right to vote for elected officials in their nation, I was surprised. I had learned of Middle Eastern countries where only men were allowed to express political views; maybe it's a post 9/11 mindset but don't all Middle Eastern men disrespect the women in their lives?
After reading a follow up article I learned how off my opinions once were. What I thought was a country that only allowed men to vote is really a country where the leader's vote is the most significant.
In America's ongoing battle to spread Democracy worldwide, has its people become spoiled with the concept of Democracy and the power of one's voice? I don't think so. I do not believe that Democracy can be viewed as a luxury but more appropriately, a necessity.

As portrayed in the media, I had thought that Saudi Arabia was a country where suppressed women were ignored when it came to anything related to politics and that the men are the only beings with power. Now that's somewhat correct but even more upsetting is the fact that men have far less power than once assessed in this country and that the leader of the nation is ever-powerful.
With the leader taking steps to grant women the right to vote in the 2015 elections, maybe this country is seeing the error of its ways and beginning to get on track with the twenty first century.
My hope is that one day Middle Eastern women and men can not only equally vote in a Democratic format for leaders of their country, but can also have an equal, unbiased opportunity to gain office.

Troy Davis, an innocent victim of the death penalty

"It is better to let nine guilty men free than to convict one innocent man." On Thursday September 23, 2011 Troy Davis was executed in the state of Georgia. I found this event extremely disturbing because for over twenty years Davis had maintained his innocence and had many organizations and influential people backing up his argument.

Besides the faulty process that the case underwent, I believe that this execution speaks mainly to the too often occurring case where innocent people are convicted of crimes they did not commit. My uncle Thomas Breen, one of the leading defense lawyers in Chicago, has fought tirelessly throughout his career to end the death penalty in Illinois and get innocently convicted people out of jail. Growing up in a state that does not currently recognize the death penalty I have always believed that people who have been convicted have a second chance no matter what. However, after researching the Troy Davis case I have learned that as a nation, America does not share that idea.

I think that it is sad that some states still allow the death penalty as a means of punishment, if convicting a person in a case where there are significant amounts of reasonable doubt then putting them to death is not cruel and unusual punishment then what is?