Immigrants come to this country to take the low paying jobs that no one else wants. What is the problem with that? As Sam had mentioned, to completely stop illegal immigration, it would cost the entire federal budget. We just don’t have the money to do that. I know that France had tried a removal act where they took numbers of undocumented people and took them back to their countries of origin. It was a good idea and all but it was costing tens of thousands of dollars just to send one person back to their homeland. I think people that are strongly against illegal immigration should maybe do some research and find out how much what is going on is actually affecting them.

. If they aren’t bothering us, why does it matter? I honestly feel bad for them. I look at their lives back in their home country and they aren’t much to be desired. I don’t blame them for trying to come to our country. Actually, America should be flattered that so many people try to come here for a better life. I agree that they should try to come here legally. It is better for everyone if they just come the legal way but if the family or person is poor, it is a lot more difficult to obtain that legality. If they choose just to visit here, they have to get a passport and in some places it is a difficult and pricey process. If they are planning to come here to stay, it is also a pricey process. Not to mention, America seems to have this thing where they want to increase their number of families so if it is a single person, they are less likely to obtain that legal immigration statement.

Honestly, I never really had an opinion on illegal immigration before Tuesday’s class. I don’t pay attention to political issues. I know I should. Every American citizen should have knowledge about what is going on in the world. They should all have opinions on issues that are major topics in legislator. Coming to Penn State has really increased my knowledge of political subjects. Illegal immigration had never crossed my mind and I think that is partially because I figured it didn’t really affect me. I assumed they weren’t taking the jobs I wanted or anything like that. I also don’t know enough about social security and other benefits they might be getting that we are paying for. After Sam’s lecture on Tuesday, I felt more educated about these issues. The way he made it seem, was that it appeared like illegal immigrants don’t really impact American citizens that much in reality. My opinion now, after the lecture, is that I don’t see why so many people have an issue with illegal immigration.

At the same time the issue is still there that it was a relatively long story and it is easy to forget a lot of it. It is easy to zone out while someone else is reading it which also causes a lot of misinformation. Regardless of what all we’ve been talking about in class all semester, I still think it was somewhat racist to say white people “sugar coat” things just from this one example. One thing Sam has been trying to instill in us all semester is that we should jump to conclusions or make judgments or generalizations. I think that is a good thing to stick to and live by.

. I noticed that a lot of the reason why most of the story got lost was because it was the end of class, we were pressed for time, and it was probably nerve racking to be up there in front of the class doing this. The only thing I can really see bung “sugar coated” was that I think the first girl tried avoiding the use of the word “nigger” or maybe she just forgot it. With this game, it is very difficult to see what people try to avoid saying or if they just forgot because there was so much to remember. I don’t even think that the point of that exercise was to show that people with different races or backgrounds relay the story differently. I think the point of the exercise was to show that things get lost in communication. When someone starts saying something and the other person goes to tell the story again, the story changes. Terrell was talking about how we do things as traditions sometimes and no one ever knows why. I think that was his point. If the point was to see how different people relay the story, a more effective way to do that would be have them all read the initial story and then tell it back and see how the stories vary.

Honestly, I didn’t notice the difference between who told the story and what race they were compared to someone else. I do not think the white people “sugar coated” it. They were told to pick their own order in stand in. When it comes to a game of telephone, you have to expect miscommunication. The story was a pretty long one and it’s hard to remember that much after just hearing it once. Why would white people need to “sugar coat” it, just because the story was about black people? It was just a story. I think it is kind of shallow and racist to think that just because the story was about black people that the white people would have to “sugar coat” it.

They weren’t saying all Arabs or all Muslims should die. There is nothing wrong with having a hatred for terrorists. I don’t care if the terrorists are Muslim, American, Catholic, German, Canadian, or any other nationality or religion. I would still hate them. They can justify terrorism to themselves whichever way they please. They will have to face their god and deal with that but that doesn’t mean I have to agree and think what they did is justifiable in my terms.

I will admit that there are a bunch of people that don’t understand that the terrorists on that day were extremists and were not your everyday Muslim, but it goes both ways because it’s also not fair if every Muslim thinks that every American thinks that about them. Even before Sam’s lecture, I never once grouped all Muslims into that group. That is just shallow thinking. To be honest, this question is kind of offensive to me. I am a very strong believer that nothing justifies terrorism. Yes, I agree that the shit they are going through thanks to our soldiers. I do not agree with everything that is going on over there and I’m not even going to pretend like I know what is actually going on over there. I’m sure there is a hell of a lot of stuff going on that we don’t know about because they don’t want us to know. Even though all this happens, terrorism is not justified, and yes, I can blame them. Everyone in class was saying that all the terrorists should die and whatever else.

I think there is absolutely no excuse for terrorism. Nothing justifies the killing of innocent people and that is mostly what terrorism consists of. After Tuesday’s lecture, I can see why Muslims and Arabs would be upset but it still doesn’t give them any right to do what they do. Way too many people die in terrorist attacks. In fairness, their terrorist attacks on 9/11 were before we were even in their country. If that’s the case, how can you justify that? I’m not saying that the way we, as Americans, go about things is the correct or right way but it definitely is not a justification. I think there are a lot of misunderstandings in the world. Stereotypes are created and it’s not fair. After 9/11, Americans became afraid of anyone that had an Arab heritage, especially those who practice Islam but can you really blame them? No, it is not fair that anyone who looks Arab gets searched extra at an airport or has to deal with discrimination but it also wasn’t fair that thousands of innocent people lost their lives in the World Trade Centers, Pentagon, or in Somerset.

. I think that is what every relationship needs. The one person you shouldn’t feel uncomfortable with when it comes to a topic relating to sex is your partner. You really shouldn’t feel uncomfortable talking about anything with them. What was also nice about this lecture was how it was in such a relaxed setting. Everyone was open to hearing what Sam and Laurie had to say. No one was judging anyone which made it a more comfortable atmosphere. They weren’t preaching to us to not have sex like most adults do. They were simply giving us advice about the opposite sex. I think it was a great presentation and I think how they handled it made it the most comfortable for everyone in the room.