I was kind of surprised that Sam said many immigrants close the door behind them after they make into America. I would expect to hear the opposite. But I guess when you’re dealing with breaking laws it’s every man for himself. My own father is an immigrant to the United States, however he did it the legal way. He still tries to send money down to El Salvador to his family to hopefully get passports to get to America legally through the system. But not everyone in these types of countries are as fortunate. I feel like if I was an immigrant in America illegally I would try my hardest to get my family here as well. I wouldn’t shut the door on them just because I myself got here okay. I wouldn’t want to establish this fabulous life in America alone with no one in my family to share it with so I would definitely not shut the door on them. I also wouldn’t shut the door on people who aren’t my family. With this type of issue I have a lot of compassion for those who would risk anything and everything they have to get a better opportunity to succeed for themselves and their family. I would feel for them and what they would be going through so I almost would feel obligated to help them get to America, regardless of if it were legal or illegal.

However, at this time in my life I don’t feel like I have the resources or time to help illegal immigrants with their situation. I hope to one day be successful enough to devote some time to this issue because it is something I feel strongly about but at this point in time I don’t think I would or could help them. I feel like living close to the U.S Mexican border in states like Texas or New Mexico would have a different outcome. I’m sure illegal immigrants are all over in those areas of the country and I think there would be ways for someone my age to help out these illegal immigrants. Even something as simple as helping them learn English would be a huge stepping stone for these people.

I think immigrants, whether they are legal or illegal, get a bad rep. I’m not to sure as to why that is but it is a reality. I think people need to realize immigrants (regardless of how they got to America) are human beings too, and we need to have compassion and understanding as to why they made the choice to get to America. Someone posted earlier a comparison to the Indians and the Pilgrims. The Indians helped out the Pilgrims and eventually the Pilgrim society prospered and succeeded. This can also happen for the immigrants in our country if we just help them out and encourage them to succeed.

I never knew there was an actual technical term for what everyone describes as “having connections,” but I guess nepotism would be the correct technical term. I personally have benefitted many times from nepotism and to be honest I can’t think of too many instances of where people I know haven’t benefitted from “knowing someone” and getting a connection. I would find it extremely difficult to turn down an offer or opportunity if someone you know hands it to you, regardless if you are competent enough for the position.

I thought it was particularly interesting the point Sam made about Graham Spanier addressing all of the new freshmen at the beginning of the school year. It is so true that the President Spanier “preaches” to the freshmen about getting internships and making connections. When I was applying to schools as a senior in high school one of the main reasons I choose Penn State was because of their huge alumni association. I knew there was a huge group of alumni I could network with and land a great job.

I have never been against affirmative action and I do believe that affirmative action is in place to help better everyone that goes through the work force or higher education system. However, I (like many other people) considered affirmative action to be only helping minorities or people of color. I never knew it mostly helped females. I also I never knew getting jobs through connections or family members was considered affirmative action. I think that bringing this to light in class may make some people rethink their views of the whole issue.

As someone who personally benefits from connections I definitely feel that it is my responsibility to help out other people if they need it in the future, in the aspect of job hunting. Especially now, it is a scary world out in the job market and any way I can help and a friend or family member out by landing them a job I think would be the most respectable thing to do.

I can understand Ernso’s point of view on this issue, however because the type of poverty people in Haiti are experiencing is so foreign to American citizens I think the pictures of poor children are necessary. It might be the journalist in me, but having pictures only enhances a story— especially with an issue like the devastation Haiti is experiencing. With an issue like this awareness is a key factor to solving the problem. The more people know and are exposed to the state of Haiti the more people will be willing to donate money or donate their time and effort to the cause.

However, in America we see pictures, videos, commercials, and other forms of advertising with pictures of young starving children all the time. I feel like it is so overused that it has lost its purpose. Americans are almost immune to the type of poverty Haitians are experiencing. I feel like Americans are aware of the problems in Haiti, but sort of dismiss it and think “oh yeah that’s what poverty looks like.”

For the country of Haiti I can understand why they would be embarrassed or ashamed and be indifferent about having those pictures broadcasted to Americans. Sam always says that the Haitian people are so selfless and how they never ask for handouts, but I think these pictures depict the opposite.

I thought it was really interesting looking at the pictures Ernso brought in to share with us. Most of the pictures were of children laughing or smiling and generally looking happy and hopeful. Meanwhile here in America we are used to seeing people in Haiti crying or looking hungry. It just goes to show that our media chooses specific images to showcase to American citizens to make them feel sorry for people in Haiti. It comes from good intentions, but I can see why Haitian people would be offended or angered by these images

After yesterday’s lecture, I was hoping someone would post a question like this on here. Truthfully, I have been thinking about this lecture since I left class yesterday. As I put on my heels and mini skirt last night all I kept thinking about was why I was doing it and if I actually felt like bearing the freezing cold temperatures in close to no clothes and to top it off with no beer jacket. This lecture was so enlightening and I have brought it up to some of my friends and they really reflected on some of the things that were brought up.

When I first got to Penn State and went out at night for the first time, I was truly shocked at what the girls were wearing. Back home, when people went out, people dressed for the elements (rain, snow, etc.). But here it doesn’t matter what’s going on outside the window because girls will disregard it and continue to wear skintight dresses that barely reach the mid-thigh. However, as a student here who takes part in the nightlife of State College, I have morphed into one of those girls. After the lecture I realized that I wasn’t dressing up solely for myself but for other people. It really disturbed me. I do like getting dressed up and wearing make-up and looking nice, but at what degree does getting dressed up at night stop being for me and become about pleasing the male centered universe.

On those nights where it’s a blizzard outside and I’m walking around in hooker heels and miniskirt and I walk past a guy dressed in sneakers jeans and a button-down shirt it REALLY bothers me. Why am I dressed like this when guys can wear the outfit they wore to class that day? I really would like to know if guys would care if girls shoed up to a party in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Would they even care? Probably not. I know plenty of guys that don’t think getting dressed up that important. They’d rather just hang out and have fun rather than look at eye candy and be the ones carrying a girl home because her feet hurt so bad. I think it’d be a cool experiment to have just one day where girls show up not looking like prostitutes and see what guys would say or if they would even notice.

Although I think the issue about girls dressing up compared to guys is absolutely ridiculous, I do have to say that dressing up makes me feel good about myself. But the question becomes WHY do I think that is beautiful and WHY does this make me feel good about myself. It really is a perplexing question and once again this lecture furthers my opinion that EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE THIS CLASS.

I definitely would and definitely have pointed out people within my own race who have made prejudice slurs and comments, including my own family and friends. Being half Spanish, I have a personal reason why I don’t like when people use racial slurs or derogatory words, even if they are only joking around with friends, trying to get a laugh out of people. I feel like that is one of the main reasons people hear racial slurs out in public—to get a laugh out of whoever they are talking to. It’s not funny in the slightest to refer to a specific group of people by a derogatory word.

I think confronting people within my own race is definitely easier than confronting someone outside of my race. Both people have that common racial element, so it wouldn’t be like an “outsider” was reprimanding you for saying something offensive. I also think that if the person whose race is being insulted confronts the person saying the racial slur, they would be quick to get an apology of some sort. That experience of being confronted would stay with the person for a while and would definitely make that person think twice before saying something like that again, which is the goal.

In high school I was a member of the Gay Straight Alliance club, which basically brought members of my high school community together (regardless of sexual orientation) to hangout and talk about LGBT issues and things that people were experiencing within my school regarding their sexual preference. Although this has nothing to do with race, I think it has to do with using slurs and derogatory language towards a group who is in the minority. One of the things we would constantly talk about is how people would use the phrase “that’s so gay” ALL THE TIME. It really is an absolutely ridiculous phrase if you actually think about it. And not only is it stupid, it’s hurtful. I am personally not gay, but some of my friends are and it would really hit home for me whenever I would hear someone say it in the hall or at lunch to describe something as simple as a homework assignment. How can a homework assignment be gay? Honestly? I would always confront the person saying the phrase and they would almost always apologize. This year at my high school they are trying to incorporate a new club into the building called thinkb4uspeak which would raise awareness of this problem. The point I’m trying to make is if we point out what we don’t like regarding racial slurs or derogatory phrases, it could have an effect of what that people says in the future.

After watching the video about the children picking white baby dolls over black baby dolls I was seriously disturbed. I know children are very impressionable and they soak things up like sponges, but to see something as sensitive as body image and skin color connotation being so heavily skewed for these little girls was really saddening. What really struck me was when the black little girl chose the white doll as the “good” doll and the black doll as the “bad” doll. You would typically think the little girl would choose the doll most similar to the way she looked as the “good” doll, but she didn’t. Something is behind this. There has to be a reason why these little kids made those choices.

I definitely believe the media has an effect on this, however it is definitely not solely the case. The shows and cartoons kids watch have an effect on what a child considers “normal” but that only goes so far. I also agree with the suggestion brought up in class that parenting has a part in this issue. But I also agree with Sam when he said it’s not that simple. When the girl in class spoke about her mother suppressing her kinky hair, I definitely thought it was evident that parenting has a lot to do with self-confidence and self worth.

Although the video suggests otherwise, I think that in today’s world, we are more aware of what messages we are sending our children about self worth. Think of the songs that are on the radio today. Katy Perry sings about all people having some sort of calling and you just need to be yourself to be great in her song Firework. P!nk sings about self confidence in her song f-cking perfect. We just recently had our first black Disney princess, which I think helps and also have tons of advocates for the minorities of America. Ellen, Cindi Lauper, Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, countless celebrities are using their platforms to help empower minorities all across the spectrum.

In someone else’s blog post they talked about the messages children receive regarding whiteness. The examples they used were brushing your teeth to make them white, taking a bath to get clean, wearing white at weddings and black at funerals. I never really thought of it that way, but I definitely agree with this student’s ideas on the issue. There are so many little innuendos that we never really think about that send a message to kids which leads to latent discrimination.

A few weeks ago in my discussion group we had a lengthy discussion about this exact question—when does affirmative action go too far? I believe that affirmative action stems from good intentions and has positive thinking behind it. The idea aims to make the workplace an unbiased, un-racist space that gives all prospective employees equal opportunities. But how can this be so when affirmative action, in a way, puts white people in the minority. Of course there is the element of white power, which no white man thinks about. But with affirmative action comes major competition within the white race. Competition is a natural things however, I don’t thin competition should be based on skin color. Highly qualified individuals may be turned away from a job based solely on their skin color and not on their skill. In my opinion, skin color should not even be in question.

However, without affirmative action I think there would be a lot less diversity in the workplace. Just from the statistics shown in class there is a direct relationship with SAT scores, race, and how much money a household makes, which all effect the workforce. According to these statistics, if affinitive action was not in place there is no way white superiority could ever be diminished.

In class, Sam told us that an employer would rather give a job to a white man with a criminal record over a black man who had no record. This is absolutely startling and actually repulsing to me. There is no justifiable answer as to why someone with a criminal record would ever get a position over a person whose record is completely clean. It is reasons like this that affirmative action is needed in today’s workplace. Sam also said that an employer is more likely to hire a white employee over a black employee when both of them have the same exact resume. Again, there is no logical reason why this would be so. People of minorities and different racial groups should be able to a have a fighting chance at being as successful as they want to be without having to worry about their skin color being the reason they didn’t get the job. For this reason I think affirmative action is helpful to minorities, but at the same time can sometimes be hurtful to the white community. I think affirmative action should remain in place until a balanced medium between the “underdogs” and “men on the mountain” can be reached.

I definitely think in today’s society people are more likely to discriminate against Muslims rather than Black people… which is a big change from the past. I think this is because of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. People just simply assume anyone who looks Muslim is an extremist and must be directly associated with the terrorist attacks, which is completely untrue. In the video we watched in lecture yesterday, there was a specific example of a Muslim woman trying to get a coffee in a coffee shop and was directly targeted and was refused service because she was wearing a headscarf, which the coffee shop employee directly associated with terrorists—this is such an ignorant judgment and is really a horrible image for Americans to have. People have said that after the September 11 attacks Americans developed a deep sense of patriotism, but how far is the line of patriotism to the line of discrimination? It is definitely something we as Americans must think about.

With the issue regarding Muslims being heavily searched in airports, I think it has a good idea behind it however, if airport officials are going to heavily search Muslims, they should heavily search all passengers boarding the plane. I personally have never seen a Muslim ever be searched at an airport, however I have seen my dad who has two hip replacements be basically strip searched at airports every time we board a plane. However my family and I don’t mind because we know the airport officials do this to keep us safe.

The issue regarding the construction of a Mosque a few blocks from ground zero in New York City has received vast media coverage and has caused some serious tensions between different government officials and Americans around the country. If we replace the word Mosque with the word Church, there would be no question regarding its construction. But because a Mosque is a Muslim place of worship, major controversy surrounds it. I can understand why families of those who died on 9/11 would be opposed to the construction of the Mosque, but this can be seen as a form of discrimination. Many people criticized President Obama for his support for the Mosque, however if he decided to cancel the construction he would have received even more criticism.

I think in today’s world, black people are the majority of pop culture. People want to be like Oprah, have a keen fashion sense like Kanye, and be able to rap like Wiz Khalifa. People imitate the ways of black culture with their hairstyles, clothing choice, and dialects, so I think discrimination against blacks has definitely lessened. Then again, according to the data shown in lecture, I must be wrong because the numbers don’t match my opinions.

Before these past few lectures I never really thought about the concept of “white privilege.” Growing up in an all white community, I was never really exposed to people of color being discriminated against because there really weren’t any black or brown people. Everyone was basically white so there were no issues regarding race. Before Sam’s lectures it never really occurred to me how much skin color still heavily affects our daily lives and what types of opportunities people of different skin colors are offered, based solely on their color. As an identifying “white person” it kind of makes me uncomfortable to hear that these types of injustices are still going on today. Simple things, like renting an apartment is ten times more difficult for people of color rather than whites. However, I am half Salvadorian but my “white features” predominately overpower my Hispanic ones. It really bothers me that some opportunities that I am offered are because of my white skin, meanwhile I have a strong “brown skinned” blood line.

However, in my discussion group this week we had a really in-depth conversation about affirmative action and what types of things it entails. While white people are the “man on the mountain,” affirmative action gives minorities an advantage over white people in applying to colleges and in the workplace. In my discussion group, I learned that institutions are required by law to have a certain number of different ethnic groups be accepted into programs or offered jobs. While I do think affirmative action has a good idea behind it in helping minorities find colleges and jobs, it also makes things more difficult for white people applying for these same positions. I think admission to colleges and job opportunities should be based on merit and hard work, and not based on filling a quota based on skin color. However I still believe that white people definitely have a clear advantage in most aspects of life. Like Sam said in class, if a black person and white person were looking to apply for the same position at a specific job and they had the same exact qualifications and skills, the job would most probably go to the white person. It still baffles me that this could possibly be true. I’m not sure if this issue can ever fully disappear because it is so deeply rooted, however I think it’s up to our generation to try out best to make sure it happens.

Yesterday’s class was definitely one of my favorite lectures of the semester thus far. Sam brought up so many different instances where free will or determinism can be rooted as the cause of certain life paths. Throughout the entire lecture I was bouncing around both ideas and couldn’t fully solidify which idea I most agree with. In my own life I feel like both of these ideas have had an equal impact on where I am today. I had a very stable upbringing with parents who always pushed me to do my best and encouraged me to be actively involved with school, my friends, my family, and other out of school activities. Both of my parents went to college, however Penn State was a farfetched idea for me to attend school here. My mom went to F.I.T. in Manhattan but it was only a 2 year school. My father came to the United States when he was 13 from El Salvador, not knowing a single word on English. He went on to study at N.Y.I.T and graduated. Because my dad was and still is a very hard worker and he attended college despite all of the obstacles he faced, I was expected to go to college. When Sam was talking about his own upbringing it reminded me of my father’s story. My dad came here by himself to attend military school, but while he was here the Salvadoran Civil War broke out and it was too dangerous for him to return to El Salvador. The war, which was out of my dad’s control, forced him to stay in America, however my dad made certain choices to work hard and do well in school to better his life. Both of my parents instilled at a very young age the school was very important. I was always a very busy child, as I was involved with dance and kickline 6 days a week. However, no matter how busy I was, my parents made sure I knew homework and projects needed to be completed before anything else. I have taken this idea with me to college and always make sure I choose to have all my schoolwork in order before going out with friends.

However, I also know many kids growing up who had just as stable a household than me with parents who had the same ideas on parenting and those kids ended up not doing well in school and not going to college. Those kids made the choice to defy their parents, while I choose to listen to my parents. Those kids that made the choice not to listen to their parents are not presently enrolled in college and have part-time jobs back at home.

Seeing all of this and listening to Sam’s lecture yesterday was definitely an eye-opener and made me really think about where I stand on this issue. After reflecting on all of this I stand by free will and determinism having an equal pull on where people end up.