However, I don’t think it is unrealistic to say I would go as far as the man in the video by devoting most of his time to serve a hot meal to these men but I would try to give back by keeping my eyes open for guaranteed job I could offer. I feel that I could also assist with meals but not to the extent of doing it every day. Like he said in the video, I think that the smile that he sees on these people’s faces are rewarding and are reminders of why he does what he does. I think that if I could help these motivated faces out in the littlest way, It would be equally rewarding.

Because of my sympathetic views on illegal immigrants, I was definitely touched by the video we watched in class. This man was truly inspiring for using the money out of his pocket to feed these people he did not even know. He did not have to cook the meals and feed these 35 men every night but he did. Rather than turning his back on them, he helped them out of the kindness of his heart. As a hero to these starving and homeless immigrants, he is a reminder that there are still good people in the world. I think that if I was in the same situation (i.e. immigrating and choosing whether or not to help other immigrants) I would like to think that I would react in the same way as the man in the video. These immigrants come to the States with nothing, and if I had experienced the same situation, I would know how hard living might be. In saying this, I think that I would assist these similar people but only after I, myself, have gotten a job and lived a stable lifestyle. I think that before I could offer any form of help, I would have to be sure I could support myself.

Honestly, I have a lot of respect for illegal immigrants. They possess such a strong desire to make something of themselves in the States in order to be able to provide for their families back home. To be able to leave your family with the uncertainty of actually getting a day job takes a lot of courage. Even if the jobs pay below minimum wage. These people exhibit a drive that pushes them to work harder than a lot of people in the United States who take the availability of jobs for granted. I think that immigrants are admirable for putting their lives on the line, in order to help out their families, even if it does mean that there is a strong possibility of starvation and unemployment.

When I first heard the 29:1 statistic, I was honestly shocked. 29 innocent lives taken for the intentional killing of only one other man/woman is outrageous. War causes a lot of people to become heartless and, sometimes forget what they are fighting for. They are not there to kill innocent civilians. They are there to combat against targeted extremists and I think to bring other people is simply wrong. The killing of 29 people seems like an easy way out in war. It is much more easy to set a bomb in a restaurant with one bad person and 29 other innocent people, than to target one extremist. But that is what our troops are out there for! It is not to involve the lives of people who mean to cause no harm. When you kill 29 people, you are leaving a huge emotional impact on the people in their lives like their family, friends, and community. It is shocking to me that there was even a legit statistic that calculated innocent lives as though they were nothing. I think that when people go to war they become angered by their certain situation, and that is what they believe justifies the statistic. However, looking at it from something that isn’t involved in the war, I just think it is inhumane. As far as making my own statistic, I would set the standard to be 0:1. I do not think that killing one other person in the name of one bad person could ever be justified. These people did not kill or plan to kill other people. If anyone is to be killed, it should be the one and only bad guy. And the 29 people that are being killed are not dying for a noble reason. They would be dying because of that one bad person. In saying this, their death would be unfair. They would die as victims. I think that there should be alternatives to catching the one person, rather than killing other people to get to him/her. If you know there is one bad person in a building or at a gathering, there should be other ways to go about capturing him. I think that the people should be held in place until the one person is evacuated or taken as prisoner. That way, people still get their lives and the troops still get the wanted suspect. In saying this, I think the troops need to get their thoughts and motives right as they enter the war. They have to be able to put themselves in the shoes of the innocent bystanders and realize that a life is a life and to take that away would be not affecting just one person. They are affecting all the people who have associated with or known that person.

Sam and Laurie’s lecture about the “needy penis” was definitely an eye-opener for both sexes. But if I had to choose which sex was more interesting, I would have to say my own female sex. It was surprising to know that I’m not the only woman in the world who isn’t always horny, like my boyfriend is. I think that when it comes, males are very self-centered in terms of their desire of the outcome of the encounter. I think it is unfair that the term “needy” was not seen as a derogatory term when discussing men and their manly parts but it is definitely not something a woman would want to be called. It is definitely a clever term to pair with the male sex-drive and I think it is very appropriate in that when it comes to men and their penises, sex is all they want. With one thought, they are fully aroused and ready to rock and roll. However, I learned that with women it is a completely different story for most cases. Because of the various experiences we go through as women (i.e. pregnancy, periods), our sex drive differs greatly from a man’s. It takes more than a thought to spark our arousal and our drive.
An important thing I also learned was not to blame myself for not wanting to “do it.” These sexual drive differences are natural and I should never think I am in the wrong for not being willing to participate in sexual activity. Some days, I’m just not in the mood to have sex and on those days my boyfriend will question what is wrong with me and question if it is something he is or is not doing. I never had a good response until after this lecture. I can’t blame him for wanting sex the way that he does because all it takes is one though. And I can’t blame myself either. So who is to blame? Biology and media. Our anatomical structures and the way our brain is wired up to our genitals contributes to why we have the sex drives that we do. Some people’s are stronger than others, so we can’t put the blames on ourselves. Also, media and porn plays a part in what we think sex is. Porn portrays sex to be quick and pleasurable. Sure it is pleasurable, but the depiction is very unrealistic. It is made by the man for the man.
I think that the world we live in is male dominated and our minds have been so twisted to believe that this is okay. But women should take charge and feel that it is okay to voice their opinion about sex and what they want. Sure faking orgasms and telling them the sex is great will avoid confrontation but ladies is it worth continuing if it means bad sex for you?

I think that there are many different factors that make if hard for someone to date outside their race. From family to friends, I think that the people we surround ourselves with have a lot to do with the people we choose to date. Humans are so prone to conform to what everyone wants because it is easier to do than to rebel against those people and get questioned for their decisions and actions. I, myself, am in an interracial relationship where I am Filipino and my boyfriend is Caucasian. I have been lucky enough to be blessed with parents who support my relationship but I know of so many people who feel as though they cannot date a person of another race because of their parents’ and family’s beliefs.
My best friend is also Filipino and is currently going out with an African American guy. Most of her relationship is very secretive because her parents are very strict Filipino people who do not believe in dating someone who are not Filipino. She has to lie when she wants to see him and her parents don’t know anything about him. These are just things to be done to avoid confrontation with her parents while still having the ability to date who she wants. I think that her parents, as well as a lot of other traditional Filipino parents are quite racist, especially when it comes to their child dating someone of another race. Filipinos prize tradition and culture and in that culture, they believe that Filipinos should only date other Filipinos because they fear cultural differences. I know a lot of first generation Filipinos who hold these stereotypes about the way other people live their lives. And it is these stereotypes that instill a certain fear that their child will follow the way that their partner lives and put their Filipino culture on the back burner.
My other friend (who is white) once told me she would never date someone who wasn’t white because she said her parents would kill her. Again, I see that in other cultures, parents have a lot to do with the people their children choose to date. Children, in return, satisfy their parent’s wants for their child by not going against this rule. They date only people of their race because they do not want to be seen as disappointments or failures to the family. They do not want confrontation with their parents either.
I think that the people you hang out with have a lot to do with the people you choose to date because if you are a part of a group who dates only people of the same race, you will most likely do that same thing. On the other hand, if you are friends with a bunch of people who are in interracial relationships you may not see it as a bad thing.
All in all, people who came from traditional and proud families will tend to have more of a problem in dating someone of a different race because of their parent’s beliefs. However, if someone loves someone, they love him or her despite their race and will take all the bullshit that might come along with dating that person.

I think that when I walk from class to class on campus, I can really catch a glimpse of the diversity at Penn State University as a whole. I feel that Penn State is not a very diverse place. I live in Northeast Philadelphia and the atmosphere proves to be so different from the one here. I am so used to seeing people of all races pass me by as I walk down a street, not a predominantly white population. I believe that the way I answer this question really has to do with where I am from. Because I have been exposed to so much more diversity at home, I feel that I do not see Penn state as being a diverse college. All of my friends from home would be placed under the minority category if they came to this university. When I come to Penn State, I have a very large group of friends who are white. However, if somebody were from a place that was predominantly white, I do feel as though they would think Penn State is pretty diverse.
I do think that Penn State is heading in the right direction to make the campus more diverse, however I do not think that people should get in solely on their race. Penn State has a quota to meet when they accept their students and sometimes I think that the system can be very selective to people who are of race that Penn State needs to meet their quota. For example, an Asian student may have better grades and a more outstanding college application that a person of Hispanic decent. However, because the Asian quota has been met, Penn Sate may accept the Hispanic person over the Asian person.
In my discussion group last week, we talked about the Pennypacker dorm in East halls. It is seen as a multi-cultural building meaning that many of its residents are minority students. And one girl said that she was uncomfortable living there because it felt as though it felt as though people in that building were segregated from the rest of the East dorms that are predominantly white. In this situation, I understand Penn State’s attempt to try and make people of color more comfortable by having their living arrangements with people of their race. But I also think that college is the time to be immersed in diversity and get to know worlds that are different from the one you know. In saying this, housing should really be more diverse, in having people of all races living together, not just a separate building for people of color.
In answering the question about my decision to come here, I know for a fact I did not base it on the diversity factor. Before I came here, I knew two things about Penn State: prestigious academics and crazy partying! I am proud to be a Penn State student because I receive a good education and a good share of partying. Also, being a person of color, I do not look at diversity as being a factor in choosing to come here.

Today we live in a world that charges here and there for almost every necessity needed to live. A world where money is everything would not be a proper place to raise a child, especially if you are poor. To fully care for a child, one has to understand the vitality of being able to care for themselves first. If you, yourself, are not financially stable, you cannot expect to give your child everything they need to live an ideal life. Although it is a sad fact, many people who are in poverty tend to have multiple children. The most realistic causation would be their inability to afford proper contraceptives. And maybe they don’t have enough money to afford an abortion. Sure, a child needs love and a parent’s support. But the parent must understand that they need the financial support as well. It is this support that will ultimately rear them into a positive trajectory. Without this, I feel that children fall into the cycle of their parents. They will never have the same opportunities presented to families who may have the funds to feed the opportunities. I believe that decision to bring a child without the money to afford their lives is an irresponsible one. Obviously, the two people get caught up in lust and do not think about the possible mistake they could be making. People in poverty already know how hard it is to live the life that they live and it is crazy to me that they would be so blind to the fact that their sexual act might bring children into their exact situation. Of course, the child could still use their free will to make their own choices in life and become something of themselves but that usually does not happen. They are dealt their cards and with their parents being the examples, they will most likely remain in the state of living. Also, as the child develops, they might feel anger towards his or her parents because of the embarrassment of their lives. Children go to school with all types of people and being exposed to children with money might make them question why they do not have the same privileges. They might end up resenting the people that brought them into this life. I feel that people just need to make more of an attempt to be educated and know the possible consequences of their action and take into consideration the lives that they could be affecting in the long run. They should realize that they are in no way financially ready to bring another human being into their world and should only have a child when they can be confident enough to say that they are fully capable to take care of another person both financially and lovingly.

Our society is so prone to seeing people of other nations as different because collectively our country practices ethnocentrism (i.e. believing that our country is the best and looking down on others that differ from the way we do things.) This is a sad realization that we as Americans do this, living in the “Land of the Free” where we should be accepting everyone. It is also terrible to know that people of all backgrounds in the U.S. see other people as different especially when they share the same culture and race.

I feel as though we look at people differently because we seem to think that since they live in their homeland country they are practice their cultures more purely, whereas in America, we can all classify ourselves as being American. For example, I am Filipino but I call myself a Filipino American. I think that Americans practice their cultures of origin as well as American culture, which already sets you apart from people of other countries. I also think that when people look at people from different countries they already see someone physically different. The way people dress in America can greatly differ the way people dress in other countries. And I feel that a lot of people from different races dress a certain way in America to fit in with everyone else. For example, Muslim people more specifically women can choose to wear the traditional headscarf. However, there are many Muslim women who choose not to wear it.

I also think that the more educated you are, the more likely you are not going to judge other people of different race. In Sam’s class, we learned that a very miniscule portion of our DNA makes up for our physical features. Yet, it is this small portion that everybody takes into consideration when making his or her first judgment about someone. I feel that knowing this single fact, helped me to realize that maybe people in the world aren’t so different from us after all. Although Penn State students are lucky enough to have such good education, other people in the country aren’t so lucky. Their ignorance causes them to be the people that do view people of other nations as different.

People are also scared when confronting people and things they don’t know about. As Americans, I feel that we think we think we are safe when we stay within the boundaries of American culture. When it comes to other countries, I feel that people do not think they know about that and are scared of that. For people to stop thinking differently about people from other nations, I think worldly education is necessary. Also, people have to be more open-minded.

I personally really like Lupe Fiasco as a musician. I think that he is the epitome of what an artist should be doing with their career. He uses his fame for the right reasons. He uses his lyrical mind to inform his listeners and the rest of the world about things that goes on in society that isn’t always made public. As members of society, we are supposed to do our role and fight for justice. Lupe Fiasco voices this idea in the song this video refers to. I believe that the simple line” I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence” holds a complex meaning. People are so afraid to be considered out of line and to say something they really feel especially if the people they surround themselves with think differently. This line in the song states the sad truth. Here we are striving so hard for the rights we deserve as citizens of this country such as utilizing our freedom, and yet we do nothing with it. Sure there are people that stand out among the rest, courageous in speaking their mind. But for the most part, people keep their mouths shut. And people tend to do this because it is simply easier. Human beings find comfort in fitting in and believing what others think because they fear criticism. So, that fear is what keeps people from saying what they want to say. I think that this verse line can refer to many things, not just the specific physical act of fighting. On a daily basis, certain events may take place that a person does not agree with, yet no one says anything about it. For example, someone could make a racist remark and even though you know it is very wrong, and want to say something about it, you choose to keep your mouth shut and just go with the flow. I think that because things like this happen all the time, the amount of “silence” builds up collectively. People should feel that they should be able to speak their mind especially on a topic they strongly believe in because ultimately, that will aid in the progression to no longer hiding serious matter that we all know are present in our day. People individually make their decisions to keep quiet. In saying this, people individually can make the decision to put their coward disposition aside and tend to the problems they see. Every little individual step that everyone can make the effort to do will benefit society for the better. I feel that the first step to fixing problems and issues is to put it out there so people know about it. And although sometimes, it could prove to be uncomfortable, it is something everyone should realize is important to the advancement of this world from a sociological aspect. Lupe Fiasco is a brilliant mind and this specific line verse as well as many of the lines in this song can really relate to what we are learning in Sam’s class. I encourage everyone to listen to it.