My opinion on illegal immigration has changed from when I walked into soc 119 at 4:15 and went I left at 5:30. This was one of those classes where Sam definitely changed the way I thought by the time class finished. Sadly, I answered agree to the question of the United States spending however much money needed to stop illegal immigration. If I could answer that question again now that I have heard Sam’s lecture, I would change it to disagree.
My opinion before the class was to get rid of them completely. I thought they were not doing anything good for the United States. Harsh as it sounds, I thought illegal immigrants should not be deserved to live here. I hear a lot of stories and recent news about immigrants causing crimes. I also was mad at the government for not taking care of the problem. I thought they should be focused on our country and who lives here rather than other countries problems. Little did I know, it would take a fortune to get rid of all the illegal immigrants. I had no clue on how much money it would take, but I never expected it to be more than what we have in our budget.
My opinion now is that some immigrants are needed in our country. One aspect where they are beneficial is in the work force. Sam clearly stated that immigrants are extremely hard working. Most employers would rather immigrants than some lazy Americans. I also believe this to be true. I have personally witnessed some workers, who are immigrants, work harder than people who are not immigrants. Immigrants are focused on working and collecting money to help their families, who may still be in their native land. They work hard to help out others and that really shows the pride they have in their family. It also shows the want to come to America for a better life.
The second opinion of mine that changed I had mention a little earlier in this blog. I did not think it would be a financial burden to get rid of the illegal immigrants. That thought quickly changed. It would take a lot out of our government, a lot of which we do not have, to focus and try to force the illegal immigrants out of the United States.
After this lecture, I can proudly report back to Sam and say that he did change the way I thought. His lecture and information made my opinion change from what it was at the beginning of the class. Sam definitely made me open my eyes and put everything in perspective. Some things just cannot be done and it is better to accept it than try and change it.

I feel nepotism affects many people and can be seen daily. The answers to the first question Sam asked us in class definitely would have changed if he re-asked us at the end of class. When he asked us, I did not think I was affected by it but at the end of the lecture, I realized there is no way that I am not affected by it. I personally have benefitted from nepotism, and I also know a ton of people who have as well. I get extremely mad if someone says they got something such as an internship, and I know they got it because of their father or aunt. It is an unfair concept but in our society today, it is hard to survive without someone pushing for you or slipping a nice word about you.
Nepotism definitely shows in my major, education, as well. All I hear from current teachers is that it is important to know someone. It is all politics and if you know someone who can put a good word in or pull a few strings for you then your chances of receiving that job goes up. I have not had any nepotism with my major yet which makes me happy to know that I am pursuing my dream all on my own. However, I think getting a job in the future will require some help from others. Since the proposed budget cut and increase in the amount of people pursuing education degrees, it has been hard to get a teaching job. If I want one in my hometown, I have been told to “talk to the right people” in order to get a job. Therefore, nepotism is very likely to benefit me in the future but on the other hand, it can also hurt me. Some school districts may take other teachers over me because they have some connection to that school even though I am very qualified for that position. When that happens, I will know it was nepotism and think how unfair and cruel it is.
Nepotism can also help others in the future as well. I think our world will progress further into the idea that knowing people and making connections will get you further in life. It is already in full force now which means it will advance into the future. People will take advantage of the fact that if you know someone, it will be beneficial to them. It will benefit some people specifically those who get the job, but it can also not benefit people (those who do not get the job). Nepotism can be equally good and bad depending on who gets the upper edge. I do not think our world can function or survive without nepotism. Therefore, I do not see nepotism disappearing only progressing, and it will be both good and bad in the future.

Today’s lecture was very powerful and made me really consider the life of an Arab. Sam reinforced the thought that we were the Arabs facing everything he talked about. It made me - and I hope others - realize what these Arabs are facing. It was like I was literally in the shoes of an Arab. Throughout the lecture, Sam showed multiple videos that dealt with every aspect of an Arabs life. Each video was influential and made Sam’s argument believable because we were able to see the cruelty being done to Arab’s. Even though each video had an impact on me, one video stood out the most and was actually the shortest video played today.
The video that had the greatest impact on me was of the hummer pushing the truck off the road. The hummer, which I took it as a symbol of the United States, pushed a harmless truck off the road because it was going too slow for the hummer. The truck then lost controlled continuing to drive off the road while dirt went everywhere covering the truck. It seemed to me as if the truck had either flipped or something similar to that. The video cut off without us knowing what happened to the person or people in that truck or the truck. The hummer just drove on without a care in the world as if nothing happened.
At the end of this video, my mouth was wide open and I had a look of disbelief on my face because I just could not believe it. For the United States to push innocent people driving on the road off the road is ludicrous and absolutely cruel. Our troops are not there to cause harm to civilians but to restore order and prevent terroristic ways (at least that is what I believe).
When I saw the truck being pushed off the road because of it going too slow, I immediately thought of my family and I driving. I do not like to speed. Therefore, I like going the speed limit to prevent consequences: an accident or a ticket. Also, my family does not include fast drivers either; some do drive faster than me but for the most part we usually all go the speed limit. I would honestly rather drive slowly than fast. The video of the truck going slow kind of reminded me of myself driving. If a car ever came up behind me to push me off the road because I was going too slowly, I would be irritated if I made it out alive. I thought to myself what if that was me driving that truck? Would I be dead right now just because I was driving too slow? To me it should be the other way around.

Every person needs that place (restaurant, friends house, library, etc.) or an activity (walk, run, play sports, yoga, etc.) that they can turn too when they feel stressed or upset. For the Haitians, that activity is football, better known as soccer to us. I understand completely how soccer is helping Haitians cope with their problems and the aftermath of the earthquake. It by no means solves any of the problems the earthquake brought to Haiti but still allows those to do something fun while forgetting about their problems for a period of time. Playing sports is a great medicine for people who feel depressed, stressed, or worried.
I can definitely relate to the Haitians and their passion for soccer. I have been playing basketball since I was five. I have done numerous leagues such as two different AAU teams, school leagues, summer camps, and a private league. Throughout middle school and high school, all I did was play basketball. I played on my schools team for all four years of high school. I started for my schools team both junior and senior year and was captain for my senior year. It was my sport that I played 24/7. I sometimes hated it but mostly loved every second. I am actually still playing basketball here at Penn State. For two years now, I have played on an intramural basketball team. We won the minors league for the past two years as well.
Similar to the Haitians, I turn to basketball for any problems I encountered. I mainly go to the court when I am stressed and just need to take my anger out by dribbling, shooting, and running for hours. I cannot explain the feeling I get when I work out after being so stressed or worried about a problem with my friends, family, school, or work. Basketball or other sports are great to turn to while in college as well. We all know how stressful college is and turning to basketball is a lot better than turning to other things to relieve the stress. Basketball to me is similar to how soccer/football is to the Haitians.
Also, playing football in Haiti unites them as a country. There is a certain pride and value that Haitians have for football. After this earthquake, they need something to restore hope and something worth living for. Soccer is their answer just like it was before the earthquake. It gives them something to look forward too as well. The excitement and thrill of the soccer games can be that something for Haitians to look forward too. As for the players, it give them that rush and adrenaline playing soccer offers them. It is a perfect situation and activity that every Haitian can turn too.

In my Caucasian family, I am considered a rebel, crazy, and the outgoing child. I like to have fun, make people laugh, and just enjoy life to the fullest. I am a lot different than my two older sisters as well. My oldest sister is in medical school and is very dedicated and committed to what she is doing. She has to have that mindset since she needs to study every night in order to do well in medical school. My other sister is a senior at Temple University and is heading to graduate school for speech pathology come august. I on the other hand am a junior and am majoring in education. It is a perfect major for my personality but unlike my other sisters, I do not plan on furthering my education. It is a possibility but for right now I am focusing on the remaining two years of college. I am also very different in my style as well. I like to wear fun things with lots of colors. My older sisters are very classy and dress more like adults.
My point in all of this is because I would be the daughter in my family to bring home someone of a different race. I have actually talked about it with my family, but they think I am just joking. I see nothing wrong with dating outside my race and believe it should not be a bad thing. Both my sisters have never expressed an interest in another person of a different race, but I have. Over winter break, I actually told my family I had a crush on an African American guy. My sisters and dad were not really surprised but my mom and grandmother started to ask a lot of questions. They wanted to know absolutely everything about this boy even though it was just a simple crush. I showed them pictures and told them everything I could about this boy.
My grandma never really showed racism until the day I showed her the boy I liked. I could tell she did not want me to bring him home but would not say it. My mom on the other hand would prefer me with someone white but has no control over who I date. My entire family has made this whole crush into a joke and ask me everytime I see them how he is and laugh about it. Honestly, a part of me would love to bring home a person of another race just to see what my family would do.
Therefore, I would definitely date someone of another race and think it is becoming more and more popular these days due to my generation. People my age do not see a problem in dating others outside their race, and I think that is a slight step towards decreasing racism in the United States.

The video of Zach Wahls speech should be very motivating and inspirational to all. I enjoyed watching it because you saw the passion in Zach while he was speaking about this issue that his family and many other families are facing. I cannot relate to Zach’s family since I was raised by both a mother and father, but if I were to vote on the law in Iowa, I would definitely vote to pass it after watching this video. Zach made good arguments in his speech as well as backing up those arguments. His love and gratitude towards his parents and how they raised him was shown in his speech. He probably would not be as successful as he is today without them.
Zach makes compelling points about himself and his family. Once he starting reciting his accomplishments and where he was today, it gave me no doubt that same sex couples can raise a child similar to Zach. He has had two great moms that raised him to work hard and believe what it is right; it was shown in his speech. Zach is no different than any other “normal” family and has probably accomplished more than some of those “normal families”. It gives people no right to deny, ban, or even make fun of LGBT families.
I also fully believe that parenting affects how a child will develop and grow up. I was raised to work hard and try my best at anything. My parents enforced an importance in school as well as extracurricular activities because it shows a well-rounded person. The only thing my parents stressed when I become 18 was to get a degree. I am able to do what I want when I want as long as I come out of college with a degree. My parents are also very supportive and encouraging with whatever I do. They come to all banquets, activities, and graduations of my sisters and me. I became the person I am today because of my parents.
LGBT families can have just as much success as a family with a mother and father. It just all depends on how those parents want to raise their child. A child needs a backbone and sometimes a push and that comes from the parents. Zach Wahls was raised just as well as any other family. There should be no reason to deny this law from passing because of those families that do not support or encourage their children in life. Its important to say that not every family is as successful as Zach is or even those kids with a mom and dad. However, it is important to look at the families that do succeed when making a decision on this law because you can see that not all LGBT families and children are harmed or worse off than if they were raised by a mother and father.

After viewing the video about the slaves and chocolate, I definitely felt guilty about eating chocolate. I also believe that most people in Soc 119 felt guilty as well. Some of us did not eat the chocolate piece because of guilt yet some students did. I feel guilty about the slaves but I have not stopped eating chocolate or buying any other slave made products. I feel as if I am used to consuming these products because I was raised with them; my parents never said anything about eating chocolate or other slave made goods as being bad and that I should be guilty of consuming them.
I have never purchased a fair trade good either and to be honest I never heard of them before Sam mentioned them in class. I am definitely one of those that will go to Wal-Mart to buy the cheapest price for something but I never saw it as a bad thing. I actually felt like a smart shopper that was getting the best deal for goods not knowing that slaves were beaten and not paid to make these goods. As a college student who only works in the summer, money is critical for me. I work hard in the summer but that money does not last the entire year; I use it for apartment bills, textbooks, and food. Those are all the necessities of a college student. Although, when I finally earn a decent paycheck from a real job, I may actually switch to free trade products.
However, even though I buy these items to save money does not mean I do not feel guilt. Of course I do. After seeing the slaves getting beaten on a daily basis definitely makes me upset. I honestly would feel a lot better if the slaves got paid for the job they are doing and stop getting beaten. I believe that if they did get paid for their job, it would not be unfair since most of us get paid for our jobs; I would not work if I did not get paid.
Deep down inside, I think most feel guilty no matter what their race is. It is hard to watch a video like that and see men getting whipped and not feel bad. It should not depend on if they are black, white, Asian, or so on. No one should be treated poorly for doing their job. They are good people who just need the money like everyone else. We also learned about the Harkin-Engle Anti-Slavery Protocol trying to end slavery. I have never heard of this before this class either and it seems to be a slow moving progress to end slavery. The protocol can be something good in the future if only they can speed the progress up.

I grew up in a family where I was raised to never talk to strangers no matter what they might bribe us with. My parents always enforced walking away and/or screaming before ever talking to someone we did not know. I was also told this while in school. My teachers would educate us in not turning to strangers. This seemed normal to be told such a thing because all my friends were told the same thing. I never questioned what my parents said or the parents of my friends. I never once saw someone being kidnapped or taken away for talking to someone they did not know. However, I had to abide by my parents rules.

After watching this video, it seems like my parents mindset and that of my friends’ parents is correct. Talking to strangers, walking by them without an adult, or even just glancing at them can lead to something dangerous. It shows in this video that a stranger can even do something harmful with an adult around. Seeing this happen to one child can scare a parent into believing it can happen to their child.

Then why do people who study risk and children say the best advice to give a child would be to talk to strangers when you have a problem? I was shocked when I saw that 99.9 percent of strangers would help if you needed it. Why was I told as a child that I should never turn to strangers when only 0.1 percent of them are considered bad? That is because that 0.1 percent could be the one that I turned too. People can be misleading so to trust everyone can turn into a negative situation. Therefore, my parents along with all my friends’ parents just wanted to be safe than sorry. If everyone was considered a “good” person than they never would have said do not talk to strangers. But there is that small chance of coming in contact with someone harmful and they would rather us just not talk to them period. As a parent and seeing even one child be kidnapped can scare them into thinking it can happen to their own child. To them that 0.1 percent might just be their child, and it is better to take charge and make rules than have it happen to their family.

When I become a parent, I myself will tell my kids to not talk to strangers. I would rather be safe than sorry and be that parent who gives this so-called “bad” advice to my kids. I do not think it is worth it to take a risk and be that family whose child gets kidnapped for trusting a stranger. However, others are able to believe what they want and may wish to enforce the opposite of me.

My answer to this question would be a mixture of both. I definitely think arrests occur because of racism as well as there being more cops in urban areas. Racism has always and will always be within our society. It might be less common today than it was twenty years ago but you cannot say that it does not exist. However, this will continue to be a problem for a long time. It is cruel to arrest someone just because of his or her race but unfortunately no one is stopping it. I also feel that police are arresting blacks or Hispanics more because they feel it is the right thing to do which again leads back to the idea of racism. I would not say whites get off the hook; I just do not think the police force is looking for whites when they go out to arrest people.
In my opinion, those who are racists are more than often adults. Consequently, the teens that are racist are more likely children of parents who are racist. I like to believe that within our generation, a lot more people are not racist. Therefore, once our generation becomes involved in the police force, there might be a decrease in arrests due to racism. I think we are a smarter generation who consider everyone equal human beings. Granted, there are still people who are racist but you have to admit that it is a lower number than the other generations. We see mixed relationships happening all around us and for some of us, we are the ones involved in a mixed relationship.
On the other side, it is necessary for there to be more cops in urban areas. I am always hearing on the news about reports of stealing, drug dealing, and even shootings that occur in different cities. A variety and abundance of people live in the city though. Those who are wealthy, middle class, and then some that live on the street, all occupy cities. It is important to have cops because of the amount of people that live in cities. I live in the country and fortunately we do not see a lot of these events being done. There are cops around but not as many as there are when I go visit my sister at Temple University. There are even more cops in a city near my hometown, Wilkes Barre. I do not think the country is safer by any means. I know there are drug dealings and stealing going on, but it is just not done in the open. In fact, I actually know some of the people who sell drugs but they just have not gotten caught. It is important to have more cops where there are more people.

Throughout my life, I have always made my own decisions. Now and again I would look for other peoples opinions such as my parents, sisters and sometimes friends. My decision to come to Penn State was my choice, however the only thing my mom did ask of my sisters and I was to get a degree. I did have people influencing me and telling me to go here and there but for the most part it was my choice. Both my parents went here as undergrads but my two sisters went to Temple. I had no want to go to Temple and my family understood that. My parents gave us the right to choose what we wanted but with help and approval from them. If I had chosen a school in California or a school like Harvard (with no scholarship), they probably would not have allowed it. My parents have always been there when we need help, an opinion, or just to talk. In no way have they or anyone else shaped my decision to come to Penn State. They would have supported me at whatever college I chose, although, I know I made them happy by coming here since they too bleed blue and white.
What I do here and who I interact with here are 100% my decisions. My family could have no idea what I do here if I did not call them. I have chosen all my classes, clubs, and friends. Granted, anything that deals with money has to go through my dad first but that is expected. One thing that my choices did affect happens to deal with basketball. I organized an IM girls basketball team, with myself included, and once there I found out an opportunity for a part-Time job. If I did not organize a team to play basketball in the IM building, I would have had no way of finding this job out because I do not live by the IM building nor do I go in it.
I fully believe everyone should make their own decisions and each decision they make affects their life. Whether it is a good outcome or bad, it was made by yourself so no one can take the blame but you. If it is bad you can learn from your decision and become a stronger and better person. If it was a good decision, like my decision about coming to Penn state, then you can live with the joy of knowing this amazing decision was made by none other but you. Do not ever take for granted the people in your life though. I have never once been ashamed of going to them for help. They are my family and friends whose job it is to support and encourage me in whatever decisions I make. Take pride in the decisions and choices you make because in the end they make up who you are.