When the semester first started it I thought it was really cool and interesting. I was always coming right from practice and I would always manage to stay up because I was so interested in the topics and the things people in class would have to say about the topics. I think a main reason I could stay so interested during class even though i was so tired from practice was because of Sam. Sam was so open with the things he said and how he approached things, he was not afraid to say anything, even if his theories for saying something or the statistics he was showing were not exactly right. I liked that but then it started to kind of make me feel uncomfortable. He would kind of call out races and I guess it was okay in a way because he called everyone out, not just one specific race and he would call out himself but it would make me feel a little uncomfortable with some of the comments he would say, even if he said them in a joking way. The class did not really make sense to me because nothing that we learned in class was on the quizzes, it was all on readings, that the majority of people do not have time to read, they were so long, why couldn't the quizzes just go with the class? Other than all of that, the class taught me to open my mind to some of the things i do every day and do not realize. For instance, I would say things to my friends, towards another race, and would not even realize that I was calling out another race. It also made me realize that sometimes I have to be more careful with how I describe certain situations like, if i am describing a story and say "chinese man" maybe saying chinese before man does not necessarily have to be included. I learned a lot of the semester, even if I did not agree with everything that happened in this course, it was an interesting class to attend and the group discussions that were once a week, were also a really good way to talk about class in a smaller environment. Being in such a large class, it can be intimidating to speak in front of all those people but with the smaller classes it was easier and “safer” environment to talk in. A lot of judging can go in class, and Sam cannot “protect” people from everyone and their opinions and judgmental comments so the little recitation classes were a really good idea also from this course. I would tell anyone to take this course, just to get the experience from it.

I do not have a problem with interracial dating. I do not think it is even a big deal, I think it only becomes a big deal when others start putting in their two cents, but why? What makes dating someone of the opposite race a problem? I do not understand why people think their opinion should matter to two people in a relationship that does not concern them. Outside opinions put a stress on people which makes their relationship have more stress but the opinions of outsiders should not matter. It is just like being in a homosexual relationship. A lot of people do not agree with people dating each other of the same gender but love is love. You cannot put a description or label on love, it is up to the two people in that relationship. It is their business. Also people do not agree with interracial dating because of slavery and racism. Racism still exist today and so does ignorance. People love to talk about something they know nothing about, they give a hard time to people that are in interracial relationships and they are probably alone themselves. A person loves who they love, they cannot turn that on and off for the sake of sparing other people’s feelings, that would not be real. I think people have a problem with black and white interracial relationships the most because of racism. They figure how could you even think about dating someone that was either above or below at some point in history but that is the problem. People like that say they want a change and get so made about racism but thinking like that promotes racism. With that type of thinking, it is keeping racism going. We are not in the same times when slavery heavily was going on, if people would just understand that we are all created equal, the world would be a better place. People need to educate themselves. The color of our skin does not define the person we are, it is the opinions of people that allow the color of our skin to have some type of meaning attached to it.
For the topic of white girls being afraid to talk to white guys, I think that depends on the type of guy, the black guy portrays himself to be. I know a lot of white guys may be intimidated by black guys and I do not really know where that comes from, I am not white so I cannot really speak on that because I do not why they feel that way. I do take offense to it because why are they scared? And if it is because they have been purposely frightened by a black male or female that is also wrong. I didn't think that a black girl was scared to talk to a white guy, I think they just think they are not going to be aggressive enough because some white guys come off scared to talk to black girls. Also being here at Penn State there are a lot of white people and the black people that are here, some do not represent the black race in the best way. Not only do white people notice this but so do black people, I think it is not a matter of race, it is just in the way you carry yourself.

Is sexuality a choice? I think why people have the mindset that choosing your sexuality is something that can be chosen is because so many people, especially in recent years are choosing to be homosexual just to try it out. They do it now because it is sort of a trend. I feel like so many more people are homosexual or bisexual in this day in age because they see so many people are trying it, that they want to try it too. I have had friends say that they are bisexual or homosexual but they have no experience in it. It is hard for me to believe them because they say they like the same sex but they have never even kissed someone of the same sex. And on the other hand, people keep it a secret because they are afraid of people knowing their preferences so they choose to be straight because they feel they will be more accepted. So like you never really know the background of why they are that sexuality.
I do believe that people are born into their sexuality. A person can be born gay and know that they are gay when they are as young as 4 years old, they are not choosing, they are born like that. People can go through a lot of bad relationships in a heterosexual relationship and then decide that they want to try something new because they are tired of going through all the same thing so they try out the same sex and the same thing goes for people who are gay and then decide to be straight.
I go back and forth with this topic because sometimes you cannot trust what people are saying. The things they say and do cannot be justified. I have seen so many say they are gay because they think it is the cool thing to do. A bunch of followers, so that is why I find it so hard to believe everyone that says they are gay or bisexual.
Also people choose to not be gay because they are very religious. Because of their religion they know that they will not have the support of their family. They put their feelings towards the same sex behind them because they do not want to face the consequences that could come from them being homosexual. Especially with being christian, they believe that it is a sin to be homosexual so they choose to be straight because it is the "right" thing to do. Also people that are gay do not have as many rights as people do that are straight. Who wants to know that people are against them because of their sexual preferences? I would not want that, everyone has the right to freedom and dating who you want is apart of that freedom.

Rape is a horrific topic to think about or even what to talk about, people do not always see the same way when they think about the punishment that should be done or how believable it is for the person that is telling. I think too many times, there has been incidents where the girl or male that has lied about what has happened to them, in a way to get back at that person for doing something to them in the past.
When I think about rape, it is touchy for me because I do not thinking about what that person has gone through, no matter how extreme it was, being violated is something that I feel someone should never have to got through. Like why can't people just know that some things they cant have?
As far as pregnancy comes with rape. The person that gets the abortion should be the one that has complete control of the decision of aborting the baby or not? I could not imagine getting rape and then getting impregnated by that person and then having to see the baby every day. I know that baby can be put up for adoption but the person carrying the baby would have to wait those long nine months with a baby in them from someone that has brutally abused them. That is hard for a women to do, no matter how strong she is as a person.
As for empathy, if these people took the time to think about if it were their own wife or children that were the ones getting raped and see how close to home that would hit, they would not be against abortion. How could you not have empathy towards these women who would have gone through so much? And you also have to keep in mind, very young girls also getting raped, would be forced to keep a baby from their rapist? How would that be fair to them? They are already scarred for life.

Should we feel responsible for the people that were born less fortunate than ourselves? When I watched this video I of course thought about all those commercials, well infomercials that show either the animals or the children that are in need and need money for food, water or shelter. In a way people, the media is basically telling us that we should feel responsible for these animals or families that need money, food, water, education, or shelter because they are asking us for help support them. I know that when I see these commercials they always make me slightly mad because I feel like when they are asking for donations, they make it seem like it is something that is so small but it does begin to add up, just because we have the television to watch these commercials on, does not mean that we have it really good ourselves. Many people struggle from day to day and they do not or are not able to get the help that they need. They have to struggle just like other people, it may not be as hard for the people in other countries but they still have to struggle to support them and their families. Maybe I feel this way because I grew in a single parent home. My mom makes a good amount of money but sometimes it just is not enough because she has to take care of two children and pay off the loans she has from putting herself through undergraduate and law school, in a way I feel like, the majority of people that live in the united states should be able to make some sort of a living, some how. We are not the poorest of countries, even if you do not want to do to school for the rest of your life to become rich or someone that would make a big difference in the world, I feel as long as you are not lazy, you can become someone or something in life, that will make you not poor. I am not even sure how people can become poor, and the expect people to feel sorry for them. I am only saying this for the people that were lazy and did not do anything with their lives or spent all their time buying and doing drugs, and then are poor asking the world for money. How do you find that fair? You basically made yourself have that life that you ended up with, how could you expect someone to feel sorry for you? I feel with this topic, it can go in a bunch of different ways, people can see it as a way to go out and help these people or they can see it as they got what they worked for, if they did not work for anything, they did not get anything.

I think thus far in my life I have not had to make too many big decisions but one of the biggest decisions I had to make is deciding where I would attend college. I am a student athlete and was recruited out of high school. I went on many visits and spoke to a lot of college coaches. It was also one of the most stressful decisions because picking school depended on a lot of factors. It depended on how much money I would receive, how well I would mesh with my teammates and coaches, and how well I saw myself fitting into the school. With lots of coaches calling and emailing, trying to "sell" their school to me became very stressful. I was not the type of student that had a "dream school" or even thought about what my major would be in college. All I knew is that I wanted to run in college and be able to make a difference on the team I was going to be on. I started being recruited in my 9th grade and that did not even seem to faze me much, I was still just having fun, without putting too much work in. When it came time to make my decisions to commit to a school, it was a little scary because I finally had to start weighing the pros and cons of each school. Coming to Penn State was a big decision for me and very unexpected because I did not want to stay in state but when I took my official, I felt it was the right fit for me, both academic and athletic.
The whole decision was based off of my needs and wants from a school. My mom was there the whole way to kind of keep me level headed. When I felt like everything was happening too fast, she was there to slow down the process, by just telling me a break from everything. She helped keep all of my offers in order and made sure that I was not getting too stressed. I did not want to regret the decision I made and I think that is what scared me most. Once I committed to a school that was it. Once I signed those papers, I was kind of signing my life away in a sense. It sounds funny but it is the truth, being a student-athlete takes a lot of dedication, I knew I was dedicated; I just wanted to be dedicated in the right environment. So I would say that my personal decision was based on free will because at the end of the day, the decision was up to me and me alone.

The whole decision was based off of my needs and wants from a school. My mom was there the whole way to kind of keep me level headed. When I felt like everything was happening too fast, she was there to slow down the process, by just telling me a break from everything. She helped keep all of my offers in order and made sure that I was not getting too stressed.

I haven't ever had anyone in my family ever fight in a war or even thought about fight in the war. I have a lot of respect for our soldiers because they put their lives on the line for the people of the United States, leaving there families behind for an indefinite amount of time. My boyfriend has recently talked about wanting to go into the services and that scares me because I know a lot of soldiers come back and are not the same and it is not their fault. It is what the service does to them. They are also at risk for losing their life and I am sure there are times when they wish that they could just go back home instead of fighting in a war. The fact that soldiers are committing suicide does not surprise me. Just the boot camp that they have to go through is probably intense. It has to get them ready for anything and everything is they are deployed; they lose their individuality and have to also listen to someone else. They probably lose their selves in the midst of all of that and it must also be a lonely job. It is a great thing to do your country but what happens when they need people to be there for them and they cannot be? Supporting our troops is fighting for them like they fight for us. Fighting got their rights, what is making the suicide rate that high? Maybe they need more people speaking out for them. If someone wants to be out of the services, why can't they just say that it's become too much for them? They have to go to extremes to be able to leave and when that does not work, they attempt suicide. That isn't right and that is where supporting our troops comes in.
I think the fact that so many soldiers tried/committed suicide shocked me because I do not do enough research about it. I do know a little about PTSD and it is scary because these soldiers that come back with it can do nothing about it. They need to have more resources to get help treating it and not just deal with it on their own. My current major is rehab and human services and I have talked to someone a couple months ago with working soldiers that come back with this condition because it can turn them into some dangerous and angry people if they do not get help for it. That’s where supporting our troops will also come into factor. More people learning about their needs and finding them more help, not just giving them a lot of benefits when they get out of the war.

The game that we played in class when Dr. Jones came to class, I have played many times. It is a game like" whisper down the lane," i believe that many kids play that game when they are younger. I have also been in another class with my track team and we did this same activity as the one we played in class with Dr. Jones and got the same results. Somewhere down the line the story gets mixed up or misconstrued because people forget what they were told by the previous person or the person changes something because they are uncomfortable about what they have to say to the next person. I think in most cases when the least amount of words will be changed when it is between people who are most comfortable with each other or know each other the best. With the story that first person had to tell in class with Dr. Jones, he immediately changed the story because there was a racial slur that he would have had to say, and he just wasn't willing to take that risk of saying that word. The word " nigger" holds so much meaning, to both white and black people, both can be offended by the word. The first person to participate in that activity was a white male so who knows what kind of reaction he would have got from the class if he would have said the word. I mean, after all he would have just been following the directions that Dr. Jones had told him to follow, which was tell the next person what he had read, but he did not. But why? Was it out of fear? I believe so but, only because the people that would have taken offense to the word was in the class. If it were just him in the class, would he have been so uncomfortable with saying the word? I do not think so. So I go back to the point from before, it all comes down to who the first person is telling the story to and so on, if and how comfortable with the next person they are.

So if people in the class would have taken offense to the word, just who do you think that african american male most have felt when he was just trying to take a class? A class that had nothing to do with the white boys that were bothering him. Some people just have no filter when it comes to things they should or should not say but that is when situations turn violent. Not everyone has a thick skin and can let offensive words just run off their back. Just like the white student felt comfortable attacking the african american student with words, an african amercian student feels that student should be able to face the consequences of his actions.

I have a lot of respect for Omar on what he does, rapping to educate people but like he said, what he does over in the states can directly have an affect on his family back at home. I do not think many of us could do that just off of the fact that we would be too scared to face the consequences or, too afraid of failing at something they were new to. With hip-hop/rap, the "real" rappers are more of poets. The way they express themselves and the ways they are feeling, are through the music that they put out.
A lot of people, including myself do not know much information about Muslim people and their religion. When Omar is rapping he is educating many people with his music, he also raps in both languages, which was very shocking to me. Rapping is a talent because you have to be able to convey the words you are saying in a clear but also interesting way so that people will not only want to listen but also want to think more deeply into the lyrics. Omar does not just say a whole bunch of words that rhyme or sound good together, he raps to get his message across and people get engaged by his words and mannerisms.
Listening to Omar rap definitely was a way to bridge the gap between the east and west because it is more exciting to listen to his words, rather than reading on the matters he is rapping about. It is a great way to think very controversial topics in a way that will appeal to people that are listening to the music. Omar does an amazing job of making a statement with the music he makes but does not offend people too much with the way he presents it. It is clear that he does not take this music that he makes a joke and it draws in the crowds listening even more to what he has to say.

In what way has racial signifiers affected me? Well they affect me just as much as they would affect someone else. As an african american I believe that my race is one of the races that is faced with the majority of racial signifiers, at least when it comes to crimes or injustices. I does suck that their has to be so many "rules" as to what people can say and what they can say, especially with using racial signifiers, because sometimes they just have to be used in my opinion. People have come to get used to people using them when they describe a scenario, like a "white guy shot up a gas station" versus a " black guy shot up a gas station" people would few those two scenarios that are completely the same, a guy shooting in a gas station but because one guy is black and one guy is white, it kind of makes the story different. A lot of people already view african americans to be more violent than white people.
In my recitation class, we were doing an activity where we would go around the room and everyone would put on a card something that people thought about them. There was one black guy and he said a lot of people that he was a violent person because he listened to black guys rapping. What? How does that even equate. That took me by surprise, because I wonder what peoples thoughts are when there is a white guy listening to rap music..?

Back to racial signifiers, we used them in our everyday life but we used them intentionally because I think we get so used to talking to our friends and using them all the time. When dont even realize them as being being a problem and to honest, I do not think they are always a bad thing, it is just in the way it is used. The context that is used with the racial signifier. It is fine to use it with your friends to say, " i was with my friend from school, the asian one" I think that is okay because sometimes that is the only way that people can put a face to a name, by knowing their race. But if a racial signifier is being used in a derogatory manner like, "of course that black guy is getting locked up for stealing from that store" I think that is not okay because it is like the person saying it is making it obvious that a black guy had to commit that crime. Actually when it comes to any types of crimes or law issues, racial signifiers have to be kept to a minimum.