Proposal

As we have been talking in class about this project and the endless possibilities, an idea popped into my mind. How do we link the e-waste, which has been a huge part of our class, to the ideas of protests and informative discussion? I propose this: We take a campus wide survey to both students and faculty and ask them what phones they have, what phones they had two years ago, and how often they replace their phones. It is very typical to find that the average person will replace their phones every two years if not sooner due to damage or other factors. It seems we are always looking for the latest and greatest things. As the new iPhone 6 has released, many people who have either just gotten a new phone or have a relatively new one are already buying another so that they can the latest and greatest.

     After doing this survey we can research and see what harmful chemicals and other pollutants can be involved in the particular device and how it affects the environment. We can fully incorporate this into the e-waste discussions that we have been having during class. Then we can set up a teach-in on campus. We can have speakers such as Dr. Shutkins and other qualified people come in and give the statistics and global impact just from our students on campus. From there we can inform people of the true impact they are having and what we can do as a campus to limit our global impact on e-waste.

Class Discussion 10/6/2014

http://www.wired.com/2011/02/ff_joelinchina/all/1

Article Discussion Questions:

What are the major causes for the suicides in Foxconn? Are they all related to the living conditions?

Why are other companies not providing better conditions such as Terry Gou did with his company?

Do we have a direct responsibility for the deaths of the workers because of our constant need for the latest technology?

Is the solution to these suicides regulation on work availability (safety protocols) or should moves be made to completely revamp the working conditions?

Is the standard of living we envision in the United States possible in locations such as China for these workers?

Women in the Military

The presence of women in the military has always been an issue and as women are fighting for more and more equality this has come to the forefront of some of the issues. This specifically has caused much controversy particularly in the Marines. Women who have the desire to serve feel that the standards that are being asked of them are outrageous and setting them up to fail. Now clearly there are two sides to this argument. It is hard to find a middle ground to this argument as either you are for women serving or against it.

The marines, along with the stamina requirements, only requires women to do three pull ups to meet this standard. Now clearly for some women this may be a struggle as they struggle to pull their weight along with the gear that the Marines are required to use. This has lead to a lot of problems with women advocates arguing that theses standards should be reduced for women. To me that is quite preposterous. Women already have a lower set of physical standards and times that they must meet compared to men. To lower these any more just because women cannot meet these standards is ridiculous.

Now do not get me wrong, I am all for women serving. If a woman feels that it is her patriotic duty to serve for our nation I fully agree that she should have that opportunity to do so. However, putting an unqualified woman into the field who cannot meet the basic necessities is like giving a weapon to a child. Those standards are for a reason. They are there so that in the heat of battle a person is physically able to undergo any issues that should arise. To lower these standards would be putting others in harms way as they cannot rely on the person next to them to have their back.

The reason that the Marines have been brought into the spotlight is that they have the hardest physical standards for a basic infantry unit to get in. In fact there are a very small amount of women that have ever become Marines let alone Marine officers. Women do have every opportunity to join these elite positions. It is not that they are being excluded from them but rather there are very few who can meet the requirements necessary to perform the given tasks.



Knickerbocker, Brad. "Just Three Pull-ups: Too Many for Women in the Marine Corps?" The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Jan. 2014. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2014/0104/Just-three-pull-ups-Too-many-for-women-in-the-Marine-Corps

Democracy Comic By: Conner, Tony, and Joe

Works Cited:

Strauss, Stephen. "Is Our Republic Ending? 8 Striking Parallels Between the Fall of Rome and U.S." Alternet. Alternet, 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.

Beard, Mary. "The Fall of the Roman Republic." BBC News. BBC, 29 Mar. 2011. Web. 27 Sept. 2014.

There has been a lot of controversy in the news relating to gay marriage. We find that the majority of people relate to one side or the other. It is rather hard to have a middle ground in this situation without a major conflict in fundamental beliefs. Since I am from Indiana this article specifically relates directly to me and where I have grown up my entire life. For the longest time Indiana has been strictly against gay marriage. In fact our state ruled that the definition of marriage is between a man and a woman. This all changed when a district judge ruled in a court case that the definition of marriage being between a man and a woman was unconstitutional. As of that point, it opened up the doors for gay marriages and ceremonies to legally take place in the state. Then within a short time from this ruling the Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the judges ruling and the previous definition of gay marriage was reinstated. 

Obviously with this being such a controversial issue, it is very sensitive to some people. I by no means aim to offend anyone by this. I struggle finding a true stance on the issue for multiple reasons. As i was raised Christian, specifically Lutheran, biblically speaking I am obligated to be completely against it. As some of my friends in my life choose to live a homosexual lifestyle, I want them to have what makes them truly happy in life. One way that I can justify this is that the bible says that no sin weighs more than any other(every sin is equally bad/wrong) except for hardening your heart and denying Jesus. In this way one of the most applicable bible verses would be when it roughly says do not look at the spec of dust in your neighbors eye when there is a plank in your own eye. In this, people judge and rebuke that kind of lifestyle but fall short in so many other areas and in most cases are not sorry for it. We as humans lie, cheat, and steal on a normal basis and are not necessarily truly sorry for what we have done. Although I do not support gay marriages, I do believe that people have the right to live the life that they want. Who am i to judge someone on their homosexual lifestyle when I myself fall short in so many other areas. I have no issue with people who choose to live that lifestyle. The only issue I have with any of it is when someone of that lifestyle deems that I should fully support and agree with that lifestyle. 

"Indiana: Waiting for Justices to Rule on Gay Marriage." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/16/us/indiana-waiting-for-justices-to-rule-on-gay-marriage.html?_r=0

Class Discussion 9/17

http://www.npr.org/2014/08/13/339888170/smartphone-apps-help-to-battle-campus-sexual-assaults

Article Discussion Questions:

Why do we as teenagers and young adults typically not use the provided blue emergency stations on campus but rather tell our friends?

Do you think that people will be willing to "buy in" to circle of 6?

What flaws do you see with the program?

Is there a privacy issue with the app sending data (i.e. location or live feed from phone) to other people?
     Would there be any abuse with people using this system to get your location without permission?

What happens when the circle of 6 is unavailable to respond to the issue?

Racism in Today's Social Media

Since the end of slavery it would be reasonable to think that racism and racial superiority particularly in the United States are about as alive as the latin language. But just how alive is racism in the world today? Platforms such as social media make expressing racial views easier and easier as the days go by. We as a society no longer have to openly proclaim our views in the town square for everyone to see and hear. In modern times we can just as easily express our views without having to physically say a single word. We can and would much rather hide behind a digital mask remaining anonymous.

So how often does this racial discrimination occur? Studies show that on the popular social media network Twitter alone more than 10,000 tweets are sent per day with racial intent. That means every 45 seconds someone, somewhere in the world, is making racial comments indirectly through social media platforms. 

In an day and age where racism is thought to be extinct and ridiculous, it seems to be a lot more prevalent than we may have initially thought. We as a society seem to be desensitized to the whole idea of racial slander. Because of the hip hop industry it is now widely accepted to use the word “nigga” as if it were an every day word. Because of shows like jersey shore it now widely accepted to use the word “guido” as if it were an every day word. The list goes on and on. We deem these things that were once atrocities used only in the most extreme or hateful circumstances to be socially acceptable and the new norm. 

Hoenig, Chris. "Anti-Social Media: Study Finds Racist Tweets Are Sent

     This Many Times a Day." DiversityInc. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.

http://www.diversityinc.com/news/anti-social-media-study-finds-racist-tweets-sent-many-times-day/