Because the American dream is so engrained in our minds from such a young age (i.e. our parents telling we can do anything or our teachers telling us that as long as we work hard, we’ll succeed), I didn’t even realize that affirmative action plays a part in just how far we get.

The interesting thing about the American dream is that it is so global that people travel from all over the world to come to this country. And yet, we are so stuck in a specified social structure that it seems almost impossible for some people to move from social classes. Granted, American society isn’t as drastic so as to be compared to a caste system, but there are so many inescapable factors that determine your social class that it becomes harder for some people (certain races or genders undoubtedly have their advantages) to climb up the ladder that is success in America.

Affirmative action, I believe, does little to help the growth of equality between genders and races. While I think it is, in theory, a good idea that could help close such a gap, in reality it doesn’t change the fact that the top two percent of people in America own eighty percent of the wealth. As Sam demonstrated in class, as one race moves up, so, too, do the ones “above” it. That is to say, races that are typically discriminated against, such as African Americans, may move two steps ahead, but not without the white man also moving two steps ahead in a race he’s already winning.

At the risk of coming off as pessimistic, I would have to say that while the ideal American dream isn’t dead, it is indeed slipping away. Perhaps because the American dream seems almost outdated, we need to refocus our attentions on redefining how to reach that dream in contemporary times. I don’t mean to say that hard work doesn’t pay off, but just that it doesn’t for everyone and for some, little to no work is needed to reach that “dream.” Like Sam said, for the King of the Mountain, it’s all about connections and nepotism and there’s little being done to put a stop to that.

So yes, the American dream does still exist, but it isn’t without its complexities. Our country is known as the place people come to gain success from nothing and I do wholeheartedly believe that this is possible as it still happens for people all over the country and indeed all over the world. Maybe what we need to do is look at affirmative action and model more policies after this one in order to, at the very least, create an even playing field for all every person who seeks success and security.

At the outbreak of this whole scandal, I had no idea what a profound effect it would have on my own life. I remember reading an article about the whole ordeal the Friday before everything blew up. At this point, only a handful of people knew about it and no one knew all of the details. After reading the little blurb on the situation that I found on a random news website, I turned to my roommates and asked if they had heard anything about it. Sure enough, they were as clueless as I had been just ten minutes before. At that point, I couldn’t have predicted that soon the world would find out and parts of my life would be irrevocably altered.

As last week progressed and more information about the case was discovered and released, I began to understand how huge the scandal really was. We were talking about it in literally every one of my classes. To the students, things were rapidly getting worse. Long-standing school officials were suddenly terminated, students were rioting and national television networks were badmouthing our school. By the end of the week, I was sick of the whole thing and found myself getting angry any time I heard someone mention it or when it was brought up in a conversation I was having with a friend.

After this past Tuesday’s class, however, things really changed for me. When Sam asked in a poll question who was tired of talking about the scandal, I didn’t hesitate in answering that I was. As the class progressed and Sam pointed out that we need to talk about the situation in order to learn and grow as a society. Not only should we address the victims of this case, but victims of the same type of crime in general, as well as the issue of sexual assault and misconduct in and of itself.

What I have really come to learn from the whole ordeal is exactly what Sam was trying to get across: we need to address the silence and replace it with conversation about these issues and ones like it. I have grown as a person and realized that although I am entitled to feel a certain way about how this situation is affecting me, being angry and refusing to address it any further doesn’t help anything. I need to take what I’ve learned from this situation as well as the experience of having my life turned on its head by something that didn’t involve me and disregard my personal opinion in order help break the silence.

This whole emotionally-charged scandal has done a lot to invoke negative feeling both in Penn State students and the world outside of Penn State. I know that for me, this week has been very trying, as I know it has been for many of my peers. This isn’t to say that I view as victims-the worst part of this horrid situation is that too many people are forgetting about the real victims. I do believe, however, that we as a school—as a family—have been victimized by inaccurate portrayals of who we truly are and what we represent.

It has been one thing to hear students and faculty talking about it on the sidewalk; it seems to be the only thing anyone can talk about. We are, as a collective, upset about what has happened to the victims and to our school. It’s almost impossible to feel any way but negatively about the situation.

Amid all of the sadness and hurt, I have been unable to voice how exactly I feel about everything when, in one of my classes today, a girl spoke up. My professor was sharing our sentiments of disbelief and disappointment about the riots and how all of the focus has been on the removal of Joe Paterno rather than on the victims and even Graham Spanier, to whom she referred, “one of the best university presidents in the country”—a man who served our school for nearly two decades. As the room fell into a saddened silence, the girl spoke:

“It’s not just about losing a football coach. I don’t mean to defend any regrettable actions at those riots—that should have never happened. But I understand the hurt. What we’re all upset about is that we feel like we’re losing everything. Everything around us seems to be falling apart.”

Maybe this isn’t how everyone feels about this situation, but it described exactly how I feel. It’s as though the world is against us even though we’re not against them. Our school is something great. We’re deeply affected by what happened to those boys and want to show that to the world but the only things that the media can focus on are the slip-ups because, after all, isn’t the negative what makes a great story?

It’s a small wonder that the media has taken our wonderful school’s “fall from grace” and splashed it across headlines and news reports. I saw an article on a news online homepage entitled “Penn State Victim’s Mother Speaks Out”. Can a headline get any more negative? Those poor boys’ lives were irrevocably damaged but not by Penn State; we are not the criminals. People see us as such precisely because of such headlines and we become angrier and sadder—more negative—as a result. It’s all a back and forth until everyone, students and non-students alike, can refocus on what really matters: the real victims.

As students, we’ve shown time and time again that we do care and right now we need to ignore the negative, work together as a family and not as a brand who only cares about reputation (as so many people assume we do) and to care for those who need it most in this terrible time.

The surveys in class kind of reaffirmed something I’ve suspected but never really gave serious thought to. This difference between the kinds of racism as associated with the different races is something to omnipresent yet almost taboo to talk about.

Based on the results, there does seem to be this key difference between the races and how they communicate their opinions, positive of negative, about other races. White people are quiet and careful of what they say (at least in certain company) whereas black people are often vocal about their opinions.

Something I found particularly interesting was the video Sam showed us in class about the road sign. Clearly, the sign (the one with the silhouetted “family” running) was not a regular road sign. The image depicted on it was suggestive, as Carlos Mencia implied, of a racial divide. Yet, the official with whom he spoke, a middle-aged white male, insisted against the blatant racism of the sign. I can say that my mouth literally dropped open when Mencia deceived the official into believing that he turned off the camera and asked him again who the sign was for, only for the official to respond, “wetbacks”. He waited until the ‘appropriate’ (I obviously use this term loosely) time in which to make racist comments. Had he known that he was still being filmed, he would have undoubtedly continued to any racial connection, let alone a prejudice, as represented in the road sign.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Sam showed the video in class of the black male who hated white people, essentially blamed them for all of the world’s problems, and consequently wanted the entire race “exterminated”. Again, I was shocked. This time, however, I was more shocked by the bluntness with which he man presented his opinion. The event was televised and it was in a courtroom where he was expressing a hatred for white people so deep that it led him to propose genocide.

Of course these are two extreme cases but they demonstrate the point. I think a lot of determining factors for both white and black people, when it comes to expressing their racist views, ties into the idea of “white guilt”. Due to the history between blacks and whites, at the very least in the United States, white people harbor this certain guilty feeling, along with a the keen social integration of political correctness that prevents them from openly expressing any complaints, so to speak, with black people. Likewise, and I don’t believe this is always the case, I think that African Americans sometimes take advantage of this guilt by using it as an opportunity to vocalize their own views of white people. After all, I don’t know too many white people who would confront a black person about “racist” white comments.

The whole class on racial was interesting and full of things that I had never heard of or thought I had encountered. This idea of racial labels, however, stuck out to me the most. As Sam presented this concept of labeling, when it is necessary versus unnecessary, and provided an example of each, I found myself questioning whether or not I heard this often. Do I do this? Do my friends or family use unnecessary labels? If so, are any of us even aware?

The issue of race has always been something that was present in my life. My group of friends back home is a diverse collection of many racial backgrounds. Though we would never really took notice of our racial differences (or at least we didn’t see it as a big deal), we would refer to each other via race when we needed to identify each other to other people. For example, if I was talking to my mom and asking if I could go to a friend’s house and she’d ask me who, I wouldn’t start by saying, “Oh, my Puerto Rican friend Natasha.” But sometimes, if my mom didn’t know who it was, I would have to provide more physical descriptors, hence the entrance of racial labeling.

This is similar to the example Sam gave in class for when it is necessary to use racial labeling. The issue in its entirety, however, is something I’m aware of as being a big issue. I had a friend in high school who frequently used racial signifiers when telling stories. In fact, she would drop any other identifiers entirely (e.g. name, height, age) and just refer to the people in her stories as “this black guy” or “this Asian chick”. Though I noticed that she did this and didn’t really see a point to it, I never questioned it as something bad. That was until I found out that she was extremely racist. This girl, barely sixteen years old, would degrade every race that wasn’t white. The funny thing was she was Mexican.

The point to that story is that I was completely unaware of her underlying hatred for races she deemed “inferior” and even “disgusting”. When I found out, I was shocked but curious as to why she felt this way. She gave me a variety of reasons: she had bad experiences with said races and besides, her parents didn’t like them so why should she?

Tying this back into Thursday’s class, I now think that perhaps people use these racial signifiers because of some experience they’ve had in their own life or perhaps it is a result of what they grew up hearing. Interestingly, I think there are people who don’t realize they use the identifiers and they may not intend to use them in a degrading fashion. For those people, this subconscious absorption of social behavior is interesting and telling. And for those who are aware of such behavior, does this border on racism? I’m interested in exploring these issues in classes to come.

Honestly, the video about the bike thieves didn’t shock me all that much. Sure, it seemed politically incorrect insofar that it was just plain racist and sexist, but the results didn’t entirely surprise me.

Actually, what surprises me more is the fact there are people who don’t think that race is an issue as our nation “progresses”. Granted, the United States has undoubtedly made progress in this area, as well as many others, but I can’t help but feel that people are somewhat ignorant about how far we have actually come.

I have had this conversation with peers before and many of them believe that race isn’t really an issue anymore. When I asked why they believed this, they responded that it was because they had never witnessed any racist encounters firsthand, either in high school or college. Basically, if they didn’t see it, it didn’t happen.

I don’t mean to bash anyone or imply that people are stupid or even ignorant, but I do think this is a huge issue that the video serves to only further demonstrate. Clearly, there was a distinction in the way that each “thief” was treated in the video, and we can’t just chalk that up to circumstance. One point that a student brought up in class after the viewing of the video was interesting: what if the experiment had include the same people witnessing both men and the woman committing the crime at different intervals?

At first, I thought the same thing. Some of the people could honestly be more committed to their civic duties than others but the number of people and the difference between the reactions among them was overwhelming. At least with a few of those people, there had to have been some preconceived notion or stereotype concerning race and gender that influenced their reactions.

Again, I wasn’t so surprised, as I’m sure not much of the class was, to see the reactions to the woman stealing the bike. As a female, however, I have mixed feelings about it. It’s nice to know that we could use our sex to our advantage but to know that women do actually do this makes me reflect on how that might make us look. Not only does it reinforce certain stereotypes (i.e. the damsel in distress), therefore making us look like the weaker sex, but it also causes me to question the sense of morality some of these men possess. There were people who actually HELPED her steal the bike knowing full well that she was not the owner. Perfectly aware of the crime, the men aided her in the process without a second thought. So now this is not only reflecting poorly on women but also on the image of men. Will a guy really help commit a crime for a pretty girl? That seems a bit extreme.

All in all, the video was an eye-opening reassessment of important issues that many of us assumed to be solved.

When I found out that we would learn about Haiti in this class, I wondered why it was that sociology professors chose this country for students to focus on. Granted, I did only have on other sociology class, and therefore only one other professor who was fixated on the impoverished nation. We were even assigned the book Mountains Beyond Mountains by Dr. Paul Farmer, a man committed to bettering the health issues of Haiti. While I found the book interesting enough and the problems dire enough, I didn’t feel like I knew enough about Haiti to understand what was really going on.

After watching the videos on this site, however, I can finally begin to comprehend the interest people take in Haiti. Like I said before, I read a book on Haiti and while it was interesting, it wasn’t the same as seeing these people and learning about what they aspire to be and do as well as the efficiency at which they perform without tools they are unable to afford.

The first video I watched was about the seamstress extraordinaire, Cloren Blaise. It was amazing to see how good she was at her trade, despite having to work with old, outdated machines. Even more surprising was the fact that Cloren did not have access to some machines that we’ve had in the U.S. for thirty years or more.

The second video I saw, about a woman named Sonia Joseph, was perhaps even more astounding. She produced quality bags, lunchboxes and even luggage sets all using a single, outdated sewing machine. I felt that though it is impossible to fully relate to her situation, a lot of people may feel inspired by the hard work she does to support so many of her family members.

Another woman, Figaro Louis, is forced to run her bakery shop without simple appliances like a blender or a mixer. And yet, she travels throughout the day, every day, in an effort to keep her business going strong. Even more admirable, she wants to expand on her business in order to employ more Haitians like her, all while paying her children’s tuition and taking care of her ill husband.

All of these people, along with many other Haitians like them, work hard every day to support themselves and family members. Many of them hope for a change in Haiti that will make things better for them. It is amazing to know that they struggle due to a lack of access to the simplest of resources. These are small issues that plague the nation; issues that we in the United States never even think about.

I suppose before learning about these individuals, I was rather ignorant about Haitian problems. I was aware of these tribulations, but it was still something that was along the lines of “out of sight, out of mind”. Now, however, I feel that it’s important to not only get to know these people, but to help them make a better life for them and the ones they love. That being said, I want to brainstorm ideas with my group about how we might be able to help them. Whether we all collect donations/donate money, send over the necessary tools they need, or even put together care packages, we need to do something. I look forward to discussing this with my group and hearing what they have to say.

Like many other people, there were multiple factors playing into the reason I chose to come to Penn State. However, I find this question particularly interesting because social status and race were not really things I thought anyone considered when choosing their school.

I grew up in a small town and went to small high school. When I say small, I don’t mean there were only two-hundred graduating seniors each year. I mean there were only fifty. At least in my graduating class (there were even fewer the following year). It was tiny. So, as you can imagine, everyone in the school knew each other. This may sound like a friendly environment to be a part of; the kind everyone would want to be a part of. But when everyone knows you, there is no way to escape the fact that everyone will know about everything you do, regardless of whether or not it is their business. So that’s one reason I chose to come to Penn State: it was not my old high school.

I suppose another big factor was connection. Not so much personal connections at the school as the connections my family had to the state of Pennsylvania. Because my dad was in the military, I grew up overseas and hadn’t ever considered any state to be my home. However, we were technically residents of Pennsylvania and this meant I would get in-state tuition and make my dad happy at the same time (he’s always been a huge fan of our football team). What more could I ask for?

All of that aside, I still had my doubts about coming to Penn State. I had never seen it and had to rely on others’ opinions and experiences to tell me if I would like it. Of course, knowing nothing about it also made it kind of exciting. I didn’t have any set expectations; it would just have to be able to give me a good college experience. Needless to say, the school exceeded what I could have hoped for once I actually got here.

I guess you could say that my choice to come to Penn State was somewhat spontaneous, although there were thought-out reasons for coming. Luckily, I had the kind of parents that were just happy that I decided to college. I never felt pressure to choose one thing or another.
I thought a lot about my options before finally deciding to come here.

I never once thought to myself about what kind of people attended the school though. Although I’m sure it happens, I can’t imagine that people decide on schools based on how many people of a certain race attend. Nor can I believe that some people consider themselves “above” or “too good for” our school.

I feel that in order to answer this question I need to very briefly explain my background just a little bit.

My father joined the military when he was twenty-two years old and if anyone is familiar with how the military operates then they may have heard of the term “Army brat”. Of course, this applies specifically to children in families with one or both parents serving (or served in the past) as an active-duty soldiers for that specific branch of the United States military. The life of the Army brat isn’t always an easy one but I must say that one of the perks of being involved in such a lifestyle is the diversity I have encountered.

When I was only six months old, my father was stationed across the ocean and I wouldn’t return to the U.S. until about 18 years later. Not surprisingly, being in a military family, I went to a military-funded school (no, not a military school with uniforms and combat boots). There, I met all kinds of people from all over the world.

At this point, all of that seems to be somewhat of a tangent. However, I give all of this background information in order to illustrate the fact that since I have encountered a diverse group of people for nearly the entirety of my life, it is no surprise that I have also witnessed interracial couples. In fact, until I was asked the question in class, I never gave mixed couples a second thought.

Of course, I knew that were people who were against it. Two of my absolute best friends, a white male and black female, began dating about two years ago. While all of their friends, me included, were psyched about it and the people of the community saw nothing wrong with it, he was forced to hide it from certain members of his family. His grandparents were vehemently against his dating anyone who wasn’t white. That was really the first time I witnessed such discrimination firsthand.

I am a Caucasian girl (or at least according to appearances) and I have dated two different African American guys in high school. Neither my friends nor my family ever gave it a second thought and so I just sort of deduced that it was natural to date anyone you were attracted to, despite the color of their skin.

Really, that’s what I think it all comes down to. I know some people have it engrained in their mind by family or society that they should be attracted to a certain type of person but I never saw it that way. I also understand that people are genuinely attracted to certain races over others so influence isn’t always necessarily the cause.

I have been attracted to guys of many different races and, like I said before, have dated outside of my race. But that doesn’t mean that I judge others who prefer to date inside of their own race. It’s all a matter or preference, I suppose.

Classification is such a complex and multi-layered issue.
Undeniably, everybody falls into a certain classification, whether it was determined by a friend, a family member, society or the people themselves. Really, in the type of world we live in, it’s impossible not to be categorized or catalogued into some area or position.

Personally, although I despise being labeled in many aspects, I find that I categorize myself in a number of ways. Firstly, I identify with my gender as a female and, like the majority, follow the societal expectations that come with being a girl. There are times, of course, when I gripe about having to reach a certain level of aesthetic appeal because there is, in our society, a pressure to look a certain way. However, I will admit that these expectations can and do apply to both genders, albeit unequally.

Then there the question of ethnicity and race; another issue that ails me. My skin is white and I suppose you could say that I act like a “standard white” person (again, according to social expectations). Basing my racial or ethnic background according to these facts and my name-my first name is French and my last is distinctively English-one would assume that I was one hundred percent English, maybe with a little Irish or German mixed in. Sometimes I’ll even hear that I look Italian.

So naturally it would stun somebody to learn that I am, in fact, half Latina. The tricky part is deciding for myself whether or not it is worth it to correct people. As I said before, people will always classify you whether they are correct or not and I have no particular interest in any such labels. Nor do I identify with a particular religion or consider that to be anybody’s business but my own, so why should I care what anyone else thinks?

Of course, these kinds of self-conscious concerns are as inescapable as the labels that caused them. Thus, I find myself classifying my person as I see fit. Really, I think classification is about control. In class the other day, Sam asked everyone to list all of the sub-cultures they considered themselves to be a part of. People came up with a variety of different answers and it got me thinking about a question similar to this one: are we identified by the cultures we are part of? The simple answer would be yes. And yet I feel that not many people would be willing to admit that their lives are, in a sense, run by the people that define them.

This is the issue I have with classification. But I am no different than any other member of this society. I do know that, in a concrete sense, I identify as a female. But when you get into more abstract notions concerning this issue (e.g. identifying as part of your family, group of friends or society), things become a bit more convoluted.

So finally, I suppose the conclusion to this drawn-out answer is this: I classify myself in so many aspects that I am unable to list them all. However, I often wonder what a world without such categorizations would be like.