en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/5375230 Comments by JustinaEskaf http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/07/voices-from-the-classroom-220/#IDComment514938473 I agree, they are creating a negative image upon them selves especially with signs they made. If I was a Mexican I would get offended and find it just immature for a group of girls to put a picture up on the internet to have that picture represent them. Sororities are suppose to be made for a good cause. and is suppose to represent good. Many girls who come to college first thing they want to do is join a sonority, but if I was a parent I would not want my daughter to partake in a group that is supporting marijuana. It should be the opposite, they should set an example of no marijuana. It is a shame that this received world media, and made Penn State look bad. Penn State has gone through enough and is doing its best to gain back the respect it lost. The last thing our school needs is negative media. Mon, 10 Dec 2012 04:19:27 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/07/voices-from-the-classroom-220/#IDComment514938473 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/07/voices-from-the-classroom-224/#IDComment514687979 Sociology 119 has definitely been the most eye-opening, honest, informative, and unusual class I have ever taken.It also made me realize my own views on these topics on another level than I ever envisioned. Coming in to this class, I didn’t know what to expect; we covered topics of race, identity, gender, love and more. This class covered topics that I would never imagine would ever be covered in class. Sam really did a good job keeping the attention of 700 plus students. My favorite part of this class was my group discussion section; I enjoyed meeting new people and becoming close with everyone and talking about the former classes. It was a chance to meet new people and listen to their opinions. Each group discussion I took something new and meet great friendship. It is hard especially in class of 700 plus students to meet each other and make friends. My favorite part was especially raising money for Haiti. My group did a very good job raising money we all came together, made a plan, followed through the plan and made it come alive. We were all proud of ourselves that we were all able to raise money for Haiti. Everybody in my group has been really open and friendly, and I learned a lot about each one of them that I never would have expected. We talked about everything from judging people to the opposite sex to relationships. I was very comfortable with my group, and each person had a story to always tell. Another topic that I learned a lot about in this class; that it important to interact and socialize with new people especially people from different countries who come a different lifestyle then we do. As college students, one of the main reasons why we are in college is to graduate, to find a job and make money in our future. We will be working with people from all different countries; we need to understand people who come from that country and how it is important to learn about them. Altogether, I am very thankful that I decided to take this class this semester. It has definitely been an entertaining and a mind opening adventure. Overall, sociology 119 taught me a lot about our society that I never knew and maybe would have never known if I did not take this class. I was able to express myself and learn a lot about our society. After this class I am less judgmental than I was before, I realized everyone is a certain way for a reason and that is what makes this society so unique and different. Sun, 9 Dec 2012 20:00:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/07/voices-from-the-classroom-224/#IDComment514687979 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/01/voices-from-the-classroom-217/#IDComment508351007 I agree interracial dating is so difficult even in today's society, coming from a Arab background it is expected for Arabs to marry Arabs; when Arab girl dates a white male it is not accepted as quickly as a Arab women dating a Arab man or vice versa a Arab male dating a women from another race. I think this has a large part of not wanting to change the cultural of the race, but I believe if a person is so passionate about his/her race I don’t see what the problem is. I also think a lot people do not like to date someone from another race because they are afraid that people will judge and stare at them. It amazes me how much people are still judge when a person dates from another. Mon, 3 Dec 2012 04:12:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/01/voices-from-the-classroom-217/#IDComment508351007 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/01/voices-from-the-classroom-218/#IDComment508324756 I think it is true all women do dress up to for attention, whether it for gaining attention or losing attention women do dress up for the men gaze. Before, this lecture I never realized it, but every day as I get ready to go to school or to go out for night. I make sure I have clean clothes, and I match. Because I do get scared that men are going to make a judgment about my clothes not looking neat. And, there are times when I do dress up and wear my best clothes, because I am trying to impress the male glaze. However, at the same time I do dress down to detract the male gaze depending on how I feel and the mood of my day. The way I dress regardless where I go, I make sure I am not showing off to much cleavage or revealing too much. So again, I am dressing for the men glaze, when asking the question what type of people are you trying to attract the obvious answer is men because that’s who I would want attention from because I am attracted to men. To me it is important to dress a little conservative only because I don’t want men to look at me in a negative way. The way I dress is to catch the male gaze, is for men to look at me for my style and not want to talk to me because I am dress showing a little too much skin. There are times when I said bumming it to class because I am not trying to impress anyone; but this made me think I don’t want to impress anyone; however I am trying not to gain any attention from the male gaze. In class, Sam brought up four girls and asked the class who do you think is dressed up for the male gaze. Within the group of girls, one girl was dressed in yoga pants and sweater. The second and third were both wearing a hijab. The forth woman was dressed in jeans and t-shirt showing off her style. When asking the class, the class all answered the woman. The majority of the class chose the girl who was wearing hijab because she was dressed in style from her hijab to her attire it was well matched and she added accessories to make it her own style. It is traditional in the Muslim religion for women to wear hijab because they want males to look a women face and for her personality. In some countries such as Iran, it is the law for women to wear a hi-jab. One of the reasons is to repel the male gaze so again women are dressing for the male gaze because they don’t want men to look at them in a negative way. Overall, I think female do dress every day for the male, and their main goal is for attraction whether it’s negative or positive. I really enjoyed this lecture and it opened my eyes to many things when it comes to the male gaze. This lecture was really empowering and fun to listen too. Mon, 3 Dec 2012 03:36:02 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/12/01/voices-from-the-classroom-218/#IDComment508324756 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-211/#IDComment494642828 I would have to disagree, Sam did not want us to feel as if we were informed. He wanted us to feel what it was like to be Arab Muslims. Arab Muslims who are living in the Middle East are facing many difficulties and going through very tough times. The war in Iraq and Afghanstain create a lot of problems and many families lost their home and family memebers. I really enjoyed this lecture and was glad that Sam did lecture on the Middle East. Many individuals are informed of what is going and have no clue that war is manily based off war. Mon, 19 Nov 2012 05:59:49 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-211/#IDComment494642828 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-211/#IDComment493868326 Todays, lecture was one of my favorite classes of the semester in that it really opened up a new perspective towards the Middle East; even though my family comes from the Middle East. I still have a hard time understanding what is going on in the Middle East and why it’s happening. Even though I am Middle Eastern I am minority of the Middle East because I am an Arab Christian.  Like many people in class, I found it extremely challenging to envision myself as an Arab Muslim. So much of what we learn about Islam in the media is negative and violent that it’s hard to picture ever taking their side. However, Sam’s did an amazing job of reversing the perspective of the lecture and pretend as though his students were Muslim, which allowed us students to see the other half of the side us being Arab Muslims. Even though I am Arab; you can ask me why is there war in Middle East and I would not be able to give you a straight answer. Sam, pointed out that one major reasons why we are in war with the Middle East is largely based on control of the world’s oil reserves. I don’t think its far that America can just go into war with another country to fight over oil control. Based off what I know America has a lot of oil that could be used in this country; however America just wants to save it. I do not know if this true or no; however the way I look at it is that creating a war for “oil” is horrible. Millions of innocent civilians are died to the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. I also really enjoyed when Sam compared radical Christianity to radical Islam. As Americans when we think of Christianity we usually don’t think of it as radical or violence that Christianity displays. But if we think back to what happened to Native Americans or Holocaust; majority of the people were Christian. However, the media does not show many cases of Christianity killings or terrorist groups, What stood out to me is that most Christians would be quick to defend their religion. To me with every religion there is good and bad, majority religion of America is Christianity, yet we have the highest murder crime compared to other countries. There is only a small portion of Muslims that agree with these radical views and actually practice them but as Americans we take the minority and apply the stereotypes. I also believe huge part of has to do with the attack of 911 and Osama Bin Laden. If, you speak with most Muslims majority of the muslims would say they hate Osama Bin Laden because he is a man that brought such negative images and thoughts to religion of Islam. Not that many people would ever think that or even believe it. Take the time one day and talk to some one of Islamic faith and asked them what they think of Osama Bin Laden. You will be surprised on what you hear and their reaction. Sun, 18 Nov 2012 06:28:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-211/#IDComment493868326 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/11/voices-from-the-classroom-207/#IDComment487548032 The immigration issue wil never be solved; there will be immigrations in this country forever as it stands. No matter what law gets passed or if every immigrant becomes legal that is living in this country there will be still be immigration. I do not believe that immigratins are hurting or helping us in any way, however I don't really think it is fair for immigrants to work with out paying taxes and still be able to attend school. If an immigrant goes to the hospital without any insurance they can get away without paying their medical bill. Children of immigration can come to public school, and get the same education. It does not really bother me about the immigration, it is always going to be in this country and never going to go way no matter what. Mon, 12 Nov 2012 00:47:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/11/voices-from-the-classroom-207/#IDComment487548032 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/11/voices-from-the-classroom-206/#IDComment487502995 I am Christian, and I do believe Jorge is doing the right thing; Jorge is helping people in the name of God. He is a devoted Christian and believes that part of Christianity is to give back and help others. Jorge was once an immigrant, he struggled as immigrant and went through a very hard time. Coming from a family where my father came to this country as a immigrant, hearing my father tell me stories about how hard it was to make it in this country and he spend days without eating I can relate to why Jorge wants to help he people. A major part of Christianity is to be selfless person and help everyone out; majority of Christians believe that as long as they try their hardest to help others they will be rewarded in the life of eternity. In the video Jorge, talked about how a lot of his money goes into the food, Jorge and his family stated how if they kept tracked on how much money that goes into the food. I believe that Jorge does not care about the money at all or about him self. It should a tour of his house and how they are living, If Jorge did not support his mom, brothers and sisters he could live a much better life have nice house, car or more material items. He comes home after a long day of work driving school buses and still cooks to prepare food for his people so they don't have go to bed hungry that night. Many people these days espically people in America care only about them self and forget about their past on how they struggled in life or who helped them. I can understand not everyone had a situation like Jorge however there has been one point in their lives where they have struggled and were in need of help, so I believe that it is important for everyone to take time in their life to help other people in need. It is also important to do it with love and not want anything in return back. The people in the video described Jorge has a God, Jorge stated that he reward are seeing each and every individual smile back at them. He does not want anything in return he just wants everyone to be healthy and not go to bed hungry. I do not like the way Sam described Christianity in this class, he did make it seem like Christian people or selfish, judging and or uninformed. It made it seem like Christians live in a box and only know what it going on inside that box. I was glad that Sam should this video though, It was very nice seeing a man who has so little still giving back to his people and not letting a day go by not letting them down. Sun, 11 Nov 2012 23:36:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/11/voices-from-the-classroom-206/#IDComment487502995 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480842796 I agree, empathy does play a crucial role, and it is always important to put yourselves in other shoes because you never no what might happen to you. The issue of rape is is major issue, that many people suppport or don't support. This topic is becoming a very big controversial issue. But, it is not as simple as that women who get raped and have to have an abortion deal with so much pain in their life. It is a bad memory that never goes away. Women who are often raped deal with pain for their whole entire life. It is by far the worse thing that happens to women. It replays in their mind everyday and they have a very time getting over it. Many girls are too ashamed to admit that they were raped and do not want to even report it because they are to embarrassed that they went through that situation. Young girls who get raped at the age of sixteen and do get pregnant, by a person they hate so much. Each time that mom will look into their child's eyes they will get flashback about the time they got raped. How will they be able to explain that to their child that they were raped and their father is a rapist. I believe that religion has a a lot to do with why this abortion is not okay. In many religions, they believe that that having a abortion is considered to be murder. Mon, 5 Nov 2012 06:00:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480842796 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480713720 I'am very glad that Sam brought up this topic in class. This is major issue that is going on this world, and its just not an American issue its an global issue. Every day all over the country women and young girls are getting raped. Taking away the innocence of millions of girls, living in America if a men raped a women thats automatic jail time in other countries if a women gets raped she looked down upon. This topic is becoming a very big controversial issue, I believe that religion has a a lot to do with why this abortion is not okay. In many religions, they believe that that having a abortion is considered to be murder. But, it is not as simple as that women who get raped and have to have an abortion deal with so much pain in their life. It is a bad memory that never goes away. Women who are often raped deal with pain for their whole entire life. This issue makes me especially angry since, I don’t have to imagine someone I know getting raped, I already know. It is by far the worse thing that happens to women. It replays in their mind everyday and they have a very time getting over it. Many girls are too ashamed to admit that they were raped and do not want to even report it because they are to embarrassed that they went through that situation. Young girls who get raped at the age of sixteen and do get pregnant, by a person they hate so much. Each time that mom will look into their child's eyes they will get flashback about the time they got raped. How will they be able to explain that to their child that they were raped and their father is a rapist. Any girl can get raped, if a girl got raped and had a baby that will impact their lives, they will not be able to go to college or go away to college, or even enjoy their youth like normal teenage girls should. Now, I don't fully agree on rape but I do support it when it comes to raping that a women does have the right to have an abortion if she gets raped. However, there are girls out their that should be more careful and make better decisions and be more careful what they do. But it is everyone personal choice, on what they should to their bodies. Having a child will change individuals life. If you don't support abortion, just think about the situation if it happens to you or your loved one, what would your response be. I think is very hard situation, and you can only judge if it happens to you or someone close to you. Mon, 5 Nov 2012 02:05:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-201/#IDComment480713720 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/25/voices-from-the-classroom-196/#IDComment475691028 I agree, i believe minorities have more harsh in this country including Africans Americans and people of color. I don't believe its fair to put implication on minorities. The world is changing and all minorities are adjusting to this country. Just take a look at campus, the school is filled with a lot minorities each changing the school. We work, go to school with minorities. Latent prejudiced needs to stop, it just making thing much worse than what they are. I don't think its fair for white people to get away with a lot versus minorities that live in this country. Mon, 29 Oct 2012 17:02:27 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/25/voices-from-the-classroom-196/#IDComment475691028 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/24/voices-from-the-classroom-193/#IDComment475170343 I think that alot of misinformation issues come from the media. I never really thought of it, mostly all the facts of belief i know ome from when I was young and the way I was taught. Tuesday lecture was a very shocking class, it opened my eyes up. A lot of of misinformation we hear is our belief systems that we tend believe is true. For example when Sam asked the question, what should you tell your child if they are lost in city. Surprising the answer was to go up to the first stranger you see. I would never in a million years expect that to be the answer, only because when we were younger we were always taught not to talk to strangers. There is alot of misinformation that we tend to believe, alot has to do with the media, and also the way we look. If you take two men a black men and white men , now the black men has the higher gpa but if you ask around and ask which one has the higher gpa, most likely everyone would say the white men. Even though the black men has the higher gpa score. Another topic Sam brought up was how 4 boys will go to the department store every week and and three boys where white and one boy was black. All the white boys will steal and black boy will not do anything but yet everyone was more suspicious over the black boy. Knowing that our beliefs are often formed through misinformation, it is easier to make a judgement a lot quicker based on what we see and believe think, which misleads and guides into wrong information. What I like about this class is that we are challenged to face different misconceptions we have about race and ethnicity. Living in a country with a lot of diversity this is an important topic to know and understand because often times, our beliefs of different types of races come from many misconceptions that should be cleared up. In many ways, these misconceptions cannot be cleared up until someone makes an effort to reach out and learn about different cultures and races. It is important to not only understand where our believes come from, but also teach others where theirs comes from too. This will help us be more aware and understanding about different cutlures and their belief system. Although this will take an extremely long time, we can try to make an effort, now knowing that our beliefs are not based on facts. Facts are knowledge while believing something is true can be the exact opposite. It is important to not make judgement and prejudice againt people who come from different races or backgrounds. Mon, 29 Oct 2012 00:06:12 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/24/voices-from-the-classroom-193/#IDComment475170343 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/18/voices-from-the-classroom-189/#IDComment469455268 I am too, a firm believer that working hard in life is what is going to make you a succesful person in life. However there many dererminisms and that shape and influence the change inequality which is not fair. We can not control the color of our skin, how were raised, where we grow up and many factors that shape us into the person we are today. Even though it might be harder for some people I still am a firm believer that working hard will help you succedd, every skin color as it advantages. Working hard will only help you. As a college student I made it this far in college and worked hard, and as the work keeps getting harder it is not stopping me, its only motivating me into becoming a better college student. Sun, 21 Oct 2012 22:52:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/18/voices-from-the-classroom-189/#IDComment469455268 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/18/voices-from-the-classroom-190/#IDComment469432766 The video we watched in class on Thursday, was showing an example of two young teenaged boys, who were the same age, wearing same clothing and also participating in the same event. The only main difference was one was black and the other boy was white. The video showed discrimination and racism was displayed in the video. The white boy who was doing the same thing as the black trying to steal bike got less attention then the black boy. The white boy who was their longer than the black boy did not have anyone really question him, take pictures or call the cops. The black boy on the other hand with in minutes people were standing around taking pictures of him and it even got to the point were a White man called the cops on the black boy for trying to steal the bike. I just it was not fair for the black boy to receive more negative attention than the white boy. I believe that a lot of these negative attention towards black comes from the media. for example in the media they are always showing blacks who are being arrested for theft, buts it very rare to see or watch it about whites stealing or committing theft. Another part of the video showed a women who was trying to steal the bike, which brought more attention, however instead of question the women what she's doing, the women was asked to receive help. The men in the video were happy to assist her in helping her steal the bike. The women was an attractive women who was wearing very little. Now, if if the women was dressed in more clothing and was not as attractive, I don't think she would of have received ask for help stealing the bike. There is a lot of racism and sexism that still occurs in this country. This video demonstrated it very clearly. A video that was hidden and a plan that was set-up worked very well. The black boy talked about how it hurts that he receive more attention than white boy for doing the exact same thing. Even though many do not admit to it or show it. The man who called the cops on the black boy said he would of done the same if he saw the white boy doing the same thing, but many people saw the white boy and not on person questioned him, stood next to him or called the cops. This is a major issue that still occurs in this country. This is an major issue that will be very hard to solve and will take a lot of time , because most people are doing it with out even knowing. Sun, 21 Oct 2012 22:07:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/18/voices-from-the-classroom-190/#IDComment469432766 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/10/voices-from-the-classroom-181/#IDComment463919641 I agree I am against war, but I do understand that it is going on. We do not give much accreditation to our troops who serve in the military many citizens do not value our troops or show them the respect they deserve. We are blessed to live in a country where it is not mandatory for men to go in the army and serve. One reason why I respect the military service, is because they choose to serve in military, and know the dangers that might happen to them. Citizens need to remember to take time to appreciate our military, they are here to help and protect us from harm. Mon, 15 Oct 2012 00:41:26 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/10/voices-from-the-classroom-181/#IDComment463919641 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/10/voices-from-the-classroom-180/#IDComment463728843 In this class lecture we talked about determinism and free will about how it determinism our choice in life, wealth, decisions, and how we advance in life. I believe that it is a fifty/fifty bewteen free will and determinism. Determinism is basically ceratin events, having connections, knowing the right people, having people such as family members help you and guide you. Free will is basically working in your own with out know help, getting to the top with having anyone help. I believe that you do need to have free will and free will is what going to make you get wealthy, live better life. If you want to live a good life its in your hands, we are living in a country of oppurtunity. My parents came to this country without barely knowing any English, had no educaton but worked in jobs that was hard work and paid very little. But they were determined they wanted to make a better living so they kept working hard and provided us with a good living. However, they did know people who helped them find jobs and just helped them get a push start in life. As students we made the choice to come to college and get a good education, however we have parents, decents schools that helped us become the individuals we are today. We might not think about it, but these factors are what helped us become better students. I still do think free will has a big part and in the clicker questions I answered free will, we are fully in control of our lives, and yes I do understand events and unexpected things happen in our lives which may be trageic or good experiences. I eblieve determinism is what gives us the extra push the head start in life, and the rest is Free will. Some individuals do get lucky, know the right people in life that allows them to get a good job, get into better colleges. However we control ourselves and most the decisions that are made. As, a college student I believe if it was wasn't for my parents supporting me and providing me with everything i need i would not be here in Penn State today. Even though my parents were not able to help me with my school work or did not always push me, I pushed my self and I wanted a better life for my self. Living on my on own I have 100% control in what I do, I can choose to go out instead of staying home and studying, I make free will choice to stay home to do school work so I can do good in school to help me open up more doors in life. Sun, 14 Oct 2012 17:46:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/10/voices-from-the-classroom-180/#IDComment463728843 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/07/voices-from-the-classroom-178/#IDComment457828340 I agree, to make in this country you must work hard and that will help you led into better connections which can help you becoming more wealthier. When Sam asked the class room if anyone in the class is rich no one raised their hand to or stood up to say their rich. However, we are all students in class room, many students may have parents are rich however that does not make them rich. I believe you are considered rich when you have worked hard to be where you are, and worked your way up the ladder. The reason why I believe many minorities choose to come to live in America is because they know that working hard in America will pay off. Mon, 8 Oct 2012 00:53:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/07/voices-from-the-classroom-178/#IDComment457828340 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/03/voices-from-the-classroom-176/#IDComment457214547 I was not surprised when I saw the average salary rate of income house hold for different racial groups in America. However, i was shocked when he said that the higher hispanics and blacks income of household raises the Whites and Asian income will raise as well. I think there are a lot of reason why this has happened, many hispanics and blacks come from one parent households, born into wedlocks, and live in bad neighborhoods. Many who have a hard time escaping and making a better living from them selves. However I believe that this is all changing, and many children in todays society and these kids want to better themselves but they are just having a hard time. Another reason what has a big influence in these numbers are motivation from parents, some parents do not care about their children future and just don't care what they do. This is wrong as parents it should be ever parent job to raise their children and make sure they children needs come first. Children who are brought up with parents who encouraging, motivating tend to much better in school, which led them to a better future. Many children who are born in poverty stay in poverty as well, many join gangs, drop out of high school, or simple just don't care. There is a cycle that hispanics and blacks that are keeping them there. Which makes it much harder for them to receive a better education, nutrition, and resources to that are necessary for children. In class Sam talked about over 15 million children in America go to bed in hunger each day, each day. When I saw and heard this it made me very anger, due to the large fact about how much food is thrown out in this country, with hispanics and blacks being the lowest income group, this could be a major reason why these children are still stuck in this cycle due to the reason they are not receiving enough nutrition each day. I just find it dumb that restaurants and stores do not donate their food that goes to waste to food banks or have it open to the people that are hungry. Another factor, is I believe that hispanics and blacks are still stereotypes to many employers in the work force, which makes it hard for them to find a job or get a high paying job compared to whites and asians, It makes me think if a Hispanic and Asian has the same exact job are they getting paid the same? Are asians getting paid more than hispanics?? Durning this lecture a lot crossed my mind and me think that different racial groups all have different than most. Sun, 7 Oct 2012 02:53:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/10/03/voices-from-the-classroom-176/#IDComment457214547 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-173/#IDComment452295314 In this exercise, Sam lined about fifth teen students from the class who from Asia, and students had to guess where there from. The students had a very difficult time distinguished the students from where they are from. The activity was hard, and the students where just taking random guesses where there from. Many people who are from Japan and get called Chinese, offended get offended and I don't blame them. I can understand that they do not do intentionally to offend the individual. However, it i believe it is more rude and inappropriate to make a judgment based off their appearance. Sun, 30 Sep 2012 18:44:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-173/#IDComment452295314 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-174/#IDComment452290315 Every religion has its own norms, and what is acceptable in every cultural. Living in America, many cultures & religions break out of their beliefs and traditions to fit in the American society. I believe shaving is a big deal in this country, because we to that having less hair is more attractive and is more sanitary. Many girls in elementary and middle school get made fun of for having facial hair such as uni-brow or upper lip hair. Young girls are going to the extreme these days to please everyone and not be made fun off. Due to the media has influenced many man and women that that only place it is acceptable to have hair is on your head and eyebrows. Many individuals are going to the extreme to be hair free, if you drive down the highway you will find many advertisements for laser hair removal, and many are willing to spend thousands of dollars to have these procedures done to their bodies. Not to mention these procedures are very painful, time consuming and dangerous. But yet, it does not stop anyone because they are willing to go through extremes to be hair free. I command the women from Ohio State for staying true to her religion and not letting society change what she believes in and what is beautiful in her eyes. The woman is often being confused for being a man but however that does not stop her and she stays true to herself. The man these days want a girl that they can show off and find no flaws within the girl. However everyone needs to understand that there are times in a girl or women time where she might not be able to shave, for example if the women got really sick or pregnant how is the woman going be able to shave. As, a women I believe that shaving is a priority and I will not show my legs or wear shorts if my legs have some hair on them. I go crazy when my eyebrows grow out or if my upper lip begins to grow. Spending hundreds of dollars, and going out my way to make sure my face has unnecessary hair. I wish I was able to be more like the girl from Ohio State and not care what people think about her. As women in this country we have to represent a certain image to fit society so we can walk down the streets and not have people look at us in a odd way. I believe if a women celebrity that is liked by most people walk the red carpet with hair on her legs will change many minds of man. I believe that a human you should do what you want to do and not what others want to see. Sun, 30 Sep 2012 18:34:02 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2012/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-174/#IDComment452290315