Tuesday’s class left me in a very confused state. In some ways, Sam’s words and tactics really revoked anger from me. On the contraire, being put in the eyes of an Islamic person helped me see the issues from another perspective. I really wish Sam had separated the issue of the war verses being an Islamic person more. I think a lot of my anger came from his choice words surrounding the war alone. Some of these words that angered me were “it’s only about oil”. First I will talk just about the war talk in class, and then I will address the Islamic issue in class.
On September 11th my mother was in NYC a near block away from the towers. She had her heels off and was running. She was also a flight attendant. At this point, I largely supported the war. I felt at my young age someone should be held accountable. At this point too, I’d like to point out that most Americans supported the war as well. Many years later, as the war continues, I no longer support the wars. This is the case for most Americans as well. However, I know an issue that I was passionate during the last elections was that Obama said he wanted to have the troops out in a relatively short time if elected. Well, he has been elected and the promised time has passed. I think as an American that this says to me that the war has bigger issues surrounding it. I see it as a necessary war however because of how far invested we are in it and how bad it would be if we left now. I know this a bold claim but from every article I have read in the past 4 years, the actions and events in the Middle East support this. This brings me to saying why Sam’s comment upset me. I agree that oil plays a huge role in this war but I can not believe he stood up there and preached that it is JUST about oil. I cannot believe he played a clip of Sarah Palin and made fun of her saying the solder’s are serving god. Honestly, as a Christian I know what she meant although in the video I too felt it was carried off an ill way.
Although I had a hard time seeing the perspective Sam had on “it’s just the oil” I do see his perspective on being Islamic—I’m glad he related the two cultures more and pointed out how similar we truly are. I think this opened numerous people’s eyes, including mine. The video on the soldiers running over civilian’s cars really upset me. I do think that the actions of a few can ruin it for everyone. I’m sure with being a solider in the Middle East some get power trips and make bad choices. However, there are definitely more soilders over there doing the right thing than those not. I would hope the bad choices made by a few would decrease because I do understand how this makes us Americans look.

I was very surprised to hear Sam say that he swears on his mom’s life that someone in my immediate close family has been sexually abused. In fact, I was one of the people in class with my mouth dropped and somewhat in disgust. Not because they were abused but how sure Sam was and how shocking that was to me.
I didn’t really partially believe him so I started researching. I found out, according to the Rape, Abuse, and incest national network that 1 out of every 6 American women have been victims to sexual assault or rape. It also says that in terms of children that 15% of sexual assault and rape It reports that each year about 213,000 people are victims of sexual assault. This is a large number of people and is really alarming. I think a lot of the facts brought up in the scandal have had a lot of connection to the fact that Penn State’s football program feels almost like a family and that the intense connection could be connected to why people stayed silent or didn’t expect it. The amount of people in class who voted on the pole that they would support a family member that committed a terrible crime was very high and further articulates this thought.
I really could never seen anyone in my family being sexually abused. The initial reaction was my mouth to drop; I was almost offended that Sam said it. Then I really started to get into thinking about it. My dad had an awful childhood with an abusive father—although I never heard anything of sexual abuse, could it have been possible? I’m not sure and it almost is painful to think about which leads me to my concluding point.
I feel strongly while writing this post that the reason it is so difficult to think about or discuss is because it currently in society is not talked about out loud. People don’t have conversation on sexual abuse as often as they should but most particularly don’t have conversations about child sexual abuse. If more people discussed it on a normal basis, maybe it would increase awareness. With the increased awareness people would not have to hide or feel ashamed. This ultimately could lead to a decrease in the statistics. I hope that when I have a family we can be very open with each other about these issues to protect and support on another.

I think in light of recent events, the world as a whole has viewed me negatively as a student here at Penn State. I also think this is wrong; I believe actions of our student body as a whole have been moving yet were jaded by the actions of a select few.
When this story first broke out I was shocked but I don’t think I understood the magnitude of the events. The first I heard of it was on twitter through a news article; I didn’t even know who Sandusky was at the time. Reading more and more put a heavier burden on my heart. It sickened me to hear of the offenses he committed
I remember reading my acceptance letter to pen state; one of the parts that largely stuck out to me was the mass amounts of people who come attend and graduate from Penn state. For this reason, by merely being here we are part of this Penn State family and community…we all possess a love for this school and the endless possibilities we all have together.
The recent events have portrayed us poorly. I was watching ESPN the morning after the riots, and they interviewed two boys. The first was very articulate about why most of us were rioting—the same reason I was—which was to protest the actions of Penn State’s Board of Trustees. With the second comment, the comment of the first boy was completely discounted because of the second commentator’s negligence to the real facts and truths of the situation.
As a community as a whole the riot quickly became something terrible for Penn State students of Wednesday. Quickly it turned violent, which was counterproductive to the actual hopes of the student body.
Joe Paterno helped to build our school, so for us to destroy it we just looked like a bunch of cowards and idiots to the outside world. To those who don’t know Joe Paterno---which many do not—we look even worse. We look like we are justifying the extremely wrong actions of the actual committer. I know yesterday in class that Sam’s wife said such a great comment to sum up my thoughts about this question---she said imagine how the Muslims feel. How the actions of a few make us American’s as a whole fearful of them and almost in a sense generalize them as a whole.
We as Penn Staters were negatively portrayed to the rest of the world I feel mostly because they will never feel the way we do. We feel enraged, hurt, and sad. To others not apart of this bigger cause they may be confused, yet I think it is with ignorance that these opinions come by.

The question of White’s becoming a minority in the next 20 years was not answered in class for a reason; in my opinion it’s because it’s hard to word how someone who is white would feel about this. In all honesty the feeling I can most identify with is fear.
Fear was a word hard to come up because in a way I’m ashamed. I think from taking this class I’ve already conformed my thinking slightly with trying to be way more accepting of others; however, I feel like I’m fearful because of what I’m used to. I grew up surrounded by many white people and didn’t have to give much thought to being different or standing out. It is much easier to blend in than stand out in any situations, but especially in terms of skin color and race.
The reason I think I chose the feeling of fear is from my experiences the previous year in South Africa. South Africa went through an apartheid that ended in 1994 and the effects are still so serious and were relevant to me during my visit there was the world cup. My family has been to the last two world cups, which were in Germany and in South Africa. One of the highlights of our trip in Germany was going to the fan parks—which were a collaboration of fans from all over the world at a big soccer fest.
Since we had such a good experience in Germany, we expected the same in South Africa. We stayed in a house of a local resident and the weekly few included the service of their maid. Her name was Deli, and she told us a lot about the current culture in South Africa and how the small white minority ruled and had authority over the prominent black majority. This shows a reason for fear, for the possibility of a new social structure.
Also while in South Africa, we attempted to go to a fan park. While there, the white majority warned us of certain “black” areas. This was odd to my family and I, however when we walked through certain areas, the looks didn’t lie. I don’t think any of the people native to these areas were racist necessarily but the looks we got did not lie. We stood out and were recognized easily in crowds because of our skin color. Being that this is the only time I can remember being a blatant minority correlates why I associate the change of white being a minority with fear. I believe that because race relations that some of the looks were created from feelings or oppression by the white ruling minority in South Africa.

The stages of racial identity were a very interesting lecture last class. It was so funny watching different people at different stages decide who to sit next to or what to say in response to the “Mexicans at McDonald’s” example.
I believe when I started this course I was at the very beginning of stage two. At stage two,
We begin to see them and us and begin to think about white culture and being white. I think I was at this stage when I came to school at the beginning of last year. My high school was not very diverse in terms of ethnicity, race, and skin color alone. I believe when I got here that I was, like the guest lecturer said on Tuesday, “pushed into” stage two. I started to notice that people hang out with people who look like them. In East I remember studying in the commons and walking past certain areas; one a circle of Asians, one a circle of blacks, and one a circle of whites. Obviously there are more groups that that but it really showed me straight up that there is an “’us” and a “them”. I saw first hand that there is most definitely a division but in a sense I felt like it was partially something I had very little control over. It seemed part of the nature of the beast, even though through this class I now know it is much broader. This could be why I believe being in this class that I have now moved to the latest stages of stage two and possibly in the earliest parts of stage three.
In stage three, we fully explore racial inequality, white privilege, and racism. I think since being in this class I have done this. In terms of racial inequality, I think talking to people in discussion group who have experience different experiences than I have shown me and taught me more about the inequalities. In terms of “white privilege” I know I definitely think about it more now than I did in high school. In high school, almost everyone was white so no one really had that “privilege”. Now that I think I am headed more towards stage three, I see that being white and “privileged” sometimes advantages me. For example, one class we learned about job applicants with the same exact resumes and different names/races and how the white applicants had an automatic advantage by race/skin color alone. Now knowing this---hearing this in class—Opened my eyes to the absolute white privilege that exists today. Another component of this stage is political correctness police. I know I definitely do this currently. and often. The story closest to right now is the other night at DP dough. My roommate and I were there after going out at night. She was talking to a black male who kept calling her “my n****”. Soon she called him it back because he said it was okay and they were good friends. Another black female sat down next to me who I didn’t know, but we made casual conversation and became friendly. She overheard my roommate talking with her friend, using the n word. She was so offended and I immediately stepped in. I tried to explain the intention of my roommate and how it was still wrong.

This has to be one of the most interesting videos I've ever watched. It's one of those situations in which the whole time emotions and questions run through your brain. For me personally, I thought the whole time about how fortunate I was to not be in their situation, but I also thought that this is probably the last way they would want me to think, as they are obviously very ambitious and inspirational girls. I also want to add that I really respect that they don’t do interviews, talk shows, reality television etc. This choice of theirs shows that they almost think in a free-will type of mannerism.
In terms of Freedom vs. Determinism, my beginning thoughts were all deterministic in alignment. The girls will never be able to have privacy because of how they were born. They had no choice to their body or choice to be this way. They COULD NOT SURVIVE without one another, which directly shows that they have no choice. There is no alternative to their life and it wasn’t their decision to have this life. They must work together in everything. I could not imagine having their life; they wake up in the morning in the same bed connected to each other. During the video I thought about sleeping in particular. The other night I was having a nightmare and my roommate woke up in the middle of the night at what seemingly was the same time I think I work up. In a way, it was like she could sense it. I think this is probably very similar to them like the doctor in the video mentions. They are very synchronous; yet with two brains if one were to have a nightmare, or be deeply troubled, would the other wake up? Would they ever have a choice? No is the answer. They will never have privacy or intimacy; they will constantly have to share everything they have and this is 100% determinism. Their life was predetermined and they have no choice.
On the side of Free will…their choice is how they deal with it. They will be pre-determined factors, like I mentioned above, that will not be changeable. I personally feel like there are more pre-determined factors than most other situations; but things like attitude, aspirations, and courage are aligned with free will. They have determination with their driving tests; they both have to take one and practice together yet consider it independent feats. They are determined to become mothers and experience motherhood. Just because it may be harder, more complicated, or achieved through non-traditional mechanisms. They use their free will to make the best of a pre-determined fate.

Alyssa and Chandler (the two girls asking the question) are actually two of my best friends and I actually find it funny that they asked this question. Being involved in Greek Life, it is a standard that girls dress a certain way, which most typically involves outfits of an uncomfortable nature. The first thing I want to address in this question is the component of comfortability.
To me, heels, dresses, and clothing of more of a "tight" nature are not by fault classified as uncomfortable. I grew up with a "girly" mother who dressed in these clothing, and played dress up with barbie clothiers, princess heels....anything of this nature. Even at church, I was expected in tights and a skirt or dress, not pants, to show respect. I believe in a sense I have been conditioned to feel like these clothing's are normal, and in a way I believe I have never found them uncomfortable. Actually, on the contrail, I have found I am most comfortable when "dressed up" and feel like I get the most attention in said clothing.
This point brings me to the second component of this question: a discussion of societies expectation of sex appeal. Like before mentioned, my mother dresses in a certain way which involves highs and tight clothing. Much like the media shows celebrities most typically associated with "girl" (ex. Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez) my mom has epitomized girl and been granted positive attention from this. As her daughter, I have noticed this and in return desired this attention, so dressed this way as well. I believe because of societies expectations and conditioning of what is "sexy" and "girly" that I feel prettiest or sexiest in heels and a tighter outfit.
I don't find this to be a bad thing either. Due to expectations, I feel a certain outfit is sexy, however I know this goes deeper than just my point: expectations of sex appeal. Different people find different looks and outfits attractive. Some guys may look at a high in heels, tight clothing, and exposing clothing very sexy where as another guy may receive the same girl as trashy/slutty by a look alone.
The last point I'd like to address in this question is the counterargument of guys comfortability. Just because women are expected to wear heels does not mean that guys don't have expectations of themselves as well. In most cases, women expect men to be groomed and not extremely hairy. In lineation of the women's sacrifices of comfort, a hairless man is not typically normal. By societies assumptions of sex appeal, men most typically shave and groom themselves which goes against nature and i'm assuming can be uncomfortable.
I believe both sexes make scarifies and that no one sex has more of an "unfair advantage" when dealing with societal expectations.

The discussion on SAT scores connection to families income really sparked my interest due to my personal connection and experience with the SATs. In high school, I had a series of head/brain injuries within two months that left me mentally impaired; I was taken out of honors and ap courses and placed in "regular" courses, had difficulty focusing, memory issues, and was very concerned that I would not get into the same colleges that I had set my aim on prior to my injuries.
My parents had disposable income that was not only used on doctors, specialists, and therapists but also SAT tutors and college counselors. I was very fortunate to have all these people in my corner, but most particularly fortunate to have a family that knew about these resources, and most predominantly were able to afford them. It is obvious to me that not everyone was or is as fortunate.
The SAT is not a fair test. It tests your school or prep course's ability to test you how to take IT specifically. This is exemplified by the scoring and chances of the test; an example being the penalty or answering a question wrong versues just simply skipping it.
I believe that income plays a part because it is proven in a lot of cases, as neighbor affluence increases, the education levels of teachers and school funding directly correlates. These students are more aware of the SAT's and the importance they play in college admission processes than students in areas where it may not be as expected or assumed that they are going to college.
Money plays a huge factor into the decision of a student's aspirations; if there is no one in a student's life to fund college or sign off on their student loan, why would the student waste their time stressing about an SAT? It is my opinion that the SAT is not a fair determinate of a student's aptitude and that the correlation between the SAT and income is directly related to the student's lifestyle, schooling, and SAT preparation.

I disagreed with Sam the other day in class. He said that most people struggle to stay in the middle of a political and thinking spectrum; however, throughout high school I learned most people are more moderate leaning in views than extremely sided. I saw this proved in the clicker questions pole; “ what do you believe in, Free Will or Determinism?” The pole showed most people picked C than the extreme right of left.
I personally believe in a little bit of both;however, I lean more towards free will than determinism. The reason I believe in Free will is because of my dad. My father grew up in Ohio with an alcoholic father and depressed/bipolar mother. Their family had seven members and had no income. He was never expected to go to college or make anything of him self. In terms of “determinism” it was predetermined he would shrub to a nothing; there was no one routing him on or encouraging him. However this was not what he decided to accept. He used his free will…his ability to work three jobs and to study harder than everyone. He graduated with mediocre grades and paid his way through college.
In college, he met people more determined than him draws motivated and encouraged to pursue what HE wanted. With that being said he used his free will to go to med-school work hard, and become one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the country.
He graduated with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debit, and has worked hard to pay it all back, even to this very day. This shows that although many people do have bad circumstances that inhibit them. However, how many times do we see people rise above? Think of any episode of Oprah…it is always stories of people rising above. That is why I believe it is possible to overcome situations.
Sam said in class “What would I do if I lost my job, because of circumstances outside of me” in reference to determinism. I believe that the issue with determinism is expectations.
Sam obviously worked hard to get where is in life; with a degree and teaching as a professor. If he lost his job, that would suck. The hard part is, it would be quite difficult to find another job. HOWEVER that is not to say he could not find one at all. Should his family need immediate income, he absolutely could get in a minimum wage position.
I know for me personally when I was looking for jobs this summer, that I had difficultly finding one I would want. It is all about effort though. I applied for 19 jobs, interviewed for 5 and got 4 of them. I had the ability to pick where I wanted to work and although it wasn’t my dream job, I was able to get immediate income and continue to look for another job. I know people have some accepts of their lives that are pre-determined but you need to remember to rise above and make something of yourself should you need to.

When asked about my heritage or what "I am" I 100%of the time am quick to say I'm Greek. I honestly never really thought of my heritage in the context of this question before; specifically...Why do we say another nation? Why CANT we just say American? My personal answer to this is because unless you are Native American technically, like Sam said, we're all just living on stolen land. I guess my main ponder when asked this question is why do I say Greek? Why is American not my first response? After all, I have American Flags on my walls, no Greek (although there are an ample amounts of pictures hanging OF Greece physically). Analyzing my own actions I believe it is because of how I grew up. I grew up in a very "greek" family. From the day I was born I was at church in the Orthodox setting, amongst people who slept, bred , and lived out "greek" ideals and mannerisms. In fact, because my father wasn't Greek and my mother was I was always "half" Greek or 50% Greek....why did I have to announce this to the other kids at Sunday school?That's something I've never really thought about. So to get back to the real question at hand, I feel that I say Greece and Greek as my heritage, that its something "different" and out of the norm. As Americans, generally we try to be hipper, cooler, trendier than the next person (in general, always exceptions). So maybe I say it in a subconscious undertone that I'd hope someone would find it as different or cool as I do. However, it definitely is something that i'm beyond proud of. I know my grandparents struggles and attempts at a better life, and it's something I respect. Therefore, maybe I say that as respects to them. Most importantly, America in general is so great because of the assimilation of many cultures. As i'm sure many have heard there is an analogy for cultures: a fondue pot or a salad. Aka, assimilation or uniqueness in terms of cultures, traditions, and societal norms. In America, we say we are from other countries because we are proud of our ancestors for creating a new and better life. However, I think over time more and more people will start to say they are America, and not first or second generation in this "NEW" country. Most countries, like Greece have had immigrants for centuries before the first settlers arrived in American. Therefore, it is my belief that with time more people will start saying they are just...American. And yes, thats more than good enough.