Being a black and Spanish male who grew up in a pretty diverse town, not much has changed after coming to Penn State and taking Soc 119. I grew up around white, black, Spanish, Asian, Indian, Arabian, and every other nationality and race you can think of. While I have always been tolerant of other races I think I have grown and matured more to the point I want to learn about them. I enjoy trying to gain insight on what others think and feel and how they deal with being either a majority or minority in different settings. I feel as though a lot of the subjects Sam introduced to us on race relations were fairly well known, but there were certain things that opened my eyes up a little bit. I found this to be especially true when Sam talked about the lessons on white people and how they felt during race relation discussions. It is a very uncomfortable discussion for white people and they have to sometimes compensate and censor how they feel in order not to offend other minorities. They even tend to fight among themselves on how they should feel towards others and I found that quite interesting. Overall I enjoyed the small discussion groups and talking to others on how they feel race relations has progressed over the years. Having a diverse group of strangers meet and discuss their opinions and learn from each other proved to be a great way to learn more about each other and ourselves. I am truly glad I got to experience this class and I recommend that every one who comes to Penn State should take this course to learn more about themselves and the cultures of those around them.

There is no way the riots would have been as big without the use of social media. It is the equivalent of trying to throw a huge party without making a Facebook event or tweeting about it to your hundreds of followers. Although I am sure most people were texting their friends about the potential of the riot before the events took place, I know personally I was following all the news and pictures on Twitter, which convinced me to go experience it first-hand. We live in a day and age where social media helps promote and pass ideas to large groups in seconds. When I tweet something with a #soc119 hashtag, I am bombarded with responses and opinions from classmates, peers, and even our professor, Sam himself. Although we could have texted all our friends to meet at Old Main, seeing in real time the pictures and reactions, even while the news reported on it, that is something special and unique for our generation. If you didn’t see all the Facebook statuses describing what was going on, or the tweets of everyone attending, would your interest have remained? Instead of watching CNN and listening to Dr. Phil telling us what we should do, we were able to get the opinions of our peers, friends, and family on what was taking place that night. Through the help of social media I knew exactly where to go, and a general idea of what was taking place at the time I descended downtown to view the riots myself. Although I do not agree with the rioters, I felt their anger. Reading through the Daily Collegian’s timeline on Twitter you could both read and see, from their twitpics, the chaos and confusion taking place as rioters flipped the news van to chants of “F#$k the Media!” This was followed by police in riot squad gear regaining control with tear gas, pepper spray, and brute force. It was a crazy scene that many of us witnessed up close and personal, and even those of us who did not got to see it from our friends point of views and pictures. Social media controls a good amount of each and every one of our lives. Unless you completely shut yourself out from it, these networking services will affect your life for better or worse. If it did not, why would future employers be so interested in accessing our accounts? These social networks we use now have the potential to make or break us in the business world, so it is important we monitor what we say or do now so more than ever. It takes just a second to make a huge mistake, followed by a posting of a picture or video, followed by public outcry against you. So while social media may bring us together, we must remember what we do together can potentially be seen by the world.

What a perfect question in light of the situation taking place at Penn State currently. I would like to be able to say I would do the right thing and if I did not feel comfortable doing something I would stand up against it and make sure that others knew what they were doing was wrong as well. I would like to say all of these things, but I cannot. Nobody is perfect. Not me, not you, not even Joe Paterno. We do not always make the right decisions, even when we know what we believe should be the right way to handle things. I would have to honestly say it depends on the situation, and the severity of it. If I see someone smoking inside a building, yes it will bother me and I know they are wrong, but no it does not mean I am going to go out of my way to criticize and take action against them. However, something as morally apprehensive and obscenely injustice as seeing or hearing a child being molested would cause me to do something. I have done some stupid things in my life, we all make mistakes, but certain things are incomprehensible to me. When something challenges your belief that we all deserve to be protected as human beings, then I believe theres no choice but to act. Could you watch a kid get jumped by four men? I could not, and I jumped in to protect him. Granted, I did have my friends backing me and helping, but I would like to think I would have stopped it even if I was alone. I have heard stories of businesses cheating on their tax forms and finding unethical ways to profit. Although those type of things go directly against my morals, unless I was in the situation I cannot say for a fact what I would do if I was a part of the company. As a business major I am taught that the ultimate goal is to make profits, but as a Smeal business major I am taught under the honor code and as a human I have my conscious and morals to deal with. Business ethics and human ethics carry two different weights though. My business morals carry a lot of weight, but they cannot compare to how I value human life. Seeing any one being harmed or even worse, killed, would cause an immediate response from me, no questions asked. I like to think there are still many others like me, that value human life over their own incentives, even in todays society. Even when our school officials allow their morals to be swept under in order to clear their name, I believe it is essential for us to prove that we as students not only care about our school, but are willing to stand up against it when they go against our morals.

As ethically “wrong” it is to hire illegal immigrants for cheaper labor, I still would do it. I am a business major. We learn that certain risks and sacrifices are necessary in order to achieve our goals. Honestly it would not bother me a bit that they were illegal as long as they work hard and are capable. Why would I not hire the most capable and cheapest employees to help run my business? That is not to say if I could find an American that was better at the job I would not hire them instead, but if they do the same work I am going for the cheaper of the two. Maybe it does not bother me as much because my mother immigrated here as a child. She came over here legally, but I still have the same compassion for all immigrants. I mean if it was us, would we want to be treated differently because we immigrated somewhere for a better life? What makes us better for being born in this country? We could just as easily have been born somewhere else and had to go through the same things millions of immigrants go through to become citizens of the United States. I rather hire an illegal immigrant that will work hard and stick with my company than an American citizen that will not. My only focus as a business owner is making money and happy employees. If I can do that best with American citizens, great, but if not I am willing to seek the help of other workers. More times than not, illegal immigrants are taking jobs that American citizens are not prepared or willing to commit to. So if I have a vacancy and someone willing to work there, who am I to judge how the work I need to get done is handled? I am one of those people that believe the ends justify the means. So as long as my bottom line is met, everything else was a necessary risk, casualty, etc. The only problem I have with illegal immigrants is if they are criminals. And that’s not just an immigrant thing; I believe all full-time criminals are unworthy of living among our society and those who do not help to benefit this country should leave. If the process of becoming a United States citizen was not damn near impossible, then maybe I would feel more sensitive to the situation, but it’s not like many of the illegal immigrants have not tried to become documented. In the end it comes down to the famous words of Method Man and the Wu Tang Clan, “cash rules everything around me,” so who am I to judge who helps me make it?

As a young black male trying to make it in corporate America, I know my race shapes my outlook on life and the world I live in. I know my every action is a reflection on both myself and my race. Although I am also half Spanish, most don’t see that side of me unless they know me so it’s not as prominent a factor. I know as a young black male there are certain things I can and can’t do in America. I realize that certain people will look at me in different ways depending on their upbringing and how I act towards them. I love white people and I’m cool with a lot of them, but at the same time I’m less likely to trust them at first. And that’s not saying I go around trusting every black person I meet because that is definitely not the case, but I feel as though a person of the same color is more likely to look out for me as opposed to the other way around. That’s not entirely correct of course and does not work in every instance, but it’s just the way my thought process works. I do not know if it’s completely because of my race or because of my family but I grew up with a sense of pride. The pride in myself that nobody can ever be better than me and it’s my job to prove it every day. I feel as though a lot of black people have that pride in them where they feel they want to be the best, even if they have to prove everyone else wrong to do so. I have experienced discrimination in my life, and I will admit that it helped me grow stronger and put a new outlook on life. I think once I became self aware, of who I am and what I am capable of, is when I truly took a better look into both my race and how it affects those around me. So I am more likely to hang out in the black crowd or sit in the black section, but that does not mean you won’t see me walking with a group of white friends or Hispanics. My best friends back home are a black kid, a Spanish kid, and a white kid. The white one is black on the inside but that’s besides the point, what I am saying is that no matter what race you are it is important to judge people on their character and not their skin color. My best friend here at school is not only white, but country white, and that is perfectly fine with me. So although our race may shape the way we look at others and how they look at us in this world, we ultimately make the decision on what impression we leave by the way we act.

I would like to start by saying I really enjoyed the article and found it interesting to see how we define happiness as opposed to how it changes for each of us. I like to think I am usually content and happy with my life, but at the same time I am always striving for more. The fourth point of the article stated that it is physically impossible to stay happy and I find that true. The high of the moment when you are feeling the happiest is replaced by the calm of your regular mood. More times than not I feel myself content with things, not really happy nor sad but just calm and taking everything in at the moment. Contrary to the article though, I constantly find myself on the pursuit of happiness, which I equate with success. The more successful I am in the things I try to accomplish, the happier I feel. At least until I set out on another goal, I’m content for the time being on what I have managed to do in my life. I do however, find it quite scary how much I realize possessions can control my mood as such the article pointed out, and how I quickly become bored of them and try to move on to the next thing. I say this as I stare at my iPhone 4 in disgust as I await the arrival of the iPhone 4S. Ok, maybe it’s not that bad, but at the same time I do find myself wanting some of the finer things in life, and certain possessions do make me happy. Even though that may be true about me, I still find the memories and experiences I make and have with others to be one of the most important contributors to my happiness. I know money can’t buy happiness, but I do believe friends and family can provide it. The happiest times of my life are the ones spent with loved ones. I also believe that the freedom of choice portion of the article holds a lot of merit. Not necessarily with the smaller choices we face in life, but the larger one’s such as where to live, who to date, or what career to pursue all tend to weigh on our minds of if we made the right decision and if we would be happier with another choice. Sometimes you just have to stick to what you believe will make you the happiest, and despite uncertainty you know what you like and what you feel will be best for you. I think the number one thing I take from this article is that everyone will have their ups and downs and no one can be happy every day, which I’ve always believed anyways. So when I see those people that are always overly-happy, I can tell them with a smile, it won’t last.

I’ve honestly thought about this question a few times in the past. I would have to say it would be a definite change from the usual for me. I am no stranger to gay people but at the same time I have never really been that close with a gay man. I have quite a few friends that are lesbians, even some here at Penn State, and we get along great and I enjoy the fact that we have similarities in taste and the way we act. A gay male however, is different because of a tendency to have more female-like characteristics. I have never been close friends with any gay males, but I am cool with a few and I have no problem chilling with them or partying with them. I just think it would be different sleeping near someone who was gay at first. I am obviously aware of the fact that as long as I explain to him I am straight than I would not have anything to worry about, but I do feel it would take a while for me to feel completely comfortable around him. I know every gay guy isn’t attracted to every male so I will not act like he will be hitting on me or anything, but at the same time it depends on the person too. As long as he is cool and respects my boundaries than I will be fine with sharing a room with him. I would also have to think about the whole him having a boyfriend situation, which would not necessarily bother me. As with any straight couple, as long as you’re not overly “passionate” in front of your roommate or planning to have sex while I am in the room, then it is a non-issue. I am a Christian but at the same time I do not see it as all gay people go to hell. I believe that people make choices and each has their own desires in life and that the only important this is that you believe in God as your savior. I am too far from perfect to judge others so I could never be angry at someone for their personal preferences. From my experiences with gay people in the past, I would have to say it would not be a problem at all as long as I made them feel comfortable and they did the same for me. I would be more concerned about the guy’s personality and cleanliness as opposed to their sexual preference. I have had great roommates in the past and I can not see any reason why the fact that mine would be gay would change that trend.

I believe this Haiti project is great for what this class is all about. Realizing problems and coming up with solutions. Reading some of these entrepreuner stories has inspired me and makes me want to make a change. Figaro’s story was truly touching. The work she puts in for her shop to maintain as well as to help out her family is nothing short of amazing. She lets nothing stop her. From traveling miles to take her kids to school or to get supplies for her bake shop, she does it all. Haiti needs entrepeneurs and hard workers like her to bring it out of the poverty stricken position it is in now. I believe the only people that can fix the country are the ones living in it. It will take a lot of work and dedication, but people like these will help make it happen. I also read about Clorene Blaise, who is a semstress that works with a small team to make clothing and apparel for many businesses. Although she does fairly well for herself, with up to date technology and funding, she would be able to bring all her dreams to life in her career. In America, we start businesses every day and small market places become franchises in a few years. The resources and technology greatly benefit us and allow us to be a step ahead of other markets in various countries. If Haiti were to get some of these benefits, then they too would be able to take their businesses to the “next level.”

Well this is awkward... I owe you an apology then I was quick to jump to conclusions. I misread your tone and didn't see the sarcasm in it. And I have no idea why I assumed you were a guy, but again I'm sorry. I guess I've just seen too many people who actually believe these stereotypes to realize there are many that do not.

Why did you choose Penn State? It’s a question we’ve heard a million times and we all have a quick response that we’ve told people over and over again. I chose Penn State for plenty of reasons. The first and probably most important is they accepted me, the second being the money. Even though Penn State is quite expensive and a lack of a scholarship from the school has me and my mom taking out loans, in-state tuition is far cheaper than going to a school out of state. The next big thing for me was the distance factor. I wanted a school that was far enough away from home that I felt I could be independent, and the three hour drive from State College to the Lehigh Valley provides that. At the same time I did not want to feel too far away, so if need be I could make my way home as I see fit. As for the school itself, I loved Penn State for its weather conditions. Ok I lied, I hate the weather here, but I do love Penn State for its pride. When I’m screaming out “We Are” defiantly on the streets, I’m making a statement that all of us together make up something greater than ourselves, we connect as one. I’m a very prideful person, so being able to take pride in my school along with my peers is very important to me. The Penn State brand is something to be proud of, there’s a rich history to our school. The fact that Penn State offers one of the largest alumni associations and that that can have a potential impact on my future career played a huge role in getting me to come here. When I graduate in three years, I want to be able to say I’m one step closer to starting my career in the field of my choice. The Smeal College of Business ultimately won me over being one of the top business schools in the country. I know with an education through Smeal, many opportunities will be open to me and it’ll be solely up to me how far I can go in my career. At first I was a little worried about how I would fit in with Penn State being such a large school and all. My high school was not small by any means, I graduated with a class of 500, but it still did not compare to this. I visited for a weekend during the Achiever’s weekend and realized how friendly the students are here and how easily it is to fit in or stand out, depending on you. I chose Penn State because it offers everything I need in a college.