Of course, without a doubt, I believe the American dream still exists. But I feel as though you have to emphasize the word dream. The American dream is the idea that we all have a chance, not necessarily a fair one, in achieving that white picket fence, house, dog and wonderful leave it to beaver like family. The dream is still alive in many people’s minds. They still have the idea that by being in America they have many chances available to them that may not be accessible in other countries. Hundreds and thousands of immigrants come to America in the search to achieve this ideal dream. As an immigrant I feel as though they are aware that they are at a disadvantage. I am sure that everyone does not believe that they will have as many opportunities as everyone else.

Now how practical is the American dream? It is safe to say that everyone does not have a fair chance in reaching success. This is an example from the King of the Mountain analogy. There are people on the top and people that will trail behind. Your race is such an important factor in many of the areas that allow people to accomplish the American dream. A black male is more disadvantaged when it comes to getting a job. Without a job, how is he expected to care for a family and continue to create wealth? A Native American is more disadvantaged than their white counterpart in being able to get approved for a loan. Without that loan, how are they expected to find the funds to perchance a home of their own? Even though I believe that the American dream is still alive, I also believe that it will continue to be just a dream for many Americans.

One of the things I hate about America, is the some people truly naively believe that this is the country of opportunities, where everyone can succeed as long as they put their mind to it. At some point, there are factors out of your control that dictates the outcome of your life. Some of these factors may be the impact Affirmative Action had on our society or how the race on top is more likely to help people of the same race. When I think of my future, I do not think of attaining the American Dream. Instead I think about my own dreams. I know that there are factors against me in order to accomplish my goals, but that’s life. Life is not fair and sometimes there is nothing you can do about it but move on. As for the American Dream, I hope people realize how unbalanced American truly is.

I believe the last couple of weeks have been a learning experience for many Penn State students, including myself. One of the biggest lessons I learned was that the world is not as black and white as it may seem on the outside. Many people are quick to say that they would have done more, that they would have done everything in their power to stop Sandusky. However there are so many factors that come to play when people make decisions. In hindsight we can all say that we would have done something differently. More than anything this experience has taught me to be more of a critical thinker when dealing with situations like this. You can not judge a situation without knowing a lot of the details involved. Yes, I knew this before the scandal; the scandal just made me think about it more.

I love my school and I really feel the family atmosphere in coming here. So like mostly everyone else I was as heartbroken as others about the actions that occurred during the last couple of weeks. I understand that importance in recognizing the victims and I also realize that people now view our school differently. During this break I had to repeatedly defend my school to other people and many times I just stayed quiet. I was tired of the strong judgments of others, especially since they know so little about the case.

This scandal also made me more aware of sexual abuse. I know a handful of people in my life that have been sexually abused but I never considered that more people than I know have been. Sexual abuse is one of those situations that people do not talk much about. I know if someone told me they were sexually abused I usually stay quiet. I do not know what to say, if I should ask questions or what. I feel like a lot of people stay quiet about sexual abuse because they do not know what to say to the person to relate to their situation.

In light of this whole scandal I just hope that as a school we can move past such the negative attention. Hopefully the victims of the case will get the justice they deserve. I know that the next time I see anything on the media I am going to withhold my judgment because things aren’t as black and white as you may think. Things are complicated and more difficult to understand than what meets the naked eye. I know this scandal was a learning experience for me and hopefully to many other Penn Staters. Even though it is sad, sexual abuse happens everyday so hopefully this incident made that aware to many other students.

Why are we so quick to pass judgment? I feel as though this is a question that I have thought about more and more this past semester. I know personally I used to have a stance, and an opinion on a matter without knowing much about it. I would have my opinions that are often swayed how the media portrays a series of events or how I see it in my mind. But why? Why do so many of us formulate STRONG opinions on ideas and situations that we know very little about? It is interesting to me how people become experts in a situation because of one thing they heard. I think Sam put it best in our last class when he said situations are not black and white. Most of the actions committed by others have legitimate reasons that many of us may always be unaware of. Pertaining to recent events at Penn State, it is obvious that our school is receiving a lot of publicity on events that people do not know much about. They are judging the actions of the students and jumping to crazy conclusions. I understand that the ultimate question is why? But I think the answer is pretty simple. Many people are swayed so easily it is kind of sad. They hear one thing and automatically formulate a series of emotions. Very few people just stop, think about what they heard, read up on the events, then create EDUCATED opinions. The key word here is educated. So many of the opinions of others are not educated. I hate how emotional people as a whole are. They tend to hop on the bandwagon of emotion and ride all the way to judgment city.

When it comes to the law we begin to think that if that person even had the slight chance of committing such a heinous crime they should be ridiculed. I believe a lot of this comes from the fact of the media plays in the situation. A prime example is the Casey Anthony trial. It feels like almost everyone in the country thought she was guilty. Even though homicide is normal, since the media hyped the case the way they did, many people started to become connected to the headlines in the NY Times or brief clips the hear on CNN.

I feel like people as a whole are judgmental about everything though. Like if we see a guy or girl dressing our acting outside of the norm, many people’s first impression is to ridicule or talk about their behavior. Maybe even put them down for being different and far from the usual. We are a society built on conformity like many places. You are expected to act in a way that is seen as being normal. Anyone that is considered different is an outlier for that society.

I feel like Americans are not necessarily lazy but they hold higher standards when choosing jobs. Even though some of these jobs that employ immigrants pay good money, many people feel like they are too good to be in the fields picking cotton or fruits. I know I personally couldn’t see my job having a labor job. I am not fit to work in those conditions, which is the mind set of many people. Even though unemployment may be high people still may be picky about the jobs they take. Immigrants, or “Mexicans”, or less selective about the jobs they take. Many times immigrants come to America for the job opportunities and try to provide for their families back in their native land. When you are in this position any job is better than no job. Especially if you are making 10-15 dollars an hour, which is not bad for someone without a college degree Sometimes it annoys me when some Americans say that Mexicans are taking their jobs. I feel as though we all have equal chances in getting some of these jobs that are available. However there are Americans that really do not want some of these jobs that are available to them.
Many Americans have that elitist attitude and feel as though field work is beneath them. Like in the Connon O’Brien segment that we watched in class, when immigrants are doing these jobs there is no one else to do them. I do not think that a lot of Americans value work. They have these attitudes that they are entitled to better jobs. From hearing other people’s stories I think that immigrants feel as though they have more to prove. A lot of times people come to America by themselves and do not have much support. When your back is against the wall it is difficult to pick where you want to work and not settle for anywhere else. Well, I do not know if I would consider it settling because I am sure that many immigrants are just happy to have work. Especially as a male, your main priority should be to provide for their family by any means necessary. If that includes spending hours working in the sun, so be it. Because in the end of the day your family comes first. Think about it. The people that got here illegally took a lot of risk to get to America. They risked their life to come here, so once they are here they should do whatever is necessary to continue their mission. I am not saying that Americans do not have the same drive, but I think a lot of American families have less to lose. They can always try and collect unemployment or something.

I define racism as the belief that you are superior to another race. You believe that your race defines who you are as a person and therefore enables to demean other races for being below you. Or a person that talks down to other racists.

Have I experienced racism? Yes I have in different degrees. I know when I went to Pittsburgh Mills I was in Victoria Secret and one of the works constantly followed me around the store. This is predominately white mall and being as though I am black, I am singled out as being a potential “thief”. In one of my recent NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) meetings we were playing a similarity game. We made everyone stand up and then sit down when the category applied to him or her. When we asked them if them if they have ever been followed around in a store more than half of our members sat down. Going to Penn State you consider some time of prejudice or racism one time or another it feels like when you’re a minority. I know in my physics lab my lab partner is always dismissing my answers and I cannot help but think it’s a result of my race. She asks our other lab mate, who is Asian, to validate all of my answers even though they are right most of the time. However, she never validates his answers with me. She is Indian, I am black, and he is Asian.

Honestly, I have friends that act racist and I constantly have to tell them, well more specifically that one friend, that what she needs to think about what she says. A lot of racist comments she make are not meant to be malicious per say, well actually I do not know her intentions. I know one day my roommate was at her teacher’s office hours and another student said was talking to her friend. My roommate did not know the answer to one of the problems and the girl asked her friend why she did not know the answer. The girl’s friend replied, “well she is black.” This is a direct example of racism. Being a black engineer is somewhat difficult at times because you are usually the minority. As much as people say that they do not see race, many times your classmates treat you differently than people of other races. I definitely think being black you either witness or experience racism more often than many other races. Even though I feel like our country is moving in the right direction of eliminating racism it is still common in our everyday life. Hopefully I’ll be able to go to a “white” mall and shop in peace one day in the near future.

I do not believe hanging out with people of a race different than your own would make you a poser. Before coming to Penn State, the majority of my friends were black. I’m black as well, which was the dominant race of my high school. However, coming to Penn State I have groups of friends that are all white, groups of friends that are mostly black. When I hang out with my friends that are a different race than I am, I never consider myself a poser. I act the same way around them than I do my other friends. However when I am with them, I recognize a shift in the conversations and we are all aware that I’m “the black kid.” They will be quick to ask me how to dance, even though I’m a terrible dancer, and other things that are stereotypes of black people. I act the same way towards them when it comes to things, because we are comfortable enough with our race where we can make jokes. I never once considered myself a poser, because these are people I have fun with, connect with and are people that are in my major.

As a student at Penn State people will only have black friends if they are the type of people that like to stay in a shell and stick with their own race. I am a friend with people that I can consider my friend and race does not play a factor in my decision. Especially as an engineer, where the number of black students is probably 1%, you have to make friends of different races if you expect to pass your classes. A lot of times you need other students’ help and this helps to grow friendships.

I believe that if a black guy joins a white fraternity and he only likes white girls he is considered more of a poser. However, this could be a result of his upbringing. If he came from a predominately white high school then he is used to hanging out with people of a different race. Once he comes to Penn State he is not going to just change his preferences, he is going to continue with what he knows. He is by no means a sell out; he is just with what he knows. I do not believe hanging out with friends of races other than your own makes you a sell out. For black people, hanging out with people outside of your race is inevitable as you climb up the social ladder.

Honestly, I think hanging out with a diverse crowd is the best type of friends. I like when my Hispanic friends would make food from their culture. Or when my former Asian roommate made me eat dragon fruit for the first time. Diverse friends teach you more than a group of friends from one race could, because they come from different cultures.

As a black female I believe that my race does impact how I view the world. Sometimes I am harder on people of my own race because I feel as though we are representative over each other. Not as much now, but when I was younger I would be disappointed when people of my own race acted a certain race. I expected them to behave “correctly” per say because I felt like whatever they did would impact people’s views on me. I do not feel that way as much anymore but I am more critical of people my own race though. It is like a mother. She expects more out of her children than she would from some random child down the street.

I also believe as a black individual I feel more sympathy for people of different races. If I someone being discriminated against, I feel like it is my duty to intervene. Even though I personally wasn’t a part of the Civil Rights movement I feel like I am connected; therefore I am connected to many black people. However, I know other people that are hateful towards other people because of their race. When anything bad happens they want to “blame the white man for holding them down.” I do not share these views but it is common for many people. They use their race to justify many of their actions and blame the “white man” for their failures. I am aware that being black in America is not always easy but I try to remain optimistic about how things are. I feel as though as long as I am a qualified worker, I should get a job. I try to not let my race define me.

I believe being black changes how a view the world somewhat but I see the impact it has on others more. However, I know sometimes I try to avoid the stereotypes as much as possible. I am never late because I do not want to run on CP (colored people) time. Also I hate when my mom is loud and always tell her to calm down and that she is acting black. Even though it may not be the right thing to do. I am comfortable with my race and I never mind when a white or Asian person ask me about my hair or other things about my culture. However, some people get angry and defensive when they are approached with these questions.

People of the black community tend to want to band together. For example, there was a lot of rage from the black community resulting the Troy Davis case. I felt as though I did not know enough information to have input on the matter but many black people felt the need to back him up regardless of what they knew about the case. I feel like, being black makes you a part of a community.

I remember before I came to Penn State I went out but coming here I noticed that a lot more people dressed more promiscuous than I was accustomed to. They wear skimpy clothing throughout the year even when it is freezing outside. However, I started wearing clothing that was less than I ever done before. Why? I believe it comes from the fact that a lot of females would rather get the attention from males. No one wants to be that one friend that goes out wearing dress pants and looks like she just woke out of bed. However, I do not completely agree that males do not care about what they wear when they go out. I know plenty of males that take just as much time as I do getting dressed but they do not have skirts, or dresses that makes them look above and beyond any of the other males.

So why do females, me included do it? Honestly besides the attention I am not the biggest fan of clothes. Especially when I go to parties and it gets hot it is more beneficial to be wearing less. I am not excusing my clothing choices because of being comfortable because it would be easier to wear tennis shoes versus heels. But I want to look nice. And in college and today’s world, looking nice includes feminine apparel. Even though we are giving the males more to look at it, I think females have the power in the end. In a way we are a tease to many guys. Even though they may be attracted to us/what we are wearing we still have the power to tell them yes or no.

Also I think the fact that males initiate a lot of the interactions is why females dress promiscuous as well. Males pick which female they want to approach based off of looks for the most part. If you are considered unattractive or you look less put together than another female then you are less likely to be approached. No one wants to leave the party without having been approached by someone else. It makes them feel rejected. I feel like males also have a hard job because even though they may not have to spend as much time getting ready, they have to expose themselves “emotionally” more. Well they are the ones that have to go out on a limb and see if the female is interested.

In the end of the day I am probably going to continue to wear the clothes I do. I make sure I’m dressed in a way that my mom would not be disappointed but I enjoy dressing up. And with a lot of females you are dressing in competition with your friends and not necessarily for the males. I guess this is how it is in a male dominated society. If females dominated then we would be the ones picking up on the males more often.

By watching the videos it is obvious that certain people are viewed differently. However I was curious about whether or not a white child dressed in clothing similar to the black child would have been viewed similar to the black child. Unfortunately I think a lot of people’s ideas and stereotypes concerning different races come from what they see on movies and in the media. In movies black men repeatedly come across as violent and intimidating individuals. I remember on a movie called Crash how when Sandra Bullock clinched her purse when she saw the two black men walking down the street. Even though this is a movie it portrayed the thoughts and ideas of many white Americans. It is an unfortunate reality of the world we live in.

So why is it that people view females, black and white, less intimidating as other races? Well with the exception of movies like Set it Off how many times do you see females doing illegal activities. Or old people? I know that if I saw an old man looking like he is stealing a bike I probably would not look twice at it. I mean why would an old man have a need to steal a bike. However in the video it was alarming how the males would disregard their wives just to assist in the female stealing the bike. Everyone knows that they have different views towards different races. Even as a black female I might think that a young, black male is more likely to steal the bike than the female counterpart. However, if you put the black male in a suit and give him the same tools, I would be less inclined to think he is stilling the bike.

One thing I did not like in the video we watched is the fact they used the extremes. Like they made the female dress in promiscuous clothing; made the black male dress in “hood” wear; and had the white male dress in more casual clothing. In addition to race, age and clothing also would play a factor on how an individual is viewed.

Women are seen more as being emotional and motherly; opposed to being violent like men. Similarly to how a guy in a suit is seen as more of a role model even though the same guy could be embezzling millions of dollars for his company. And inversely the guy wearing the baggy jeans will be seen as a threat to society even though he could be just a regular studying expressing his freedom to dress as he pleases. The labels from society are subconsciously in everyone’s minds. Some people try to not let their views on people depend on the labels but many people will judge someone before a word comes out their mouth. No, it is not fair but that is the life we live.

Last year I was in Soc 001 and we had to read a book by Tracy Kidder called “Mountains Beyond Mountains.” Before reading this book I did not put much thought in Haiti and like many people was ignorant about the conditions of different countries. Once I read the book I was astonished about how scarce health care was. Health care…. Something I take for granted but is a privilege for other people. So when Sam brought up our project for Haiti I was excited. We will now have a chance to make some type of difference in someone else’s lives or at least expose more people about the conditions of a place like Haiti.

In watching the videos of the entrepreneurs I was impressed about how resourceful some of the entrepreneurs were. They were using sewing machines that were decades old but still managed to produce high quality items. Clorence’s clothing and bags were well stitched and it was evident how much had to go into creating the product. The best part about many of these entrepreneurs is that they were producing their products in Haiti to keep the profit circulating in the city.

One of the surprises I had in watching the videos was when I realized the worth of a Haitian dollar. In Sonia’s video she was selling a lunch bag for about four American dollars, which was equivalent to about thirty-eight Haitian dollars. Another surprise in that video was the sewing machine that Sonia used to make her different bags. I would have never guessed that such a small, warn down machine would be capable of sewing such sturdy material. While watching the videos I was amazed about how good the products came out in respect to the machines they were using.

Watching the videos I gained particular interest in the backgrounds of many of the business. They were in establishments with little furniture. Sonia was using string to hang up her bags. Also when Sam was driving around Haiti to Figora’s business you were able to see the Haitian community. There were little space for roads and a lot of the stores look like little huts of sorts. Living in America I know I forget how disadvantage many other places are. Watching these videos just reminded me how little people of different countries may have. People like Sonia have to support so much of their family with the money they make. So even though she may have a successful company, little of the money may actually come back to her.

I respect each of the entrepreneurs I seen for making the initiative to create their own business and try to make a living. They had to make something out of very little which shows a lot of determination and perserverance.