I think overall my opinion about race has remained the same since starting Soc119. I think the class was more about pointing out the obvious, and bringing us to see things that we have always noticed, but never actually thought about. I grew up in a highly diverse suburban town, and because of this I have always been aware of many aspects of race, such as stereotypes. But I never really thought about why certain stereotypes have been created, or how they affect the race in aspects like trying to get jobs or a loan from a bank. I think the thing that was most eye opening about this class in regards to race, and people in general, was the discussion groups. I had never really thought about what it would be like to grow up in an all-white neighborhood, or an all-black one. So it was interesting to see how people from these environments regard race, as opposed to me who grew up eating with chopsticks and going with friends to Hindu festivals. I think the lecture I learned the most from was the one where we talked about how to call people’s ethnicity. Like Latin vs. Hispanic vs. Latino. Or black vs. African American. I did think it was interesting when we learned how some Asians like being called Chinese, Japanese, etc, In fact I know some people who will say “I’m not Asian, I am Korean”, but white people are just referred to as white and don’t say “excuse me I am German, English, and French.” I think the other way I learned about race from this class was about how much racism you can find in America, which once again I hadn’t really seen when I was growing up. But there was so much in this class I already knew about race, like the infamous median income chart. That has always been something I noticed, but never thought about. Or the average SAT scores by race. Or the two different high schools, one that was a poor black school and one that was a rich white one. I have noticed these things happen and exist my whole life, but I never actually thought about them and why those things are the way they are. I think the one race I really learned about was the Arabic ones in the recent Christian invaders lecture. I never really thought about why Arabic nations hate america so much, but after that lecture it made perfect sense. If I was in Iraq or Afghanistan I would hate us too. It made me mad that people denied they would support the rebels who are, essentially, guarding their homeland from invaders. I felt like they were lying through their clickers at that point.

There are so many lessons I have learned in the past three weeks that I can’t possibly get them all out in one blog post. I am going to start with the biggest lesson I think I learned: no one ever knows the whole story. Facts are constantly spewing out of the media about everyone involved, including us students. And half the time I’m reading things and thinking “no that other article said something different!” How can I form an opinion when I don’t know what really happened? I think in these high emotion cases that go on, I am going to try not jumping on the bandwagon of opinion that is driven by media. So many people posted statuses and tweets without knowing everything, like my friend who wrote “Joe Paterno deserves the death penalty for raping those children.” I never want to be as ignorant as she was in that moment. If I am going to make a statement, its going to be informed. The next lesson I learned is that people will let you down. Obviously I respected and looked up to Joe Paterno and all he stood for and did for Penn State and the people of State College. Though I still hold this respect, its diminished now. But I still believe in Success with Honor, why should I not hold myself to it even when the man who presented it to me can’t? Maybe thats the reason we all should keep up this ideal, to prove its worth. Another lesson, which connects to my original one, is that things are not always as they seem. As a psychology minor, I have learned a lot in my classes that explains the behavior of people like JoPa and McQuerry. Everyone says “how could they not do anything?!” But I say to myself, how do I know what I would do in that situation? My psych books tell me most people would do the same as JoPa, though they won’t admit it. But after this scandal, are more people going to stop it? I doubt it, because the Bystander effect is so strong. Humans hate conflict and problems, and will tend to ignore things like this. And if you look at our so called “Riot”, you can notice once again how things arent what they seem. About 30 people were actually rioting, everyone else was just snapping picture of each other. To prove they were there, that they were so cool. My final lesson, and maybe the most important, was that even when you have no faith in people they can surprise you. I lost all respect for my fellow students as I heard about the riot. Those idiots. I was at Paternoville when news of the riot broke, and I half expected my fellow campers to pick up torches and pitchforks and join them. But instead, we sat in silence around the JoPa statue, and tearfully sand the Alma Mater, and then got on with our lives. And two days later 10,000+ gathered for the Candle light vigil, a moment in my life I will never forget and never be able to explain to anyone not from Penn state. Who wasn’t there. Another lesson there: Only Penn State will even understand how I am feeling right now.

I one hundred and fifty percent believe that without social media this would have been a different story. Hell, without twitter and texting I wouldn’t have known about the riot. If you look at the footage of the riot, 99.99% of what you see it people holding up their phones, followed by a bright flash, followed by them looking at it, and repeat. People went to the riot for the sole reason of tweeting about, making a facebook status, and posting picture of it. As we saw in class, most of the people who went to the riot said it was because they were curious. My roommates went because they saw everyone’s posts about it. Without facebook, no posts, no pictures, not as big a response. And also, how did everyone, including most of the football players find out about this? Twitter. Facebook. Not the news, who were still reporting about JoPa being fired by the time we were rioting. ANother thing that pops into my mind is, how would people know where the riot was without social media? I mean, when I hear penn state riot I think of beaver avenue by canyon pizza, but it could have just as well been at the stadium. I would like to also think without social media maybe this case wouldn’t have been as well known. Without social media, most of the information would have come from newspapers and news outlets, and let’s face it most people do not read the news. I know that a lot of the misinformation and rumors were distributed on twitter and facebook. But also without facebook and twitter, we would have a harder time correcting the misconceptions. One of my friends had a status saying “why would penn state support joe paterno after he raped children?”. Needless to say, many penn staters were quick to correct him and help him get his facts straight. Social media is the reason that there are so many debates occurring still. Tweets being thrown back and back, over 100 comments on a facebook status, and all that is causing all the problems. Even celebrities, like Aston Kutcher, are creating news with their use of social media. He tweeted that he thought JoPa was wrongfully fired, and got enormous backlash for it, to the point where he had to forfeit his twitter to his agent. Getting back to the riot, I think social media just adds to our anger. We are already really angry about all that is going on, and having to listen to our friends from high school and hometown talk about how awful our school is and how much they hate penn state, and it just adds insult to injury and makes us even angrier. There is some good from social media, because it did help organize the Candle Light Vigil tonight.

There are many reasons that americans wont do the same work as mexicans. One, its a pride thing. we have been taught from day one that it is embarrassing to work in mcdonalds, or in a field, or anything that isnt corporate desk work. Go to college, get a good job. this is basic training in america. anything else is looked down upon. this is why we put foriegners in it. Also, the jobs are now associated with "low" people, like mexicans. we expect foreigners to take these jobs so we won't take them. We aren't going to mow lawns to make money, thats something poor immigrants do. WE are too good for it. Next is, most of us are spoiled our whole lives. I know that i never did a hard day of labour in my life. I went to pick your own farms for fun and gave up after an hour from boredom and exhaustion. the only job i ever had was working at a supermarket and i always complained that i was tired after my 5 hour shift of scanning food items, most of which weigh about an ounce. and i got breaks, and more the minimum wage, and everything. most of my friends never even had a job. I worked at a summer camp as well, and most of my friends wouldnt believe that I enjoyed being in the sun for 8 hour in a row a day. Another thing is, we dont want it bad. mexicans, well most of them, had to work hard to get to america and will do anything they can to stay here and make money to stay here. Also, Americans are generally taught that if something is too hard, they can just give up and try something else, which what it sounds like the farmers in alabama are doing. they just get tired and can't keep up so they give up and try to findsomething else that they won't have to do anything and make money, like sitting at a desk. But very few americans even like their job to begin with, so they should just suck it up and get work done to make money and support their families.

In class when this question was asked I immediately thought, I wouldn’t mind being the minority. I think this is because I grew up at a minority. My high school was about 45% white, though it never felt like that many white kids. Most of my friends were asians, both oriental and indian. I grew up eating with chopsticks, watching Bollywood movies, and always being very aware that I was the only white kid at the party. But it never really bothered me, it was just reality. Even now at school, with two asian roommates and a lot of asian friends, I am often the minority when we hang out or go places. I think when it starts happening people will complain and freak out, but they will get over it and adapt, like we always have. There are already places in America where whites are the minority, much like where I grew up. And the funny thing is, no one there seems to mind. Its places that are currently predominately white that are going to create a stir when people of different color start to move in. The other interesting part is that its not about whites becoming a minority, its about whites no longer being the majority. Sam never said that one other race becoming the majority. I feel like its more like all the races are evening out so that no one race is a majority or minority. While naturally this is just a dream that will never happen, its nice to dream about. I think that whites becoming a minority will also help with race relations, because whites won’t feel so superior anymore. I did enjoy how no one Sam called on in class didn’t seem to care about this, which could be true or could just be because they didn’t want to look racist on PBS. I am hoping its the former. I know that in that class that there were probably a few people looking around and freaking out. I was thinking it would be more interesting to see how this changes the face of america. When you think “All American boy” you think a tall, blonde football player who goes to church and does his homework and never gets in trouble with the law (like that exists). Will the new image be multiracial? Will there be no image? Or will some how that All american image stand the change? And how will media change? I heard currently 75% of lead actors/actresses were white last year in movies. But you can already see how slowly there are more minorities getting lead roles in romantic comedies and thrillers. And Tyler Perry, a black man, made the most money this past year in show business out of anyone in the world. And if that doesn’t show how times are changing, I don’t know what it.

I think this question is hard for me personally to answer, because I was always the person who hung out with a group that was primarily not their own race. In my case I always hung out with most asian people. This wasn’t because I wanted to be asian or really wanted their culture, but because I grew up in a mostly asian town and those were the people around me. For the longest of times I hung out with them never thinking that they were different then me, other then they had different eyes and skin and had a lot stricter parents in most cases. I hung out with people based off of their interests and personalities. But there were times when I realized that I was the only white person in the group, like when I got dirty looks from owners of ethnic restaurants. Not places like P.F Changs that are chinese restaurants for white people, but little noodle shops owned by people who don’t speak english and have been making their cuisine in their homeland for their whole lives. The worst slight that ever happen to me was I went to a restaurant with my six asian friends and every single one of them was handed chopsticks and I was handed a fork. Never have I been dealt a “you don’t belong here” message in such a subtle way. But my friends never really made me feel like a poser or like I didn’t belong. Sometimes they would make jokes about me being the six foot tall white girl with all the five foot asians, but other then that I was a part of the group. I even participated in the Asian festivals at my school, and attended a few religious events with my indian friends. Sure, there were plenty of people who saw me as an outsider or a poser in those situations, but mostly people were welcoming. And I was never trying to be like my friends, I was just more interesting in their culture and seeing another side of life that was so crucial to my friends. But looking at it from the other way, I have known some asians, girls in particular, who have tried desperately to pose as white kids, to the point where they are very offended to be associated with anything asian. My roommates, for example, are Korean and Vietnamese, and refuse to let Ramen in the room because they don't want the room to “smell like asians”. That is something to this day that I don’t understand. They also do things like go tanning and do their makeup to round out their eyes in order to “look more white.” So overall for this question, I think it depends on the person to determine if they are a poser or not.

I don’t understand at all why girls feel the need to wear skirts and high heels. When I go out at night, I always wear my neon blue and green high top converse, and more guys have complimented me then my roommates who wear 5 inch heels. People always compliment my good sense in wearing comfortable shoes. I know one of my friends says that girls should dress up to earn their free drinks, which I think is ridiculous. I think its just a double standard that has yet to be abolished. Girls should be pretty and suffering to be considered “hot” while guys can throw on baggy jeans and white t-shirts and get the same status. This is also caused by media. Look at music videos of parties or club scenes. There are always scandalously dressed girls and chill-dressed guys. Its mainly because in today’s men’s run society girls are still treated as sex objects and are expected to go through hours of getting ready. You can hear girls complaining about how their skimpy outfits make them look fat, or how they need make-up or else they will look hideous. However, if you talk to guys they don’t even notice. I know girls who dress up cause they say its the only way they will meet guys, but i feel like the only guys they ever meet are the ones who notice the easy access their outfits are allowing for them. But some girls wear it because they honestly like looking that. My roommate always wears heels because she loves wearing heels. She does it for herself. I think this might be rare. I don’t wear heels because I’m six-foot tall and a girl. Though many people say “oh but you would look so sexy and hot in heels” I don’t do it because it makes me uncomfortable. I won’t wear a short skimpy skirt when its snowing because I don’t want pneumonia. But if girls want to still go through with all that, I will respect that. While I will judge their sanity as they strut down an ice covered College Ave in stilettos and tube dresses, I will not say anything rude to them. It’s kinda like how Sam was saying in class with the “mind over body” thing. If they can spend the night like that, good for them. But I am not about to join them because it makes me uncomfortable. I think its sad when people dress like that and feel uncomfortable. I hope one day we can all dress however we feel, whether we want to scrub out in sweatpants or dress up to feel pretty for the night.

I think a lot of people have a fear of having a gay roommate. They think they will try to make a move on them or attack them in their sleep. The most interesting story I ever heard about this was one of my best friends met his roommate the first day, and the first thing he said was “I am gay. You are not my type. You don’t have to worry.” I thought that it was a little sad that he had to say that to his roommate, but it made my friend feel very comfortable. They grew into great friends and my friend was never uncomfortable around him, and often sited him as an awesome wingman. There was a girl on my floor who was very openly gay and she told her roommate immediately, and the roommate said back is “well don’t try to convert me and there will be no problems!” And there never were any problems. But then there are not so good incidences, like what happened at Rutgers where the roommate of a gay kid was horrified at having a gay roommate. I think I would be fine with it, but then again I have a lot of gay friends to begin with. I don’t think there is any difference between living with them versus a straight person. I would rather them tell me on the first day, because I don’t want to have to be the bad person who is wondering and analyzing. But I also don’t want my roommate to feel like they have to hide the way they are. They should able to freely be gay without worrying about what i have to think about it. I hate how one of my friends who has a gay roommate forced him to take down pictures of guys from his walls. They were just pictures of shirtless guys from a magazine, but my friend told him they had to go. This was interesting since my guy friend had plenty of picture of half-naked women all over his walls, yet the gay roommate never said a word about taking those down. I know one big problem people have is the whole bringing home people. But i think no matter what gender and sexual orientation person your roommate is bringing home, its going to be awkward. Having PDA going on in your room is always awkward, though I can see how a lot of people think if they are of the same gender it makes it more awkward. But I would probably do the same thing I do now with my heterosexual roommate, leave the room and let them have a designated time. It doesn’t matter if they are homosexual or heterosexual, people should be able to be who they are without worrying about their roommate.

As soon as the situation was presented, we all knew the results. I think this is the saddest part of the video. I doubt there was a single person in our classroom who thought the white guy would get more attention then the black guy. And when they introduced the attractive white woman, again it was obvious what would happen. Part of me was hoping that people wouldn’t be so predictable. Part of me wished that they had extended the experiment to try with different races. I suspect if it was a latino male, he would get the same reaction as the black male, especially since most of the people walking in the park were white. I am very interested in seeing what would happen with a black female, or an Asian of either gender. Everyone was laughing during the whole video, but it really wasn’t something to laugh at. It’s an awful commentary on today’s society that we still see a black man with a bike and think he is stealing it. If I saw someone with all those tools with a bike, I would assume they lose their key or combination or something, no matter what their color. I found the female the most interesting, especially with the “damsel in distress” angle. It was a little sad to see all those men essentially being accessories to crime just because of a pretty face. It sort of shows that while we think we have progressed as a society over the last few decades, we are essentially still the same. We still assume white kids aren’t doing something wrong, while black kids clearly are trying to break the law. And no pretty woman could be a theft, clearly she needs help. I noticed a lot of people said if they saw any of the three people stealing a bike they would confront them, but I highly doubt that. We all like to say we would do the right thing, but when it comes to acting on it most people fall through. Most of us would probably see the person stealing the bike, be concerned, wonder what they are doing, and then keep walking, no matter what color they are. Last semester I lost my bike keys and had to cut the chain, and though people were looking at me no one said anything, even though I had considerable trouble with it and eventually had to find help. I could have been stealing the bike and no one would have stopped me. People don’t want to confront people if there are other people around who could do it for them, especially on a college campus. Naturally since this is a predominantly white school, there is very likely that if a black or latino kid was stealing a bike he would get more grief then a white kid, but overall I think we would all ignore a bike thief.

My biggest interest was in Suze Fleuriza, the peanut entrepreneur. As someone who is interested in the food system, her situation is fascinating. She is the ideal in the food industry: a local, sustainable business person. She also is going in to the perfect business, because everyone could always use more food. And malnourished people mainly need a source of protein, so peanuts are an ideal product. Her business reminded me of the quote “you can give someone fish and feed them for a day, or teach them to fish and feed them forever. Sure, we could send Haiti the food that they need. We can hand each person a lunch bag full of food. But how long would we realistically keep that up? Instead we can send them knowledge. We can work with Suze to figure out how to up her production, lower her costs, and create a better product. We can teach her how to make more things with her peanuts, to expand the variety of business. We can teach her about packaging and shipping. Not only will this potentially create more jobs, but it could create more food in Haiti. We can go into places like Haiti and find ways to utilize the crops that are already local, instead of depending on foreign countries. One example of this is scientists are looking at a grain that grows throughout most of Africa, and finding a way to turn it into a cheap form of bread. Even though bread is an essential food, nearly all of it is imported and expensive in Africa, but by teaching the people how to use their own natural resources, we can help them become more independently sustainable. Another thing we can do is look at what local processed food there are, such as roasted peanuts, and find a way to help them expand their business to both yield more product and profit, while keeping prices low enough that people can afford it. Food companies already have ways to say, roast peanuts faster then 3 hours, so all they have to do is visit people like Suze and show her how she can improve. And this is not just for the food industry. The entrepreneurs like Euclid, Yvrose, and Clorene could also benefit with people going in and helping them learn to utilize their skills mixed with our advanced technology. Because our class has a plethora of different majors, we can be of great help because we can teach the people of Haiti a multitude of skills. This is why soc 119 is the ideal class to take on this project, because unlike most classes on campus it doesn’t cater to one specific major and instead bring in the type of diversity that can do a lot of good.