en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/3548529 Comments by bzr5099 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/29/voices-from-the-classroom-83/#IDComment230358203 Yesterday’s class revolved around the current war going on between the United States and the Middle East. It was mainly focused on the Christian invaders that Sam introduced to us. This war started long before September 11th although I had no knowledge of this until I got older and began to learn more about this issue. I remember all of the events of that tragic day. I was young, only 10 and in 3rd grade. My teacher was Mrs. Sparks, an older lady who was not my favorite teacher to say the least. Luckily, I was surrounded with all of my friends. On September 11th, I went to my elementary school like I would every other day. I rode the bus and sat through hours of learning. My class and I were practicing our cursive handwriting when the intercom came on and one of the kids in my class was asked to go to the office for early dismissal. The rest of the classmates and I grew very jealous of this boy who got to miss out on the next hour of cursive writing. Minutes later, another student got called for early dismissal. Eventually, in the course of 20 minutes, 10 kids were dismissed. My teacher finally got a phone call regarding these sudden dismisses. Her face was priceless; it was shocked, distressed, and saddened. What was going on? I was called next, and was greeted by my panicked mother and brother. In the car she told me that buildings in New York were hit and knocked down by terrorists. She explained a “terrorist” to be a man who did not like another country or an idea and would have violent acts against it. Then, I remember George Bush announcing on the national television that the United States was declaring war. War? I was not sure what this entitled, but as I grew older, the war continued on and I began to understand this complicated occurrence. Yesterday, Sam seemed to make the war focused on oil. That the war is going on because the United States needs oil and we have targeted the Middle East to get it. Along the way, we leave the Middle Eastern out of work, poor, and out of resources. I have never thought of the War being directly about this and in this country, we rarely criticize our United States army. Sam made it clear that our army is not perfect, that we are just as violent as the terrorists that seized our infamous buildings. Many people see Muslim as a violent religion, even myself at one time. Sam opened my eyes to Christianity, which is my religion. Christianity is just as violent and may be even more violent than Muslim. Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:11:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/29/voices-from-the-classroom-83/#IDComment230358203 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-78/#IDComment223054456 Over the past week, Penn State University has suffered an imaginable amount of pain due to ONE man. I am a freshman here at Penn State and I was stunned to find out the corruption that was involved with this school. However, I came to this school because I loved every aspect of it…even the football program. I was home last weekend when the scandal first came to the surface. My relatives and friends were asking me questions regarding Sandusky and the rumors but I had nothing to respond. I had no idea what news would be found out within the next week. Upon arriving back to school Sunday night not all of my friends have heard the scandal that was being released. If they had, none of us could grasp how serious the crime was for not only Sandusky but for the entire school. My friends and I went to bed Sunday night, unfortunately waking up Monday morning to an entire new school. As the details involving the case kept unraveling, the students and faculty here were growing more and more anxious to see what was to come to this acclaimed university. As the hours went on, the school became more and more depressing. In my perspective, the media had made this tragedy much worse. They spanned every new piece of information they received and made the whole country involved. My friends that went to other colleges around the country were harassing me about my school and our ethics and morals. It was exhausting defending myself, like the kid in class Tuesday had explained and even more exhausting hearing and watching the media insult my university. Wednesday came, and I could not bear to talk or hear about the scandal anymore. I, myself, was becoming sad and embarrassed. My friends and I were watching one of our favorite shows when one of my other friends called. I ignored the call because I was in the middle of a show. Then, my mother called so I was forced to answer. She told me that Joe Paterno was unexpectedly fired when we all thought he was finishing the season and retiring. My friends were an outrage and we did in fact join the riot. The week continued, students cried, teachers were flustered, and we lost the game Saturday without our legendary coach. Throughout this whole experience, I have learned that honesty is key. We should always expect the unexpected. I have learned that one man cannot break the honor and integrity of one huge school. No matter what, I love my school and I love my peers. Over the weekend, we came together and showed the world that we are STILL Penn state. Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:35:54 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-78/#IDComment223054456 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/09/voices-from-the-classroom-70/#IDComment219900482 The video that was presented to us in class was definitely a wake up call to the hundreds of kids in our Sociology 119 class. Over the summer I attended Penn State and was enrolled in the LEAP program. My LEAP consisted of about 25 students. We signed up to take English 015 and CAS 100. In CAS 100, we were asked to choose a topic that we could give three speeches on. I chose the alarming issue of puppy mills and discussed their problem and how it should be solved. My good friend chose to do hers on child slavery. As she was conducting her research, she quickly learned that child slavery is much more evident than what most of us believe. In particular, she discovered that chocolate is one of the most violent and most abundant slave industries. She began to focus her speeches on chocolate slavery. After another week of research, she decided to research one of the most famous chocolate retailers in the world, if not the most famous- Hershey’s chocolate. Throughout her three speeches, I think the class was most captivated by the horrors of this trade. We were all shocked. I had no idea that this was going on in the world. Most importantly, I had no idea that our beloved Hershey’s company that has its own amusement park and is supposed to be the “sweetest place on Earth” is getting their chocolate in such heinous ways. One video that she showed the class actually gave a majority of the class chills. It showed happy children who eventually turned miserable as they were forced to work and find chocolate. After watching Sam’s video, I learned that most of the children were forced into this business. They believed that they were going somewhere to make better lives for them, when really they were forced into strict labor. The video also portrayed the outcome of failed work or cooperation. The boys would get beaten and hit by belts over and over again, leaving horrific scars. Being the same age or older than most of the boys who are forced to do this work, I cannot even comprehend the pain and hard work they endeavor every single day. I wish that some higher level of government could end this slavery. Hershey’s is a billion dollar industry. They have the ability to pay workers for their righteous duties and not ignore the young boys who work day and night for them. Child slavery is completely disgusting, and I cannot believe these young boys are forced to work for billionaires who refuse to pay them and throw them into a jungle to fight for their own survival. Chocolate slavery needs to end. Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:22:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/09/voices-from-the-classroom-70/#IDComment219900482 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-20/#IDComment216050948 Upon arriving to Penn State, I was sheltered to different cultures and races. My high school, located 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia in a suburban area, had mostly a white population. We only had a handful of black students who submerged into the “white” culture. I enrolled in Penn State this past summer. Immediately, I was exposed to African Americans, Asians, and Latinos. I have not developed friendships with most people out of my cultural element, but I have witnessed plenty of different cultural interactions. I used to never exactly care about immigration into the United States, until I started to plan and think about my future. After our country reached an economic recession, the issue of illegal immigration came to the surface. Now, with citizens struggling to make a living, illegal immigrants are causing a huge debate. In my eyes, they are taking jobs from Americans and overpopulating the country. In another way, they are helping our economy by mostly working with low wages and long hours. The endless debate within our government is extremely controversial and will probably last for many years. Not everyone will be comfortable with the decision the government will eventually make. In my opinion, being at a large university, I think that immigrants should be required to speak English. A majority of public places and objects have Spanish listed as well as English. I know that Spanish is becoming a very relevant language, but people should learn English even if they are fluent in Spanish. If United States citizens visit other countries, we are usually looked down upon if we do not submerge into the culture or learn the language. I would think that people visiting or living in our country should show us the same respect. Walking around campus, I mainly hear Asians speaking different languages. I actually experience this situation quite frequently. Being a young adult, this makes eaves dropping very inconvenient. Not even that, but they seem to isolate themselves based on their inability to speak English. In class, Sam brought up how they simply cannot learn it or it is difficult. I agree with this statement but I also believe that if Americans are required to take world languages, they should have some background on our language and should be required to learn it. My main concern with this issue is the isolation that different races force upon themselves. I think that cultural and language differences encourage the drift. If we all were to speak the language, we would be more accepting and racism may be given a chance to decrease. I think it is important to be cultural diverse but sometimes being the same may actually benefit the country and eliminate serious issues. Thu, 3 Nov 2011 01:06:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/01/voices-from-the-classroom-20/#IDComment216050948 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/26/arizona-senators-vote-to-allow-college-clubs-to-refuse-members/#IDComment213065491 I was completely unaware of this event that occurred in Arizona. I would think that this issue would have been more relevant and exposed in the media than it was. Considering I do not watch the news a great amount, it could have been but like I said, I never heard of this story. Right now, I believe that the United States education system is completely distorted. There are many issues with its policies, laws, and syllabi. This issue in particular is striking, but is not surprising. I do believe that this ruling is morally wrong and discriminates against religion and race. It even encourages racism and discrimination. After all the progress our country has made, we fall back with these actions and decisions. I am not sure how Arizona is exactly configured, but being close to Mexico I would guess that it is extremely diverse. Like Penn State, Arizona has an array of cultures and races. I think if Penn State decided on this, the country would be attacking the university, as would other schools, families, and students. Even now, Penn State seems to be prejudice against black people. We have mostly white fraternities. In our discussion group, our group came to the conclusion that even the law enforcement here focuses on the actions of the minorities. My peers even explained that every black or Latin party is most always busted, mainly because they get too loud but also because the cops target them. Now, during the Occupying Wall Street, it is quite evident that Penn State students have a strong opinion and voice on various issues. Penn State students have been protesting against Wall Street for almost two weeks. Although their voices may not be heard in another state, they are proving themselves to their peers and the university board that they themselves have strong opinions about the matter. If Penn State allowed clubs to openly discriminate against other members, people would be completely outraged and the administrative would have a lot to deal with. They could even face a lawsuit form the angry students and their families. Even now there is discrimination and it seems to go unnoticed. Penn State University is one of the most renowned universities in the country. However, our reputation is not always flattering. We recently got voted one of the top party schools. We are mostly known however for our thrilling student section and our devoted fans to the football team. We are a group of 42,000 students who are intelligent and have school spirit. We also know how to have fun. We are part of a country that has the privilege of being free and having a list of freedoms. We, like every other person in the country, sometimes stereotype and discriminate against others. If the administration would actually permit this to happen and write it down as “legal” the college would go into a frenzy. Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:18:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/26/arizona-senators-vote-to-allow-college-clubs-to-refuse-members/#IDComment213065491 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/20/voices-from-the-classroom-47/#IDComment211502188 What would a black centered world look like? Since the creation of Adam and Eve, who are consequently viewed as white, the white man has dominated the world. In all aspects of our society, white people make the decisions. Like discussed in our lecture groups, we live in a male dominated society. We concluded that this is because females are insecure and are equipped with certain features that let us be controlled by men. Of course, this isn’t true in all cases but the media has focused their attention on the issues of women. Similar to this ideology, white people appear to dominate over minority populations. The media has centered the division mainly between the white and black cultures. What if black people formed society? This question is actually kind of crazy when you think about how much would be different. Not only will places be dramatically changed, but also our peers. Instead of people dressing in pencil skirts, dark washed jeans, loafers, and oxfords, and sweaters, we would walk around and see baggy pants and hooded sweatshirts. I am being extremely stereotypical and black people do not wear this outfit, but it’s an example to prove an aspect of change. White people may actually imitate the kinked hair that black people inhibit, making light straight hair “not cool.” Usually, minorities are depicted as trying to become lighter skinned or whiter in order to be beautiful or to fit in. However, if the black population controlled society, the roles would be switched. Also, it has been debated and is quite relevant that white people consume the media and the entertainment industries. Until recently, black people were rarely caught in popular television shows. There is even a channel known as “ Black Entertainment.” If there were a change, would we have “White Entertainment?” Would our favorite show spotlight black people and their lifestyles? These are interesting parts in our lives that would be hard to imagine any differently. How would white people feel if we had a harder time getting jobs than black people? Black people would be preferred and white people would be looked down upon. The civil rights movement would have focused on white people receiving justice. Martin Luther King Jr may not be as influential or famous as he is now. The point I am trying to make is that not only will our present be dramatically different but so would our past. The world as we know it would not exist. I believe a majority of our lives would be different. I wouldn’t be who I was today and my life would not have played out as it has. I would like to see what a black dominated society would look like, but do not know if I’d like my circumstances. Mon, 24 Oct 2011 03:06:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/20/voices-from-the-classroom-47/#IDComment211502188 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/11/blog-about-happiness-for-soc-119-and-learn-something-useful/#IDComment206620872 Happiness is something that we all strive. I believe that life is too easily taken for granted. In the world, there are over six billion unique inhabitants composed of over 22 internal organs and trillions of cells that distinguish their personal characteristics. I think the most important aspect of finding happiness is to engage in relationships with an array of people. People will make us happy, not material things. Health and love have the ability to make us anxious and anticipate the best and worst. Every part of our bodies is essential to the function and survival of our species. Hearts provide us with the ability to love, care, and embrace the world around us. Lungs compel our movement for strenuous and daily activities that enable us to overcome obstacles and discover success. The brain is the most vital organ; our bodies could not function without it and would consequently fail without it. However, we cannot avoid the pain, grief, and disappoint that inhabits our busy lifestyles. In order to be happy, you need to experience all of these emotions. Events that cause these feelings are necessary to maintain a healthy life. As the environment changes you are faced to adapt to a variety of situations. It is crucial that we take advantage of our intelligence when we are confronted with any difficulties in order to succeed. Discovering happiness is not easy or automatic. However, unlike the article, I do believe it is possible to reach, but the definition varies depending on the person. Each decision and action will develop the wisdom to uncover pure contentment. Being satisfied externally and internally must be revealed before reaching peace with our peers. Living a happy and gratifying life will improve our character and the attitudes of people that you allow into it. I agree with the aspect of the article that money cannot buy happiness. It’s the people in your life that do. Thinking about happiness is almost impossible. I think it’s a unique feeling specific to the person. Although I am only 19, I have developed my own priorities and factors that I believe will contribute to my happiness. I have learned to always listen to my mother and my conscience. She is always right. I need to stop stressing. It causes headaches and poor appearance. I need to spend time with my family and remember the moments I spend with them. I need to choose my heart over my head in some situations. I need to not let others affect my decisions. This is my life. I like to surround myself with others but need to spend time to myself. This is when I grow and discover who I am. Lastly, there are in fact over six billion people in the world and I want to try to meet a majority of them. Impossible? Maybe, but happiness is not. Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:57:07 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/11/blog-about-happiness-for-soc-119-and-learn-something-useful/#IDComment206620872 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/02/voices-from-the-classroom-27/#IDComment203447715 How would I feel if my child was gay? Surprisingly, my aspiration in life to is to become a wife and mother. Ever since I was younger, I have dreamt of my wedding day, my husband, and family. I have always had a vision to have three boys and one girl. I came to the consensus that I want so many boys because boys surrounded me as I was growing up I. I have one older brother and two male cousins who were around the same age. We did everything together-cops and robbers, tag, and hide and seek. It is surprising to me that I have grown up into a complete girly-girl, quite the opposite from a tomboy. I wear makeup every day, wear dresses and skirts, and have developed a serious passion for shopping. When I came to Pennsylvania State University, I had been exposed to an array of people with different physical and emotional traits. I attended a mostly Caucasian, heterosexual high school in a small suburb outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If someone was not white or not straight, they most likely stood out and became the “talk” of the school. On the top of my head, I can only think of a handful of students that openly came out about their sexual orientation. We had a LGBT club, but it was usually made fun of by the other students. Even though I grew up in such a sheltered, stereotypical community, I do not segregate or discriminate against different races or various sexual orientations. Now, at Penn State, I have seen more homosexual people than ever before, and it still does not make me feel uncomfortable. It is very different, but I have developed a fondness for the uniqueness of the population on campus. However, most people could agree that your peers and family’s sexual orientation differs greatly. When we were asked the question of how we would feel if our child was gay, I immediately remembered the conversation I had with my best friends years before regarding this same situation. Because I’ve been idealizing about my wedding and family one day, my friends were shocked to hear that I would be very accepting if my child turned out to be homosexual. My family will be the world to me regardless of the sexual orientation or conditions of my children. It will be a little uncomfortable when I first discover their sexuality, because I have not been directly involved with any gay people. Eventually, I will learn to love my child for every aspect of them including whom they are attracted to. As long as they are happy, I will be happy. I do not think it will take very long to get over the discomfort; it just needs to settle in first. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, I will love my family no matter what. Wed, 5 Oct 2011 14:55:41 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/02/voices-from-the-classroom-27/#IDComment203447715 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-21/#IDComment200194292 In today’s world, stereotypes are formed every day. Stereotyping has become inevitable and almost every one does it. It beings in elementary school and continues as you grow old. “The kid who won’t share his toys is a brat. The girl that wears makeup is a slut. The black kid might steal the boy’s toys. The boys will like the girls wearing makeup.” If we aren’t stereotyping, we are most likely judging, peers and strangers. Our country and others alike have a wide variety of people, which encourages these labels. Unfortunately, they inhabit almost every aspect of life like school, work, and your social life. Being at Penn State, stereotypes have become very evident. “ The Asians are intelligent and good at math. Penn State is a party school. Black people can dance. White people are snobby.” The list is never ending. Race, gender, and ethnicity form the stereotypes and judgments that the entire population creates. We watched a video in class that directly portrays the reactions and judgments that people make. In the video, an experiment was done where a white male, black male, and white female were pretending to steal a bicycle. The black male was immediately questioned and reported to the authorities, but accusations about the white male and female took much longer. Actually, the white female did not get questioned at all. Instead, pedestrians attempted to help her steal the bike. I was surprised about how passive people were towards the white male and female and how alarmed they became when they saw the black male by the bike. However, this situation is part of our harsh reality. In particular, women appear to be more innocent than men. As shown throughout history, women have always been portrayed less powerful than men and are stereotypically known to cook and clean and be a mother and wife. In some societies around the world, women fulfill these roles. Other cultures still insist women hide themselves and directly follow the orders of their male counterparts. Women are typically less physically and emotionally strong than the male species. All of these factors contribute to women being viewed more innocent than males. Unfortunately, the portrayal of innocence also depends on one’s race. The video is evidence that white people are generally viewed as less dangerous than black. Due to the urban areas they mostly live in and their discriminated history, black people are associated with danger and conflict. The media is partly to blame for this portrayal. In movies, songs, magazines, and television, black people have played these “bad” roles. While most black people live in cities, they are faced with hardships that people living in suburban or rural areas are not dealing with. Minority races also face this discrimination, most likely because they are “different.” These judgments are inevitable and have become engraved in today’s society. Wed, 28 Sep 2011 04:53:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-21/#IDComment200194292 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment196472778 After viewing several of the videos on the Haiti Project page, I have realized that the entrepreneurs of Haiti are very limited and lack the support they need to grow and become successful. Compared to businesses in the United States, these people are not equipped with the opportunities to manage a company. The video’s really opened my eyes to the differences amongst cultures and societies around the world. I think that if Haiti had more resources and money, the entrepreneurs would have an easier time “making it” in today’s competitive world. People in the videos need to take action in order to succeed. Being very interested in fashion, I was motivated by the passion and efforts of the people who do all they can with the limited resources they have to produce such beautiful art pieces. If businesses in the United States had as little as them, they would not be able to make million dollar profits every year. In most of the videos, the people are forced to work out of their confined home and can barely earn a profit. The fashion industry is extremely difficult to enter and earn success in. Without connections, money, and time, it is nearly impossible for anyone to break into this world. Being a shopaholic myself, I have shopped in an array of stores. Many of these stores would probably sell most of the pieces that the people are Haiti is offering. It’s time that we help them. For a project and to make a difference, I think that the entrepreneurs of Haiti should meet with international buyers and sell their products overseas in order to get their product out there and to make money. Popular stores like Urban Outfitters carry lines of abstract clothing from various countries. Their prices are usually less than other clothing, making them more attractive to actually purchase. Ten Thousand Villages, a store that is slowly expanding across the country, specifically sells items manufactured internationally. If Haitians collaborate with Ten Thousand Villages, they have a much greater chance to become successful. Citizens in the United States have a serious issue with spending money, hence there’s no better place to sell clothing. With new trends arising daily, the pieces of Haiti have an opportunity to become very popular. Eudid, a Haiti woman producing “ Boho” chic clothing, is forced to work with one mannequin and work out of her home. People like Eudid need much larger spaces to work if their products become popular. As a group, I think it is most important to expand their market and try to collaborate businesses or websites in the United States to carry the Haitian items. After this is complete, it is practical for the entrepreneurs to have more room to expand. With our help, the people of Haiti will have the opportunities to pursue their dreams. Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:13:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment196472778 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/13/voices-from-the-classroom-10/#IDComment193296321 Why are some accents more attractive than others? As I was growing up, I always wished that I had a “cool” accent. When I would play games with my friends, I’d even try to make one for myself, however it never sounded right. In a world where people are curious about their surroundings and are not limited to one specific place, we are captivated by the differences between countries, its citizens and culture. I have never had the opportunity to travel beyond Mexico but have heard unique accents portrayed in movies, music, television, and firsthand from immigrants in the United States. The United States is known as a “ melting pot,” where cultures are mixed together to produce one free country. A majority of the public speaks English, but the immigrants that contribute to our array of cultures have accents. When someone speaks to me with an accent, it gives me a small insight into the culture and automatically interests me because it’s “different.” With six billion people inhabiting the world, it is captivating to meet someone who you know is not part of the population that lives where you live or talks like you talk. Accents are a unique part of determining if someone is attractive. I believe that accents that are most different than my own are more appealing. For example, southern accents from the United States have always grabbed my attention. I live in the same country as these people, yet we sound entirely different and that is intriguing. Since the south is known to have southern belles and gentlemen, their accents are even more attractive because of the stereotypes that have been placed on them. However, I do not find New York accents attractive. I live in Pennsylvania, and New Jersey and New York are not far from me hence the accents of the people do not sound as foreign. I also think that they are harsher sounding. New Yorkers’ are known for being “rude,” which distracts me away from their accent. Within the country, I take into consideration the distance and the background/stereotypes of people with accents in determining their attractiveness. Accents of people in foreign countries are most attractive to me. French is known as the most romantic language around the world, making the French accent very impressive. I have taken French for six years throughout high school and have even developed a French accent when speaking the language. I am finally living my childhood dream of speaking with an accent. Even now, I feel better about myself that I can speak with an accent, because I know it’s unique to the people that surround me. If I were to travel to Europe and speak French, it wouldn’t sound as attractive to the native speakers. Italian, Spanish, Greek, French, Australian- the list of languages in the world continues to grow and the more foreign they are, the more attractive they become. Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:30:12 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/13/voices-from-the-classroom-10/#IDComment193296321 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/06/voices-from-the-classroom-2/#IDComment190752001 I completely agree with your standpoint on this question. I like how you incorporated the JCrew advertisement, which actually surprises me. The company of Jcrew seems quite conservative and to cross “moral” lines with the boy with painted toenails seems out of their element. Does this Ad make a stand towards society? I hope so, and I respect their decision to publish it. I also believe that we are born straight or gay and that control is completely limited. I actually think it’s important that female and males participate in hobbies and interests outside the stereotypical gender activities. It gives us a chance to experiment and individualize ourselves. Wed, 7 Sep 2011 16:44:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/06/voices-from-the-classroom-2/#IDComment190752001 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/06/voices-from-the-classroom-2/#IDComment190749817 When being asked whether I feel like I have a lot of control over picking my gender and sexual orientation, I immediately thought I didn’t: I am born with female assets and with a female mind. The more I thought about this question I realized that not everyone is born with the same traits. Homosexuals may be born with the physical features but their minds do not function like mine. I believe that we do not have a choice whether or not we like the same or opposite sex. This is just one example of how there is a lack of control regarding the mental makeup of the mind. However, when it comes to the body there is several ways that this could be altered, giving us more control over our gender. Living in the 21st century, technology has dramatically improved. We are exposed to a world where plastic surgery is extremely common. The possibilities under the knife are becoming endless. The public, now, has the opportunity to completely alter their physical features including their genitals and specific sex traits. Although it is expensive, these procedures have increased and are more relevant than ever before. As the United States and surrounding countries develop technologically, economically, and morally, the abilities to alter sexual orientation has become easier. Compared to earlier centuries where women were expected to wear feminine luxurious gowns and be equipped with makeup, today we have the opportunity to wear the styles of men; suits, ties, slacks, boots, military jackets, etc. The requirements of gender have diminished and more freedom is being granted to the public. Being highly interested in the fashion industry, I am well aware of the dramatic changes of style. In some seasons, it is more “ in style” for women to wear suits than dresses or ties than scarves. Clothing remains one of the easiest transformations of gender and sexual orientation because of its many options. In these regards, we are given a great amount of control. How one wants to express themselves is completely up to them. There are no rules or regulations regarding how a male or female should dress, with the exception of jobs, schools, or cultural/religious values. In general, people can dress or act as they want. Some people, however, may not be comfortable with these differences making our control limited. We are all part of one world, and no matter how we choose to express ourselves we are still the same person internally even if we change our external appearance or sexual orientation. The flexibility of this control is determined by who you are and what you let affect you. Like Gandhi once said, “ You are the change you see in the world,” male or female. Wed, 7 Sep 2011 16:37:22 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/06/voices-from-the-classroom-2/#IDComment190749817 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/08/26/what-do-you-want-to-know-before-its-all-over/#IDComment188599892 After watching the first video and being asked “ What do I want to know about race and ethnicity before the class is over?” I immediately knew what I wanted to know at the conclusion of this course. After receiving twelve years of education in a public school district, I have been exposed to a mostly white population. However, there was a minority of African Americans, Asians, Middle Eastern, and Hispanics. When walking down the hallways or eating in the cafeteria, I had always noticed the segregation between my peers. People who appeared to look the same, stayed together and those with different skin colors rarely collaborated. When they were seen together, it seemed “odd.” Now being surrounded with 42,000 students, I realized that this scenario occurs everywhere. I have studied race relations and US history throughout high school. I have learned about racial conflicts, mostly between Caucasians and African Americans. Even after all of the heinous acts and the so-called “progress” that the United States has made, racism still remains an issue. So I ask myself, have we really made any progress? Maybe it isn’t broadcasted or published in newspapers as often, but I do believe that racism is still relevant today. What I want answered is this: why are we still separating ourselves from races different from our own? Before coming to Penn State, I knew I’d be exposed to a variety of cultures. I wasn’t sure whether or not these cultures would collide. Inevitably they do and I see more ethnicities coming together than ever before, but as I walk from class to class I notice that people who “look alike” stay together. I can’t begin to grasp why this is. Even though we are around numerous cultures, we seem stubborn to really embrace them. Rarely do groups of different races interact or form a whole group. The segregation has even begun to spread through Greek life here at Penn State: my friend, who is from India, is rushing a South Asian sorority. In my eyes, this is an example of segregation. After all the conflict regarding race, people continue to separate themselves, not by force but by choice. The last point I want to make is that we don’t only separate ourselves, we stereotype as well. There could easily be a book regarding all of the stereotypes people have created including; Asians are extremely intelligent, black people are better athletes, and white people are snobby. Stereotyping alone is a problem and to me, a form of racism. Obviously not all of these characteristics hold true to every black, Asian, or white person yet we label each race with them. After all of the fighting and court rulings, the United States hasn’t eliminated racism-not at all. Why are we still separating ourselves from races different from our own? Thu, 1 Sep 2011 03:44:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/08/26/what-do-you-want-to-know-before-its-all-over/#IDComment188599892